Hosea 14:2-10 / Mark 12:28-34
It has been said that the Bible is the most widely read religious book. That may be because of the number of Bibles that are printed and sold each year.
So having a Bible does not mean that one is reading it fervently or regularly. Furthermore Bible knowledge among Christians can be quite questionable and at time quite appalling!
Yet, it won't be too naive to say that by and large, the Bible can be quite simple to understand.
Let us take for example, the two readings of today. There is no real need to go into an exegesis of the texts or the need to read up other commentaries about the text.
As they stand, the texts and the message is clear even if we just browse through them, and there are no difficult words that will make us have a recourse to dictionaries.
But as the 1st reading puts it: Let the wise man understand these words. Let the intelligent man grasp their meaning.
And that is where we enter into the spiritual dimension in reading the Bible.
The Bible is the Word of God. So in order to understand the Word of God we need to understand the mind and the heart of God.
We need to know and understand what God thinks about us, how He feels for us and who we are to Him.
Hence meditating upon the Word of God in prayer is necessary so as to attain the wisdom and intelligence to understand the Word of God.
And then we will be able to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
3rd Week of Lent, Thursday, 07-03-13
Jeremiah 7:23-28 / Luke 11:14-23
The voice of a person is a very peculiar as well as a particular asset.
It is also a very fluid and versatile asset in the sense that unlike others parts of the body (or other assets) which retain a familiar and recognizable character, it is not like that with the voice.
Because the tone of the voice can be changed, the mood of the voice can be changed, and we can imitate the voice of another person if we want to. Yet our voice reveals what is in us.
In the gospel, Jesus cast out the devil from a man that had made him dumb. When the devil had gone out, the man spoke, and the people were amazed.
The people were amazed because when the man spoke, the people not only heard his voice but it was also a voice that had peace in it because evil had gone out of the man and his voice said it all.
Yet, this made some others say that Jesus cast out devils through the prince of devils. Their words were certainly scorching, and their voice was revealing how wicked they were.
The 1st reading also talked about the voice. It was God telling His people to listen to His voice. And His was a voice that spoke of forgiveness and peace.
Yet in the end, the people would not listen to the voice of their God nor take correction.
To be able to listen to the voice of God, we have to soften our hearts with humility and repentance.
When we are able to listen to the voice of God, then we too will be able to speak with the voice of God.
And it will be a voice that speaks of peace and forgiveness. It will be a voice that speaks of love and truth. And it will also be a humble voice that turns people to God.
The voice of a person is a very peculiar as well as a particular asset.
It is also a very fluid and versatile asset in the sense that unlike others parts of the body (or other assets) which retain a familiar and recognizable character, it is not like that with the voice.
Because the tone of the voice can be changed, the mood of the voice can be changed, and we can imitate the voice of another person if we want to. Yet our voice reveals what is in us.
In the gospel, Jesus cast out the devil from a man that had made him dumb. When the devil had gone out, the man spoke, and the people were amazed.
The people were amazed because when the man spoke, the people not only heard his voice but it was also a voice that had peace in it because evil had gone out of the man and his voice said it all.
Yet, this made some others say that Jesus cast out devils through the prince of devils. Their words were certainly scorching, and their voice was revealing how wicked they were.
The 1st reading also talked about the voice. It was God telling His people to listen to His voice. And His was a voice that spoke of forgiveness and peace.
Yet in the end, the people would not listen to the voice of their God nor take correction.
To be able to listen to the voice of God, we have to soften our hearts with humility and repentance.
When we are able to listen to the voice of God, then we too will be able to speak with the voice of God.
And it will be a voice that speaks of peace and forgiveness. It will be a voice that speaks of love and truth. And it will also be a humble voice that turns people to God.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
3rd Week of Lent, Wednesday, 06-03-13
Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9 / Matthew 5:17-19
When we make an analysis of the content of what is being preached, then we will come to the conclusion that the same themes are being preached, day in day out, week in week out.
Themes like loving God and loving others, being faithful to God and to His Commandments, turning away from sin, etc.
If there is anything new, it is not so much in what is being preached but rather how it was preached.
If such is the case, then isn't it boring to hear the same things over and over again?
Well, it may be boring, but nonetheless, it is necessary.
Necessary because we have this tendency to forget. And hence we need to be reminded.
That is why in the 1st reading, Moses urged the people to keep the commandments and to observe them.
He warned them to be on their guard and not to forget the commandments nor let it slip from their hearts.
Furthermore, they should tell it to their children and to their children's children.
As it was then, so it is now. What Moses told the people, the Church is now telling us through her teachings and preaching.
And as Jesus said in the gospel, the man who keeps the commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.
When we make an analysis of the content of what is being preached, then we will come to the conclusion that the same themes are being preached, day in day out, week in week out.
Themes like loving God and loving others, being faithful to God and to His Commandments, turning away from sin, etc.
If there is anything new, it is not so much in what is being preached but rather how it was preached.
If such is the case, then isn't it boring to hear the same things over and over again?
Well, it may be boring, but nonetheless, it is necessary.
Necessary because we have this tendency to forget. And hence we need to be reminded.
That is why in the 1st reading, Moses urged the people to keep the commandments and to observe them.
He warned them to be on their guard and not to forget the commandments nor let it slip from their hearts.
Furthermore, they should tell it to their children and to their children's children.
As it was then, so it is now. What Moses told the people, the Church is now telling us through her teachings and preaching.
And as Jesus said in the gospel, the man who keeps the commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.
Monday, March 4, 2013
3rd Week of Lent, Tuesday, 05-03-13
Daniel 3:25, 34-43 / Matthew 18:21-35
If love is a many-splendoured thing, then sin is a many-splintered thing.
Where love brings about a bouquet of beauty, truth, peace and joy, sin brings about a chaos of lies, destruction, hate and anger.
In the gospel, Peter approached Jesus with what he thought was a simple question about the number of times he ought to forgive.
The reply that Jesus gave, together with the parable, was beyond what Peter expected.
Firstly, Jesus told Peter that he ought to forgive seventy-seven times. That is not just a numerical sum but also to indicate that forgiveness is infinite when we understand that love is infinite.
Yet the parable that Jesus told gave a disturbing, if not shocking, image of how the splendour of love can be so carelessly splintered by sin.
It sounds so ridiculous that the servant who was forgiven by his master over a huge debt, can be so ruthless to a fellow servant who owed him so much less.
As much as the theme of the parable is about forgiveness, it is also about how easily we can slip from love to sin.
Indeed the man who thinks he is safe must be careful not to fall (1 Cor 10:12)
Yes we need to be calm and vigilant because the enemy, the devil, is prowling around to tear up the splendour of God's love and forgiveness in us into splinters of hate and anger.
Let us fight that enemy with love and forgiveness, and may God help us.
If love is a many-splendoured thing, then sin is a many-splintered thing.
Where love brings about a bouquet of beauty, truth, peace and joy, sin brings about a chaos of lies, destruction, hate and anger.
In the gospel, Peter approached Jesus with what he thought was a simple question about the number of times he ought to forgive.
The reply that Jesus gave, together with the parable, was beyond what Peter expected.
Firstly, Jesus told Peter that he ought to forgive seventy-seven times. That is not just a numerical sum but also to indicate that forgiveness is infinite when we understand that love is infinite.
Yet the parable that Jesus told gave a disturbing, if not shocking, image of how the splendour of love can be so carelessly splintered by sin.
It sounds so ridiculous that the servant who was forgiven by his master over a huge debt, can be so ruthless to a fellow servant who owed him so much less.
As much as the theme of the parable is about forgiveness, it is also about how easily we can slip from love to sin.
Indeed the man who thinks he is safe must be careful not to fall (1 Cor 10:12)
Yes we need to be calm and vigilant because the enemy, the devil, is prowling around to tear up the splendour of God's love and forgiveness in us into splinters of hate and anger.
Let us fight that enemy with love and forgiveness, and may God help us.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
3rd Week of Lent, Monday, 04-03-13
2 Kings 5:1-15 / Luke 4:24-30
One of our instinctive reactions to something unpleasant or threatening is anger.
Anger is a defensive response to something that we don't know how to handle or something that puts us into trouble.
In today's two readings, we see anger exploding in tensed situations.
In the 1st reading, the king of Israel blew up in anger when he received that letter from the king of Aram so much so that he tore his robes.
That was because he was asked to do something for Naaman to cure him of his leprosy and that left him fuming.
But later on it was Naaman who was fuming when he was asked by Elisha's servant to bathe seven times in the Jordan.
Yes, anger is the reaction when our security and comfort is threatened. Yet, more often than not it is people in authority and with some power who will flare up in anger.
Yet, in the heat of the anger of the king of Israel and also of Naaman, it was the lowly servants who eventually pacified them and helped them see things in perspective.
Let us pray that we too will be like those humble and lowly servants who will bring peace to tensed situations and calm the anger of people with the love of God.
And may God also send us humble and lowly persons to us when we lose our cool so that we can see things in perspective.
One of our instinctive reactions to something unpleasant or threatening is anger.
Anger is a defensive response to something that we don't know how to handle or something that puts us into trouble.
In today's two readings, we see anger exploding in tensed situations.
In the 1st reading, the king of Israel blew up in anger when he received that letter from the king of Aram so much so that he tore his robes.
That was because he was asked to do something for Naaman to cure him of his leprosy and that left him fuming.
But later on it was Naaman who was fuming when he was asked by Elisha's servant to bathe seven times in the Jordan.
Yes, anger is the reaction when our security and comfort is threatened. Yet, more often than not it is people in authority and with some power who will flare up in anger.
Yet, in the heat of the anger of the king of Israel and also of Naaman, it was the lowly servants who eventually pacified them and helped them see things in perspective.
Let us pray that we too will be like those humble and lowly servants who will bring peace to tensed situations and calm the anger of people with the love of God.
And may God also send us humble and lowly persons to us when we lose our cool so that we can see things in perspective.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
3rd Sunday of Lent, Year C, 03.03.13
Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15/ 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12/ Luke 13:1-9
Last week was a week of happenings, if we had been aware of it, if we had noticed it.
If we ask ourselves “ What happened last week?”, then we might probably remember that, among other things, the month of February ended last week.
Well, it was a unique happening because February has lesser days than the rest of the other months, in that it has only 28 days.
And along with that we may also remember other things. It was on the last day of February, the 28th of February, that the Pope stepped down from the papacy.
So it means that now, we don’t have a pope! But of course, with that, the cardinals are now preparing themselves for the conclave to elect the next pope.
So we don’t have a pope now. And what is our reaction to that?
Well, we can be nonchalant about it. But most of us would be aware of it. And we would have noticed what the media had said about the resignation of the pope.
As a matter of fact, he is the first pope after more than 600 years to resign from office, so it’s really something for the media to talk about.
The media has also speculated on the many possible reasons as to why the pope suddenly resigned from papacy.
The Pope Emeritus, as he is now called, has only said that he is doing this for the good of the Church. What that really means we will probably get to know along the way.
But we know what he is going to do. He has moved to the summer residence and is spending his days in prayer.
And that should already make us notice something, and become aware of something.
As the Pope Emeritus steps down from the papacy, he steps into something else and in doing so he is also showing us something.
From the highest seat of governance in the Church, he is taking up the simple life of a “pilgrim” and the humble life of prayer.
So the Pope Emeritus is telling us something and teaching us something. Are we aware of it? Do we notice it?
Well, to put it clearly, the Pope Emeritus is showing the Church and the world, the need for prayer in order to bring about the sense of the sacred and the awareness of the presence of God.
Indeed, awareness of the sacred and the presence of the divine begins with noticing the signs.
In the 1st reading, we heard about how Moses noticed a blazing bush but it was not burnt up.
He went on to examine this strange happening and then it was there he encountered the sacred and the divine.
And the Lord told him to take off his shoes because even the ground that he was standing on is holy ground.
Yes, awareness of the sacred and the divine presence begins with noticing the signs.
And it is through simple and humble prayer that we will look, we will see and we will slowly notice.
Moses noticed the strange and unusual sight of the blazing bush that was not consumed by the fire.
Yes, it is easy to notice the strange and the unusual. Almost anyone can notice the strange and unusual.
Yet it takes prayer to open the eyes to notice the usual and ordinary signs and see beyond.
And maybe that’s our problem. We look and we see, but we don’t see beyond.
And that was also the problem with those people who told Jesus about the tragedy of those Galileans whose blood Pilate mingled with that of their sacrifices.
They were probably thinking that those Galileans had committed some grave sin that resulted in their tragic death.
But Jesus refuted that thinking. Yet He also brought them to see further and to look deeper.
Every tragedy can also be a sign to us that life is fragile and that we have to set our lives straight.
Yes, the Lord is merciful and compassionate and He patiently calls us to repentance.
But it also means that the call to repentance is “Now!” and the time for “second chances” may just run out.
Well there is a story about the 28th February. It is a special day of a couple, Alan and Nelly, because it was the date of their wedding.
But from being a loving couple, they have become quarrelsome and taking each other for granted.
It was a vicious cycle of quarreling and reconciling. Although they still loved each other, they have lost the awareness of each other’s needs and also too busy to notice it.
So on the 28th February, Nelly was at home and waiting for Alan to return from work.
But Nelly was expecting Alan to forget about their wedding anniversary and come back late from work.
But at 6pm, the door bell rang, and when Nelly opened the door, there was Alan with a bouquet of flowers in one hand a box of her favourite chocolates in the other.
Nelly was overjoyed that Alan remembered their wedding anniversary and they hugged and sat down and talked about their beautiful times together and making up for their quarrels.
Then the phone in the bedroom rang, and Nelly sighed and went to answer the phone.
A man on the other side to the line asked : Hello, I am calling from the police station. Is this the residence of Mr. Alan?
Yes it is.
There was an accident and a man died. We got the number from the man’s wallet. We need you to come over and identify the body.
Nelly’s heart sank. But … but ... my husband is here with me!
Sorry, madam. The accident took place at 5pm when the man was crossing the road.
Nelly was about to lose her senses. How could this happen? She had heard about these kind of things. The soul of the person comes to meet you before it departs. She ran out to the hall.
And Alan was not there! Could this have happened to Alan? Could it be true? Has he left her forever? Nelly sank to the floor. Oh, if only she had been given another chance, she would have mended all her faults and loved Alan deeper.
Suddenly there was a noise from the bathroom. Then Alan came out.
When he saw Nelly on the floor, he asked, “What happened my dear? Oh, I forgot to tell you that my wallet was stolen while I was on my way home.
Well, just a story to remind us that we should never waste a moment to be aware and to notice all the chances to make life beautiful.
We cannot go back to the start and make a new beginning, but we can start now to make a new and beautiful ending.
The Pope Emeritus has resigned and the papacy is left vacant for the time being. He has stepped down from the papacy but yet that is not all.
He has stepped into a life of prayer and he has given us a sign and we must notice it and pay heed to it.
And the sign is that with prayer, we can start now and make a new and beautiful ending for ourselves, for the Church and for the world.
Yes, the Pope Emeritus has given us that sign. Let us join him in prayer to pray for the Church and for the next pope.
Last week was a week of happenings, if we had been aware of it, if we had noticed it.
If we ask ourselves “ What happened last week?”, then we might probably remember that, among other things, the month of February ended last week.
Well, it was a unique happening because February has lesser days than the rest of the other months, in that it has only 28 days.
And along with that we may also remember other things. It was on the last day of February, the 28th of February, that the Pope stepped down from the papacy.
So it means that now, we don’t have a pope! But of course, with that, the cardinals are now preparing themselves for the conclave to elect the next pope.
So we don’t have a pope now. And what is our reaction to that?
Well, we can be nonchalant about it. But most of us would be aware of it. And we would have noticed what the media had said about the resignation of the pope.
As a matter of fact, he is the first pope after more than 600 years to resign from office, so it’s really something for the media to talk about.
The media has also speculated on the many possible reasons as to why the pope suddenly resigned from papacy.
The Pope Emeritus, as he is now called, has only said that he is doing this for the good of the Church. What that really means we will probably get to know along the way.
But we know what he is going to do. He has moved to the summer residence and is spending his days in prayer.
And that should already make us notice something, and become aware of something.
As the Pope Emeritus steps down from the papacy, he steps into something else and in doing so he is also showing us something.
From the highest seat of governance in the Church, he is taking up the simple life of a “pilgrim” and the humble life of prayer.
So the Pope Emeritus is telling us something and teaching us something. Are we aware of it? Do we notice it?
Well, to put it clearly, the Pope Emeritus is showing the Church and the world, the need for prayer in order to bring about the sense of the sacred and the awareness of the presence of God.
Indeed, awareness of the sacred and the presence of the divine begins with noticing the signs.
In the 1st reading, we heard about how Moses noticed a blazing bush but it was not burnt up.
He went on to examine this strange happening and then it was there he encountered the sacred and the divine.
And the Lord told him to take off his shoes because even the ground that he was standing on is holy ground.
Yes, awareness of the sacred and the divine presence begins with noticing the signs.
And it is through simple and humble prayer that we will look, we will see and we will slowly notice.
Moses noticed the strange and unusual sight of the blazing bush that was not consumed by the fire.
Yes, it is easy to notice the strange and the unusual. Almost anyone can notice the strange and unusual.
Yet it takes prayer to open the eyes to notice the usual and ordinary signs and see beyond.
And maybe that’s our problem. We look and we see, but we don’t see beyond.
And that was also the problem with those people who told Jesus about the tragedy of those Galileans whose blood Pilate mingled with that of their sacrifices.
They were probably thinking that those Galileans had committed some grave sin that resulted in their tragic death.
But Jesus refuted that thinking. Yet He also brought them to see further and to look deeper.
Every tragedy can also be a sign to us that life is fragile and that we have to set our lives straight.
Yes, the Lord is merciful and compassionate and He patiently calls us to repentance.
But it also means that the call to repentance is “Now!” and the time for “second chances” may just run out.
Well there is a story about the 28th February. It is a special day of a couple, Alan and Nelly, because it was the date of their wedding.
But from being a loving couple, they have become quarrelsome and taking each other for granted.
It was a vicious cycle of quarreling and reconciling. Although they still loved each other, they have lost the awareness of each other’s needs and also too busy to notice it.
So on the 28th February, Nelly was at home and waiting for Alan to return from work.
But Nelly was expecting Alan to forget about their wedding anniversary and come back late from work.
But at 6pm, the door bell rang, and when Nelly opened the door, there was Alan with a bouquet of flowers in one hand a box of her favourite chocolates in the other.
Nelly was overjoyed that Alan remembered their wedding anniversary and they hugged and sat down and talked about their beautiful times together and making up for their quarrels.
Then the phone in the bedroom rang, and Nelly sighed and went to answer the phone.
A man on the other side to the line asked : Hello, I am calling from the police station. Is this the residence of Mr. Alan?
Yes it is.
There was an accident and a man died. We got the number from the man’s wallet. We need you to come over and identify the body.
Nelly’s heart sank. But … but ... my husband is here with me!
Sorry, madam. The accident took place at 5pm when the man was crossing the road.
Nelly was about to lose her senses. How could this happen? She had heard about these kind of things. The soul of the person comes to meet you before it departs. She ran out to the hall.
And Alan was not there! Could this have happened to Alan? Could it be true? Has he left her forever? Nelly sank to the floor. Oh, if only she had been given another chance, she would have mended all her faults and loved Alan deeper.
Suddenly there was a noise from the bathroom. Then Alan came out.
When he saw Nelly on the floor, he asked, “What happened my dear? Oh, I forgot to tell you that my wallet was stolen while I was on my way home.
Well, just a story to remind us that we should never waste a moment to be aware and to notice all the chances to make life beautiful.
We cannot go back to the start and make a new beginning, but we can start now to make a new and beautiful ending.
The Pope Emeritus has resigned and the papacy is left vacant for the time being. He has stepped down from the papacy but yet that is not all.
He has stepped into a life of prayer and he has given us a sign and we must notice it and pay heed to it.
And the sign is that with prayer, we can start now and make a new and beautiful ending for ourselves, for the Church and for the world.
Yes, the Pope Emeritus has given us that sign. Let us join him in prayer to pray for the Church and for the next pope.
Friday, March 1, 2013
2nd Week of Lent, Saturday, 02-03-13
Micah 7:14-15, 18-20 / Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
If someone were to ask us what is so unique or special about the God that we believe in, these two words must immediately come forth from our mouths: love and forgiveness.
Love and forgiveness are like the two sides of a coin - forgiveness is the expression of love and to love is to forgive.
In the Old Testament deities were often viewed as gods who inflict judgement and punishment whenever the people were unfaithful and do not offer them adequate sacrifice.
Yet the God of Israel was totally different and unlike any of the god that the other nations worshipped.
As the 1st reading would say: What god can compare with you: taking fault away, pardoning crime, not cherishing anger for ever but delighting in showing mercy?
Indeed, to understand how much God loves us, we have to ask ourselves how much we have sinned against God.
The gospel parable gives us an image of God in the father who forgives his prodigal son and tried to persuade his elder son to forgive also.
Yes, the uniqueness of our God is that He loves unconditionally and He also forgives unconditionally.
If that is the God we believe in, then what we believe is also what we must become.
May others also see in us the love and forgiveness of God.
If someone were to ask us what is so unique or special about the God that we believe in, these two words must immediately come forth from our mouths: love and forgiveness.
Love and forgiveness are like the two sides of a coin - forgiveness is the expression of love and to love is to forgive.
In the Old Testament deities were often viewed as gods who inflict judgement and punishment whenever the people were unfaithful and do not offer them adequate sacrifice.
Yet the God of Israel was totally different and unlike any of the god that the other nations worshipped.
As the 1st reading would say: What god can compare with you: taking fault away, pardoning crime, not cherishing anger for ever but delighting in showing mercy?
Indeed, to understand how much God loves us, we have to ask ourselves how much we have sinned against God.
The gospel parable gives us an image of God in the father who forgives his prodigal son and tried to persuade his elder son to forgive also.
Yes, the uniqueness of our God is that He loves unconditionally and He also forgives unconditionally.
If that is the God we believe in, then what we believe is also what we must become.
May others also see in us the love and forgiveness of God.
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