Jeremiah 33:14-16 / 1 Thess 3:12 – 4:3 / Luke 21:25-28, 34-36
If there is one word to describe the month of December, it is this word – holiday.
Although there is only one public holiday in the month of Dec, a number of families are going or have gone for holidays overseas, primarily because of the school holidays.
Even the church seems to be decorated for a festive holiday mood. We should have noticed that within the church as well as outside the church.
Oh yes, we see these decorations year after year, and we expect them to be there. Just like shopping malls and Orchard Road are decorated and in fact, much earlier, even before December, we too want our church to be decorated.
But there is one big difference - those that are at the shopping malls and the nearby Orchard Road can be termed as commercial decorations, nice and pretty to look at, and that’s all to it.
But church decorations are more than just nice and pretty. Church decorations are signs and symbols that point to a spiritual reality.
That spiritual reality is the celebration of the birth of our Saviour, as well as the waiting in joyful hope of the 2nd coming of Jesus.
So every piece of decoration in church is a sign or a symbol that points to a reality, a spiritual reality, a reality that we can understand, a reality that we are a part of.
In today’s gospel, when Jesus talked about the signs, it is understandable that we don’t see anything more in those signs other than signs of distress and turmoil, signs of the end-times.
What other interpretations can we give of the words Jesus used: agony, clamour, dying of fear?
Certainly, those kinds of signs are far from pleasant and we would wish that we will never see those signs. And we wonder why such a passage is chosen for the First Sunday of Advent.
But when we look at our world today, and in every age and time, we have those signs of distress and turmoil – nuclear war threat, ecological dangers, plagues, famines, natural disasters.
These are signs that made us fear what is to come and thoughts of the end-time prophecies flash through our mind.
But just as Christmas decorations can be categorized as commercial decorations and spiritual decorations, so are the signs.
The world may see those signs as disturbing signs of distress and turmoil, signs of agony and fear of the future, signs of the end of the world.
But we cannot see as how the world sees, we cannot think as how the world thinks. Because our faith tells us that what others see as the end, we see as the beginning. We see tribulation giving way to celebration, we see distress giving way to success, we see adversity as an opportunity and we see darkness giving way to light.
And that’s what our Christmas decorations should be all about. Our Christmas decorations are not just to be nice-looking or impressive. They must point to two things – 1. The celebration of the birth of our Saviour. 2. The preparation of the 2nd coming as He promised.
So, for example, the Advent candles and the Advent wreath. It tells us that the four weeks of preparation is to let the light of Christ shine slowly into our hearts and dispel whatever darkness that is blocking our hearts from receiving Jesus.
The Advent wreath is round and with evergreen and it symbolizes the eternal and everlasting love of God for us, a love that is expressed in the birth of Jesus.
The Christmas tree symbolizes what we heard in the 1st reading, when the Lord said this: See the days are coming when I am going to fulfil the promise I made to the House of Israel and the House of Judah.
Because from the stump of Jesse (the Christmas tree is also known as the Jesse Tree), a shoot will grow and become a great and mighty tree, again pointing to Jesus.
And of course the Nativity scene with the big star of Bethlehem, to point to us the reason for the season, and whether in celebration of the birth of Jesus or in preparation of His 2nd coming, we do it in joyful hope for a promised fulfilled and a promise that will be fulfilled.
So, as we begin this season of Advent, let us come away from the hustle bustle, let us come away to the Divine, let us come away to pray with the lights, the lights that point to Jesus the true Light.
Yes, come and pray, bring a friend along, or even a non-Catholic friend along. Who doesn’t like to admire Christmas decorations in a quiet setting, and we have that quiet setting in this church!
Yes, come away and pray and may we feel how God has fulfilled His promises in our lives as we wait in joyful hope for His abundant blessings to come.
Saturday, December 1, 2018
34th Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 01-12-18
Apocalypse 22:1-7 / Luke 21:34-36
It is a general medical opinion that a lot of diseases like heart-attack, stroke, high-blood pressure and diabetes can be prevented and controlled.
It just requires us to be disciplined in our diet and exercise routines.
But when it comes to preventive measures, we don't usually see the concrete benefits of our vigilance.
Hence we slacken, and we say that another piece of fatty meat or missing another day of exercise won't do much harm.
Or we might even throw caution to the wind and say: let's enjoy now and suffer later.
Yet very often, it is while lying on the hospital bed in pain that we start regretting not taking care of our health and our body.
Similarly neither do we want to spend eternity in regret.
What Jesus is asking of us is to be alert and to be with Him in prayer and to have confidence in what He had promised us.
Jesus had promised us eternity with Him. It is by spending every moment with Jesus in our hearts that we will be prepared for eternity with Him.
It is a general medical opinion that a lot of diseases like heart-attack, stroke, high-blood pressure and diabetes can be prevented and controlled.
It just requires us to be disciplined in our diet and exercise routines.
But when it comes to preventive measures, we don't usually see the concrete benefits of our vigilance.
Hence we slacken, and we say that another piece of fatty meat or missing another day of exercise won't do much harm.
Or we might even throw caution to the wind and say: let's enjoy now and suffer later.
Yet very often, it is while lying on the hospital bed in pain that we start regretting not taking care of our health and our body.
Similarly neither do we want to spend eternity in regret.
What Jesus is asking of us is to be alert and to be with Him in prayer and to have confidence in what He had promised us.
Jesus had promised us eternity with Him. It is by spending every moment with Jesus in our hearts that we will be prepared for eternity with Him.
Thursday, November 29, 2018
St. Andrew, Apostle, Friday, 30-11-18
Romans 10 : 9-18 / Matthew 4 : 18-22
Most of us would shy away from the limelight and rather work behind the scenes.
Well, that is until we have basked in the limelight and gotten a taste of the attention and the applause.
After experiencing the taste of the limelight, it might be difficult to step back into the background and go back to being behind the scenes.
We often call it "cannot let go".
St. Andrew was always referred to as the brother of St. Peter.
That title gives the impression that St. Andrew was someone who was always behind the scenes, someone who tags along behind St. Peter.
Even today's gospel seemed to imply that idea when it tells of Jesus calling Peter and Andrew, in that order.
But in the gospel according to St. John, it was Andrew who first followed Jesus, and it was Andrew who told Peter that he had found the Messiah.
St. Andrew's role in the gospels may be few but nonetheless significant.
Besides being the first to follow Jesus and leading Peter to Him, St. Andrew was also instrumental in pointing out the boy with the barley loaves and the fish that later led to the miracle of the multiplication of loaves.
In St. Andrew, we see a reflection of ourselves and our mission.
Following Christ is our top priority and leading others to Christ is our mission.
But stepping back in order that God can continue to work through us must also be our conviction.
When we can do that, then we know what it means to let go and let God.
Most of us would shy away from the limelight and rather work behind the scenes.
Well, that is until we have basked in the limelight and gotten a taste of the attention and the applause.
After experiencing the taste of the limelight, it might be difficult to step back into the background and go back to being behind the scenes.
We often call it "cannot let go".
St. Andrew was always referred to as the brother of St. Peter.
That title gives the impression that St. Andrew was someone who was always behind the scenes, someone who tags along behind St. Peter.
Even today's gospel seemed to imply that idea when it tells of Jesus calling Peter and Andrew, in that order.
But in the gospel according to St. John, it was Andrew who first followed Jesus, and it was Andrew who told Peter that he had found the Messiah.
St. Andrew's role in the gospels may be few but nonetheless significant.
Besides being the first to follow Jesus and leading Peter to Him, St. Andrew was also instrumental in pointing out the boy with the barley loaves and the fish that later led to the miracle of the multiplication of loaves.
In St. Andrew, we see a reflection of ourselves and our mission.
Following Christ is our top priority and leading others to Christ is our mission.
But stepping back in order that God can continue to work through us must also be our conviction.
When we can do that, then we know what it means to let go and let God.
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
34th Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 29-11-18
Apocalypse 18:1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3, 9 / Luke 21:20-28
We can learn good lessons from nature just by observing and reflecting.
For example, the darker the night, the brighter the stars. And cloudy skies make beautiful sunsets.
So nature has a way of telling us that tribulation will give way to celebration, and distress will give way to success, just as the dark of night will give way to the light of day.
These lessons from nature are actually reiterating what we heard in the 1st reading and the gospel.
The 1st reading began with tribulation and destruction, but following that were songs of victory and rejoicing and the celebration of a wedding feast.
In the gospel Jesus talks about a time of great tribulation and distress and destruction of the city of Jerusalem and her inhabitants.
But He also talks about the coming of the Son of Man in power and great glory, and a time of liberation.
So the lessons of scripture tell us that God who foresaw our tribulation, has prepared us to go through it, not without pain, but without stain.
The trials and tribulations in life do not build character; they merely reveal it.
So let us be patient in tribulation, let us rejoice in hope and let us be constant in prayer. That will be enough to be able to see bright stars in the dark night.
We can learn good lessons from nature just by observing and reflecting.
For example, the darker the night, the brighter the stars. And cloudy skies make beautiful sunsets.
So nature has a way of telling us that tribulation will give way to celebration, and distress will give way to success, just as the dark of night will give way to the light of day.
These lessons from nature are actually reiterating what we heard in the 1st reading and the gospel.
The 1st reading began with tribulation and destruction, but following that were songs of victory and rejoicing and the celebration of a wedding feast.
In the gospel Jesus talks about a time of great tribulation and distress and destruction of the city of Jerusalem and her inhabitants.
But He also talks about the coming of the Son of Man in power and great glory, and a time of liberation.
So the lessons of scripture tell us that God who foresaw our tribulation, has prepared us to go through it, not without pain, but without stain.
The trials and tribulations in life do not build character; they merely reveal it.
So let us be patient in tribulation, let us rejoice in hope and let us be constant in prayer. That will be enough to be able to see bright stars in the dark night.
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
34th Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 28-11-18
Apocalypse 15:1-4 / Luke 21:12-19
We may remember that during our school days, there are occasions when the teacher would give us a "surprise" test.
It was certainly not a pleasant surprise at all, as we will be caught unprepared, and if we had not been keeping up with our studies, then the result won't be a surprise at all.
But in such a "surprise" test, that's when it shows what we know and how diligent we are in our studies.
In life there will be surprises, and like those "surprise" test in school, they are not usually pleasant at all.
What Jesus said in the gospel is certainly far from pleasant. In fact, it is painful to know that we will be persecuted for doing the good and right thing, which is actually quite surprising.
What is painfully surprising is that the persecutors are not strangers but relatives and even family members. They may even be friends and colleagues.
But in a time of the test of our faith, let us not be that surprised by who will be against us.
But in test of our faith, let us also be assured of who will be with us. Yes Jesus will be there for us to give us an eloquence and a wisdom that will not only surprise our opponents, it will even surprise us.
So let us prepare for the surprises in life, and we will know who Jesus is, who our friends are and who we really are.
We may remember that during our school days, there are occasions when the teacher would give us a "surprise" test.
It was certainly not a pleasant surprise at all, as we will be caught unprepared, and if we had not been keeping up with our studies, then the result won't be a surprise at all.
But in such a "surprise" test, that's when it shows what we know and how diligent we are in our studies.
In life there will be surprises, and like those "surprise" test in school, they are not usually pleasant at all.
What Jesus said in the gospel is certainly far from pleasant. In fact, it is painful to know that we will be persecuted for doing the good and right thing, which is actually quite surprising.
What is painfully surprising is that the persecutors are not strangers but relatives and even family members. They may even be friends and colleagues.
But in a time of the test of our faith, let us not be that surprised by who will be against us.
But in test of our faith, let us also be assured of who will be with us. Yes Jesus will be there for us to give us an eloquence and a wisdom that will not only surprise our opponents, it will even surprise us.
So let us prepare for the surprises in life, and we will know who Jesus is, who our friends are and who we really are.
34th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 27-11-18
Apocalypse 14:14-19 / Luke 21:5-13
Prophesies about the end-times or about the end of the world may sound alarming. Yet contrary to expectations, it may not have produced the desired results.
There is no widespread panic or alarm, nor great numbers seeking forgiveness and mercy or even nation-wide or international movements of reformations.
In fact, the wrong-doings and acts of evil seem to continue to rise and fill the world from end to end, with no sign of repentance in sight even.
So end-time prophesies has just become another topic of conversation, and we may also have become numbed to its message.
The 1st reading gives the image of two harvests. In the first harvest, a son of man with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand reaped a harvest.
This is to symbolize the gathering of the righteous, and they are gathered by the love and mercy of God and vindicated for their faithfulness.
The second harvest seems to be at vintage time, when all the grapes are ripe, and this harvest is reaped by the angel with a sharp sickle and put into the winepress of God's anger.
This to symbolize the judgement of the the wicked and evil-doers and their subsequent punishment.
What must be stated is that God is love and mercy and forgiveness, and He waits patiently for sinners to repent and be reconciled with Him.
We may take a while to realize the message of repentance and forgiveness but let us not take forever. Because forever in the wrong place is a very very long time.
Prophesies about the end-times or about the end of the world may sound alarming. Yet contrary to expectations, it may not have produced the desired results.
There is no widespread panic or alarm, nor great numbers seeking forgiveness and mercy or even nation-wide or international movements of reformations.
In fact, the wrong-doings and acts of evil seem to continue to rise and fill the world from end to end, with no sign of repentance in sight even.
So end-time prophesies has just become another topic of conversation, and we may also have become numbed to its message.
The 1st reading gives the image of two harvests. In the first harvest, a son of man with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand reaped a harvest.
This is to symbolize the gathering of the righteous, and they are gathered by the love and mercy of God and vindicated for their faithfulness.
The second harvest seems to be at vintage time, when all the grapes are ripe, and this harvest is reaped by the angel with a sharp sickle and put into the winepress of God's anger.
This to symbolize the judgement of the the wicked and evil-doers and their subsequent punishment.
What must be stated is that God is love and mercy and forgiveness, and He waits patiently for sinners to repent and be reconciled with Him.
We may take a while to realize the message of repentance and forgiveness but let us not take forever. Because forever in the wrong place is a very very long time.
Sunday, November 25, 2018
34th Week, Ordinary Time,Monday, 26-11-18
Apocalypse 14:1-5 / Luke 21:1-4
The number 144,000 has been the topic of discussion and speculation. Of course if that number is understood as literal instead of symbolic, then many absurd problems will arise.
One absurd fundamentalistic opinion would be that there will be only 144,000 that will be saved and these are the chosen ones for salvation.
But as it is, the number 144,000 is the product of 1,200 multiplied by 120 and the meaning here is that the number 12 represents God's people and hence 144,000 represents the multitude of God's people in heaven - actually a countless number.
As the 1st reading puts it, they are the people who "never allowed a lie to pass their lips and no fault can be found on them."
Yes, these are the people who know the cost of following Jesus and were prepared to pay the price and indeed paid the price.
The poverty-stricken widow in the gospel also knew what it meant to present an offering to God - and that means everything.
Her two coins were of little value but it was her all and her everything, and that was why Jesus said she had put in more than anybody.
We may think that it was absurd that the poverty-stricken widow would want to give her all and everything.
But would we also think that it was absurd that we would never allow a lie to pass our lips and that no fault can be found on us?
The "144,000" didn't think it so, because they knew the price of following Jesus and were prepared to do so. May we also think likewise.
The number 144,000 has been the topic of discussion and speculation. Of course if that number is understood as literal instead of symbolic, then many absurd problems will arise.
One absurd fundamentalistic opinion would be that there will be only 144,000 that will be saved and these are the chosen ones for salvation.
But as it is, the number 144,000 is the product of 1,200 multiplied by 120 and the meaning here is that the number 12 represents God's people and hence 144,000 represents the multitude of God's people in heaven - actually a countless number.
As the 1st reading puts it, they are the people who "never allowed a lie to pass their lips and no fault can be found on them."
Yes, these are the people who know the cost of following Jesus and were prepared to pay the price and indeed paid the price.
The poverty-stricken widow in the gospel also knew what it meant to present an offering to God - and that means everything.
Her two coins were of little value but it was her all and her everything, and that was why Jesus said she had put in more than anybody.
We may think that it was absurd that the poverty-stricken widow would want to give her all and everything.
But would we also think that it was absurd that we would never allow a lie to pass our lips and that no fault can be found on us?
The "144,000" didn't think it so, because they knew the price of following Jesus and were prepared to do so. May we also think likewise.
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