1st Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 18-01-2025

Hebrews 4:12-16 / Mark 2:13-17  

What we speak comes from what fills our hearts.

Hence our words reveal who we are and what we are thinking.

When Jesus saw Levi sitting by the customs house, He said only two words to him: Follow me.

That revealed who Jesus is. 

And when Levi got up and followed Jesus, it also revealed what Levi was searching for and what was the longing in his heart.

And when the scribes and the Pharisees commented and questioned the action of Jesus in eating with tax collectors and sinners, it also revealed what were their thoughts.

But the most profound revelation was in what Jesus said in response:

It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.

That statement revealed who Jesus is and also His mission.

The 1st reading says that the Word of God is something alive and active: it cuts like any double-edged sword but more finely.

Let us listen to the Word of God and keep it in our hearts.

May the Word of God continue to reveal God’s love to us, and may it also deepen our longing for Jesus.

1st Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 17-01-2025

Hebrews 4:1-5, 11 / Mark 2:1-12 

About 15% to 20% of the population in Singapore suffer from insomnia.

That is about one out of five person who suffers from a sleep disorder.

Even if we don’t suffer from insomnia, not being able to get to sleep quickly or having interrupted sleep can be quite frustrating.

Yes, it is so nice to be able to lie in bed and to sleep well and have a good rest.

But for the paralytic in the gospel passage, lying in bed was like a torture for him.

And there was nothing he could do about it, until his friends decided to do something.

They brought him to see Jesus, and in their determination, they even made an opening in the roof to lower the paralytic and his stretcher to where Jesus was.

The first words from Jesus that the paralytic heard was: My child, your sins are forgiven.

That was all that is needed to begin the healing of his spirit and body.

And the next time he lies in bed, it will be a good rest and a peaceful sleep.

The 1st reading tells of the promise of the place of rest that God had promised His people.

We understand this as an eternal rest in the peace and love of God.

But it also begins here on earth. 

As we end the day and prepare to sleep, let us ask for forgiveness for our sins.

May we be at peace with God and with others, and may God bless us with a good rest and a peaceful sleep.

1st Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 16-01-2025

Hebrews 1:67-14 / Mark 1:40-45

For most of us, every day is usually quite routine.

We go about the day doing the usual thing.

There may be surprises here and there, but it won’t jolt us out of our tracks.

For that leper in the gospel, each day was a dread.

He could be living alone. But even if he was in a colony of lepers, it is like in the company of misery.

But in that lonely misery, something prompted him to go look for Jesus.

And when he came before Jesus, he pleaded with Jesus on his knees to cure him.

And Jesus did cure him of his leprosy, and Jesus seem so eager to cure him.

We too have days when we feel lonely and in misery.

We can either continue in that lonely misery routine.

Or we can go to a church and go before Jesus and ask Him for help.

Like the leper, we may be surprised at how eager Jesus wants to help us.

1st Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 15-01-2025

Hebrews 2:14-18 / Mark 1:29-39  

We like to identify and to be identified by what we do and by our profession.

That is also the most common way to describe who we are and what we do.

In other words, who we are is, in a way, defined by what we do.

Or, should it be the other way round?

What we do should be from who we are.

Our essence should determine our actions.

In the gospel, Jesus went about His healing work.

He cured many who were suffering from diseases of one kind or another.

And He also cast out many devils.

But early in the morning, He went off to a lonely place and prayed there.

He knew that He was the Son of the Father, and that relationship was the most important to Him.

We too must know that we are the beloved children of God.

When we know that God has called us with love and in love, then we will know that we are to express that love in our lives.

That is how we should live our lives and that is what we must to do in life.

1st Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 14-01-2025

Hebrews 2:5-12 / Mark 1:21-28  

The book of Genesis tells us that God made man in His image.

So every person carries in himself a divine dignity.

But when mankind fell into sin, that divine dignity was tarnished.

The divine image in man became disfigured and contorted.

Sin also created openings in the heart of a person for evil spirits to even have possession of the person.

Such was the case of the man who was possessed by an unclean spirit in the gospel passage.

But that man was in the synagogue and it could mean that he wants to be liberated for the evil possession and also be freed from sin.

In delivering that man from the possession of the unclean spirit, Jesus reiterated the purpose of His mission.

Jesus came to break the power of evil, to forgive sins, and to restore humanity back to the divine dignity.

Let us turn to Jesus and ask for forgiveness for our sins and the sin of humanity.

Let us also ask Jesus for the healing of our hearts so that we can also be restored into the image of God and to help others discover their divine dignity.

1st Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 13-01-2025

Hebrews 1:1-6 / Mark 1:14-20  

One of the questions that is often asked is this:

How do I know if God is speaking to me? How can I be sure?

This question is often asked when there is a critical decision to be made.

And there is no certain indication of what God is saying about what to decide.

The 1st reading says that at various times in the past and in various different ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets, but in our own time, the last days, He has spoken to us through His Son.

In the gospel, when Jesus called Simon and Andrew, and also James and John, to be His disciples, they responded immediately and even left everything behind.

We might wonder why they responded so quickly and what made them decide to do so.

Of course, we may say that it was Jesus who is calling them so it was easy for them to decide and respond.

But it can be said that God had already prepared their hearts and they heard the voice of God when Jesus called them.

As for us, it is in prayer that God prepares our hearts to listen to His promptings.

And when He speaks, we will know that it is His voice and we will know how to respond.

Baptism of the Lord, Year C, 12.01.2025

 Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 / Acts 10:34-38 / Luke 3:15-16, 21-22 

There are certain things that can be said about our country. 

We are called a “green city”, so yes, green and also quite clean. 

We may be just a small little dot in the world map, but the cost of living can be quite high. 

Whatever it might be, we have many things to be thankful for. 

One of which is the weather; we only have hot days or rainy days. 

The hot days are not that scorching, and the rainy days are not that freezing. 

Over the last couple of days, we have seen quite a lot of rain and quite a lot of water too. 

But in another country, there are raging fires that have caused much damage, and required mandatory evacuation. 

When we think about water and fire, they are good servants but bad masters. 

And in the religious sense, water and fire are also symbols of spiritual realities. 

In the gospel, John the Baptist also talks about water and fire. He said that he baptizes with water, but someone is coming after him, someone who is more powerful than he is. 

And that someone will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 

The gospel gives an account of the baptism of Jesus. 

After His baptism, Jesus was at prayer, and the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily shape, like a dove. 

And then there came a voice from Heaven that declared: You are my Son, the Beloved, my favour rest on you. 

With His baptism, Jesus began His work of salvation by immersing Himself into the broken and fractured human situation. 

By His baptism, water became a symbol and a means of spiritual cleansing and healing. 

Jesus came to save and to heal. He does not break the crushed reed nor quench the wavering flame, as the 1st reading puts it. 

The baptism of Jesus also reminds us of our own baptism. 

Yes, at our baptism, we have been washed and cleansed of sin, and we also received a lighted candle as a symbol of the Light of Christ. 

But as we step out into the world, we face brokenness from disappointments, and fractured relationships with others. 

The fire of God's love that we received at baptism begins to quiver and waiver. 

And we get tempted and distracted, and we fall into sin and into the trap of the devil. 

But as the 2nd reading tells us, Jesus went about doing good and curing all who fell into the trap of the devil. 

Jesus did not break the crush reed nor quench the wavering flame. 

Jesus came to save and to heal those who are crushed in life and wavering in gloom. 

Today, we renew our baptism and our commitment to Jesus. 

And today, God tells us that we are His beloved children, and that He wants to bless us abundantly. 

We need God's blessings of love to be witnesses of the Good News of salvation.

God has given the Church Holy Water as a reminder of our baptism, that we are His beloved children, and as a sign of His blessings and love. 

Let us give thanks for this gift of Holy Water, and use it on ourselves and our loved ones, and also on those who need to experience the saving love of God. 

Jesus will heal our crushed spirits so that our hearts will burn brightly with the fire of His love. 

And may our lives as God's beloved children radiate with hope, so that others will be drawn to the saving waters of baptism.