Category Archives: Wednesday

In today’s Gospel, we are told that being merely a member or follower of Jesus does not automatically mean we will enter God’s Kingdom. Also, being acquaintances to Jesus does not automatically qualify us to share eternal life with Him. Besides that, Jesus reminds us that calling on the name of the Lord, ‘Lord, Lord,’ is not enough to enter the kingdom of heaven but listening and then doing God’s will is a necessity. Moreover, Jesus asserts that many from the gentile nations will enter God’s kingdom. God’s invitation to salvation is open to Jew and Gentile alike. People whom we never thought or expect to be in the Kingdom of heaven, will be there.

What does this mean to us? It means that entering into God’s Kingdom is not an automatic or guaranteed thing. It also means that being a member or follower of Jesus or even an acquaintance to Jesus does not mean that we are entitled to Heaven. Instead, we must struggle against the forces of temptation and whatever which would hinder us from doing His will like apathy, indifference, and compromise. Do we trust in God’s grace and help especially in times of testing and temptation, with hope that with His help and guidance, we would be with Him?

Being a follower of Jesus is not so easy. Some people think that we can follow Jesus and live our lives as before, but the reality is that there are times we would be faced with difficult decision of whether we want to follow Jesus completely and faithfully, or we only follow Him when it is convenient to us. For example, we claim to follow Jesus, but if we answer God’s call to serve as a missionary in a foreign land where it may be difficult for us to return home, we may have to sacrifice being with our family in their time of need, such as an illness or even death. Also, there may be situations where we may have to go against our family’s demands, especially if such demands go against the teachings of Jesus. When faced with such difficult situations, would we still be able to follow Jesus?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us that following Him comes at a cost and sometimes the cost can be quite high, heavy or challenging to bear. We should be ready to give up everything we hold so dear, take up our cross and follow Him. This includes having to be detached from people and things, so that we could be free to do God’s will. Would we be willing to surrender all to follow Jesus, or have we become so attached to persons and things around us, so much so that such persons and things have become obstacles preventing us from becoming true disciples of Jesus? When we sing: “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back,” do we really mean what we sing?

Learning a new language could be a challenging experience, especially if one is learning the language as an adult. At times, the language itself could be, by nature, difficult to learn; or it could contain words specific to a certain gender, making it a challenge to know when and how to switch the words according to the gender. Because of this, we sometimes could end up seeing stars, or are in a daze, when we are struggling to pick up the basics of the language. However, after a while, we begin to get a hang of it and we may soon find ourselves becoming more and more proficient in the language.

In today’s Gospel, the disciples who were following Jesus were dazed and were apprehensive. They had heard a lot of heavy teaching from Jesus about the cost of following Him, about persecutions and about service. What Jesus had been teaching the disciples is a different kind of language – the language of love and service. At first, the disciples could not comprehend what Jesus was constantly trying to teach them, since the language of love is not so straightforward. But eventually, they began to get a hang of it, and became more and more proficient in the language.

What about us? Have we become more proficient in the language of love? Are we able to communicate the language of love in the same way and manner Jesus taught His disciples and also us? May we make effort to get a good understanding of the language of love, practice it constantly, and encourage others to do the same, while giving glory to God.

I believe each of us, at some point of our lives, would have done something wrong to another person, or another person would have done something wrong towards us. When a person has done something wrong towards us, how do we respond? Do we try to deal with the issue in a gradual and amicable way? Or do we go straight away to higher ups, and demand that such higher ups deal with the person? What about if we are the ones who have done something wrong towards others? Would we be humble and willing to make amends, talk things through, seek forgiveness, and move on?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus said, “If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you: the evidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain any charge. But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a pagan or a tax collector.”

As you can see, dealing with another person who has done something wrong is not an easy or quick matter. It requires patience, persistence, firmness, compassion and mercy towards the other person, instead of taking the easy way out, wash our hands off any effort to dialogue with the person, and get higher ups involved to “kena” or “give it nicely” to the other person. We ought to be against the wrongdoing, not the wrongdoer, and try to help the other person grow and change for the better, instead of belittling or humiliating the other person, possibly to boost our pride and ego. Have we been charitable and loving towards those who have wronged us?

When we say something, are we saying things based on our perception, feelings or emotions, without verifying the facts? Are we aware of what we are saying, or are we blindly saying things? Do we realise that words, once said, cannot be taken back?

In today’s reading, we are cautioned to “be quick to listen but slow to speak and slow to rouse your temper; God’s righteousness is never served by man’s anger.” God gave us two ears and one tongue, possibly to remind us that we should listen carefully and speak only when necessary. since sometimes we end up saying more than we should. Sometimes we say faster than we think, and that could only make us look foolish at the end. May we use words with caution, and use words for the glory of God.

A man was riding his motorcycle along the highway, when all of a sudden, he lost control of his motorcycle and met with an accident, which left him near dead. He ended up in a hospital in a coma, in a vegetative state. He had a girlfriend whom he had planned to marry, and despite the doctor’s advice that the man may eventually die, the girlfriend chose to give up her job and her time to nurse him, with hope that he would some day recover. For several months, there seemed to be no response from the man, but the girlfriend did not give up. Slowly, some signs began to appear, as the man gradually was able to move his eyes, then he began to try to speak, and after much care and love, he was able to walk. It was a miraculous and joyful moment, when the man was eventually united with his girlfriend in marriage.

What the girlfriend went through and did for the man, is what the spirit would do for us in today’s reading. In the reading, “The Spirit comes to help us in our weakness. For when we cannot choose words in order to pray properly, the Spirit himself expresses our plea in a way that could never be put into words, and God who knows everything in our hearts knows perfectly well what he means, and that the pleas of the saints expressed by the Spirit are according to the mind of God.” Even though the situation initially seemed helpless and hopeless, the man was able to make a reasonably good recovery with tremendous help from his girlfriend. Likewise, even though we may have experienced some sort of helpless and hopeless situation, the Spirit would help us recover and move on. Are we willing to have much trust and faith in the Spirit, and let Him be our help and guide?

Every once in a while, I get someone coming to me for confession, but all they are saying is what others have done wrong, and they seem blameless. But are such persons really faultless, or are such persons merely being self-righteous and judgemental towards others? Some of us still fail to realise that all of us are human, and we may not know the full facts or details. Thus, why do we still insist in looking at or judging others with coloured eyes?

In today’s reading, St. Paul warns us: “No matter who you are, if you pass judgement you have no excuse. In judging others you condemn yourself, since you behave no differently from those you judge. We know that God condemns that sort of behaviour impartially: and when you judge those who behave like this while you are doing exactly the same, do you think you will escape God’s judgement? Or are you abusing his abundant goodness, patience and toleration, not realising that this goodness of God is meant to lead you to repentance?”

When we judge others, even though we may have at some point of time done the same thing as what others have done, we are merely being hypocrites. May we be humble enough to admit our own failings, and learn to be compassionate and encouraging towards others, instead of trying to be self-righteous and judgmental.

It is easy for many of us to seek forgiveness from God, especially when we have committed sin or wrong doing. Some of us make it a point to go for confession, asking God to forgive our sins and we have trust and confidence that He would do so. But what about when it comes to others who have sinned against us? Are we just as forgiving towards others, just as we ask God to be forgiving towards us? Do we expect forgiveness only from God, and remain vengeful towards others or even shun them?

In today’s Gospel, we are reminded: “and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive each one who is in debt to us.” This means that forgiveness is not a one way street, where we expect forgiveness from God, but we can ignore others, or remain vengeful, or dwell in hurt towards others. Forgiveness, rather, works both ways, where we are expected to forgive others, just as we expect God’s forgiveness. Are we willing to make forgiving a habit, and forgive others just as God forgives us?

Some of us go to great extent to achieve or attain something of great value or significance to us. For example, some are willing to pay huge sums of money to buy a piece of land, which we think would later increase tremendously in value, and enable us to rake in a tidy profit when we sell the land. Some are very attracted to a significant other, and would try all ways and means to woo the person’s heart, with hope the person would one day become one’s spouse. Some are willing to sacrifice much time and money to earn a degree, hoping that such a degree would enable one to attain better job prospects and better standard of living.

But when it comes to attaining admittance to the Kingdom of God, and remaining with God for all eternity, how many of us see great value in that? In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of God is like treasure hidden in a field, or even a fine pearl of great value. If the Kingdom of God is so much more valuable than anything we desire or hope to attain on earth, then how many of us are willing to make effort and sacrifices to attain it? May we come to realise what is truly valuable to us in the end, and make more effort in attaining what is permanent or eternal.