Second Week of Ordinary Time

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Monday, 16 January 2017 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we heard from the Epistle to the Hebrews, about the meaning of the holy priesthood, as a vocation and calling for all those who have chosen to dedicate themselves and their whole lives to the Lord, and among these priests, God had chosen His high priests, those whom He entrusted with the leadership among the people, through whom He would exercise His power and authority, and through whose actions, the people would be absolved from their sins and be reconciled with God.

And unlike all the other high priests, which offered again and again for the sake of the people’s sins, God had appointed One to be the Eternal High Priest for all, and He is none other than Jesus Christ, the long promised Saviour of the whole world, the Divine Word of God Who was incarnate into the person of the Son of Man, through Mary His mother. It was through Him that God willed to make all of mankind, all those whom He loves, to be saved and liberated from their sins, that is from our sins.

While the high priests of old were told to sacrifice and offer the gifts of animal blood, fats and other sacrificial goods, the Lord showed them all that all these were incapable of offering complete and total reconciliation between mankind and their God. It is only the complete obedience of the Son of God, Who willingly offered Himself, through His Most Precious Body and Blood, that all of mankind are able to access the salvation which He guaranteed to all those who believe in Him.

In the Gospel today we heard about Jesus our Lord Who chided the Pharisees and the disciples of St. John the Baptist, who compared themselves to His own disciples, as those two groups did what was prescribed in the laws of the people of God as originally passed down to them from Moses, who received them from God. They questioned Jesus because they thought that it was improper for His disciples not following the commandments of the Law.

But in all that, there lies a misunderstanding of the true Law of God. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law in particular became obsessed with the minute details of the Law, in how they should be observed, to the smallest details. They were very particular in enforcing them, to the point that it was often they did not do them while knowing what was the original purpose of the Law of God.

Take for example, the practice of fasting, which was done to express mourning, grieving and also most importantly, the regret and the desire for repentance for one’s sins and wrongdoings. And yet, as Jesus mentioned in another part of the Gospels, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had used fasting as a pretext to advance their own interests and to make themselves look good before the people.

They paraded around, showing their fasting and other supposedly pious acts to be seen by others, so that they would be praised and gained prestige as well as fame among the people. But that was as we can see, not the intention of the Law. That is why Jesus came into this world, to straighten up all those who have erred and bent the purposes of the Law, revealing to them all the new path that He brought with Him.

That was what Jesus meant when He related to all of them the parable of the wine and the wineskins. Old wine is not meant to be put into a new wineskin, as they are incompatible with each other. The same applies to new wine that is placed into old wineskins. And Jesus also added up with another example, the parable of old cloth and new cloth. Old cloth cannot be used to patch up new cloth and vice versa.

It means that, the ways of the Lord are not compatible with the ways of the world. And similarly therefore, sin is incompatible with God, and indeed, sin is incompatible with all of us being Christians. We should not follow the example of those Pharisees who claimed to serve God, and yet in reality, they are serving only their own desires and purposes.

It is inappropriate for us all to call ourselves as Christians if we do not live a genuine Christian life through our actions and deeds. That is why, because our Lord Jesus had shown us the path that we ought to take in order to reach out to Him, and as also by His own obedience to the will of His Father, He as our Eternal High Priest had saved us all, therefore, all of us should also obey Him and walk in His ways.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us reflect on this, and think about what we as Christians are still able to do in our lives in order to have a Christ-like attitude and thus live a genuine Christian living. It is only then by our obedience to the Law and by following the examples of Christ that we will be true witnesses for our Lord, and many more people, both inside and outside the Church, will come to believe in the Lord as well, and be saved together with us.

May the Lord be with us all in our journey of life, and may He strengthen the faith inside each and every one of us, that we may emulate in full faith, the examples of our High Priest, Who is also our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, for our salvation and the redemption of the whole world. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 16 January 2017 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Mark 2 : 18-22

At that time, one day, when the Pharisees and the disciples of John the Baptist were fasting, some people asked Jesus, “Why is it that both the Pharisees and the disciples of John fast, but Yours do not?”

Jesus answered, “How can the wedding guests fast while the Bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the Bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But the day will come when the Bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.”

“No one sews a piece of new cloth on an old coat, because the new patch will shrink and tear away from the old cloth, making a worse tear. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins, for the wine would burst the skins, and then both the wine and the skins would be lost. But new wine, new skins!”

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Monday, 16 January 2017 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 109 : 1, 2, 3, 4

The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand till I make Your foes Your footstool.”

From Zion the Lord will extend Your mighty sceptre and You will rule in the midst of Your enemies.

Yours is royal dignity from the day You were born in holy majesty. Like dew from the womb of the dawn, I have begotten You.

The Lord has sworn, and He will not take back His word : “You are a Priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

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Monday, 16 January 2017 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Hebrews 5 : 1-10

Every High Priest is taken from among mortals and appointed to be their representative before God to offer gifts and sacrifices for sin. He is able to understand the ignorant and erring for he himself is subject to weakness. This is why he is bound to offer sacrifices for his sins as well as for the sins of the people.

Besides, one does not presume to take this dignity, but takes it only when called by God, as Aaron was. Nor did Christ become High Priest in taking upon Himself this dignity, but it was given to Him by the One Who says : You are My Son, I have begotten You today. And in another place : You are a Priest forever in the priestly order of Melchizedek.

Christ, in the days of His mortal life, offered His sacrifice with tears and cries. He prayed to Him Who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His humble submission. Although He was Son, He learnt through suffering what obedience was, and once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for those who obey Him. This is how God proclaimed Him Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

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Sunday, 15 January 2017 : Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this holy day of the Lord, all of us are gathered together to hear about the Lord our God, His love for us, and His resolve to gather us all who have been estranged from Him and from His love, that all of us may find salvation in Him and through Him. For it is the love of God which had been made manifest through Jesus Christ, His Son, which had become the source of our salvation and grace.

Since the days of the prophet Isaiah, in our first reading today, God had promised His people His upcoming salvation, when He would gather them back into His embrace, and reunite them with Himself, after they had been scattered among the nations because of their sins. This has to be understood in the context of the era, as during the time of the prophet Isaiah, the long sundered northern kingdom of Israel had finally been destroyed by the Assyrians, and many of the northern ten tribes of the Israelites were forced to go into exile in the foreign lands.

It was the rebellion and disobedience of the people of God that led to such a fate, as they worshipped the pagan gods and idols, turning away from the Lord their God. They committed all forms of wicked acts and sins, fornicating themselves in adultery and in acts unworthy of those whom God had chosen to be His own people, to be His own children. They made others and their own descendants to sin against God.

The people of the kingdom of Judah, the southern kingdom, would themselves be brought into exile by the Babylonians, as they were also disobedient, refusing to turn away from sin, and even though God had sent prophets after prophets, messengers after messengers, they refused to believe in His message, and rejected His offer of mercy and forgiveness. They and their kings continued to trust on themselves and in the comforts of worldliness.

Through this we can see that, those who do not put their trust in God, and prefer instead to walk on their own will be scattered, and they will lose their way. They will not be able to stand against the forces of this world. And the only result out of sin and disobedience will be sorrow, pain and suffering, for it is only in God that we shall find true and everlasting peace, as well as rest and succour from all of our worldly troubles.

But ultimately, we have to remember the simple fact that while we are often unfaithful, wayward and defiant in our ways, God is always faithful to us, to the covenant which He had made with our forefathers, and which He had renewed with them many times, and last of all, which He renewed with all of us through none other than Jesus Christ, His only Son. For Jesus is the Mediator of the New and everlasting Covenant, through which God wants to make all of us as the recipients of His love and grace.

God is always willing and ready to forgive us, but are we willing to be forgiven by God? Rather, are we willing to approach Him and to ask Him for His generous mercy? Or are we instead too proud and arrogant, to think that we have been mistaken and are in need of forgiveness? If God has allowed Himself to become Man and to suffer for our sake, so that He may forgive us our sins and heal us from our afflictions, then should we not make the effort to allow His grace and forgiveness to enter our lives and transform us?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all as Christians be role model for all of our brethren. We should be the ones to show others the way to the Lord, through our humble supplication and submission before God, through our devotion and commitment to Him and to His ways. We should show others how we ought to follow the Lord, and obey His laws, by practicing them through our own actions and deeds.

After all, no one will believe in us if we ask them to believe in God, and yet in our actions we are no different from all those who have disobeyed the Lord and abandoned Him those years ago, the people of Israel and Judah. We must lead by example, and show to each other the living proof of the love of Christ our Lord. We are the bearers of His love, and the witnesses of His truth, so it is imperative that each and every one of us must walk the talk, as Christians, to commit ourselves to acts of love fitting for those who call themselves children of our Lord, Whose great love for us enabled Him to forgive us our many sins.

May the Lord continue to love us and bless us, and may He, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be the Light of our lives, showing us the way forward, that we will always remain in the path towards righteousness and justice. May He bless us and keep us all in His grace, that we will be found ever worthy and good when He comes again as He has promised, and He will then bless us with the gift of everlasting life and glory in His presence. Amen.

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Sunday, 15 January 2017 : Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
John 1 : 29-34

At that time, the next day John saw Jesus coming towards him, and said, “There is the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world! It is He of Whom I said : A Man comes after me, Who is already ahead of me, for He was before me. I myself did not know Him, but I came baptising to prepare for Him, so that He might be revealed in Israel.”

And John also gave this testimony, “I saw the Spirit coming down on Him like a dove from heaven, and resting on Him. I myself did not know Him, but God, Who sent me to baptise, told me, “You will see the Spirit coming down, and resting, on the One Who baptises with the Holy Spirit.’ Yes, I have seen! And I declare that this is the Chosen One of God!”

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Sunday, 15 January 2017 : Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
1 Corinthians 1 : 1-3

From Paul, called to be an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and from Sosthenes, our brother, to God’s Church which is in Corinth; to you whom God has sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with those who everywhere call upon the Name of our Lord Christ Jesus, their Lord and ours.

Receive grace and peace from God our Father, and Christ Jesus our Lord.

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Sunday, 15 January 2017 : Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 39 : 2 and 4ab, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10

With resolve I waited for the Lord; He listened and heard me beg. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of prayer to our God.

Sacrifice and oblation You did not desire; this You had me understand. Burnt offering and sin offering You do not require. Then I said, “Here I come!”

“As the scroll says of me. To do Your will is my delight, o God, for Your law is within my heart.”

In the great assembly I have proclaimed Your saving help. My lips, o Lord, I did not seal – You know that very well.

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Sunday, 15 January 2017 : Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green
Isaiah 49 : 3, 5-6

YHVH said to me, “You are Israel, My servant. Through you I will be known.”

And now YHVH has spoken, He Who formed me in the womb to be His servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, to gather Israel to Him. He said : “It is not enough that you be My servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob, to bring back the remnant of Israel. I will make you the light of the nations, that My salvation will reach to the ends of the earth.”

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Saturday, 23 January 2016 : 2nd Week of Ordinary Time, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard of the sorrowful mention of the death of the king of Israel, Saul and his son Jonathan in a battle between the Israelites and their Philistine enemies at Mount Gilboa. And David was particularly devastated to hear such a horrible news, and he mourned for them with the people who were with him.

Even though Saul and David were rivals for the throne of Israel, both of them having been anointed as the king of Israel, but David did not let the jealousy and rivalry of power between them to make him bitter and filled with anger as what had happened with Saul. He continued to be loyal to Saul and treated him as his king, even though the Lord had made it known to him that he was to be the one to replace Saul as the king of Israel.

In our thoughts, we would have thought of David as someone who was foolish and out of his mind, as in the eyes of the world, and in our common understanding, it would be difficult to imagine how someone with such an opportunity and with such situation would have done as what David had done. When he was given the golden opportunity to kill Saul, as he was fast asleep in one occasion without knowing that David and his men were around, David declined to seize the opportunity and instead he even chose the opportunity to renew his loyalty to the king.

People would have indeed thought that this man had lost his mind or was a fool who acted in ways contrary to the norms of this world. But indeed, it was precisely because he acted in this manner that he was great in the sight and in the presence of God. God chose David as king because He knew that in David’s heart, he was much like Him, and even with his imperfections and faults, he would try to love the Lord with all of his strength and might.

In the same way therefore, as we see in the Gospel today, how people ridiculed Jesus, even those who were His own relatives. They thought that He was out of His mind, doing things as He had done, which seemed to go against every norms and all notions of what were expected in the society at that time. After all, Who in the right mind would have abandoned everything, going up the mountains and from cities to cities to preach the word of God?

But all these serve to show all of us, that the ways of this world are often fundamentally different from the ways of our Lord. While this world praise and worship individualism, freedom of self, selfishness, desire and affluence, in the presence of God, all of our human and worldly might and power truly seem very insignificant and meaningless.

Let us all spend some time to think and reflect about this matter. There are many people who have devoted themselves, their lives and their time in order to pursue greater things for themselves, be it in money, possessions, fame or influence in the society. And yet, how many of them ever stopped to think what would happen to all of these when they pass away? They will not carry all of these things with them.

Therefore, let us all also examine our own lives and see how we have lived this life. Have we also been preoccupied with such pursuits? Have we been to busy to look at ourselves and in trying to make ourselves look better in the eyes and perception of others that we forget about the many things that we are able to do to to benefit others around us? As Christians it is our responsibility to take care and love one another, and if we profess to be the Lord’s disciple, then I think it is time that we show it with concrete action.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us renew our efforts and strengthen our resolve, so that our lives will be filled with the love of God, and faith will become the foundation of our lives. May God bless us and keep us within His love and grace forever, and may His light shine forth upon our path. Amen.