Abraham

by

Thursday, 14 March 2013 : 4th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Exodus 32 : 7-14

Then YHVH said to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them and have made for themselves a molten calf; they have bowed down before it and sacrificed to it and said : ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you out of Egypt.'”

And YHVH said to Moses, “I see that these people are a stiff-necked people. Now just leave Me that My anger may blaze against them. I will destroy them, but of you I will make a great nation.” But Moses calmed the anger of YHVH, his God, and said, “Why, o YHVH, should your anger burst against Your people whom You brought out of the land of Egypt with such great power and with a mighty hand?”

“Let not the Egyptians say : ‘YHVH brought them out with evil intent, for He wanted to kill them in the mountains and wipe them from the face of the earth.’ Turn away from the heat of Your anger and do not bring disaster on Your people. Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the promise You Yourself swore : I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land I spoke about I will give to them as an everlasting inheritance.”

YHVH then changed His mind and would not yet harm His people.

by

Tuesday, 5 March 2013 : 3rd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Daniel 3 : 25, 34-43

Azariah stood up in the midst of the fire and prayed aloud : “Do not abandon us forever, do not reject Your covenant for Your Name’s sake. Do not withdraw Your mercy from us, for the sake of Abraham, Your friend, of Isaac, Your servant, of Israel, Your holy one, to whom You promised to multiply their race as the stars of heaven and the sand on the shore of the sea.”

“Lord, see, we have become the least among the nations in all the world, and we are humiliated because of our sins. At this time, we no longer have a king, or prophet, or leader. We cannot offer You holocausts, sacrifices, offerings, or incense. We have no place to present to You the first-fruits of our crops, and so obtain Your favour.”

“But at least when we present ourselves with a contrite soul and humbled spirit may we then be acceptable to You, more than by offerings of rams and calves as holocausts, and of thousands of fat lambs. May this sacrifice of ours today obtain for us Your favour for we know that those who trust in You shall never be disappointed.”

“And now, we serve You with our whole heart, we fear You and we seek Your face. Do not leave us in our humiliation, but treat us according to Your kindness and Your great mercy. Free us in keeping with Your wonders, and give us the glory of Your Name, Lord.”

by

Saturday, 2 March 2013 : 2nd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Micah 7 : 14-15, 18-20

Shepherd Your people with your staff, shepherd the flock of Your inheritance that dwells alone in the scrub, in the midst of a fertile land. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old, in the days when You went out of Egypt. Show us Your wonders.

Who is a God like You, who takes away guilt and pardons crime for the remnant of His inheritance? Who is like You whose anger does not last? For You delight in merciful forgiveness. Once again You will show us Your loving kindness and trample on our wrongs, casting all our sins into the depth of the sea.

Show faithfulness to Jacob, mercy to Abraham, as You have sworn to our ancestors from the days of old.

by

Thursday, 28 February 2013 : 2nd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Luke 16 : 19-31

Once there was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and feasted every day. At his gate lay Lazarus, a poor man covered with sores, who longed to eat just the scraps falling from the rich man’s table. Even dogs used to come and lick his sores. It happened that the poor man died, and angels carried him to take his place with Abraham.

The rich man also died, and was buried. From hell, where he was in torment, the rich man looked up and saw Abraham afar off, and with him Lazarus at rest. He called out, “Father Abraham, have pity on me, and send Lazarus, with the tip of his finger dipped in water, to cool my tongue, for I suffer so much in this fire.”

Abraham replied, “My son, remember that in your lifetime you were well-off, while the lot of Lazarus was misfortune. Now he is in comfort, and you are in agony. But that is not all. Between your place and ours a great chasm has been fixed, so that no one can cross over from here to you, or from your side to us.”

The rich man implored once more, “Then I beg you, Father Abraham, to send Lazarus to my father’s house, where my five brothers live. Let him warn them, so that they may not end up in this place of torment.” Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.” But the rich man said, “No, Father Abraham; but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.”

Abraham said, “If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead.”

by

Sunday, 24 February 2013 : 2nd Sunday of Lent (Scripture Reflection)

The Lord, Jesus Christ, who was transfigured on the mountain, as we heard in the Gospel today, we know to be both fully human and fully divine. He is fully human, having been incarnate into flesh through the Blessed Virgin Mary and the power of the Holy Spirit, and also being fully divine, as He is the Word of God, through whom all things were created by God the Father. Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was sent, by the Father to us, so that all of us can be saved, and can have hope to return to God who loves us, and not be lost to Satan and death.

Elijah and Moses appeared to Jesus on the mountain, because they represented the two aspect of the Old Testament, that Jesus had come to fulfill, and perfect through His new covenant, as told in the New Testament. Elijah represents the prophets, whom had come through the centuries before the coming of Christ, to proclaim His coming, and the prophecies that through Jesus were fulfilled, and all telling of the coming salvation of the people of God from the tyranny of sin, and the end of the separation that had separated God from mankind.

Moses represents the Law, which was given by God Himself at Mount Horeb, the holy mountain, to Moses during his 40 days stay there. This Law includes the Ten Commandments of love, and the other laws of the people of Israel. Christ had come to perfect this Law by explaining the Law, and based them on the very nature of God Himself, which is love. That the Law is made out of God’s love for mankind, and that mankind must not blindly subject themselves to the Law, but rather understand them and carry them out in love for the good of their fellow men.

In today’s transfiguration story, it is indeed noteworthy how, we humans prefer things that are good, and we always hope that things will stay our way, and we like to stay within our comfort zone, that is the sphere that keeps us from the harms and dangers of the outside world. Such was why Peter suggested to Jesus, that they stay there in Christ’s glory, and not come down from the mountain. To come down from the mountain for Jesus, as mentioned that He spoke about that mission to both Elijah and Moses, was to be death for Him, as He would die on the cross, but would rise again on the third day.

He chose to come down, and the Lord too told the disciples to obey Him, through the voice in the cloud, not to be tempted to stay on in glory, but to descend and continue the mission. In this case, Christ lowered Himself such from His glory revealed at the Transfiguration, and in perfect humility and obedience to God, laid down His life for all His sheep, the children of God, for their salvation. It is Christ’s obedience that allow God to exercise the greatest work of all, that is the salvation of all mankind, and the salvation of the world.

Similarly, Abram, who is later to be known as Abraham, was rewarded by God with the promise that his descendants will be numerous as the stars and will receive the Promised Land, all because of Abram’s great faith, obedience, and love to God. Later on, we are told that such is his great faith and obedience, he was willing to sacrifice his own son, Isaac, the son of the promise, to obey the Lord’s will. The Lord saw his faith, and rewards him greatly.

If Abraham was willing to sacrifice his own son, how much more would the Lord therefore then do for our sake? That is to give His own Son, which is part of Him in the Holy Trinity, to be a man and then die so that we can live?

We too, today therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, should imitate Abram/Abraham and Christ, who do not just stay in their comfort zone, and rather do their best to fulfill the mission entrusted to them by God, no matter how difficult it was. Jesus had to face suffering and death, and Abram had to later to face the fact that the beloved son he was given to by the Lord, he had to sacrifice to the Lord. We do not face such difficult challenges, but we too have our own challenges in accepting and fulfilling the missions God has entrusted us with.

Too many times that we have failed to fulfill these missions simply because, we are content with our comfort zone, with whatever abundance we already have in this world, and in our own circles, either in our own family, with our own friends, or in our own career and workplace, and in the achievements and glory that we have achieved and made. We have to make sure that we step out of this comfort zone, as we ourselves are not Christians and not baptised just to be idle in our faith.

Our Catholic faith teaches us that we have to be proactive and do good for the sake of our brethren. Many people have need for our help and actions, and just as Coadjutor Archbishop William Goh mentioned in his recent ordination speech, our Church cannot be just a ‘maintenance church’, but rather must be a vibrant and powerful Church, that exerts its influence and love into this world.

Just like Abram, who was greatly rewarded by God out of his love and obedience to God, shall we then also obey God’s will, that is to help others around us, spread the Gospel and the Good News of our Lord, especially to those who seek for it, and to give the love of God that flows through us, to all mankind, that everyone too can become the children of God, and just like Abram, to be rewarded eventually with grace from God, which for us, is the promise of life eternal with Him in heavenly glory.

For no glory can come without hard work, and no glory exists without its sufferings and humility. The glorious Christ humbled Himself that all of us have hope through Him, by offering His own Body as the bridge between us and God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, today, let us be transfigured, and transformed just like Christ was, but not the way Christ was, rather, let us shed our old, passive, and idle path, our idle and dormant faith. Instead, let us boldly step forward into this world, bringing into it, the message of the Good News of our God, and to serve all peoples humbly with sincerity and love, both love for our fellow men, and for our Father who loves us. May God bless us today in all our works, in all our actions, and in all our dealings, that in all things that we do, we will always bring life and love to others, and to glorify God’s Name at all times. Forever and ever. Amen.