Ordinary Time

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Sunday, 21 November 2021 : Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Thirty-Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday is the last Sunday of the current liturgical year, as next Sunday will mark the beginning of the new liturgical year with the First Sunday of Advent and the beginning of the Advent season leading towards Christmas. This Sunday every year we mark the occasion of the great Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, also known as the Solemnity of Christ the King. This great celebration marks the end of every liturgical years reminding us of Our one true Lord and King, Our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and of all Creation.

As we listened to the words of the Scriptures we are called to reflect on the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ, for He is Our True King, the One Who lords over us all and the font and source of all authority in this world. He is the One to Whom we ultimately give our obedience and commitment to, even as we all obey the laws and the customs of the land, of our own respective states and countries. We reflect on the Lord our Saviour and King, Who willingly came down to dwell in our midst and to walk among us, taking up upon Himself our humble human forms, that He may share with us our humanity.

And by His sharing of our humanity, He became the One to lead us out of the darkness and into in the light. Through Him we have received the assurances of salvation and eternal life, as by His most loving sacrifice on the Cross, He gave us the perfect gift of His love and the gift of everlasting life through His sacrifice for our sake. In Him, Our Lord and King, enthroned upon His Cross, lifted up high between Heaven and earth, all of us have shared in His death, dying to our past wickedness, disobedience and sins, and sharing with Him the glorious Resurrection and new life through His own Resurrection on Easter.

Let us now spend some time to discern the readings of the Scripture we have just heard earlier on, beginning with our first reading taken from the Book of the prophet Daniel. In that passage we heard of the heavenly vision of the prophet Daniel, who received the vision of Heaven, seeing a Son of Man together with One of Great Age, which was in fact the manifestation of the Lord and His Holy Trinity, as the Son of Man was none other than Jesus, also the Son of God, while the One of Great Age referred to God the Father, the Creator of all.

In that vision, we were told that the One of Great Age, the Father, granted dominion, power and authority, of kingship over all creation and the whole universe to the Son of Man, which is symbolic of what we are celebrating on this day. In that action, the Lord revealed to Daniel and also to all of us that He is the One true Lord, Master and King of all, the One and only One Who has authority and power over all things, over all beings and over all creation. All kings, lords and rulers, all beings in Heaven, on earth and even in hell are all subjects of the Lord Jesus Christ, One God, One True King of all.

And as we heard in that passage from the prophet Daniel, he mentioned that the Kingship of Christ our Lord is clear and true, a true dominion that is for all time and for all things, unchanging and eternal. It is not merely just a symbolic kingship or rule that Our Lord’s Kingship us about, but a true Kingship, the King over all of us regardless of our national allegiance and regardless of our obedience to any worldly entities and states. The Lord’s kingship transcends the boundary of states and nations, and His kingship transcends any definition of race, or political affiliation and any other categories or groupings that we often divide ourselves into.

And in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord Jesus speaking to Pontius Pilate, the Governor of Judea during the time of His Passion and suffering, when He was about to be condemned to death by the same Pontius Pilate. I am sure all of us are familiar with what happened at that time, as the Lord had been falsely charged and accused by the chief priests, the elders and the Pharisees of the attempt to rebel against the Emperor in Rome, while also charging Him of blasphemy against God.

In the claim that the enemies of the Lord made, they claimed that Jesus used the title of the ‘King of the Jews’ in referring to Himself and therefore, together with His large and popular following, He was a great threat to the Romans. To the Romans, who were overlords and masters of the land at the time, there was no greater crime than to rebel against the state and the Emperor, by claiming kingship or leading a rebellion for freedom against the Empire. Such a crime was punishable by death, and not just that, but those guilty were often punished by crucifixion, reserved for the worst of offenders.

Thus Pilate asked the Lord for clarification, whether He was truly the King of the Jews, and the Lord then asked him back where he had heard it from, which Pilate replied in amusement because it was those chief priests who had said so. When Pilate said that he had the power to release Him or to crucify Him, he was actually referring to the fact that if the Lord could prove that He was actually slandered by the chief priests and that they falsely accused Him, Pilate could very well have freed Him. But the Lord spoke the truth then when He did say that, yes, He is indeed a King, although His kingdom is not of this world.

The Lord Jesus did speak the truth, that His Kingdom is not of this world and is unlike anything that this world has ever seen. His kingdom was not built on earthly glory or material wealth, power or any other things that became the foundation of other kingdoms and dominions of the world. Instead, His Kingdom is built on His own authority, true authority and power that surpasses anything else. He did not depend on those things that sustained kings and lords, like money, wealth, power, fame amongst other things. He has no need for such things.

And unlike other kings and rulers who always tried to vindicate and prove themselves, and many of them seeking glory and greatness, with some even seeking to be regarded as divine and to be worshipped, where man wanted and aspired to become like God, to be gods and deities, in their hopeless and meaningless pursuits for these purposes, the Lord Jesus Christ was unique. How is that so? That is because He Who is the personification of all glory and power, full of power and full of glory, fully Divine and Almighty, has willingly laid down His glory and majesty, emptying Himself and taking up the condition of a criminal and a slave, exactly at the moment when He was crucified.

Yet, it was by humbling Himself so completely and perfectly, that Our Lord and King won His greatest victory, in delivering all of us, His beloved people from the clutches of sin and death. The Lord has triumphed and delivered us from the certainty of death and destruction, and fulfilled everything that He has promised to us and to our ancestors from the very beginning of time. The Lord our King has laid down His own life, like a Good Shepherd laying down his life for his sheep, all because He truly loves us and cares for each one of us. All of us are precious to Him and He knows all of us by our names.

And as we heard in the Book of Revelations in our second reading today, the Lord Jesus, our King will come again triumphant at the end of time, He Who has conquered evil, sin and death. He shall come again at the end of all things, to gather all of us, His beloved people and He will bring us into the kingdom prepared for all of us, the kingdom of everlasting life, filled with true joy, peace and love. The Lord, Our King and Saviour will bring us all together and deliver us the final triumph and victory.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all spend some time to reflect on what we have just heard and discussed. Are we thankful that we have Jesus as Our Lord and King, not as a distant person or being, but as One Whom we can always depend on, One Who knows our sufferings and have gone through the same sufferings as we have endured, One Who loves us most deeply from His heart and had endured with that love despite of our infidelities and stubbornness in rejecting His love and betraying Him.

But if Christ is truly our King, then why is it that so many of us are still living our lives and acted in ways that are contrary to the teachings and the ways of the Lord? Why is it that so many of us disregarded Him, betrayed Him and preferred to walk in the path of sin rather than to follow Him wholeheartedly and obeying Him as we should as our Lord and King. These are important questions that we should ask ourselves as we ponder on our own lives and actions thus far in life.

Let us all as we rejoice in this great Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, remember that Christ is our one and only true Lord, Master and King. And let this not be mere empty commitment and dedication, but one of true love for our King, of true and living dedication in each and every moments of our lives. Let us renew our commitment to Him, obey Him from now on in His Law, commandments and will. Let us follow Him wholeheartedly from now on and have no more doubts in our hearts.

May the Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour and King continue to reign in our hearts, and let us always remember His love for us, as He gave His life and suffered for our sake. May He empower us all and strengthen us with the faith that we may glorify Him and proclaim Him courageously in our respective lives, to the best of our ability. May Christ, Our Lord and King reign forever and evermore, in our hearts and in the whole world. Amen.

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Sunday, 21 November 2021 : Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Thirty-Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 18 : 33b-37

Pilate summoned Jesus and asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “Does this word come from you, or did you hear it from others?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed You over to me. What have You done?”

Jesus answered, “My kingship does not come from this world. If I were a King, like those of this world, My guards would have fought to save Me from being handed over to the Jews. But My Kingship is not of this world.” Pilate asked Him, “So You are a King?” And Jesus answered, “Just as you say, I am a King. For this I was born and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is on the side of truth hears My voice.”

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Sunday, 21 November 2021 : Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Thirty-Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Revelations 1 : 5-8

And from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him Who loves us and has washed away our sins with His own Blood, making us a kingdom and priests for God His Father, to Him be the glory and power forever and ever. Amen.

See He comes with the clouds and everyone will see Him, even those who pierced Him; on His account all the nations of the earth will beat his breast. Yes. It will be so. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, He Who is, Who was and Who is to come : the Master of the universe.

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Sunday, 21 November 2021 : Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Thirty-Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 92 : 1ab, 1c-2, 5

YHVH reigns, robed in majesty; YHVH is girded with strength.

The world now, is firm; it cannot be moved. Your throne stands from long ago, o YHVH; from all eternity You are.

Your decrees can be trusted; holiness dwells in Your House, day after day, without end, o YHVH.

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Sunday, 21 November 2021 : Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Thirty-Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Daniel 7 : 13-14

I continued watching the nocturnal vision : One like a Son of Man came on the clouds of heaven. He faced the One of Great Age and was brought into His presence. Dominion, honour and kingship were given Him, and all the peoples and nations of every language served Him. His dominion is eternal and shall never pass away; His kingdom will never be destroyed.

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Saturday, 20 November 2021 : 33rd 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 presented with the continuation of the story from the Book of the Maccabees, this time about the end of the life of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who persecuted the Jewish faithful in his kingdom and caused the rise of the Maccabean Revolt. Then in the Gospel passage today we heard from the Gospel of St. Luke in which we heard the Lord’s encounter and exchanges with the Sadducees regarding the matter of the resurrection from the dead.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the Maccabees how King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the king of the Seleucid Greek Empire who was away campaigning in Persia, failed in his endeavours and not only that, he heard of the defeats inflicted to his forces in Judea and elsewhere due to the rise of the Jewish rebellion under Judas Maccabeus and his brothers who resisted the king’s efforts to impose Greek religion and customs among the Jews and others throughout his kingdom.

As we heard in yesterday’s readings, the forces of the faithful under the leadership of the Maccabees retook the holy Mount Zion and the Temple of God that was there, and reestablish the worship of the One True God there, overthrowing the idols that King Antiochus had installed there and broken down the old defiled Altar, rebuilding a new Altar worthy of Divine worship. Essentially, all that the king had done was to undermine his own power, control and authority over Judea and the lands where the Jews dwelled in, as they all rose in rebellion against Him.

The king died in regret, knowing that all that he had done were in vain, and God was punishing him for all of his sins, his pride, greed and megalomania. His lack of respect for the Lord and his actions had brought about all the calamities on him, and he would be held accountable for all of his actions, all the sufferings he had caused the people of God. And not long after that, he died in great agony, ending his rule as a king in this world, and entering into the afterlife. What is to become of King Antiochus, no one knows but God alone.

Now, linking to what we have heard in that passage with our Gospel passage today, we have something in common which is the matter of the afterlife. In the Gospel passage, we heard of the Lord Jesus and His encounter with the Sadducees, as they discussed about the matter of the resurrection from the dead and the afterlife. The Sadducees were one of the two very influential group back then in the Jewish community, which was made up of those who were powerful and rich, the aristocratic families and those with connections, and many of them were strongly influenced by Hellenism or Greek ways and customs.

As such, many among them did not believe in spiritual matters and did not believe in the afterlife or any resurrection from the dead. They preferred to enjoy life as they knew it there and then, and many likely enjoyed lavish parties and celebrations as were common at that time among the rich and powerful. When they asked the Lord about the resurrection, that was because the Lord always spoke of the world that is to come, and also for mankind to reject hedonistic ways that are incompatible with the way of God.

As they asked that, actually the Sadducees were showing that they feared what was to come after they die. While they did not believe in the resurrection, that also meant that they were afraid to part with all the things that they then currently enjoyed in life. They asked Him what would happen to a woman who married seven husbands and all of the husbands died, and who would be that woman’s husband in the afterlife because they were very concerned about worldly matters and things, and they do not want to lose what they were familiar with in the world, like their possessions, status, attachments and many other things.

This is where the Lord then reminded all of them and also all of us, that in the end, whatever we are in this world and whatever we possess, our status and all things are inconsequential in the world that is to come. All of us are mortals and will one day face death, and this is a certainty that all of us will endure, with the ultimate unknown being the time that this will happen to us. We will not bring our attachments and possessions in this world with us, and regardless whether we are beggars and poor, or rich and powerful kings like King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, all will die and face judgment for our actions and deeds in life.

The Lord revealed and reaffirmed that life after death is a reality, for our existence in this world is meant to be a temporary one. After passing through death, all those who are faithful to God and remained true to Him to the end will be judged worthy to share His glorious inheritance, to share in the beatific vision of the saints, whether immediately or through the fires of Purgatory. And in the end, it is immaterial what status or riches we have in this world, for all of us will be equal before God and equally beloved by Him without any prejudice and bias.

Now the question is, are we ready to welcome Him fully and enter into His kingdom should He call us back to Him at this very moment? Today’s readings serve as a reminder for our own fragile mortal existence, and we should remember that no matter how great we are in this world, we are still all the same before God, and we will have to answer Him for every single one of our actions and deeds. Will these be found worthy or wanting by the Lord? Will God find true and living faith in us, or will He instead find hypocrisy and lukewarmness in faith?

Let us all ponder these questions and discern carefully our path moving forward in life, so that we may know how to proceed and to dedicate ourselves from now on, that we may be worthy before the Lord. May God bless us all and remain with us, and may He guide us in our journey of faith through life. May God keep us in His love always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Saturday, 20 November 2021 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

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

Luke 20 : 27-40

At that time, then some Sadducees arrived. These people claim that there is no resurrection, and they asked Jesus this question, “Master, in the Law Moses told us, ‘If anyone dies leaving a wife but no children, his brother must take the wife, and any child born to them will be regarded as the child of the deceased.’”

“Now, there were seven brothers : the first married, but died without children. The second married the woman, but also died childless. And then the third married her, and in this same way all seven died, leaving no children. Last of all the woman died. On the day of the resurrection, to which of them will the woman be a wife? For all seven had her as a wife.”

And Jesus replied, “Taking a husband or a wife is proper to people of this world, but for those who are considered worthy of the world to come, and of resurrection from the dead, there is no more marriage. Besides, they cannot die, for they are like the Angels. They are sons and daughters of God, because they are born of the resurrection.”

“Yes, the dead will be raised, as Moses revealed at the burning bush, when he called the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. For God is God of the living, and not of the dead, for to Him everyone is alive.”

Some teachers of the Law then agreed with Jesus, “Master, You have spoken well.” They did not dare ask Him anything else.

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Saturday, 20 November 2021 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

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

Psalm 9 : 2-3, 4 and 6, 16b and 19

Let my heart give thanks to YHVH, I yearn to proclaim Your marvellous deeds, and rejoice and exult in You; and sing praise to Your Name, o Most High.

For my enemies fell back in retreat, they stumbled and perished before You. You have turned back the nations; You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their names forever.

The feet of the pagans were ensnared by the trap they laid. For the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever.

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Saturday, 20 November 2021 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

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

1 Maccabees 6 : 1-13

When king Antiochus was making his way through the upper regions of Persia, he received news about Elymais, a city renowned for its wealth in silver and gold. They kept in the wealthy temple of their city golden armour, breastplates and weapons, left there by the Macedonian king, Alexander, the son of Philip, the first sovereign of the Greeks.

So Antiochus went there. But the inhabitants came out armed against him when they learnt of his intention, so his attempt to take the city failed. He had to turn back; and he returned much embittered to Babylon. While he was still in Persia, it was reported to him that the armies sent to Judea had been defeated. They told him that although Lysias had gone with a strong army, he had to flee before the Jews, who had been strengthened with the weapons and the abundant booty taken from the neighbouring armies.

He heard, too, that the Jews had destroyed the abominable idol he had erected on the altar in Jerusalem; and had rebuilt the Temple walls to the same height as before; and had also fortified the city of Beth-zur. When he received this news, he was terrified and deeply upset. He fell sick and became greatly depressed because things had not turned out the way he had planned.

So he remained overcome by this terrible anguish for many days. He felt he was dying, so he called his friends and said to them, “Sleep has fled from my eyes and I am greatly crushed by my anxieties. And I keep on asking why such grief has come upon me – I who was generous and well-loved when in power – and now I am so discouraged.”

“Now I remember the evils I did in Jerusalem, the vessels of gold and silver that I stole, the inhabitants of Judea I ordered to be killed for no reason at all. I now know, that because of this, these misfortunes have come upon me; and I am dying of grief in a strange land.”

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Friday, 19 November 2021 : 33rd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Scripture in which we heard about the moment listed in the Book of the Maccabees when the forces of the Maccabean Rebellion advanced on the holy Mount Zion just outside of Jerusalem, the place where the Temple of God was placed since the days of Solomon, and retook it from the forces of the Greek Seleucids that had profaned it under the orders of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes.

In today’s reading, we heard how the forces of the faithful Jews retook the Temple and was committed to its rededication and repurification, to remove all the taints of the defilements, the idols, the pagan worship and all corruptions that the Seleucids and their supporters had brought on the holy House of God. Judas Maccabeus, the leader of the rebellion ordered the old defiled Altar of the Temple to be torn down, and then rebuilt anew, symbolising its renewal and purification.

We heard of the great joy with which the people celebrated the liberation and purification of the Temple of God, as a very pivotal and important moment in the struggle of the faithful people of God against those who oppressed them, the pagans and those who had inflicted much sufferings just as we have heard in the past few days of the discourses from the Book of Maccabees. The people had finally seen the salvation of God, His providence and deliverance to them.

That was why they rejoiced so greatly, for the coming of the Lord’s promised salvation and deliverance from their enemies. They had seen the light in the midst of their suffering and the darkness, and hope had once again been rekindled in their hearts. This is also the festival still celebrated today as the Hanukkah by the Jewish community, as it was told that at that occasion, when the Temple of God was retaken and reconsecrated, there was only enough oil to light up the menorah or the seven-branched candles for a day, and yet, miraculously, it remained lighted for the whole period of the eight days of celebrations.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard a related account of the Lord Who came to the Temple of Jerusalem, the same Temple that was liberated by the Maccabees just less than two centuries before the time of Christ. Ironically, at that time, the Lord Himself came to Jerusalem and drove out the many merchants and money changers who had taken up office in the courtyards of the Temple with the collusion and cooperation with the chief priests of the Temple of God.

Why did the Lord have to clear those people away from the Temple? Many of them acted dishonestly and cheated the innumerable pilgrims and the other people who came to worship the Lord at His Temple. They overcharged the people and sold their products or exchanged the money for the pilgrims at high profits. The necessity of exchanging money was made necessary because the commonly circulating Greek and Roman coins had the faces of the rulers, who were then considered as divine, and therefore were unsuitable for use in the Temple.

Unfortunately, the greed of those merchants and the money changers, which were supported by the Temple officials, the chief priests and elders, who likely also benefitted from the arrangement resulted in the Temple of God being defiled yet again, with the idolatry of money and greed, and with the dishonesty and wickedness of those who had mistreated and cheated the innocent worshippers and all those who came seeking to worship the Lord in His Temple.

That was why the Lord chased out all of those merchants and money changers, and cleansed the Temple much as how the Maccabees purified the Temple from the defilement of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The Lord chastised all those who had corrupted and defiled the holy House of God, and reminded them that it should remain holy and worthy. And this is a reminder to all of us that we must also keep ourselves holy and worthy and not defile ourselves with the corruption of sins of the world.

Why is that so? That is because we ourselves are the Temples of God’s Holy Presence, the dwelling place of the Lord Most High, as we have partaken in His Most Precious Body and Blood in the Eucharist, and the Holy Spirit has also descended upon us and dwelled in us. As such, God Himself dwells in us and as a result, all of us are also, the ‘Houses of God’. And if the Temple of God in Jerusalem had been made clean and holy, purified and worthy for God, then all of us must also make sure that our lives and actions are worthy for God.

That is the most important takeaway we have from today’s Scripture readings, and we have to strive to keep ourselves wholly dedicated to God, to keep His Law and commandments that He has given us through His Church, and live our lives as holy and worthy as possible. Let us all also inspire one another in being faithful so that we may be good role models and examples for one another, and serve the Lord faithfully together as one people, one community and one Church. May God bless us all and all of our endeavours and efforts. Amen.