Category Archives: Tuesday

Can a person be successful, wealthy, well-known, famous or admired by others, and stay humble at the same time? Yes, it is possible, but it is certainly not so easy to do so, since such success, wealth, fame and other achievements could cause people to so easily become proud and arrogant. We have seen time and again people behaving one way before they attained success, wealth, fame and other achievements, and behaving in quite a different way after that. However, things become serious when a person becomes so proud, conceited and arrogant, even to the point of thinking that one is a god.

In today’s reading, we come across the ruler of Tyre who became so bloated with pride, just because he had attained wealth and power. The prophet Ezekiel was sent to remind him and caution him not to be so proud, and that he was only a man, not a god. The reading does not tell us at this point what happened to the ruler of Tyre, but from different parts of scripture, we have come to know that people who are so proud and arrogant would later come to realise their folly, sometimes when it is a little too late. May we learn not to be so proud, arrogant and conceited, since all we have and all our achievements are from God, and what He has given us, He can take away. May we learn to remain humble and depend on Him, letting Him guide us so that in all we do, we would give Him the glory.

What does it mean to be great? Some of us may think that to be great, we must have lots of money and property. Some of us may think that to be great, we must be highly educated. Some of us may think that to be great, we must have lots of titles and honours. But what is greatness really?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus taught His disciples: “‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ So he called a little child to him and set the child in front of them. Then he said, ‘I tell you solemnly, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. And so, the one who makes himself as little as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'” Like little children, when we learn to be humble and depend on our Heavenly Father for His help, guidance and providence, then we are learning what greatness really means. We begin to realise that being great is not for ourselves, but for the glory of God. May we strive to do God’s will, and in all we do give God the glory.

When a parent punishes a child, the parent may use harsh words or raise the voice. Some parents, especially those who come from an older or traditional background, may resort to giving a little smack. Those of us who are older may remember our parents using the cane or rod to give us a little whack for being naughty or mischievous. But generally, our parents said or did such things not because they hated or despised us, they did so because they loved us and those methods of disciplining were the only ways known to them at that time. After all, we were born without a user manual, and our parents did what they thought was best for us.

In the same way, in today’s reading, God had been quite harsh to the Israelites because of their stubbornness, sin, iniquity and obstinate refusal to change. It took many punishments and suffering for the Israelites to learn their lesson, but God did so to help them realise that ultimately, He is the one and only God. Eventually, God even restored His people and said: “And you shall be my people, and I will be your God.”

What about us? When God punishes us for something we have done wrong, when we are reprimanded for sinning, will be be humble and docile in accepting such correction? We may feel pain and suffering at first, but by going through such correction, we may become better persons. Let us not feel dejected, since God is our help and guide, and all He does for us is for our own good.

When we are given a choice to do good or to do bad, what would we choose? We may say that the answer is obvious, that is, we would choose to do good. But sometimes we have people who persistently choose to do bad, despite being given much opportunities to change. Ultimately, our choices could lead to different consequences, some good, some bad.

Our spiritual life too are also full of choices. We could choose to grow faithfully, consistently and humbly closer to God, or we could choose to avoid God. In making effort to grow in relationship with God, we are allowing the good seed to be sown into our soul, as mentioned in today’s Gospel. When we sin and neglect or refuse to go for Confession, we may be sowing darnel into our soul. At the end, what would happen to us would depend on what we sow, either wheat or darnel in our soul. Ultimately, we choose what the outcome would be, depending on the way we lived our lives. Therefore, let us be prudent and make a choice. Whether we choose to live a life with God, or away from God, we should be prepared to face the rewards or consequences.

Some of us seem to think that “blood is thicker than water.” What that means is family members are more important than others, and one should do all one can to bring happiness, peace and prosperity to one’s immediate family. But what sort of attitude should us Christians have towards family? Of course we are reminded to honour our parents, as stipulated in the ten commandments. But is that all, or is there more to family?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus shows us that there is more to family than what we think. To Jesus, being family means “Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.” This means that as Christians, being a member of God’s family means doing God’s will. The question is, are we really doing God’s will? Are we loving and serving others with humility, for the glory of God? May we remain as part of God’s family, and help others to do the same.

It is certainly not easy remaining faithful as a Christian, especially when we are being tempted by the ways of the world, or we are facing some sort of trial or persecution. Some people take the easy way out and abandon their faith, preferring to save their skin. But time and again we have seen people who chose to persevere and suffer, even to the point of death. We venerate many of such persons as saints at different times throughout the liturgical calendar.

In today’s reading, God tells Ahaz, king of Judah: “Pay attention, keep calm, have no fear, do not let your heart sink…” This is because Jerusalem was under siege, and king Ahaz was fearful of being defeated and destroyed. But God assured him that this would not happen. However, God also reminded the Israelies: “But if you do not stand by me, you will not stand at all.” God can and will help us, just as He did for the Israelites, if we remain with Him, and let Him be our help and guide. Are we going to stand confident and steadfast, trusting in God’s providence?

God has given each and every one of us different gifts and talents. We do not have the exact same talent, since each talent is unique. But sometimes, we come across people who are not happy with their gift or talent, and they begin to get very jealous when other people seem to be better than them in a different way. When such people are jealous, they begin to say things or find ways to put other people down, but they sometimes do or say things which only end up making them look silly or stupid. Could some of us be guilty of such things?

In today’s Gospel, we come across the Pharisees who were extremely jealous of Jesus, because of what he said and did. Just because Jesus had cured a dumb demoniac, the Pharisees tried to put Jesus down by saying: “It is through the prince of devils that he casts out devils.” Now if we consider for a moment: isn’t such a statement stupid? Why would the devil cast out another devil? Surely the devil would join up with the other devil and the person would be worse off.

When we become jealous like the Pharisees, we may also end up like them by saying or doing silly or ridiculous things. May we take care not to become so incessantly jealous, since all gifts are from God, and we should rejoice when such gifts are used well for His glory.

Some of us may have heard of or used early warning devices, so that in case there is a serious problem or disaster emerging, we would be prepared and ready to either make a run for it, or take action to deal with the problem before it happens. For example, when a fire is detected, the sprinkers would activate to put out the fire before it gets worse. Also, if you live in a flood prone area, and the weather is showing signs of getting worse, you would likely make preparations to flee before the floods come. However, sometimes we get people who refuse to take notice of such early warnings, and they do so at their peril.

In today’s reading, the Israelites had an early warning system in the form of the prophets. In the reading, the prophet Amos had warned the Israelites to change their ways or face disaster, but the Israelites took no notice of the prophet Amos. As a result, the Israelites were in grave danger of being confronted with disaster and doom, as the prophet Amos said: “Israel, prepare to meet your God!”

What about us? Are we ignoring the signs around us? Have we allowed sin and the ways of the world to blind us and give us a false sense of security? May we not get caught off-guard when we are suddenly called to face the Lord, and risk losing our eternal reward.

There are times in life where we are threatened by certain persons or groups who say that if we do not join them or follow their ways, we would be persecuted or even exterminated, and according to them, there is nothing we can do to stop them. They seem to be so confident that we would give in or kow tow to their demands, just because they think that they have the power and strength to carry out their evil designs. But as we recall in many instances in Scripture, God has helped and intervened, and such persons end up eating humble pie.

In today’s reading, we come across one such person, the Assyrian king Sennacherib. He thought that, just because he had quite easily defeated the other nations, Jerusalem would have no chance to escape from imminent destruction at his hand. This is because Sennacherib thought that the God of the Israelites was worthless, just like the other gods who had failed to prevent other nations from being destroyed. But what Sennacherib failed to realise is that the other gods were idols, and that the God of the Israelites is the one, true God. In the end, it was Sennacherib who suffered a crushing and humiliating defeat, and the Israelites were saved, because the Israelites had put their faith and trust in God Almighty, the one true God.

What about us? Would we do the same as the Israelites did? Sometimes the situation seems hopeless and we appear to be on the verge of being wiped out. But let us not be disheartened or even despair, because God can help us if we trust Him and let Him do what is best. No matter what happens, may we remain steadfast and faithful to God, and give Him the glory.

As Christians, we are often reminded to conduct ourselves or behave or do things in ways very different or totally the opposite of what the world does. For example, we have seen how some people of the world would find ways and means, by hook or by crook, to gain an advantage over others; but as Christians, our goal ought to be towards being with the Lord. Being somebody or successful in the world ought to be not our main concern, but growing in relationship with God is.

Another example of how we Christians ought to be different is when it comes to enemies. No matter how kind or caring we are, no matter how much we have done, we are bound to have people who are not happy with what we say or do, for one reason or another. Some of such persons may even go to the extent of becoming our enemy, bending in finding ways and means to put us down or belittle us. But how do we respond to such persons?

The answer can be found in today’s Gospel: we are to love them just as God loves all of us, regardless of who we are and whether we have been good or bad. Not only that, we are also to pray for our enemies. Can you imagine loving and praying for them, especially when they have said and done so many nasty things towards us? Of course it is not easy, but Jesus is asking us to transcend from the ways of the world, where an eye for an eye and revenge is often used. Instead, we are to be loving, prayerful and merciful; just as God has been to us in many ways. May we learn to follow the ways of Christ, and love all just as God loves us all. Sometimes by doing so, we could cause our enemies to become friends, and show others what it really means to be a Christian.