Category Archives: Year A

When we look at our identity, what comes to mind? Some think that identity means the name given to us. Others think that identity refers to our status or popularity. But what is our identity? Who are we really? We are, as the First Reading reminds us, “a kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation.” Such an identity may make us feel great or even proud. But the reality is that this identity is given to us not merely as an honour, or to “syiok sendiri” or a privilege. This identity is given to us with terms and conditions: it comes with responsibility and mission. In today’s Gospel, we are called by Jesus to take up responsibility and mission and become the labourers in his vineyard: “The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.” Notice that we are called to become labourers in his vineyard, and this means each and every one of us are called, not just the priests and the religious.

When it comes to receiving titles and positions such as a Datuk, or Tan Sri, or even Tun, many of us are more than happy to do so. Many of us are also more than happy to receive other peoples’ respect and honour. But how many of us are actually prepared and willing to volunteer ourselves for the work that needs to be done? When the parish or the priests ask for volunteers; when we ask for support from parishioners, how many of us are willing to come forward and help? It seems as if many of us may be proud to be called a Catholic, or proud to be known as a son or daughter of God. But how many of us are prepared and willing to take up the challenge and responsibility of the mission, to be sent as labourers to his harvest? There are people who are always ready to complain and criticise, saying: this is bad; or that is bad, or this is how it ought to be done. There are people who easily give all sorts of suggestions: why don’t we do this or that? But how many people are prepared to do the carry out the tasks or mission, seeing it through with gusto and enthusiasm?

Jesus in today’s Gospel challenges us to participate in his mission to build up God’s kingdom: “to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.” When we work for Christ, we should not expect anything in return, such as praise, honour, or even benefits. In fact, we often receive criticism and some of us may even face persecution or even be put to death. Jesus in today’s Gospel also tells us: “You received without charge, give without charge.” Are we prepared to take up this challenge? Are we willing to be sent as labourers to his harvest?

From a young age, we were constantly taught and reminded to be strong and stand up for our rights. We were exposed to an environment where we must be the best, never lose out, be aggressive so that we protect what we think is rightfully ours, and to be rough and tough to prevent others from taking advantage of us. All these things taught us to be “wise” in worldly affairs, so that we would be able to live and prosper in this world.

However, today’s Gospel paints us a different set of values: the values of the Kingdom or the beatitudes. Instead of being the best, never lose out, aggressive, rough and tough; the Gospel tells us: “Happy are the poor in spirit; happy the gentle; happy those who mourn; happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right; happy the merciful, happy the pure in heart, happy the peacemakers, happy the persecuted.” It seems as if it is the weak, the powerless, the gentle and the ones who patiently endure suffering or persecution that are blessed. If we were to think like the rest of the world, then of course such values seem hard or even impossible to understand or even follow. But if we look at the second reading, St Paul reminds us: “it was to shame the wise that God chose what is foolish by human reckoning, and to shame what is strong that he chose what is weak by human reckoning; those whom the world thinks common and contemptible are the ones that God has chosen – those who are nothing at all to show up those who are everything.” When we allow ourselves to be consumed with power, violence, hatred and revenge, we will only experience the same things – power, violence, hatred and revenge.

So how do we get ourselves out from a potential mess and a vicious circle of fear, distrust and self-preservation? Jesus gives the answer, by teaching us an alternative set of values in today’s Gospel. These values will transform our world into the Kingdom of God, a kingdom of peace, joy and love. Jesus counters the values of greed with values of simplicity; values of power with values of weakness; values of seeking revenge with values of mercy and forgiveness; values of dishonesty with values of honesty; values of violence with values of peace. Some may say: “But all these values sound impossible or improbable for us humans to carry out. Jesus is different, for He is God.” But we must not forget that Jesus is God who became one of us. Throughout His life and ministry, He showed us how to be humble, powerless, non-violent; living a life of poverty, being gentle, hungering for righteousness, showing mercy, being a peacemaker and finally enduring persecution, suffering and even death on the cross. It is not impossible or improbable to do, if we let Jesus be our guide and walk in His ways.

So today, as the first reading tells us, let us “Seek the Lord, all you, the humble of the earth, who obey his commands. Seek integrity, seek humility: you may perhaps find shelter on the day of the anger of the Lord.” When we strive to do so and live in His ways, then we will discover that it is when we are weak, we are truly strong.

Some of us may have experienced tremendous hurt or pain due to betrayal from those who were supposed to be close and trusting to us, such as our friends, our brother or sister, our husband or wife, our children, or even our parents. When we experience such hurt or pain, would we still be able to forgive the person or persons who have betrayed us? As Christians we are reminded that we are asked to fogive those who trespass against us, just as we ask God to forgive us our trespasses. But how do we forgive, especially when the hurt seems so great?

Some people think that forgiveness means forgetting, but this is not true. We are asked to forgive, not forget, since if we try to forget the memories, they will not be healed. To bring about healing, we must remember, since forgiveness is a healing of that memory which we must remember. Also, some seem to think that forgiveness will take away the anger and the hurt feelings, but that too is not necessarily true. Forgiveness is not about taking away the anger and the hurt feelings, but it is a decision to let go of the hurts, and to refuse to allow our hurts to control us. Should we wait till those hurt feelings disappear entirely before we are ready to forgive? Of course not! Forgiveness can and should begin even when we continue to feel hurt.

Moreover, forgiveness is not a single event, since it is a process and it takes time. When we decide to forgive, it does not happen all at once, or instantly, like some sort of hokus pokus, since we decide to keep on forgiving, and we will never stop forgiving till the day we die. As Jesus told his disciples in the Gospel, we are to forgive “Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.” That is a lifetime of forgiving indeed! Beside, we need to remember that forgiving others becomes easier when we realise that we too need forgiveness, since we too have made mistakes, betrayed others, hurt and gossiped about others, and are in need of forgiveness. God our Father readily forgives us for the many times that we’ve sinned, and we are challenged to do the same. Ultimately, we must learn to forgive ourselves, even though it may seem hard. Why do we need to forgive ourselves? Because if you cannot forgive yourself, you would also find it hard to forgive others, and you are doubting God’s compassion and mercy.

In today’s first reading, we are reminded that “Resentment and anger, these are foul things, and both are found with the sinner. He who exacts vengeance will experience the vengeance of the Lord, who keeps strict account of sin. Forgive your neighbour the hurt he does you, and when you pray, your sins will be forgiven. If a man nurses anger against another, can he then demand compassion from the Lord?” May we make every effort to begin by forgiving now, instead of putting it off till tomorrow, or next month, or the year after. At the end of our life, may we look back with joy and thanksgiving that our life was well lived and marked by forgiveness and reconciliation, instead of unforgiveness, bitterness and sorrow.

When we come to church, we come not as strangers or foreigners, but we come because we are supposed to be brothers and sisters in Christ. But the question is: are we really brothers and sisters in Christ? Look around you… do you sit with strangers, or quite likely, do you sit only with people you know, or are familiar with? Do you know the persons on your right and left? Perhaps if they are your family members, friends or relatives, you would know them. But what about the persons in the front pews, or the persons at the back pews, or even the persons a few pews away? Do you know all of them? Or do you know most of them? Or do you know some of them? Or perhaps you don’t know them at all? We sometimes hear people complaining that the church seems cold and unwelcoming, since they feel as if they come and leave as strangers. The question is: Who do you think should do the welcoming? Do we blame the priest alone? Or should we blame the hospitality ministers?

So who should do the welcoming? The answer should be obvious: It should be each and every one of us. If each and every one of us can show hospitality to just one other person, we will become living witnesses of love and hospitality. What is hospitality? Hospitality means paying attention to another person and making the person feel at home. We want others to pay attention to us, and we get angry, upset and hurt when we are ignored, when others don’t listen to us or treat us as if we do not exist. But do we pay attention to others just as we expect others to pay attention to us?

Hospitality should transform us from being self-centered to being other-centred. St. Paul tells us in the second reading: “When we were baptised in Christ Jesus we were baptised in his death; in other words, when we were baptised we went into the tomb with him and joined him in death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, we too might live a new life.” This living a new life means we are not merely individuals but members of the community, brothers and sisters in Christ. Hospitality also means that we need to break down barriers created by prejudice and suspicion. Life in Christ means that every person is a member of my family and my friend. Jesus reminds us: “Anyone who prefers father or mother to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who prefers son or daughter to me is not worthy of me.” What is Jesus telling us here? What he is saying is that we are all to live as one family, as brothers and sisters in Christ, as members of the community called to love, compassion, forgiveness and reconciliation.

Today, let us welcome each other with open hands and open hearts. When we welcome each other, we are also welcoming Jesus, as Jesus in the Gospel tells us: “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me; and those who welcome me welcome the one who sent me.” The Shunammite woman in today’s first reading had no son and her husband is old, and because she was welcoming to Elisha, God gave her a son. In the Gospel, Jesus assures us: “Anyone who welcomes a prophet will have a prophet’s reward; and anyone who welcomes a holy man will have a holy man’s reward. If anyone gives so much as a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple, then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward.” May we learn to be truly and sincerely hospitable to all, so that all may know that we are Christians by our love, for the greater glory of God.

Some of us may have heard stories of Christian missionaries going to distant lands to preach the Good News. Some of us may have been influenced by the movies or television, of the adventure and excitement of these Christian missionaries who overcame the odds, climbed mountains, crossed valleys and rivers, and successfully established Christian missions wherever they went. But more often than not, such movie or television scenes do not reflect the reality faced by Christian missionaries. The reality is that being a Christian missionary is a tough and thankless job. Jesus never promised us that it would be easy or smooth sailing, but warned His disciples and us too, that they will face persecution, and face many obstacles, such as objections from family and friends, criticisms, jealousy of others, stubbornness of those we are trying to reach out to, and many more other obstacles. What happens when we are faced with so many obstacles? We are tempted to be discouraged and tempted to give up. This causes some of us to not even want to try, as some are afraid of failure even before they have begun. When we are discouraged, we may be prevented from beginning Christ’s mission. Sounds like a dready and hopeless situation, isn’t it?

But wait! All is not lost. Today’s readings give us lots of hope, assurance and encouragement. God is not saying that all will be well, or that He will solve all our problems, remove all obstacles, and make life easy for us. As witnesses for Jesus Christ, we are sure to meet with opposition, encounter rejection, and face much criticism from others. Why, even Jesus Himself was also rejected by His own people. So what is God’s message for us? God’s message is: “Do not be afraid.” Do not be afraid, for as today’s Gospel tells us: “everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear.” Do not be afraid of any obstacle or person who seems to stand in the way of your mission in doing God’s will, because as the first reading reminds us: “the Lord is at your side, a mighty hero” and He will deliver you.

So what does this mean? It means that we need to take courage. Courage does not mean we believe and rely on our own strengths and capabilities. Courage means we know and trust that God loves us and that we are precious in His eyes. Jesus uses the example of the two sparrows which can be bought for the price of a penny. The penny and the sparrows may seem small and worthless, but in the eyes of God, each sparrow is precious enough for God to take notice. What more of us? Jesus tells us in the Gospel: “You are worth more than hundreds of sparrows… so there is no need to be afraid!”

So let us take heart, do not be afraid, and not be discouraged. In today’s second reading, St. Paul assures us: “If it is certain that through one man’s fall so many died, it is even more certain that divine grace, coming through the one man, Jesus Christ, came to so many as an abundant free gift.” Let us courageously declare Jesus in the presence of all people, and no matter what happens, may we always remember that we are precious in God’s eyes. May we never end up regretting not trying in the first place, but be bold in our efforts, and glorify God in all we say and do.