Genesis 28:10-22 / Matthew 9:18-26 (2015 / 2019)
In a time of anxiety and distress, it is difficult to see what God is doing or even where God is.
But that is because we are looking more at our own concerns and desperate for solutions rather than to be still and to listen and feel the promptings from God.
Yet it is precisely when everything is spinning and in chaos that we need to stop and look and listen.
In the 1st reading, Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. But it was not a journey of leisure or a business trip.
Jacob was fleeing from the elder twin brother Esau after he had tricked his father Isaac into blessing him instead of Esau.
So Jacob was running for his life and he was not ready for any kind of God-experience until he had to rest for the night.
And there in a dream God spoke to him and made him the promise that he and his descendants shall be a blessing for other nations and that God will not desert him.
Only then did Jacob realized that God was with him and that "the Lord is in this place and I never knew it!"
But in the gospel, we hear of two people who knew who to look for when life was bleeding away or came to a dead end.
In their turmoil and distress the official and the woman with the haemorrhage had the sense to turn to Jesus for healing and salvation.
May we always to turn to Jesus in our turmoil and distress for He has promised to heal us and save us.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Saturday, July 6, 2013
14th Ordinary Sunday, Year C, 07.07.2013
Isaiah 66:10-14/ Galatians 6:14-18/ Luke 10:1-12, 17-20
We may remember one of the sayings of Jesus that goes like this: Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow has its own worries. Today has enough worries of its own.
Yes, today has enough of troubles and worries of its own.
Yet, it seems that we have an addiction to worries and anxieties, not just for today, but for tomorrow also, and the day after, and the day after that, and so on.
Yes, we worry and get anxious about what will happen later on today, what will happen tomorrow, what will happen in the future.
That is why one of the things that we are often tempted to read is the horoscope, although we shouldn’t.
We can find it in the newspaper everyday or even just log in on the internet to read the horoscope for the day.
Whether we take it seriously or lightly, that’s another matter altogether.
But life is really no laughing matter especially when our future is at stake.
There is this conversation between a fortune teller and his client.
Fortune teller: For the first 40 years, your life will be hard and unhappy.
Client: Oh?! And then, after that?
Fortune teller: After that, you will get used to it.
Of course we shouldn’t consult fortune tellers or palm reader (or the horoscope), because our future is in the hands of God.
And in the gospel, we hear what Jesus has to say about our future.
Jesus tells us that we are going to be labourers for His harvest.
And going out there into the harvest, it would be like lambs among wolves.
And if we are going to be honest about it, we would surely be thinking: Is it going to be that difficult? Is it going to be that scary?
But if we really want to face the truth of discipleship, then the reality is that it is going to be that difficult, it is going to be that scary.
Yes, that is the truth of discipleship. Yet, that truth will set us free from our anxieties and worries.
And when we are freed from the grip of our worries and anxieties then we will have peace of heart.
And that is what Jesus wants us to be - messengers of peace. He sends us out into the harvest of the world to be witnesses of peace.
But it is hard to be a messenger of peace; it is difficult to be a witness of peace.
Because in this world, the wolves will be howling at us, the snakes will bite us and the scorpions will sting us.
It is said that “people can live through great hardships and yet perish from hard feelings” (Solzhenitsyn)
The hardness of this world can also harden our hearts.
And when our hearts are hardened, then instead of giving peace to others, we may end up giving them a piece of our mind.
Yet the hardness of heart can only be softened and healed by the waters of peace that flow from the heart of God.
As we heard God saying in the 1st reading : I will send peace flowing like a river.
The image of peace flowing like a river is indeed very fitting.
Because true peace is like a river – the deeper it is, the less noise it makes.
Also the image of peace flowing like a river is fitting because as a river glides along smoothly, it remains the same river flowing in the one direction.
The only thing that changes is the landscape on either side of the bank.
And it is the waters of a river that gives life and peace and softens the hardness of the world.
The hardness that we receive from the world is like a label that is stuck on a bottle.
The easiest way to remove the label from the bottle is to soak the bottle in water and leave it there until the label is softened and detaches from the bottle with little effort.
Similarly we come for Mass to be soaked in the healing waters of the river of God’s peace so that the hard labels of bitterness and resentment can be removed, and our hearts softened.
God wants to heal and comfort us just like a mother would comfort her child.
That is why we have to observe and respect the sacred ambience and the decorum and the solemnity of the Mass.
Because we have come to be healed and comforted by God, and to let God’s peace flow into our hearts like a river.
When we are healed and filled with peace, then we can go out into the world to be messengers of God’s peace and to be channels of peace that flows like a river.
The world is too used to hardness. It has heard too much of the howling of the wolves and felt the pain of the bite of serpents and the sting of scorpions.
But deep in the heart of every person is a longing for peace – the peace that can heal the pain of the world.
May that healing begin with us; may God’s peace flow into our hearts like a river.
And may that peace flow from us into the world to heal the world.
We may remember one of the sayings of Jesus that goes like this: Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow has its own worries. Today has enough worries of its own.
Yes, today has enough of troubles and worries of its own.
Yet, it seems that we have an addiction to worries and anxieties, not just for today, but for tomorrow also, and the day after, and the day after that, and so on.
Yes, we worry and get anxious about what will happen later on today, what will happen tomorrow, what will happen in the future.
That is why one of the things that we are often tempted to read is the horoscope, although we shouldn’t.
We can find it in the newspaper everyday or even just log in on the internet to read the horoscope for the day.
Whether we take it seriously or lightly, that’s another matter altogether.
But life is really no laughing matter especially when our future is at stake.
There is this conversation between a fortune teller and his client.
Fortune teller: For the first 40 years, your life will be hard and unhappy.
Client: Oh?! And then, after that?
Fortune teller: After that, you will get used to it.
Of course we shouldn’t consult fortune tellers or palm reader (or the horoscope), because our future is in the hands of God.
And in the gospel, we hear what Jesus has to say about our future.
Jesus tells us that we are going to be labourers for His harvest.
And going out there into the harvest, it would be like lambs among wolves.
And if we are going to be honest about it, we would surely be thinking: Is it going to be that difficult? Is it going to be that scary?
But if we really want to face the truth of discipleship, then the reality is that it is going to be that difficult, it is going to be that scary.
Yes, that is the truth of discipleship. Yet, that truth will set us free from our anxieties and worries.
And when we are freed from the grip of our worries and anxieties then we will have peace of heart.
And that is what Jesus wants us to be - messengers of peace. He sends us out into the harvest of the world to be witnesses of peace.
But it is hard to be a messenger of peace; it is difficult to be a witness of peace.
Because in this world, the wolves will be howling at us, the snakes will bite us and the scorpions will sting us.
It is said that “people can live through great hardships and yet perish from hard feelings” (Solzhenitsyn)
The hardness of this world can also harden our hearts.
And when our hearts are hardened, then instead of giving peace to others, we may end up giving them a piece of our mind.
Yet the hardness of heart can only be softened and healed by the waters of peace that flow from the heart of God.
As we heard God saying in the 1st reading : I will send peace flowing like a river.
The image of peace flowing like a river is indeed very fitting.
Because true peace is like a river – the deeper it is, the less noise it makes.
Also the image of peace flowing like a river is fitting because as a river glides along smoothly, it remains the same river flowing in the one direction.
The only thing that changes is the landscape on either side of the bank.
And it is the waters of a river that gives life and peace and softens the hardness of the world.
The hardness that we receive from the world is like a label that is stuck on a bottle.
The easiest way to remove the label from the bottle is to soak the bottle in water and leave it there until the label is softened and detaches from the bottle with little effort.
Similarly we come for Mass to be soaked in the healing waters of the river of God’s peace so that the hard labels of bitterness and resentment can be removed, and our hearts softened.
God wants to heal and comfort us just like a mother would comfort her child.
That is why we have to observe and respect the sacred ambience and the decorum and the solemnity of the Mass.
Because we have come to be healed and comforted by God, and to let God’s peace flow into our hearts like a river.
When we are healed and filled with peace, then we can go out into the world to be messengers of God’s peace and to be channels of peace that flows like a river.
The world is too used to hardness. It has heard too much of the howling of the wolves and felt the pain of the bite of serpents and the sting of scorpions.
But deep in the heart of every person is a longing for peace – the peace that can heal the pain of the world.
May that healing begin with us; may God’s peace flow into our hearts like a river.
And may that peace flow from us into the world to heal the world.
Friday, July 5, 2013
13th Week, Ordinary Time, Saturday, 06-07-13
Genesis 27:1-5, 15-29 / Matthew 9:14-17
It is easy to find the drama of deception and trickery in fiction literature as well as in real life stories.
But to find it in the Bible (of all books) would be rather surprising to some, yet it shouldn't be that surprising at all.
Because the Bible is about the book of life and how God has loved and saved a sinful humanity from self-destruction.
Nonetheless we read about deception and trickery in the 1st reading. Whether it was Issac or Rebekah, or Esau or Jacob, none of them can say they were truly honest or truthful.
Earlier in Genesis 25:29-34) there is the account of Esau selling his birthright to Jacob over some stew that Jacob had just made. Jacob offered to give Esau a bowl of stew in exchange for his birthright, to which Esau agreed. So already Esau was not true to his word.
Isaac also wanted to bestow the birthright to Esau, but he knew he was not doing the right thing because he wanted it done privately and secretly.
That was probably because he had known that Rebekah had received the prophecy that the twins Esau and Jacob were fighting in her womb and would continue to fight all their lives, even after they became two separate nations. The prophecy also said that "the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger;" (Genesis 25:23)
Yet Rebekah also took things into her own hands and not leaving it into the hands of God.
So it was a really messy story of God's chosen people resorting to deception and trickery and even committing grave sin just to have their way and get what they want.
Yet despite the crookedness of His people, God still made things straight for the coming of His only Son to save the people from their sins.
Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. May we walk the ways of God in truth and love so that we will live a meaning life of honesty and integrity.
It is easy to find the drama of deception and trickery in fiction literature as well as in real life stories.
But to find it in the Bible (of all books) would be rather surprising to some, yet it shouldn't be that surprising at all.
Because the Bible is about the book of life and how God has loved and saved a sinful humanity from self-destruction.
Nonetheless we read about deception and trickery in the 1st reading. Whether it was Issac or Rebekah, or Esau or Jacob, none of them can say they were truly honest or truthful.
Earlier in Genesis 25:29-34) there is the account of Esau selling his birthright to Jacob over some stew that Jacob had just made. Jacob offered to give Esau a bowl of stew in exchange for his birthright, to which Esau agreed. So already Esau was not true to his word.
Isaac also wanted to bestow the birthright to Esau, but he knew he was not doing the right thing because he wanted it done privately and secretly.
That was probably because he had known that Rebekah had received the prophecy that the twins Esau and Jacob were fighting in her womb and would continue to fight all their lives, even after they became two separate nations. The prophecy also said that "the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger;" (Genesis 25:23)
Yet Rebekah also took things into her own hands and not leaving it into the hands of God.
So it was a really messy story of God's chosen people resorting to deception and trickery and even committing grave sin just to have their way and get what they want.
Yet despite the crookedness of His people, God still made things straight for the coming of His only Son to save the people from their sins.
Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. May we walk the ways of God in truth and love so that we will live a meaning life of honesty and integrity.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
13th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 05-07-13
Genesis 23:1-4, 19; 24:1-8, 62-67 / Matthew 9:9-13
The Old Testament literature is full of imagery and symbolic language.
So it may be necessary to understand the imagery and the symbols in order to understand the significance of the message.
In the 1st reading, we hear of Abraham making his steward swear an oath to choose a wife for his son Isaac according to his specific instructions.
Then we hear of a peculiar action - Abraham made the steward put his hand under his thigh to make the oath.
In other words, the steward had to reach down and grasp Abraham's manhood, and then swear an oath upon the seed of Abraham's tribe, that he would make every effort to adhere to the promise he was to make. That is a rather graphic description and rather obscene to think about.
In fact that is how the word "testimony" derives, as the Latin root "testi" refers to the glans from which the seeds of life, and each man's future progeny or legacy is propagated.
But the steward was not to take hold of his own groin while making his pledge, but that of Abraham's, and so it symbolically stood for that of every member of Abraham's tribe.
Abraham was instilling in his steward the grave importance that Abraham himself invested in what was being demanded of his steward. Abraham was staking the future of his entire tribe on this one oath.
In the gospel, we hear of a testimony, and that is from Jesus the Son of God. Jesus proclaimed to us the promise of God.
"What I want is mercy, not sacrifice. And indeed I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners".
Only when we confess that we are sinners will we be able to understand the saving mercy of God. And only then will we be merciful and compassionate to others who sinned against us.
The Old Testament literature is full of imagery and symbolic language.
So it may be necessary to understand the imagery and the symbols in order to understand the significance of the message.
In the 1st reading, we hear of Abraham making his steward swear an oath to choose a wife for his son Isaac according to his specific instructions.
Then we hear of a peculiar action - Abraham made the steward put his hand under his thigh to make the oath.
In other words, the steward had to reach down and grasp Abraham's manhood, and then swear an oath upon the seed of Abraham's tribe, that he would make every effort to adhere to the promise he was to make. That is a rather graphic description and rather obscene to think about.
In fact that is how the word "testimony" derives, as the Latin root "testi" refers to the glans from which the seeds of life, and each man's future progeny or legacy is propagated.
But the steward was not to take hold of his own groin while making his pledge, but that of Abraham's, and so it symbolically stood for that of every member of Abraham's tribe.
Abraham was instilling in his steward the grave importance that Abraham himself invested in what was being demanded of his steward. Abraham was staking the future of his entire tribe on this one oath.
In the gospel, we hear of a testimony, and that is from Jesus the Son of God. Jesus proclaimed to us the promise of God.
"What I want is mercy, not sacrifice. And indeed I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners".
Only when we confess that we are sinners will we be able to understand the saving mercy of God. And only then will we be merciful and compassionate to others who sinned against us.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
13th Week, Ordinary Time, Thursday, 04-07-13
Genesis 22:1-19 / Matthew 9:1-8
When what we have is sufficient and even in surplus, it is easy to think that God will provide for our needs.
But when we are down to nothing, can we believe that God will come up with something?
Abraham was blessed by God with almost everything and the most precious was an heir, a son in his old age.
But in the 1st reading, we heard God telling him to take his only son Issac and to offer him as a burnt offering!
What were Abraham's thoughts and emotions, we were not told. But without any delay, he set off the next morning to the place of offering, bringing along Issac and two other servants.
Along the way when Issac asked him where was the lamb for the offering, Abraham replied with this profound faith statement: God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.
Yes, to believe that God will provide is something we need to learn from Abraham.
But from Jesus, we learn something more about God. We learn that God loves us, that God will forgive us, that God will heal us.
God does not just provide for us. God has given us His only Son to be sacrificed on the cross so that we can be saved from our sins.
God has given us everything. Hence we can never say that we are down to nothing. Let us give thanks, let us praise the Lord, and let us offer ourselves whole-heartedly to serve Him.
When what we have is sufficient and even in surplus, it is easy to think that God will provide for our needs.
But when we are down to nothing, can we believe that God will come up with something?
Abraham was blessed by God with almost everything and the most precious was an heir, a son in his old age.
But in the 1st reading, we heard God telling him to take his only son Issac and to offer him as a burnt offering!
What were Abraham's thoughts and emotions, we were not told. But without any delay, he set off the next morning to the place of offering, bringing along Issac and two other servants.
Along the way when Issac asked him where was the lamb for the offering, Abraham replied with this profound faith statement: God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.
Yes, to believe that God will provide is something we need to learn from Abraham.
But from Jesus, we learn something more about God. We learn that God loves us, that God will forgive us, that God will heal us.
God does not just provide for us. God has given us His only Son to be sacrificed on the cross so that we can be saved from our sins.
God has given us everything. Hence we can never say that we are down to nothing. Let us give thanks, let us praise the Lord, and let us offer ourselves whole-heartedly to serve Him.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
St. Thomas, Apostle, Wednesday, 03-07-13
Ephesians 2:19-22 / John 20:24-29
Empiricism is a theory of knowledge which states that knowledge comes only or primarily from sensory experience; empiricism emphasizes the role of experience and evidence, especially sensory experience, in the formation of ideas.
Hence for some people, the only way of convincing them is to let them have an experience rather than through arguments or discussion or deduction.
St. Thomas may not be a hard-core empiricist, but he was not one who would easily believe what others tell him, especially when the disciples told him that they had seen the Risen Christ.
He needed an experience of the Risen Christ and he even stated his demands - he not only wanted to see the holes that the nails made in the hands and side of the Risen Christ, he even wanted to put his finger and hands into the holes.
So for St. Thomas, seeing is not enough. He even wanted to touch! And if he had asked the disciples whether they had touched the Risen Christ, they would have been stumped for an answer.
St. Thomas saw how Jesus was crucified, died and was buried. So nothing short of touching the Risen Christ would convince him that He is risen from the dead.
The gospel account did not say whether St. Thomas actually put his finger and hand into the wounds of the Risen Christ. He only made the proclamation - My Lord and my God.
But from what Jesus said to him, it seems that St. Thomas believed when he saw Him; touching Him was not necessary already.
So for those who do not believe in Jesus or want to believe in Him, we have a mission to them.
From what they see of us and in us, they will come to a decision about Jesus.
May St. Thomas pray for us that we will be an experience of the Risen Christ for them.
Empiricism is a theory of knowledge which states that knowledge comes only or primarily from sensory experience; empiricism emphasizes the role of experience and evidence, especially sensory experience, in the formation of ideas.
Hence for some people, the only way of convincing them is to let them have an experience rather than through arguments or discussion or deduction.
St. Thomas may not be a hard-core empiricist, but he was not one who would easily believe what others tell him, especially when the disciples told him that they had seen the Risen Christ.
He needed an experience of the Risen Christ and he even stated his demands - he not only wanted to see the holes that the nails made in the hands and side of the Risen Christ, he even wanted to put his finger and hands into the holes.
So for St. Thomas, seeing is not enough. He even wanted to touch! And if he had asked the disciples whether they had touched the Risen Christ, they would have been stumped for an answer.
St. Thomas saw how Jesus was crucified, died and was buried. So nothing short of touching the Risen Christ would convince him that He is risen from the dead.
The gospel account did not say whether St. Thomas actually put his finger and hand into the wounds of the Risen Christ. He only made the proclamation - My Lord and my God.
But from what Jesus said to him, it seems that St. Thomas believed when he saw Him; touching Him was not necessary already.
So for those who do not believe in Jesus or want to believe in Him, we have a mission to them.
From what they see of us and in us, they will come to a decision about Jesus.
May St. Thomas pray for us that we will be an experience of the Risen Christ for them.
Monday, July 1, 2013
13th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 02-07-13
Genesis 19:15-29 / Matthew 8:23-27
The town of Zoar does not exist anymore. It is not known when it disappeared and even its exact location is not known, though excavations have given some clues.
Yet, that town served as a shelter and refuge for Lot and his family from the destruction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim.
Zoar was suppossed to be one of the 5 cities slated for destruction by God; but Zoar was spared at Lot's plea as his place of refuge.
In all that drama and running for their lives, Lot asked for that city to take refuge in and even noticed the size of that town - "is it not little?"
Yes, it was a little town that provided refuge and safety for lives of Lot and his family, although Lot's wife looked back at the other "bigger" towns and was turned into a pillar of salt.
There is something in littleness and humility that often conceals and yet manifest the power of God.
Even in the gospel, Jesus would ask His disciples: Why are you so frightened, you men of little faith?
But even though their faith was little, they also saw a marvel, and they were astounded and asked: Whatever kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey Him?
So in times of danger and distress, let us keep hanging on to whatever little faith we have in God.
With just a little faith in Him, God will show us the power and might of His saving hand.
The town of Zoar does not exist anymore. It is not known when it disappeared and even its exact location is not known, though excavations have given some clues.
Yet, that town served as a shelter and refuge for Lot and his family from the destruction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim.
Zoar was suppossed to be one of the 5 cities slated for destruction by God; but Zoar was spared at Lot's plea as his place of refuge.
In all that drama and running for their lives, Lot asked for that city to take refuge in and even noticed the size of that town - "is it not little?"
Yes, it was a little town that provided refuge and safety for lives of Lot and his family, although Lot's wife looked back at the other "bigger" towns and was turned into a pillar of salt.
There is something in littleness and humility that often conceals and yet manifest the power of God.
Even in the gospel, Jesus would ask His disciples: Why are you so frightened, you men of little faith?
But even though their faith was little, they also saw a marvel, and they were astounded and asked: Whatever kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey Him?
So in times of danger and distress, let us keep hanging on to whatever little faith we have in God.
With just a little faith in Him, God will show us the power and might of His saving hand.
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