For your easy reference, the following is a list of weeks and years with their corresponding date:
26 July 2015 – 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
27 July 2015 – Monday of Week 17 Year 1
28 July 2015 – Tuesday of Week 17 Year 1
29 July 2015 – St. Martha, Memorial
30 July 2015 – Thursday of Week 17 Year 1
31 July 2015 – Friday of Week 17 Year 1
Supposing one day your parish priest gets transferred to another parish, and you are to receive a new parish priest. Or supposing a religious sister who has been working with the parish community for years is transferred elsewhere and a new religious sister is coming to take her place. Would you be excited or anxious? Perhaps some of us may be quite excited about the prospect of working with “new blood” or with a different style of leadership. Some of us may be somewhat anxious, since we have not received news about who is coming to succeed the parish priest or the religious sister. Then the day comes, and guess who has come to take over? A son or daughter of the parish, that is, someone whose origins are from the parish he or she is now being posted to. What happens then? Some people may be become quite disappointed. Some may begin to feel resentment and frustration that the bishop or superior seems to have “played them out” so to speak, by sending someone they are familiar with, perhaps too familiar with.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us: “‘A prophet is only despised in his own country and in his own house’, and he did not work many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” The people did not accept Jesus because he was a son of that community, people there thought they knew Him too well, and they already had preconceived opinions and ideas about Him. Their hearts were closed and they did not think Jesus had anything to offer them. As a result, they had rejected Jesus upfront, without even giving Him a chance to help and guide them.
Some of us too may have this attitude problem. Some of us think that a son or daughter of the parish is just not good enough to be our shepherd and guide. We know that we are short of vocations, and yet when we have a son or daughter of the parish in our midst, our preconceived ideas and opinions surface and rear their ugly heads, making it difficult for some to accept a familiar face. The question is: are we willing and docile enough to change our attitude and work with the son or daughter of the parish? Who knows, he or she may turn out to be an amazing and loving shepherd and guide. May we be willing to let go of our coloured vision and journey together even with someone we are familiar with, for God can use him or her as an instrument to transform the parish into something better.
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.
Some of us seem to be looking for quick solutions or instant gratification in this world. Some of us may become increasingly impatient when we do not get what we want or achieve what we desire. This could lead us to commit sin, especially when the options we think are open to us involve acts or practices which are wicked, mean, sinful or illegal. Some of us may have gone ahead and committed sin, because we allowed our pride and ego to take control of us. As we continue to try and satisfy our desires, we may find that we have drifted further and further away from God. But God is ever patient. He is constantly calling us to return to Him. In spite of the many sins we may have committed, God is willing to take us back if we are willing to repent, seek forgiveness and change our ways. The question is: are we allowing ourselves to be consumed by our pride and ego, or are we willing to let go and let God take control?
In today’s Gospel, we come across an explanation of the parable about the darnel. Jesus had cautioned us: “Just as the darnel is gathered up and burnt in the fire, so it will be at the end of time. The Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that provoke offences and all who do evil, and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Then the virtuous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Listen, anyone who has ears!” Have we become more and more worldly and committed all sorts of evil or offences to satisfy our desires, and feed our ego and pride? Are we refusing to change our ways and remain like the darnel, only to face eternal damnation at the end? God is ever patient and merciful, and He is waiting for us to turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel. It is up to us to make the decision to change, and do our utmost best to avoid any occasion of sin, with the help of God.
Some of us may have felt quite insecure as babies, toddlers or young children, when our parents were not around, even for a short moment. When our parents were not nearby even for a short moment, some of us may get into trouble or danger, and our parents would end up having to run and rescue us from our predicament. When we went to school or kindergarten for the first time, some of us may have created a scene and were reluctant to let go of mum (in some cases, even dad), and we would be bawling away. Actually, our parents were still around but in our mind, we may have been fearful and feeling insecure, thinking that they had abandoned us. It must have been quite stressful for our parents to have to put up with our behaviour during those early years. Fortunately, we would have eventually grown out of such fear and learnt to carry on without having to have our parents being present or keeping an eye on us all the time.
In today’s reading, we come across the sons of Israel who were behaving like babies, toddlers or young children. Just because Moses was not around for a moment, the sons of Israel thought that Moses and even God had abandoned them and they became increasingly worried and insecure. This made them make a gold calf to be their god to go at their head. Of course, their idolatry was inexcusable, and Moses had to plead with God on their behalf. Moses certainly was like a parent, frazzled with such attitude and behaviour among the sons of Israel, and yet, God was still merciful and continued to guide them.
Sometimes we may have been impatient, felt insecure, and feared being abandoned by God, especially when we are experiencing difficulties, persecution or even the possibility of death. But let us not despair or go off seeking other forms of help or even other so called gods, for God can and will help us. It is a question of whether we are willing to have full trust in God and be patient, humble and willing to let God take care of us, according to His time and for His glory.
For your easy reference, the following is a list of weeks and years with their corresponding date:
19 July 2015 – 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
20 July 2015 – Monday of Week 16 Year 1
21 July 2015 – Tuesday of Week 16 Year 1
22 July 2015 – St. Mary Magdalene, Memorial
23 July 2015 – Thursday of Week 16 Year 1
24 July 2015 – Friday of Week 16 Year 1
As children, we would have learnt about the ten commandments at some point of our lives at Religious Education or catechism classes. Our teachers may have come up with creative ways for us to try and remember the ten commandments by heart, and many of us would have been able to recite the ten commandments with ease after a while. But did we understand what we were reciting? Perhaps to some degree, but as we grew older, some of us may have begun to forget the ten commandments.
In today’s reading, we are reminded once again of the ten commandments. Jesus summarised the ten commandments to two: love God and love neighbour. For many of us, loving God seems easier as we do not need to deal with Him directly face to face. But Jesus has also reminded us that we cannot love God if we do not love our neighbour. Loving our neighbour is certainly not easy, especially since we often encounter difficult people, or people who have hurt us or have been hurt by us, or people who seem so unlovable. But if we consider and ponder for a while, Jesus came and died on the cross for all of us and to save us from our sins. That is why we need to be constantly reminded of how we should live our lives by observing faithfully the ten commandments, which is basically the law of love. Are we able to put aside our pride, ego, self-centredness and selfish ways, and love all, God and neighbour alike, the way God loves us all?
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.
Some people seem to think that being related to a priest or a bishop gives them the right to demand special treatment or certain privileges. Just because such people are either the parents, sibling or related to the priest or bishop in some way, they think that others must kow tow to them or satisfy their demands. Some of such people even have the gall to threaten others by claiming that if their demands are not met, or if they don’t get the treatment they think they deserve, then they would complain to the priest or bishop, thinking that the priest or bishop would entertain their complaint. But is this the kind of “relationship” that Jesus expects of us?
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is reminding us that having a relationship with Him is more than just familial or blood-relationship. In the Gospel, He says: “‘Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?’ And stretching out his hand towards his disciples he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.'” Are we claiming “relationship” with Jesus only in name, while we lord it over others? Or have we learnt to be humble and do the will of God?
Some people can never be satisfied or content, no matter how much you have done for them. Give them an inch, and they demand a yard; pacify them by giving in to some of their demands, and they may try to take away more if given the slightest opportunity. Such people are impossible to please, since whatever they are given is never enough, and there may seem to be no end to their demands. Could some of us fall into the category of such people?
In today’s reading, we come across the Israelites who are classic examples of such people. The Israelites had been rescued out of Egypt by God. God had provided for them and protected them but when they discovered that the Egyptians were in pursuit of them, they began to doubt God’s sincerity, despite all He had done for them so far. The Israelites were terrified and cried out to the Lord, and even had the gall to say to Moses:”‘Were there no graves in Egypt that you must lead us out to die in the wilderness? What good have you done us, bringing us out of Egypt? We spoke of this in Egypt, did we not? Leave us alone, we said, we would rather work for the Egyptians! Better to work for the Egyptians than die in the wilderness!” But did God get angry or fed up with these Israelites? No. He still continued to rescue them even though they were ungrateful and difficult to satisfy.
What about us? Have we been so stubborn and unsatisfied, no matter what God has done for us? Or have we so easily lost patience towards others, preferring to wash our hands off them instead of being patient and persistent towards them, just like God has been patient and persistent towards us? God did not abandon the Israelites and continued to care and provide for them. In the same way, God has not abandoned us, no matter how difficult, dire or dangerous the situation we may be in. Are we willing and humble enough to continue trusting in God and let Him care for us?
