Faithfulness and Love

Category Archives: Sunday

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

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When we look at our identity, what comes to mind? Some think that identity means the name given to us. Others think that identity refers to our status or popularity. But what is our identity? Who are we really? We are, as the First Reading reminds us, “a kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation.” Such an identity may make us feel great or even proud. But the reality is that this identity is given to us not merely as an honour, or to “syiok sendiri” or a privilege. This identity is given to us with terms and conditions: it comes with responsibility and mission. In today’s Gospel, we are called by Jesus to take up responsibility and mission and become the labourers in his vineyard: “The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.” Notice that we are called to become labourers in his vineyard, and this means each and every one of us are called, not just the priests and the religious.

When it comes to receiving titles and positions such as a Datuk, or Tan Sri, or even Tun, many of us are more than happy to do so. Many of us are also more than happy to receive other peoples’ respect and honour. But how many of us are actually prepared and willing to volunteer ourselves for the work that needs to be done? When the parish or the priests ask for volunteers; when we ask for support from parishioners, how many of us are willing to come forward and help? It seems as if many of us may be proud to be called a Catholic, or proud to be known as a son or daughter of God. But how many of us are prepared and willing to take up the challenge and responsibility of the mission, to be sent as labourers to his harvest? There are people who are always ready to complain and criticise, saying: this is bad; or that is bad, or this is how it ought to be done. There are people who easily give all sorts of suggestions: why don’t we do this or that? But how many people are prepared to do the carry out the tasks or mission, seeing it through with gusto and enthusiasm?

Jesus in today’s Gospel challenges us to participate in his mission to build up God’s kingdom: “to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.” When we work for Christ, we should not expect anything in return, such as praise, honour, or even benefits. In fact, we often receive criticism and some of us may even face persecution or even be put to death. Jesus in today’s Gospel also tells us: “You received without charge, give without charge.” Are we prepared to take up this challenge? Are we willing to be sent as labourers to his harvest?

8th Sunday Ordinary Time Year C

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What is a hypocrite? The dictionary defines a hypocrite as “a person who pretends to have desirable qualities or publicly approved attitudes, beliefs and practices but actually does not possess them.” If there is anything that Jesus hates, it is hypocrisy. As Jesus pointed out in his condemnation of the Scribes and Pharisees, their problem is they emphasise the “outside” rather than the “inside” – the inmost concerns of the heart. This being so, there is need to look into our “inside” and discover its priorities. Is it to impress others? If so, then our concern becomes how we appear externally before others, for example, through the way we talk, the clothes we wear, the jewellery and other bodily accessories we display, the house we live in, etc. For some of us, this may even include the way we practice our faith as the Scribes and the Pharisees did in Jesus’ time. All these in order to project our self-importance.

Sincerity and truthfulness are the opposite of hypocrisy. In these virtues, the emphasis is on what lies “inside” of us. When we are sincere and truthful, we cease to be overly concerned with the “outside” since we believe that what matters in God’s eyes is our “inside.” Among others it tells us that we would be no different from others if it were not for the grace of God. Jesus knows the kind of people we all are, how prone we are to sin. Yet He says to all of us, “Be perfect as my heavenly Father is perfect.” We certainly cannot be as perfect as the heavenly Father is. But with God’s grace, we can aim to be less and less imperfect – every moment, every day, over a long period of time, a lifetime.

Is it difficult? Of course. Is it impossible? No! Why not? Because Jesus has shown us how, as seen in today’s Gospel. For example, Jesus, while talking about the parable of the blind leading the blind, asked, “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?… You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.” Here Jesus is teaching us that we can lead others only after we have accepted Him in faith. Thus the need for us to discover and acknowledge our sinfulness, and strive to make changes in our lives. Then only do we acquire, the so-called “right” to correct and even lead others without both of us falling into the pit.

Thus, when we speak out on people and issues, we do so not out of self–righteousness as this only puts them off. Rather, we do so conscious of our own shortcomings, a trait we all share with others but with a difference, we constantly try to overcome them . May we strive to follow Jesus’ ways, and give glory to God in all we say and do.

7th Sunday Ordinary Time Year C

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A pastor once preached a Sunday sermon titled “Forgive Your Enemies.” He asked how many of the congregation have forgiven their enemies. About half held up their hands. He then repeated his question. Now about 90% held up their hands. He then repeated his question once more. All responded, except one elderly lady. The pastor asked: “Mrs. Lee, are you not willing to forgive your enemies?” She replied: “I don’t have any.” The pastor was baffled and said: “Mrs. Lee that is very unusual. How old are you?” “Ninety-three,” she replied. The pastor then asked: “Mrs. Lee, please come down in front and tell the congregation how a person cannot have an enemy in the world?” The little sweetheart of a lady tottered down the aisle and said, “I outlived every one of them!”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us an interesting teaching. He tells us to love our enemies, because as Christians, love should be our priority. At the heart of Jesus’ teaching are two important traits – compassion and forgiveness. More than ever, we need to exercise both compassion and forgiveness, wherever we are, especially in our society, parish community, and families. It seems easier said than done. But the reality is that compassion and forgiveness must be the foundation of all our relationships. In our relationships, we must be realistic that we live in an imperfect society, community and family. We must recognise that there are people who will try to take advantage of us, try to cheat us and wrong us, just as we also do the same to others. Ultimately, it is important to recognise that none of us is perfect.

Jesus does not demand perfection from us. Rather, in today’s Gospel Jesus asks us to “be compassionate as your Heavenly Father is compassionate.” Here we find the basis of our need to show compassion and forgiveness. We must forgive and show compassion towards others because we have been forgiven and shown compassion by God. If God can forgive us in spite of our sinfulness, then we must be able to forgive others who have sin against us. It is only when we are able to reflect on our own sinfulness, limitations and weaknesses, that we begin to understand, forgive and finally come to accept others. Of course, it is not easy. But with the grace of God, all things are possible. Thus, let us pray for the grace to be more compassionate and more forgiving as we pray: “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

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Some people think that for a person to be joyful, the person should also be happy. But if we look carefully at what joy and happiness really mean, we would discover that one could be joyful, even when one is poor, hungry, down and out, when one is mourning for the loss of loved one, when one is facing persecution and experiencing suffering. How is it possible for a person to be joyful even when experiencing such difficult situations and circumstances?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus exclaims: happy are you… blessed are you… rejoice… be joyful. What sort of joy does Jesus speak of? Is joy something that you get when your needs and wants are fulfilled? Society tries to keep sadness and happiness separated. Consequently, we try to forget about death, illness, our family problems because they seem to keep us from the happiness we hope for. Yet, Jesus shows in his teachings and in his life, that true joy is hidden in the midst of our sorrow. The cross has become a powerful symbol of this reality; it is a symbol of death and of life, of suffering and of joy, of defeat and of victory. In the cross, both joy and sorrow can co-exist. Of course, this is not easy to understand, but when we think about some of our life experiences, such as being present at the birth of a child or the death of a friend, great sorrow and great joy can be seen as parts of the same experience, where we discover joy in the midst of the sorrow.

So what does this mean? It means that true joy is not the same as happiness. We can be unhappy about many things, but joy can still be there because it comes from knowing of God’s love for us. Joy is the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved and that nothing; not even death; can take that love away. To be happy, as the responsorial psalm tells us, is to “trust in the Lord.” In our spiritual life, joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day. It is a choice based on the knowledge that we belong to God, and have found in God our refuge our safety, and our strength, and that nothing can take God away from us. Let us remain joyful always, no matter how difficult or challenging it may be, as God is with us.

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

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When we were young, some of us may have seen movies concerning the 10 commandments. We were also reminded in Catechism classes, during Mass and in various church activities about the 10 commandments, and how the 10 could be categorised into two, as Jesus mentioned in today’s Gospel: “This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”

However, if we examine today’s readings and Gospel carefully, we would realise that actually, there is really only one commandment: “Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God will all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.” This is the greatest and only commandment. All other commandments flow from this great commandment, the source of all commandments. If we are able to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength, then we don’t have to worry about the others, since we would naturally obey and follow the other commandments.

But are we really following this great commandment? If we examine our lives, we may come to realise that we may be actually breaking the first commandment of loving God. How so? Whenever we are hit with misfortune, some of us may have run to temples. Others resort to feng shui, or divination and crystals to ward off bad luck or for protection, instead of depending on and trusting in God’s help. Also, some of us have made other objects our gods. For some it could be money, while for others possession. There are some who consider power as their god. Whenever, we do any of these, we have broken the first commandment.

So what do we do? Remember what the wise scribe had to say to Jesus in today’s gospel: “To love God with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice.” Total unconditional and undivided love for God is what is required of every person. In other words, we let God to be God of our lives.

What about the second commandment then – to love our neighbour as ourselves? We need to realise that it is impossible to love others as ourselves; to love others unconditionally; unless we love them with the love of God. It is only when we place all our love unconditionally with God will we be able to love others as God loves them. Thus, let us pray that we will listen to Jesus’ voice, inviting us to love God with all our heart, our soul, our mind and our strength, so that we may truly love our neighbour as ourselves.

10th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

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Why do some of us blame others when something goes wrong? Some blame others because they desire to be recognised, appreciated and respected. Some do so because they want to appear good in the eyes of others. Some do so because they think that they are above mistakes, faults and sins. Some do so because they want to hide their true selves which they are afraid to reveal. In reality, when we blame others we are looking for a scapegoat whom we burden with our guilt. This is exactly what happened in the first reading where Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus was teaching the people. He was told that His mother and relatives were looking for Him, and Jesus said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” This tells us what discipleship is all about, namely, the hearing and doing the will of God. Some people seem to think that Jesus showed lack of respect for Mary by replying in this way. But that is farthest from the mind of Jesus. To Jesus, family ties are not what matters. Mary’s motherhood was important and necessary and therefore she was to be blest for it. But what really matters is to hear and do the will of God. Thus they are the ones who are blest.

By blessing those who hear the word of God and do it, Jesus has put an end to the vicious cycle of blaming. He has placed responsibility where it belongs: on our shoulders. When we allow God to enter our life, when we discover God in the hearing and doing of His will, we also discover ourselves in the process. We discover that before God, we are naked and transparent. We discover that blaming others is a form of pride and others suffer for our mistakes, faults and sins. We discover that there is nothing we can hide from Him and thus we have to be responsible for our acts. Why so? Because hearing and doing God’s will is something between God and us. He not only sees our acts but our motives, too. Blaming others does not take away the guilt from us. We may fool people but we cannot fool God. There is nothing we can hide from God. Moreover, in hearing and doing God’s will, we also discover that others, like us, are also building a relationship with God. Since we share the same goal with everyone else, we are to help instead of blaming others, so that ultimately, we are doing God’s will. Then we do not only become responsible for our acts, we also become responsible for each other, and in doing so, we become true disciples of Jesus.

How do we begin true discipleship? The beginning of discipleship is conversion: “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” To repent and to be forgiven – to be converted – is to begin our journey to God which consists in first accepting and then doing something about our self-centredness and our sins and then letting God take over. When we accept our faults and sins and be sorry for them, we are reconciling with God which leads to reconciliation with others. It is when we embrace reconciliation with God and with others, we begin to be true disciples.

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

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From a young age, we were constantly taught and reminded to be strong and stand up for our rights. We were exposed to an environment where we must be the best, never lose out, be aggressive so that we protect what we think is rightfully ours, and to be rough and tough to prevent others from taking advantage of us. All these things taught us to be “wise” in worldly affairs, so that we would be able to live and prosper in this world.

However, today’s Gospel paints us a different set of values: the values of the Kingdom or the beatitudes. Instead of being the best, never lose out, aggressive, rough and tough; the Gospel tells us: “Happy are the poor in spirit; happy the gentle; happy those who mourn; happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right; happy the merciful, happy the pure in heart, happy the peacemakers, happy the persecuted.” It seems as if it is the weak, the powerless, the gentle and the ones who patiently endure suffering or persecution that are blessed. If we were to think like the rest of the world, then of course such values seem hard or even impossible to understand or even follow. But if we look at the second reading, St Paul reminds us: “it was to shame the wise that God chose what is foolish by human reckoning, and to shame what is strong that he chose what is weak by human reckoning; those whom the world thinks common and contemptible are the ones that God has chosen – those who are nothing at all to show up those who are everything.” When we allow ourselves to be consumed with power, violence, hatred and revenge, we will only experience the same things – power, violence, hatred and revenge.

So how do we get ourselves out from a potential mess and a vicious circle of fear, distrust and self-preservation? Jesus gives the answer, by teaching us an alternative set of values in today’s Gospel. These values will transform our world into the Kingdom of God, a kingdom of peace, joy and love. Jesus counters the values of greed with values of simplicity; values of power with values of weakness; values of seeking revenge with values of mercy and forgiveness; values of dishonesty with values of honesty; values of violence with values of peace. Some may say: “But all these values sound impossible or improbable for us humans to carry out. Jesus is different, for He is God.” But we must not forget that Jesus is God who became one of us. Throughout His life and ministry, He showed us how to be humble, powerless, non-violent; living a life of poverty, being gentle, hungering for righteousness, showing mercy, being a peacemaker and finally enduring persecution, suffering and even death on the cross. It is not impossible or improbable to do, if we let Jesus be our guide and walk in His ways.

So today, as the first reading tells us, let us “Seek the Lord, all you, the humble of the earth, who obey his commands. Seek integrity, seek humility: you may perhaps find shelter on the day of the anger of the Lord.” When we strive to do so and live in His ways, then we will discover that it is when we are weak, we are truly strong.

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

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Are successful businessmen considered wise? What about university professors? Are they considered wise? If a person has a PhD or some Academic Doctorate in some area of specialisation, is that person considered wise? It seems as if many of us have equated wisdom with knowledge, intelligence and good business acumen. A man who knows how to save, how to make good investments, who becomes rich as a result of hard work and intelligence, who has many influential friends and colleagues, or even a person who has many followers, seems to be considered by many as wise. But what is wisdom really?

Wisdom is when we realise that all comes from God and all will return to God. Wisdom reminds us that the most important things in life are not just having friends, or having lots of children or grandchildren, or even having prosperity and luck. All these are impermanent, temporary and cannot be brought with us when we die. Instead, when we begin to realise that our faith and trust in God is what really matters, when seek treasures in heaven instead of focusing only on treasures on earth, then we begin to understand and strive towards true wisdom.

When it comes to worldly investments, many of us seem to be ready to make preparations and sacrifices, all for the sake of making life easier for ourselves, for our children and hopefully for our descendants. But how many of us have been making preparations and sacrifices, when it comes to spiritual investments? We seem so eager to make preparations for any eventuality in this life, but how eager are we in preparing for death and eternal life? In today’s gospel, we see an example of how prepared we could be. In the Gospel, Jesus contrasts the foolish bridesmaids with the sensible ones. The sensible ones are prepared to meet the bridegroom at any time. The foolish ones thought that they had enough oil, they had enough time. But time waits for no man or woman, and if we are not prepared or careful, we may find ourselves outside the door, like what had happened to the foolish bridesmaids in the parable, since we have not enough oil burning in our lamps.

So let us strive towards true wisdom, by investing for eternal life. Let us be ready and prepared to meet the Lord at any time, as Jesus cautions us in the Gospel: “So stay awake, because you do not know either the day or the hour.” May we not be caught off-guard or unprepared, because our eternal future and happiness is clearly at stake.

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

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If you look at society, what do you see? Many of us see that society seems to be made up of two categories. One category is what we call leaders, the other is what we call followers. The leaders are those who govern and the followers are those who follow and obey the leaders. When it comes to our church, do we see a similar pattern? For many of us, we think that the church is also made up of two categories. One category is what we call church leadership, which is made up of clergy, that is the church hierarchy consisting of bishops, priests and deacons, together with lay leaders who help the clergy in different capacities. The other category is what we call followers, which are generally lay persons who may not hold any significant leadership role. Once again, in a church setting, many seem to think that the leaders govern and the followers just obey.

But if we ponder for a moment, is it really true that we are made up of such categories? Actually, no. We may have different functions in church, but we are actually belonging to only one category, that is, we are disciples of Christ. As disciples of Christ, we are not called to be just passive followers, merely obeying and following, but active leaders in our own different ways. Today’s readings tell us how we should carry out our responsibilities as disciples of Christ, as Christian leaders in our own different ways. The readings refer to all of us, whether we are clergy or laity. So what can we glean from today’s readings concerning Christian discipleship and leadership?

Firstly, we must listen to God as the prophet Malachi warns us in the first reading.This means that we must be concerned with doing His will and not ours. When we listen to God, we recognise that all authority and power comes from God alone. Whatever talents that we may have, comes from God, and have been entrusted to us for the good of the community. Secondly, our Christian discipleship and leadership must be pastoral, that is, we must love the community whom we serve. In the second reading, St. Paul uses the image of the love of a mother to describe his love for the Church. We too must always be motivated by love in all we do. Thirdly, our Christian discipleship and leadership must always be one of service instead of power and prestige. In the Gospel, Jesus condemned the Pharisees for abusing their leadership, by seeking to control the people and by trying to gain power, prestige and benefits from their position. As Christian disciples and leaders, we are called to be servants, to humble ourselves, and to serve the needs of our brothers and sisters, instead of looking for glory, or expecting places of honour, or demanding recognition or fringe benefits.

Ultimately, as Christian disciples and leaders, our goal is to be like Christ, our model and our teacher. We are called to follow Jesus’ example in preaching the Good News to all, with joy, humility, patience, perseverance, compassion, mercy, and a good dose of love. May we make every effort to fervently and enthusiastically carry out our duties and responsibilities as Christian disciples and leaders, for the greater glory of God.

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

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Some of us may have experienced tremendous hurt or pain due to betrayal from those who were supposed to be close and trusting to us, such as our friends, our brother or sister, our husband or wife, our children, or even our parents. When we experience such hurt or pain, would we still be able to forgive the person or persons who have betrayed us? As Christians we are reminded that we are asked to fogive those who trespass against us, just as we ask God to forgive us our trespasses. But how do we forgive, especially when the hurt seems so great?

Some people think that forgiveness means forgetting, but this is not true. We are asked to forgive, not forget, since if we try to forget the memories, they will not be healed. To bring about healing, we must remember, since forgiveness is a healing of that memory which we must remember. Also, some seem to think that forgiveness will take away the anger and the hurt feelings, but that too is not necessarily true. Forgiveness is not about taking away the anger and the hurt feelings, but it is a decision to let go of the hurts, and to refuse to allow our hurts to control us. Should we wait till those hurt feelings disappear entirely before we are ready to forgive? Of course not! Forgiveness can and should begin even when we continue to feel hurt.

Moreover, forgiveness is not a single event, since it is a process and it takes time. When we decide to forgive, it does not happen all at once, or instantly, like some sort of hokus pokus, since we decide to keep on forgiving, and we will never stop forgiving till the day we die. As Jesus told his disciples in the Gospel, we are to forgive “Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.” That is a lifetime of forgiving indeed! Beside, we need to remember that forgiving others becomes easier when we realise that we too need forgiveness, since we too have made mistakes, betrayed others, hurt and gossiped about others, and are in need of forgiveness. God our Father readily forgives us for the many times that we’ve sinned, and we are challenged to do the same. Ultimately, we must learn to forgive ourselves, even though it may seem hard. Why do we need to forgive ourselves? Because if you cannot forgive yourself, you would also find it hard to forgive others, and you are doubting God’s compassion and mercy.

In today’s first reading, we are reminded that “Resentment and anger, these are foul things, and both are found with the sinner. He who exacts vengeance will experience the vengeance of the Lord, who keeps strict account of sin. Forgive your neighbour the hurt he does you, and when you pray, your sins will be forgiven. If a man nurses anger against another, can he then demand compassion from the Lord?” May we make every effort to begin by forgiving now, instead of putting it off till tomorrow, or next month, or the year after. At the end of our life, may we look back with joy and thanksgiving that our life was well lived and marked by forgiveness and reconciliation, instead of unforgiveness, bitterness and sorrow.