Category Archives: Wednesday

Just imagine for moment you are in a room full of so-called priests who believe that their god is true and all-powerful, how would you feel and respond? Some of us would feel quite uncomfortable and may even begin to wonder whether we are in the “wrong crowd” so to speak. Some of us may fear for our lives, and some may even go to the extent of joining those so-called priests, just to save their skin. How many of us would stick to our guns, stay committed and steadfast to our faith, and let God deal with the situation, even if it means that we may face persecution, ridicule, or even death?

In today’s reading, the prophet Elijah faced a precarious situation where he was confronted with 450 priests of Baal. Even though Elijah was clearly outnumbered, he also knew that he had God on his side. With confidence and trust, he challenged the priests of Baal to implore their so-called god to send down fire to burn the holocaust. In the end, it was the priests of Baal who lost the battle and had to eat humble pie, as the bull they prepared was left untouched, whereas on Elijah’s side, “the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the holocaust and wood and licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this they fell on their faces. ‘The Lord is God,’ they cried, ‘the Lord is God.’”

What about us? Would we become so easily disheartened or worried when we seem to face incredible odds? Or would we be like Elijah, knowing and trusting in God’s providence? May we not let ourselves falter from our faith, remain steadfast, and know that God would help us according to His terms and for is glory.

I find it interesting and baffling how certain persons can be so particular about what is clean and what is unclean when it comes to certain matters, and yet remain clueless or indifferent when it comes to other matters. For example, such persons can be so particular about certain types of food that can be eaten, even to the point where certain commercial establishments have even gone to the extent of changing the name of a food item, just because the name of the food item appears to contain the name of a certain animal or a certain beverage which is supposingly unclean to certain groups. On the other hand, such persons seem clueless or indifferent when it comes to unjust deeds, corruption and other unfair practices which are happening around them.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is telling us that we should be more concerned about words and actions which comes out of us that makes us unclean, instead of being petty about what we eat or drink, or even the kind of name given to what we eat and drink. In the Gospel, Jesus reminds us that “It is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean. For it is from within, from men’s hearts, that evil intentions emerge: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within and make a man unclean.” Such words and actions which come out of us not only causes us to be unclean physically, such words and actions also affect us spiritually. Thus, let us open our eyes and hearts, and realise what really matters when it comes to cleanliness, and remain clean in the sight of God.

The Word of God is like soil, special nourishment which enables our soul to grow so that we could bear good fruit. But for us to benefit from the Word of God, we need to examine ourselves and change our ways, so that we would benefit from such special nourishment. Today’s Gospel speaks about seeds falling on different types of environments with different soil conditions. Each environment could be linked to our condition and the condition of our soul.

The first environment (edge of the path) is like people who are not the least bit interested in the Word of God. They come late for Mass, or sometimes come only for certain major occasions like Christmas and Easter. These people seem more interested in other things and come to church just to fulfil the Sunday obligation (with great difficulty at times). The second environment (patches of rock with little soil) is like people who have superficial or shallow faith. They select only bits and pieces of the Word of God which suit them, while avoiding or ignoring those parts which are unpleasant or that which they think are not relevant to them. When some challenge occurs or when they face some difficulty, their faith withers away.

The third environment (among thorns) is like people who listen and accept the Word of God, but so many other things, worries, pressures and distractions cause them to lose focus. As a result, they feel as if God has abandoned them and they fall away, when in actuality, it is they who have abandoned God. They lack trust, perseverance and patience to press on and finish the race. I suppose many of us hope and pray that we will be like the fourth environment, where we gain access to rich soil. People who are in this fourth environment thrive and flourish, producing good fruit and giving glory to God.

So which environment are we presently in? Are we stuck in a particular environment? With God’s Grace and providence, we can make effort and do our part to make a change and begin producing good fruit. Let us not delay or procrastinate any longer. and let the rich soil from God transform us into something better, for His glory.

Being a Christian is not easy, since there are many things we believe in and practice which are in contrast with the ways of the world. When we persist in doing things which are in contrast with the ways of the world, even though what we are doing is right and just, we may face persecution, condemnation or even the possibility of death. What is even more painful is when those who are against us, or are persecuting us, are from our friends and families, who have chosen to conform to the ways of the world. As Christians, when we are faced with such persecution, what do we do and how should we respond?

In today’s Gospel Jesus tells us: “Men will seize you and persecute you; they will hand you over to the synagogues and to imprisonment, and bring you before kings and governors because of my name – and that will be your opportunity to bear witness… You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relations and friends; and some of you will be put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name, but not a hair of your head will be lost. Your endurance will win you your lives.” The key points we can gather from the Gospel is that we have an opportunity to bear witness as Christians,  and that our endurance will win us our lives. May we not try to save our skin, give up or abandon our faith in the face of persecution, but remain steadfast and committed, knowing that God will be our help and guide.

I believe most people would not want to be associated with evil. However, our negligence and failure to take action may lead us towards sin and evil. For example, we neglect to be loving and charitable towards others, we think only about ourselves, we allow pride and our ego to get the better of us, we steal or kill either directly or indirectly because we desire something which we want but cannot easily have, or we are unable or refuse to forgive others. When we do these things and more, we may be dragging ourselves on a path towards evil.

In today’s reading, St. Paul reminds and cautions us: “You must not let sin reign in your mortal bodies or command your obedience to bodily passions, you must not let any part of your body turn into an unholy weapon fighting on the side of sin; you should, instead, offer yourselves to God, and consider yourselves dead men brought back to life; you should make every part of your body into a weapon fighting on the side of God; and then sin will no longer dominate your life, since you are living by grace and not by law.”

It seems challenging and difficult, humanly speaking, to overcome evil, because the ways of the world tempts us with so many attractions. But this is not an excuse for us to give up or despair, since we are helped by God’s grace, and when we go for confession regularly, we are actually making effort to keep our soul clean. May we make every effort to change our ways, our attitudes and our behaviour, and fight on the side of God, for our eternal future.