1st Sunday of Ordinary Time

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Wednesday, 11 January 2023 : 1st 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 Scriptures, each and every one of us as Christians are reminded yet again of the salvation and healing, redemption and reconciliation that all of us have received through Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. All of us have received the assurance of eternal life and glory from the Lord, Who has sent us His Son to be our Saviour, delivering us from the precipice of destruction and annihilation. Because of Him, we now have hope once again, delivered from the path to eternal darkness, freed from the bondage to sin, evil and death. Christ’s light has triumphed and overcome the whole world, and overcome the dominion of the evil one, and all those who had kept us under the tyranny of sin and death.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle to the Hebrews, we heard the author of the Epistle regarding how all of us have shared in the same nature as Our Lord Jesus, all thanks to Him, Who is the Son of God, willingly taking up our human nature and existence, becoming Incarnate in the flesh as the Son of Man, coming down into our midst to gather us all into His loving embrace as our Good Shepherd, and reconcile us with His loving Father, our Master and Creator. Through Christ, all of us have received the assurance of eternal life by His suffering and death on the Cross, as well as by His glorious Resurrection, through which Christ has united us all to Himself and made us all to pass through into the new life and blessed existence, that is no longer of sin, but of the light of His grace.

How did Christ do this to us? He did so by sharing in our humanity, by becoming Man like us, so that He can be the New Adam, leading us all towards God through His obedience and love for God, and breaking us free from the bondage of sin because of the disobedience of the first Adam, and Eve, our first ancestors, through which we have entered into the state of sin and separated from God in the first place. He led us all as our High Priest and as the perfect role model for us to follow, so that by His offering of Himself, His own Most Precious Body and Blood on the Cross, by His suffering and death, all of us may receive the pardon and absolution from all of the unimaginable extent of our innumerable sins and faults, and be reconciled fully with the Lord, our most loving Father and Creator.

That is what the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews had mentioned to the faithful, reminding them all that the Messiah, Jesus Christ, Who has come into the world, has brought into our midst the love of God, the compassionate mercy of the Father manifested in the flesh, becoming tangible and approachable by all of us. The Lord has revealed His most gracious love and kindness, just as we have also heard in our Gospel passage today, where we heard of the Lord Jesus and His ministry among the people of God, healing those who were sick and dying, and also those who were possessed and were troubled by evil spirits, healing the mother-in-law of His disciple and Apostle, St. Peter, among many other deeds that He had done. He went out still, to reach out to more of the people of God, in fulfilling the missions entrusted to Him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we heard these readings from the Scriptures today, all of us are reminded that first of all, our lives as Christians ought to be focused and centred on our Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour and King, Who has come into our midst to deliver us from the sure destruction because of those sins and faults that we have committed. All of us have received the promise of salvation and eternal life from the Lord Himself, Who has reached out to us with His great and most gracious love, caring for us and gathering us all from being scattered all throughout the world, so that we may all be one people, of the one flock that He has assembled, His Church, the Body of Christ. By uniting all of us to Himself, He, as the Head of the Church, has made us all partakers and sharers of the eternal glory and joy that is promised for all those who are faithful to Him and all who belong to Him.

Through Him, all of us have received the healing and encouragement, strength and the power of God’s most gracious love and kindness, which we have now experienced and enjoyed. Now, all of us therefore are called as Christians to be ever more faithful to God and to obey His commandments and Law in the way that Christ, the Son of Man, the New Adam, our role model, has shown us. Each one of us have been called during this period and time to continue doing whatever we can in fulfilling our roles and obligations as those who follow the Lord, in doing what we can to proclaim God’s truth and love in the midst of our communities, among all the peoples, that more and more may also come to believe in God through us. This is our calling and responsibility as Christians, and one that we should embrace wholeheartedly.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we enter and progress through this first part of the Ordinary Time of the year, before we head into the season of Lent in over a month or so, let us all make good use of this time and opportunity that God has given us to do whatever we can in glorifying Him and in following Him wholeheartedly, so that this season and time will not be ‘ordinary’ in any sense. Instead, we have to make it truly ‘extraordinary’ by doing all that we can to glorify the Lord by our lives, our every actions, words and deeds. We should make sure that our examples may inspire others all around us to follow the Lord and to believe in Him as well, just in the manner that the Lord Himself and His saints have inspired us all to follow them in the path of righteousness and truth.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He strengthen each one of us in faith. May He empower all of us that we may always walk ever more confidently in the path that He has shown us and led us. May God bless our every works and deeds, all the endeavours and actions that we carry out in each and every moments of our lives. Wishing all of us a most blessed and fruitful Ordinary Time and season, each and every days of our lives, always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 11 January 2023 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 1 : 29-39

At that time, on leaving the synagogue, Jesus went to the home of Simon and Andrew with James and John. As Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with fever, they immediately told Him about her. Jesus went to her and, taking her by the hand, raised her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

That evening at sundown, people brought to Jesus all the sick and those who had evil spirits : the whole town was pressing around the door. Jesus healed many who had various diseases, and drove out many demons; but He did not let them speak, for they knew Who He was.

Very early in the morning, before daylight, Jesus went off to a lonely place where He prayed. Simon and the others went out also, searching for Him; and when they found Him, they said, “Everyone is looking for You.” Then Jesus answered, “Let us go to the nearby villages so that I may preach there too; for that is why I came.”

So Jesus set out to preach in all the synagogues throughout Galilee; He also cast out demons.

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Wednesday, 11 January 2023 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 104 : 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9

Give thanks to the Lord, call on His Name; make known His works among the nations. Sing to Him, sing His praise, proclaim all His wondrous deeds.

Glory in His holy Name; let those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and be strong; seek His face always.

You descendants of His servant Abraham, you sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! He is the Lord our God; His judgments reach the whole world.

He remembers His covenant forever, His promise to a thousand generations, the covenant He made with Abraham, the promise He swore to Isaac.

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Wednesday, 11 January 2023 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hebrews 2 : 14-18

And because all those children share one same nature of flesh and blood, Jesus, likewise, had to share this nature. This is why His death destroyed the one holding the power of death, that is the devil, and freed those who remained in bondage all their lifetime, because of the fear of death.

Jesus came, to take by the hand, not the Angels but the human race. So, He had to be like His brothers and sisters, in every respect, in order to be the High Priest, faithful to God and merciful to them, a Priest, able to ask pardon, and atone for their sins. Having been tested through suffering, He is able to help those who are tested.

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Tuesday, 10 January 2023 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today marks the beginning of the Ordinary Time of the year, the first of the two Ordinary Time periods in which this one spans the period between the Christmas season and the season of Lent that will begin later on Ash Wednesday towards the end of February for this year. During this period, while it is called Ordinary Time, it is often most typical for us to misunderstand what the ‘ordinary’ in Ordinary Time actually means. This ordinary does not imply or mean mundane or usual at all, but rather it implies the time and occasion where we are supposed to continue to live our lives faithfully and with great dedication, as good examples and role models for one another, that we may indeed be the beacons of God’s light and truth in the midst of our respective communities.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle to the Hebrews in which the author of the Epistle spoke about how mankind has been honoured and considered even greater than the Angels of God, and the author also spoke of the dominion and glory which God has given to His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, Who came down into our midst, to this world to save us all from our fated destruction due to sin and death. Through Him, all of us have received the sure guarantee of eternal life and the light of hope, all of us who believe in Him and remain in His love and grace. The Lord Jesus has come into this world so that we may directly experience the love of God, and that God’s love may become tangible and approachable by us, no longer a distant wish but having become a reality in the flesh.

Through Christ, all of us have been united to His suffering, His death on the Cross and His glorious Resurrection, through which He gathered us all and redeemed us by the most loving and selfless sacrifice He had offered and made on the Cross, both as our High Priest and also as the sacrificial Paschal Lamb. He united us all to His perfection and glory, His human nature being the same with us, and by sharing in our humanity, He has therefore shown us the path out of the darkness and into the eternal light of God. Christ, according to St. Paul, is the New Adam, Who, in contrast with the old and first Adam who led mankind into sin by his disobedience and sins, Christ as the New Adam led us all into the righteousness of God by His perfect submission and obedience to the will of God, His heavenly Father.

Through Christ, all of us have been made the children of God by adoption, as fellow brothers and sisters of the same Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Our Lord and Saviour. And that is what we have been reminded of through this day’s Scripture readings. All of us are God’s people, His children and followers, and we all belong to Him, His one flock and family. As such, all of us as Christians have the important responsibilities and obligations, duties and things that we will be expected to do and follow in our lives. We cannot be acting in ways contrary to what we believe in and what we are expected to do as Christians, or else we are acting like hypocrites and all those who have no faith in God. If our actions and works, our words and beliefs do not align with our Christian faith and teachings, then we may end up scandalising our faith and the Lord Himself.

That is why as we enter into this Ordinary Time and season, all of us are reminded and called to an active participation in the life and works of the Church, to be missionary and evangelising in our lives as disciples and followers of Christ so that in everything we say and do, at all times, we will always proclaim the truth and love of God, and be beacons of His light and hope in the midst of our darkened world full of evil and sin. As Christians, each and every one of us are called and expected to do what the Lord Himself has taught to us and revealed to us through His Church, by the works of the Apostles and the saints, and also by the Wisdom and the knowledge that the Holy Spirit has imparted upon us. Each one of us as God’s people, members of His flock and His followers should reflect well His righteousness and truth, at all times.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us ponder and discern well what our path forward will be, as we continue to progress through each and every days of our lives in this world. We should not indeed let our Ordinary Time and season be ‘ordinary’ in any sense that we are not doing anything or remaining idle. Instead, we should make good use of the opportunity provided to us by the Lord to make these days and moments truly ‘extraordinary’ by doing whatever we can in order to proclaim the truth and love of God in the midst of our respective communities, reaching out to those who have not yet heard God’s truth and love, and caring for the need of our fellow brothers and sisters, especially all those who are less fortunate than us, those who are suffering and in despair, everyone who are in need of help and love.

Let us all hence do whatever we can, in our every opportunities and at every possible moments, to glorify the Lord by our lives, to show forth the light of God’s grace, salvation and truth at all times and in all occasions, in every places and in every people. Let us all be good role models and source of inspiration to our fellow brethren all around us, and let us all do our part as Christians to do the will of God and to contribute our efforts and works for the greater glory of God and His Church. All of us are expected and reminded to be ever more faithful in carrying out ourselves and our duties as those who walk in the light of Christ’s Presence, and as those whom the Lord had called and chosen from among the nations. We have to be active in doing what is expected of us so that hopefully through our examples more and more people will be inspired and encouraged to do the same as well.

May the Lord continue to guide us each day throughout this season of Ordinary Time, so that we all may continue to live our lives most faithfully and most obediently, doing whatever we can to glorify the Lord through our lives, our actions and works, our words and interactions among many other things. May He empower each one of us and strengthen us all in faith, so that we may always draw ever closer to Him and continue to persevere and flourish in our faith in Him regardless of the challenges and trials we may have to face in our journey of faith with Him. Amen.

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Tuesday, 10 January 2023 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 1 : 21b-28

At that time, Jesus taught in the synagogue on the sabbath day. The people were astonished at the way He taught, for He spoke as One having authority and not like the teachers of the Law.

It happened that a man with an evil spirit was in their synagogue, and he shouted, “What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know Who You are : You are the Holy One of God.”

Then Jesus faced him and said with authority, “Be silent, and come out of this man!” The evil spirit shook the man violently and, with a loud shriek, came out of him. All the people were astonished, and they wondered, “What is this? With what authority He preaches! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey Him!” And Jesus’ fame spread throughout all the country of Galilee.

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Tuesday, 10 January 2023 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 8 : 2a and 5, 6-7, 8-9

O Lord, our Lord, how great is Your Name throughout the earth! What is man that You be mindful of him, the Son of Man, that You should care for Him?

Yet You made Him a little lower than the Angels; You crowned Him with glory and honour and gave Him the works of Your hands; You have put all things under His feet.

Sheep and oxen without number and even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and all that swim the paths of the ocean.

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Tuesday, 10 January 2023 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hebrews 2 : 5-12

The Angels were not given dominion over the new world of which we are speaking. Instead someone declared in Scripture : What is man, that You should be mindful of him, what is the Son of Man that You should care for Him? For a while You placed Him a little lower than the Angels, but You crowned Him with glory and honour. You have given Him dominion over all things.

When it is said that God gave Him dominion over all things, nothing is excluded. As it is, we do not yet see His dominion over all things. But Jesus Who suffered death and for a little while was placed lower than the Angels has been crowned with honour and glory. For the merciful plan of God demanded that He experience death on behalf of everyone.

God, from Whom all come and by Whom all things exist, wanted to bring many children to glory, and He thought it fitting to make perfect through suffering the Initiator of their salvation. So He Who gives and those who receive holiness are one. He Himself is not ashamed of calling us brothers and sisters, as we read : Lord, I will proclaim Your Name to My brothers; I will praise You in the congregation.

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Saturday, 15 January 2022 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all brought to reflect on the Lord’s intentions in leading us all to Himself, that all may find salvation through Him and be saved. He has revealed to us His amazing love, compassion and kindness, and He will not abandon us to the darkness and destruction. He provided us all that we need and gave us all ultimately, His true love manifested in Christ, Our Lord and Saviour.

In our first reading today, as we heard from the Book of the prophet Samuel, God had chosen Saul to be the king over His people, after they all had demanded Samuel to give them a king to rule over them. Saul was called from a humble beginning, hailing from one of the smallest and often least important among the tribes of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin and also from among its smallest families and houses. Saul was also physically distinctive and imposing, although initially he did not know of what God planned for him.

Samuel then poured the oil over Saul’s head, anointing him as king over all Israel, handing over the leadership and guidance over the Israelites to his hand, as their king and new leader. Samuel told Saul what would be expected of him and he was to keep all the commandments of God and help to guide the people down the right path, and not into the path of sin. But very soon, Saul would disobey the Lord and followed the whims of his own thoughts and desires, which then resulted in the people being misled into sin, just as Samuel himself had warned the people earlier how having a king to rule over them was not necessarily a good thing.

Nonetheless, the Lord still listened to His people and patiently engaged with them despite their repeated transgressions. He did not give up on them and even after many occasions when they betrayed Him and abandoned Him, He still sent prophets and messengers to help and guide them down the right path. The famous prophets Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel were among the many other prophets, mentioned or unmentioned, known or unknown, all showing the proof of God’s continued love for His people.

Today in our Gospel passage we heard of the Lord Who came to call a tax collector named Levi, the future St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist to follow Him. Levi quickly left everything behind and followed the Lord, and not only that, but he also introduced the Lord to the other tax collectors and they all invited Him to a dinner at Levi’s house. At that time, tax collectors were the ones who were among the most despised and hated among the people as they were seen as greedy, wicked and self-serving in their actions.

But as we can see from the Gospel passage, those same tax collectors eagerly welcomed the Lord into their midst, listening to Him and paying attention to Him. On the contrary, the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, who often criticised the Lord and used the opportunity to further criticise Him for interacting and even visiting the house of a tax collector, often refused to listen to Him and continued to harass Him and His disciples, making it difficult for them to do their work.

The Lord still patiently dealt with them and He also reached out to those marginalised tax collectors, as He Himself mentioned that He came to heal the sinners who are in need of healing. In Him alone there is healing and forgiveness of sins, and therefore He made it all available for them and also for us. And we must remember that the Lord Himself also offered the same healing to those very same Pharisees and teachers of the Law who had often made His life and work difficult. That is just how loving God has been towards us.

Now that we know how beloved we have been by God, then we should embrace His love wholeheartedly and seek Him with a renewed heart and faith, full of zeal and commitment to walk in His path and serve Him at all times. Each and every one of us share in the mission that God has entrusted to us, to be the missionaries of our Christian faith and truth, spreading the Good News of Our Lord to all the ends of the whole world. Through our exemplary life, faith and actions more will come to believe in the Lord and be saved together with us.

May the Lord be with us all, and may He empower each and every one of us to live ever more worthily from now on in His presence. May God bless us all in our every actions and endeavours, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 15 January 2022 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of Our Lady)

Mark 2 : 13-17

At that time, when Jesus went out again, beside the lake, a crowd came to Him, and He taught them. As He walked along, He saw a tax collector sitting in his office. This was Levi, the son of Alpheus. Jesus said to him, “Follow Me!” And Levi got up and followed Him.

And it so happened that, when Jesus was eating in Levi’s house, tax collectors and sinners sat with Him and His disciples; there were a lot of them, and they used to follow Jesus. But Pharisees, men educated in the Law, when they saw Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to His disciples, “Why does your Master eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

Jesus heard them, and answered, “Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”