Leviticus 25:1, 8-17 / Matthew 14:1-12
At times we wonder if being good and doing good is really worth it.
Because very often, we see, and even experienced, that good is being re-paid with evil.
John the Baptist just wanted Herod to repent and live a good life.
Because what Herod did was leading towards self-destruction.
John the Baptist had compassion for Herod.
In fact, Herod knew it, and that was why he was distressed when he had to give the orders for John's execution.
But goodness cannot be silenced or put to death.
Because in the person of Jesus, Herod was once again reminded of the goodness of John the Baptist.
When we live out the Christian values of love, patience, gentleness, humility, etc., and we get slapped in the face, we may wonder if it is worth it.
But let us remember that all good comes from God.
When we do good, the benefactors are not just the others.
We ourselves begin to realize our Christian identity and see the power of goodness and the power of God's love happening in the lives of others.
Friday, July 31, 2015
Thursday, July 30, 2015
17th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 31-07-15
Leviticus 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34-37 / Matthew 13:54-58
If someone were to ask you who preached the homily at Mass last Sunday, you might take a while to recall which priest it was.
But if the next question would be "So what did he preach about?" then we really have to crank up our memory in order to recall what we heard.
And ten other persons who were there listening to the same homily would have ten versions of what was preached.
That could mean that people are doing their own reflections about the Word of God.
Yet, people also tend to listen with varying degrees of openness and receptivity.
And that depends largely on who is speaking.
In today's gospel, we see that a judgement is made between the speaker and what was spoken.
The people of Jesus's hometown were not open to the person, and hence is not open to the truth.
When we challenge ourselves to listen to what is said and not how it is said or who is saying it, then we will be able to hear the truth.
Then we will hear the prophetic voice of God.
If someone were to ask you who preached the homily at Mass last Sunday, you might take a while to recall which priest it was.
But if the next question would be "So what did he preach about?" then we really have to crank up our memory in order to recall what we heard.
And ten other persons who were there listening to the same homily would have ten versions of what was preached.
That could mean that people are doing their own reflections about the Word of God.
Yet, people also tend to listen with varying degrees of openness and receptivity.
And that depends largely on who is speaking.
In today's gospel, we see that a judgement is made between the speaker and what was spoken.
The people of Jesus's hometown were not open to the person, and hence is not open to the truth.
When we challenge ourselves to listen to what is said and not how it is said or who is saying it, then we will be able to hear the truth.
Then we will hear the prophetic voice of God.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
17th Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 30-07-15
Exodus 40:16-321, 34-36 / Matthew 13:47-53
It is very easy to use today's readings to preach a fire-and-brimstone homily about judgement and punishment, repent or burn etc.
But strange that Jesus would use the image of a dragnet.
A dragnet catches everything that is in its way.
The dragnet is such that it does not discriminate.
And that is what the church is like, or should be like.
We find all sorts of people in church - the saintly and the not-so, the straight and the crooked, the talkers and the doers, the quiet and the loud, just to name a few.
And at times, we might wonder why there are those kinds of people in church.
Maybe that's why we say that the church is a mystery.
As we heard in the first reading, the Israelites experienced mystery. In the form of the tabernacle, the Israelites came into contact with the mystery of God.
Similarly, in the Church, we encounter the mystery of God in the people present in the Church.
It is because when we believe in the mystery of the presence of God in the Church, we can then believe that God will cleanse the Church, cleanse each of us, so that we as the Church can be the distinct sign of salvation.
Then, we , the Church, can go forth and cleanse the world.
It is very easy to use today's readings to preach a fire-and-brimstone homily about judgement and punishment, repent or burn etc.
But strange that Jesus would use the image of a dragnet.
A dragnet catches everything that is in its way.
The dragnet is such that it does not discriminate.
And that is what the church is like, or should be like.
We find all sorts of people in church - the saintly and the not-so, the straight and the crooked, the talkers and the doers, the quiet and the loud, just to name a few.
And at times, we might wonder why there are those kinds of people in church.
Maybe that's why we say that the church is a mystery.
As we heard in the first reading, the Israelites experienced mystery. In the form of the tabernacle, the Israelites came into contact with the mystery of God.
Similarly, in the Church, we encounter the mystery of God in the people present in the Church.
It is because when we believe in the mystery of the presence of God in the Church, we can then believe that God will cleanse the Church, cleanse each of us, so that we as the Church can be the distinct sign of salvation.
Then, we , the Church, can go forth and cleanse the world.
St. Martha, Wednesday, 29-07-15
1 John 4:7-16 / John 11:19-27 (2022)
Whenever we talk about St. Martha, the image of an active and work-oriented as well as task-oriented person comes to mind.
That may be because of that occasion (Luke 10 : 38-42)when she invited Jesus to her home and she was caught up with all the serving.
And then she complained to Jesus about getting her sister Mary to help her with the work.
But Jesus told her that she worry and fret about so many things and yet only one is important, and Mary had chosen the better part.
Martha must have remembered what Jesus said to her, and so despite the sadness and grief over her brother's death, she knew that only Jesus could comfort her.
And true to her personality, she made the move to go out and meet Jesus and to express her faith in Jesus.
But on this occasion, she also made a profound proclamation.
Martha proclaimed Jesus to be Christ, the Son of God.
Only St. Peter had made that similar proclamation.
Hence, St. Martha, despite her active and work-oriented and task-oriented personality, came to slowly recognize who Jesus is.
St. Martha is an example for us of someone who is active and busy but yet took the time to reflect and to discover who Jesus is.
Like St. Martha we may also have very active lives and busy with a lot of things.
But let us not forget the one important thing - prayer!
It is in prayer that we will attain the peace to know that Jesus is truly the Son of God, our Saviour.
Monday, July 27, 2015
17th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 28-07-15
Exodus 33:7-11; 34:5-9, 28 / Matthew 13:36-43
Moses is certainly one of the figures in the Bible who can say he knew how God protected him.
Throughout his life, from the time as a baby, to his fleeing from the Pharaoh, and then returning to Egypt to lead his people out of slavery, Moses knew how God's hand was protecting him.
It is through all this, that he came to know God as a God of mercy and compassion, slow to anger, rich in kindness and faithfulness.
And when the Israelites sinned against God and in spite of the evil that Moses saw the Israelites committing, yet Moses turned to God to beg for forgiveness and mercy for his people.
Well, the situations that we find ourselves in are not that different from that of Moses.
We are confronted by our own sinfulness, the sinfulness of others, and on a larger scale, the evil in the world.
Or like how the Gospel puts it. We see more darnel, we see more weeds than wheat.
But we are reminded that we must not let evil overcame us; instead we must conquer evil with God.
So let us not be discouraged over our acts of charity; we shall reap when the time comes, as long as we persevere in these good deeds.
Because, God from where all good flows, will never allow the good that we do, to be destroyed by evil.
Moses is certainly one of the figures in the Bible who can say he knew how God protected him.
Throughout his life, from the time as a baby, to his fleeing from the Pharaoh, and then returning to Egypt to lead his people out of slavery, Moses knew how God's hand was protecting him.
It is through all this, that he came to know God as a God of mercy and compassion, slow to anger, rich in kindness and faithfulness.
And when the Israelites sinned against God and in spite of the evil that Moses saw the Israelites committing, yet Moses turned to God to beg for forgiveness and mercy for his people.
Well, the situations that we find ourselves in are not that different from that of Moses.
We are confronted by our own sinfulness, the sinfulness of others, and on a larger scale, the evil in the world.
Or like how the Gospel puts it. We see more darnel, we see more weeds than wheat.
But we are reminded that we must not let evil overcame us; instead we must conquer evil with God.
So let us not be discouraged over our acts of charity; we shall reap when the time comes, as long as we persevere in these good deeds.
Because, God from where all good flows, will never allow the good that we do, to be destroyed by evil.
Sunday, July 26, 2015
17th Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 27-07-15
Exodus 32:15-24, 30-34 / Matthew 13:31-35
Babies and very young children have this peculiar tendency.
They will cry out in distress when they don't see their parents around them.
Their parents are certainly still around; just that they are momentarily out of sight.
This tendency is especially manifested on the first day of nursery, when the parents leave their children under the care of teachers.
The reaction of the children can be anything from frowning to hysterical cries.
Such is the need of children for a visible presence of their parents.
We see a similar situation with the Israelites in the 1st reading.
Moses had left them to go up to Mt Sinai, and they began to feel abandoned and insecure.
They needed a sense of security and they turned to a thing to satisfy them.
Yes, we might criticize them for being idolatrous, etc.
But what they felt only illustrates the human desire for the presence of God in order to feel secure.
The presence of God is like the mustard seed and the yeast parables that Jesus used to describe the Kingdom of God.
Where God is made present, there is the Kingdom.
We are like the mustard seeds and the yeast.
God is within us and He is waiting.
He is waiting for us to make His kingdom present in the world.
Babies and very young children have this peculiar tendency.
They will cry out in distress when they don't see their parents around them.
Their parents are certainly still around; just that they are momentarily out of sight.
This tendency is especially manifested on the first day of nursery, when the parents leave their children under the care of teachers.
The reaction of the children can be anything from frowning to hysterical cries.
Such is the need of children for a visible presence of their parents.
We see a similar situation with the Israelites in the 1st reading.
Moses had left them to go up to Mt Sinai, and they began to feel abandoned and insecure.
They needed a sense of security and they turned to a thing to satisfy them.
Yes, we might criticize them for being idolatrous, etc.
But what they felt only illustrates the human desire for the presence of God in order to feel secure.
The presence of God is like the mustard seed and the yeast parables that Jesus used to describe the Kingdom of God.
Where God is made present, there is the Kingdom.
We are like the mustard seeds and the yeast.
God is within us and He is waiting.
He is waiting for us to make His kingdom present in the world.
Saturday, July 25, 2015
17th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 26.07.2015
2 Kings 4:42-44 / Ephesians 4:1-6 / John 6:1-15
Coming for Mass can be quite distracting and challenging, especially if we are hungry.
In Singapore where eating is like a habit and a lifestyle, (despite the fact that our country produces hardly any food) to be hungry for a prolonged period of time sounds abnormal and strange.
Still, hunger cannot be undermined because hunger fans the emotions of anger.
Some clever people have amalgamated the words “hungry” and “angry” into a new word called “hangry” to mean a state of anger caused by lack of food.
It is true that hunger can cause a negative change in the emotional state of any living being.
That’s why it takes a lot of patience to run a food business and to face hungry and demanding customers.
Once, I was at a food court and waiting behind another customer to get beef noodles. And I thought I heard her telling the cook that she wants the beef medium rare.
The cook just nodded and prepared the so called “medium rare” beef noodles for her.
So when my turn came I was curious and I had to ask if there is such a thing as “medium rare” beef noodles.
The cook replied that it is better to pretend to give the hungry customer what she wants than to argue about the existence of “medium rare” beef noodles (smart cookie!)
In today’s gospel, food, and the multiplication of food is indeed a point for reflection.
But the reflection is not on how it was multiplied. Rather, the reflection is on why the food was multiplied.
A large crowd was following Jesus, impressed by the signs He gave by curing the sick.
And they continued to follow Him simply because He made them feel loved.
He had shown his love for the sick by curing them. He showed His love for the crowd by teaching them the way of love.
And now as He sees the hungry crowd before Him and He knew exactly what to do.
He was going to show them another sign of His love, His love for them.
He was going to show His love for them by satisfying their hunger.
So regardless of how the loaves and fish were multiplied, the miracle pointed to one thing.
It showed that when God loves, He loves generously and He even loves in excess.
After all, when the remainders were collected ,they filled up 12 baskets.
Now that is the God that we are called to believe in - a God who loves generously; a God who gives generously.
But that is where the problem begins; because very often the attention shifts from the Giver to the gifts.
In the gospel, when the crowd saw the miracles that Jesus had worked, they wanted to make Him their King.
At first they followed Jesus because they hungered for truth and for love.
But now they got distracted by material benefits.
Now, they are interested in more food, more comfort, more security, more possessions.
And that is precisely our story. Yes, we believe in God especially when He gives. But what about when He doesn’t?
Yes, the God that we believe in is a God who loves us generously and provides for our needs.
Yet the God that we hunger for is the God who was nailed to the cross, died on the cross, so that we can have life.
If we only turn to God for food, clothing, shelter, wealth, then we are just like “hungry beings” – we will never be satisfied or contended.
If “hungry beings” are always thinking about food, then poor beings are always thinking about wealth and riches.
To be wealthy and rich but without honour and integrity is like tasteless food; it will satisfy the hunger but it won’t taste good.
A successful businessman was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business.
Instead of choosing one of his directors or his children, he decided to do something different.
He called all the young executives in his company together. He said, “It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you.” The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. “I am going to give each one of you a seed today – one very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO”
One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and told his wife the story.
She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown.
After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.
Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn’t have a plant and he felt like a failure. Six months went by- still nothing in Jim’s pot.
He just knew he must have killed his seed but he didn’t say anything to his colleagues. He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil.
The year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection.
Jim told his wife that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot. But she encouraged him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick in his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right.
He took his empty pot to the board room. When he arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. Jim held his empty pot and many of his colleagues laughed at him.
When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives. Jim just tried to hide at the back. “My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown,” said the CEO.” Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!”
Then he spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the financial director to bring him to the front. Jim was terrified.
He thought, “Now he knows I’m a failure! Maybe I’ll be fired!”
When he got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed.
Jim told him the story. The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. Then he announced, “Behold your next Chief Executive! His name is Jim!” He continued, “One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead – it was not possible for them to grow. All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. So, he is the one who will be the new CEO!”
Just a story to remind us that hunger for success cannot be at the expense of honour and integrity.
Jesus did not give in to the crowds to become popular for the wrong reasons.
We are reminded that we are human beings and not “hungry beings”.
We only need to follow God’s ways and He will open wide His hands and fill the hunger of our hearts.
Coming for Mass can be quite distracting and challenging, especially if we are hungry.
In Singapore where eating is like a habit and a lifestyle, (despite the fact that our country produces hardly any food) to be hungry for a prolonged period of time sounds abnormal and strange.
Still, hunger cannot be undermined because hunger fans the emotions of anger.
Some clever people have amalgamated the words “hungry” and “angry” into a new word called “hangry” to mean a state of anger caused by lack of food.
It is true that hunger can cause a negative change in the emotional state of any living being.
That’s why it takes a lot of patience to run a food business and to face hungry and demanding customers.
Once, I was at a food court and waiting behind another customer to get beef noodles. And I thought I heard her telling the cook that she wants the beef medium rare.
The cook just nodded and prepared the so called “medium rare” beef noodles for her.
So when my turn came I was curious and I had to ask if there is such a thing as “medium rare” beef noodles.
The cook replied that it is better to pretend to give the hungry customer what she wants than to argue about the existence of “medium rare” beef noodles (smart cookie!)
In today’s gospel, food, and the multiplication of food is indeed a point for reflection.
But the reflection is not on how it was multiplied. Rather, the reflection is on why the food was multiplied.
A large crowd was following Jesus, impressed by the signs He gave by curing the sick.
And they continued to follow Him simply because He made them feel loved.
He had shown his love for the sick by curing them. He showed His love for the crowd by teaching them the way of love.
And now as He sees the hungry crowd before Him and He knew exactly what to do.
He was going to show them another sign of His love, His love for them.
He was going to show His love for them by satisfying their hunger.
So regardless of how the loaves and fish were multiplied, the miracle pointed to one thing.
It showed that when God loves, He loves generously and He even loves in excess.
After all, when the remainders were collected ,they filled up 12 baskets.
Now that is the God that we are called to believe in - a God who loves generously; a God who gives generously.
But that is where the problem begins; because very often the attention shifts from the Giver to the gifts.
In the gospel, when the crowd saw the miracles that Jesus had worked, they wanted to make Him their King.
At first they followed Jesus because they hungered for truth and for love.
But now they got distracted by material benefits.
Now, they are interested in more food, more comfort, more security, more possessions.
And that is precisely our story. Yes, we believe in God especially when He gives. But what about when He doesn’t?
Yes, the God that we believe in is a God who loves us generously and provides for our needs.
Yet the God that we hunger for is the God who was nailed to the cross, died on the cross, so that we can have life.
If we only turn to God for food, clothing, shelter, wealth, then we are just like “hungry beings” – we will never be satisfied or contended.
If “hungry beings” are always thinking about food, then poor beings are always thinking about wealth and riches.
To be wealthy and rich but without honour and integrity is like tasteless food; it will satisfy the hunger but it won’t taste good.
A successful businessman was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business.
Instead of choosing one of his directors or his children, he decided to do something different.
He called all the young executives in his company together. He said, “It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you.” The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. “I am going to give each one of you a seed today – one very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO”
One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and told his wife the story.
She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown.
After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.
Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn’t have a plant and he felt like a failure. Six months went by- still nothing in Jim’s pot.
He just knew he must have killed his seed but he didn’t say anything to his colleagues. He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil.
The year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection.
Jim told his wife that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot. But she encouraged him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick in his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right.
He took his empty pot to the board room. When he arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. Jim held his empty pot and many of his colleagues laughed at him.
When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives. Jim just tried to hide at the back. “My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown,” said the CEO.” Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!”
Then he spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the financial director to bring him to the front. Jim was terrified.
He thought, “Now he knows I’m a failure! Maybe I’ll be fired!”
When he got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed.
Jim told him the story. The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. Then he announced, “Behold your next Chief Executive! His name is Jim!” He continued, “One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead – it was not possible for them to grow. All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. So, he is the one who will be the new CEO!”
Just a story to remind us that hunger for success cannot be at the expense of honour and integrity.
Jesus did not give in to the crowds to become popular for the wrong reasons.
We are reminded that we are human beings and not “hungry beings”.
We only need to follow God’s ways and He will open wide His hands and fill the hunger of our hearts.
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