Category Archives: Thursday

Does anyone not want to be with the Lord in heaven? I believe most people would want to be with the Lord in heaven, and we would try our utmost best to live good Christian lives and try to avoid any occasion of sin with the help of God. But though it may seem strange, we do get people who do not want to be with the Lord in heaven for some reason or another. At the end of the day, whether we end up with the Lord in heaven or otherwise, depends on our fundamental option, which is the ultimate choice we make and we remain steadfast to that choice.

In today’s Gospel, we read: “Jesus said to the crowds, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea that brings in a haul of all kinds. When it is full, the fishermen haul it ashore; then, sitting down, they collect the good ones in a basket and throw away those that are no use. This is how it will be at the end of time: the angels will appear and separate the wicked from the just to throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.'” How we have lived our lives as Christians would give us some indication of whether we would end up in the basket or thrown away. May we not slack or neglect our responsibilities as Christians, constanly forgiving and asking for forgiveness, and making every effort to grow in our spiritual life and maintaining good relationship with God, so that we may be happy and rejoice in His presence for all eternity.

Every once in a while, we come across people who call themselves Christians, but they live lives quite contrary to a Christian way of life. Some of these people seem to think that being a Christian merely means accepting Christ as a personal saviour, but beyond that, how they behave, how they conduct themselves, how they treat others, is irrelevant to them. They claim that once they have accepted Christ as a personal saviour, they can do as they please and behave as they like. But is this what being a Christian all about? Is it so simple as that?

Being a Christian basically means we are following the ways of Christ. This means that we must love God and love neighbour, not just to put on a show, but with genuineness and integrity. But when people begin to interpret Christianity according to their own ways and for their own covenience, then perhaps they may be like what Jesus said in today’s Gospel concerning the prophecy of Isaiah: “You will listen and listen again, but not understand, see and see again, but not perceive. For the heart of this nation has grown coarse, their ears are dull of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, for fear they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and be converted and be healed by me.” If we are so stubbornly holding on to our views, beliefs and understanding of what we think Christianity is all about, then we may be missing the point of Christianity’s true meaning, since our ears have become dull, our heart has grown coarse and our eyes are shut.

Today, if we realise and readily admit that we have gone off course as Christians, then let us come back to its true meaning. Let us not be afraid to see with our eyes, hear with our ears, and understand with our hearts, so that we could truly be healed by Christ and follow His ways faithfully.

Throughout our lives, we may have been putting on or taking on many different roles and responsibilities. Sometimes these roles and responsibilities could turn out to be quite difficult and burdensome, especially after carrying and performing such roles and responsibilities for an extended period of time. Some of us may feel tired, worn out, or even burned out as we bear the heavy weight of the yoke of such roles and responsibilities. Some may feel tempted to call it quits, or to seek other forms of comfort to lessen or dull the pain. But what should we as Christians do when we are experiencing such a condition?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is comforting us and assuring us when He said: “Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.” When we have Jesus helping us and guiding us, we are no longer encumbered by the weight of the yoke we are carrying, since we are not alone in the situation we are in. May we be willing to let Jesus care for us throughout our lives, and let Him be our constant guide.

Over the years, we may have come across a difficult or bad situation which we thought would end up bad or disastrous, only to be surprised that something good could come out of such a situation. We may wonder how it could turn out to be good, especially when we had experienced so much hurt, trouble or problems upfront. Yet, God works in mysterious ways and through His intervention. we have seen throughout the history of mankind how bad situations have had a good ending.

In today’s reading, “Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph. Is my father really still alive?’ His brothers could not answer him, they were so dismayed at the sight of him. Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come closer to me.’ When they had come closer to him he said, ‘I am your brother Joseph whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not grieve, do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here, since God sent me before you to preserve your lives.'” Who would have thought that Joseph, sold to slavery in Egypt, would one day end up rescuing his family and Israel as a whole, from famine? But that is exactly what happened. God indeed had a plan from the beginning, and we came to know of the surprising outcome only at a later time.

What does this tell us? We may face problems or difficult situations, but we should not give up or think that all hope is lost. If God can transform something which seemed bad into something good at the end, what more He could do for us? Are we willing to be humble and patient, and let God help us and do what is best for us according to His time and for His glory?

Among the many sicknesses and diseases people are fearful of, one which ranks quite high is paralysis. When a person is paralysed, the person is unable to do anything on his or her own, and has to depend on family and friends for practically everything. The person’s freedom is non-existent, as his or her life or death is totally dependent on the love and generosity of others. Moreover, depending on the reason why a person had become a paralytic, there may be no cure and the person would have no choice but to live in paralysis till death.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus came to his own town. Then some people appeared, bringing Him a paralytic stretched out on a bed. Jesus was impressed with the faith of these people, who had confidence and trust that He would heal the paralytic, and that is exactly what He did. The man was able to get up on his own and went home. Jesus had given back the man his freedom.

Perhaps another form of paralysis should be seriously considered here, and that is the paralysing effects of sin. Sin paralyses us slowly, until we come to a point we are no longer able to care for ourselves. We may even become indifferent towards God and towards others, as the sins we have committed engulfs us in a poisonous cloud, and blocks all our senses, preventing us from hearing God’s voice. This is why we must never allow sin to continue to remain in our soul, since its stain would eventually ruin our relationship with God. Instead, we should make every effort to go for confession, and let God heal us and cleanse us from our sins. If we value our eternal future, let us not procrastinate or take things for granted, for our time here on earth is short, and God is constantly inviting and reminding to come back to Him.

There are some people who seem to think that they can get by as Christians by doing the barest minimum. Some of these people know how to talk, know how to make lots of suggestions, know how to complain and grumble when things are not in their favour, but that seems to be all they know. When they are asked to help improve on the situation, or offer their services to make things right, these people would begin to make lots of excuses or distance themselves, refusing to get involved and do their part.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus said to his disciples, “It is not those who say to me, “Lord, Lord,” who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven.” It is easy for people to talk, but not so easy for them to do things, especially when it comes to doing God’s will. Are we Christians only in name, preferring to be complacent and remain in our comfort zone, refusing to do our part for the glory of God?

Whenever we do something wrong, it seems easy for us to ask God for forgiveness. After all, we do not actually see God, but we trust that God would be loving and merciful to us, and forgive us. But forgiveness is not just a one way street or one-sided. The forgiveness we ask from God has got a clause in the fine-print, something which some of us may overlook, ignore or fail to observe.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us: “And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us… ‘Yes, if you forgive others their failings, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours; but if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failings either.'” We ask for forgiveness from God, but some of us find it so difficult or so hard to forgive others, due to our pride, prejudice, ego, or even our arrogance. Let us be humble and willing to forgive others, since God is loving and forgiving to all of us, regardless of who or what we are.

As Christians, we sometimes miss the point of what the commandments of God really mean. Some of us say that we love God “with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.” But some of us seem to forget that there is more to God’s commandments than just loving God. Loving God appears to be the easy part, but is that it? No. There is a second part and that is to “love your neighbour as yourself.” Are we aware of this and if so, are we really, truly and consistently loving God and neighbour?

In today’s Gospel, the scribe was quite impressed with Jesus’ reply and said: “‘Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true: that he is one and there is no other. To love him 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.” That is what the commandments are all about: loving God and loving neighbour. We cannot pick and choose, as we are required to love both God and neighbour completely. If we say that we love God, and have arguments or problems with our neighbour, then we are actually not really loving, since loving God and neighbour cannot be separated. After all, we are reminded in Genesis 1:26-27 that we are made in the image of God. This does not mean that we are gods, but that we are godlike or connected to God. So, if we say we love God, then we must love others, since loving others means we are loving God too. See the connection? That is why it is not so easy to love, since love involves both God and neighbour. Are we really loving then? Or have we been loving only when it is easy, beneficial or convenient to us?

Every once in a while, we come across people who claim that they are disciples or followers of Christ. But the fact is, are such people Christian only in name or are they really living fruitful lives as Christians? We can tell whether a person is really a Christian or not by the kind of fruits the person produces, since a person who is a Christian only in name would more often than not be living a life quite contrary to the values of the Gospel and the ways of Christ. We call such persons hypocrites, since they do not practice what they preach (or neglect or ignore what they learned about the Christian faith) and they do things only for show. Could some of us be guilty in this way?

In the Gospel, we come across Jesus cursing a fig tree which had no figs on it. Some of us may initially wonder whether Jesus was acting irrationally or weird, since the Gospel tells us that Jesus felt hungry and seemed annoyed that He could not find any figs, only leaves, since it was not the season for figs. However, if we look carefully at the text, we would discover that Jesus was actually using symbolic language to mean Israel, especially the scribes and Pharisees, who had so stubbornly held to their ways of doing things and their self-righteous behaviour and attitude, instead of repenting and returning to God’s ways. This point was further reinforced when Jesus “went into the Temple and began driving out those who were selling and buying there; he upset the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those who were selling pigeons. Nor would he allow anyone to carry anything through the Temple. And he taught them and said, ‘Does not scripture say: My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples? But you have turned it into a robbers’ den.'” Instead of changing their ways, the scribes and Pharisees began to plot to get rid of Jesus, because to them, their traditions and customs were more important to them than following God’s commandments. The Temple had become a place of profiteering and cheating, since buying and selling was being done there and many of those conducting such acts were more interested in making money, and not treating the Temple with proper reverence as the House of God. To make matters worse, the scribes, chief priests and Pharisees had no qualms about allowing such activities to continue and flourish in the Temple.

If we look at ourselves, have we in some way become like the scribes and Pharisees? Have we begun to stick only to our traditions and customs which we have formulated and followed, and set aside God’s commandments, which is to love God and love neighbour? What sort of fruits have we really been producing? Have we been like the fig tree, which produces fruit only according to season, and at other times we can behave and do as we please? Let us be mindful, lest we end up like the fig tree, withered to the roots; because of our pride, prejudice, selfishness, lack of forgiveness, and stubbornness; as well as our refusal to truly, consistently and wholeheartedly do all things for the glory of God.

How persistent and consistent are we in asking God for help? Some of us may have asked for help, but we doubt whether God is really listening or willing to help us. Some of us may have asked for help, but we become so easily discouraged when we do not get results quickly or the kind of results expected. Some of us even think that God is not going to help us anyway no matter how hard we try, and we go for other forms of help like witch doctors, shamans, feng shui, or even some form of divination, thinking that we would have a better chance of getting the help we want and expect. But when we have such attitude or do such things, would we certainly be helped? More often than not, we would end up disillusioned, disappointed and disgusted. So how should we seek help from God?

In today’s Gospel, we come across a blind beggar who was very determined to ask Jesus to heal him. Even though he was scolded and asked to keep quiet, he refused to give up. He shouted all the more louder, asking Jesus for help. When he was called to come to Jesus, notice in the Gospel that he threw off his cloak to go to Jesus. The cloak was his security, the only piece of clothing he had to warm himself, but even that he was willing to let go, so that he could get to Jesus. Because of his faith in Jesus, the blind beggar could see again, and what did he do? He followed Jesus along the road, for he had found new security and joy in Jesus.

What about us? Are we willing to let go of the many things we cling to which become like a cloak to us? Are we willing to cling to Jesus as our new security instead? Are we willing to have faith in Jesus so that he may heal us? Let us follow the example of the blind beggar who was healed because of his great faith in Jesus, and let us be patient, persistent and determined, knowing that Jesus will help us according to His time and for His glory.