13th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 01-07-16

Amos 8:4-6, 9-12 / Matthew 9:9-13    (2022)

It is not really easy for someone who has done wrong to get back onto the track of life again.

Even if they truly repent of their wrong-doing, their guilt remains etched on the minds of people.

For example, for those who have been released from prison, the label "ex-prisoner" will always be in the minds of those who know them.

And as long as people keep harping on guilt, then life is being drained away. Even if one has repented and made amends for the guilt, the chains of the past bind them again when others recall the guilt.

Often, those with a guilty past are made to feel that self-respect and self-worth count for less than zero.

That was the case with Matthew the tax-collector. He gained his wealth but he lost his worth. He got his revenue but lost his respect.

And it is indeed surprising that of all the virtuous people, Jesus would call such a person who is less than zero in the eyes of others.

It will take some time for us to understand that the Divine Healer came for the sick.

It will take some time for us to understand that the Saviour came for the sinner.

But in the meantime, what we need to show to those who have done wrong is to show them the mercy of God.

13th Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 30-06-16

Amos 7:10-17 / Matthew 9:1-8

If people don't like to hear bad things said about them, then how would the people of God respond when they hear bad things said about them?

Certainly they, like everyone else, would not like to hear it nor will they be happy to hear it.

But being the people of God, they would also have this responsibility of discerning what was said and how true it is.

In the 1st reading, the prophet Amos prophesied against the people of Israel, and they could no longer tolerate what he was saying.

But there was no denying that Amos spoke the Word of God. The priest Amaziah called him "seer" and told him to go back to Judah to do his prophesying there.

And for not heeding the oracle of the Lord and the prophet, the people of God had to face the consequences.

In the gospel it was the paralytic who listened to the Word of God when Jesus told him - Courage, my child, your sins are forgiven.

The paralytic then understood that forgiveness comes before healing and so he opened his heart to forgiveness, and when Jesus told him to get up and walk, he was healed and got up and walked home.

When we acknowledge our sinfulness and the call to repentance, our sins will be forgiven and we too will get up and walk towards Jesus.

May we not let our sinfulness prevent us from listening to the voice of God and the call to repentance.

Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles, Wednesday, 28-06-16

Acts 12:1-11 / 2 Tim 4:6-8, 17-18 / Matthew 16:13-19

Today's feast is in some ways unique because we remember the two great saints who are the pillars of the Church - St. Peter and St. Paul.

Both were martyred in Rome in the first century and tradition has it that in AD 258, their remains were temporarily removed on 29th June to prevent them from defilement during persecution.

That is the primary reason why although the two saints have feast days of their own, today they are joined together in one feast.

But as we reflect on the readings, then we see today's celebration of the feast of these two great saints has more than just a commemorative reason.

Today we celebrated mystery - that the Church is founded on Jesus Christ and that He has given spiritual authority to St. Peter and the apostles and their successors, and that the gates of the underworld can never hold out against the Church.

We celebrate communion because the authority is for service and unity and in St. Peter and St. Paul, we see that although they had their disagreements with each other, they understand that their fundamental task is to serve the Lord and build the Church in unity.

We also celebrate mission because the Church does not exist for its own sake but for the proclamation of the Good News and for the salvation of the world.

So on this feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, let us contemplate on the mystery of God in the Church, let us work for communion in the Church and let us also be ready to respond to the call of mission of salvation.

13th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 28-06-16

Amos 3:1-6; 4:11-12 / Matthew 8:23-27

It is often said that life is so unpredictable. It is so true especially when calm turns to chaos.

It may happen on the expressway when we are driving when suddenly another vehicle swerves into our path from nowhere.

Or we may be doing our work happily when suddenly the fire alarm goes off and everyone starts to jump up from their seats and wonder if there is an emergency.

Certainly, life is unpredictable, and more so when calm turns to chaos.

But it was when calm turns to chaos that the disciples began to have a deeper glimpse of who Jesus is.

And when the prophet Amos warned the people of impending punishment and chaos, he also urged them: Israel, prepare to meet your God.

Every situation of chaos, of tribulation,  of danger is a time to meet our God and to have a deeper encounter with Him.

And when the Lord has calmed the turbulence within us, then we in turn can be His prophet of peace.

Like Amos the prophet, when we come across a chaotic situation, we will also know that it is a time to meet our God who is our Saviour.

13th Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 27-06-16

Amos 2:6-11, 13-16 / Matthew 8:18-22

It is almost everyone's desire to have a comfortable life.

So besides having enough to eat and a cosy place to stay in, we would also wish for financial security and also luxuries like a nice big car and maybe even servants to do our work for us.

Yet, these desires only exist in dreams and seldom in reality.

Even if these desires are achievable, they are like a bottomless pit and we can never be satisfied and contented.

There is something that Jesus said in the gospel that needs to be reflected upon and thought about.

When He said that He has nowhere to lay His head, Jesus is almost like saying that He has no place in this world and that nothing belongs to Him.

If Jesus can say that, then what about us?

And if we want to be His disciples, are we also prepared to live like Him and have nowhere to lay our head?

We must remember that we live in a passing world and we are only stewards of what we have. Nothing really belongs to us forever, and we also cannot bring anything from here to the hereafter.

If we have nowhere to lay our heads on earth, then the other aspect is that there must be somewhere we can have hope in where our hearts will be at rest and find contentment.

May our hope be in our faith in God who will grant us peace and protect us from anxiety so that our lives will be lived in joyful hope.

13th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 26.06.2016

1 Kings 19:16, 19-21 / Galatians 5:1, 13-18 / Luke 9:51-62

Phones were invented for telecommunication. It means that we can communicate with each other over a distance using the phone.

But nowadays, the phone, or specifically the mobile phone, is used not so much for telecommunication, but for messaging. It seems that messaging has become the norm of communication.

And with messaging, it’s not just about words but also with this thing called emoji. Emoji is a small digital image or icon used to express an idea or an emotion in electronic communication.

And emoji has a whole range from smileys to surprised to sadness. 

So instead of using words we can use an emoji to express an emotion.

One unmistakable emoji that we may have used before is that of anger, and the image or icon that is used to express anger is usually reddish and has an unpleasant expression.

If we had used that anger emoji before and used it quite often, then it may mean that we have anger management issues, or maybe we are playing too much of that “Angry Birds” game.

Whatever it is, anger is one of the most common emotions that we have in our lives. 

Anger is a feeling that makes the mouth work faster than the mind, and when we speak when we are angry, then we will make a speech that we will eventually regret, and that others won’t forget.

Yes, anger teaches us many lessons only if we are willing to learn from it.

In the gospel, Jesus gave His disciples a lesson on anger management.

They came to a Samaritan town, and the people would not welcome Him, and seeing this, the disciples James and John said, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to burn them up?” But He turned and rebuked them.

The fact is that anger doesn’t solve anything. It builds nothing but it can destroy everything.

And holding on to the fire of anger is like holding burning coals with the intent of throwing it at someone else; but we are the ones getting burned.

And that was why Jesus rebuked them. He wanted to free them from that anger so that it won’t destroy them.

And as the 2nd reading puts it: When Christ freed us, He meant us to remain free, and not to submit again to the yoke of slavery, which is the slavery of self-indulgence.

When we give in to self-indulgence, we give in to our anger and it destroys and burns up our love for others.

There is a story that a long time ago in China, a girl named Li-Li got married and went to live with her husband and mother-in-law.

In a very short time, Li-Li found that she couldn’t get along with her mother-in-law at all. Their personalities were very different, and Li-Li was angered by many of her mother-in-law’s habits. In addition, she criticized Li-Li constantly.

Days passed, and weeks passed. Li-Li and her mother-in-law never stopped arguing and fighting. But what made the situation even worse was that, according to ancient Chinese tradition, Li-Li had to bow to her mother-in-law and obey her every wish. All the anger and unhappiness in the house was causing the poor husband  great distress.

Finally, Li-Li could not stand her mother-in-law’s bad temper and dictatorship any longer, and she decided to do something about it.

Li-Li went to see her father’s good friend, Mr. Huang, who sold herbs. She told him the situation and asked if he would give her some poison so that she could solve the problem once and for all. 

Mr. Huang thought for a while, and finally said, “Li-Li, I will help you solve your problem, but you must listen to me and obey what I tell you.”

Li-Li said, “Yes, Mr. Huang, I will do whatever you tell me to do.” Mr. Huang went into the back room, and returned in a few minutes with a package of herbs.

He told Li-Li, “You can’t use a quick-acting poison to get rid of your mother-in-law, because that would cause people to become suspicious. Therefore, I am giving you a number of herbs that will slowly build up poison in her body. Every other day prepare some delicious meal and put a little of these herbs in her serving. Now, in order to make sure that nobody suspects you when she dies, you must be very careful to act very friendly towards her. Don’t argue with her, obey her every wish, and treat her like a queen.”

Li-Li was so happy. She thanked Mr. Huang and hurried home to start her plot of poisoning her mother-in-law.

Weeks went by, months went by, and every other day, Li-Li served the specially treated food to her mother-in-law. She remembered what Mr. Huang had said about avoiding suspicion, so she controlled her temper, obeyed her mother-in-law, and treated her like her own mother. After six months had passed, the whole household had changed.

Li-Li had practiced controlling her temper so much that she found that she almost never got mad or upset. She hadn’t had an argument in six months with her mother-in-law, who now seemed much kinder and easier to get along with.

The mother-in-law’s attitude toward Li-Li changed, and she began to love Li-Li like her own daughter. She kept telling friends and relatives that Li-Li was the best daughter-in-law one could ever find. Li-Li and her mother-in-law were now treating each other like a real mother and daughter.

One day, Li-Li came to see Mr. Huang and asked for his help again. She said, “Mr. Huang, please help me to stop the poison from killing my mother-in-law! She’s changed into such a nice woman, and I love her like my own mother. I do not want her to die because of the poison I gave her.”

Mr. Huang smiled and nodded his head. “Li-Li, there’s nothing to worry about. The herbs I gave you were not poison, but vitamins to improve her health. The only poison was in your mind and your attitude toward her, but that has been all washed away by the love which you gave to her.”

Indeed, the 2nd reading tells us: Serve one another in works of love, since the whole Law is summarised in a single command: Love your neighbor as yourself.

When we are guided by the Spirit of love, then we will not be in danger of yielding to self-indulgence and to anger.

Then we will truly be free to follow Jesus and the emotions that will be on our faces will be peace and joy.

12th Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 25-06-16

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

There are things within our control and there are also many other things that are not within our control.

We can try to control people if we have any authority or power whatsoever, and we can make them do things the way we want it done.

But even if we can do that, then there are also other areas that we can't control, ie. their thoughts, their feelings, their perspectives, their opinions.

More than that, we also cannot control the state of their health. We cannot stop it if they were to fall ill or if their health deteriorates.

Such was the realization of the centurion in the gospel. He may have authority over his soldiers under his command, and his servants too.

But he can't stop one of his servants from falling ill and in great pain. But he also realized who has authority over that and hence he turned to Jesus.

He not only believed in the authority of Jesus over such matters, he also believed in His power to heal and the spoken word of Jesus was enough for that.

We too, like the centurion, may have realized the power of Jesus to heal sickness and diseases. We too, may have experienced that healing power of Jesus.

But let us also realize that Jesus also fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: He took our sicknesses away and carried our diseases for us.

Let us put our faith and trust in Jesus our Saviour and Healer. Let Him have full control over our lives, and we will have peace of mind and heart.