4th Week of Easter, Saturday, 27-04-2024

Acts 13:44-52 / John 14:7-14

Criticisms are certainly not a proper way to address an issue.

Even though there is such a term called “constructive criticism”, yet there seems to be an ambiguity or a contradiction in that term.

And when criticisms are prompted by jealousy, then terrible things can be said and done.

In the 1st reading, that was what Paul and Barnabas faced.

Blasphemies were even hurled at them even though what they were doing was to preach the Word of God.

But criticisms always reveal the motives and the intentions of the critics.

Especially when critics are so engrossed in their jealousy, they will not be able to see anything good at all.

 

In the gospel, Jesus told Philip that to have seen Him is to have seen the Father.

But there were also the Pharisees and the scribes who saw Jesus as only a threat and a trouble-maker.

Let us remember that criticisms only reveal the dark side of the critic.

Let us ask the Lord for the grace to have eyes that will see without biasness and without being judgmental or jealous.

May we see the good in others and encourage them in their goodness.

That is one of the Christian ways of preaching the Good News.

4th Week of Easter, Friday, 26-04-2024

Acts 13:26-33 / John 14:1-6  

The language of the world is a language we are familiar with, because we hear it every day.

And that language forms ideas and concepts like efficiency, productivity, excellence, results, gains and profits.

But when we think about those concepts and ideas of the world, we may notice that there is one essential aspect that is missing.

And that essential aspect is the person; or collectively speaking, people are not that important in the dynamics.

In the language of Christianity, what is essential and important is the person, or people.

In the 1st reading, St. Paul says this: We have come to tell you the Good News.

The Good News is not about gains or profits. The Good News is about God’s saving love for humanity, God’s saving love for you and me.

In the gospel, Jesus tells us not to let our hearts be troubled.

Because we are distracted and disturbed by the ways of the world that makes us anxious and worrisome.

But Jesus tells us to trust in God and to trust in Him.

Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Let us speak the language of the Way, the Truth and the Life of Jesus.

That is the Good News that we can tell the world.

St. Mark, Evangelist, Thursday, 25-04-2024

1 Peter 5:5-14 / Mark 16:15-20  

St Mark the Evangelist is the traditional author of the Gospel according to Mark, and he is closely identified as (John) Mark that we heard about in the 1st reading, who was a disciple of St. Peter.

St. Mark is also closely identified as the cousin of Barnabas, who together with St. Paul were great missionaries in the Acts of the Apostles.

So St. Mark had connection with big names in the New Testament, but that was not why he became a big name in the Bible.

He was greatly involved in the missionary work of the early Church and he founded the Church in Alexandria.

He may have been recognized for his gift of writing and being a disciple of St. Peter, he wrote the gospel through the reflections and teaching of St. Peter.

So St. Mark was a missionary and a writer and he was also involved in the work of the early Church.

He may have discovered these gifts gradually but he knew what these gifts were for.

As the 1st reading says: Wrap yourselves in humility to be servants of each other, because God refuses the proud and will always favour the humble.

So in spite of being associated with big names in the Church and bestowed with gifts, St. Mark remained a humble servant of the Church.

So let us learn from St. Mark to be humble servants of God and to be humble servants to each other.

That is the first requisite for the proclamation of the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ.

4th Week of Easter, Wednesday, 24-04-2024

Acts 12:24 - 13:5 / John 12:44-50

The Church has many aspects that reveals something of its essence.

The Church can be seen as a hierarchy, as an institution, as an organization, as a community, etc.

But the essence of the Church is founded in the mystery of God.

God is the very essence of the Church, and God has revealed Himself to the Church and yet it is also an on-going revelation.

In the 1st reading, the Word of God continued to spread and to gain followers.

That is certainly not by human effort but by the power of God.

And it is in worship and prayer and fasting that God revealed through the Holy Spirit the mission He has for Barnabas and Saul.

And it is in the communion of prayer that the early Church sent Barnabas and Saul into the mission that God has shown them.

May we, as the Church, always understand the fundamental importance of prayer.

It is in the communion of prayer that God will reveal to us His plans for us.

God’s plan is for all peoples to be saved. Let us pray for God’s blessings that we will carry out the mission of salvation.

4th Week of Easter, Tuesday, 23-04-2024

Acts 11:19-26 / John 10:22-30   

When we think about what appeals to people, then it boils down to what people are attracted to.

People like to be entertained. People like the spectacular and the sensational.

It is also amazing how people would idolize some individuals like pop singers and movie stars.

Their fan club membership can even go to five figures, or more, depending on the popularity.

When tracing the beginnings of Christianity, the disciples went around preaching the simple message of the Good News.

As the 1st reading puts it: The Lord helped them, and a great number believed and were converted to the Lord.

And when Barnabas was sent to the church in Antioch, he could see for himself that God had given grace.

Christianity and its early missionary preachers did not try to appeal to peoples' desires or tried to attract people with anything spectacular or sensational.

It was by the grace of God that people believed and were won over to the Lord.

It is the Lord who calls us to be His disciples and we are sent to do the work of God by witnessing to the Good News of salvation.

Let us keep focused on the Lord as we carry out His work.

Let us also remember that the results are by the grace of God and not by our abilities.

4th Week of Easter, Monday, 22-04-2024

Acts 11:1-18 / John 10:1-10  

When reading the book of the Acts of the Apostles, there is one thought that might come to our minds.

The experience of God in the early Church seems to be so profound and it almost seems like a regular occurrence.

There was the vision of Peter which was accepted without question.

There was the vision of an angel standing in the man’s house, and the angel had a message for the man.

And then the Holy Spirit came down upon the group in the same way as it was at Pentecost.

So, in that passage of the 1st reading, the visions and signs of the spiritual seem to be like a normal and regular occurrence.

That make us wonder what happened to those visions and signs in today’s Church.

But a deeper question to reflect upon is how do we sense the promptings of God.

In the gospel, Jesus says that the shepherd calls out, one by one, to his own sheep and he leads them out.

As much as we want to hear the voice of our Good Shepherd, the world has too many loud and distracting voices and noises.

Hence, we need to get back to the silence of prayer and be still before the Lord.

Only then can we listen to the voice of our Good Shepherd and understand the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Then we will be able to see the signs and wonders that God is showing us.

4th Sunday of Easter, Year B, 21.04.2024

Acts 4:8-12 / 1 John 3:1-2 / John 10:11-18 

Between God and human beings, there is one great and fundamental difference.

Basically and essentially, it is this: God is divine and we are only human. 

Reflecting further on this, it is God who created us and the rest of creation. We humans did not create anything at all. 

A human being cannot become God. Those who wanted to, or tried to become God, embarked on a quest for immortality, eternal youth, everlasting power, strength and might. 

But the history of humanity is splattered with such cases, and they are cases of futility. 

That is the truth, and it is an eternal and irrevocable truth. 

And we Christians bear witness to that truth by our faith. 

As we profess in the Creed, God is the Almighty Creator, and He is also our Father. 

And next comes the astounding truth, and that is God became man in Jesus Christ. 

That truth is a deep mystery that needs to be reflected and meditated upon, and it can only be done with the enlightening love from God. 

Jesus Christ is our Lord and God, He is our Saviour, and in today's gospel, He tells us that He is our Good Shepherd. 

That image of the Good Shepherd and the sheep will certainly help us to understand the loving relationship between Jesus and us. 

A Good Shepherd protects and takes care of His sheep. 

He will even lay down His life for His sheep when there is harm and danger. 

That is how much God loves us, even to the extent of dying for us in order to save us. 

And Jesus calls us to be His sheep and to follow Him. 

Jesus is the Good Shepherd who calls us to be His good sheep. 

And a good sheep listens to the voice of the Good Shepherd. 

This Sunday is also known as Good Shepherd Sunday, and the emphasis is on vocations to the priesthood, as well as to the religious life. 

A good sheep listens to the voice of the Good Shepherd. 

And a good sheep may also listen to a deeper call in the voice of the Good Shepherd. 

Jesus will not leave His Church without priests, priests who will listen to His voice. 

Because Jesus calls priests to lead the People of God in worship and prayer, and preach the Word of life and love. 

Priests are called by Jesus to celebrate the Eucharist, and to offer the sacrifice in memory of Him. 

The voice of the Good Shepherd is echoed in the voice of the priest, so that the People of God, the flock that belongs to the Good Shepherd, will walk in the way of salvation. 

So, Jesus has called those He has chosen to be His priests, and also those to the religious life. 

Jesus calls and He waits for their response. 

As for us, the People of God, let us also echo the call of a Good Shepherd to those He is calling. 

But whether the call is to be a priest, or a religious, the call is always to be a good sheep. 

And whether it is a priest, or a religious, or a sheep that belongs to the flock of Jesus, we are called to be like the Good Shepherd. 

The Good Shepherd laid down His life for us. 

Let us also lay down our lives to love and to serve others, and to help them listen to the voice of Jesus our Good Shepherd.