15th Sunday of Ordinary Time

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Wednesday, 19 July 2023 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture passages, all of us are reminded that each one of us have been given the revelation of God’s wonders and His truth, His Good News and the fullness of His love, just as He has done through His prophets and messengers, and ultimately through none other than His own Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the One through Whom God has revealed the fullness of His love and compassion, His care and attention to each and every one of us, His beloved children, whom He has cared and shown attention on every single moments, whether in good or terrible times. God has done so much for us that all of us should be cognisant of His generosity and love, which He has patiently showed us all these while.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Exodus, we heard of the moment when Moses was called by God in the land of the Midianites, where he spent his days in exile away from Egypt, where he committed a crime against an Egyptian. Moses was called by God at Mount Horeb, where he went up and saw a miraculous burning bush, where God spoke to him and revealed to him His intentions. God told Moses that he would be sent to the Egyptians and their ruler, the Pharaoh so that He might deliver all of His beloved people from their predicament and slavery, and that God would proclaim His glory and greatness to those who had persecuted and oppressed His chosen ones. Moses listened to the Lord and heard of everything that He would do for the sake of His people, of how He would finally set the things in motion for the salvation and liberation of His beloved ones.

That was therefore how God called Moses to be His servant, and how He would eventually do great deeds amidst His people and among all the Egyptians and many others, who have seen the great might of God displayed in the signs and wonders, and the Ten Great Plagues He sent against the Egyptians, among other great deeds. The Lord revealed to us His love, His patient and compassionate nature, His attention and His great commitment to His beloved ones. And this is what He has also revealed to us through His Son, just as we heard from our Gospel passage today, in which we heard the Lord Jesus speaking to the people and to His followers about how He has been sent into this world to reveal to everyone the love of the Father, and how He, as the Son, revealed the Father’s will and love to all of His beloved people.

As Christians, all of us have received and been entrusted with this same revelation and truth, and we have been called and chosen from among the world to be the receivers and the bearers of God’s great love and truth, His Good News and wonders. That is why, like Moses, all of us have been called to do His will, and to carry out whatever works and to do whatever it is that right in His Presence. All of us are called and entrusted with the gift of our Christian faith and truth, that as those who have believed in these same truths, hopefully we may proclaim them in all of the opportunities that had been provided to us. Each and every one of us are the beacons of God’s light, the bearers of His love and His salvation into this world. It is through us that many others may come to know of the Lord and seek His love and salvation.

Just like Moses had been sent into the land of Egypt to liberate the people of Israel from the slavery to the Egyptians, hence, the Lord Jesus Himself, the Son of God, was sent into our midst so that He might deliver us from the slavery to our many sins and wickedness. And through Him, God established His Church, His Presence and Body in this world, calling upon every one of His beloved children to come to Him and to embrace once again the love which He has always lavished upon them. And all of us as Christians are the members of this same Church and Body of Christ, entrusted with the works of evangelisation and the proclamation of God’s Good News and love, which we should indeed embrace wholeheartedly, in our every day living and in every moments, for it is within our power and reach to touch the lives of many others with the love and truth of God.

The question now therefore is, are we willing to commit ourselves to this calling and ministry? Too often many of us Christians are too focused on our own selfish desires and ambitions, our pursuits in life and many other things that can be serious obstacles in our path, in our journey of faith towards the Lord. That is why today we are all reminded of this calling and mission we have, so that amidst our busy lives, actions and works, and among all the things that we are busy and often preoccupied in seeking, we may remember that in whatever we do, we should do it for the sake of the Lord and out of love and faith in Him. We should not spend so much time in seeking worldly things and all the satisfactions of the flesh. Those things do not last forever, and will not bring us true satisfaction and happiness in life, which God alone can give us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, that is why today we should discern our path forward in life and consider carefully how we should continue living our lives with faith. We are truly so fortunate that God has given us so many wonderful blessings, and having loved us so generously all these while. Now, let us all consider and discern what we can do, in our own lives and in whatever areas we are working or living in, so that by our actions and works, by our every words and interactions with one another, we will always be exemplary and ever faithful in every one of our way of living. Let us do our best so that more and more people may come to know the Lord through us, and that more may be persuaded to believe in the Lord and His Good News, His salvation and ways. It is through us that God can call more and more of His lost ones to Him, and we should make good use of the opportunities given to us to reach out to our fellow brothers and sisters.

May the Lord continue to help and guide us in our journey in life, and empower each and every one of us so that we may indeed grow ever stronger in our faith and trust in Him, and may He continue to bless us and our many works so that by our ever faithful commitment to Him, we will always be filled with His grace and blessings, His love and compassion, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 19 July 2023 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 11 : 25-27

At that time, Jesus said, “Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I praise You; because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to simple people. Yes, Father, this was Your gracious will.”

“Everything has been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father; and no one knows the Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”

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Wednesday, 19 July 2023 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 102 : 1-2, 3-4, 6-7

Praise YHVH, my soul; all my being, praise His holy Name! Praise YHVH, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.

He forgives all your sins and heals all your sickness; He redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with love and compassion.

YHVH restores justice and secures the rights of the oppressed. He has made known His ways to Moses; and His deeds, to the people of Israel.

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Wednesday, 19 July 2023 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Exodus 3 : 1-6, 9-12

Moses pastured the sheep of Jethro, his father-in-law, priest of Midian. One day he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the Mountain of God. The Angel of YHVH appeared to him by means of a flame of fire in the middle of a bush. Moses saw that although the bush was on fire it did not burn up.

Moses thought, “I will go and see this amazing sight, why is the bush not burning up?” YHVH saw that Moses was drawing near to look, and God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!” He replied, “Here I am.” YHVH said to him, “Do not come near; take off your sandals because the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

And God continued, “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face lest his eyes look on God. YHVH said, “The cry of the sons of Israel has reached Me and I have seen how the Egyptians oppress them. Go now! I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.”

Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the people of Israel out of Egypt?” God replied, “I will be with you and this will be the sign that I have sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”

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Tuesday, 18 July 2023 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continued with the discourse from the Book of Exodus in our first reading, we are reminded that we should believe in the Lord and trust in His providence, in His guidance and path at all times. That is how we can better walk through this life and the path that He has shown and led us into. Each and every one of us should continue to allow God to help and lead us down the right path in life, listening to Him calling upon us deep within our hearts and minds. Each one of us should listen to the Lord Who has shown us His love and kindness, and Who has constantly reached out to us, seeking to be truly and genuinely reconciled with us, that we, though sinners, may be redeemed and restored to the graceful existence and lives that we have been created for by the Lord from the very beginning.

In our first reading today, we heard about the story of the birth of Moses, the one through whom God would rescue His people, the Israelites, from their enslavement and suffering in the land of Egypt. Back then, the Egyptians had been persecuting and oppressing the Israelites for many years and decades as they feared the great multitude and the growing power of the Israelites, who first came into Egypt during the time of Joseph, who became Regent of all Egypt and safeguarded his family from famine and harm during those years. According to Jewish tradition, by the time Moses was born, the people of Israel had been living in Egypt for around four centuries, and the time was nigh then, in God’s time, to bring His beloved people back to the land which He has promised to them and to their ancestors.

As mentioned in yesterday’s reading from the Book of Exodus, the Pharaoh of Egypt sought to destroy and eradicate the Israelites as a people, by ordering the destruction of all the sons of the Israelite slaves, decreeing that all of those sons of the Israelites had to be cast into the Nile River and therefore killed. But God was with His people, providing for them, and some Egyptians, two midwives according to the tradition, were sympathetic to the Israelites and rescued many Israelite young male children from their fated destruction. Moses himself was spared from the River Nile and destruction as no less than Pharaoh’s own daughter noticed him and took and treated him as her own son. Thus, this was how the Lord began to put the things in motion for the salvation and liberation of His people, that would be fulfilled when Moses grew up and eventually led the Israelites back to their Promised Land.

This of course did not come easy, as we heard in today’s first reading passage, Moses had to flee to the land of the Midianites for a while as he killed an Egyptian when that person oppressed one of his fellow Israelites. Moses had to toil in foreign lands, and when he later on came back to Egypt at the behest of God’s call and mission, he had to struggle against Egypt and its Pharaoh, who adamantly refused to let the Israelites go free. He had to face a lot of struggles and trials, difficulties and challenges amidst his ministry, and even later on during the Exodus and journey from Egypt, he had to contend with the disobedience, lack of faith and stubbornness from the people that he led patiently to the land of their ancestors. Moses did not have it easy, and neither did the Lord Himself, when He came into this world, in His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour.

As we also heard then from our Gospel passage today, the Lord Himself was frustrated with the lack of faith, stubbornness and disobedience of His people, that He proclaimed those words against Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum. If we are familiar with these places’ names, that is because those were exactly the places where the Lord performed many of His miracles and works. Yet, despite the Lord’s miracles and wonders, the Wisdom and authority of His teachings and words, many among the people, especially the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law among them, who have constantly and stubbornly refused to listen to the Lord’s continuous effort to reach out to them and to all the other people, even to the point of purposefully finding ways to put obstacles and hardships in the path of the Lord and His disciples.

In the face of all these stubborn refusals and resistance, the Lord therefore expressed His sadness and frustrations, and reminded all of His disciples and followers, and everyone else that unless they listen to Him and His truth, then they may end up falling deeper and deeper into the path of sin and rebellion against God, which will lead them into their downfall and destruction. The righteous ones will gain entry into God’s everlasting kingdom and gain true joy from the Lord while those who are wicked and unfaithful will have nothing in the end but damnation and destruction in hell because of their disobedience and refusal to believe in God. As we heard from our Scripture passages today, we are reminded of just how fortunate and blessed we are that God has sent us His deliverance through His Son, that He has endeavoured to deliver us all from the tyranny and enslavement by sin, just as Moses, by the hand of God, delivered the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt.

That is why all of us should do our best today so that we may once again turn towards the Lord with renewed faith and zeal, and be filled with the strong desire to love Him and to serve Him in all occasions. All of us are reminded to walk ever more faithfully in His presence, and to do what we can so that we may indeed be truly faithful and dedicated to Him in all things. All of us should not abandon the Lord for other things in life, for all the worldly pursuits and ambitions, all the greed and human desires that can lead us astray in our path. Each one of us should do what we can in order to commit ourselves to the Lord in the same manner that He Himself has committed Himself to us through the Covenant that He has made with each one of us. All of us have been blessed and are so fortunate for having received this grace.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be renewed and strengthened in faith, at all times. May the Lord continue to guide us in our journey and lives, so that in everything we say and do, we will always do our best to glorify Him by our lives, through our every words, actions and deeds. May God be with us all, His beloved people, so that just as He has rescued the Israelites from the slavery under the Pharaoh and the Egyptians, thus He may also rescue us all from our predicament and our enslavement by sin and evil. May God bless our every good works and efforts, now and always. Amen.

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Tuesday, 18 July 2023 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 11 : 20-24

At that time, Jesus began to denounce the cities in which He had performed most of His miracles, because the people there did not change their ways.

“Alas for you Chorazin and Bethsaida! If the miracles worked in you had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, the people there would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I assure you, for Tyre and Sidon; it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.”

“And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? You will be thrown down to the place of the dead! For if the miracles which were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would still be there today! But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

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Tuesday, 18 July 2023 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 68 : 3, 14, 30-31, 33-34

I am sunk in the miry depths, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, swept and engulfed by the flood.

But I pray to You, o YHVH. At a time most favourable to You, in Your great love, o God, answer me, with Your unfailing help.

But I myself, am humbled and wounded; Your salvation, o God, will lift me up. I will praise the Name of God in song; I will glorify Him with thanksgiving.

Let the lowly witness this, and be glad. You who seek God, may your hearts be revived. For YHVH hears the needy; and does not despise those in captivity.

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Tuesday, 18 July 2023 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Exodus 2 : 1-15a

Now a man belonging to the clan of Levi married a woman of his own tribe. She gave birth to a boy and, seeing that he was a beautiful child, she kept him hidden for three months. As she could not conceal him any longer, she made a basket out of papyrus leaves and coated it with tar and pitch. She then laid the child in the basket and placed it among the reeds near the bank of the Nile; but the sister of the child kept at a distance to see what would happen to him.

Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe in the Nile; her attendants meanwhile walked along the bank. When she saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maidservant to fetch it. She opened the basket and saw the child – a boy, and he was crying! She felt sorry for him, for she thought : “This is one of the Hebrew children.”

Then the sister of the child said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” Pharaoh’s daughter agreed, and the girl went to call the mother of the child. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take the child and nurse him for me and I will pay you.”

So the woman took the child and nursed him and, when the child had grown, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter who adopted him as her son. And she named him Moses to recall that she had drawn him out of the water. After a fairly long time, Moses, by now a grown man, wanted to meet his fellow Hebrews. He noticed how heavily they were burdened and he saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his own people.

He looked around and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. When he went out the next day he saw two Hebrews quarrelling. Moses said to the man in the wrong, “Why are you striking a fellow countryman?” But he answered, “Who has set you prince and judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?”

Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must be known.” When Pharaoh heard about it he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian.

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Monday, 17 July 2023 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today all of us heard from the Scriptures the beginning of the discourse on the story of the Exodus of the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt, we are all reminded that as God’s beloved people, each and every one of us are ultimately beloved and precious to the Lord, and no matter what challenges or trials that we may encounter in our lives, we will still receive the fullness of His providence and help, and we have nothing to fear about if we remain faithful to Him. Of course this also reminds us that at the same time, we are also called to remember that we cannot expect that sufferings and hardships will not be part and parcel of our lives if we are faithful to the Lord, contrary to the beliefs of some amongst us. Following the Lord requires great commitment, and there will likely be time when we may need to make sacrifices and to endure hardships for the Lord’s sake.

In our first reading today, we heard, as mentioned, the story of the moment when the Israelites, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who had stayed in Egypt, were persecuted and oppressed by the Egyptians and their ruler, the Pharaoh, who did not know of the great deeds that Joseph had done for the sake of the Egyptians. The Pharaoh and the Egyptians became fearful of the great numbers and the power of the Israelites, who were living in their midst, and hence, enslaved them and put them to harsh works, treating them as less than human beings, mistreated and exploited, and as we heard, that the Pharaoh even attempted to eradicate all of them eventually by trying to kill off all the sons born to the Israelites, throwing them into the Nile, hoping that eventually, no Israelites would be left, and the remnants of those people might be assimilated among the Egyptians.

The people of Israel then truly suffered and had to endure a lot of humiliations and hardships, as they had to borne a lot of hard work and tough moments in the midst of them being enslaved and forced to build many monuments, cities and other projects of the Egyptians. They were not, however, forgotten by the Lord, their God and Master, Who has always remembered the Covenant which He has made with His servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He remembered His people, His beloved chosen ones, who have struggled and toiled in foreign lands, and in His momentous time, He sent unto them Moses, His servant, to lead them out of the land of their enslavement, and to bring them all, free from all bondage and slavery, into the land promised to their ancestors and forefathers.

In our Gospel passage today, the Lord Jesus Himself mentioned something similar in His words and revelations to His disciples, as He told them that His coming into this world, was not meant to bring about an era of peace and joy, without conflict and without suffering. His coming into this world would instead bring about divisions and hardships for all those who endeavoured to follow Him and commit themselves to walk in His ways. This is contrary to the popular belief at that time regarding the Messiah and His coming, in which many of the people believed that the Messiah, the Son of David, would come to restore the kingdom of Israel and become a King over all of them, liberating them from their oppressors and bringing them into an era of glory and peace, much like during the great era of the reigns of King David and King Solomon.

But the Lord told all of His disciples that His coming into this world in fact would bring about opposition and rejection even from among those whom the Lord had entrusted the guardianship over the people, as well as others, who refused to believe in Him and in His truth. The Lord came into this world bringing with Him revelation of truth which would bring about great change and even discomfort for all those who have been accustomed to the ways of the world, and that was precisely why those same religious leaders and elders, such as the chief priests, the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, opposed the Lord and refused to believe in Him, despite having listened to His wisdom and truth and despite having experienced and witnessed His many signs, miracles and wonders.

All that the Lord had predicted would indeed come true as He Himself was to be persecuted, and put to death for the sins of the people, to die on His Cross for us, betrayed and abandoned, humiliated and persecuted by those very same ones that He had come into this world to save. And just as the Lord had been persecuted and oppressed, hence the same things would happen to His disciples and followers as well. They encountered many challenges and trials throughout their works and ministries, and not few among the disciples of the Lord, such as most of the Apostles and many Church fathers, saints, holy men and women of God faced persecution and oppression, at times even from their own families and close relatives, as many of the tales of the martyrs and their lives could attest to us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what is the significance of all these therefore to us? They remind us that each and every one of us as Christians must always be ready to give it all to God, and we have to be strong in case sufferings and hardships were to come our way. We should not blame the Lord or ourselves, and neither should we blame others for our predicaments and sufferings. Instead, we should continue to be faithful to the Lord and trust in Him and His love and providence, and we should do our best to be great role models, sources of inspiration and strength for one another, and be the support and help for each other, especially for those who are suffering and without means of help and support from anyone, so that we may indeed be there for them, helping them and journeying together with them, as fellow children of the same God.

May the Lord, our most loving God and Father, our Creator and Master, continue to strengthen us all in faith, and guide us in our journey of faith through life. May He empower each and every one of us so that we may indeed proclaim His truth and Good News at all times, and glorify Him always by our exemplary lives. May our faith in Him remain strong and vibrant, undimmed by the challenges and trials in life that we may have to face. Amen.

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Monday, 17 July 2023 : 15th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 10 : 34 – Matthew 11 : 1

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Do not think that I have come to establish peace on earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Each one will have as enemies, those of one’s own family.”

“Whoever loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me. And whoever loves son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me. And whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me, is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life, for My sake, will find it.”

“Whoever welcomes you, welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me, welcomes Him Who sent Me. The one who welcomes a prophet, as a prophet, will receive the reward of a prophet; the one who welcomes a just man, because he is a just man, will receive the reward of a just man.”

“And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, because he is My disciple, I assure you, he will not go unrewarded.”

When Jesus had finished giving His twelve disciples these instructions, He went on from there to teach and proclaim His message in their towns.