Reflection of the Bible

by

Wednesday, 10 January 2024 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this day we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures in which all of us are told and reminded to listen to the Lord when He calls upon us, for all of us to follow His path and to walk virtuously and righteously in His ways. Today’s Scripture readings clearly presented to us what it means for us to be called by God, and to be His disciples and followers. We are reminded from the examples of the calling of the young Samuel, as well as the ministry of the Lord Jesus, Our Lord and Saviour and His disciples, that to be Christian disciples and part of the Church, we must always heed the Lord’s call, and do whatever we can so that we may always be exemplary in each and every one of our actions in life.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Samuel in which the Lord called the young Samuel while he was sleeping, and Samuel thought that his mentor, the Priest and Judge Eli was calling him. We heard how the Lord called Samuel three times until Eli recognised that it was actually God Who had called the young boy, and the priest told the young Samuel to respond to the Lord’s call and listen to Him. That was the beginning of Samuel’s calling, who had been set aside from the time of his conception and birth by his thankful mother Hannah, for the service of God.

At that time, the Judge and priest Eli had two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, who had been wicked according to the Scriptural accounts, who disregarded the Law and commandments of God, were corrupt and abused their position and authority as priests of the Lord. Contrast to this wickedness was the faith and purity of Samuel, who responded well to the Lord’s call, and with the guidance of Eli, he grew up to become a great and faithful prophet of God, succeeding Eli to become the Judge over all of Israel, the last of the Judges before the days of the Kings. If we were to read further in the rest of the accounts of the prophet Samuel, we can see just how much Samuel gave his all to the Lord and to the people, fulfilling the missions entrusted to him.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord Jesus healing the very sick mother-in-law of one of His disciples, Simon Peter, and how the people having heard of the miraculous healing, came to the Lord bringing all of their sick ones and those who were afflicted with all sorts of conditions and the Lord ministered to them, taking care of them and healing them from all of their troubles and complaints. He spent a long time with them, assisted by His disciples. And then we heard how the Lord then quietly moved away from that place, as He went away in the very early morning, likely before anyone had awoken, to pray, and He told His disciples that there were still many other people who needed His help, and He was sent to minister to all of them, and hence, they all should go and continue to go where the Lord has sent them to.

Now, the significance of the events which we have heard is such that we are reminded that first of all, we must do what the Lord had entrusted to us to do, in carrying out His will and the mission given to us, just like how the prophet Samuel carried out his missions and works, and how the Lord Jesus did His ministry, in showing God’s love, compassion, mercy and healing to all of the people who needed them. But, as we have seen in the Gospel passage today, it is easy for us to be tempted and swayed by the force of pride, ego and popularity, that we may end up losing focus on what it is that we are doing in our actions in life, and end up serving our own selfish desires and greed, our ambitions and prideful wants and attachments to glory, fame and more.

The Lord and His disciples were truly and wildly popular there, where He performed the miraculous deeds and works. They did not have to go to other places, and they could easily gain a large following there, as how some of the others, the false Messiahs had done at that time. This is where the Lord Jesus therefore reminded His disciples and followers, that everything that He had done, and all that they had committed in ministering to the people of God were ultimately not about themselves and not about doing what was convenient and good for them. Instead, they were following God’s will, and the focus was, and must always be on God and His path, and not on oneself, and one’s personal glory and ambitions.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as Christians, all of us today are called and reminded to follow the paths that God has given each and every one of us, as all of us have our own distinct paths and vocations in life. As members of the Church of God, the Body of Christ, all of us have distinct and unique missions, in spreading more and further the Good News and the salvation in Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, through our own exemplary lives and actions, through every things that we do and our every words and interactions in life with one another. We must always do what we can so that our lives may always shine brightly with the light of Christ, His truth and Good News.

Let us all hence do our part in each and every moments of our lives so that we will always be open to listen to God calling us in our hearts and minds, and keep ourselves attuned to His will, and not to be swayed by worldly temptations, or be corrupted by the various worldly evils and wickedness. Let us all turn our attention towards the Lord once again, and be confident in living our lives with faith, in every moments, by good examples and actions we have, so that through us, many more people may come ever closer towards the Lord and His salvation, and that we are truly the shiing beacons of God’s Light and truth to all the whole world. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.strive to be good and worthy even in the smallest things that we do in our lives.

Let us all therefore renew our commitment and faith in the Lord, and remind ourselves of the calling and the vocations that we have, be it as members of the clergy and all those who have given ourselves to the service of God and His Church, or as the members of the laity, as those who are married and in family life, and as parts of the families themselves, and as any one of us, living our own daily living in this world today. Let us all be ever more committed to follow the path of Christ, now and always, that we may illuminate the path for others towards God and His salvation. Amen.

by

Tuesday, 9 January 2024 : 1st Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we all begin the time of the Ordinary Season, the first of the two Ordinary Times of this current liturgical year, which will continue on towards the Season of Lent. And then, as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded of the need for all of us as Christians to put our faith and trust in the Lord, because through Him all of us will be safe and taken care of, and we have to trust in Him as no matter what trials and challenges may befall us, or whatever troubles and hardships that we may have to endure, in the end, we shall be triumphant with God, and the Lord will guide us all and give us His strength and power, so that we will be strong throughout our journey and we will be able to persevere through those challenges as long as we keep onto that faith in the Lord.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Samuel, we heard of the beginning of the story of Samuel, the one whom the Lord sent to the Israelites to be their Prophet and Judge, as the one to lead and guide them through their lives, to keep them faithful to the Law and commandments which God had revealed and passed to them through their ancestors. Samuel was conceived and born miraculously after God has answered the prayers of his mother Hannah. At that time, Hannah was married to a man named Elkanah, who also had another wife named Penninah. Penninah had bore many children for Elkanah while Hannah could not have any child and was barren, and yet, Elkanah loved Hannah more, and this led to the jealousy of Penninah who often bullied Hannah and ridiculed her for her barren state.

As we heard in our first reading today, Hannah went to seek the Lord at His Holy Tent in Shiloh, asking for God’s help because she was already desperate and out of options, and at that time, it was indeed considered disgraceful and unbecoming for a woman to be barren and unable to bear any child at all. That was why Hannah sought the Lord, promising to Him that she would entrust her firstborn son to Him as His servant, if He would answer her prayers. The High Priest and Judge Eli was there and thought that Hannah was drunk, but Hannah told her everything that she had hoped to achieve in seeking the Lord earnestly in prayer. Thus, Eli understood her predicament and gave Hannah his blessing, and hoped that the Lord would grant her what she has asked for.

And God did indeed answer Hannah’s prayer, listening to what she has asked for, and gave her a son, which was miraculously conceived between Elkanah and Hannah, and was therefore born and named as Samuel. As Hannah has promised the Lord, she fulfilled her promise by offering her firstborn son to the Lord, to be His servant, and God made Samuel to be a great Prophet and Judge, the last one to guide and rule over the Israelites. Through Samuel, God would perform many great things among His people, and eventually He gave them kings to rule and lead them, to continue shepherding and guiding them throughout their lives, from Saul and then to David, the virtuous king who led Israel into its golden age. Throughout all these, God kept on guiding and helping His people through Samuel, His prophet and servant.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the account of the actions of the Lord Jesus in the synagogue on a Sabbath day, when He miraculously healed an afflicted man by casting out evil spirit from him. The Lord sternly rebuked the evil spirit who was disturbing Him and His teaching, and He healed the man, freeing him from the affliction and bondage to the evil spirit. He also taught with power and authority such as have never been seen, heard or witnessed before. All these amazed everyone who witnessed the event and many believed in the Lord through what He Himself had done, through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, Who has come into our midst to show unto us all the love of God, manifested in the flesh.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through what we have heard in our Scripture passages today, we are all reminded that God is always on our side, and we are all always beloved by Him, in all circumstances. All those who have put their faith and trust in Him shall not be disappointed, for in His time, He will move to assist and help us in His own mysterious ways, such as how He assisted Hannah, by giving her a son, and according to the Scriptures, she would go on to bear many more children, erasing the stain of shame of barrenness from her. In other different ways, thus God also helped His other faithful ones throughout history, including that possessed man, whom He Himself had liberated from the power of the evil ones, and brought back into His loving care and grace, into the community of God’s people.

What does this mean for all of us? It means that we should always strive to remain firm in our faith in the Lord, and we should always put our trust in Him, even when challenges and trials are facing us, and even when hope and prospects seem to be really dim and dark. We must not easily be swayed by other paths and temptations of worldly means, which may end up causing us to fall astray from the path that the Lord has shown us. We must resist the temptations to embrace those false paths, the allures of worldly matters and attachments, or other things that may seem to be promising and good for us, but in fact may lead us into even greater hardships and regret later on. The path of the Lord is certainly not the easiest and the smoothest one, but it is the one and only one leading to true joy and fulfilment for us.

Let us all hence renew our faith in the Lord today, and affirm our trust in Him, and let us all do our very best so that we may always endeavour to put ourselves in the hands of the Lord, and believe that in Him, we can be strengthened and made firm, amidst all the trials and challenges of the world. May the Lord continue to guide us through this life, so that our every day moments, our whole lives, and how we live them, will always ever be inspirational and be great role models for others in our Christian virtues and ways. May God bless us, now and forevermore. Amen.

by

Monday, 8 January 2024 : Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the occasion of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, in which we recall the moment when the Lord Jesus was baptised at the River Jordan marking the beginning of His period of ministry in this world. This occasion today marks the last day of the liturgical season of Christmas, although traditionally in some forms, Christmas is still commemorated for a whole forty days period up to the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord or Candlemas on the second day of February. This day is the moment when the Christmas celebrations pass over to the Ordinary Time again, before in a few weeks’ time we are going to enter into the season of Lent in preparation for the Holy Week and Easter. However, this upcoming Ordinary Time is far from being ‘ordinary’ as we often understand it.

Instead, the word ‘Ordinary’ here comes from the word ‘Ordinal’ or numbered, named as such because the Sundays are numbered from the first one to the last one, the thirty-fourth one on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe at the end of the liturgical year cycle. And this reminds us that, just as at His Baptism, the Lord began and embarked on His ministry and works, therefore each and every one of us too are called to proceed with whatever works and good things which Our Lord and God had entrusted to each and every one of us. All of us have been given the mission and the vocation in our respective capacities and areas of life, that we should live our lives worthily and well as Christians, in any way we can.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which God spoke to His people through Isaiah regarding the salvation which God had promised to all of us, and which He would send to us in fulfilment of all that He has promised, through the coming of His Messiah, or Saviour, the Word of God, sent to the world to carry out and accomplish everything that God had planned for us all. God promised that through His Saviour, He would gather all of His people to Himself, getting them, reaching out to them and helping them on their path and journey, calling on everyone to embrace His salvation and path, gathering all of us from the darkness of this world so that we may find the joy of God’s love, providence and care.

All those promises have been made by the Lord to us His people, and He fulfilled them all through His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Whose Baptism and beginning of earthly ministry we recall and celebrate today. In our Gospel reading today, this is highlighted by St. Mark in the short account about the Baptism of the Lord, where St. John the Baptist baptised the Lord Jesus, as foretold, and hence, the Lord’s truth and ministry that He was to embark on, was all revealed to us, and to St. John the Baptist himself, as we heard of the Heaven itself being opened, and then the voice of the Father speaking, revealing that the One Whom St. John the Baptist had just baptised, is the Son of God, with the words, ‘You are My Son, the Beloved, the One I have chosen.’ This is also the same truth referred to by St. John the Apostle in his Epistle, which was mentioned in our second reading today.

This truth according to St. John the Apostle, witnessed by St. John the Baptist and other people who were present, has been affirmed and acknowledged through the three testimonies of Water, Blood and Spirit. Each one of these testimonies confirmed that truly Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the One Whom all the prophets had been proclaiming and prophesying about, the One Who has brought God’s love and compassion into our midst, unveiling to us the fullness of God’s ever generous mercy and kindness, His love and care for all of us, His beloved ones. The Lord has shown us that He was not merely just making empty promises and big words without action, but truly putting all of His love for us into real action, loving us generously at all times.

Firstly, the testimony of Water is also referred to in our Gospel today, at the moment when the Lord Jesus was baptised at the River Jordan by St. John the Baptist. At that moment, according to the testimony of St. John the Baptist, when the Lord had been baptised and emerged from the waters of the River Jordan, Heaven itself opened and the Holy Spirit descended on the Lord like the Dove, and the voice of the Father came upon all, speaking His will and revealing Who Jesus truly was, as the Incarnate Son of God in the flesh, with the words ‘You are My Son, the Beloved, the One I have chosen.’, which highlighted everything that He had done for us, in sending us His own beloved Son, so that through Him, all of us may be saved, and gathered through the same water of baptism, into eternal life.

Then, the testimony of Blood refers to the Blood which the same Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, had shed for all of us mankind, from the Altar of His Cross. He was offered, willingly enduring for us the worst of punishments and sufferings, trials and tribulations so that by all of His wounds and hurts, all of us may be healed. His Most Precious Body and Most Precious Blood had been broken and poured down upon all of us mankind, freely offered and freely given to us, so that through this sharing of Himself, all of us may partake of the same Paschal Lamb, the Bread of Life, and hence enter into the eternal life which He has promised to all of us who partake upon His heavenly banquet, the Most Holy Eucharist that He has instituted and given to all of us, as yet another testimony of the truth about Him.

Lastly, the testimony of the Spirit mentioned by St. John can mean both the Holy Spirit descending on the Lord Jesus at the moment of His Baptism, but also the gift of the Holy Spirit descending upon the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord, and hence upon the Church, on the Pentecost. The Lord has promised the Advocate, the Helper, that is none other than the Holy Spirit, Who would come to strengthen all the faithful and holy people of God, and the Holy Spirit did indeed come, ten days after the Lord ascended gloriously to Heaven and fifty days after His glorious Resurrection from the dead. All these testimonies were proofs and evidences enough for all those who have witnessed them, and which they had taught and passed on to us through the Church.

Therefore, as we have heard and discussed above, the moment of the Lord’s Baptism and the testimonies of faith, of Water, Blood and Spirit surrounding it, are affirmations for each and every one of us of God’s Love, and also a call for us all to remember everything that He had done for us, in embracing the Cross, all the burdens, punishments and sufferings that He had to endure despite Him having the choice of not having to go through them all. The Lord has called us all to follow Him, in walking down the same path that He had walked, in carrying our crosses with Him, and in following the path that He has led us through, in the Church of God and in our respective calling and ministries entrusted to us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through our own baptism, when we were welcomed into the Church, be it as infants or as adults, each and every one of us have been made part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, the same Body of Christ, the united assembly of all the people who are faithful in God, and counted among the flock of those whom God had called and chosen. Each and every one of us has professed our faith in the Lord, and renewed them every time we renew them ever since at Easter. Now, the question is, are we all truly aware of what we have been called to do as Christians? Are we aware of the missions and vocation which God has entrusted to each one of us in calling us all to walk in the path of righteousness and grace?

Baptism is not the end of the journey of faith, especially for all those of us who have gone through the period of catechism and catechumenate, leading to our baptisms as adults. Baptism is the beginning of this new phase in our lives, as we enter into a life of holiness, free from the bondage and the tyranny of sin, evil and death. However, we can always fall back again into sin, and be corrupted again by the many temptations present all around us. Hence, it is important that we remain vigilant, and strive as always to live our lives as worthily as possible, in obeying the Law and commandments of God, and in ensuring that our whole lives, our every actions, words and deeds are always full of faith and grace of God.

Let us all therefore recall the moments when we were baptised, and initiated into the Church and in receiving this Christian faith, and hence let us all recall the promises and commitments we have made at our baptism, and heed the Lord’s call for us to follow Him and walk in His path. Let our lives be truly faithful and full of Christian virtues, at all times, and each one of us become the shining beacons and examples of our faith to others around us. May the Lord our God be with us always in this journey of faith, and may He continue to bless our every works, good efforts and endeavours, done for His greater glory, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

by

Sunday, 7 January 2024 : Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the occasion of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, in which we recall the moment when the Lord Jesus was baptised at the River Jordan marking the beginning of His period of ministry in this world. This occasion today marks the last day of the liturgical season of Christmas, although traditionally in some forms, Christmas is still commemorated for a whole forty days period up to the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord or Candlemas on the second day of February. This day is the moment when the Christmas celebrations pass over to the Ordinary Time again, before in a few weeks’ time we are going to enter into the season of Lent in preparation for the Holy Week and Easter. However, this upcoming Ordinary Time is far from being ‘ordinary’ as we often understand it.

Instead, the word ‘Ordinary’ here comes from the word ‘Ordinal’ or numbered, named as such because the Sundays are numbered from the first one to the last one, the thirty-fourth one on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe at the end of the liturgical year cycle. And this reminds us that, just as at His Baptism, the Lord began and embarked on His ministry and works, therefore each and every one of us too are called to proceed with whatever works and good things which Our Lord and God had entrusted to each and every one of us. All of us have been given the mission and the vocation in our respective capacities and areas of life, that we should live our lives worthily and well as Christians, in any way we can.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which God spoke to His people through Isaiah regarding the salvation which God had promised to all of us, and which He would send to us in fulfilment of all that He has promised, through the coming of His Messiah, or Saviour, the Word of God, sent to the world to carry out and accomplish everything that God had planned for us all. God promised that through His Saviour, He would gather all of His people to Himself, getting them, reaching out to them and helping them on their path and journey, calling on everyone to embrace His salvation and path, gathering all of us from the darkness of this world so that we may find the joy of God’s love, providence and care.

All those promises have been made by the Lord to us His people, and He fulfilled them all through His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Whose Baptism and beginning of earthly ministry we recall and celebrate today. In our Gospel reading today, this is highlighted by St. Mark in the short account about the Baptism of the Lord, where St. John the Baptist baptised the Lord Jesus, as foretold, and hence, the Lord’s truth and ministry that He was to embark on, was all revealed to us, and to St. John the Baptist himself, as we heard of the Heaven itself being opened, and then the voice of the Father speaking, revealing that the One Whom St. John the Baptist had just baptised, is the Son of God, with the words, ‘You are My Son, the Beloved, the One I have chosen.’ This is also the same truth referred to by St. John the Apostle in his Epistle, which was mentioned in our second reading today.

This truth according to St. John the Apostle, witnessed by St. John the Baptist and other people who were present, has been affirmed and acknowledged through the three testimonies of Water, Blood and Spirit. Each one of these testimonies confirmed that truly Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the One Whom all the prophets had been proclaiming and prophesying about, the One Who has brought God’s love and compassion into our midst, unveiling to us the fullness of God’s ever generous mercy and kindness, His love and care for all of us, His beloved ones. The Lord has shown us that He was not merely just making empty promises and big words without action, but truly putting all of His love for us into real action, loving us generously at all times.

Firstly, the testimony of Water is also referred to in our Gospel today, at the moment when the Lord Jesus was baptised at the River Jordan by St. John the Baptist. At that moment, according to the testimony of St. John the Baptist, when the Lord had been baptised and emerged from the waters of the River Jordan, Heaven itself opened and the Holy Spirit descended on the Lord like the Dove, and the voice of the Father came upon all, speaking His will and revealing Who Jesus truly was, as the Incarnate Son of God in the flesh, with the words ‘You are My Son, the Beloved, the One I have chosen.’, which highlighted everything that He had done for us, in sending us His own beloved Son, so that through Him, all of us may be saved, and gathered through the same water of baptism, into eternal life.

Then, the testimony of Blood refers to the Blood which the same Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, had shed for all of us mankind, from the Altar of His Cross. He was offered, willingly enduring for us the worst of punishments and sufferings, trials and tribulations so that by all of His wounds and hurts, all of us may be healed. His Most Precious Body and Most Precious Blood had been broken and poured down upon all of us mankind, freely offered and freely given to us, so that through this sharing of Himself, all of us may partake of the same Paschal Lamb, the Bread of Life, and hence enter into the eternal life which He has promised to all of us who partake upon His heavenly banquet, the Most Holy Eucharist that He has instituted and given to all of us, as yet another testimony of the truth about Him.

Lastly, the testimony of the Spirit mentioned by St. John can mean both the Holy Spirit descending on the Lord Jesus at the moment of His Baptism, but also the gift of the Holy Spirit descending upon the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord, and hence upon the Church, on the Pentecost. The Lord has promised the Advocate, the Helper, that is none other than the Holy Spirit, Who would come to strengthen all the faithful and holy people of God, and the Holy Spirit did indeed come, ten days after the Lord ascended gloriously to Heaven and fifty days after His glorious Resurrection from the dead. All these testimonies were proofs and evidences enough for all those who have witnessed them, and which they had taught and passed on to us through the Church.

Therefore, as we have heard and discussed above, the moment of the Lord’s Baptism and the testimonies of faith, of Water, Blood and Spirit surrounding it, are affirmations for each and every one of us of God’s Love, and also a call for us all to remember everything that He had done for us, in embracing the Cross, all the burdens, punishments and sufferings that He had to endure despite Him having the choice of not having to go through them all. The Lord has called us all to follow Him, in walking down the same path that He had walked, in carrying our crosses with Him, and in following the path that He has led us through, in the Church of God and in our respective calling and ministries entrusted to us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through our own baptism, when we were welcomed into the Church, be it as infants or as adults, each and every one of us have been made part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, the same Body of Christ, the united assembly of all the people who are faithful in God, and counted among the flock of those whom God had called and chosen. Each and every one of us has professed our faith in the Lord, and renewed them every time we renew them ever since at Easter. Now, the question is, are we all truly aware of what we have been called to do as Christians? Are we aware of the missions and vocation which God has entrusted to each one of us in calling us all to walk in the path of righteousness and grace?

Baptism is not the end of the journey of faith, especially for all those of us who have gone through the period of catechism and catechumenate, leading to our baptisms as adults. Baptism is the beginning of this new phase in our lives, as we enter into a life of holiness, free from the bondage and the tyranny of sin, evil and death. However, we can always fall back again into sin, and be corrupted again by the many temptations present all around us. Hence, it is important that we remain vigilant, and strive as always to live our lives as worthily as possible, in obeying the Law and commandments of God, and in ensuring that our whole lives, our every actions, words and deeds are always full of faith and grace of God.

Let us all therefore recall the moments when we were baptised, and initiated into the Church and in receiving this Christian faith, and hence let us all recall the promises and commitments we have made at our baptism, and heed the Lord’s call for us to follow Him and walk in His path. Let our lives be truly faithful and full of Christian virtues, at all times, and each one of us become the shining beacons and examples of our faith to others around us. May the Lord our God be with us always in this journey of faith, and may He continue to bless our every works, good efforts and endeavours, done for His greater glory, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

by

Sunday, 7 January 2024 : Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we all celebrate the great Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, marking the occasion which the Lord revealed Himself to the nations, to the non-Jewish peoples or also known as the Gentiles. This is also one of the moments commemorated in Christmas, as part of the revelation of the salvation which our Lord and Saviour had revealed through His Incarnation and appearance in this world, in Jesus Christ, the Son of God Most High, born the Son of Man through His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. On this Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, we are called to remember the moment that God made known His will and desire to bring all mankind, regardless of race, background or origin, to His Presence, and unite us all to Himself.

Through this important event of the Epiphany, which came from the Greek word Epiphaneia – that means something like manifestation or appearing, as we are reminded of God manifesting Himself to the nations, represented by the Three Magi or the Three Wise Men, who came from very far lands to visit and pay homage to the One Whose coming they had predicted, and following the great Sign in the sky, the Star of Bethlehem, that appeared above the place where the Lord Jesus was born. All the Three Magi set off on a long journey from their lands, at a time when travel was arduous, difficult, lengthy and slow, traversing long distances so that they might come to come and see the Holy One of God, the One Whose coming was proclaimed by the great Star.

They were likely astrologers and educated members of their communities, and hence they were known as the Three Wise Men. The appearance of the great Star of Bethlehem was indeed the sign of God’s call to the nations, as He wanted to tell more and more people all throughout the whole world of the coming of His salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. The Three Wise Men represented the nations, of all the peoples coming to seek the Lord just as prophesied by the prophets, especially that of the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah proclaimed that people from all the nations, of all races will come to seek the Lord, and will proclaim Him as their Lord and Master, and the Lord will be God over all the whole world, and not merely just the Israelites.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard the words of the prophet speaking to the people of God in Israel and Judah, telling them of the coming of the salvation in God, which would come soon through the Messiah, the Saviour which God has promised to all of them. The prophet was encouraging a people that by then had suffered a lot of hardships and difficulties, obstacles and challenges. He told them that the Lord would not forget about them, and He would send them His deliverance, which would come with a great Light coming among the people of God. Indeed, the Lord would send His salvation through His people, born of a people whom He had first called, the people of Israel, of the children of Abraham, fulfilling everything that He has promised to His faithful servants.

Through this great Light, which is in Christ the Lord, all people will come to see the salvation of God, which has been unveiled and shown to us, through His Nativity and Epiphany. If His Nativity marks the moment when He was born into this world, and was announced by the Angels of God to the people of Israel through those shepherds of Bethlehem in the wilderness, then the Epiphany marks the moment when He revealed Himself as the Saviour of all, as the Almighty God and King, born into this world to gather everyone to Himself, to every nations and peoples, for He is not just God of Israel or over the land of Israel, but He is God, Ruler and King over the whole Universe, and this is what the Lord has revealed to us all, through the events of the Epiphany.

The Star of Bethlehem is a sign of the Messiah, and is also a symbol of faith or ‘Signum Fidei’ because the Three Wise Men went on that very long journey in seeking the One Whom they believed in, as a great Figure and Master, and although they did not yet know Who He truly was, but the Spirit of God present in all the peoples, even then, moved their hearts, and brought them on the journey of faith towards the Lord. The gifts which they brought to the Lord had made people to speculate the places of their origins, with the countries of Sheba and Seba in what is now Ethiopia and Yemen respectively as possible candidates. Those gifts echoed what the prophet Isaiah spoke about in the first reading today, of the caravan of camels from Sheba and Seba coming to the Lord, glorifying Him and praising Him.

The three gifts of the Three Magi are themselves also very symbolic and a revelation of Who the Lord Jesus truly was, in the gift of the gold, frankincense and myrrh. Gold represents the kingship and the glory of Christ, while the frankincense represents both His Divinity and also His role as our Eternal High Priest, and lastly the myrrh represents the way how the Lord would accomplish His mission, through the suffering and death that He would have to endure during His Passion, for our sake and our salvation. Through all these three gifts therefore, we all come to know the full extent of Who the Lord our God is, and what He has done for us through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. This is the essence of what the Epiphany celebration is all about.

First of all, the gift of gold is a very symbolic sign of the kingship of Christ, as gold has always been a very valuable commodity and noble metal used in coinage and in collection of wealth, and they are often associated with power and worldly glory, and they also have associations with the Divine, as gold is often used on the ornaments and the worship of gods and idols in various cultures and traditions. Gold in this case symbolised that Christ is truly our Lord and King, the King of Kings, Lord and Master of all, all of creation and the whole of the Universe. It also showed the glory and divinity that our Lord and God has, and how each and every one of us are expected to give Him honour, glory and homage, as the King over all of us.

Then, the gift of frankincense is a representation as earlier mentioned, of the divinity of Christ, as incense is often used in religious festivities and worship, and incense is used until this day in the Church to indicate the prayers of the faithful people of God rising towards God. At the same time, incense was also usually used by the priests in offering the sacrifices and offerings to God. Hence, this frankincense, which is among the finest type of incense available, is a representation that Christ our Lord is truly Divine, the Almighty God Who manifested Himself in the flesh, to be in our midst. Then, at the same time, it also highlighted Christ’s role as our one and true Eternal High Priest, the One Who would offer on our behalf the perfect and worthy offering, for the absolution and forgiveness of all of our sins.

Lastly, the gift of myrrh is the representation of what the Lord would do for our salvation, as myrrh is a precious spice used for the embalming of the bodies of the dead. It may indeed be a rather strange and curious gift for a newborn Child, but in this case, it is a representation of how Christ would suffer and die from the Cross that He Himself would bear, and through His death He would redeem all of us, by making us all free from sin, and then by His glorious Resurrection, He would lead us all into a new life, no longer subjected to sin and death, to evil and destruction. This is what the gift of myrrh had revealed to us, and we are all reminded that we are all truly so fortunate that God has done all of these for our sake. We must be thankful for all that He has done, and we must return to seek the Lord and His salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore on this great Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, each and every one of us must always remind ourselves that the Lord our God, Who has revealed Himself to all peoples, His Epiphany, is the One Who is truly Lord and Master over all of our lives. Each and every one of us are truly blessed that God Himself has reached out to us with His perfect and wonderful love, that He endeavoured to appear to us in this manner, so that His Love is no longer hidden from us, but becoming tangible, real and reachable by us. All of us have seen His Light, known His truth and ways, heard and witnessed His Good News, and we are all called to be His beloved ones, His people and flock. The Light of Christ has illuminated us, our lives and our paths, and we should pass on this Light that more people may come to know Him, following in the footsteps of the Three Wise Men.

Let us all therefore strive to do our best so that in all that we do, we will always be filled with faith and love for God, and that we will always strive to bear witness to His truth and Good News at all times. Let our lives and actions be the means through which more and more people may come to know God, Who has revealed Himself to us, and made His love known to us. Like the Three Wise Men, let us all journey with faith towards God, and lead more and more people we encounter in our respective lives, on a journey towards our Manifested God, Whose love has been revealed to all. May the Lord continue to bless our every good efforts and endeavours, so that in everything that we say and do, we will always be the faithful and worthy bearers of His Good News, and be ever more committed and filled with His grace and love, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

by

Saturday, 6 January 2024 : Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we all celebrate the great Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, marking the occasion which the Lord revealed Himself to the nations, to the non-Jewish peoples or also known as the Gentiles. This is also one of the moments commemorated in Christmas, as part of the revelation of the salvation which our Lord and Saviour had revealed through His Incarnation and appearance in this world, in Jesus Christ, the Son of God Most High, born the Son of Man through His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. On this Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, we are called to remember the moment that God made known His will and desire to bring all mankind, regardless of race, background or origin, to His Presence, and unite us all to Himself.

Through this important event of the Epiphany, which came from the Greek word Epiphaneia – that means something like manifestation or appearing, as we are reminded of God manifesting Himself to the nations, represented by the Three Magi or the Three Wise Men, who came from very far lands to visit and pay homage to the One Whose coming they had predicted, and following the great Sign in the sky, the Star of Bethlehem, that appeared above the place where the Lord Jesus was born. All the Three Magi set off on a long journey from their lands, at a time when travel was arduous, difficult, lengthy and slow, traversing long distances so that they might come to come and see the Holy One of God, the One Whose coming was proclaimed by the great Star.

They were likely astrologers and educated members of their communities, and hence they were known as the Three Wise Men. The appearance of the great Star of Bethlehem was indeed the sign of God’s call to the nations, as He wanted to tell more and more people all throughout the whole world of the coming of His salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. The Three Wise Men represented the nations, of all the peoples coming to seek the Lord just as prophesied by the prophets, especially that of the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah proclaimed that people from all the nations, of all races will come to seek the Lord, and will proclaim Him as their Lord and Master, and the Lord will be God over all the whole world, and not merely just the Israelites.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard the words of the prophet speaking to the people of God in Israel and Judah, telling them of the coming of the salvation in God, which would come soon through the Messiah, the Saviour which God has promised to all of them. The prophet was encouraging a people that by then had suffered a lot of hardships and difficulties, obstacles and challenges. He told them that the Lord would not forget about them, and He would send them His deliverance, which would come with a great Light coming among the people of God. Indeed, the Lord would send His salvation through His people, born of a people whom He had first called, the people of Israel, of the children of Abraham, fulfilling everything that He has promised to His faithful servants.

Through this great Light, which is in Christ the Lord, all people will come to see the salvation of God, which has been unveiled and shown to us, through His Nativity and Epiphany. If His Nativity marks the moment when He was born into this world, and was announced by the Angels of God to the people of Israel through those shepherds of Bethlehem in the wilderness, then the Epiphany marks the moment when He revealed Himself as the Saviour of all, as the Almighty God and King, born into this world to gather everyone to Himself, to every nations and peoples, for He is not just God of Israel or over the land of Israel, but He is God, Ruler and King over the whole Universe, and this is what the Lord has revealed to us all, through the events of the Epiphany.

The Star of Bethlehem is a sign of the Messiah, and is also a symbol of faith or ‘Signum Fidei’ because the Three Wise Men went on that very long journey in seeking the One Whom they believed in, as a great Figure and Master, and although they did not yet know Who He truly was, but the Spirit of God present in all the peoples, even then, moved their hearts, and brought them on the journey of faith towards the Lord. The gifts which they brought to the Lord had made people to speculate the places of their origins, with the countries of Sheba and Seba in what is now Ethiopia and Yemen respectively as possible candidates. Those gifts echoed what the prophet Isaiah spoke about in the first reading today, of the caravan of camels from Sheba and Seba coming to the Lord, glorifying Him and praising Him.

The three gifts of the Three Magi are themselves also very symbolic and a revelation of Who the Lord Jesus truly was, in the gift of the gold, frankincense and myrrh. Gold represents the kingship and the glory of Christ, while the frankincense represents both His Divinity and also His role as our Eternal High Priest, and lastly the myrrh represents the way how the Lord would accomplish His mission, through the suffering and death that He would have to endure during His Passion, for our sake and our salvation. Through all these three gifts therefore, we all come to know the full extent of Who the Lord our God is, and what He has done for us through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. This is the essence of what the Epiphany celebration is all about.

First of all, the gift of gold is a very symbolic sign of the kingship of Christ, as gold has always been a very valuable commodity and noble metal used in coinage and in collection of wealth, and they are often associated with power and worldly glory, and they also have associations with the Divine, as gold is often used on the ornaments and the worship of gods and idols in various cultures and traditions. Gold in this case symbolised that Christ is truly our Lord and King, the King of Kings, Lord and Master of all, all of creation and the whole of the Universe. It also showed the glory and divinity that our Lord and God has, and how each and every one of us are expected to give Him honour, glory and homage, as the King over all of us.

Then, the gift of frankincense is a representation as earlier mentioned, of the divinity of Christ, as incense is often used in religious festivities and worship, and incense is used until this day in the Church to indicate the prayers of the faithful people of God rising towards God. At the same time, incense was also usually used by the priests in offering the sacrifices and offerings to God. Hence, this frankincense, which is among the finest type of incense available, is a representation that Christ our Lord is truly Divine, the Almighty God Who manifested Himself in the flesh, to be in our midst. Then, at the same time, it also highlighted Christ’s role as our one and true Eternal High Priest, the One Who would offer on our behalf the perfect and worthy offering, for the absolution and forgiveness of all of our sins.

Lastly, the gift of myrrh is the representation of what the Lord would do for our salvation, as myrrh is a precious spice used for the embalming of the bodies of the dead. It may indeed be a rather strange and curious gift for a newborn Child, but in this case, it is a representation of how Christ would suffer and die from the Cross that He Himself would bear, and through His death He would redeem all of us, by making us all free from sin, and then by His glorious Resurrection, He would lead us all into a new life, no longer subjected to sin and death, to evil and destruction. This is what the gift of myrrh had revealed to us, and we are all reminded that we are all truly so fortunate that God has done all of these for our sake. We must be thankful for all that He has done, and we must return to seek the Lord and His salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore on this great Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, each and every one of us must always remind ourselves that the Lord our God, Who has revealed Himself to all peoples, His Epiphany, is the One Who is truly Lord and Master over all of our lives. Each and every one of us are truly blessed that God Himself has reached out to us with His perfect and wonderful love, that He endeavoured to appear to us in this manner, so that His Love is no longer hidden from us, but becoming tangible, real and reachable by us. All of us have seen His Light, known His truth and ways, heard and witnessed His Good News, and we are all called to be His beloved ones, His people and flock. The Light of Christ has illuminated us, our lives and our paths, and we should pass on this Light that more people may come to know Him, following in the footsteps of the Three Wise Men.

Let us all therefore strive to do our best so that in all that we do, we will always be filled with faith and love for God, and that we will always strive to bear witness to His truth and Good News at all times. Let our lives and actions be the means through which more and more people may come to know God, Who has revealed Himself to us, and made His love known to us. Like the Three Wise Men, let us all journey with faith towards God, and lead more and more people we encounter in our respective lives, on a journey towards our Manifested God, Whose love has been revealed to all. May the Lord continue to bless our every good efforts and endeavours, so that in everything that we say and do, we will always be the faithful and worthy bearers of His Good News, and be ever more committed and filled with His grace and love, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

by

Saturday, 6 January 2024 : Weekday of Christmas Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we listened to the words of the Lord in the Scriptures during this time and season of Christmas, in which we are all constantly being reminded of the fact and truth that each and every one of us as Christians, are all entrusted with the knowledge of truth, that Christ our Lord and Saviour, Who has been born for us at Bethlehem, the city of David through His mother Mary, is truly the Son of God, the Divine Word Incarnate, and we have seen, witnessed and known this truth because He Himself has revealed all those things to us, through His disciples, the Apostles and innumerable saints, who have passed down the faith and the truth to us through the Church of God.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. John, the Apostle spoke of the truth which has been revealed to all of us through Jesus Christ, the One Who has come to save all of us mankind from damnation and destruction due to our sins. This truth according to St. John has been affirmed and acknowledged through the three testimonies of Water, Blood and Spirit. Each one of these testimonies confirmed that truly Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the One Whom all the prophets had been proclaiming and prophesying about, the One Who has brought God’s love and compassion into our midst, unveiling to us the fullness of God’s ever generous mercy and kindness, His love and care for all of us, His beloved ones.

Firstly, the testimony of Water is also referred to in our Gospel today, at the moment when the Lord Jesus was baptised at the River Jordan by St. John the Baptist. At that moment, according to the testimony of St. John the Baptist, when the Lord had been baptised and emerged from the waters of the River Jordan, Heaven itself opened and the Holy Spirit descended on the Lord like the Dove, and the voice of the Father came upon all, speaking His will and revealing Who Jesus truly was, as the Incarnate Son of God in the flesh, with the words ‘You are My Son, the Beloved, the One I have chosen.’, which highlighted everything that He had done for us, in sending us His own beloved Son, so that through Him, all of us may be saved, and gathered through the same water of baptism, into eternal life.

Then, the testimony of Blood refers to the Blood which the same Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, had shed for all of us mankind, from the Altar of His Cross. He was offered, willingly enduring for us the worst of punishments and sufferings, trials and tribulations so that by all of His wounds and hurts, all of us may be healed. His Most Precious Body and Most Precious Blood had been broken and poured down upon all of us mankind, freely offered and freely given to us, so that through this sharing of Himself, all of us may partake of the same Paschal Lamb, the Bread of Life, and hence enter into the eternal life which He has promised to all of us who partake upon His heavenly banquet, the Most Holy Eucharist that He has instituted and given to all of us, as yet another testimony of the truth about Him.

Lastly, the testimony of the Spirit mentioned by St. John can mean both the Holy Spirit descending on the Lord Jesus at the moment of His Baptism, but also the gift of the Holy Spirit descending upon the Apostles and the disciples of the Lord, and hence upon the Church, on the Pentecost. The Lord has promised the Advocate, the Helper, that is none other than the Holy Spirit, Who would come to strengthen all the faithful and holy people of God, and the Holy Spirit did indeed come, ten days after the Lord ascended gloriously to Heaven and fifty days after His glorious Resurrection from the dead. All these testimonies were proofs and evidences enough for all those who have witnessed them, and which they had taught and passed on to us through the Church.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the beginning of the time of the Lord’s ministry after He was baptised, which is again a reference of the testimonies of faith mentioned by St. John the Apostle earlier on in the first reading. All of those evidences, truth and revelations showed us all that truly, the One Whom we celebrate about this Christmas, all of our rejoicing and festivities, all are about this same Jesus Christ, the Saviour of all and Son of God, Whom the Father has sent into this world, into our midst, by the power of the Holy Spirit, that the Church, all the Apostles and all the servants of God had witnessed and believed in, and then passed on to all of us, God’s beloved people, all of us who believe in the same Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we are all approaching the end of the season of Christmas, we are all reminded today that the celebration of Christmas and Christ’s coming into this world does not end, and it does not mean that then we continue on with our lives as per usual, forgetting Christ and everything that we have focused on throughout this Christmas season. Instead, we are all reminded that Christmas is just the beginning of the story of God’s saving works, which came to our midst through the Child Jesus, and then which is fulfilled perfectly when the Lord went on His Passion, suffered and died for our sins, on His Cross at Calvary, on Good Friday, and ultimately with His glorious Resurrection at Easter.

Let us all therefore, as Christians continue to proclaim the Good News and salvation in Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord, the same Holy Child born for us at Bethlehem two millennia ago, Who revealed to us through the three testimonies of Water, Blood and Spirit, of the light of hope and truth, love and compassion of God, continue to bless us all and guide us in our journey always, now and forevermore. Amen.

by

Friday, 5 January 2024 : Weekday of Christmas Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we continue to celebrate the joy of this Christmas season, we are all constantly being reminded through the Scripture readings we heard today of the love and examples shown by the Lord and how all of us should be inspired by that Love, which God has always shown us all the time. We are reminded that we should walk in this path of love and as Christians, it is important that our every actions, words and deeds, our every interactions are always filled with love and compassion, kindness and God’s grace. Love is always the hallmark of what being a Christian is all about, because without love, then whatever we do in this life, all become meaningless and empty.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Epistle of St. John in which the Apostle reminding the faithful to be always committed to the path of God’s love and righteousness, and in which the examples and comparisons to Cain, one of the first among the race of mankind, was made. Contextually, Cain was one of the sons of Adam and Eve, the first ones that God had created, and he was the eldest, while his brother Abel, was younger. If we recall from the Book of Genesis, in the story of Cain and Abel, Cain struck down his own brother out of jealousy, anger and hatred, when his offerings, made not out of true love and obedience to God, was rejected while Abel’s offering was accepted by God. Cain became angry at Abel, and eventually, he killed his own brother.

Cain and Abel’s story are reminders for us that hatred can indeed be very dangerous, as it can quickly escalate and lead to very unfortunate events such as what happened to Cain in his murder of his own flesh and blood, his own brother. St. John reminded and exhorted all the faithful people of God that they must always remain in the path of love, and do not let the corruption of evil and sin to mislead them down the path of destruction. He reminds us all that unless we have love in us, then we cannot be truly good, faithful and worthy disciples of the Lord. He used the example of the rich man who enjoyed the bounties and good things of the world, but who did not move a hand to help out someone who is suffering, which is an example of selfishness and lack of love.

This is what we must be careful about, brothers and sisters in Christ, that we do not end up allowing all the pleasures, comforts, glory, fame and other attachments found in our world today from leading us down the path of disobedience and sin. We must learn to turn away from worldly desires, from our greed and ego, our pride and ambition, all of which may become serious stumbling blocks in our path towards righteousness in God. We must always be ready to resist the many temptations which may threaten to bring us into the wrong paths in life, in following the whim of our own personal ambitions and desires, all of which may lead us to cause hurt and sufferings on others, or to commit acts that bring us in direct violation of God’s Law and commandments.

In today’s Gospel passage, we then heard of the moment when the Lord called Nathanael to be one of His disciples. This Nathanael was also known as Bartholomew, and he would become one of the Twelve Apostles. As we heard from that Gospel passage, the Lord called Philip, another one of His Twelve Apostles, at Bethsaida to follow Him, and Philip then told Nathanael about the Lord, telling him how Jesus was indeed the One prophesied and promised to be the Saviour of the world, the One of Whom the prophets had spoken about. Nathanael, as a wise and learned person, aware and well-versed in the Law and the Prophets, doubted that the Lord Jesus was indeed the Saviour of the world, because He had come from the region of Galilee.

But the Lord then revealed His great Wisdom and knowledge to Nathanael, telling the latter that He knows everything about him and He knows of what he has been doing, and thus, Nathanael believed in the Lord, and decided to follow Him henceforth. The Lord revealed everything that He has planned to do to all of His disciples, and through them to us in the Church, and that was how we have received the wonders of God’s love, His truth and Good News, which He has brought upon us through Jesus Christ, His Son, Whose birth and coming into this world leads into the love of God being manifested in our world today, manifesting in the Person of the Child Jesus, Who in time went on to reveal all the things just as He had done so with Nathanael. The Lord told us all to obey His Law, that is the Law and commandments of Love.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, since we have received the love of God most generously shown to us in Jesus Christ, and since He has told us all to love one another just as much as we love the Lord and ourselves, let us all therefore as Christians, immerse ourselves deeply and thoroughly in God’s love, and strive to show genuine and generous love at all times, love that is selfless, pure and compassionate from our hearts, just as how the Lord has loved us all these while. It is in our love for one another, our loving actions and deeds, our caring words and compassionate ways towards our fellow brothers and sisters all around us that we can truly be faithful and good Christians, not just in mere words or formality, but truly in all things, in our hearts and minds.

May the Lord, our most loving God and Creator, therefore be with each and every one of us, and may He empower us all that we may always be full of love and compassion, and be protected and kept from all sorts of hatred, evils and anger. Let us all be truly loving in all of our ways, be loving towards God and our neighbours, our fellow brethren, so that we may truly show the world what it means to be Christians, to be loved by God and to love all, with all our hearts. May God bless our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always. Amen.

by

Thursday, 4 January 2024 : Weekday of Christmas Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all reminded that Christ our Lord is our focus and right direction in life, and not all the other temptations and falsehoods all around us. We must not easily be swayed by the many pressures of worldly things and matters, and all the attachments we may have to such things, which may easily lead us down the wrong path to our downfall and destruction. This is why all of us must always be reminded of our obligations to Christ our Lord, and do whatever we can so that by all of our actions and deeds we will always walk in God’s Holy Presence and we will continue to glorify God by our exemplary lives.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. John, the Apostle spoke to the faithful of the need for everyone to be truly committed to the path of Christ, that is the path of righteousness and virtue, rejecting the path of disobedience that leads to sin. St. John exhorted all the faithful people of God to stay away from the path of the devil, and strive their best to follow the path of Christ, the Son of God, Who has been manifested in our world through His Incarnation and coming into our midst, born a Man through the Blessed Virgin Mary, His mother, which therefore allowed us all to experience firsthand the love of God that had been made tangible to us in Jesus. We have heard His teachings, known about His works and wonders from those who had experienced them firsthand, the Apostles and the other disciples of the Lord, who passed their knowledge to us through the Church.

This must be understood in the context of why St. John wrote such a reminder in the first place. In other parts of the same Epistle, St. John also warned the faithful about the presence of antichrists, false prophets and false leaders who could mislead many among the faithful into walking down the path of evil and sin, by showing paths and ways of life that were contrary to what the Lord had shown and taught them. Many of those false leaders and guides sought to change the teachings of God and mislead the faithful to the wrong paths. Such is the path of the devil, the path of disobedience which leads to sin, and from sin into damnation and eternal destruction. But the Lord has sent us all His Son, so that all of us who believe in Him, may not fall into the same wrong paths that the devil has been busy trying to mislead us into.

Through Christ, the Lord has gathered us all back into His Presence, calling upon all of us to follow Him and to walk in His path once again. The Lord Jesus through His coming into this world, as He revealed unto us the wonders of God’s love and the truth which He has given us, wanted us to know that the path of the devil is the path to oblivion and destruction, and He planted in us all the seeds of faith, hope and love, the seeds of His Good News, by which all of us have been made to be the adopted children of God. This is a reference to the Church of God and all of us who have been made part of this Church, gathered and baptised all in the Name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, with the Lord calling us all to be part of His one Body, and bestowing on us the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the same calling echoed through the words of St. John the Baptist, who told and exhorted his own disciples to follow the Lord Jesus. At that time, Jesus came to St. John the Baptist who was busy baptising many people at the River Jordan, asking for St. John to baptise Him. St. John recognised Who the Lord was, and told Him that it was he who needed to be baptised instead. The Lord told St. John the Baptist to carry out things as it should be, and after His Baptism, the Heavens opened, with the voice of the Father and the Holy Spirit like a Dove descending upon the Son of God, and hence, affirming Who Jesus truly is. Thus, St. John the Baptist pointed out to his own disciples that the Lord is the Lamb of God, Whom they should be following.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, that was exactly what the role of St. John the Baptist had, as he directed everyone towards Christ, the Saviour of the world. He did what was entrusted to him, and unlike all those false prophets and leaders, who served their own selfish interests and desires, St. John the Baptist was perfectly happy and satisfied to see his Lord and Master, Whose coming he had prepared and laboured for, prospering and gaining more and more followers. St. John the Baptist did not become jealous or envious at what the Lord had done and achieved, and he did not seek glory and greatness for himself. This was what set him apart and made him different from all those false leaders and false prophets who were rampant, in their pursuits of worldly agenda and glory, and in leading the people of God not to Him but to themselves.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all continue to progress through this joyous season of Christmas, let us always be focused on Christ and centre all of our celebrations and rejoicing on Him. Let us all not be easily distracted by all sorts of worldly pleasures and ambitions, temptations and the allures of worldly glories, that we do not end up falling into the wrong paths set before us by the devil and all those who sought our downfall and destruction. Let us all as Christians be great examples and role models for one another as we all carry on living our lives each day in our world today. Let us all be the faithful, good and worthy bearers of the light and hope of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, at all times.

May God be with us always, and may He continue to bless us and empower us all so that we may always be filled with His Wisdom, strength and the Holy Spirit, in enduring the challenges and trials of life, and in being ever faithful and committed to Him, and not being swayed by worldly temptations and the allures of worldly glory. Amen.

by

Wednesday, 3 January 2024 : Weekday of Christmas Time, Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the occasion of the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, which is a truly timely and proper celebration considering that we are still in the middle of the Christmas season, in which we celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Himself, the Son of God Most High, incarnate in the flesh and appearing before all of us, as the perfect manifestation of God’s Love. On this day we honour and remember this Name which has been revealed to us, through the Archangel Gabriel, who revealed the Name of Our Lord and Saviour to Mary, the Lord’s Mother, to be the Name which is above all the other names, a Name by which all of us mankind are to be saved and liberated from all of our sins and bondage.

Today we focus on the importance of why the Most Holy Name of Jesus is so crucial for us all and how it is related to Christmas. It is because through His Incarnation, the Lord Himself has adopted our human existence, and as He has been born as a Child as all of us are, therefore, He has been given a name, just as Adam and Eve, our first ancestors had been given names by the Lord, and all of us ever since, in our own languages and terms. This is because it is by our name that we are known and called by others, and it is therefore by having been given a Name, the Lord may be known to us and revealed fully in His love and kindness. Through the Most Holy Name of Jesus, all of us have been liberated and freed from all bondage of sin and death.

Now, the Lord actually does have a Name, as if we read through the Old Testament and know about the history of the Israelites and how they perceive God, the Lord God was known as YHVH or Yahweh, also known as Tetragrammaton. This Holy Name of God was not meant to be pronounced or uttered, as it was considered a taboo for anyone to utter it, in any occasion. The only person who could utter the Holy Name of God was only the High Priest, and even so, he could only utter the Holy Name of God on a particular occasion in the year, as he entered into the Holy of Holies to meet with the Lord and be in His Presence. This is also related to the Third Commandment of the Ten Commandments that God had given to the people of Israel, which is ‘Keep holy the Name of the Lord’.

This is related to just how holy and mighty the Lord is, and how He has been perceived throughout the Old Testament, that even His Name cannot be uttered by us mankind, because of the sins we have committed which made us to be unworthy and separated from His love and grace. However, this is where then what the Lord had done for us through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, has made Himself more available and approachable to us. How is that so, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because by Him adopting our human flesh, nature and existence, He has come into our midst, becoming tangible, real and approachable to each and every one of us. His Name, Jesus, which the Archangel Gabriel revealed to Mary, is therefore a Name that we all can call, as the Name of Our Lord and Saviour, the Name in Whom we all hold on to hope for salvation in God.

Yet, while the Name of Jesus, unlike God’s Name in the Old Testament, is a Name that we can invoke, call upon and relate, or utter in our daily lives, at the same time, we must also not forget that this is still the Holy Name of God that we must always honour and respect above all and every other names, and which we should accord respect and honour even greater to the honour and respect that we give to ourselves. Why is that so? That is because through Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, God had endeavoured to reach out to us and to bring us all to His redemption. God did not want us to be separated from Him, and hence, He gave us all His beloved Son, Jesus, by Whose Name all of us have received the assurance of eternal life and redemption.

We are all reminded that we all should appreciate and use the Name of Jesus with proper respect, honour and decorum, and not to utter or call His Name in vain. We must not be misusing the Lord’s Name or taking Him for granted, just as how many of us often take His Name lightly, and in some cases, even using His Name in curses and profanities, which are definitely not appropriate at all. One of the reason why people are losing their faith in God is because we have lost the sense of sanctity of God in our lives today, and this happened exactly because we have chosen to treat Him with disdain and did not honour and respect Him as we should have, and when we treat His Name without proper decorum and understanding just how powerful His Name is.

As St. Paul said in our second reading today, in his Epistle to the Philippians, that this is the Name by which all the knees of those in the Heaven, on earth or below the earth, in the underworld, essentially in all Creation and all of the Universe, shall bend, kneel and prostrate themselves. Even the devil, our great enemy, Satan the deceiver had to subject himself to the power of God, and in the Most Holy Name of Jesus is indeed among the most powerful weapon we have against Him, because through the Most Holy Name of Jesus, all those who seek to oppose us, shall be conquered, vanquished and defeated. This is why we must never take the Lord’s Holy Name for granted and we have to honour and respect it, as truly befitting our Lord, Master and King.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore put our hope and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, ever being reminded that in Him alone there is hope in the darkness of our world, and in His Name alone there is healing, liberation and freedom from the darkness of evil and sin. Let us all therefore strive to do our best in loving God and in entrusting ourselves to Him so that in everything that we all say and do, we will always be aligned to the Lord and His path, and continue to walk ever more righteously and with commitment to Him, at all times. May God bless us always and may He empower us all, to live in His Presence, entrusting ourselves to His Most Holy Name, now and forevermore. Amen.