15th Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 14-07-2025

Exodus 1:8-14, 22 / Matthew 10:34 - 11:1 

In this world, power and might are desired by a certain type of people or individuals.

They are the type who want to put others down in order to show their so-called superiority.

They want power and might in order to suppress others.

In other words, they are simply bullies. 

The fear of bullies is that if they don’t bully others, then they will be bullied.

That was the fear of Pharoah when he saw the Israelites become so numerous and strong and he saw them as a threat.

So he tried to suppress them with hard labour so as to wear them down.

But the strange thing is that the more the Israelites were crushed, the more they increased and became stronger.

The truth is that God is on the side of the suffering, the oppressed, those who suffer injustice and those who are bullied.

In the gospel, Jesus says that anyone who finds his life will lose it, and anyone who loses his life for Jesus will find it.

It also can be said that anyone who bullies others will find himself fighting against God.

And anyone who believes in God and lives a humble life of peace and love will be saved by God. 

God is always on the side of the weak, the little and the humble.

Anyone who believes that will see the saving power of God.

15th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 13.07.2025

Deuteronomy 30:10-14 / Colossians 1:15-20 / Luke 10:25-37

The word “convenient” is a nice sounding word, and with it comes certain expectations. 

Convenient means that the situation or the circumstances fit well into our needs, into our schedules and into our plans. 

Convenient may also mean involving little trouble or effort. 

And we like it when life has its conveniences and makes us comfortable. 

Just think about the 24-hour convenience stores that are also conveniently located. 

If we ever need something like an instant meal or some common grocery at an odd hour, those convenient stores would probably have what we are looking for. 

And in our country, we are spoiled with convenience. 

There are those 24-hour petrol stations, 24-hour food outlets and 24-hour department stores. 

So, it is like whatever we want and whenever we want it, it is conveniently there for us. 

All these conveniences of life, however, create an attitude in us. 

It makes us take things for granted and feel entitled.

In the gospel, a lawyer wanted to disconcert Jesus, and he asked Him about what needs to be done to inherit eternal life. 

The lawyer wanted to unsettle Jesus. Since he was a lawyer, Jesus asked him about what is written in the Law. 

And the lawyer was precise: You must love the Lord your God with all your heart come up with all your soul, with all the strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.

But the lawyer still didn't let go, and was anxious to justify himself, and so he asked a rather questionable question: And who is my neighbour. 

And out of the lips of Jesus, came this beautiful parable of what is commonly known as the parable of the Good Samaritan. 

More than just a Good Samaritan, he can also be called a Strange Samaritan. 

Like the priest and the Levite, he also can be excused for not helping the injured man. 

The priest and the Levite had to keep themselves ritually clean for their religious duties, and cannot be defiled with blood. 

Samaritans and Jews had a hostility towards each other, so the Samaritan was not obligated at all to help the injured man. 

But whether it was the priest, or the Levite or the Samaritan, there is no doubt that it would be very inconvenient to help the injured man. 

But as the parable shows us, the response to inconvenience is compassion. 

The Samaritan traveller was moved with compassion when he saw the injured man. 

The Samaritan could have gone the way of convenience, and looked away, and walked away. 

But he looked at the injured man, and he was moved with compassion towards him. 

In a world where we go with convenience and what is convenient, we may not want to think about compassion. 

As we heard in the parable, to be moved by compassion would mean that it is going to be inconvenient, is going to be troublesome, and we may even have to fork out money to pay for someone else's problem. 

And it is also not convenient to be a Christian. 

Just as the Samaritan is commonly called “good”, we too have an adjective before our religious identity, and that is “compassionate Catholic”. 

The second reading says that Jesus is the image of the unseen God, and we are the image of the compassion of Christ. 

In the first reading, Moses tells the people that God's Word is very near to them, it is in their mouths, it is in their hearts, for their observance. 

So is the compassion of Christ. It is in our heart, in our soul, in our mind and in our strength.

It was compassion that moved the Samaritan. 

It is the compassion of Christ that will also move us. 

May the compassion of Christ move us away from our desire for convenience and for what is convenient. 

And may the compassion of Christ move us to be compassionate and loving, and to look at that neighbour whom we have been conveniently avoiding.

14th Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 12-07-2025

Genesis  49:29-33; 50:15-26 / Matthew 10:24-38  

If we were to ask ourselves this question - Am I afraid of death? - how honestly can we answer that question?

Whatever the answer may be, it is inevitable that there is some apprehension, if not fear, about death.

Because no one whom we know of (except Jesus of course) ever came back to tell us of what lies beyond the door of death.

In the 1st reading we hear of two people who knew that the time of their death was coming up.

And they even said it as a matter of fact - Jacob said : I am about to be gathered to my people ; and later Joseph would say : I am about to die.

They seemed to talk about and take death as a part of life. They don't seem to be apprehensive or fear death. Maybe because they know who they would be returning to when their life on earth is over.

In fact the ones that seemed to fear death are the ones who are left behind on earth.

Joseph's brothers feared that with the death of their father, Joseph would now take revenge for all the harm they had done to him before.

In the gospel, Jesus urged His disciples not to be afraid (3 times even).

We become afraid when we forget who is looking after us and what we should do in life in order to prepare for death.

Yes, in forgetting we fear. So let us remember what Jesus has taught us about life, and He will remember us when we face our death.

14th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 11-07-2025

Genesis 46:1-7, 28-30 / Matthew 10:16-23  

The phrase “blood is thicker than water” has many meanings.

The literal meaning is obvious, while other meanings point to the bonds of relationships.

That phrase also points out that blood should not be carelessly or violently shed.

But so often in the history of mankind, blood is shed like water.

From what Jesus said in the gospel, the shedding of blood, even among relations, did not seem like a serious matter.

Brothers will shed each other’s blood, and parents and their children will shed each other’s blood.

But the shedding of innocent blood will not go unnoticed by God.

And God will also intervene to stop the shedding of innocent blood.

God intervened to stop the shedding of Joseph’s blood by his brothers.

And in the end, Joseph was emotionally reunited with his father Jacob, and that showed that blood is thicker than water.

Jesus has shed His blood on the Cross to save us.

Let us not shed any more blood, whether literally or figuratively.

May the blood of Jesus cleanse us of all our sin, so that we can regain our humanity, and strive for holiness and charity.

14th Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 10-07-2025

Genesis 44:18-21, 23-29; 45:1-5 / Matthew 10:7-15  

We certainly like to be acknowledged for the contributions that we make.

Whether it is a financial contribution or a service that is rendered, it would be nice that our contributions are acknowledged.

But it would be embarrassing and even to our discredit if we expect it or even demand for acknowledgement.

As for us who are disciples of Jesus, we know that whatever contributions we make are for the glory of God and for the good of others.

That is our mission as Christians, and as Jesus said in the gospel, the workman deserves his wages.

We need to believe that Jesus will give us what is due to us.

Jesus will even provide for us in whatever we are lacking when we commit ourselves in serving Him.

For Joseph in the 1st reading, he acknowledged God’s plan in sending him to Egypt, initially as a slave, and later on to provide for his father and brothers in their time of need.

Let us remember that whatever we contribute comes from God’s providence.

Let our contribution be an encouragement for others to offer their service for the glory of God and for the good of others.

14th Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 09-07-2025

Genesis 41:55-57; 42:5-7, 17-24 / Matthew 10:1-7  

In life, we want to have our needs fulfilled and live a comfortable life.

That is what we strive for and that is also what gives us motivation and purpose.

But when we have all our needs fulfilled and we are comfortable, we may lose that “hunger” in life.

Because we will tend to sit back and relax and want to enjoy life more and more.

This can also affect our faith as we begin to rely less and less on God and need Him less and less.

As long as people have their needs fulfilled and are comfortable, they may not depend and rely on God that much.

But when a situation arises that makes us vulnerable, then we will wake up and turn back to God.

In the 1st reading, the sons of Israel went to Egypt to buy grain as there was a severe famine.

If not for the famine and the need to buy food, they may not have to go to Egypt and eventually came face to face with their brother Joseph.

They did not know it, but God used the famine to bring about a meeting with the brothers.

Whenever we face challenges and difficulties, let us know that those are moments that make us wake up to our need for God.

May we hunger and thirst for God, and may we always turn to Him in our struggles and troubles and experience His saving help.

14th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 08-07-2025

Genesis 32:23-33 / Matthew 9:32-38 

Whenever we think about obedience, we may think that it is a passive form of submission.

It may seem to be that way, since to obey is to surrender to a superior power or higher authority.

But in the spiritual sense, obedience can have an active dimension.

In the 1st reading, Jacob’s name was changed to Israel.

The name Israel means Jacob had been strong against God, and he will prevail against men.

It can also imply that Jacob was strong in his faith but he was also obedient to God.

And it is by his obedience to God that he will be strong against his enemies.

Jesus was obedient to God His Father. By His obedience, He was able to cast out demons.

By His obedience, Jesus preached the Good News with authority.

By His obedience, Jesus cared for those who were harassed and dejected.

May we too be obedient to God and carry out God’s will to be labourers of His harvest.

Then we will be strong in faith, and we will also stand firm against wickedness and evil.