13th Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 28.06.2026

2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16 / Romans 6:3-4, 8-11 / Matthew 10:37-42 

Whenever there is a job opening or a project at hand, the qualifications and requirements of the applicants will be stated.

Applicants for the job or the project will not only know what it is about, they will also know whether to send in their applications or not.

So, the job description or project requirements should be clear and specific.

And the qualifications and suitability of the applicants should also be stated so that not anyone and everyone can apply.

And if there is only one opening, then only someone will get it.

But if no one applies for it, then either it is a bad joke or that something is really wrong.

Broadly speaking, people can be generalized as anyone, everyone, someone, or no one.

How it is used depends on the situation, the requirements, and the qualifications.

In the gospel, the word that is repeated a number of times is "anyone."

Jesus made six statements which began with that indefinite pronoun, "anyone."

In those six sentences, Jesus stated His requirements for those who want to follow Him.

And it is quite clear that "anyone" does not mean that no requirements are needed.

In short, it is about choosing between following Jesus or following our preferences.

So, if we prefer the comfort of human relationships, or if we prefer to live life our way, then we would rather not hear about what Jesus is requiring of those who are to follow Him.

Especially when Jesus said that anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Him is not worthy of Him.

That is challenging enough for us to consider.

And needless to say, there is no need to think about that part when Jesus said that anyone who finds his life will lose it, and anyone who loses his life for the sake of Jesus will find it.

It seems like the requirements of discipleship are too much and the bar is too high.

Yet when we look around at the others present here in this Church, then how many of us actually met the requirements of Jesus?

The Church is the House of God, and anyone can come in.

The House of God is also the House of prayer.

Anyone coming into the House of God would want to pray.

In fact, that is the only requirement.

In the House of God and in the House of prayer, sinners seek forgiveness and salvation.

In the House of God and in the House of prayer, the sick ask for a cure and pray for healing.

In the House of God and in the House of prayer, we remember the promises of God as we present our problems and petitions.

It is in the House of God and in the House of prayer that the prophecy of Isaiah about Jesus is fulfilled: "He took away our sicknesses and carried our diseases for us."

So, anyone who admits that he or she is a sinner and unworthy to follow Jesus, then that person is most welcome into the house of God.

Because it is in the House of prayer that repentance and conversion can begin.

And we know that we are changing to be disciples of Jesus when we become gentle and kind enough to let people be.

We will not criticize them when they mispronounce a word or sing a wrong note.

We will understand when they look burdened and disheartened and did not notice our greeting and smiling at them.

We will bear with those who are rude and selfish and not to fan their anger into a fire.

Anything is possible for anyone to be a disciple of Jesus in the House of God.

Because in the House of prayer, Jesus can change sinners into disciples.

12th Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 27-06-2026

Lamentations 2:2, 10-14, 18-19 / Matthew 8:5-17   

No one would want to defy those in authority or those who have earthly power.

To dare to defy or challenge or resist authority or earthly powers would mean two things.

Either it is because the defiance or challenge or resistance comes from someone or a group of a great power.

Or that they are taking a risk and think that they can match the other authority or power.

But the price of defeat is none other than punishment.

The people of God had known the authority and power of God.

Yet, they dared to disobey and disregard the Lord their God.

The first reading is about the lamentations of a people who had gone against their God, and they had to bear the consequences.

But in the gospel, it was a military commander, a centurion, who acknowledges the power and the authority of God.

His servant was paralysed and in great pain.

The centurion knew that no earthly power or authority can cure his servant and bring him back to health.

And so with a humility that even astonished Jesus, the centurion pleaded with Jesus for his servant.

Let us plead with Jesus when we have sinned and gone astray and away from God.

With God’s mercy, forgiveness and healing, let us always be obedient and faithful to God so that we will always rejoice in His love for us.

12th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 26-06-2026

2 Kings 25:1-12 / Matthew 8:1-4

It is quite unimaginable and even horrific at the barbaric behaviour of human beings in this civilized age and time.

The atrocities of WWII and the other barbaric crimes of subsequent wars and violence will certainly raise questions about the sanity of humanity in this modern age.

It seems that history is repeating itself in updated methods of torture and killing.

In the first reading, the enemy laid siege on Jerusalem for about two years before capturing it.

King Zedekiah was captured together with his family and king Nebuchadnezzar treated him and his sons in a horrible and barbaric way.

But that was only just the beginning. The Temple of the Lord was also burned down together with the palace and all the houses of Jerusalem.

The burning question was this: Why did God allow His Temple to be burned down and looted of all its treasures?

And why was the People of God subjected to such humiliation, tragedy and disaster?

The only possible answer is that the People of God rebelled and defied God in His face, and they may even think that God would still protect them from their enemies and not let anything destroy the Temple.

But they were so wrong, and hence they were subject to the full fury and insanity of the enemy.

When God is insulted, rejected and disregarded, then humanity has lost all its sensibility.

But the gospel shows that when humanity turns to God for healing and salvation, God will certainly grant His blessings.

Let us always revere God in His House and always be a People of prayer.

Then we will be able to show humanity how to be sensible and be civilized.

12th Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 25-06-2026

2 Kings 7:15-20 / Matthew 7:21-29

There are times when we think that life is rather unfair.

For example, the rich get better treatment, whereas the poor are ignored and disregarded.

But it is the poor and the underprivileged who need to be supported with means that they are not able to get on their own.

And the rich already had their resources. So it is like the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

In the first reading, the king of Babylon and his army laid siege on Jerusalem.

The king of Judah eventually surrendered to the king of Babylon and with that the king of Judah and his people went into exile.

So all the nobles and all the notables, the blacksmiths and metalworkers and all those who were rich and comfortable were exiled.

Only the poorest people in the country were left behind.

God listened to the cry of the poor and He came to their help.

The nobility, the rich, those of distinction and high society did not need to cry to God because probably there was no need to.

But in the end, it is in exile that they learned how to cry to God for help.

When we are comfortable and having it easy in life, let us remember those who are underprivileged, disadvantaged and disregarded.

They may be the ones who will cry out to God to help us in our time of need.

Nativity of St. John the Baptist, Wednesday, 24-06-2026

Isaiah 49:1-6 / Acts 13:22-26 / Luke 1:57-66, 80

Today the Church celebrates the birth of John the Baptist. John the Baptist has a special place in the story of salvation because it was he who pointed out Jesus the Saviour to the people.

It was he who also baptised Jesus in the Jordon before Jesus began His ministry.

John the Baptist was like a forerunner who prepares the people for the coming of the Messiah in the person of Jesus Christ.

If it can be said of John the Baptist, he was like that sharpened arrow that was concealed in the quiver that was described in the 1st reading.

As in ancient warfare, the shooting of a volley of arrows signals the impending attack of an army, John the Baptist was that one single arrow that carried a message of repentance and conversion.

Like an arrow that is concealed in the quiver, John the Baptist was hidden in the desert until the appointed time came for him to be the prophet who proclaimed the message of repentance in preparation for the coming of the Messiah.

We too are like arrows in the quiver of God. Concealed in the quiver, we prepare ourselves in prayer for whatever mission that God has for us.

And just as an arrow has only one target, so may we be focused on what God's will is for us just as John the Baptist was focused on what his mission was.

When his mission ended, John the Baptist also gracefully decreased in order that Jesus would increase.

May we too carry out our mission faithfully so that God's love will increase in the hearts of those whom we serve.

12th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 23-06-2026

2 Kings 19:9-11, 14-21, 31-36 / Matthew 7:6, 12-14   

Whenever we get bad news, it is inevitable that we will be rattled.

It may be some bad talk against us, or some complaint against us, or a warning letter against us.

Whatever it may be, we will be anything from being annoyed and upset, to being worried and anxious.

When Sennacherib, king of the Assyrians, sent the letter to king Hezekiah, we can imagine how king Hezekiah felt when he read it.

Because the letter read: “Do not let your God on whom you are relying deceive you, when he says: Jerusalem shall not fall into the power of the king of Assyria. You have learnt by now what the kings of Assyria have done to every country, putting them all under the ban. Are you likely to be spared?”’

Instead of giving in to fear, king Hezekiah took the letter, went up to the Temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.

And then he prayed: ‘O Lord of Hosts, God of Israel, enthroned on the cherubs, you alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth, you have made heaven and earth.

Give ear, Lord, and listen. Open your eyes, Lord, and see. Hear the words of Sennacherib who has sent to insult the living God.

But now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, I pray you, and let all the kingdoms of the earth know that you alone are God, Lord.’

God hear his prayer and God acted. That same night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. Sennacherib struck camp and left; he returned home and stayed in Nineveh.

Yes, God listens to the prayer of the humble and the helpless.

When we have sinned, let us ask for forgiveness.

When we are wrongly accused or threatened, let us pray for God’s help.

Let us be still and keep praying, and we will see the wonderful and loving hand of God upon us.

12th Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 22-06-2026

2 Kings 12:5-6, 13-15, 18 / Matthew 7:1-5  

Whenever we talk about time, we usually refer to it as chronological time.

That is to say, we usually think of time as dates and duration.

And then we also talk of time that has a purpose.

For example, it takes time to heal, it takes time to forget, and maybe it even takes time to awaken.

In the first reading, the Assyrians invaded Samaria and laid siege to it for three years.

Three years is a long time to be cooped up and surrounded by enemies.

Yet, during those three years, God sent prophets to give the people warning after warning and to repent.

Yet after three years, the people did not listen, they did not repent, and in the end disaster and tragedy fell on the people.

Out of the 12 tribes of Israel, only one tribe remained, and that is the tribe of Judah.

It may seem incomprehensible that even after three years of sufferings and warnings, the people still did not awaken and repent.

But let us not come to judgement so quickly.

Let us not talk about the plank in their eyes and forget that we too have a plank in our eyes.

Let us open our eyes and be awakened to our sins and repent.

Otherwise we can only blame ourselves when tragedy and disaster fall upon us.