Faithfulness and Love

Category Archives: Lent 1

Saturday of the 1st Week of Lent

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Are we able to forgive our enemies and those who have hurt us in one way or another? Jesus taught us to forgive in different parts of the Gospel, including today’s Gospel. If we ponder on what it means to forgive, we would realise that forgiving is an act of our will, not our emotions. In the Our Father, we pray: “Forgive us our sins as we forgive others who sin against us.” When we pray in this way, we are asking God to forgive us to the degree by which we forgive others; and it is the sign that we have received God’s forgiveness by our willingness to forgive others.

If we are able to forgive, we would save ourselves from restless nights and unnecessary anger and anxiety. Instead, we could channel our energies to more constructive things. If we find ourselves unable to forgive, it could be that God is not good enough for us. It could also be that God and His words do not occupy the first priority in our lives. Thus, let us set aside our pride and ego, and continuously choose to forgive, just as God forgives us.

Saturday of the 1st Week of Lent

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I believe many of us like to pick and choose things in our lives. As children, our parents would pick and choose a kindergarten and primary school which they think and feel is best for us. When we look for clothing, we pick and choose something which fits us, and the colour and pattern of the clothing is something we like. Some of us are even particular about the food we eat, and we pick and choose certain types, flavour and quality of food.

One thing which we cannot pick and choose is when it comes to God’s laws and customs. Today’s reading reminds us: “Moses said to the people: ‘The Lord your God today commands you to observe these laws and customs; you must keep and observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.” When it comes to God, we cannot pick and choose only that which is pleasant or easy to observe. God expects us to observe His laws and customs wholeheartedly, in fact, we are to do so with all your heart and all your soul.

Saturday of the 1st Week of Lent

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Every once in a while, I come across people who seem to do things half-heartedly. It is as if the task is too difficult or complicated to do, even though in reality, the task is actually so simple that even a small child could have done it well. Such persons seem to drag their feet, or take their sweet time to get it done, but when their boss or superior comes along, they suddenly appear to be hard working or diligent, only to go back to their half-hearted routine once the boss or superior has left. Could some of us be guilty of such half-hearted attitude and behaviour?

In today’s reading, “Moses said to the people: ‘The Lord your God today commands you to observe these laws and customs; you must keep and observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.” While some of us could play games in front of authority, and then return to half-hearted ways, we cannot play games or behave half-heartedly when it comes to God. God expects us to observe His laws and customs wholeheartedly, in fact, we are to do so with all your heart and all your soul. Failing to observe such laws and customs wholeheartedly could lead to undesirable or even disastrous consequences. Are we willing to be humble and docile, and follow God’s laws and customs, for our good and for His glory?

Friday of the 1st Week of Lent

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Do any of us hold grudges in our hearts? Do we have an unforgiving attitude? Sometimes I come across people who come for confession and say that they are unable to forgive a friend or family member who has hurt them or betrayed their trust. Why are such people unable to forgive? Could it be because of their wounded pride? Could it be because their ego is preventing them from forgiving and reconciling? Whatever the reason is, we should remember that at some point of our lives, we too could have hurt others, and when that happens, do we seek forgiveness with humility and sincerity? Or do some of us think that we are ok, that we have done nothing wrong, and everyone else owes us an apology?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us: “If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.” The scribes and Pharisees were known to have a self-righteous attitude, thinking that everyone else are sinners and anyone who is not like them or follow their ways is condemned. Have some of us become like the scribes and Pharisees, expecting others to be humble and kow tow to us and follow our example? May we come to realise our folly, our self-righteous attitude, our pride and ego, and make amends with God and with others. Otherwise, we may find ourselves “thrown into prison… and will not get out till you have paid the last penny.”

Thursday of the 1st Week of Lent

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Many of us would have prayed to God for help, for things, for health, and for many other reasons. But if we consider for a moment what we are praying for: are we praying for our needs, or our wants, or to fulfil our desires? Is what we are asking for really good for us? Or is what we are asking for merely to satisfy our pride, our prestige or our ego? Sometimes what we are asking for may seem deceptively good, but in reality, in may turn out to be not so good for us after all.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus assures us: “If you, then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” This assurance sounds like a blank cheque where God would give us anything which we ask, as long as it is good and we ask. But if we observe the text carefully, we would begin to understand that the word “good” does not refer to our interpretation or expectation of “good,” but according to God’s choice and providence. This means that God would, for His glory, give us what is good, not to satisfy our pride, ego or personal gratification. May we discern carefully what we ask for, and have full trust and confidence that God would grant us the good that we truly need, so that in all things, we would give Him the glory.

Wednesday of the 1st Week of Lent

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Jews and Ninevites were sworn enemies during the time of the Prophet Jonah. The Ninevites (a.k.a. the Assyrians) were Israel’s most hated enemy, as they were the ones responsible for wiping out the northern Kingdom of Israel, and continuing to harass the Southern Kingdom of Judah. And now Jonah, a Jewish prophet, was sent to this pagan nation to preach about destruction in 40 days time. Such a deed would have been revolting, shocking or disgusting to the Israelites. Just imagine: a Jewish prophet helping the enemy to repent and change their ways? Absolutely incomprehensible! But that is exactly what happened: Jonah went and warned the Ninevites about their impending disaster and doom, and today’s reading tells us that the Ninevites actually repented with fasting, penance and prayer. Even more shocking, God actually relented and did not inflict on the Ninevites the disaster which He had threatened.

What does this tell us? God is impartial; God’s mercy and compassion is for all, not exclusive or restricted only to a certain people or to a certain group. The Israelites thought that God would only care for them and destroy all others, but today’s reading shows us otherwise. As long as we are willing to show our repentance by taking our penance seriously, God would be merciful to us just He had done for the Ninevites. Are we willing to learn from the Ninevites, and make every effort to repent and seek forgiveness, especially through the Sacrament of Reconciliation? May we not waste the many opportunities given to us to return to the Lord and walk in His ways.

Tuesday of the 1st Week of Lent

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Throughout our lives, some of us would have asked our parents for something. When we ask for something, some of us could have sounded quite whiny and some of us even started using baby-like noises, hoping that our parents would give in to our requests. Sometimes, some of us may even start bargaining with our parents, promising to behave, do better in school, or some other thing, hoping to convince our parents that we deserve what we are asking for. But do we really need to do or say such things? When we ask God for things, help, healing or something else, would we resort to such tactics, hoping that God would give in to our wants and needs, just like how some of our parents may do?

In today’s Gospel, we are reminded not to “babble as the pagans do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard.” Instead of having to sound whiny or say so many things to God, Jesus taught us a simple but significant prayer: The Lord’s Prayer or the Our Father. If we observe the way the prayer is prayed, we are actually asking for things which would give God the glory. Also, we are asking that God would help us to change, to be more loving and forgiving, and that truth and justice would increase in the world. Perhaps when we pray the Lord’s Prayer with sincerity and conviction, the Lord may grant us our wants and needs, since what we are asking for is not for our own personal glory, gratification or to boost our ego, but for the greater glory of God.

Monday of the 1st Week of Lent

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We sometimes take for granted the small issues or matters in life. We think that such small issues or matters are insignificant or not worth too much of our effort or time. We sometimes hear of people telling us: “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” But sometimes, small issues could lead to big issues, if we do not deal with them, or take appropriate action, or throw caution to the wind and make necessary preparations. For example, you have a minor toothache, and the pain subsides. This does not mean that the toothache is no longer there. It simply means that the affected tooth is temporarily not giving you any pain, but the pain could flare up at any time, and sometimes the pain we experience could get worse compared to the first few times we experienced it. If we do not go to the dentist for proper treatment, we may experience even greater pain and discomfort.

In today’s reading, the Israelites were reminded of the many small issues that needed to be observed. These many small issues are the dos and don’ts that helped the Israelites to learn how to love their neigbour as themselves, in an effort to “Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.” Likewise, in the Gospel, Jesus also talked about paying attention to the many small issues of Christian life, issues like feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked and visiting those in prison. If we do not pay attention to these small issues mentioned in the reading and the Gospel, if we become complacent and neglect them, if we procrastinate and think that we have plenty of time to act later, then we may suddenly find ourselves faced with a big issue, and that big issue could involve our eternal future. Are we willing to take the risk and lose it all? After all, there is a Malay saying: “sedikit-dikit lama lama menjadi bukit” (roughly translated as: “little by little a hill is formed”). Let us do our part today, even if it is little by little, and let our God guide us and help us grow closer to Him.

1st Sunday of Lent Year C

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Most of us know that the ways of the world and the ways of God are different. For example, what the world sees as success is different from what God sees as success. According to the world, a person is successful if one has tremendous amounts of money, property and wealth, as well as power and popularity. People in the world would generally hardly take notice of you if you are poor, weak or unpopular, since in their mind, you would not have anything to offer them or you are of no use or advantage to them.

In today’s Gospel, we see the contrast between the ways of the world and the ways of God. Jesus was tempted by the devil to succumb to possessions, power and popularity, all of which are worldly matters. The devil tried to tempt Jesus to change the stones into bread, which is the temptation to place ones trust in riches, possessions and objects, as if such things are all that matters in our lives. The devil tried to tempt Jesus with power, by giving the impression and illusion that if we are in control of our lives, control of organisations, or control of other people; basically if we are in control generally, then we would be somebody important. The devil also tried to tempt Jesus with popularity, by doing things or performing feats which would attract the crowd and make one seem famous. But as we would later note, Jesus did perform miracles but never to show off or to make himself popular.

Such temptations are certainly challenging to overcome, but Jesus rejected all these temptations because none of them could take away the fact that He is the Son of God. Jesus is showing us that God loves us no matter who or what we are. We do not need to prove our importance by acquiring riches, power and popularity. Being God’s sons and daughters is all that we would ever want and need. In the first reading, Moses reminded the Israelites of their history and their identity. They were ‘nobodies’ or ‘slaves.’ But God gave them an identity by saving them, giving them a land which they could call home and made them His people. Without God they had no identity, no freedom, no riches, no importance. Only with God did they and us too become sombodies. Only with God would we find happiness and contentment.

Thus, if we are still caught up with the ways of the world, let us pray that we would learn to let go and let God be in control. Let us pray for God’s grace to resist all forms of temptations, knowing that they can never grant us eternal happiness. What matters is we find happiness and everlasting life in our loving God.

Friday of the 1st Week of Lent

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Each and every one of us have been given different choices throughout our lives. Ultimately, we are responsible and accountable for the choices we make. This also includes the choices we make on how we wish to live. We can choose to live as good Christians, observing humbly, consistently and joyfully God’s command to love God and neighbour; or we can choose to live a worldly life, caring only for oneself and living a life away from God’s loving care. Whatever the choice we make, we should be aware of the consequences and be prepared to face them.

One choice we make is mentioned in today’s reading. In the reading, we choose whether we wish to be a wicked man or an upright man. It may seem obvious that most of us would want to be an upright man, but the reality is that there are people who think that they are upright but from their attitude, behaviour and actions, they are actually leaning more towards being wicked. How so? The reading tells us how a wicked man would live: “If the wicked man renounces all the sins he has committed, respects my laws and is law-abiding and honest, he will certainly live; he will not die. All the sins he committed will be forgotten from then on; he shall live because of the integrity he has practised.” The reading also tells us how an upright man would die: “But if the upright man renounces his integrity, commits sin, copies the wicked man and practises every kind of filth, is he to live? All the integrity he has practised shall be forgotten from then on; but this is because he himself has broken faith and committed sin, and for this he shall die.”

Ultimately, as the reading reminds us: “When the upright man renounces his integrity to commit sin and dies because of this, he dies because of the evil that he himself has committed. When the sinner renounces sin to become law-abiding and honest, he deserves to live. He has chosen to renounce all his previous sins; he shall certainly live; he shall not die.” The question we need to ask ourselves is this: we call ourselves upright and we believe that we are so, but are we truly and consistently living an upright life? Let us be honest with ourselves and discover where we stand, so that we can do what is necessary and return to the Lord’s ways, and live, not die.