Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time

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Sunday, 5 February 2017 : Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day from the Sacred Scriptures all of us received a challenge from the Lord our God. He issued us all the challenge to be true Christians, that is to be His true followers, as all those who truly practice what He had taught us all through His Church, that we become those who live out our faith and not just merely reciting our Creed and pretend to believe, but yet in our hearts there is no place for God.

In the Gospel today, we heard the famous parable and teaching of Jesus, which is often known as the parable of the salt and the light, when Jesus explained using the example of salt and light, to urge all of His followers to be salt of the earth and to be light of the world. In our world today, so filled with good things, with convenience and pleasantries, we may often not realise just how significant these two things were for the people of that time.

Why is this so? In our world today, salt is ever present and are readily available, as the technique to make it easily and cheaply had been mastered by men, and we used it with abandon on our food, that we often do not realise the significance of salt. In the similar way, the prevalence of electricity and lightbulbs, and all other iridescent human-made light sources, light had been something that we often take for granted as something that is always available.

Salt and light are two very important commodities of Jesus’ time, at a time when refrigeration are not readily available and when electricity have yet to be discovered for more than a millennia. It was a world that constantly needed to deal with rotten foods as well as darkened nights without light. That was where salt and light came into the lives of those people, as the two things that made their lives much better.

For salt is used in preservation of foods just as much as they give good flavour to the food. With salt, food that used to be tasteless and easily spoil can be kept for longer and also tastes better. It has made mankind’s life much easier and indeed in some cases, could have become a lifesaver when there was no food at all in the middle of the desert. Thus in this context, the importance of salt as highlighted by Jesus in His parable cannot be underestimated.

And then how about light? Light was important because darkness exists when there was no light, when the sun was down and when the moon and the stars were not bright enough to sufficiently illuminate the dark paths and places. It was not like today when we live in a world saturated by light everywhere. As some of our brethren in some parts of the world are still experiencing to this very day, light was indeed very precious.

Many had to rely on candlelight for anything that they want to do after dark, and as we know candles can be a great fire hazard at the time when houses were made from wooden or any other easily flammable materials. To have light at that time would be a great privilege, but also could be a great danger. Candles were also expensive, and they needed to be replaced every time they were burnt out. That was why many poor people had to contend with living in the darkness for much of the half of the day during night.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, have we seen the significance of why Jesus our Lord used the example of salt and light in bringing about His points to the people? He used these two examples, calling all of the people to become salt of the earth and light of the world because these are among the things that people truly value at that time. And therefore what He taught them would be more easily accepted and understood.

Now, let us delve into what He had said in that parable, that when salt had lost its saltiness, it became useless. Indeed, as mentioned, salt is used because of its flavourful properties and preservative abilities, which is due to its saltiness. If somehow these properties are gone, then they are no more useful than grains of sand. No one will use salt that is no longer salty.

What does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? This saltiness refers to our faith. Our faith must be living and real, and cannot be dead and dysfunctional. Faith cannot be just merely on paper alone, that we say that we are one of the faithful, and yet, in our actions we do things that are contrary to our faith and to the teachings of our Lord. This is our saltiness, the saltiness of our faith. Without faith, we are pretty much dead, and without good works, our faith is equally dead.

Then we should ask ourselves, whether we have this flavour of our faith ready inside us? If we have not had this saltiness inside us, then maybe it is time that we should renew our ‘saltiness’, that is by renewing our faith. Have we been obedient to God and have we done what He had asked us to do? To love our brethren and to show care and compassion for the weak, for the oppressed and for the unloved ones? This is what we exactly need to do, so that we may have that ‘salt’ of faith in us.

In the same manner, we must be light of the world as Christ had mentioned. We must be light in the sense that light penetrates the grip of darkness on our eyes, allowing eyes that once could not see because of the dark conditions to be able to see because of the light. And as light, we are guides for those who are still in the darkness, so that through our actions, we may inspire others to also follow in our footsteps, believing in God and therefore attain salvation together in us.

This is related to what we have just discussed about the ‘saltiness’ of our faith, in that, we must do good deeds and good works in accordance with what we believe in God, and then, as we do these, we must not be afraid, but must be forthcoming and be courageous in doing them, giving the example for many others to follow. This is what Jesus meant by the words He said, that a light ought not to be hidden, but instead should be put on a lampstand for all to see its light.

It means that our faith must be exemplary and good, and be visible for all to see. It does not mean that we must boast of our faith, but rather, we must not be afraid to lead others to follow the Lord as we ourselves had done, by leading them with good examples and teaching them with courage and zeal on how to become a good disciple and follower of our God. We must be good role models for one another, and help each other in keeping ourselves worthy and pure before God.

We should remember what the prophet Isaiah had mentioned in his Book, our first reading today, that we should share our food with the poor, bring to our house the homeless, caring for all those who are unloved and rejected. This is our mission as Christians, which unfortunately many of us have not been able to do because of our various excuses in life. We have always used fear, doubt, as well as laziness, pride and other irresponsible reasons to make excuses so as not to do what God had commanded us to do.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we reflect on this Sunday’s readings from the Sacred Scriptures, let us all therefore sincerely and fervently pray to the Lord, that He may give us the strength to renew our faith, that we may awaken in us the desire to care and love for one another, to stand up for our faith when the need arises, and therefore, give new ‘flavour’ and ‘saltiness’ to our faith, and then, be examples to one another, as light of the world, guiding many others on their way to God.

May the Lord bless us all and all of our good works. May He protect us and strengthen us, that we may continue to persevere and do what He had asked us to do, so that in the end of it all, we may receive the crown of eternal glory, having been found worthy by Him, Who sees in us the worth of the ‘salt’ of our faith and the unquenchable and strong light of faith and love present in each and every one of us who call themselves as Christians, God’s own beloved people. Amen.

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Sunday, 5 February 2017 : Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Matthew 5 : 13-16

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples and to the people, “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt has lost its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It has become useless. It can only be thrown away and people will trample on it.”

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a mountain cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and covers it; instead it is put on a lampstand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine before others, so that they may see the good you do and praise your Father in heaven.”

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Sunday, 5 February 2017 : Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
1 Corinthians 2 : 1-5

When I came to reveal to you the mystery of God’s plan I did not count on eloquence or on a show of learning. I was determined not to know anything among you but Jesus, the Messiah, and a crucified Messiah. I myself came weak, fearful and trembling; my words and preaching were not brilliant or clever to win listeners.

It was, rather, a demonstration of spirit and power, so that your faith might be a matter not of human wisdom, but of God’s power.

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Sunday, 5 February 2017 : Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 111 : 4-5, 6-7, 8a and 9

The Lord is for the righteous a Light in the darkness, He is kind, merciful and upright. It will be well with him who lends freely, who leads a life of justice and honesty.

For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered and loved forever. He has no fear of evil news, for his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.

His heart is confident, he needs not fear. He gives generously to the poor, his merits will last forever and his head will be raised in honour.

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Sunday, 5 February 2017 : Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Isaiah 58 : 7-10

Fast by sharing your food with the hungry, bring to your house the homeless, clothe the one you see naked and do not turn away from your own kin. Then will your light break forth as the dawn and your healing come in a flash. Your righteousness will be your vanguard, the Glory of YHVH your rearguard.

Then you will call and YHVH will answer, you will cry and He will say, I am here. If you remove from your midst the yoke, the clenched fist and the wicked word, if you share your food with the hungry and give relief to the oppressed, then your light will rise in the dark, your night will be like noon.

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Tuesday, 9 February 2016 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are presented with the prayer of Solomon, the king of Israel, asking God to bless His people and to forgive them from their trespasses, and to welcome them back whenever they have erred and wandered away from their path. He praised God for the love which He had shown to them, so great is that love, that it is unprecedented and nothing is like the love which God showed us.

And Solomon thus praised the Lord for His love and care for His people, even though they were sinners, delinquents and frequently disobeyed His laws and precepts. This love that God has for all of us is great and boundless, and it is why He gave us opportunities, chances, and the paths through which He could help to bring us closer to Him, by providing us with the Law and with the commandments that help us to find our way to Him.

Yet unfortunately, as we saw in the Gospel, that Jesus our Lord rebuked the Pharisees, the elders of Israel, the scribes and the teachers of the Law, because instead of understanding the need for the people to love God with sincerity from the heart, and with true devotion and commitment guided by the precepts of the Law, the leaders of the people had misguided the people of God through their own laws and commandments.

Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, they have become lost in the attempt to fulfil the laws and commandments that they have made themselves. Their concerns became whether they fulfilled the law in the right ways and manner, in the rites and rituals they prescribed from the law, and they punished those who have not obeyed in the way that they wanted the people to obey.

In that way, not only that they have misunderstood the intentions of the laws and ordinances which God had given to His people, but they also misled the people who have been entrusted under their care, guidance and leadership. Instead of bringing the people of God closer to Him through love and dedication, they caused these people to fear the Lord, thinking that He is an angry God Who will punish and destroy all those who did not obey the entirety of the Law.

And the Pharisees and the elders of Israel themselves were also mistaken in their approach, as they used the Law as an opportunity to showcase themselves to the other people, and to indulge in their pride and hubris, and to cultivate the desire of their human ego. They prayed in the public places, showed how faithful they were in obeying God’s ordinances and commandments in everything, and criticising and persecuting those that did not do so, all for the sake of being seen and praised, and not for the sake of the glory of God, save for some of the Pharisees.

Therefore, today, what Jesus said to the Pharisees, to the people and to His disciples should be a reminder to all of us, that we all should not have faith without understanding, or obey without true conscience and knowledge of the will of God, which He made clear through the Law He gave to us mankind. We have to discern the will of God, that is His love, and not to think that obeying the Law merely means just fulfilling what the Law requires of us.

In the same manner therefore, as we live our lives and in obeying the teachings of the Lord through the Church. We cannot go through it with just blind obedience or by merely trying to fulfil them as an obligation and stop at that. If we stop at that, then we are not doing anything truly beneficial for ourselves, and we are no closer to salvation as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law.

Instead, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us devote ourselves, our time and attention, our effort and our focus on the Lord our God, and let us all realise the love which He has for us all, that He was willing to show us the way to reach Him, and to guide us step by step on this path, littered with difficulties and challenges. Let us all renew today our commitment to the Lord.

And tomorrow we shall begin the season of Lent, the season of penitential and repentance, the season of mercy and forgiveness. Thus, let us all draw ever closer to God’s mercy and love, and let us all be ever more devoted and committed to Him in all our lives. God be with us all, now and forever. Amen.

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Tuesday, 9 February 2016 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 7 : 1-13

At that time, one day the Pharisees gathered around Jesus, and with them were some teachers of the Law who had just come from Jerusalem. They noticed that some of His disciples were eating their meal with unclean hands, that is, without washing them.

Now the Pharisees, and in fact all the Jews, never eat without washing their hands, for they follow the tradition received from their ancestors. Nor do they eat anything, when they come from the market, without first washing themselves. And there are many other traditions they observe; for example, the ritual washing of cups, pots and plates.

So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders, but eat with unclean hands?” Jesus answered, “You shallow people! How well Isaiah prophesied of you when he wrote : ‘This people honours Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. The worship they offer Me is worthless, for what they teach are only human rules.’ You even put aside the commandment of God to hold fast to human tradition.”

And Jesus commented, “You have a fine way of disregarding the commandments of God in order to enforce your own traditions! For example, Moses said : Do your duty to your father and your mother, and : Whoever curses his father or his mother is to be put to death.”

“But according to you, someone could say to his father or mother, ‘I already declared Corban (which means “offered to God”) what you could have expected from me.’ In this case, you no longer require him to do anything for his father or mother, and so you nullify the word of God through the tradition you have handed on. And you do many other things like that.”

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Tuesday, 9 February 2016 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 83 : 3, 4, 5 and 10, 11

My soul yearns, pines, for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young, at Your altars, o Lord of hosts, my King and my God!

Happy are those who live in Your house, continually singing Your praise! Look upon our shield, o God; look upon the face of Your anointed!

One day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be left at the threshold in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.

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Tuesday, 9 February 2016 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Kings 8 : 22-23, 27-30

Then Solomon stood before the altar of YHVH in the presence of all the assembly of Israel. He raised his hands towards heaven and said, “O YHVH, God of Israel, there is no god like You either in heaven or on earth! You keep Your covenant and show loving kindness to Your servants who walk before You wholeheartedly.”

“But will God really live among people on earth? If neither heavens nor the highest heavens can contain You, how much less can this House which I have built! Yet, listen to the prayer and supplication of Your servant, o YHVH my God; hearken to the cries and pleas which Your servant directs to You this day.”

“Watch over this House of which You have said, ‘My Name shall rest there.’ Hear the prayer of Your servant in this place. Listen to the supplication of Your servant and Your people Israel when they pray in this direction; listen from Your dwelling place in heaven and, on listening, forgive.”

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Monday, 8 February 2016 : 5th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Virgins)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard firstly the story of how Solomon, the king of Israel, the son and heir of David, God’s faithful servant, finally established and built the house which his father had wanted to build for the Lord. And today we heard in our first reading, how that great Temple in Jerusalem, also known as Solomon’s Temple, was inaugurated, dedicated and consecrated to God.

We heard how Solomon dedicated the Temple to God, bringing the Ark of the Covenant which was filled with the two stones on which were written the Lord’s Ten Commandments, and also the manna, the bread from heaven, and the staff of Aaron, the proofs of God’s loving works on His people, and as the sign of the Covenant which He had established with them. And therefore, with the entry of the Ark, the glory of God filled His Temple and He was therefore present there.

How is this relevant to us, brothers and sisters in Christ? Surely it was some historical event that had happened a long time ago in the past, but which has little to no significance for us. Well, if we look deeper into what had happened, we should realise that what we heard about the dedication of the Temple of God in Jerusalem is indeed linked to what we heard in the Gospel today, and therefore to ourselves.

How is this so? In the Gospel today, we heard about our Lord Jesus Christ, Who went about from places to places, ministering to the sick and dying, to all those who are afflicted in their bodies and in their souls, healing them from their afflictions and restoring to them the health either in their bodies, their souls, or both at the same time.

In it, we saw how God made Himself manifest even more so than what He had done at the time of king Solomon. If God had descended to dwell in an earthly Temple built by Solomon and dwelled there for a time, but in Jesus Himself, God Who was once invisible had made Himself tangible and visible to all of us. He had made Himself to assume the flesh of a Man, so that by that action, and by His offering of the perfect sacrifice of Himself, He might dwell among us forever, and reunite all of us with Him in love.

What does this mean? It means that as Christ had given Himself in His Body and in His Blood to all of His disciples, and from them to all of us, thus, all of us who share in the Body and the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, have received the Lord Himself Who comes to dwell among us, and inside each and every one of us, the faithful ones of God.

And therefore, as St. Paul also iterated in one of his letters to the faithful, we are all, our bodies, our minds, our hearts and our souls are the Temple of the Lord’s Holy Presence, and in each and every one of us, God is dwelling within us, and this body we have, is His Temple and His House. And if king Solomon had gone such a great length and put so much effort to make sure that the Temple he had built for his God was properly inaugurated and started, thus we too have to make the same effort.

This means that if we commit things that are not in accordance with what He had taught us, committing things vile and wicked in the sight of God and men alike, then it is a scandal for us, for the Lord Himself dwell within us, and yet we did not make the conscious effort to make sure that this Temple that is our body, our minds, hearts and souls are worthy to receive Him in us.

Today, we commemorate the feast of two saints, whose examples hopefully can become a source of inspiration for all of us, on how to live our faith and our lives meaningfully, so as to be faithful and be true to the Lord and His will in all the things we do and act. They are St. Jerome Emiliani, a famous preacher and servant of God, and St. Josephine Bakhita, a freed former slave who became a convert to the faith and a devout religious.

St. Jerome Emiliani was an Italian man who was also known as Gerolamo Emiliani, who often showed mercy and compassion on many people who were destitute, suffering and dying, especially at times when there were famines and diseases raging amongst the people. He served the poor and cared for them, and together with other faithful laymen and religious, he founded hospitals and places where these people could be cared for.

Meanwhile, St. Josephine Bakhita was a former slave originating from a region now known as Sudan. After having learnt of the faith, and after experiencing the call of the Lord, she was converted to the faith, and vowed to follow the Lord for the rest of her life. She even managed to convert and helped her former employer to return to the Lord after leading a wayward life for a long time.

She eventually joined the religious order, and from then on, devoted herself to a life of work and prayer, committing herself also to the people of God, through prayer and charity. Eventually her examples inspired many others to also follow in her footsteps, growing ever closer to God and dedicating themselves to serve others just as she and many other saints had done.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all also follow in the footsteps of the saints and do what we can to help others who are in need, dedicating ourselves in faith to the Lord our God, and also to our brethren. So that, by our actions made through our faith, we may be found worthy, and that the Temple of our bodies, minds and souls will always be pure and worthy of the Lord our God, as the place of His dwelling.

May God sanctify us and may He purify our bodies, minds, hearts and souls, so that we may be ever worthy of Him and be reunited with Him in love. God be with us all, now and forever. Amen.