Faithfulness and Love

Category Archives: Year 1

Monday of Week 26 Year 1

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What do you value most in life? Some people value fame, fortune, recognition, power, wealth, or popularity. Such people would make much effort to achieve what they value, because they want to be seen as the best, the smartest, or even the greatest. If we ponder for a moment, we could realise that we value these things mainly because we are proud of ourselves and are feeding our ego. But all these things that we value are only temporary. We cannot bring them with us when we die. Even while we are still alive, situations could cause us to lose these things; sometimes due to reasons beyond our control. Then what would happen then? What would we do?

In today’s Gospel, we are told: “An argument started between the disciples about which of them was the greatest. Jesus knew what thoughts were going through their minds, and he took a little child and set him by his side and then said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For the least among you all, that is the one who is great.'” Why would a little child be great? It is precisely because the child is docile and dependent on his or her parents, instead of trying to boost one’s ego. We too can be great, not because we are trying to feed our pride and ego, but because we are humbling ourselves and being dependent on God’s help and providence. We are also being great when all we do, we do it for the glory of God, and not for our personal gratification. The question is: are we only looking for greatness among others here on earth, greatness which is only temporary and will be forgotten or fade away? Or have we learnt not to be too concerned about greatness, and continue to do God’s will?

Friday of Week 25 Year 1

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When we associate with a leader, many of us would want to associate with a person who is destined to become even more important, or a person who has a great track record, or a person who is a winner, or even a person who can produce results which could benefit us. How many of us would associate ourselves with a person who is going to be mocked, persecuted or even put to death? According to the ways of the world, such a person is considered a loser or a person who would only bring disaster to us, and should be avoided at all cost. However, what do we Christians think a leader should be like?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us: “‘The Son of Man’ he said ‘is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death, and to be raised up on the third day.'” If we look at what Jesus just said from a worldly point of view, it certainly does not sound very exciting or wonderful, since such a leader would end up dead, and raised up on the third day? The world would laugh and claim that such a thing is impossible. But Jesus proved the world, and also us, that He did die and He rose again, as His purpose as a leader was not to gain recognition from the world, but to save us from our sins. The kind of leadership Jesus taught us is called a servant-leader, where we serve others, even to the point of death, not for our personal glory or gratification, but for the glory of God.

Today we as Christians are called by Jesus to follow His example and His leadership style. We are called to take up our cross and follow Him, for it is through Him that we receive the gift of salvation. Ultimately, we have a choice: to follow the ways of the world and its ideas of leadership, or to follow the ways of Christ, and let Him be our help and guide.

Thursday of Week 25 Year 1

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It is certainly an unpleasant feeling when we have done something wrong and we live in constant fear that what we had done would somehow come back to haunt us. Those who may have committed some serious sin would constantly be on the look out, be paranoid and worry that the truth may be revealed. But as the Malay saying goes: “Sepandai-pandai tupai melompat, akhirnya jatuh ke tanah juga.” Roughly translated into English, that would be: “No matter how clever the squirrel is able to hop or jump, it would eventually fall to the ground.” In other words, we can run but we cannot hide for long, since the truth could come back and hit us in some way.

In today’s Gospel, King Herod had respected and feared John the Baptist as a great prophet and servant of God. However, out of impulse and a desire to please his family and friends, King Herod had John beheaded.  Now his conscience is pricked when he hears that some think that the Baptist has risen.  As a result, King Herod wanted to see Jesus more out of curiosity, anxiety and fear than out of a sincere desire to know Jesus.

Are we living in constant fear? God’s grace frees us from the tyranny of fear and sin, and enables us to reject what is wrong and to choose to do what is good. May we be willing to walk in God’s ways, and remain free from any fear and anxiety while depending on His love and providence.

Wednesday of Week 25 Year 1

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If you suddenly discover that you have some urgent matter to accomplish, or some important assignment which would determine your grades in school or university, or some significant task which had been assigned to you and you had completely forgotten about it, what would you do? Surely you would frantically put in extra effort and work at a feverish pace, hoping to get the job done before the deadline comes. Some of us would even be willing to forgo meals, sleep and other things to gain extra time. But how many of us would do the same when it comes to proclaiming the Good News? Do we consider proclaiming the Good News urgent and important enough that we are willing to make sacrifices to accomplish such a task? Or have we become complacent, thinking that we have all the time in the world or we feel it is not that urgent?

In today’s Gospel, we are told: “Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. He said to them, ‘Take nothing for the journey: neither staff, nor haversack, nor bread, nor money; and let none of you take a spare tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there; and when you leave, let it be from there. As for those who do not welcome you, when you leave their town shake the dust from your feet as a sign to them.’ So they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the Good News and healing everywhere.”

Notice that Jesus instructed the Twelve to bring nothing for the journey, as He did not want them to be encumbered or burdened with things, and He wanted them to go forth in haste and urgency to preach the Good News and heal. If we are Christians, followers of Christ, shouldn’t we too be taking our task of preaching the Good News seriously? Or have we become comfortable with resting on our laurels, taking our time and enjoying life?

Tuesday of Week 25 Year 1

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Sometimes we come across people who try to throw their weight around and claim that they have a special relationship or friendship with the bishop or parish priest, especially if it involves blood or family relationship. Such people think that, just because they are related to the bishop or parish priest in some way, they have the right to demand certain benefits, special treatment, or perks. But as Christians, do we have a right to demand such things? What sort of attitude should we have?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us: “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice.” To Jesus, having a special friendship, relationship or even familial relationship with Him is not good enough. As Christians, we should not only hear God’s word, since anyone could do that and still not do anything. What is more important to Jesus is that we not just hear God’s word, but also act upon it. That is why we should not get caught up with mere relationships, no matter how close we may claim to be with Jesus, but we should be focusing more on hearing God’s word and sharing it with others.

Friday of Week 24 Year 1

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What is our purpose as Christians? Are we Christians because we want to serve God and serve others? Or have some of us become more and more interested only in serving ourselves? When we look at the church we are attending, is the church only interested in making money and the spiritual growth of the faithful is merely for show, limited or non-existent? Sometimes we could be guilty of putting a price on everything in the name of religion. For example, we have seen how some people have been duped into paying large sums of money to attend a healing rally organised by a so-called famous pastor who claims to be able to heal anyone, when Jesus did not enforce any charges for healing others. People gave out of the generosity of their hearts and not because they were being forced or cajoled to. Does the church we go to have this kind of attitude, where it is only all about money? Are we ourselves having such an attitude also? It is interesting to note that some people seem to think that they can pay their way to heaven, sort of like “cheap grace” where the more they contribute, the better the chances for them to reach heaven. Has our church and even some of us begun to have such thoughts?

In today’s reading, St. Paul reminds us sternly: “This is what you are to teach the brothers to believe and persuade them to do. Anyone who teaches anything different, and does not keep to the sound teaching which is that of our Lord Jesus Christ, the doctrine which is in accordance with true religion, is simply ignorant and must be full of self-conceit – with a craze for questioning everything and arguing about words. All that can come of this is jealousy, contention, abuse and wicked mistrust of one another; and unending disputes by people who are neither rational nor informed and imagine that religion is a way of making a profit. Religion, of course, does bring large profits, but only to those who are content with what they have. We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it; but as long as we have food and clothing, let us be content with that.”

This is where we have to honestly ask ourselves: are we a church only for the money? Sometimes we may discover that the church we go to could be only for the money, if the rich, influential and wealthy are well treated, but the poor, the marginalised, those who are not so well-off or even those who are struggling to make ends meet are given little or minimal attention. If the church we go to is treating people differently according to dollars and cents, then perhaps we should seriously consider whether that church is really a church of Jesus Christ at all.

Thursday of Week 24 Year 1

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As clergy, religious and lay persons who hold teaching positions in church, we hold a great responsibility. When we teach, we are teaching what the church teaches, not what we think and not our opinion. Sometimes we come across people who begin to divert from what the church teaches because they value what they think more than what is taught by the church for centuries. When we have this kind of attitude, we could be responsible for causing schism, where people begin to break away from the church to form their own, because they think their opinion is the correct one and all others are wrong.

That is why, St. Paul in today’s reading cautions us: “Take great care about what you do and what you teach; always do this, and in this way you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.” Having an opinion about something is fine, it is not wrong. But it becomes a problem when that opinion you have begins to cloud your mind and causes you to become convinced that the opinion is truth, even though it is merely your opinion and has not been verified and accepted by the church. Thus, let us be responsible in what we teach, and teach the truth, for no servant can be greater than the Master. If we teach our own stuff, are we trying to usurp our role and become the master instead?

Wednesday of Week 24 Year 1

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Every now and then, we come across people who are habitual liars. Such people cannot seem to speak the truth or say it as it is, due to some reason or another. People lie for many different reasons, among them include: to protect one’s skin, to safe face, to avoid work or certain tasks assigned to them, to gain some advantage in life, the list can go on. But no matter how hard we try to avoid the truth, the truth will one day surface. There is saying: “tell the truth and shame the devil,” and that saying should be taken to heart, since it is better to stay truthful than to live with lies and be constantly fearful, nervous and insecure.

In today’s reading, St. Paul reminds us: “I wanted you to know how people ought to behave in God’s family – that is, in the Church of the living God, which upholds the truth and keeps it safe.” When we live on the side of truth, we have no reason to fear or be high strung, since there is nothing for others to use as ammunition to blame us. The truth may hurt, but isn’t better for the hurt to be felt upfront, instead of the possibility of the hurt being felt for all eternity?

Friday of Week 23 Year 1

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It is easy for some of us to find fault with other people. Some of us begin to see only the imperfect or less desirable things about others, instead of acknowledging their strengths and capabilities. One reason why people look down upon others or only know how to find fault with others is because the person himself or herself is insecure and unwilling to come to terms with one’s own faults. So to try and cover up their own faults, the person would project such faults on others. But sometimes, the person’s own faults would be exposed, and when confronted, they may become even more insecure and agitated. Quite often, this stems from the fact that the person is too proud or egoistic or even having some sort of inferiority complex, making it difficult for the person to be humble enough to admit one’s faults and change for the better.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus admonishes us when He says: “Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, “Brother, let me take out the splinter that is in your eye,” when you cannot see the plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter that is in your brother’s eye.” Perhaps we should learn to be less proud and egoistic and learn to be more humble, so that we could learn to grow into better persons as we grow closer in relationship with God. Nobody is perfect and if we think we are perfect, then we may be like gods and we may think that we do not need God. Our pride and ego will not help us in the long run, so instead of trying so hard and remaining so stubborn in our present circumstances, let us be willing to let go and let God be our guide and help. After all, what good is all the pride and ego in the world to us, if it would only lead us to eternal ruin in the end?

Thursday of Week 23 Year 1

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Each and every one of us may have experienced conflict at some point of our lives. Sometimes the conflict could be a really small matter, nothing serious, and should be amicably resolved in short time. Sometimes the conflict could be of a more serious issue, and we may need more time to resolve it, but ultimately, we need to employ Christian charity and forgiveness, and not let such an issue blow out of proportion. As some of us may have heard, “let us not make a mountain out of a mole hill.” In other words, we should be courageous, kind, firm and forgiving in getting the conflict settled, instead of adding more fuel to the fire and making things worse.

In today’s reading, St. Paul reminds us: “You are God’s chosen race, his saints; he loves you, and you should be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same. Over all these clothes, to keep them together and complete them, put on love. And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this that you were called together as parts of one body. Always be thankful.”

We should remember that when we pray the Our Father or the Lord’s Prayer, we are also asking God to be our guide, our providence and also to forgive the many trespasses we may have committed. But at the same time, we too should do the same towards others, as St. Paul reminds us. Are we compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and loving enough to forgive and love others, just as God has forgiven us and loves us immensely?