Genesis 1:26-2:3 or Colossians 3:14-15, 17, 23-24 / Matthew 13:54-58 (2024)
The feast of St. Joseph the Worker was instituted only in 1955 and so it was a fairly recent addition to the feastdays of the Church.
There were many reasons for the institution of this feast but the main purpose is to give a religious understanding to the meaning and purpose of work and labour.
Labour day is a public holiday to celebrate the economic and social achievements of workers. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement and the rights of workers.
Yet the Church also celebrates the feast of St. Joseph the Worker on this same day so as to give a spiritual dimension and direction.
The 1st reading from Genesis tells us that God Himself does the work of creation and after completing the work He was doing He rested on the seventh day.
Hence work has a holy and sacred meaning because we are also the work of God's hands and we are called to continue the work of God's creation.
Yet we must also remember that when man sinned and broke the harmony of God's creation, work is seen as a curse - "By the sweat of your brow, you shall eat your bread"(Gen 3:19)
Well that makes us think. Tomorrow we will be going back to work. Are we dragging our feet there? Does going to work make us stressed and anxious? Does meeting our boss or colleagues give us a pain in the neck?
Yet the alternative 1st reading from Colossians also tell us that whatever our work is, we are to put our heart into it as if it were for the Lord and not for men, because it is Christ the Lord that we are serving.
Let us do our work for the Lord and make it a holy and sacred offering to Him. In this way we follow our Lord Jesus who came to serve and not to be served.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
4th Week of Easter, Monday, 30-04-12
Acts 11:1-19 / John 10:1-10
One who "makes a mountain out of a molehill" is said to be greatly exaggerating the severity of the situation.
It is also a way in which one reinforces his stand that he is right and the other or others are wrong.
In the 1st reading the Christian Jews seemed to be making a mountain out of a molehill when they criticized Peter.
We can feel the acidity of those words directed at Peter - So you have been visiting the uncircumcised and eating with them, have you?
It can be rather awkward and embarrassing that such words and attitudes are recorded in our Holy Bible about how some members of the Church were behaving.
Yet the Church is human and she has never denied it. So there will be times when the slanted and crooked and ugly human behaviour surfaces.
They are like thieves and brigands who are out to steal and kill and destroy. Yes it is as serious as that when such behaviour are left unchecked.
Yet Peter did not become defensive or retaliated. Rather he recounted a spiritual experience and a divine revelation for him.
And in the end, that account satisfied them and they gave glory to God.
So the Church is not just human. It is human as well as divine, because Jesus who is the Head of the Church is human as well as divine.
May our humanity be always in union with the divinity, so that we won't make mountains out of molehills, but let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and give glory and thanks to Him.
One who "makes a mountain out of a molehill" is said to be greatly exaggerating the severity of the situation.
It is also a way in which one reinforces his stand that he is right and the other or others are wrong.
In the 1st reading the Christian Jews seemed to be making a mountain out of a molehill when they criticized Peter.
We can feel the acidity of those words directed at Peter - So you have been visiting the uncircumcised and eating with them, have you?
It can be rather awkward and embarrassing that such words and attitudes are recorded in our Holy Bible about how some members of the Church were behaving.
Yet the Church is human and she has never denied it. So there will be times when the slanted and crooked and ugly human behaviour surfaces.
They are like thieves and brigands who are out to steal and kill and destroy. Yes it is as serious as that when such behaviour are left unchecked.
Yet Peter did not become defensive or retaliated. Rather he recounted a spiritual experience and a divine revelation for him.
And in the end, that account satisfied them and they gave glory to God.
So the Church is not just human. It is human as well as divine, because Jesus who is the Head of the Church is human as well as divine.
May our humanity be always in union with the divinity, so that we won't make mountains out of molehills, but let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and give glory and thanks to Him.
Friday, April 27, 2012
3rd Week of Easter, Saturday, 28-04-12
Acts 9:31-42 / John 6:60-69 (2020)
Most of us, if not all of us, wouldn't want to say things that will embarrass ourselves and make ourselves look foolish.
Even for those who shoot their mouths off, they wouldn't usually say things that will make others think that they mad or out of their minds.
St. Peter, as we know, had a reputation for being impulsive and brash and later he would have to eat his words.
Well, he had said that he wouldn't deny his Master; he said at the transfiguration that he would build three tents although he didn't know what he was saying; he tried to remonstrate with Jesus about His suffering only to get rebuked by Jesus.
Yes, we sigh and shake our heads and look to heaven when St. Peter shoots his mouth off. Yet we also cannot deny that there were also profound words that came from St. Peter.
In the gospel, we heard one of those profound statements from St. Peter - Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we know that You are the Holy One of God.
Even in the 1st reading, the St. Peter that we hear about spoke words of power that brought about healing and even restored life!
And all that was because of the Risen Christ. Through the power of the resurrection, St. Peter has learnt to speak like his Master and even has the power to act like Him.
That is the power of the resurrection on St. Peter. And the power of the resurrection is also given to each of us.
Let it begin with our words so that we can speak like our Master. Like St. Peter may our words bring about healing and also awaken the life in those who hear us.
Most of us, if not all of us, wouldn't want to say things that will embarrass ourselves and make ourselves look foolish.
Even for those who shoot their mouths off, they wouldn't usually say things that will make others think that they mad or out of their minds.
St. Peter, as we know, had a reputation for being impulsive and brash and later he would have to eat his words.
Well, he had said that he wouldn't deny his Master; he said at the transfiguration that he would build three tents although he didn't know what he was saying; he tried to remonstrate with Jesus about His suffering only to get rebuked by Jesus.
Yes, we sigh and shake our heads and look to heaven when St. Peter shoots his mouth off. Yet we also cannot deny that there were also profound words that came from St. Peter.
In the gospel, we heard one of those profound statements from St. Peter - Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we know that You are the Holy One of God.
Even in the 1st reading, the St. Peter that we hear about spoke words of power that brought about healing and even restored life!
And all that was because of the Risen Christ. Through the power of the resurrection, St. Peter has learnt to speak like his Master and even has the power to act like Him.
That is the power of the resurrection on St. Peter. And the power of the resurrection is also given to each of us.
Let it begin with our words so that we can speak like our Master. Like St. Peter may our words bring about healing and also awaken the life in those who hear us.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
3rd Week of Easter, Friday, 27-04-12
Acts 9:1-20 / John 6:52-59
It is no surprise to hear that God loves sinners.
But it will be a surprise to come face to face with these sinners. And it may even be an unpleasant surprise.
Just imagine, that person who is so nasty and always doing you harm and yet people say that God loves him. We will surely have something else to say.
In the 1st reading, the disciple Ananias was also very surprised that the Lord was sending him to Saul to lay hands on him and to give him back his sight.
Ananias tried to protest, not just because it was an unpleasant surprise, but also because his life will be at stake because he had heard about what Saul came to do.
The Lord's reply certainly needs reflection and understanding in order to know the ways of the Lord.
He said : This man is my chosen instrument to bring My name before pagans and pagan kings and before the people of Israel. I myself will show him how much he himself must suffer for my name.
Yes, God chooses the most unexpected, the most unfavourable and we can also add on by saying that God chooses the most sinful even.
But that only goes to show that whatever power or abilities that person has is from God.
Yet for Saul, what is in store for him in the future was nothing less than difficulties and sufferings.
Yet with his proclamation that Jesus is the Son of God, he was also convinced that this Jesus whom he was persecuting is now living in him.
And so is the teaching of Jesus in the gospel : He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him.
We acknowledge Jesus as Lord and the Son of God. May He live in us and may we also be prepared to offer our lives to Him just as Saul did.
It is no surprise to hear that God loves sinners.
But it will be a surprise to come face to face with these sinners. And it may even be an unpleasant surprise.
Just imagine, that person who is so nasty and always doing you harm and yet people say that God loves him. We will surely have something else to say.
In the 1st reading, the disciple Ananias was also very surprised that the Lord was sending him to Saul to lay hands on him and to give him back his sight.
Ananias tried to protest, not just because it was an unpleasant surprise, but also because his life will be at stake because he had heard about what Saul came to do.
The Lord's reply certainly needs reflection and understanding in order to know the ways of the Lord.
He said : This man is my chosen instrument to bring My name before pagans and pagan kings and before the people of Israel. I myself will show him how much he himself must suffer for my name.
Yes, God chooses the most unexpected, the most unfavourable and we can also add on by saying that God chooses the most sinful even.
But that only goes to show that whatever power or abilities that person has is from God.
Yet for Saul, what is in store for him in the future was nothing less than difficulties and sufferings.
Yet with his proclamation that Jesus is the Son of God, he was also convinced that this Jesus whom he was persecuting is now living in him.
And so is the teaching of Jesus in the gospel : He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him.
We acknowledge Jesus as Lord and the Son of God. May He live in us and may we also be prepared to offer our lives to Him just as Saul did.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
3rd Week of Easter, Thursday, 26-04-12
Acts 8:26-40 / John 6:44-51 (2019)
If we had noticed it, the gospel texts of this week are taken from the gospel of John chapter 6.
In that chapter, Jesus gives a long discourse on the bread of life. In fact in the gospel of John, Jesus seemed to be talking much more than in the other gospels.
But Jesus is not just talking. In fact He is teaching a very important doctrine, especially when He uses phrases like "I tell you most solemnly".
And He is not just talking about bread. Jesus is telling us that He is the bread of life.
And that goes without saying that at communion what we are receiving is not bread or just the host, but Jesus Himself.
It is the Real Presence, and not a symbol, not a representation, not an imagination.
Just as what the eunuch's encounter of Philip in the 1st reading was not an imagination but a real experience and he later went on his way rejoicing.
Similarly our reception of Holy Communion is also a real encounter of Jesus the Risen Lord.
It must lead us to rejoice. If not then we have to ask ourselves "Why?"
If we had noticed it, the gospel texts of this week are taken from the gospel of John chapter 6.
In that chapter, Jesus gives a long discourse on the bread of life. In fact in the gospel of John, Jesus seemed to be talking much more than in the other gospels.
But Jesus is not just talking. In fact He is teaching a very important doctrine, especially when He uses phrases like "I tell you most solemnly".
And He is not just talking about bread. Jesus is telling us that He is the bread of life.
And that goes without saying that at communion what we are receiving is not bread or just the host, but Jesus Himself.
It is the Real Presence, and not a symbol, not a representation, not an imagination.
Just as what the eunuch's encounter of Philip in the 1st reading was not an imagination but a real experience and he later went on his way rejoicing.
Similarly our reception of Holy Communion is also a real encounter of Jesus the Risen Lord.
It must lead us to rejoice. If not then we have to ask ourselves "Why?"
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
St. Mark, Evangelist, Wednesday, 25-04-12
1 Peter 5:5-14 / Mark 16:15-20 (2022)
St. Mark, whose feast we celebrate today, was not one of the apostles.
Nonetheless, he was one of the disciples of St. Peter, and he was mentioned in the 1st reading as a "spiritual son" of St. Peter.
He could also possibly be one of the followers of Jesus and later on became a disciple of St. Peter and he eventually wrote the account of the life and ministry of Jesus, which became one of the gospels of the Church.
In his gospel, St. Mark captured the core and essence of the ministry and message of Jesus.
As we heard it in the gospel, and what is often called the "Great Commissioning", the way St. Mark puts it across straight and sharp in just a few words.
"Go out, proclaim the Good News, believe or be condemned, cast out devils, work signs and miracles, heal the sick".
As we hear this, we might be thinking - proclaim the Good News sounds ok, healing the sick sounds ok, work signs and miracles ... hmmm ... cast out devils ...
Well, the gospel is not a supermarket for us to pick and choose whatever we like.
It is one whole message; it's either we take all or we take all.
To understand and accept the Good News and the commissioning of Jesus, we need to "Go out" like St. Mark did.
Because when we are out there, and there is no dependency and certainty but Jesus Himself, then we will truly experience the power of the Good News and become true disciples of Jesus Christ.
St. Mark, whose feast we celebrate today, was not one of the apostles.
Nonetheless, he was one of the disciples of St. Peter, and he was mentioned in the 1st reading as a "spiritual son" of St. Peter.
He could also possibly be one of the followers of Jesus and later on became a disciple of St. Peter and he eventually wrote the account of the life and ministry of Jesus, which became one of the gospels of the Church.
In his gospel, St. Mark captured the core and essence of the ministry and message of Jesus.
As we heard it in the gospel, and what is often called the "Great Commissioning", the way St. Mark puts it across straight and sharp in just a few words.
"Go out, proclaim the Good News, believe or be condemned, cast out devils, work signs and miracles, heal the sick".
As we hear this, we might be thinking - proclaim the Good News sounds ok, healing the sick sounds ok, work signs and miracles ... hmmm ... cast out devils ...
Well, the gospel is not a supermarket for us to pick and choose whatever we like.
It is one whole message; it's either we take all or we take all.
To understand and accept the Good News and the commissioning of Jesus, we need to "Go out" like St. Mark did.
Because when we are out there, and there is no dependency and certainty but Jesus Himself, then we will truly experience the power of the Good News and become true disciples of Jesus Christ.
Monday, April 23, 2012
3rd Week of Easter, Tuesday, 24-04-12
Acts 7:51 - 8:1 / John 6:30-35
One of the important aspects of interpersonal relationship is that one should avoid a blunt criticism of the other party.
Even if it is a glaring defect or problem, one should find ways and means to put it across subtly and gently in the hope that the other party will slowly come to a self-realization of the problem or defect.
In the 1st reading, Stephen has failed in almost all aspects of interpersonal relationship as he sharply criticized the people, the elders and scribes for stubbornly resisting the Holy Spirit and even persecuted the prophets and now has even killed Jesus whom God has sent.
For not being diplomatic and sensible, Stephen paid the price, and it cost more than an arm and a leg - it cost his life!
But that also tells us what Stephen thinks about his life. His life is nothing less than a life in Christ and a life for Christ, and he was prepared to pay the price.
Stephen was called to witness to Christ in that particular way. But of course there are other ways to witness to Christ.
In whichever and whatever way, the essence is the same.
In the gospel, Jesus proclaimed He is the bread of life. Yes He is the bread of our lives.
Just as Jesus is bread of life for us, we too are to be bread of life for others, so that their hunger and thirst in life will be fulfilled.
Yes, witnessing for Christ is as personal as that - to be the bread of life for others.
And that would entail giving up our lives for others, just as Stephen did.
May Jesus, our bread of life, give us the strength to witness for Him with our lives.
One of the important aspects of interpersonal relationship is that one should avoid a blunt criticism of the other party.
Even if it is a glaring defect or problem, one should find ways and means to put it across subtly and gently in the hope that the other party will slowly come to a self-realization of the problem or defect.
In the 1st reading, Stephen has failed in almost all aspects of interpersonal relationship as he sharply criticized the people, the elders and scribes for stubbornly resisting the Holy Spirit and even persecuted the prophets and now has even killed Jesus whom God has sent.
For not being diplomatic and sensible, Stephen paid the price, and it cost more than an arm and a leg - it cost his life!
But that also tells us what Stephen thinks about his life. His life is nothing less than a life in Christ and a life for Christ, and he was prepared to pay the price.
Stephen was called to witness to Christ in that particular way. But of course there are other ways to witness to Christ.
In whichever and whatever way, the essence is the same.
In the gospel, Jesus proclaimed He is the bread of life. Yes He is the bread of our lives.
Just as Jesus is bread of life for us, we too are to be bread of life for others, so that their hunger and thirst in life will be fulfilled.
Yes, witnessing for Christ is as personal as that - to be the bread of life for others.
And that would entail giving up our lives for others, just as Stephen did.
May Jesus, our bread of life, give us the strength to witness for Him with our lives.
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