34th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 01-12-2023

Daniel 7:2-14 / Luke 21:29-33   

Throughout the course of history, many kingdoms have come and gone.

Even in the Bible, there were great kingdoms that are mentioned.

There were the kingdoms of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome, some of which were mentioned in the vision of the prophet Daniel in the 1st reading.

Those great kingdoms and their powerful leaders have left legacies in world history and also in Bible history.

But their legacies have remained as just accounts in history books.

In his vision, the prophet Daniel mentioned a great figure who was conferred an eternal sovereignty, glory and kingship.

And his kingdom will also never be destroyed; it is an eternal kingdom.

In the gospel, Jesus says that the kingdom of God is near at hand.

We know that the kingdom of God is already present in the world.

Worldly powers may try to overcome and destroy the kingdom of God which is present in the Church.

But we know that the worldly powers will come and go, they will rise and fall.

But the kingdom of God is an eternal kingdom, and will stand forever.

Because even if heaven and earth will pass away, the words of Jesus will never pass away, because He is the eternal Word of God.

Let us believe in the eternal word of Jesus, and we will be in the eternal kingdom of God.

St. Andrew, Apostle, Thursday, 30-11-2023

Romans 10:9-18 / Matthew 4:18-22    

In the gospel account, we hear of Jesus calling St. Peter along with his brother St. Andrew.

But there was something else about St. Andrew.

In the gospel according to St. John, St. Andrew was initially a disciple of John the Baptist.

And when John the Baptist pointed out Jesus as the Lamb of God, Andrew in turn followed Him.

So we can say that St. Andrew was the first disciple of Jesus.

And it was St. Andrew who brought St. Peter to see Jesus, after telling him that he had found the Messiah.

We can learn much from St. Andrew, especially his attitude as a disciple.

After staying with Jesus and coming to know Him, St. Andrew did not keep this experience to himself, but shared it with his brother St.Peter.

So saints are not nicely sculptured statues, or just pretty colourful pictures on the stained-glass of churches.

They are common people who are opened to Jesus when He came into their lives, and after experiencing Him, they also shared Him with others, just like St. Andrew did.

Let us pray that we will continue to experience Jesus daily and like St. Andrew we will go forth to share Him with others.

34th Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 29-11-2023

Daniel 5:1-6,13-14, 16-17, 23-28 / Luke 21:12-19     

The feeling of fear is something that we, as humans, would have experienced.

It can be anything from having cold and clammy hands to cold sweat and shivers.

But the fear of king Belshazzar in the 1st reading made him turn pale with alarm, and his thigh-joints went slack and his knees began to knock.

What he saw was beyond comprehension – the fingers of a human hand appeared and began to write on the wall.

King Belshazzar was so obstinate with total disregard for the sacred and the religious that this had to happen to him.

And that was also his judgement, and it sealed his fate.

In the gospel, what Jesus said is truly disturbing and unsettling.

We certainly do not want to face the kind of persecutions that Jesus is talking about.

But if ever we find ourselves in that kind of situation, then Jesus is telling us that it is an opportunity to bear witness.

Our endurance will win us our lives.

And our reward will be written in heaven.

34th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 28-11-2023

Daniel 2:31-45 / Luke 11:5-11

When a person is riding on the crest of the wave of success, it will be all roses and sunshine.

Moreover, in that bright light of confidence, nothing would seem impossible.

And one would think that this sweetness will last forever, or at least a lifetime.

But as much as the proverb urges us to make hay while the sun shines, we would be too comfortable with just lazing around and sun-tanning.

In the 1st reading, king Nebuchadnezzar had a vision, and Daniel interpreted that vision for him.

But will that interpretation leave him to be sober about his temporary glory and mortality?

Or would he think about Daniel’s interpretation of his vision, and do something good about his life?

In the gospel, Jesus tells us not to be deceived into complacency and indifference.

Things may be going smooth and we may be basking in the bright light of confidence and success.

But just as we turn to the Lord in bad times for help, let us turn to the Lord in good times with thanksgiving and supplication.

Let us ask the Lord to grant us wisdom and knowledge to interpret the times, so that we will live our lives giving glory to God, and inheriting glory for eternity.

34th Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 27-11-2023

Daniel 1:1-6, 8-20 / Luke 23:1-4   

If we say that we love God whom we have not seen, then consequently, we must love our neighbour whom we can see.

To say that we love God and yet we do not love our neighbour, then we are not living out what we say and believe (cf 1 John 4:20)

By the same token, if we say that we trust God, then we too must trust others.

We believe that God will send people or persons to affirm our trust in Him.

In the 1st reading, the four young men didn’t want to defile themselves with the food from the king’s table.

But they trust that God will provide a way for them, and so they negotiated with the chief eunuch and the guard.

Against the odds, the chief eunuch and the guard relented and let them have the food that they requested.

In the gospel, the poverty-stricken widow put in all she had to live on. 

She thought that no one would have noticed, and she may not want anyone to notice, since it was such a little amount.

But Jesus noticed, and He also implied that because that widow trusted in God, God will also provide for her.

So when we say that we trust in God and that He will provide for us, God will also affirm us.

He will send people to show us what He can do for us and provide for us.

Christ The King, Year A, 26.11,2023

Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17 / 1 Cor 15:20-26, 28 / Matthew 25:31-46

The world that we live in operates on a logical and mathematical level. 

Almost everything is squarely and neatly balanced off, maybe because we like things to be neat and tidy. 

So, if we are at a drink dispensing machine, each drink has a price. We choose the drink, pay the money, and the drink is dispensed. 

That is all fair and square, that is also expected of the transaction. 

But, when we choose a drink, pay the money and the drink is not dispensed, then something has gone wrong. 

Whatever the problem may be, the logical and mathematical process is disrupted. And of course we get frustrated. 

In our world where efficiency and productivity are highly priced, there is little tolerance for disruption and malfunction. 

Things need to be fair and square, as well as neat and tidy. 

It also means that the more we do, the more we should get in return. 

In other words, the higher the investment, the greater should be the return. 

And the returns are not just in terms of the tangible. The returns should also be intangible, like gaining attention.

So, when something big or great is done, it should be announced, and maybe even trumpeted, for everyone to know. 

That is how the world operates, that is how the world moves, and that is also how we are influenced. 

But in the gospel, Jesus tells us something that is quite different. 

Jesus tells us that the humble and ordinary deeds are important. In fact, they have an eternal consequence. 

It is deeds like feeding the hungry, quenching the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked and visiting the sick. 

These are so plain and ordinary, that they won't make it to the headlines or get the spotlight. 

In all this, Jesus is telling us that He cares for the poor and the lowly, He cares for the helpless and the needy. 

Jesus not only cares for them, He tells us that He is among them, that He is in them. 

Hence, His profound teaching is this: In so far as you did it to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me. 

That divine teaching breaks our concept of fair and square, as well as the world's orientation towards efficiency and productivity. 

Jesus is telling us that our little deeds of service and charity may not be noticed by the world, but He sees it. 

We may think that there is nothing to gain from doing what is humble and lowly. 

We may think that only those who are deserving would be rewarded, while those who don't meet expectations will have to be left on their own. 

But Jesus tells us that those who need our help are those who have no one to help them.

If they are not voicing out their need for help, it could be because they have become oblivious in a world that pays attention to the glamorous. 

But Jesus tells us that there are the poor and the lowly, there are those who are helpless and needy. 

And what is astounding is that Jesus tells us that He is among them, that He is in them. 

May those five words “you did it to me”, keep ringing in our ears. 

Those are the words of the King of kings, the King of the universe. 

Our eternal future is shaped when we listen to our King, and do what He tells us.

33rd Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 25-11-2023

1 Macc 6:1-13 / Luke 20:27-40    

To have some goals and ambitions in life can be a good thing.

At least we will have some directions and meaning in life.

But goals and ambitions can begin to turn to greed and self-centeredness.

And when a person is obsessed with greed and selfishness, the inevitable is that there will be a disregard and disrespect for God.

In the 1st reading, king Antiochus had reached the pinnacle of his reign.

He was powerful, but he became greedy and over-ambitious.

He forgot that he was mere human, and he had a disregard and disrespect for God.

It can be said that he brought about his own downfall and he died a miserable man.

The lesson for us and for humanity is that our lives are temporal and that God is eternal.

Yet, this great and eternal God wants to give us life and meaning.

Let us revere and honour God for He is our Lord and Saviour.

Without the God of life and love, we may exist but we will not know the joy and meaning of life.