Genesis 14:18-20 / 1 Cor 11:23-26 / Lk 9:11-17
Do we know what is the one big event that is happening in Singapore now? (It started on Friday)
Still thinking? Here is a clue. There are four words to it. The first word begins with “The”.
Yes, this big event is “The Great Singapore Sale” and it is an island-wide event.
It’s the time where we can “shop till we drop” on things that are on offer at great discounts.
Yes, bargains never fail to attract our attention. By the way, Singaporeans, when they go overseas for holidays, they are known as “birds”.
Because whenever they see a bargain, they will say “cheap, cheap, cheap” (they sound like birds : P)
So for The Great Singapore Sale, the Singapore birds would be there also, looking for bargains and bargains.
Yet, it is said that a bargain is something you don’t need, but it is put at a price you cannot resist.
There seems to be this void in us that longs to be filled, and we will fill it with bargains, offers, pleasures, things, money, status.
It is like a bottomless pit, a black hole which sucks in everything and yet leaves us longing for more.
Somehow, contentment and satisfaction seem to be missing in our vocabulary. At least they seem to be the words that we seldom use.
There is a longing in our hearts, but do we know what we are really longing for?
In the gospel, we heard that a crowd of about 5000 followed Jesus. Now, that is not a small number of people.
What were they looking for in Jesus? What do they want from Him?
Yes, they were looking for something, they want something. But we also know what Jesus did for them.
Jesus taught them about the kingdom of God – about truth and justice, about mercy and compassion and forgiveness.
And then He healed them of their troubles, their afflictions and their obsessions.
And finally He fed them with simple food of fish and bread.
They ate as much as they wanted, and they knew what contentment and satisfaction was, because they ate as much as they wanted.
We have come to the Mass to listen to the voice of God in the scripture readings.
The readings teach us about the kingdom of God and how we ought to live our lives.
And today we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi – Jesus feeds us with His Body.
This is the one big event of the Church on every Sunday; in fact it is happening every day at the daily Mass.
For Singapore, it is The Great Singapore Sale. For the Church it is “The Body of Christ”.
To be fed with the Body of Christ is our hearts’ deepest desire that will bring about true contentment.
But we have to realize the contentment that the Body of Christ will give us.
There is a story of a man who was always grumbling about his wife and complaining about his life.
So the Lord sent an angel to him to grant him 3 wishes. The angel asked him to make his first wish.
Immediately the man wished that his wife would die so that he could marry a younger and better wife.
So his wish was granted, and his wife died.
Then during the wake, his relatives and friends talked about how good a woman his wife was, caring for the home and his needs, docile and humble, always giving in to him and making sacrifices for him.
Then the man felt remorseful for taking his wife for granted and always grumbling and complaining about her.
So for his second wish, he asked that his wife would come back to life, and so she did.
Then there was only one wish left, and he thought hard about it.
Finally he asked the angel what should he wish for.
And the angel replied : Finally you have come to your senses. Just ask to be contended and satisfied, and then you will be happy.
So we have heard the scripture readings which teach us about the kingdom of God.
As we come forward later for communion, we will be given the Body of Christ.
Let us ask that the Body of Christ will fill our hearts with contentment.
May the Body of Christ heal us of our afflictions of body and mind, and may the Body of Christ also heal us of our obsessions so that our hearts will be filled with joy and happiness.
And may we in turn be the Body of Christ for others so that they too will be filled and be contended.
Let this be the great event today. And may it be the great event every day.