Christian sermons

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Saturday, 29 October 2016 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)
Luke 14 : 1, 7-11

At that time, one Sabbath Jesus had gone to eat a meal in the house of a leading Pharisee, and He was carefully watched.

Jesus then told a parable to the guests, for He had noticed how they tried to take the places of honour. And He said, “When you are invited to a wedding party, do not choose the best seat. It may happen that someone more important than you had been invited; and your host, who invited both of you, will come and say to you, ‘Please give this person your place.’ What shame is yours when you take the lowest seat!”

“Whenever you are invited, go rather to the lowest seat, so that your host may come and say to you, ‘Friend, you must come up higher.’ And this will be a great honour for you in the presence of all the other guests. For whoever makes himself out to be great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be raised.”

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Saturday, 29 October 2016 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)
Psalm 41 : 2, 3, 5bcde

As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for You, o God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I go and see the face of God?

I remember all this – how I used to lead the faithful in procession to the house of God, amid shouts of joy and thanksgiving, among the feasting throng.

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Saturday, 29 October 2016 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)
Philippians 1 : 18b-26

Christ is proclaimed and because of this I rejoice and have no regrets. I know that all this will be a grace for me because of your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Christ. I am hopeful, even certain, that I shall not be ashamed. I feel as assured now, as before, that Christ will be exalted through my person, whether I live or die.

For to me, living is for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I am to go on living, I shall be able to enjoy fruitful labour. Which shall I choose? So I feel torn between the two. I desire greatly to leave this life and to be with Christ, which will be better by far, but it is necessary for you that I remain in this life. And because I am convinced of this, I know that I will stay and remain with you for your progress and happiness in the faith.

I will surely come to you again, and give you more reason for being proud of belonging to Christ Jesus.

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Friday, 28 October 2016 : Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate with great joy the feast of not just one, but two of the Lord’s very own Twelve Apostles, St. Simon and St. Jude. St. Simon the Apostle was once known as Simon the Zealot, likely from his former work and contributions to the Zealots, a community of people who led an active and passive resistance against the Romans. Meanwhile, St. Jude Thaddeus was a disciple often confused with Judas Iscariot, the traitor, and yet, he had done many wonderful deeds for the Lord and for His people.

In the Scripture readings today, we heard how God called His Apostles from among the people, chose them and charged them to assist Him in His works and missions to help the people of God, to whom Christ had laboured for in His earthly ministry in order to bring them towards salvation. He sent them to help Him in spreading the good works He has intended for His people, and to call them to repentance and to change their ways that they may be saved.

But it was not an easy task, and Jesus our Lord Himself reminded His disciples and Apostles in particular, that challenges facing them would be plenty. They would be tempted to abandon their efforts, just as what the Passion of our Lord showed us. When Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, who was none other than one among His Twelve Apostles, tempted by money, all the other Apostles and disciples abandoned Him and went into hiding, fearing repercussions from the enemies of their Lord.

And when the Pharisees, the elders and the chief priests commenced persecution of all the faithful, spearheaded by Saul, the future St. Paul the Apostle, some among the faithful faltered in their faith and devotion to the Lord, and faced with the choice between suffering and staying faithful to their God, or to enjoy reprieve and safety in the world and abandoning their God, there were those who chose to do the latter.

These are the challenges facing us Christians, not only just during that time, when the Church was still growing and blooming in its early days, but also throughout the history of Christendom right up to now, to this very day, and also in the foreseeable future that we have and which we will experience. It is the challenge for us to remain faithful to the Lord despite the persecutions and challenges, ridicule and rejection that the world has inflicted upon us.

Are we up to the task? And do we indeed realise that as our Lord’s disciples and followers in this modern era and times, there are still a lot of things left to be done in this world? We are the successors of the works of the Apostles and the Church fathers, who had established the Church on the firm foundation of their faith and courageous devotion. We have to follow in their footsteps and be faithful in all of our ways.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it was told that St. Simon and St. Jude Thaddeus went to many different places, serving the people in various locations and relating to them the revelation of truth which came from God. Through their works and assistance, many had come to believe in God, and many more have repented from their sins and received the salvation from God.

They were not always welcomed, and there were those who were opposed to their works, both among their own people and among the pagan nations. But they never gave up, and through their persistence, the foundations of the Church in many places had been made strong and firm. They have led by example in their faith, encouraging many to remain strong in the faith.

And eventually, even though they met their ends in the faraway lands, St. Simon in Armenia or Persia, where he might have been crucified or sawn in half, and St. Jude Thaddeus in Syria, where it was told that he was beheaded with an axe, and some accounts had his martyrdom together with St. Simon, which was why their feast days are celebrated together.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, shall we then follow the examples of these holy and venerable saints? Shall we follow in their footsteps as well? There are many things that we can learn from them, and perhaps we really should do so. We are called to continue the good works of the Apostles, and be courageous in spreading the message of the Good News of the Gospel, not worrying and fearing challenges that will come our way.

May the Lord help us in our endeavours and good works in serving Him, and may He ever bless us all always with abundant blessings, and bring us all ever closer to His everlasting love and mercy. Amen.

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Friday, 28 October 2016 : Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Luke 6 : 12-19

At that time, Jesus went out into the hills to pray, spending the whole night in prayer with God. When day came, He called His disciples to Him, and chose twelve of them, whom He called ‘Apostles’ : Simon, whom He named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James son of Alpheus and Simon called the Zealot; Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who would be the traitor.

Coming down the hill with them, Jesus stood in an open plain. Many of His disciples were there and a large crowd of people, who had come from all parts of Judea and Jerusalem, and from the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon. They gathered to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. And people troubled by unclean spirits were cured.

The entire crowd tried to touch Him, because of the power that went out from Him and healed them all.

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Friday, 28 October 2016 : Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 18 : 2-3, 4-5

The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. Day talks it over with day; night hands on the knowledge to night.

No speech, no words, no voice is heard – but the call goes on throughout the universe, the message is felt to the ends of the earth.

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Friday, 28 October 2016 : Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red
Ephesians 2 : 19-22

Now you are no longer strangers or guests, but fellow citizens of the holy people : you are of the household of God. You are the house whose foundations are the Apostles and prophets, and whose cornerstone is Christ Jesus. In Him the whole structure is joined together and rises to be a Holy Temple in the Lord.

In Him you too are being built to become the spiritual sanctuary of God.

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Thursday, 27 October 2016 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we are reminded today that the journey of our life is not an easy one if we decide to follow the Lord and devote ourselves to His ways. There are certainly going to be challenges and difficulties on the way forward, as there are those who are opposed to the ways of the Lord and His faithful ones, prowling about seeking our downfall and destruction.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, there is always and there will always be that constant struggle between us and those who follow the ways of the world, those who walk with the devil and his allies, all those who gave in to the temptations of their greed and desires, and fell to the pressure of their human pride, arrogance and hubris, resulting in them opening themselves up to all sorts of things that brought upon them corruption and sin.

That was why it was so easy for the people of Israel to fall into sin, as soon as they left the land of Egypt, as they fell into the temptations of Satan, trying to pull them away from the Lord’s salvation. They were tempted in the body and were found wanting, as they grumbled and complained against God Who have brought them to freedom by alleging that He had brought them out of the rich food and feast they had enjoyed in Egypt even though they were enslaved there.

They were not satisfied despite all that God had given them, despite Him having led them to the land promised to them and to their ancestors. They rebelled against Him, followed the ways of the pagans around them, casting their God aside for mere pagan idols and Baal, the false gods of their neighbours. And in doing so they have brought themselves to their downfall.

They allowed Satan to dwell in their hearts and corrupt them with his lies and false promises, and thus, they have opened the floodgates that brought them nearer and nearer to eternal damnation and hell. And yet, because of the tempting nature of earthly and worldly pleasures, all the human greed and predisposition to be tempted by these, they tend to refuse to let these go, even at the price of the salvation of their souls. And many more still were not aware of this fact.

Therefore, today, while it is indeed increasingly becoming more and more difficult for us to remain as faithful and devoted Christians, it is imperative for us all to spend time thinking about this matter and reflect on what we can do as the people of God in trying our best to follow Him, to be true to His ways, resisting the temptations of this world and the lures of the devil, and at the same time, showing our care and concern for our brethren who are in need of our help.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, let us all think of what we can do to help each other, both in persevering through the difficulties and challenges together, so that none of us may give up and let go of the promise of the salvation of God in exchange for the temporary goodness, respite and pleasure in this world, and also even to bring all those who hate us, all who have persecuted us, to see the light of God, be converted and be forgiven of their sins and faults.

This is the aim that all of us Christians should have, that we become real and genuine brethren to each other, showing care, love, concern and compassion to one another, and desiring to save all those who are now still living in the darkness and in ignorance of the ways of the Lord, so that all of us may together walk towards the salvation in the Lord, and together receive the sure promise of eternal life and glory with Him. May God bless our endeavours and help us. Amen.

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Wednesday, 26 October 2016 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are reminded that it is not easy for us to attain salvation in God, and thus we should not take for granted the fact that God has offered us His forgiveness and pardon for our sins, and something has to be done for us in order to be worthy of that prize and treasure which await us at the end of the way.

The Lord made it clear by His story of how many of those who knew Him, and even those who were with Him and walked with Him by His side would be rejected, because these had not been truly faithful to Him. They claimed to know Him and to have met and interacted with Him, and yet He rejected them because He did not know them, and thus they are deprived of their eternal life and inheritance from God.

And why is this so, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because it is possible for us to claim to be faithful to God, and yet in our hearts, we do not have the Lord enthroned in them. Many of us are easily tempted by the persuasions and temptations of goodness and pleasure, all the things with which the devil is trying to pull us away from our path to salvation.

Many of us pursued our own ego and our own greed and selfish desires, which led to us veering off that path towards righteousness and eternal life. Many of us instead chose to walk on the path of worldly desires, doing things to preserve ourselves and our desires first. And those actions over our history, the history of mankind, had led to destruction, pain, suffering and terrible things to occur for many.

We should all realise that as those whom God had chosen to be His people, we must be righteous and just in all things. We cannot and we should not act in ways that are in contradiction to what we are, or else we are going to bring scandal both to the Lord, to our faith and to all the other faithful in the Church, and by our wickedness and lack of faith we shall be judged and will be found wanting.

We are hypocrites when we profess our faith in one way, and yet we act in another way. If we do not do what our faith requires us to do, then what good is our faith? To be a Christian, that is a true and genuine Christian, we have to heed what the Lord and His Apostles had exhorted us all to do, that is to obey God in all of His ways and to follow His laws and commandments, and not just doing them and obeying them blindly, but instead, do them with proper and genuine understanding.

That means, as St. Paul laid it out in the Epistle he wrote to the Church and the faithful in Ephesus, all of us ought to show love, concern, compassion and kindness to our brethren, starting from our very own families, and then to our relatives and friends and all others whom we meet and encounter on a daily basis, and even to strangers. And as what the Lord had taught us, we as Christians should learn and indeed, commit to forgive the faults of our enemies and all those who hate us, for we too in some point of our lives, might have caused harm, suffering and pain to others as well.

That is the essence of being a true Christian, in how we should follow the Lord through genuine dedication and commitment, loving each other just as the Lord has loved us first. If God has loved us all even when we are still sinners and filled with wickedness, should we not then love our brethren all the more, with their imperfections and iniquities? We ourselves are also filled with the same sins, corruptions and iniquities as well.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore from now on renew our commitment as Christians, to devote ourselves wholly for the Lord, for the cause of His people, and that through the love with which He had loved us, we too may show the same kind of love to Him, and also to love our brethren in the same manner. May the Lord help us in this endeavour, and keep us always forever in His love and grace. Amen.

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Tuesday, 25 October 2016 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are reminded of the presence of the kingdom of God in our midst, which has been expected by the people of God throughout many millennia, and indeed, which had arrived upon this world as Christ has revealed to us. And that, brothers and sisters in Christ, in fact is what He had established through His Church in this world, which He entrusted to St. Peter His Apostle, His other Apostles and disciples, and which we are all parts and members of.

Christ is the Head of the Church and we are the members of His Body, that is the Church, and that is in reality, what perhaps is very likely to be what God meant as the kingdom of God He had promised to all of us, that we all as members of God’s kingdom, as one united people, are growing together in our unity and in our love towards one another as He made it clear to the people using His parable, comparing the kingdom of God with that of a growing mustard seed and a fermenting and growing bread.

Jesus used parables to explain the mysteries of the faith such as the kingdom of God and His mission in this world, linking these to simple and common terms that the people, most of whom were uneducated, would be able to comprehend and relate to, given that many of them were farmers, or shepherds, or bakers. And thus, indeed, our Lord had compared His kingdom to those examples, and it is perhaps our turn to understand it all too.

A mustard seed is a very small type of seed that will grow into the mustard plant. It is very useful as seasoning and used plenty in our food, and the plant itself is of a sizeable structure. Yet, who can guess that the seed of this plant is so small, so minuscule that it is almost no bigger than a grain of sand? Yet, even a single one of this seed, when planted in good soil and taken good care of, will grow into a great and useful mustard plant.

Similarly, yeast is a very small type of organism, which are fungi-like in shape, microscopic in nature, and yet, arguably, with yeast, comes all of the various types of bread, fluffy and delicious bread we eat today, while before our ancestors knew how to use yeast in their bread, they were only able to make hard and tough bread. By adding yeast into the measure of flour, and by providing the right condition, since yeast cannot function properly in the presence of oxygen, meaning that the mixture had to be tightly covered, then the result will be great.

How do these then relate to us, brethren? It is because in the Church of God, God’s holy kingdom on this earth, all of us are members of this same body, and we all grow up together in the faith through our cooperation and work with one another. However, how well we all can grow, and how far we can develop ourselves truly depend on how good are the conditions we have placed in our lives, just as much as the mustard seed and the yeast need proper condition to grow and function.

It means that we as Christians, as members of God’s Church should be true disciples of our Lord Jesus, and our faith has to be genuine and true. It means that we cannot just sit back and do nothing for our faith, and for the sake of our brethren around us, fellow members of God’s Church, fellow citizens of God’s holy kingdom. We have to be active and be devoted in our actions, showing our faith by showing love, care and concern in our actions.

If we see our brethren suffering and in need of our help, do we help them? Or do we rather walk away pretending nothing is happening around us, or if that is not our business? And if we see someone being bullied and oppressed, ostracised and discriminated against, do we remain in silence and pretend that nothing is happening? Should we not rather try our best whenever possible to defend the weak and the downtrodden?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all cultivate a good environment in which the faith can grow and develop among us, that is by loving, caring and showing mercy to each other, be truthful and be honest in all of our dealings, and show to each other by example, that we may inspire each other and push one another to attempt to draw closer to the Lord our God.

May we all be able to find salvation and eternal life in God, and may we all be blessed and be faithful as we walk on the Lord’s path, be strong and courageous amidst the challenges of this life. May God bless us all. Amen.