Isaiah 11:1-10 / Romans 15:4-9 / Matthew 3:1-12
By this weekend, we ought to have taken out our Christmas decorations from the store room. Yes, taken out, unwrapped, and hopefully the fairy lights, and whatever lights, still work.
Come to think of it, putting up the decorations can be like a good spiritual preparation for Christmas. Because we will have to learn how to handle the frustrations and disappointments that comes with the season.
And Christmas may seem to be just like our job at the office, as in we do all the work and the fat guy with the suit gets all the credit.
Still we will try to numb the nagging reality of life by trying to get into the festive mood, so we distract ourselves with putting up the festive decorations.
At least we will try to put up a Christmas tree. Certainly not a real tree as real trees are costly and times are tough.
But an artificial tree will do, just like the one that is outside. And we try to decorate it to give it a Christmassy look.
And that should be enough to bring us through the season. At least we hope that the lights won’t burn out before Christmas Day, or at least the lights won’t burn down the tree.
But what is the big fuss over the Christmas tree? What kind of biblical or religious significance has it got?
Well, the Christmas tree is used to symbolize Jesus. He is the shoot that springs from the stock of Jesse, the scion that trusts from Jesse’s roots, as the prophet Isaiah said in the 1st reading.
Jesse was the father of King David, whose reign brought about the golden age of Israel. But after his reign, Israel declined and the kingdom was split and was overrun by her enemies over and over again.
Eventually when Israel was exiled into Babylon, King David’s descendants became an obscurity.
But the prophet Isaiah wrote of hope, that one day a shoot will spring forth from the stump of Jesse and bring about Israel’s glory.
Jesus was that shoot that sprang into a tree, a life-giving tree, a hope-giving tree. And that is why the Christmas tree is an appropriate symbol for the season.
Besides being an evergreen tree that retains its colour in the midst of winter, it is also a sign of life and hope, when everything seems to come to a standstill.
And that is why we decorate our Christmas tree with other meaningful symbols like the star, lights, and those other things that symbolize what Jesus is about and what He came to give us.
One of the things that we surely won’t find, and nor would we put under the Christmas tree, is a gift-wrapped, ribbon-tied sharp axe. The kind of axe that John the Baptist talked about in today’s gospel, the kind of axe for chopping down trees.
Somehow, John the Baptist is interested in our Christmas trees. Whether real tree or otherwise, he is ready to chop it down, if our Christmas tree do not symbolize anything about our Christian belief, or about our Christian way of life.
Not that he is jealous just because Christmas trees cannot be found in the desert, because that is where he stays.
But what he couldn’t stand is that we so-called “fake” our Christmas, by having nicely decorated Christmas trees that have no meaning in our lives whatsoever.
So for example, we put a big star at the top of the Christmas tree. That star is a symbol of the star of Bethlehem that led the wise men to find the infant Jesus.
As we put up the star, are we going to tell our children and our family members that we are going to have family prayers from now on, and follow Jesus in His way of love.
As we put up the lights on the tree, are we also going to tell our family members and our children that we are going to make our home a place of warmth, joy and peace.
And the gifts that we put beneath the Christmas tree, do they symbolize the self-giving love of Jesus?
John the Baptist may be welding his axe and demanding that we show our repentance by bearing good fruits, yet that repentance can be a beautiful spiritual experience when we understand God’s self-giving love in the beautiful mystery of the Incarnation at Christmas. There is a beautiful story that reflects the self-giving love of God at Christmas.
Once there was a tree, and she loved a little boy. And every day the boy would come and he would gather her leaves and make them into crowns and play king of the forest. He would climb up her trunk and swing from her branches and eat apples. And when he was tired, he would sleep in her shade. And the boy loved the tree very much. And the tree was happy.
But time went by. And the boy grew older. And the tree was often alone. Then one day the boy came to the tree, and the tree said, "Come, Boy, come and climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and eat apples and play in my shade and be happy."
"I am too big to climb and play" said the boy. "I want to buy things and have fun. I want some money." "I'm sorry," said the tree, "but I have no money. I have only leaves and apples. Take my apples, Boy, and sell them in the city. Then you will have money and you will be happy." And so the boy climbed up the tree and gathered her apples and carried them away. And the tree was happy. But the boy stayed away for a long time, and the tree was sad.
And then one day the boy came back and the tree shook with joy and she said, "Come, Boy, climb up my trunk, and swing from my branches and be happy." "I am too busy to climb trees," said the boy. "I want a house to keep me warm," he said. "I want a wife and I want children, and so I need a house. Can you give me a house?"
"I have no house," said the tree. "The forest is my house, but you may cut off my branches and build a house. Then you will be happy." And so the boy cut off her branches and carried them away to build his house. And the tree was happy.
But the boy stayed away for a long time. And when he came back, the tree was so happy she could hardly speak. "Come, Boy," she whispered, "come and play." "I am too old and sad to play," said the boy. "I want a boat that will take me far away from here. Can you give me a boat?" "Cut down my trunk and make a boat," said the tree. "Then you can sail away... and be happy." And so the boy cut down her trunk and made a boat and sailed away. And the tree was happy ... but not really.
And after a long time the boy came back again. "I am sorry, Boy," said the tree," but I have nothing left to give you - My apples are gone." "My teeth are too weak for apples," said the boy. "My branches are gone," said the tree. "You cannot swing on them." "I am too old to swing on branches," said the boy. "My trunk is gone," said the tree. "You cannot climb." "I am too tired to climb" said the boy.
"I am sorry," sighed the tree. "I wish that I could give you something .... but I have nothing left. I am just an old stump." "I don't need very much now," said the boy, "just a quiet place to sit and rest. I am very tired." "Well," said the tree, straightening herself up as much as she could, "well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting. Come, Boy, sit down. Sit down and rest." And the boy did, and he was happy. And the tree was happy.
Yes, at Christmas, God gave us His only Son out of love for us. On Good Friday, Jesus allowed Himself to be chopped down and reduced to a stump in order to save us.
Yet out of this stump, Jesus rose, and He wants us to rise with Him. May our Christmas trees symbolize who Jesus is to us. May it also symbolize who we really are to others, as we give of ourselves, just as Jesus gave Himself for us.
Saturday, December 3, 2016
St. Francis Xavier, Patron of Missions, Saturday, 03-12-16
1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23 / Mark 16:16-20
It is interesting to note that the Major Seminary in Singapore is dedicated to the patronage of St. Francis Xavier.
In the first year of formation, the seminarians had to read about the lives of the saints, and St. Francis Xavier was one for compulsory reading.
And even priests and religious and missionaries who read about his life and his work will admit that he is one model that is very difficult to match up to.
His missionary zeal, his perseverance and his persistence in preaching the gospel amidst the political clutter, his courage and determination were all very inspiring.
And it seemed that he spent so much time in the East in places like Goa, Malacca, China and Japan and learning the local languages so that he could preach to the local people that he eventually forgot his own mother tongue (Spanish).
He took the trouble to learn the local languages and in that sense he really went out and preached everywhere.
In St. Francis Xavier, we can see the words of today's gospel being fulfilled.
And the words of the gospel, the Good News, will continue to be fulfilled in us as long as we are willing to proclaim the Good News in word and in action.
We must always remember that it is not so much our suitability for the task but rather our availability for the mission.
It is interesting to note that the Major Seminary in Singapore is dedicated to the patronage of St. Francis Xavier.
In the first year of formation, the seminarians had to read about the lives of the saints, and St. Francis Xavier was one for compulsory reading.
And even priests and religious and missionaries who read about his life and his work will admit that he is one model that is very difficult to match up to.
His missionary zeal, his perseverance and his persistence in preaching the gospel amidst the political clutter, his courage and determination were all very inspiring.
And it seemed that he spent so much time in the East in places like Goa, Malacca, China and Japan and learning the local languages so that he could preach to the local people that he eventually forgot his own mother tongue (Spanish).
He took the trouble to learn the local languages and in that sense he really went out and preached everywhere.
In St. Francis Xavier, we can see the words of today's gospel being fulfilled.
And the words of the gospel, the Good News, will continue to be fulfilled in us as long as we are willing to proclaim the Good News in word and in action.
We must always remember that it is not so much our suitability for the task but rather our availability for the mission.
Thursday, December 1, 2016
1st Week of Advent, Friday, 02-12-16
Isaiah 29:17-24 / Matthew 9:27-31
In Singapore, we are used to efficiency and productivity. For a small country like ours that does not have much natural resources, that is what we can offer to investors in order to remain competitive.
But it is not just to investors that would be impressed with our efficiency and productivity. Any company, especially those in the service sector must be able to attend to a customer's request as quickly as possible, otherwise they will be left behind and left out.
We would think that Jesus would also be quick to attend to any request because He came to proclaim the love of God and this is especially manifested in His healing ministry.
In the gospel, we heard that two blind men followed Him shouting: Take pity on us, Son of David! But the gospel went on to say that it was only when He reached the house that the blind men came up to Him.
Why was it that Jesus did not attend to the two blind men immediately as He would usually do? Why did He make the two blind men, who already have the difficulty of making their way around, follow Him all the way to the house?
In a way, that is also much like how we felt about the way our prayers are going. We have offered prayer after prayer and the answer seems slow in coming, and at times we wonder if the answer would ever come at all.
But the experience of the two blind men tells us this - for prayer to be answered, it requires a combination of faith, perseverance and persistence.
On this First Friday as we gather in the Eucharist to pray for the petitions offered to the Sacred Heart, Jesus is also asking us this: Do you believe that I can do this?
Furthermore, the Advent season is a time of waiting in faith and hope for God to answer our prayers as He did for His people in the past.
And like how the two blind men replied Jesus, we too want to believe that Jesus will answer our prayers. It is not about how quickly, but about whether we believe. Let us believe and persist in believing.
In Singapore, we are used to efficiency and productivity. For a small country like ours that does not have much natural resources, that is what we can offer to investors in order to remain competitive.
But it is not just to investors that would be impressed with our efficiency and productivity. Any company, especially those in the service sector must be able to attend to a customer's request as quickly as possible, otherwise they will be left behind and left out.
We would think that Jesus would also be quick to attend to any request because He came to proclaim the love of God and this is especially manifested in His healing ministry.
In the gospel, we heard that two blind men followed Him shouting: Take pity on us, Son of David! But the gospel went on to say that it was only when He reached the house that the blind men came up to Him.
Why was it that Jesus did not attend to the two blind men immediately as He would usually do? Why did He make the two blind men, who already have the difficulty of making their way around, follow Him all the way to the house?
In a way, that is also much like how we felt about the way our prayers are going. We have offered prayer after prayer and the answer seems slow in coming, and at times we wonder if the answer would ever come at all.
But the experience of the two blind men tells us this - for prayer to be answered, it requires a combination of faith, perseverance and persistence.
On this First Friday as we gather in the Eucharist to pray for the petitions offered to the Sacred Heart, Jesus is also asking us this: Do you believe that I can do this?
Furthermore, the Advent season is a time of waiting in faith and hope for God to answer our prayers as He did for His people in the past.
And like how the two blind men replied Jesus, we too want to believe that Jesus will answer our prayers. It is not about how quickly, but about whether we believe. Let us believe and persist in believing.
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
1st Week of Advent, Thursday, 01-12-16
Isaiah 26:1-6 / Matthew 7:21, 24-27
When we think about life, there are many lessons that we can learn from it.
For example, difficult roads always lead to beautiful destinations, as when we are climbing up a mountain and when we get to the summit we are rewarded with a beautiful vision and a sense of achievement.
One of the truths of life is that hard work will have its rewards.
Building something on rock is certainly not easy at all. Piling the foundations into the rock is going to be very hard work. But the reward is that the building will be stable and will stand firm.
Building something on sand can be easy but it will be risky. That is what Jesus is telling us in today's gospel.
But the example of building something on rock and on sand is to bring in the point about how we listen to the Word of God and act on them.
Following the teachings of Jesus and doing God's will is certainly difficult and entails a lot of hard work of denying ourselves.
But the reward will be what we heard in the 1st reading: That day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city.
Facing the difficulties and challenges of our faith require a lot of hard work on our part but the reward will be that the foundations of our faith will be firm.
And God will guard us along the way as He sets wall and rampart about us. When we build our lives on God our Rock and stand firm with Him, He will stand firm with us. And Jesus promises us that we will not fall. Let us trust in Him and continue to build on the Lord our Rock.
When we think about life, there are many lessons that we can learn from it.
For example, difficult roads always lead to beautiful destinations, as when we are climbing up a mountain and when we get to the summit we are rewarded with a beautiful vision and a sense of achievement.
One of the truths of life is that hard work will have its rewards.
Building something on rock is certainly not easy at all. Piling the foundations into the rock is going to be very hard work. But the reward is that the building will be stable and will stand firm.
Building something on sand can be easy but it will be risky. That is what Jesus is telling us in today's gospel.
But the example of building something on rock and on sand is to bring in the point about how we listen to the Word of God and act on them.
Following the teachings of Jesus and doing God's will is certainly difficult and entails a lot of hard work of denying ourselves.
But the reward will be what we heard in the 1st reading: That day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city.
Facing the difficulties and challenges of our faith require a lot of hard work on our part but the reward will be that the foundations of our faith will be firm.
And God will guard us along the way as He sets wall and rampart about us. When we build our lives on God our Rock and stand firm with Him, He will stand firm with us. And Jesus promises us that we will not fall. Let us trust in Him and continue to build on the Lord our Rock.
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
St. Andrew, Apostle, Wednesday, 30-11-16
Romans 10:9-18 / Matthew 4:18-22
We would like to be known and identified as who we are, and for who we are.
We may not like it that much when we are known and identified in relation and in connection with someone else.
For example, how would we feel if we are known as someone else's brother or sister, or someone else's nephew or niece, and at times our name is not even mentioned.
We may feel that we are not that important to be remembered by name or that we have to latch on to someone else's identity in order to be identified.
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Andrew. He is often overshadowed by his brother St. Peter. Even when we have to talk about St. Andrew, we will mention that he is the brother of St. Peter. Otherwise some might wonder who are we talking about about.
But it must be remembered that it was St. Andrew who introduced St. Peter to Jesus. It was St. Andrew who pointed out the boy with the five loaves and two fish. It was St. Andrew who brought the Gentiles to see Jesus.
And it was St. Andrew who responded the invitation of Jesus to "Come and see" and he spent the whole day with Jesus.
So St. Andrew may not be that prominent as an apostle and not as famous as his brother. But he is remembered for those few moments in the ministry of Jesus.
We may not be prominent or famous people. But as Christians, Jesus has called us to be His presence in this world. May all that we do bring about the presence of Jesus to others
We would like to be known and identified as who we are, and for who we are.
We may not like it that much when we are known and identified in relation and in connection with someone else.
For example, how would we feel if we are known as someone else's brother or sister, or someone else's nephew or niece, and at times our name is not even mentioned.
We may feel that we are not that important to be remembered by name or that we have to latch on to someone else's identity in order to be identified.
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Andrew. He is often overshadowed by his brother St. Peter. Even when we have to talk about St. Andrew, we will mention that he is the brother of St. Peter. Otherwise some might wonder who are we talking about about.
But it must be remembered that it was St. Andrew who introduced St. Peter to Jesus. It was St. Andrew who pointed out the boy with the five loaves and two fish. It was St. Andrew who brought the Gentiles to see Jesus.
And it was St. Andrew who responded the invitation of Jesus to "Come and see" and he spent the whole day with Jesus.
So St. Andrew may not be that prominent as an apostle and not as famous as his brother. But he is remembered for those few moments in the ministry of Jesus.
We may not be prominent or famous people. But as Christians, Jesus has called us to be His presence in this world. May all that we do bring about the presence of Jesus to others
Monday, November 28, 2016
1st Week of Advent, Tuesday, 29-11-16
Isaiah 11:1-10 / Luke 10:21-24
Fairy tales make us smile, fairy tales like Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.
They make us smile because the ending is so rosy, so dreamy, so happily ever after, and we feel nice about it.
But the real world is not a fairy tale and we don't usually end up smiling or happy ever after. In fact ,it can be like happy never after.
What we heard from the prophet Isaiah seemed to be like a fairy tale.
The wolf lives with the lamb, the lion eats straw like the ox, infant plays over the cobra's hole.
A picture of serenity, a picture of peace and harmony.
But can it be true, can it ever be true? Or is it just a dream and a fairy tale?
We might say that it is not possible, and that it because we, too often, have experienced the hard knocks of the real world.
In this hard and real world, there are no dreams or fairy tales.
The story of Vincent van Gogh, the great Dutch painter, is one such case.
He actually produced 1,700 paintings and drawings before he died in 1890. However in his lifetime, van Gogh sold only one painting, and that for only a miserable sum.
So in the hard real world, dreams and fairy tales just fizzle out and vanish. Or is it so?
It is into this hard real world and that Jesus came to help us dream again, and to give us hope and to help us believe that the Kingdom stories are not just airy fairy tales.
So as we begin our Advent preparation, let us also become like little children of the Kingdom, children who want to dream, children who dare to believe that stories can come true, children who dare to hope against hope.
Fairy tales make us smile, fairy tales like Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.
They make us smile because the ending is so rosy, so dreamy, so happily ever after, and we feel nice about it.
But the real world is not a fairy tale and we don't usually end up smiling or happy ever after. In fact ,it can be like happy never after.
What we heard from the prophet Isaiah seemed to be like a fairy tale.
The wolf lives with the lamb, the lion eats straw like the ox, infant plays over the cobra's hole.
A picture of serenity, a picture of peace and harmony.
But can it be true, can it ever be true? Or is it just a dream and a fairy tale?
We might say that it is not possible, and that it because we, too often, have experienced the hard knocks of the real world.
In this hard and real world, there are no dreams or fairy tales.
The story of Vincent van Gogh, the great Dutch painter, is one such case.
He actually produced 1,700 paintings and drawings before he died in 1890. However in his lifetime, van Gogh sold only one painting, and that for only a miserable sum.
So in the hard real world, dreams and fairy tales just fizzle out and vanish. Or is it so?
It is into this hard real world and that Jesus came to help us dream again, and to give us hope and to help us believe that the Kingdom stories are not just airy fairy tales.
So as we begin our Advent preparation, let us also become like little children of the Kingdom, children who want to dream, children who dare to believe that stories can come true, children who dare to hope against hope.
Sunday, November 27, 2016
1st Week of Advent (Year A), Monday, 28-11-16
Isaiah 4:2-6 / Matthew 8:5-11
An average dictionary would have something like over 50,000 entries and with over 70,000 definitions.
That is quite a number of words with quite a number of definitions.
But despite their abundance, words still have a powerful effect on our lives and in our thinking.
A carefully chosen word or phrase can save a situation, whereas a careless choice of words can ruin everything.
So if the pen is mightier than the sword, then the spoken word can be as powerful as the action.
In the gospel, the centurion recognized the authority of Jesus and the power of His Word, the centurion being a man of authority himself.
He believed that what Jesus says is as good as being done already.
As the Church begins the season of Advent, we are called to reflect on what Jesus said and to prepare for how it will be fulfilled.
Jesus came 2000 years ago to bring about healing and forgiveness. He will come again to bring about restoration and salvation.
May we hold on to our faith in His Word as we continue to wait for the fulfillment of His promises.
An average dictionary would have something like over 50,000 entries and with over 70,000 definitions.
That is quite a number of words with quite a number of definitions.
But despite their abundance, words still have a powerful effect on our lives and in our thinking.
A carefully chosen word or phrase can save a situation, whereas a careless choice of words can ruin everything.
So if the pen is mightier than the sword, then the spoken word can be as powerful as the action.
In the gospel, the centurion recognized the authority of Jesus and the power of His Word, the centurion being a man of authority himself.
He believed that what Jesus says is as good as being done already.
As the Church begins the season of Advent, we are called to reflect on what Jesus said and to prepare for how it will be fulfilled.
Jesus came 2000 years ago to bring about healing and forgiveness. He will come again to bring about restoration and salvation.
May we hold on to our faith in His Word as we continue to wait for the fulfillment of His promises.
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