Category Archives: Sunday

Among the important discoveries of humankind, one which changed many things in our lives is the discovery of fire. By learning how to make fire and use it to our advantage, people gradually abandoned their nomadic life and settle down as farmers, heralding the beginning of villages, town and cities. Fire can be useful or destructive. It can be used to cook our meals or to burn down a house. It can be used to run equipment for industrial use, or to produce weapons of war.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus makes use of fire to tell us why He had come: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!… Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.” Some of us may find such a statement by Jesus difficult to understand and accept.  After all, He is called Prince of Peace by the prophet Isaiah. Now He is saying that He would set the earth on fire and bring about division. How do we make sense of such a statement then? We need to remember that Jesus, and us too, are not only priest and king, but also a prophet. In the Old Testament, the false prophet is one who tries to please the audience, especially the rulers. Such false prophets have got a personal agenda, such as personal gratification, fame, popularity, wealth or recognition. On the other hand, the true prophet proclaims God’s Word, to his contemporaries, regardless of the consequences. The true prophet strives to speak the truth, and his words and warnings are meant to make us look into ourselves and discover that we may be our first and worst enemy, since quite often, it is our evil desires and deeds that may have kept us from living according to God’s Word and walk in His ways. It is in this context that Jesus’ coming and teachings would set the earth on fire and bring about division.

So what does this mean to us? What it means is that Jesus is now asking us make our choice: For or against Him; to say ‘Yes’ to God or to say ‘No.’ There is no in-between, no ifs, maybes or buts. Our choice will have eternal repercussions: Live according to His Word and we would have eternal life; or go against His Word and we will face the consequences, including eternal damnation. But we do not need to go through this alone, since Jesus is there to guide us and help us. In the second reading, St. Paul gives us these words of encouragement: “Let us persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus… For the sake of the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.” With these words, St. Paul is asking us to make Jesus our model as we run the race of life. Jesus endured the cross and its shame in view of the “joy that lay before him,” and we too should do the same. Jesus received triumphant glory by His obedience to His Father’s will, and we would too, if we live by God’s Word.

Let us therefore make our choice for Jesus and reaffirm it daily in thought, word and deed. Let us throw off everything that hinders us, especially the sin that clings so easily, and keep running steadily in the race we have started. Let us not lose sight of Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection, so that we would be with Him for all eternity.

Different people have got different kinds of fear. Some fear the dark; some fear insects, spiders, lizards (especially those known as geckos or “cicak” in Malay, that reside in houses) or other creepy crawlies; some fear their husbands or wives due to one reason or another; some fear to lose, even in small or insignificant matters; and some fear heights. Among the many reasons people may be fearful of, I believe one which is quite common is the fear of death or dying. Many people do not like to talk about death or think about death. Perhaps, they think that if they do not talk about it or think about it, it would not happen. But the fact is, death will happen, and we cannot avoid death. It can come at any time and at any place.

Since we cannot avoid death, what do we do then? Do we try to run and hide somewhere, trembling and worrying ourselves silly? Of course not! We must, as Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel, “stand ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” We should not be caught off guard but always be prepared and be ready. Jesus also reassures us: “There is no need to be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom.” We shouldn’t be afraid of death,  since death reminds us that there is a beginning and end to our physical life; that we need to pay attention to our relationship with others, especially with our family members and friends, during our short time on earth; that power, riches and popularity are all temporary, and we should remain humble; that we are humans, we are weak and we ultimately need to rely on God for everything; and that we should look seriously into our spiritual life and keep our soul clean and ready to meet the Lord and be with Him.

Moreover, the second reading reminds us that “only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of the realities that at present remain unseen.” Some of us fear death because we fear the unknown, and we do not know what is going to happen to us. But faith gives us the answer. Faith tells us that God will never abandon us and that God will make us a home for us with him in heaven.

Therefore, let us have faith and confidence that God will care for us. If we trust in Him and prepare ourselves consistently and faithfully with hope and humility, then we should not have any reason to fear death, since we are only strangers and nomads on earth in search of our real homeland, a better homeland, our heavenly homeland.

Among the many things that concern us in this life here on earth, one which ranks quite high is security. We are concerned about security not only in ensuring that our family and us are safe from robbers, brigands, thieves and other undesirable characters, we are also concerned about other forms of security such as wealth and property. To plan for the future and save up for a rainy day, we make much effort to buy insurance policies, make investments, save money in banks, because we are often thinking about our financial future and the future of our children.

The question is: as Christians, is it wrong to work for security for our families and for ourselves here on earth? Of course not. We still need to live and survive on earth. But what we should be aware of is our yearning for security here on earth should be put in its proper perspective. In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us of a rich farmer who had a perspective for security which caused him to lose it all in the end. What was the rich farmer’s mistake? What did he do wrong? He was greedy. He was “storing up treasures for himself.” Jesus warned us before telling the story of the rich farmer by giving us this warning: “Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for a man’s life is not made secure by what he owns, even when he has more than he needs.” Greed causes a person to rely solely on material possessions for his security, since having material possessions makes him think that he is in control of his life, and he begins to depend only on himself for his security, forgetting that he has obtained all these riches only through the grace of God. Ultimately, he forgets that his life is in God’s hands. Greed prevented the rich farmer from thinking of others and sharing with others what he has. Instead, he had plans to build more barns and thought of  hoarding or “storing treasures for himself” and for no one else.

So does this mean that having riches and wealth is sinful or wrong? No. Jesus is not condemning riches, but He is telling us to share our riches and our possessions. Jesus is telling us that, in the end, we cannot bring our riches with us when we die. Instead, life should be spent investing in things that really do matter, in things that will last. As St. Paul reminds us in the second reading: “Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth, because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ is revealed – and he is your life – you too will be revealed in all your glory with him.” In other words, our true security lies not in things in this world, but in Jesus.

The fact is, life is tough. We all know that. We face challenges each day. We work hard to make our lives more comfortable, and to do so, we accumulate all sorts of things, gadgets, gizmos and other conveniences. Sometimes, when we are so busy making our lives more comfortable here on earth, we forget about God, church and even our own families. We pressure our children to study hard and to get good jobs. No one is saying that these should be ignored or avoided, since these things have their purpose and importance, but they should not be the most important things in our lives. We should never let these things control our lives, because when we do, we become enslaved to them. We must never forget that we can never bring any of these things with us when we die. We entered into this world without having anything and we will leave this world without bringing anything.

Today, let us reflect the kind of lives we are living. Are our words, efforts and actions ultimately helping us to grow in relationship with God and grow closer to Him? Or are we leading ourselves astray, influenced and enslaved by the ways of the world, only to regret later? May we come to realise the condition our soul is in, and do the necessary while we have time and opportunities to do so, for the benefit of our eternal future.

Why do you pray? How do you pray? Do you pray to get things; to gain healing for yourself or for others; or for some other good cause? But quite often, our prayers do not get answered in the way that we want. Then what happens? Do some of us begin to fret and pout, angry that God is not helping us or granting our prayers? Or do we start going for other forms of help, thinking that these would help instead? Or do some of us give up, thinking that God is not going to help us anyhow, and some of us even despair? How should we pray as Christians?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us: “Ask and it will be given to you; search, and you will find, knock, and the door will be opened to you” How do we understand these words of Jesus, considering that our prayers are not always answered no matter how hard we try? Perhaps the key or clue could be found in the first half of the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father in heaven, holy be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread.” What do these words mean? It means that whenever we pray, we are praying that whatever happens would glorify God and not ourselves. It means that we are praying that God’s kingdom be established and that His will be done and not that our own kingdom be established or our own will be done. It means that we are praying that we will depend on him for our well-being and that even our daily sustenance should be seen as a pure gift from God. This is the content and the goal of our prayer, the kind of prayer that God will never refuse.

The problem with some of us is that some of us seem to think we can manipulate and control God through our prayers. For example, if we attend a number of novenas or recite a certain amount of rosary, or we pray the chaplet of the divine mercy or follow some sort of devotion faithfully, we believe that our prayers will certainly be answered. What we fail to realise is that prayer is not magic, or some sort of murgaga or hokus pokus we sometimes see on television. Prayer does not mean we can control God. Instead, true prayer brings about conversion and change on our part, so that we can learn to let God take control of our lives. God does indeed answer prayers. But His answer may not be according to what we may expect or hope for. Sometimes, God says ‘Yes,’ sometimes ‘No,’ sometimes ‘now,’ sometimes ‘later,’ sometimes ‘this way,’ sometimes ‘that way.’ Whatever be the outcome may be, God knows best. Are we willing to trust God and let Him decide?

Today, let us pray earnestly, consistently and with humility, trust and patience, knowing that our Lord knows what is best for us and will answer our prayers according to His time, His purposes, His love and His mercy, and for His greater glory.