Faithfulness and Love

Category Archives: Year 1

Wednesday of Week 32 Year 1

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Some of us may have heard of the phrase: “With great power comes great responsibility.” Such a phrase has great implications, since the power we hold is not to be used as one pleases, or to be used recklessly, but to be used in a responsible manner, for the good of all, and for the glory of God. Such responsibility is certainly not an easy or simple matter, and to be true and faithful in our conduct is not something we can accomplish on our own.We need to continuously depend on God’s help for strength and perserverence.

However, for those among us who abuse their positions, who think that we can do as we please, today’s reading warns: “power is a gift to you from the Lord, sovereignty is from the Most High; he himself will probe your acts and scrutinise your intentions… If, as administrators of his kingdom, you have not governed justly; nor observed the law, nor behaved as God would have you behave, he will fall on you swiftly and terribly. Ruthless judgement is reserved for the high and mighty; the lowly will be compassionately pardoned, the mighty will be mightily punished.”

Such warnings ought to remind us that we are to serve and not lord it over others. The question is: are we making efforts in humility to remain loyal, faithful and dependent on the Lord, or have we allowed ourselves to go astray? Are we aware and careful of the consequences of our actions, or have we become blind and deaf, refusing to admit any guilt or wrongdoing? May we come to realise the graveness of the responsibility entrusted upon us, and in all we say and do, give glory to God.

Tuesday of Week 32 Year 1

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When you are given a task or some responsibility, what is your motivation to do it? Some do the task because they see it as a means to impress others. Some do so to gain recognition and hopefully rewards. Some do so because they want to prove themselves and prove their abilities and capabilities. Some do so because they see it as part of their duty or job. But how many of us are willing to get the task done, without expecting recognition, reward or to show off for our own gratification?

In today’s Gospel we are reminded: “So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do, say, ‘We are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty.’” In whatever we do, are we doing things just to serve ourselves, or are we really serving the Lord? Let us always remember that all our abilities and talents are meant to give God the glory, not for our own selfish ends.

Monday of Week 32 Year 1

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Life is meant to be lived with simplicity and joy. But the problem that we get ourselves into is when we allow our lives to be complicated and cluttered with sins like hypocrisy, craftiness, being cunning or scheming, wanting things only our way, and so on. We begin to think and deceive ourselves that the sins we commit are not so serious, and that we have plenty of time to go for confession to remove such sins. But sin stains our soul, and the longer we take to have it removed, the harder it would be for us to remove the stain. Just as a stain on clothing would ruin the clothing, the stain of sin on our soul would ruin us and ruin our relationship with God.

In today’s reading, we are cautioned: “Wisdom will never make its way into a crafty soul nor stay in a body that is in debt to sin; the holy spirit of instruction shuns deceit, it stands aloof from reckless purposes, is taken aback when iniquity appears.” When we allow sins to fester in our soul, we lose our connection with God, for God and sin are incompatible. That is why, we should make every effort to have our sins removed by being regular in confession, and strive to “love virtue… let honesty prompt your thinking about the Lord, seek him in simplicity of heart; since he is to be found by those who do not put him to the test, he shows himself to those who do not distrust him.” Are we willing to take action and return to the Lord’s ways, before it is too late?

Friday of Week 31 Year 1

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What does it mean to be astute? Being astute means having or showing an ability to accurately assess situations or people and turn this to one’s advantage. People who are astute have or show shrewdness and discernment, especially with respect to one’s own concerns. This means that such persons know how to survive, and they know how to be creative and innovative when it comes to thinking of ways to make money, to get well connected with the influential and powerful and to be well-off.

In today’s Gospel, we come across the parable of the dishonest steward. In this parable, the master praised the dishonest steward not for his dishonesty, but for his astuteness. Jesus seemed to be making a lament when He said that the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than the children of light. Why so? Because, we sometimes end up neglecting our spiritual growth and relationship with God, and our hearts become divided between the needs of the world, and our efforts to grow in holiness, whereas the children of this world seem focused and determined in making it big in worldly affairs. May we learn to be astute, especially in spiritual matters, for the glory of God and for our eternal future.

Wednesday of Week 31 Year 1

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Are we as a society becoming more and more apathetic (which means showing or feeling no interest, enthusiasm, or concern) towards others? If we look around us today, how many of us really do care about others? For example, how many of us would stop if we see somebody in need of help by the road because of a vehicle breakdown or an accident? Or how many of us would be friendly and neighbourly to others in our housing area? What about in church? Do we make effort to get to know others around us, especially newcomers and strangers?

In today’s reading, St. Paul reminds us: “All the commandments… are summed up in this single command: You must love your neighbour as yourself. Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbour; that is why it is the answer to every one of the commandments.” If we claim to have love for others, then we have no excuse and no reason to be apathetic towards others. This is because if we remain apathetic, then we are not really loving after all, and are merely concerned about ourselves, our needs and perhaps the needs of our loved ones. Are we willing to come out of our apathetic attitude and behaviour, and truly love just as God loves us all?

Tuesday of Week 31 Year 1

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As Christians, we should be charitable and hospitable to all, not just our friends. But when we go to church, how many of us would actually make effort or go through the trouble to look around and see if there are any strangers or newcomers especially inside the church or near the church entrance? Do we make our church a place where all are welcomed? Do we recognise the persons around us, or even the strangers in our midst, and be friendly and welcoming to them? Or do we only stick to our cliques, our family or friends? What about our housing area? Are we friendly and neighbourly to at least the houses near us? Or have we become so suspicious of persons, even neighbours, that we keep to ourselves and not have anything to do with them?

In today’s reading, St. Paul reminds us: “Do not let your love be a pretense, but sincerely prefer good to evil. Love each other as much as brothers should, and have a profound respect for each other. Work for the Lord with untiring effort and with great earnestness of spirit. If you have hope, this will make you cheerful. Do not give up if trials come; and keep on praying. If any of the saints are in need you must share with them; and you should make hospitality your special care.”

Some of us may think that being welcoming and hospitable to others, especially strangers and newcomers, is responsibility of the hospitality ministers. But if we consider ourselves brothers and sisters in Christ, sons and daughters of God, then shouldn’t being welcoming and hospitable to others be our responsibility and duty also? What about our neighbours in our housing area? Shouldn’t we be hospitable and neighbourly to them too? Are we reserved and inward looking as Christians, or have we learnt to come out of our comfort zone, and reach out to others with love, care, concern, and compassion, bringing the joy of Christ to all through our words and actions?

Monday of Week 31 Year 1

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Could we ever understand why certain things happen in life? For example, could we ever understand at what point a child is conceived? Some couples would have tried for weeks, months or even years to have a child, and still have no success. Yet some couples are able to have children so easily. Also, could we ever understand why certain people have been inflicted with certain illnesses? Some of us may claim that our genes and family background could play a part, but we are only speculating, since there have also been cases where persons had no issues in their family history and they had been living as healthily as possible, could still be stricken with certain illnesses.

In today’s reading, we are reminded: “How rich are the depths of God – how deep his wisdom and knowledge – and how impossible to penetrate his motives or understand his methods! Who could ever know the mind of the Lord? Who could ever be his counsellor? Who could ever give him anything or lend him anything?” If we cannot even understand why many things happen on earth, then how are we able to understand God? We could get some glimpses of who God is, but ultimately, it all bears down to faith, trust and joyful obedience. When we learn to have more faith and trust in God, even if we do not understand why certain things happen does not matter that much, since things happen for a purpose, for His glory.

Friday of Week 30 Year 1

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Extremism can come in many forms, and these days, we see more and more of religious extremism and intolerance happening. Extremists give the religion a bad name, since what they do and their way of thinking is actually distorted and diverted from what is the actual teaching of the particular religion. Such people take simple and straightforward teaching and make it complicated and radical. Sometimes, such extremists do such things to draw attention to themselves, and to attract especially the young to join their cause.

In today’s Gospel, we come across a bunch of extremists who are the lawyers and the Pharisees. These folks held an extreme view, among many things, about keeping the sabbath. To them, keeping the sabbath means absolutely no work can be done, not even good deeds. But Jesus caught them in an embarassing situation when He said: “‘Which of you here, if his son falls into a well, or his ox, will not pull him out on a sabbath day without hesitation?’ And to this they could find no answer.”

When we are dealing with extremists, their minds are so warped and they have become so stubborn and obstinate, that even doing good and merciful acts are prohibited. This is why the lawyers and Pharisees could not and dared not answer Jesus’ challenge, since they would be conflicting their absurd position if they were to agree that such a good or merciful deed is permissable and commendable. What about us? Are some of us extremists in one way or another? Have we put people off or caused disharmony in our community with our extreme views through our behaviour, attitude and conduct? Let us do away with such extreme views, so that we may learn to live and love according to the ways of the Lord once again.

Tuesday of Week 30 Year 1

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Every once in a while, we come across people who think that their salvation is already guaranteed. Such persons think that their “saved” status can never be revoked, no matter what they have said or done. Some have even claimed that only a certain number of people would be saved, and they conveniently misquote scripture to support their views. But what is a Christian understanding of salvation? Are we really saved or not?

In today’s reading, St. Paul reminds us: “For we must be content to hope that we shall be saved – our salvation is not in sight, we should not have to be hoping for it if it were – but, as I say, we must hope to be saved since we are not saved yet – it is something we must wait for with patience.” What does this mean to us? It means that we still need to continue living good Christian lives, as we await our hope for salvation. It also means that we cannot do as we please, thinking that we can get away with it, expecting to still be saved when what we have done is against God’s commandments. May we be consistent with our behaviour, conduct and attitude, as we await our hope for salvation, and inspire others to do the same.

Monday of Week 30 Year 1

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If you have a heart attack and you need to get to the hospital quickly for treatment, and the day when your heart attack happened is on the sabbath, would you go to the hospital quickly as planned, or would you say, “It’s the sabbath, so I will go the next day”? Or if your house is on fire and you need to rescue your family, but the fire is raging on the Sabbath, would you go ahead and rescue your family? Or would you say: “Oh no! It’s the Sabbath. I will rescue the family tomorrow.”? Or supposing it is the sabbath and your son has been bitten by a snake, and he will die if you do not bring him to the hospital quickly for immediate treatment, would you still insist that it is the sabbath, and you would rather observe the sabbath come what may, even if it means your son will die?

These examples and many more show us the hypocrisy and absurdness of the synagogue official and the Pharisees in today’s Gospel, when it comes to observing the sabbath. Common sense would tell us that we should take action and perform works of mercy and do good things on the sabbath, since lives are in mortal danger as can be seen in the examples above. And yet, the synagogue official and the Pharisees could be still covered with confusion when such emergencies happen. What does this show us? It shows that the synagogue official and the Pharisees have become so distorted and extreme in their thinking, that it is illegal or sinful to be merciful, loving and compassionate even on the sabbath.

If we look at ourselves, have some of us become like the synagogue official and Pharisees? Are we washing our hands of our responsibilities as Christians, when there is an emergency or great need for help on the Lord’s Day? May we come to realise the real and true meaning of the sabbath, and in all we say and do, give glory to God.