20th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A 2023

Last week as they battled the stormy sea, Jesus walked into the midst of their struggles to remind them that He would never be far from or ever desert them. Today we explore the far-reaching consequences of Jesus being with us.

In the encounters with the Pharisees or the Scribes, Jesus has never condemned the dietary laws per se. Instead He was criticising the assumption that mere ritual purity equates to being at right with God. A ritually clean person is not the same as an upright person. The laws governing ritual purity provide the backdrop to appreciate the context and the content of the dialogue between the Canaanite woman and Jesus. While it may rattle our polite sensitivity, we need to looking beyond rudeness or even exclusion to understand why this conversation had to take place. Last week, we hear Peter making the confession that Christ is the Son of God. Today this excluded woman also confesses the true identity of Jesus. She is the one who gives us the “Kyrie, eleison”. Lord have mercy.

Matthew’s audience is the Jewish people but through this meeting between Jesus and the woman, the boundary is extended beyond the limits of Judaism. In fact, the 1st Reading confirms that no longer will ethnicity determine one’s affiliation. Instead, those who attach themselves to the Lord will be called His sons and daughters. St Paul calls himself an apostle of the pagans for good reason. He is sent to those outside Judaism in order to inspire those chosen to remember their original blessing and perhaps to be more careful with their inheritance as God’s chosen people.

Today’s encounter shows us that salvation did indeed come from the Jews but it is not limited to them. The universal salvation of Christ is extended to the entire world but the reality of religious pluralism makes the statement that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world a challenge to navigate. The current respect for diversity may have forced theologians to relativise salvation in the sense that it is possible to claim that Jesus saves us but maybe only within the confines of Christianity.

There is indeed a task ahead. If Christ’s salvation is restricted to Christians, then the Church is no longer the instrument of salvation. If Jesus Christ were not the Saviour of the world, then effectively, the Church suffers from an identity crisis. She exists solely to proclaim that salvation comes from Christ alone and if she is prevented from her mission or not needed for that, then the temptation is to make herself relevant to the world and the world’s powers that be. She was not born to transform the world. She was not instituted to make the world a better place even though changing the world is important. A changed world is the fruit of conversion, that is, it is a by-product of being converted to the salvation of Jesus Christ. A good example would be the hospital system which the Church gave to the world. Hospitality grew out of Matthew 25: “Whatever you do to the least of my brothers, you did it to me”. Yet, that should never be confused as the “goal” of the Church.

Jesus is the Saviour for which the Church exists to proclaim. Otherwise, it does not make sense that there is a Church. This mission today in the face of diversity must therefore emulate the humility of the Canaanite woman. In the face of these great religions, the Church can copy the example of the same woman in her spirit of humility by respecting what others believe in. What the Church can never settle for is anything less than the central truth of salvation clearly affirmed by Peter: "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

In a sense, diversity and the requirement of inclusivity makes the scope of evangelisation almost impossible. One of the phenomena observed during the WYD pilgrimage was how slogans were worn proudly proclaiming our faith in Jesus Christ. The context is important as many of the countries once known to be Christian lands are now filled with empty Churches where people are nominally Christians or not at all. The locals might see us wearing those tee-shirts but detect no difference in our behaviour. Although the WYD did have a positive impact on the economy of Lisbon, the sad reality was that unwittingly some pilgrims by their behaviour, may have contributed to people turning away from Christ. It is an effect attributed to Mahatma Gandhi: I like your Christ but not your Christianity.

An expression like Gandhi’s scepticism stops us in our tracks and challenges us to match our behaviour with our proclamation. More than ever, our actions must speak louder so that other may recognise in them that Jesus is truly the Saviour and Lord of our lives. To propose Christ to the world, He must be our beginning, our life and guide, our hope and our end. The two great Sacraments, namely the Eucharist and Confession, are means to forge our lives according to this purpose of professing Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

The universality of Jesus as the Saviour of the world is not limited by the scope of our proclamation. Just because we do not proclaim Him it does not imply that He is not the Saviour. He is and He will always be. However, the universal reception of Jesus as Saviour of the world can be hampered by our inability to live the joy of salvation which He has won for us. In other words, He is Saviour no matter what. But He is not received as Saviour because we have not been received as Christians (like Gandhi rejecting us) or more likely, we have not been convincing enough in witnessing to the joy of His salvation. There is a world hungering for Christ and His Gospel. The challenge we face is to embrace fully the joy of salvation and be radiantly alive with the light of the Gospel.

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

I am exhausted and I need God. That might just be the sentiments of Jesus. Last Sunday He fed the crowds. This Sunday He sent the Disciples ahead of Him as He sought refuge in prayer and communion with His Father. The combination of these two Sundays’ Gospels provides a vista for us to appreciate how we can serve the poor and to recognise Jesus. When confronted with the crowd, the Apostles were definitely overwhelmed by the immensity of the people gathered and how they should feed the crowds. Their solution was to send the people away. The miracle that Jesus could feed the thousands has remained a conundrum for those whose minds are restricted by the parameters of “scientism”.

Today Jesus took time off and dispatched the Disciples ahead of him—a journey over the lake that should not have posed any problem except that they struggled against the squalls and the surfs. Yet, these did not really bother them until the appearance of Jesus for they did not recognise Him. The usual response to the unknown was trepidation and fear.

What can we learn from this scenario.

Firstly, trials and tribulations belong to life and we should not expect anything less. Secondly, God on our side is no guarantee that there will be no tumults or turmoil in life. In actual fact, with God on our side, storms are exactly what we will face. The expectation that God should spare us from troubles begs the question of what sort of God we believe in and worship.

The youths from South Johore have just returned from their pilgrimage to the World Youth Day. They endured burning heat almost all the days they were there. However, no major untoward situation happened there in Portugal. As they say, all is well that ends well. But a pilgrimage is supposed to be a reflexion of life’s journey. Again, one can glean two senses of this mirroring. First, as a journey, a pilgrimage has an end. The goal is Jesus Christ Himself and thus the destination for life is to be in heaven with Jesus Christ. Second, it is also an imitation of life especially its messiness. This is where our experiences meet the Gospel.

The path that leads to our final destination is fraught with challenges and difficulties. The definition that heaven is a state of perfect happiness or joy can easily lull us into thinking that sacred and holy journeys should be free of trials and tribulations especially when we have the Lord on our side.

This illusion was shattered by our experience at the end on Friday. We had departed Lisbon almost in a manner which reminded us of our arrival. The passport control took a long time because there were so few officers on duty. The aircraft closed its door as our last pilgrim entered and from then until Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur, the two flights were plainly unremarkable and uninteresting. We had a 7-hour layover in KUL before continuing to Johor Bahru.

In the evening, one of ours was denied boarding. The luggage was offloaded from KLIA to Senai. Then at Senai, another pilgrim only realised that the passport was left in the seat pocket after disembarkation. Thankfully, both the problems were resolved. The one left behind was reunited with the family a day later whereas the passport was found by Malaysia Airlines a day after at exactly where the pilgrim sat inflight the evening prior.

These two incidents merely highlight that one can come home from a spiritual experience feeling on top of the world and almost invincible when in reality the end of the pilgrimage is where one’s faith is tested. God grants us moments of consolation to give us the strength to endure our desolation because life will always take unexpected turns. During such moments, we can be gripped by the immediacy of whatever we are experiencing without realising that the Lord is near. Elijah needed to step back from the wind, the earthquake and the fire, to find God in the gentle breeze. While the others were terrified of the crashing waves and blowing winds, Peter needed to hear Christ’s voice for him to get out of the boat. He faltered only because he allowed the storm to come between him and the Lord.

Peter’s experience is a perfect mirror for so many of us. Perhaps this is inevitable because we value our ability to solve problems and not be a burden to others. When in trouble we feel the need to rely on our strength like the many times the young pilgrims refused help instead of accepting it from others. Perhaps it is an unavoidable flaw that stems from our self-help and self-made psychology.

As such, the highlight of the WYD is the pilgrimage and vigil. The walk and wait teach us that every pilgrimage has an end and the vicissitudes encountered along the way prepare us to face the trials of life so that we may not lose sight of the true North Pole, that is to be with Christ in heaven. The Gospel reminds us through Peter that we will always be able to walk on water, meaning that we can overcome life’s tempests only if we focus on Jesus who is always coming to us.

While we acquire the strength to persevere, the post-multiplication of loaves and fish experience of Jesus also reveals that connexion with the Father is basis for our perseverance. We need the Father’s strength so that we can focus on Christ and in Him see and serve our brothers and sisters. The ability to connect with Father and be sensitive to Him helps us to better love Jesus in the poor we meet along the way.

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A 2023

The Kingdom of Heaven is the focus of Jesus’ teaching. We could reflect on two almost disparate or dissimilar subjects here. Firstly, to take a look at “teaching” because during these couple of weeks the typical engagement of Christ with the people has been as a teacher. Secondly, on a more specific note, shine a spotlight on the Kingdom of Heaven.

Schooling socialises a person. The saying “No man is an island” highlights man as a social being. If the goal for a person is to live in the “City of Man”, then schooling does not just socialise but in fact it civilises a person preparing him or her for a life in the “civitas”. And if by schooling we educate, then, education is a process of enlightenment.

How should it be done? The present ideology operates along the principle that people need to be schooled and socialised into correct thinking. This demand for orthodoxy does not take into consideration that this human endeavour has a flaw. It is called Original Sin.[1] Disregarding this truth, this so-called orthodoxy follows a mechanical and linear trajectory whereby the goal is to achieve a perfect society where inequality and injustice do not exist. This goal is accomplished when people accept and behave according to the correct principles inculcated in them.

This is our challenge. It is true that in trying to school a person, there is always a modicum of moulding his or her thoughts. Today the moulding is no longer a form of persuasion but rather an expectation. A person is expected to think this way and not that way. Thus, thoughts have to be surveilled and policed to meet approved and accepted narratives. For example, we may not use the so-called “N” word. It carries such a heavy connotation in some parts of the world, notably the United States and even though we do not share their history, our education has drilled into us never to use the so-called “N” word.

Banks, brands and businesses seem to have jumped onto the bandwagon of trying to school the “average and stupid” consumers into proper and acceptable behaviour. It is not enough for them to sell ideas and items; they want you to change what you believe and how you behave. In other words, they virtue signal. What is virtue signalling? According to a definition, it is an effort to demonstrate one's high moral standing by expressing opinions on political and social issues that are current and acceptable, often with little or no intent to act on said opinions.[2] This is not a novel development. Remember the Pharisee standing at front of the Temple who virtue signalled through exposing the flaws of the Publican standing at the back.

Those in power also use forms of surveillance to detect and criminalise thought and of course, education has been coopted into the process of producing group-think. For example, the rewriting of our national history is one way of eliminating historical facts disapproved by present political persuasion. “Hang Tuah” is no longer the hero we were taught to be because his skin colour does not fit the criterion of racial palette.

To teach or to educate is never to drum, that is, to force an idea down a person’s throat. We cannot legislate morality, that is, how people ought to think and behave. Sadly, law by nature possesses a degree of force. Coercion is punitive in its expression. Look at how fasting is being imposed. But more than coercion, today’s broadcast media in tandem with the threat of posed by cancel culture is a powerful deterrent against aberrant or deviant behaviour.

Christ the Good Shepherd is the gentle teacher who inspires people to be better, to behave better, to think better. I used to fail Mathematics consistently from Standard 3 until Form 3. Back then, the Std 3 maths teacher used to beat us with a wooden 1-metre ruler. I cannot remember how many rulers she broke and requisitioned only to beat us and break the ruler again. Then in Std 4, there was punishment for having scraped through. 51/100 was not good enough for the teacher. When I was in Form 3, I already had a streak of red in the annual report card. Thanks to my sister who challenged me when I proudly announced to her that it did not matter if I failed Mathematics in the Lower Certificate of Education. She said, “You think the seminary takes in stupid people?”. I bucked up because the teacher in Form 3 was good and his teaching style helped me to catch up. I got through LCE with a strong credit and managed to get myself into science stream. At 16 and in Form 4, I could not do long division and this one incident in class has stayed with me all these years. There was a new teacher of Additional Maths in St Francis Institution in Malacca. During one of the lessons I could not grasp, there was long division involved. She came to my desk, knelt in front of me and proceeded to teach me step by step how to do long division.

That incident was a compelling reminder of how teaching should be conducted. There was no shaming to stimulate better performance. Like Chinese parents who need to belittle the children to toughen them up. Instead, to teach is to inspire as Jesus did. He mesmerised the crowds. He consistently drew them to Himself and never with the naked power of intimidation. He commanded people’s attention through the authority of His humility and most of all, through His love. He looked at the crowd and was moved with pity.

This brings us to the subject of the Kingdom. How would Jesus proclaim His Kingdom today? The reality is that two people can hear the same thing but each can perceive it differently and sometimes almost at the opposite ends of a spectrum. Just like the operating systems that power our mobile devices—Android, iOS or Huawei—there are different perceptions of the Kingdom.

The good thing about “operating systems”, is that they reveal a weakness in our polarised self-perception. We pride ourselves as being independent and free in the manner that we think. But operating systems already function with algorithms that decide or pre-determine so much of what people see or how they think. There may be a million minds about the Kingdom but given the fact that operating systems work in a particular way, it not far-fetched to accept that the ideology posed by wokery attempts to corral and control the manner in which we conceive of God’s Kingdom.

After all, we have practically abolished all monarchies except for a handful which makes the word “Kingdom” a rather alien concept. We hold ourselves to be democratic and equal because nobody likes to be dominated or to be lorded over. Perhaps the word “kin-dom”, denoting affinity or relationship rather than kingdom suggestive of dominion, is more in keeping with our egalitarian sensibility. The present woke emphasis is definitely on diversity, equity and inclusion or DEI.

The idea of a fairer world populated with equitable societies may drive the different versions of the reign of God, still the point is, what does Jesus Himself teach about the Kingdom? Since the reality of Original Sin is somewhat rejected, the temptation is always to reshape His Kingdom more like ours. Is that what Christ would have willed and if not, how should we present it according to His understanding?

The parables themselves specify a way to think about the Kingdom. The presence of the weed amongst wheat reveals that the Kingdom has a beginning in this world but the world is not its final realisation. At the Last Judgement, the Kingdom in its fullness will be revealed when the weed will be gathered and burnt. Therefore, there exists an unresolved tension between what has already started but is not fully realised. The presence of the weed may be uncomfortable but precisely the tension is what gives meaning and agency to our lives here on earth. As the parable of the yeast suggests, God is exceedingly generous and that should invite the very best of our efforts for the Kingdom, whilst entrusting to the Lord the fruits that are His to grant. Our contribution, no matter how miniscule, like the mustard seed, is who we are and what we are capable of. The ability to hold the tension between the “already and not yet” is a convincing sign of the Kingdom’s unfolding.

In that sense, witness how Benedict XVI willingly surrendered the apostolic keys of St Peter. To watch silently how his notion of the Church being slowly changed was testimony to God’s greatness but more, it signalled a profound faith in Christ that His Church remains an ongoing mission until the end of time. Benedict XVI showed us how not to be afraid of the weed of ugliness, the darnel of incompleteness, the thorns of sin that belong to the process of building up God’s Kingdom.

In presenting the Kingdom as enunciated by Christ, we should never labour under any impression that what we have here is anything but transient. While we are trying to right historical wrongs, opting to liberate the marginalised poor and working towards averting a future climate catastrophe, we never forget that this world is passing. However, this uncertainty must never deter us from the good we can accomplish. But more than the good we can achieve, it is our joy despite the struggles, our faith despite the trials, and our hope despite the suffering that witness convincingly to the future fulfilment of the Kingdom. If anything, the shape of God’s Kingdom is a reflexion of the beauty of our faith, the grace of our action and the joy of our lives.


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[1] Think of the many explosive outrages expressed simply because leaders are found flawed and wanting. There seems to be an unforgiveness towards a person’s past. Think of the many celebrities cancelled on account of his or her past foibles. How many have had to grovelled for having said something not approved by current canons of appropriateness?

[2]Ben and Jerry, the ice-cream maker, on 4th July 2023 proudly took the stance that that stolen lands be returned to native Americans. Later it emerged that their headquarters in Vermont actually sit on tribal land. Where is the action?

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A 2023

In the coming weeks we will be hearing from the 3rd discourse of Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus uses a number of parables to direct our attention to the Kingdom that He has come to inaugurate.

The choice medium of instruction is through parables and today Jesus describes the Kingdom from the perspective of the Sower. The narrative is simple and the descriptions of the places where the seed falls reflect the conditions of the human heart. The harvest yield is dependent on the willingness to hear God’s word.

What lesson can we derive from this teaching moment of Jesus?

At least three points. Firstly, what does yielding a great harvest mean for us? Secondly, is there a question of wilfulness? Thirdly, how do we get from failure to fruitfulness?

We resonate very well with the idea of producing a bountiful harvest because we are a result-oriented people. In fact, our language is really markedly materialistic in measure. We call it KPI or Key Performance Index. In the case of the seed that had the misfortune of falling on the wayside or stony grounds, they are just wasted opportunities. Given that we are success-oriented, children at a very tender age are already primed to succeed as scientists, engineers, doctors and etc.

No parents want their child to be a rubbish collector. In fact when a young boy who shows a little inclination towards musical prodigy is immediately enrolled in a musical school to hone his skills etc. We think nothing of this way of proceeding. But imagine that same youth at the age of 12, revealing that he wants to be a priests and many parents will probably brush that off as a childish fantasy because he does not really know what he wants.

While it is not wrong to aspire for success or prosperity, the first point of the parable widens our scope of life beyond what is merely material and social progress. A great harvest should be more spiritual. In this matter, parents would want their children to behave but what about teaching them, apart from academic or sporting achievements, to excel in kindness and goodness, to care for the poor and the marginalised? No parent wants his or her child to behave badly but for the Kingdom, just being good is not enough because one has to be excellent in moral character.

This failure to yield a harvest raises the matter of the will and this is the 2nd point. We often assume that failure is wilful as if someone wants to fail. Nobody really wakes up in the morning to want to fail which must lead us to re-look at the conditions for the possibility of hearing God’s word and bearing fruit. If the harvest is to be great, what causes the poor harvest? Why can we not hear properly? The truth about deafness is that it is never wilful which means that we need to school our hearts to hear God better. This is the part which is not easy because we are basically used to having things our way. A good example is how some parents might lament that their adult children do not seem to follow in their footsteps. It is not a guarantee that right training will result in the appropriate behaviour but suffice to say that proper discipline is necessary to ensure a favourable outcome.

More than that, failures are really opportunities to change and to improve. While it requires patience to bear with our own frailty, what is most needed is the grace to move in the direction of freedom. In other words, the will needs to be trained to be more Christ-like in thinking and behaving. A clearer moral vision requires that we grow to know Him better and not just to know about Him.

This brings us to the next third point about moving from failure to fruitfulness.

We are not good only because we act in a manner which is good. Rather, we are good which is why we behave in a particular manner, that is, we make choices in accordance with our dignity as sons and daughters of God. Who we are as persons is not just plasticene to be moulded according to our whims and fancies. Instead, we have been created in the image and likeness of God. There we already have a blueprint for our moral behaviour.

In a way, what is brought to mind is another imagery which may help us to bear a bountiful harvest. It is the image of the Vine and the branches. In order to be fruitful, we remain in the Vine drawing our sustenance from it. This is really an invitation to enrich our sacramental life and to draw strength from the Sacraments. But there are self-assured or self-contented minds who think that it is enough that they do not harm and a sacramental life is not necessary for bearing fruits. The barren fig tree is a powerful reminder that not doing any harm is not good enough. To be fruitful, we must be connected to the Vine.

Finally, the Sower’s prodigality in scattering seed reveals God’s generous patience with us even if we are slow in bearing fruits. He sows with love and waits patiently for the harvest to flourish. However, the take-away lesson is that this not a one-way street because the terrain symbolises the disposition of the heart towards God’s goodness. He is generous but that does not mean we cannot be excluded from His mercy. By our lack of response or negligence, we will draw the pruner’s secateurs or clipper. It sounds ominous to our entitled ears but it is not. Although God desires our cooperation, He cannot force it. The parable ends clearly with the message that the seed is in our hearts, akin to having the ball in our court, and very much like the wedding of the King’s son, if we are not careful or conscientious, we may just disinvite ourselves to the wedding feast.

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A 2023

We have a timely Gospel. At this moment not a few are exhausted even if they are not aware of it. To be fair, the flood of broadcast media images, beginning especially with hunger in the Horn of Africa in the 80’s, has not eased. Unequal wealth distribution notwithstanding, over the last 30-odd years, we have been buffeted and battered by wave after wave of heart-rending pictures that portray human suffering from calamities like devastating earthquakes, terror attacks, explosive volcanoes, cataclysmic cyclones, surging tsunamis, nuclear meltdowns and more.

The recent pandemic too shined a spotlight on the economic destitute who suffered from the loss of employment. Not only did the poor suffer much from the lockdown. When resources were stretched, movements were restricted and freedom was curtailed, the demands placed on generosity merely accentuated one’s compassion fatigue. How not to be tired? In fact, last Sunday we were invited to grow in generosity.

Therefore, the Gospel is refreshing because Christ promises that He will ease our burden. How is one to grasp this? The 1st reading flows with the Gospel even though it feels like the Holy Week’s introduction to Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The Prophet describes the humility of the King who enters His Kingdom without fanfare, riding on a donkey. In the Gospel, Jesus thanks the Father for concealing the truth from the learned, the wise and the powerful and instead He chooses to reveal the truth to children who in this case represent those who are humble.

The context for Christ’s prayer was the experience of rejection by the Galilean towns. Those who seemed to know who He was could not accept the miracles He had performed. In this prayer, Jesus revealed two things. Firstly, His identity and secondly, His relationship with the Father. Much of Jesus’ identity was hearsay and many did not know who He truly was except of course the Father. The identity of Jesus was His Father. And in terms of knowing the Father, what Jesus revealed shone a light into the mystery of the life of the Blessed Trinity.

This knowledge is now made available by Father through Jesus to the humble. The Trinity remains a mystery because the more we know about God in Himself, there is still a lot more we will never know about Him. Humility is the key to knowing God better and it is this same meekness, the same abnegation that allows us to embrace the invitation of Jesus. He asks those who are burdened to approach Him to find solace and rest. But then, a generation exhausted by the incessant cries of humanity’s need finds rest elusive. From extreme hunger to climate change, how to believe that we can find solace in God when we are teetering on the edge of extinction?

Yet, the message of Jesus remains relevant. He invites us to give up our burden for His. It is indeed a radical invitation because it requires humility and trust in Him. Somehow, our “can-do” or “self-motivated” or “self-help” spiritualities chafe at such a suggestion that we should actually acquiesce rather than attempt a solution for our mounting crises. The Lord reminds us that sorrows, hardships and pains, no matter terrible they are, cannot destroy us without His permission. In other words, trust Him just like how He would respond when we are generous. If last weekend was an invitation to generosity, this Sunday is again a call to generously trust Him as we humbly take on His yoke.

God will never betray our trust. The challenge is that we operate under the assumption that trusting God equates to a smooth path. We mistakenly assume that when we have God on our side, we will not have to face problems. This is false hope or expectation because the true meaning of God on our side is that whatever challenges we face, He will always be there to help us.

The humility is to acknowledge that we need Him. This pandemic has exposed the truth of who we are. Man was brought to his knees facing a virus could have wiped him out. At the peak of a protracted pandemic, many turned to God conceding that overcoming this flu was not up to them but up to God’s benevolence. Sadly though, this post-pandemic period has become one of forgetfulness. Now that we are past the danger, in a bid towards achieving pre-pandemic production, we seem to believe that we are back in control—frantic to catch up with lost opportunities and lost time.

In this process, we can back ourselves into a corner forgetting that God is in charge. We stress ourselves up and the load becomes heavier not because God has laid it upon our shoulders but rather, we have created our own burden as we blindly pursue the god of progress, success and achievement.

The result is pretty simple. We have returned to a default setting where we turn to God only when we are helpless making God the last port of call instead of Him being the one we turn to first before all else. The god-of-last-call is simply a mechanical deity of the vending machine where we slot in some prayers for him to dispense the solution we need. Any wonder why we become disappointed with God because He does not play according to our tune?

Like the Collect we heard at the beginning, “Come to me” is truly an overture to joyfully allow God to take the lead. It is way of life that permits God to take charge because He can be trusted not to fail us. “Not failing us” has nothing to do with Him fulfilling what we want but rather that He will see to it that everything will work out according to His plans. Go to Him all you who are burdened and He will give you rest. Compassion fatigue is not an exhaustion of the generous and trusting but a weariness of souls who attempt to carry the burdens of world all by themselves.

The World Youth Day is around the corner and there is a young man who might inspire us to turn to the Lord. Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, not well-known, not a priest but definitely an inspiring icon for many self-absorbed young and not so young people. Pier Giorgio died at the tender age of 25 but for such a short life, he embodied the Beatitudes and the joy of the Gospel to the full. Even though he was dying from polio caught from serving the poor, he thought nothing of himself but instead focused on the funeral of his grandmother who had just died. He said, “As long as faith gives me strength, I will always be joyful”. In a photograph of his depicting him climbing up a summit, he scribbled “verso l’alto” meaning “to the heights”. This is a spirit who knows that the Shepherd of souls is in charge and not even death is ever going to hold him back from going towards the Lord for His yoke is indeed light.

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A 2023

Recently a NY comedian made fun of this country that got the collective knickers all twisted up. So, what is exciting considering that the Ringgit has plunged into hell? Tesla cars are coming. Officially. Even when the “planes cannot take off”, we should rejoice that this 3rd world nation has finally vroomed into the “developed” status. What does such a luxurious rewards of life have anything to do with the readings today? It does.

The last two Sundays laid out the cost of discipleship. The call of apostleship can come across as rather harsh and uncompromising; almost like an unfair one-sided contract whereby serfs or slaves are coerced by a capricious god who demands a pound of flesh. A cursory glance at the Gospel might suggest this—"Love me above everything. Or else”.

The 1st Reading provides a different view. An elderly and barren Shunammite woman showed hospitality to a man of God without thinking of what she could get out of the gesture. For her generosity, God rewarded her despite her age proving that He is not vengeful. He cannot be outdone by our generosity. The 2nd Reading is really invitation to be generous with God. Baptism, even though it feels like a simple rite of passage one undergoes without thinking, is really an invitation to totally surrender to God. According to St Paul, the Sacrament of Baptism symbolises a Christian’s entrance into and the embrace of the death of Jesus so that one can rise with Him in the Resurrection.

Generous discipleship is being single-minded in devotion to God. The language in the Gospel is unambiguous. When the Lord says, “Love me above all else”, it is not a truly a command but it flows from logic. To love God above everything is more a duty rather than a demand. Even though it sounds like He demands our love, but if we were to consider it dispassionately, we would soon realise that to love Him with our being comes from appreciating who we are and who He is. This is the only logic between a Creator and His creatures. We owe our Creator everything. He owes us nothing. Yet He chooses to share His life with us. Imagine a gangster “taikor” (mafia don) and his “macais” (henchmen). It is acceptable for a henchman to sacrifice himself for the mafia boss. Whereas we have a God who sacrificed Himself for sinners.

How not to love God in return? If we proceed along this trajectory of thinking, then generosity will become a way of life. The hospitality shown towards the Prophet as we heard in the 1st Reading or to anyone of the disciples listed in the Gospel is a gesture of generosity toward the Lord Himself. That a good deed will be rewarded is not the reason for its action. It has to be more than that. Of course, one can use this as a basis to preach a gospel of prosperity. The point that God cannot be outdone by our generosity is more a description of our journey toward interior freedom with regard to possession than it is a statement of God’s abundant providence.

Let us consider the family for example. The family unit is crucial to our sense of well-being. Some families might be broken due to tragic circumstances. So, if you have a good family, be thankful. If not, there will always be a hunger for it. Whatever the situation may be, it is natural to yearn for the intimacy of family life. In the Gospel, Jesus seems to pit the love of family against the love for Him as if both were mutually exclusive. They are not. One can love one’s family and one should always do so. Family gives us meaning and also provides stability for our worldview. But the truth remains that the family is not an absolute.

The idea of generosity towards God has to do with what holds absolute value in our lives. It should be God or Jesus Christ and nothing else. Not even the family and this is hard to hear and difficult to accept. When we have God as the sole desire and goal of life, it allows us the freedom to relativise everything else, even very important relationships of love that we hold so dearly.

Perhaps the Prayer for Generosity, mistakenly attributed to St Ignatius might help us understand what it means to be a disciple and an apostle. “Lord, teach me to be generous, to serve you as you deserve, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labour and not to look for any reward, save that of knowing that I do your holy will”.

Why?

We belong to God and to serve Him is the only freedom that is truly liberating. Apparently, St Ignatius who had just founded a new religious order in the 16th century whose aim was to serve the Church, had to overcome many obstacles. At the beginning, there were rumours that the newly-minted Society of Jesus was to be suppressed. He was asked what his reaction would to be to the suppression and He mentioned that he needed only 15 minutes to pray and then he would be on his way. This type of interior freedom is the fruit of one’s encounter with Jesus. In meeting the Lord, we ask for the grace to grow in the freedom of true apostleship—to freely offer who we are and what we have as we labour for His Kingdom, beginning here on earth and as the whole of creation moves in the direction of heaven.

There may be hardships ahead but caritas Christi urget nos [2 Cor 5:14], the love of Christ always nudges us towards excellence in both discipleship and apostleship. The reward will always be beyond what this world can ever promise. No Tesla, no electric vehicle, nothing can compare to the prize of giving our all to Christ. Suffering and not even losing one’s life can measure up to the reward of holding on to Christ and that is eternity, an everlasting life.

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A 2023

We heard how Jesus had called 12 amongst His disciples to send them out. This weekend He highlights the sober realities that they will encounter. They will face opposition, undergo persecution and endure hardship just by being His apostles. As God’s servants they should expect suffering.

In fact, the 1st Reading recounts the deadly plots of evil men that Jeremiah the prophet of God was subjected to. The 2nd Reading shows how Christ shed His blood to deliver humanity from the terrors of death brought about by the sin of Adam. The contrast between God’s assistance towards Jeremiah and Christ’s sacrifice is huge. God came to the rescue of an innocent Jeremiah whereas Christ came to the rescue of those who bear the burden of inherited sin.

The depth of God’s love as reflected in the redemption of abject sinners is proof that He can be trusted to care for His servants. To save us Christ stared into the abyss of evil, subjecting Himself to hatred and enduring the torments of the crucifixion. This is our consolation as apostles. The cost of our salvation is no less than the life of God’s only Son. This makes the Gospel a powerful message. “Do not be afraid. Trust Him despite the possibilities of troubles and suffering.

However, the invitation from Jesus may not be compelling enough because we are a crowd at pains to stamp out suffering at all costs. We are incapable of accepting that there is no way to escape from suffering no matter how much we try. A generation that believes that there is a-pill-for-every-ill cannot grasp let alone understand the inevitability of pain and sorrow. Suffering merely reflects the imperfection of created reality but most of all, it is the result of creation having lost its original harmony with God.

We necessarily suffer because death is the price of sin. Whilst Christ may have ransomed us from everlasting death, what the 2nd Reading left out is that His death did not save us from suffering. We may be saved but we are not shielded from suffering. In fact we are terrified by suffering. Just look at the continual masking. I am not advocating the removal of masks. No way am I am mocking anyone who wears it especially those who are elderly, vulnerable and need protection. The observation, and I am prepared to be wrong, is possibly because we have developed an adverse allergy to suffering and pain. Many who wear the mask have no fear of dying though they may be afraid of the effects of Covid—the headaches and body aches. Is it any wonder why Panadol is in such short supply? Our tolerance of pain is so low that the notion of pain is basically heightened. Fear amplifies suffering and our child-bearing process is a good example where epidural is widely used to relieve the pain of child-birth.

Suffering is unavoidable because of evil. One may argue philosophically that evil does not exist. Just like cold or darkness do not exist because cold is merely the absence of heat and darkness is simply the absence of light. Thus, evil is the privation of good. However philosophy wants to define evil, cold or darkness, the truth is, evil is real. As in the case of Jeremiah who suffered on account of the wicked men.

Evil is an expression of the forces that are arrayed against God our Lord. It started with the angels, jealous of the dignity that God accorded to man. That the Son of God would deign to assume the lowliness of human flesh was too much for the pride of angels and as such, they rebelled and that rebellion has not stopped. We should not be surprised by the presence of evil.

Sadly, the reality is that we are often taken aback. We assumed that civilisation having progressed that much, we would have arrived at enlightened behaviour. For example, genocide in this 21st century. We are shocked and disgusted that this can still happen. This assumption is rather erroneous simply because it is founded on a thinking that the world is untainted by Original Sin. A corollary of this erroneous thinking is that there are no forces that work against God.

If we look at the life of Jesus, He was not a revolutionary leader. He was not fighting to overthrow a foreign regime. Instead He came to save humanity from the clutches of evil. He encountered forces that tried to sabotage those who wanted a relationship with God. As long as there are forces opposed to the rule of God, evil will rear its head and when it does, suffering ensues.

Perhaps we will persevere better if we accept that the price of love is suffering, exemplified in the birth of a child. In everything we care for, or better still, when we care for someone, there will be suffering. Thus, by being faithful to the Church’s teaching on the sanctity of life and the truth of human sexuality, we will encounter opposition, persecution and as a result, suffer on account of Christ. There is expectation that Catholics should fall in line with present thinking on matters of life and death or sexuality and identity. Hold on to what the Church teaches and you will meet the forces that insist that you are wrong. Orthodoxy is the new heresy.

In preparing His disciples to be apostles, to be sent, Jesus warned them that they will face opposition, endure persecution and undergo suffering. Are we ready to uphold a civilisation of life that defends the sacredness of life and at the same time stand against the civilisation of death? It is easy to believe privately but it requires courage to express what we believe publicly. If we are afraid of being persecuted for holding on to Christ’s teachings, then we must ask the courage to embrace our apostleship. Take heart and trust God for we have not been sent to suffer but rather bear in mind that we will definitely suffer because we have been sent. The God of all grace who has called us to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself perfect, confirm, and establish us, after a brief time of suffering. Therefore, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen (1 Pet 5:10).