11th Sunday of Ordinary Time

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Thursday, 18 June 2020 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Sirach 48 : 1-15 (Greek Septuagint – Sirach 48 : 1-14)

Then came the prophet Elijah, like a fire, his words a burning torch. He brought a famine on the people and in his zealous love had them reduced in number. Speaking in the Name of the Lord he closed down the heavens, and on three occasions called down fire.

How marvellous you were, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! Who could ever boast of being your equal? By the word of the Most High you brought a dead man back to life; you brought kings to destruction and thrust famous men from their beds. You heard a rebuke at Sinai and sentences of punishment at Horeb; you anointed kings to be avengers and prophets to succeed you.

You were taken up by a whirlwind of flames in a chariot drawn by fiery horses. It was written that you should be the one to calm God’s anger in the future, before it broke out in fury, to turn the hearts of fathers to their sons and to restore the tribes of Jacob.

Happy are those who will see you and those who die in love, for we too shall live. Such was Elijah, taken up in a whirlwind, and Elisha was filled with his spirit. During his life no leader could shake him, no one dominated him. Nothing was too difficult for him and even in death his body prophesied. In life he worked wonders, in death his deeds were amazing.

Despite all this, the people were not converted and did not turn away from sin; not until they were deported far from their country and scattered over the earth.

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Wednesday, 17 June 2020 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture that spoke to us about the need for us to follow the Lord with genuine faith and commitment, and doing everything in our everyday lives with the focus on God and not on our own ego and desire. We live our lives to serve God and to give ourselves to His cause, and in the end, the Lord shall glorify us with eternal life and true joy He has promised us.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord speaking to us about how His followers should pray and practice their faith. In their almsgiving, charity and works, they ought not to show off their actions, to give with genuine intention and compassion, and to pray and fast with the focus centred on God, not for appearances and fame, but rather out of the sincere desire to return to God, to be reconciled with Him and to follow Him.

These comments and words were made in particular in opposition and as criticism against the actions and attitudes of many among the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who often paraded their piety, made a show of their prayers, fasting and rituals, but the Lord Who knew all things saw right through them and their facade of piety, and inside, what He found was not faith and love for God, but rather, ego, pride, desire and the greed for worldly glory, fame and honours.

The Lord therefore reminded all of us not to be swayed and tempted by the temptations and corrupting nature of power, worldly glory and fame, the allure of ambition and the greed for wealth and possessions. Instead, all of us as Christians should seek not for the glory and greatness of the world, but instead, look forward for the eternal and true glory in the life that is to come, as what the Lord has promised us, and which the prophet Elijah showed us all in our first reading today.

In our first reading today, we heard of the account of the moment when the prophet Elijah was taken up into heaven in a great flaming chariot, as witnessed by his successor, the prophet Elisha. For many years, the prophet Elijah had laboured very hard to spread God’s words to the people and called them to repent them from their many sins. He had laboured hard, often suffering from the persecutions and oppressions at the hands of the king and his enemies.

In doing all of his thankless works and labours, risking his life and his own safety for the sake of the Lord, the prophet Elijah had shown us the true meaning of what being Christians and the disciples of the Lord is all about. To follow the Lord, we ought to give of ourselves to the Lord and focus ourselves and our attention on Him. We should not seek personal glory and satisfaction, and neither should we let those things guide our lives’ paths and actions.

We are all called to have deeper faith in God, and that we do not need to worry about things in life that often concern us. Instead, let us all do our best to serve the Lord and be good examples of faithful Christian living in our various respective communities. We ought to do what we can, through our daily living and actions in life to contribute to the greater works of the Church and to glorify God.

In turn, we can be sure that God will know of our faith in Him, and as long as we firmly hold on to this faith, we shall never be disappointed. If we seek worldly satisfaction, glory, power, fame and all these related things, all these things will eventually run out and disappear one day. This year alone, amidst the coronavirus pandemic, economic crisis due to the pandemic and other issues, many people had seen their incomes, savings, their pride and glory wiped out by the troubles that occurred. This is why we need to put our trust instead in the Lord.

And let us all be good and charitable as the Lord had taught us to do. In these difficult times and moments, let us offer helping hands and assistance to our fellow brethren, even if we ourselves are encountering difficulties. After all, there are bound to be people who suffer more than we are suffering. Let us be kind, compassionate, generous and righteous in all of our actions and in our interactions with each other. May the Lord also be our guide and may He strengthen us in the resolve to live faithfully as good and devout Christian from now on, and be the light of hope and strength for our fellow brothers and sisters in these dark times and situations. Amen.

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Wednesday, 17 June 2020 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 6 : 1-6, 16-18

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Be careful not to make a show of your righteousness before people. If you do so, you do not gain anything from your Father in heaven. When you give something to the poor, do not have it trumpeted before you, as do those who want to be seen in the synagogues and in the streets, in order to be praised by the people. I assure you, they have already been paid in full.”

“If you give something to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your gift remains really secret. Your Father, Who sees what is kept secret, will reward you. When you pray, do not be like those who want to be seen. They love to stand and pray in the synagogues or on street corners to be seen by everyone. I assure you, they have already been paid in full.”

“When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father Who is with you in secret; and your Father Who sees what is kept secret will reward you. When you fast, do not put on a miserable face as do the hypocrites. They put on a gloomy face, so that people can see they are fasting. I tell you this : they have already been paid in full.”

“When you fast, wash your face and make yourself look cheerful, because you are not fasting for appearances or for people, but for your Father Who sees beyond appearances. And your Father, Who sees what is kept secret, will reward you.”

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Wednesday, 17 June 2020 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 30 : 20, 21, 24

How great is the goodness which You have stored for those who fear You, which You show, for all to see, in those who take refuge in You!

In the shelter of Your presence You hide them from human wiles; You keep them in Your dwelling, safe from the intrigues of wagging tongues.

Love the Lord, all you His saints! The Lord preserves His faithful, but He fully requites the arrogant.

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Wednesday, 17 June 2020 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Kings 2 : 1, 6-14

YHVH took Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind. It happened this way : Elijah and Elisha had left Gilgal, and Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, I beg you, for YHVH is only sending me to the Jordan.” But Elisha answered, “I swear by YHVH and by your life that I will never leave you.” And as they went on their way, fifty fellow prophets of Jericho followed them at a certain distance.

When Elijah and Elisha stood by the Jordan, Elijah took his mantle, rolled it, and struck the water with it. The water parted to both sides and they crossed over on dry ground. After they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “What shall I do for you before I am taken away from you? Ask me.”

Elisha said, “May I receive a double portion of your spirit.” Elijah answered, “Your request is most difficult. Yet if you see me while I am being taken from you, then you shall have it. But if not, you shall not have it.”

As they were talking on the way, a chariot of fire with horses of fire stood between them, and Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw him and cried out, “Father, my father, chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” When Elisha lost sight of him, he took hold of his own clothes and tore them. He then picked up the mantle which had fallen from Elijah and returned to the banks of the Jordan.

He took the cloak that had fallen off Elijah, hit the water with it, and asked, “Where is the YHVH, the God of Elijah?” When he hit the water again, it divided and Elisha crossed over.

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Tuesday, 16 June 2020 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day all of us are reminded by the readings of the Scripture on the need for each and every one of us to be forgiving, to be compassionate and to be merciful and loving as our Lord and God has been kind, compassionate and merciful towards us. We are all called as Christians to be the examples of love, to follow in the love that God Himself has shown us, and which He reminded us again today through the Scriptures.

In our first reading we heard of the story of the king of Israel, Ahab, and his wicked deed in killing Naboth the vineyard owner for his own selfish desires, while in our Psalm today we heard of the famous Psalm of King David, Psalm 50, the Psalm that he himself composed in great sorrow and repentance over his sins, and lastly, in the Gospel today we heard of the exhortation by the Lord Jesus for His disciples and followers to love everyone sincerely and with great tenderness and compassion.

In the account of king Ahab’s sin in killing Naboth, we heard how Ahab’s wickedness would have earned him great tragedy and punishment, as the prophet Elijah came to confront the wicked king and put forth God’s pronouncement of the coming judgment for the king and his whole family. Judgment was also due for his even more wicked wife, queen Jezebel, a pagan whose deeds were even more wicked than the king, and whose persuasions had led to the king deciding to kill Naboth by wicked means.

Yet, we then heard how when king Ahab tore his clothes, humbled himself before God and Elijah, His prophet, and showed great remorse over his actions, God showed His kindness and mercy, His compassion and love, revealing that in truth, He is a loving and compassionate God, Who is ever filled with genuine and tender care for each and every one of us, without exception, even to the worst and most wicked of sinners. The mercy that God had shown to king Ahab was just one of the many examples of this.

God is ever merciful, just as He shows justice to the wicked and the evil ones. To those who are willing to accept and embrace His mercy, God shall extend His loving care and providence, and He will gather them again in His presence. For king Ahab, He was not completely forgiven, likely because his sins were indeed many and too great, and while he humbled himself and was sorrowful, but there was still wickedness in his heart and the unwillingness to repent fully and turn towards the Lord.

This is where then another king of Israel, namely the one who composed our Psalm today, came into the picture. King David was then punished for his immoral behaviour and sin, in plotting for the death of the husband of Bathsheba, Uriah the Hittite. King David desired Bathsheba and eventually made her his wife after Uriah died, much like just how king Ahab plotted and successfully had Naboth killed so that he could own his vineyard. But then, hereafter we can see the difference between the two.

King David was wholeheartedly and completely repentant of his wicked actions, his selfishness and temptation by sin. Psalm 50 which we have used today as our Psalm is the expression of this great regret and desire to be forgiven by God. And as David’s love and faith for God was genuine and great, that was what brought Him to God’s forgiveness and grace once again. That was why, while David and his house remain firm, the house of Ahab crumbled.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord also reminded all of us that we have to love and love sincerely, not just to those who love us, but even to our enemies and those who hated us. And why is this so? That is because the Lord Himself had done so, when He forgave all those who have sinned against Him, those who have betrayed Him by their wicked actions and deeds like king Ahab, by their failure to restrain themselves like king David, among many others.

And each and every one of us have sinned against Him too, whether it be great or small sin, all of us have sinned regardless. Yet, the Lord did not mind at all and chose willingly to pick up His Cross, heavily laden with the mighty burdens of our sins. He bore all of these, and suffered all the worst sufferings, for our sake, because of His enduring and great love for us. And if God has been willing to forgive us and love us again, despite all of our sins and shortcomings, then why don’t we love one another and forgive one another our faults?

Let us all imitate the Lord’s own examples and rediscover once again the strong and genuine love which we ought to have for Him. Let us all seek His forgiveness and mercy for our many sins and faults, and be forgiving and loving ourselves to one another. May the Lord give us the heart to love, the courage to forgive and the faith to always be obedient to Him and to trust in Him all the time, from now on. Amen.

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Tuesday, 16 June 2020 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 5 : 43-48

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples and to the people, “You have heard that it was said : Love your neighbour and do not do good to your enemy. But this I tell you : love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in Heaven. For He makes His sun rise on both the wicked and the good, and He gives rain to both the just and the unjust.”

“If you love those who love you, what is special about that? Do not even tax collectors do as much? And if you are friendly only to your friends, what is so exceptional about that? Do not even the pagans do as much? As for you, be righteous and perfect in the way your heavenly Father is righteous and perfect.”

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Tuesday, 16 June 2020 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 50 : 3-4, 5-6a, 11 and 16

Have mercy on me, o God, in Your love. In Your great compassion blot out my sin. Wash me thoroughly of my guilt; cleanse me of evil.

For I acknowledge my wrongdoings and have my sins ever in mind. Against You alone, have I sinned.

Turn Your face away from my sins and blot out all my offences. Deliver me, o God, from the guilt of blood; and of Your justice, I shall sing aloud.

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Tuesday, 16 June 2020 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Kings 21 : 17-29

Then YHVH spoke to Elijah of Tishbe, “Go down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, in Samaria. He is taking possession of the vineyard of Naboth. Say to him : ‘Have you killed and have taken possession at the same time?’ Then give him this word of Mine : ‘Dogs shall lick your blood in the very place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth.’”

Ahab then said to Elijah, “Who better than my enemy, could find me here and now!” Elijah answered, “I have come to you because you have done what YHVH abhors. This is YHVH’s word : ‘I will bring disgrace on you. I will sweep you away and cut off every male of your family, from the lowliest to the greatest. Your family will disappear like the families of Jeroboam and Baasa, because you have offended Me and have dragged Israel into sin.’”

“There is another word of YHVH to Jezebel : ‘The dogs shall devour Jezebel within the territory of Jezreel.’ If anyone of Ahab’s line dies in the city, he shall be devoured by dogs; if in the green country, the birds of the air shall feed on him.”

There was no one like Ahab, urged by his wife, Jezebel, in doing what YHVH abhorred. He did horrible things and ran after unclean idols just as the Amorites had done, from whom YHVH had taken the land to give it to Israel. On hearing these words, Ahab tore his clothes and put on sackcloth. He fasted as he lay in sackcloth and moved around despondently.

Then YHVH said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Have you see how Ahab has humbled himself? Because of this I will not bring about the disaster during his reign; during his son’s reign disgrace will fall on his family.”

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Monday, 15 June 2020 : 11th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we heard from the readings of the Scripture in which we are reminded of the important obligation for all of us as Christians to be filled with virtue and love, Christian love following what the Lord Himself had shown us and taught us, that is to be genuine in our love, first of all towards God and then our love towards our fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord.

In our first reading today, we heard about the story of the king of Israel, Ahab and his interaction with the vineyard owner Naboth, whose land was coveted by the king who wanted to get the land for his own use and purpose. But when the king told Naboth to sell his land to him, Naboth refused to do so, saying that the land belonged to him and had been passed down to him as inheritance from his ancestors. As someone who was likely to be righteous and even God-fearing and obedient to the Law, Naboth obeyed the Law of God which stated that the inheritance of the land is sacred.

But the king became angry because he could not get what he had wanted, and with the instigation of his wife, Jezebel, a pagan who was even worse and more wicked than king Ahab was, ended up with Naboth being implicated and wrongly accused of blasphemy against God, with false witnesses and efforts put in place to condemn him to death with the blatant and deliberate support from the king and the queen. It was truly a very wicked, evil and selfish action, a great sin before God and man alike.

Queen Jezebel encouraged her husband to misuse his power and authority, to be a tyrant who did not care about the well-being of his people or about righteousness and justice. Instead of doing what he had been entrusted to do, the king misled his people into sin and showed it himself by his wicked and selfish attitude, his unlawful and terrible seizure of the vineyard of Naboth among many other irresponsible and sinful attitudes, which thus brought about divine judgment.

In our Gospel reading today then we heard the Lord speaking to His disciples on the matter of the Law, in which it was once said that those who committed sins and mistakes must pay according to what they have committed, that in literal words, if they caused someone to lose an eye, then they too had to lose an eye as a result, a hand for a hand, and ultimately, a life lost is to be repaid with the life of the one who had caused such a loss of life. This was the law of reciprocity as interpreted and followed by the Jews at the time of the Lord.

But the Lord Jesus then showed the true meaning and intention of the Lord, in which the old interpretation of the Law was no longer to be valid. The old interpretation of the Law was such that in order to discipline and make sure that the people of God obeyed the Law and followed the path of virtue and righteousness, a harsh interpretation of the Law was followed. Yet, this ended up in them taking the interpretation to the extreme and losing sight on the real meaning and purpose of the Law.

The Lord wants us all as Christians to know that the Law is all about love, the love first and foremost, that we must have and show towards the Lord, our God and Master, and then the same love which we also have to show towards our fellow brethren. If we have no love in us, no matter how many great things we do, and how mighty or great we are, then we will have no real life within us. God calls on us all as Christians to show love in our every actions and deeds, in our every interactions.

Through what He has told His disciples, we heard how He said that if someone were to strike them on one side, offer the other side to be struck, and then if someone were to tell them to go forth one mile, then, go forth for even one mile further. In all of these, we can see how the Lord called us all to a new life and existence, one that is filled not with the selfishness of man, contrary to what the examples of king Ahab, his wickedness and evil had shown us. Instead, we are called to focus our attention on God and His love.

God ought to be the centre of our lives and we ought to follow His own examples, in how He has loved us so much that He was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, by suffering for our sake on the Cross. He has shown us the willingness to give everything out of His love for us, as contrasted with the selfishness and ego shown by king Ahab in his unbridled desire and ambition, leading to him sinning ever further and more against God.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all from now on turn away from the way of evil, the path of selfishness and worldly desires. Let us instead entrust ourselves to the Lord’s care and loving providence, and let us all be genuine in living our Christian faith with zeal and dedication from now on. May the Lord be our guide and may He give us the strength to be faithful to Him from now on, and be inspiration for one another, in our virtuous life and actions. Amen.