Saturday, June 22, 2013

12th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 23.06.2013

Zechariah 12:10-11, 13:1/ Galatians 3:26-29/ Luke 9:18-24

In a dictionary, we can find the meanings and the definitions of words.

Depending on the size of the dictionary, there can be anything from 200,000 words to 600,000 words.

And yet, every year, new words are added into the dictionary, on the average, about 3000 words.

Among the many words, what is of interest are the nouns.

A noun is a word used to name a person, animal, place, thing and abstract idea.

Hence, it can be said that whatever exist can be named, and that name is a noun. 

So nouns are naming words. Everything that we can see or talk about is represented by a word which names it, and that naming word we call a noun.

So, everything has a name to it, and when we don’t know the name of something, we just call it a “thing” until someone tells us what the name of that thing is.

And one noun that has come up frequently over the past week is this is this 4-letter word called haze.

And yes, we see it, we smell it, it irritates our eyes, our nose, our throat and it has become a national issue.

Connected with the haze is an abbreviation noun called PSI, which stands for Pollutant Standard Index, but Singaporeans have coined up words like “Please Stay Indoors”, “Poisonous Smoke Index”.

So, whether it’s that smoky thing that irritates our eyes, nose and throat, or that noun that is used to name it, there is a name for it.

So, if animals and places and things and ideas can be named, then all the more a person should have a name.

In the gospel, Jesus asked His disciples who they say He was. 

Jesus did not ask them what His name was. Jesus asked them a rather prodding question.

He asked them: Who do you say I am? In other words, He was asking them who He is in their lives, what influence He has on them, what meaning and direction does He give to their lives.

That same question is also now put to us: Who is Jesus in our lives?

It’s not just about His name. It is about knowing where He is in our lives, what meaning in life He has for us, and what influence and direction He is giving us.

But to say who Jesus is, would also mean to say who we are.

And Jesus made it very clear to us that if He were to mean anything to us, then it would be that we follow Him, renounce ourselves, and take up our cross every day.

That is the long and short of what Jesus means to us – to renounce ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him.

To renounce ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him would mean to listen to Jesus, and to see what He is showing us and making that decision to follow His direction.

Over this weekend, there was a camp planned for the Sec 3 students.

The youth facilitators were on a high note after doing the Sec 1 and 2 camp last weekend and they were all geared up to do this camp for the Sec 3 students.

When the haze started getting bad on Wednesday, the facilitators were still undeterred as they had prepared intensely for this camp.

As the PSI rose to unhealthy levels, the camp organizers and facilitators prayed fervently for the success of the camp.

On Friday morning, despite the heavy haze and the high PSI, about 40 camp facilitators and Sec 3 students were gathered at the retreat centre to begin the camp.

Everybody was excited and raring to get into the mood of the camp and spirits were high.

But towards the late morning, the haze was bad and the PSI indicated a very unhealthy level and even crossed over to the hazardous level.

I could even feel my eyes smarting and the throat getting hoarse.

Then I received news that MOE has instructed that all school activities for June are to be cancelled.

Also, other churches have cancelled their planned youth camps.

Even parish groups have cancelled their meetings.

So I was faced with a dilemma. Should I stop the Sec 3 camp, now that they have already started?

I discussed with the camp organizers, facilitators and they said it would be a pity to stop the camp and send the students home because a lot of money was spent on the logistics already.

I was tempted to go along with the popular opinion of letting the camp go on, but as I look at the facts before me, I had to do some critical praying.

Finally, with a heavy heart, I had to make the decision to stop the camp.

There were whines and groans, and more so when the PSI dropped a bit and the air cleared a little, I was asked to reconsider the decision.

But Jesus had shown me the signs. If I were to listen to Him, then I had to renounce the temptation to be popular and think of the health and safety of the students.

To know who Jesus is would mean that we must believe that His way is the best way, although it is the way of the road less travelled.

May we have the faith, the courage and the clarity to follow the way of Jesus, so that we can say we know who Jesus is.