Monthly Archives: January 2017

Wednesday of Week 1 in Ordinary Time (Year I)
Hebrews 2:14-18 | Psalm 104(105):1-4,6-9 | Mark 1:29-39

That is, because he has himself been through temptation he is able to help others who are tempted. (Hebrews 2:18)

What a wonder is Jesus, Son of God,
that He deigned to also become Son of Man,
to realize human joys and pains, astonishment and temptation,
and to will His own sacrifice for the salvation of every human through eternity.
Not just to fulfill the will of God,
but also out of the compassion that only flows from shared experience.

“I know what you’re going through” is one of the easiest phrases to toss off, but is it the truth? Or is it merely shorthand for “tough luck, sorry you’re going through this, here’s some advice I haven’t used myself, but I guess it might work, so I’ll force-feed it to you anyway”?

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Jesus knew what we humans go through each day. He experienced it for Himself, and it greatly coloured His ministry.

Experiencing the mortality of human flesh, He chose not to stay in one place like a rabbi of privilege, waiting for everyone hearing about His exploits to come to Him. Instead, as a man on a mission with limited time, He “went all through Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out devils.” (Mark 1:39)

Understanding the jealousy that infects human hearts, He prevented the devils He cast out from revealing His true identity (Mark 1:34). In this way, He could continue to minister and preach to all without unduly worrying the scribes and Pharisees in their midst, until the time was ripe to return to Jerusalem and set in motion the events that would lead to His crucifixion.

Feeling the tug of human need, He let Himself be tested by the devil, while in a state of extreme hunger (Matthew 4:1-11). By overcoming such extreme temptations, He became the perfect role model to teach us how to resist the lure of sensuality.

Jesus “walked the walk”, so that He could “talk the talk” with authority.

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The people I meet sometimes wonder why I usually interact as pleasantly as I can with the young adults trying to sell me on a charitable cause,

or the old lady selling tissues at slightly exorbitant prices,

or the glum contract worker cleaning tables at the hawker centre,

or the slightly disheveled middle-aged man asking for a “pity handout” on a bus,

basically the kinds of people other folks prefer to ignore and/or blatantly avoid. They don’t often voice it out loud, but I do see traces of ARE YOU NUTS?!?! in their facial expressions.

And in the rare instance when they summon up enough courage to ask why I’d do such a silly thing, my answer couldn’t be clearer: “Because I’ve been a busboy before, I know first-hand what it feels like to be a pariah, and I really don’t want to make someone else feel the same way.”

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A famous American comedian once uttered a humorous twist on an old proverb:

Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes.
That way, when you do criticize him, you’ll be a mile away and have his shoes.
— Steve Martin

While funny on the surface, it belies a uncomfortable subtext: “Now that you’ve walked such a long way and your feet hurt like hell from ill-fitting footwear, perhaps you’ll not be so crass about others’ social status and dignity.”

Jesus literally went to hell and back for us, because He experienced our pain and suffering first-hand. So did models of charity like Mother Teresa, and so can we. While we might not experience grinding poverty or general social rejection, we can at least imagine what they’d feel like, and let that “experience” influence our interactions accordingly.

Otherwise, we may realize too late that (channeling comic artist Walt Kelly) “we have met the a**hole, and he is us!”

Amen.

Tuesday of Week 1 in Ordinary Time (Year A)
Hebrews 2:5-12 | Psalm 8:2,5-9 | Mark 1:21-28

Jesus and his followers went as far as Capernaum, and as soon as the sabbath came he went to the synagogue and began to teach. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority. (Mark 1:21-22)

Jesus was in a unique position. As the Son of God, He was “put in command of everything” (Hebrews 2:8), and He worked miracles during His ministry on earth as signs of that authority. More importantly, He was not limited by appeals to external authority when speaking about what God wanted of mankind; while the scribes were hobbled by their need to defer to one rabbi or another in their religious discourse, Jesus simply said, “I tell you most solemnly…”

Similarly, I’ve heard many conversations along the lines of “Fr. X said you should do Y, because…well, I can’t quite remember what he said, but it was a good reason.” Hardly convincing, is it? Much better to say “you should do Y, because Z”, but will they believe us, or reply with a snarky “and who made you God?”

We are called to spread the Word of God to others, but how can we do so with authority, especially when this world seems to revolve around moral relativity and personal opinion, in which everyone claims “authority” that others are reluctant to challenge on grounds of political correctness, or that are challenged with great ferocity but little substance?

The one way I’ve found is to live that Word, to experience what Fr. X was talking about, to internalize it and make it part of our being. Just as we would never trust a mechanic who’s read every car repair manual inside and out but never actually touched an engine, so we should not expect others to take our word for anything, just because we appeal to ecclesial authority. Being able to say “I speak from experience” and actually be living proof of it beats any number of theoretical suggestions.

So instead of being a NATO (No Action, Talk Only) “commander”, we should “practice what we preach”. Instead of just telling a friend in despair to “pray about it,” we should immediately join them in a prayer of comfort and appeal to our heavenly Father. Instead of just talking about charity, we should practice it for real, giving up our seats to those in more need of support, resisting dishonest urges in our dealings with vendors, being living models of Christian love.

In this way, when we speak of the unremitting love of God as shown to us through His Son’s ultimate sacrifice, even those who would prefer not to follow Christ cannot simply dismiss our words as being without foundation, since we would have proven ourselves by our very deeds to be that foundation.

We will never attain Christ’s level of authority, but we can certainly improve on “do what I say, not what I do”.

Lord, the world at large prefers to reject Your words of love and mercy.
Help us live our lives steeped in those words of love and mercy.
Help us pour forth Your love and mercy through our words and actions each day,
and so convince others by example that You are indeed the Way of Truth and Life. Amen.

The Baptism of the Lord
Isaiah 42:1-4,6-7 | Psalm 28(29):1-4,9-10 | Matthew 3:13-17

I stood in the shower last night, as I do every night, reflecting on today’s scripture while washing away the sweat and grime of the day.

Suddenly, a stray series of thoughts entered my head, tracing the passage of soapy water down my body:

Cleanse my mind, Lord, that it may discern Your Holy Way.

Clear my senses, Lord, that they may show me Your Holy Way.

Rinse my tongue, Lord, that it may tell of Your Holy Way.

Lave my heart, Lord, that it may yearn for Your Holy Way.

Scour my hands, Lord, that they may work to lead others on Your Holy Way.

Purify my feet, Lord, that they may walk Your Holy Way.

It’s funny what a thorough ablution does to the thought process.

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As Catholics, we can only be baptized once. Many of us were also baptized as infants, so we can’t recall the event even if we wanted to.

Nevertheless, we should never forget the end result of our baptism: an indelible seal of Spirit-filled purification on our hearts. It remains there in good times and bad, in sickness and health, whether we face God in joy or turn away from Him in shame. It simply is.

But because it only occurred once, and much would’ve happened in our lives since then, it’s often easy to forget its criticality in the hustle and bustle of mundane and Spirit-less life. We can and should consciously remind ourselves of this key point in our lives, and the responsibilities thrust upon us at this root of our rebirth.

Starting today, I will pray this prayer as I shower each morning before heading out to do the day’s work:

Lord, as I wash away the waste of my body’s nightly purification, cleanse me with your Spirit. Purify my heart and mind, that I may endeavour to do Your will today and every day of my life. Amen.

and another one as I wash each night:

Lord, as I wash away the detritus of today’s activities, cleanse me with your Spirit. Forgive me my trespasses of this day, as I forgive those who trespass against me, and grant me a good night’s rest, that I may endeavour to do Your will tomorrow and every day of my life. Amen.

The Epiphany of the Lord
Isaiah 60:1-6 | Psalm 71(72):1-2,7-8,10-13 | Ephesians 3:2-3,5-6 | Matthew 2:1-12

The Son of God was revealed to the Gentile Magi in today’s Gospel, for that is literally what “epiphany” means. They brought gold, frankincense and myrrh, to honour the universal King, the one God and the salvific sacrifice.

Where do we see Jesus in our daily lives, and what can we offer Him?

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When I entered the lift at my place yesterday morning, I bumped into a grandfather with a toddler lying in a pram. As I moved towards the back of the lift, the young child turned his head to follow my passage and, when he could turn no further, suddenly clambered onto his hands and knees and stared at me with a silly grin on his face.

I couldn’t help but smile, which in turn made him giggle.

So I high-fived him, and he laughed even louder.

The entire encounter lasted less than 30 seconds, but it charged all three of us with joy and, at least for me, a certain amount of spiritual uplift.

Now I’m sure I didn’t have food stains on my face, or commit a fashion faux pas, or any such cause for amusement.

I can only assume that the toddler had a revelation: “Hey! New person I’ve never seen before! Cool!”

And chose to act on it with joyful grace.

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Perhaps there’s a lesson in that encounter for us all. Can we see Jesus in each person we meet in our lives, rich or poor, brash or meek? Can we think “Hey! I see Christ in this person! Cool!”

And can we then offer respectful love and joyful compassion to them, and Christ-through-them?

Lord knows this world needs less aggravation and conflict. As we celebrate our infant King’s manifestation to all humanity today, let us in turn be revelations of His love and mercy to others.

Amen.

7 January
1 John 5:14-21 | Psalm 149:1-6,9 | John 2:1-11

If anybody sees his brother commit a sin
that is not a deadly sin,
he has only to pray, and God will give life to the sinner
– not those who commit a deadly sin;
for there is a sin that is death,
and I will not say that you must pray about that. (1 John 5:16)

My understanding is that the “sin that is death” refers to apostasy, the explicit rejection of the Truth that we have received as Christians. To turn our backs on the revelation of God’s plan for our salvation, to replace “You and me, team God” with “me, myself and I”, is to literally proclaim that we want no share in the life to come, so what alternative do we face but eternal death?

I came close to apostasy during my college days, drunk on the freedom of life away from my family, surrounded by a culture that promoted self above all, eventually just going through the motions of Sunday worship. It took an atheist friend, of all people, to knock some sense into me. Through his incessant prodding about what I was doing, I was forced to come to terms with my actions, and dig deeper into my faith to justify them.

And through this digging, I finally came to know God as something more than an invisible being whom everyone around me believed in just enough to curse quite colorfully in His name.

And because I came to know Him, I also came to love Him. That last bit was a foregone conclusion, but getting to that point took a lot of effort…and a lot of trust that the effort would bear fruit.

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The last line in the above passage is phrased very delicately: “I will not say that you must pray about that”. It doesn’t say that I should not pray for apostates, just that I’m not obliged to.

On the surface, it seems logical enough. These folks have already made their unfortunate choice, so what good would praying for them do?

But God deals in Love, not cold hard logic. We think God won’t suffer those who reject Him, but even if we are right, God can break His own rules any time He wishes because…well, he’s God, so nothing is impossible for Him once He wills it.

So let us truly trust in the Lord, as Mother Mary did in today’s Gospel, when she bore Jesus’ mild rebuke with good grace, and told the servants at the wedding in Cana: “I don’t care if the Son of God’s commands sound completely wacky, just do whatever He tells you!”

Let us fully open our hearts and minds to Him, letting Him instruct us each day on how we should treat the people and situations we encounter, asking only that He melt, mold, fill and use us to His glory.

After all, if He could get an atheist to pull a believer back from the brink of apostasy, what could He possibly not do?

Amen.