1 Kings 17 : 7-16 / Matthew 5 : 13-16
Stories of faith and generosity always make a deep impression on us.
The story of the widow's faith and her generosity towards Elijah in the 1st reading, will not only impress us, but it also impressed Jesus.
He referred to it when he was preaching in the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth (Luke 4 : 25-26)
That widow shared with Elijah what she had every right to keep for herself and her son.
She shared what stood between her and starvation to death.
Her faith and generosity was the essence of what Jesus was talking about in the gospel.
Our generosity is like the light that shines out from us.
Our faith is like the salt in the food which could not be seen but could be tasted.
Our generosity shows our faith, and our faith nourishes our generosity.
Salt and light are essential elements in our daily lives.
Similarly, our faith and generosity are essentially what we should live in our lives.
That is also what others are essentially looking for in us.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
10th Week, Ordinary Time, Monday, 07-06-10
1 Kings 17 : 1-6 / Matthew 5 :1-12
In the Bible, a blessing from God means a gift of life and love from God.
A life lived with love means living life with vigour and strength and joy, and it lets a person be at peace with God, with others and with oneself.
In the gospel, we heard about what is often called the beatitudes.
Beatitudes is not about attitudes.
Beatitudes means blessings from God.
So what Jesus is saying is that God is blessing those who are poor in spirit, those who are gentle, those who are merciful, those who work for peace.
Yet we live in a world where it seems that might is right, where money calls the shots and where authority is used to dictate.
But Jesus promises God's blessings on those who follow His truth and His way.
For example, being gentle and compassionate might be seen as soft and weak especially when we give way to others.
But there will come a time when we ourselves will be in need of some gentleness and understanding from others.
God's blessings don't come disguised.
They come as realized, and almost as soon as the next moment.
Blessed are we when we take time to count them.
In the Bible, a blessing from God means a gift of life and love from God.
A life lived with love means living life with vigour and strength and joy, and it lets a person be at peace with God, with others and with oneself.
In the gospel, we heard about what is often called the beatitudes.
Beatitudes is not about attitudes.
Beatitudes means blessings from God.
So what Jesus is saying is that God is blessing those who are poor in spirit, those who are gentle, those who are merciful, those who work for peace.
Yet we live in a world where it seems that might is right, where money calls the shots and where authority is used to dictate.
But Jesus promises God's blessings on those who follow His truth and His way.
For example, being gentle and compassionate might be seen as soft and weak especially when we give way to others.
But there will come a time when we ourselves will be in need of some gentleness and understanding from others.
God's blessings don't come disguised.
They come as realized, and almost as soon as the next moment.
Blessed are we when we take time to count them.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
9th Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 05-06-10
2 Timothy 4 : 1-8 / Mark 12 : 38-44
It is an undeniable fact that most religious institutions are quite rich.
That is because the devotees contribute money to these religious institutions for maintenance and upkeep of the religious functions and also as a form of charity.
But it is also a fact that some people have the idea that offering one's surplus in the "spirit" of charity will wash away sins.
It may also ease the conscience a bit especially if the money is ill-gotten.
Whatever the case might be, the fact is that the offering is still from one's surplus.
In the gospel, Jesus tells His disciples that love offering from one's poverty means much more than the contribution from one's surplus of wealth.
So Jesus made it clear that God's blessings and mercy and forgiveness is not merited by the amount that one gives to the Church or to any religious institution.
Rather, God's grace is given freely to the saint as well as the sinner and not according to merit.
Nonetheless the sincerity of the intention of offering in the spirit of sacrifice opens our heart to receive the plenitude of God's blessings and graces.
The widow is a model of that sincerity and sacrifice because, as Jesus puts it, from the little she had, she has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on.
Maybe because the widow knew that God will provide for her and she put her hope and trust in Him.
May we likewise trust that God will always provide for us because He loves and cares for us.
It is also by giving that we receive.
It is an undeniable fact that most religious institutions are quite rich.
That is because the devotees contribute money to these religious institutions for maintenance and upkeep of the religious functions and also as a form of charity.
But it is also a fact that some people have the idea that offering one's surplus in the "spirit" of charity will wash away sins.
It may also ease the conscience a bit especially if the money is ill-gotten.
Whatever the case might be, the fact is that the offering is still from one's surplus.
In the gospel, Jesus tells His disciples that love offering from one's poverty means much more than the contribution from one's surplus of wealth.
So Jesus made it clear that God's blessings and mercy and forgiveness is not merited by the amount that one gives to the Church or to any religious institution.
Rather, God's grace is given freely to the saint as well as the sinner and not according to merit.
Nonetheless the sincerity of the intention of offering in the spirit of sacrifice opens our heart to receive the plenitude of God's blessings and graces.
The widow is a model of that sincerity and sacrifice because, as Jesus puts it, from the little she had, she has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on.
Maybe because the widow knew that God will provide for her and she put her hope and trust in Him.
May we likewise trust that God will always provide for us because He loves and cares for us.
It is also by giving that we receive.
Friday, June 4, 2010
9th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 04-06-10
2 Timothy 3 : 10-17 / Mark 12 : 35-37
We might wonder why the people were delighted with what Jesus said.
What was it that seemed to be like good news to them?
The topic of discussion was the title "the Christ" which means the anointed one.
The title was closely connected to another title "son of David".
At that time the religious authorities maintained that the Christ must necessarily be a direct descendant of King David.
However the problem was that King David's direct line of descendants was already terminated when the Persians conquered Judah.
So there was this question about the Christ being the son of David because the possibility was almost non existent.
So when Jesus quoted the psalm from David and explained it, He cleared the confusion and doubts the people had in their minds.
That was why they were delighted, because they could now believe again.
We too have out questions about life, about the existence of God, about suffering and about eternal life.
St. Paul said in the 1st reading that anybody who tries to live in devotion to Christ is certain to be attacked, and that he had his share of it.
But St. Paul told Timothy that the Lord has rescued him from every persecution and difficulty.
May the faith of St. Paul and the faith of those characters in the Bible inspire us in our faith and give us hope in our doubts and difficulties.
We might wonder why the people were delighted with what Jesus said.
What was it that seemed to be like good news to them?
The topic of discussion was the title "the Christ" which means the anointed one.
The title was closely connected to another title "son of David".
At that time the religious authorities maintained that the Christ must necessarily be a direct descendant of King David.
However the problem was that King David's direct line of descendants was already terminated when the Persians conquered Judah.
So there was this question about the Christ being the son of David because the possibility was almost non existent.
So when Jesus quoted the psalm from David and explained it, He cleared the confusion and doubts the people had in their minds.
That was why they were delighted, because they could now believe again.
We too have out questions about life, about the existence of God, about suffering and about eternal life.
St. Paul said in the 1st reading that anybody who tries to live in devotion to Christ is certain to be attacked, and that he had his share of it.
But St. Paul told Timothy that the Lord has rescued him from every persecution and difficulty.
May the faith of St. Paul and the faith of those characters in the Bible inspire us in our faith and give us hope in our doubts and difficulties.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
9th Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 03-06-10
2 Timothy 2 : 8-15 / Mark 12 : 28-34
St. Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 1274) was a learned man and a great theologian.
He was the author of that great work "Summa Theologica" (Latin: "Summary of Theology" or "Highest Theology").
But towards the end of his life, he stopped his academic work after he had a mystical experience of God, and he said: all that I have written seems like straw to me.
In certain aspects, what St. Thomas Aquinas echoed what St. Paul said in the 1st reading that life is not a wrangling about words.
St. Paul urged Timothy to be brave and to stand before God as a man who has come through his trials and has no cause to be ashamed of his life's work.
St. Paul himself had faced hostility and persecution and imprisonment and shipwreck.
So he did not just talked the talk; he had already walked the walk.
The walk we have to make is in the path of the commandment that Jesus gave in the gospel.
To love God and to love neighbour is all that is necessary and the most fundamental.
If we not doing this, then all we are doing is like straw.
St. Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 1274) was a learned man and a great theologian.
He was the author of that great work "Summa Theologica" (Latin: "Summary of Theology" or "Highest Theology").
But towards the end of his life, he stopped his academic work after he had a mystical experience of God, and he said: all that I have written seems like straw to me.
In certain aspects, what St. Thomas Aquinas echoed what St. Paul said in the 1st reading that life is not a wrangling about words.
St. Paul urged Timothy to be brave and to stand before God as a man who has come through his trials and has no cause to be ashamed of his life's work.
St. Paul himself had faced hostility and persecution and imprisonment and shipwreck.
So he did not just talked the talk; he had already walked the walk.
The walk we have to make is in the path of the commandment that Jesus gave in the gospel.
To love God and to love neighbour is all that is necessary and the most fundamental.
If we not doing this, then all we are doing is like straw.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
9th Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 02-06-10
2 Timothy 1 : 1-3, 6-12 / Mark 12 : 18-27 (2020)
The great pyramids of Egypt are one the seven wonders of the ancient world and in fact the only existing one left.
Standing magnificently and silently in the desert sand for four thousands years, those pyramids housed the tombs of the pharaohs.
The shape of the pyramids was thought to symbolize a stairway to the sun, so that the pharaoh could climb to heaven.
The great pyramids were built from about two million blocks of stone, each weighing about twenty tons.
So it can be said that the Egyptian belief in the after-life was rock solid.
So did the Jews. Yet there was a hitch in the Egyptian and Jewish understanding of the after-life.
The pharaoh was buried with his treasures and possession, his servants and his wives, so that he could bring them along with him to the after-life.
In the gospel, we heard that the Sadducees thought of the after-life relationships as a mere continuation of the present life relationships.
We too can become confused and skeptical when we try to understand the after-life in terms of the present life.
All we know for now is that we will see God "face-to-face" and receive the fullness of life and joy.
It is with faith in God and in the eternal life with Him that we will stop building pyramids on earth and strive to live the life of above.
The God that we believe in is God, not of the dead, but of the living.
Those who believe in Him will have life and life to the full.
The great pyramids of Egypt are one the seven wonders of the ancient world and in fact the only existing one left.
Standing magnificently and silently in the desert sand for four thousands years, those pyramids housed the tombs of the pharaohs.
The shape of the pyramids was thought to symbolize a stairway to the sun, so that the pharaoh could climb to heaven.
The great pyramids were built from about two million blocks of stone, each weighing about twenty tons.
So it can be said that the Egyptian belief in the after-life was rock solid.
So did the Jews. Yet there was a hitch in the Egyptian and Jewish understanding of the after-life.
The pharaoh was buried with his treasures and possession, his servants and his wives, so that he could bring them along with him to the after-life.
In the gospel, we heard that the Sadducees thought of the after-life relationships as a mere continuation of the present life relationships.
We too can become confused and skeptical when we try to understand the after-life in terms of the present life.
All we know for now is that we will see God "face-to-face" and receive the fullness of life and joy.
It is with faith in God and in the eternal life with Him that we will stop building pyramids on earth and strive to live the life of above.
The God that we believe in is God, not of the dead, but of the living.
Those who believe in Him will have life and life to the full.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
9th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 01-06-10
2 Peter 3 : 11-15, 17-18 / Mark 12 : 13-17 (2024)
The definition of politics is the science or art of political government. That is understood with the good of the people in mind.
Politicking is an activity undertaken for political reasons or ends, or otherwise, promoting oneself or one's policies.
In the latter understanding, it could mean a maneuvering or scheming for power.
So given the understanding of politics and politicking as understood in that sense, we are able to see which of the two is the undesirable.
In the gospel, the question of paying taxes was not so much of a political question but a politicking question.
It was a question set out to trap Jesus and to catch Him out in His reply.
But to that politicking question, Jesus gave a political as well as a spiritual answer.
By saying "Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar - and to God what belongs to God", Jesus was not making a dichotomy between the two entities.
Rather He was speaking of an integrity - what "belongs" to Caesar, in reality belongs to God!
Even the 1st reading urged us to live holy and saintly lives, and that means being good and loyal citizens of our country.
It even urged us not to get carried away by the errors of unprincipled people, possibly referring to those who engage in politicking, whether be it in the affairs of the country or of the workplace or even in church.
We must remember that it does not matter what man may try to plot against the Lord and His anointed ones, God’s purpose will still come to pass.
Our mission is to make the world a place where righteousness will be at home.
The definition of politics is the science or art of political government. That is understood with the good of the people in mind.
Politicking is an activity undertaken for political reasons or ends, or otherwise, promoting oneself or one's policies.
In the latter understanding, it could mean a maneuvering or scheming for power.
So given the understanding of politics and politicking as understood in that sense, we are able to see which of the two is the undesirable.
In the gospel, the question of paying taxes was not so much of a political question but a politicking question.
It was a question set out to trap Jesus and to catch Him out in His reply.
But to that politicking question, Jesus gave a political as well as a spiritual answer.
By saying "Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar - and to God what belongs to God", Jesus was not making a dichotomy between the two entities.
Rather He was speaking of an integrity - what "belongs" to Caesar, in reality belongs to God!
Even the 1st reading urged us to live holy and saintly lives, and that means being good and loyal citizens of our country.
It even urged us not to get carried away by the errors of unprincipled people, possibly referring to those who engage in politicking, whether be it in the affairs of the country or of the workplace or even in church.
We must remember that it does not matter what man may try to plot against the Lord and His anointed ones, God’s purpose will still come to pass.
Our mission is to make the world a place where righteousness will be at home.
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