Sunday Mass sermon

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Sunday, 17 January 2021 : Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday as we celebrate the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, all of us heard the words of the Lord through the Sacred Scriptures reminding us that all of us have been called and chosen by Him and we are all called to respond to His call for us to follow Him and to be His disciples. And this is in essence, what it truly means for us to be Christians, that we devote ourselves to the Lord and do what He has commanded us to do, His will and commandments.

In our first reading today we heard of the calling of the prophet Samuel when he was merely just a young boy in the care of Eli, the Judge and leader of Israel. The Lord called Samuel, who was sleeping and was still so young that he had not yet comprehend who the Lord truly was. He thought that Eli had called him and came to ask him again and again, only for Eli eventually to realise that the Lord had called Samuel. And Samuel answered the Lord call innocently and honestly, and God was with him through his life from then on.

Samuel would become a great leader over all of Israel succeeding Eli, as Judge and Leader, as well as a great Prophet and also a Priest of the Lord, for Jewish tradition stated that he belonged to the tribe of Levi. Samuel dedicated his life to the Lord, guiding and shepherding all of the Israelites through difficult moments, especially when they fell into sin and disobeyed the Lord. He gave Israel their first king when he anointed Saul as the king of Israel after the people complained and insisted to have a king over them. And even still he did not stop doing works for the sake of the people.

All the more in fact Samuel’s work grew as we should know how king Saul eventually disobeyed the Lord and became unfaithful. Samuel often stood up against Saul and rebuked him for his unfaithfulness, something that must have indeed required a lot of courage and faith, which Samuel had in his service to the Lord and His people. Samuel anointed David as king over Israel to replace Saul, and although he was to disappear from the records of the Scripture not long afterwards, likely as he was already very old at that time, but his contributions to the people of God cannot indeed be underestimated.

In our Gospel reading then we heard of the calling of the first disciples by the Lord, when He came to the River Jordan and was baptised by St. John the Baptist, and then the latter revealed to two of his own disciples Who Jesus really was, the Lamb of God and promised Messiah or Saviour of the world. Those disciples, one of whom was St. Andrew the Apostle, then decided to follow the Lord and asked Him firstly where He stayed.

The Lord then asked them to follow Him, and from then on, they were convinced by the Lord, and St. Andrew introduced Him to his brother Simon, as well as the other fishermen, the brothers St. James and St. John, the sons of Zebedee. St. Andrew introduced the Lord as the Messiah, the Saviour of the world. The Lord called them to follow Him as well, and they all followed the Lord as well, leaving behind their boats and professions, and walked with God from then on.

The Lord gave Simon a new name, that is Cephas, the Aramaic word for ‘stone’, which is Greek is Petros, and in Latin, Petrus, and thus, henceforth, he would be known as St. Peter the Apostle. They all followed the Lord, and with other followers and disciples, listened to the Lord, did what He asked them to do, and eventually, after His Passion, death and Resurrection, were commissioned and sent to the many peoples of the nations, establishing the Church of God.

In those two readings therefore we heard of the Lord calling His people to follow Him, with the example of Samuel, when he was but just a young boy, and then the poor fishermen of Galilee, the brothers Andrew and Simon Peter, James and John the sons of Zebedee. They all acted on the Lord’s call, responded, not just with words, but with action and eventually, a lifetime of dedication and commitment. Samuel dedicated his whole life to serve the Lord, and all the brothers-turned-Apostles mentioned suffered martyrdom for their faith and dedication.

How about us all then, brothers and sisters in Christ? The Lord has called us all as well, through our common baptism. As we become part of the Church through baptism, we have had a share in the same calling and mission entrusted by the Lord to His Apostles and followers, especially the Great Commission, to ‘go forth to the nations and be witnesses of the Lord and His Good News, and to baptise all in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.’

All of us share in this same mission by our common baptism, and all of us are urged to be active in contributing ourselves to the works of the Church, and to live our lives as good and faithful Christians at all times and in all things. We cannot call ourselves as Christians unless we are active in living our faith, and doing whatever we can to commit ourselves to the good cause of the Lord. Otherwise, we are no better than hypocrites who believe one thing and then act in a different and even contradictory way.

Then, if we are all wondering if we are up to the task of doing what we have been called to do, we should look no further than those whom the Lord Himself had called. Samuel was just merely a boy when he was called, while the fishermen of Galilee were illiterate, poor, unknown and had no prior experience in the faith. They had little knowledge of the Scriptures and little wealth or means to support themselves. But that was where then they learnt to trust in the Lord, to allow the Lord to lead and guide them, to teach them and show them the way to go to.

That was also the contrast between them and the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who were highly educated and highly knowledgeable on the Scriptures and the teachings of the prophets and the elders. Many of them refused to believe in the Lord and follow Him because they presumed that they knew more and better than others. It was this ego and pride that became stumbling block in their way to the Lord. But some among them, like Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea and others, they were humble and willing to listen to the Lord, and thus, were counted among the Lord’s disciples themselves.

We can see that one does not have to be qualified and capable to follow the Lord. A poor man can be a disciple just as a rich man can, a man without education or much knowledge, intellect or abilities can be a follower of the Lord just as a smart or genius can, and a sinner, no matter how great, can also be a follower of the Lord, provided that the sinner is willing to abandon his or her sinful ways, turn their back against their past, wicked ways, and embrace the Lord fully and be His true disciple.

Aren’t all of us sinners too, brothers and sisters in Christ? Whether our sins be small or great, in some way or another, we have sinned against Him, and even after we have been baptised, we may end up falling again and again into sin through the many temptations present all around us. But this should not discourage us from embracing the Lord and responding to His call. Just as He has called His disciples from all sorts of origins, and some, like His own Apostles, were sinners, and committed sins and faults, like how St. Peter denied the Lord three times at His Passion, and how the others abandoned Him at the same time, no disciple of the Lord is perfect.

Instead, we must allow the Lord to take our imperfections, and allow Him to lead us down the path towards perfection in Him. For the Lord made worthy those whom He had chosen, and not we who make ourselves worthy for the Lord. If we think that we are more worthy than others, that is when we allow pride and ego, jealousy and ambition to cloud our thoughts and judgments, distracting us from our true intention and purpose of following God. Rather, we should focus on the Lord and our faith in Him, and discern in what way we can contribute for the work of the Church.

We should make use of this opportunity to make use of whatever God has given us to be the true witnesses of our Christian faith, by being exemplary in life and in all the things we do, in our every interactions and in even the smallest actions we carry out daily. In our second reading today, St. Paul reminded all of us that we are all the Temples of God’s Holy Presence, the Temples of the Holy Spirit. By our baptism, the Lord Himself has dwelled among us, and being present within us. Therefore, we should do our very best to uphold an exemplary Christian life, one that is filled with genuine action and righteousness.

Let us all not worry about how we are going to follow the Lord. Have faith in the Lord and entrust ourselves in His hands just as how the Apostles had done, and He will lead us down the right path. And the Lord will make us all worthy, strengthening and empowering us to do what He wants us to do, in glorifying His Name and proclaiming His truth in the world today. Let us all be the beacons of God’s light, living an honest and good Christian living that our lives will become genuine examples and inspiration for others to follow.

May the Lord Who calls us to be His disciples be with us always and bless us in our every good efforts and endeavours, that we may serve Him from now on, in leading more and more souls to the salvation in God, continuing the good works began by the Apostles and faithful servants of God, following Him faithfully like them and the prophet Samuel of old. Amen.

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Sunday, 10 January 2021 : Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday marks the last day of the liturgical season of Christmas as beginning tomorrow we will begin the Ordinary Time that will last up to the day before Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent. And today as mentioned, we recall the extraordinary occasion of the Lord’s baptism at the Jordan by St. John the Baptist, marking the beginning of His ministry in this world.

On this day, we remember that moment when the Lord came to the River Jordan, asking St. John the Baptist to do what he was supposed to do, in baptising Him so that by passing through the water of baptism, He may come to share in our baptism and show unto us the depths of God’s amazing love for each and every one of us. Through the Lord’s baptism, all of us are brought closer to experience the fullness of the truth about God’s love.

We may be wondering why is it that the Lord had to undergo His baptism at the Jordan, because the baptism of St. John was the baptism of repentance, of the desire of man to turn back against their sinful and wicked ways, and embrace God’s love and grace. But the Lord was without any sin, and sin has no place in Him, so how is it then that the Lord asked for baptism from St. John?

This was precisely also why St. John was completely taken by surprise when the Lord asked him to baptise Him, and in fact St. John told the Lord that it was Him Who was supposed to baptise him, a human and a sinner as he was, even though he was indeed the Herald of the Saviour. St. John the Baptist himself had said that he was unworthy to even untie the sandals of the Lord, Who would come after him.

And here we see the Lord instead humbling Himself and abasing Himself so lowly that He was willing to take the place and position of a servant and a sinner, by asking to be baptised by St. John. Through His baptism, the Lord showed us that He truly wants to reach out to us, and to rescue us from our sins. And by this baptism, the Lord revealed before all, what He would do in order to save us all.

We celebrate this Feast of the Baptism of the Lord just right after the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord because traditionally together with the events of the Epiphany, as well as the Wedding at Cana, the Lord manifested and revealed Himself, His nature and the purpose of His coming into this world to all of us plainly, revealed before all of us that we may come to know of the infinite love of God.

The Lord at His Baptism was revealed by the Father Himself to be His Son, as the heavens were opened and the Lord’s voice was heard, ‘This is My Son, My Beloved, My favour rests on Him’. And a dove came down on the Lord, descending on Him from the Father, the symbol of the descent of the Holy Spirit. And therefore, at that very moment, the Lord did not just reveal His Son to be the Saviour of all, but also His nature as a God in the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

At Christmas, we have seen the salvation of our God coming down to us in the flesh, born as Man, through the will of the Father and by the power of the Holy Spirit through Mary, the Mother of God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. In Our Lord, Jesus Christ, we have therefore seen the perfect manifestation of God’s love and His desire to save us all mankind, to make us whole again and to heal us from our predicaments and bondage to sin.

Now that we all know of how fortunate we are to have been beloved by God and how we have received this share in the glory and salvation in God through our own Christian baptism, sharing in the baptism of Christ, then we must reflect on just how important our baptism is to us, and what is meant for us to be Christians, having been brought into the Church through the holy water of baptism.

Through baptism, all of us have received a share in Christ, sharing in His humanity and in all that He had suffered, as He gathered all of our sins and their consequences to Himself, all nailed to the Cross as He suffered and eventually died. And through our baptism, we have been led through the waters, just as the Israelites of old passed through the Red Sea on their journey from slavery into freedom.

Thus, we have died to our old lives of sin and bondage to those sins, and brought through the power of God, via the holy waters of our Baptismal sacrament, and became new, free sons and daughters of mankind, and also becoming the children of God, by adoption because if Christ is the Son of God, then all of us who share in the humanity of Christ also become sons and daughters of God.

And as God’s beloved children and the people of the Light of God, today as we recall in the Lord’s baptism, marking the beginning of His ministry in this world, all of us are then reminded of the great commission that the Lord Himself has entrusted to us, to all baptised Christians and members of His Church. This commission is for us to go forth to the nations and baptise all in the Name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

What does this mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It means that all of us must be the bearers of God’s truth and love to the nations, to all the people as members and parts of the Church. There are still so many people out there who have not yet received God’s truth and appreciate or know God’s love, unlike what we have ourselves received and experienced. And it is indeed up to us to share and reveal what we know to others.

How do we do this, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is not by loud words and proclamations, but rather through our every actions in life, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem to be. Even the smallest actions can either make people to come to believe in God through us, or to push people away from God and His salvation. It is by all these that we can either inspire or prevent people from coming to God.

We can become genuine and good witnesses of our Christian faith through our dedication and faithful actions, in showing love and kindness, compassion and empathy to others whenever we can, in showing care and concern for those who need them, in loving sincerely and generously just as the Lord has loved us. Or have we instead caused scandal for our faith by our immoral and wicked actions?

These are some things that we really need to think about and consider carefully as we proceed in life. That is why, as we end this season of Christmas and begin the season of Ordinary Time, are we going to make these next few weeks be truly ordinary, brothers and sisters in Christ? Although they are called the days and season of the Ordinary Time, by no means in fact that they should be ordinary.

Rather, it means that it is time for us to get our actions ready and to do something, to participate as we should in the good works of the Church, just as the Lord Himself began His ministry after His baptism. Baptism is not the end of our faith journey, brothers and sisters in Christ, but it is in fact the beginning of a new journey, a journey filled with God’s grace and blessed by Him.

Let us all therefore commit ourselves from now on, brothers and sisters in Christ, to be fully dedicated to the Lord at all times, and to do whatever we can with the time and the opportunities given to us. Let us all contribute to the good works of the Church, and be faithful and genuine witnesses of Christ through our lives, and through how we touch the lives of others positively, at all times. May God bless us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 6 January 2021 : Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, one of the most important celebrations of the Liturgical Year. This Solemnity of the Epiphany celebrates the revelation of the Messiah or the Saviour of the world to all the nations and the peoples of the world. The word Epiphany came from the Greek word ‘Epiphaneia’, which means revelation and manifestation.

That is why today, on this celebration of the Epiphany of the Lord, we focus our attention on the manifestation and revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, Saviour of the whole world to all the nations, represented by the Holy Magi or the Wise Men. That is why the celebration of the Epiphany is closely tied to the Three Wise Men or Magi, and in the Gospel we heard of the account of their visit to the Lord at His manger in Bethlehem, guided by the bright Star of Bethlehem.

The Magi saw the Star of Bethlehem from afar as a very prominent and bright star, and as they were educated and intelligent people who perhaps dwelled in astrology and other studies, they knew that a very prominent event was about to happen, and in this case, it was the upcoming birth and arrival of the Saviour of the world as prophesied by the many prophets and wise men throughout the centuries and millennia past.

They undertook the very long and arduous journey from their respective lands, as was common at that time, travelling a long time and enduring difficult conditions to reach the place pointed at by the Star. Although their names were not recorded in the Scriptures, but according to the Church traditions, their names were Caspar or Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar or Balthazar. Their places of origin were often given as India, Persia and Arabia or other relatively distant places.

We heard of how they came to king Herod, the ruler of the land, both to ask for advice and direction, as well as to courteously seek permission to find the One prophesied and shown by the Star, which happened to be in the land under the rule of the king. Herod however became immediately suspicious and fearful over the news of a rival King that would come into the world, fearing that this King would seize the power and authority from him and his family.

King Herod the Great himself was in fact not a Jew or descendant of the Israelites, but rather a Nabatean, one of the neighbouring people of the Israelites. He also seized power from the rightful rulers of the land, the Hasmoneans in a coup engineered and supported by the Romans, who then came to be overlords of the region. As such, king Herod the Great always felt very insecure in his reign, and this news of the coming of a new King certainly unsettled him a lot.

Nonetheless, the Magi managed to get his permission, regardless of the vicious plots that Herod would later on execute in trying to destroy this new threat to his reign as king. The Magi eventually came to Bethlehem after a long journey and saw the King of kings, the One shown to them by the Star and prophesied by the prophets, and they recognised Him and paid Him homage.

And now I want to bring all of our attentions to the gifts that each of the Magi brought before the Lord in homage and submission. Each of these gifts were precious on their own and had great symbolic meaning and importance. The gift of gold, frankincense and myrrh had greater symbolic meaning than what their earthly values might have shown, and it revealed to us all, Who the Lord that the Magi had paid homage to, truly is.

First of all, the gift of gold signifies royalty and kingship, as gold at that time symbolises glory and wealth just as it is still the case today. Therefore this gift of gold signifies that the Lord was truly a King, and indeed not just like any other kings of this world, but the one True King of all, the King of Kings and Lord of lords. He has come into this world as King but not behaving like other kings, for instead of seeking to be served, He came to serve His people, His beloved ones.

Then, the gift of frankincense has two important meaning, first being a symbol of Christ’s role as the High Priest of all, the one True and Eternal High Priest signifying how He would offer the perfect sacrifice and offering to redeem us from our sins, and be the worthy sacrifice and absolution from our shortcomings. Incense is usually used by the priests as the offering of prayers to the gods, and in this way, it emphasised Christ’s High Priest role.

Frankincense then is also a mark of Christ’s divinity, for when offered to Him in homage by the Magi, this offering of the finest quality incense signified the sanctity of God, that the Child born of Mary in Bethlehem was not just a mere Man or a mere Child. He is God Himself in the flesh, possessing two distinct but inseparable natures of Man and Divine concurrently in the person of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour.

Last of all, is the gift of myrrh from the Magi. On a hindsight, the gift of myrrh is truly a bewildering one given that while myrrh is an expensive commodity and spice highly sought after and rare, but it was also commonly used in the preservation and embalming of dead bodies, which is why given that this was presented to the Child Jesus, it might have been strange at a glance.

However, the myrrh is an important reminder and revelation of the role that the Lord would take up in fulfilling His ministry, as the precursor and sign to His Passion, suffering and death on the Cross. The myrrh therefore marked the great sacrifice and love of God for us all that He would even suffer and go through the most terrible pain and humiliation for our sake, unto death for us.

The gifts of the Magi, the gold, frankincense and myrrh therefore revealed the true nature of the Lord and Saviour, He Who is King over all and the Lord over all things, Who is also the Most High and Almighty God, and at the same time, also the Eternal High Priest of all creation, having been incarnate as Man, and through His humanity united to His divinity, He would suffer for our sake, bearing His Cross of love, that through His suffering and death, all are to be saved from their sins and from the eternal damnation.

The Lord has revealed Himself to the Jews, to His own people at the moment of His presentation and circumcision at the Temple of God, and then now, as celebrated in this Epiphany, He has also revealed Himself and His intentions to the non-Jewish people as well, showing that everything He has promised, He would do for everyone without bias or regard for their race or origin, their status or descent among others. All are equally beloved by God, and He is the Lord and Saviour of all.

On this Solemnity of the Epiphany, we are therefore brought to focus on the Lord’s ever present love for each and every one of us, and reminded of the same love that He has showered on us from the very beginning. Through Christ all of us have seen the salvation of God, and while once we were in the darkness, but through Him and our faith in Him, hope has been restored to us, and we have been strengthened and rejuvenated as God’s beloved children once again.

On this day as we focus on the revelation of the Lord to the nations, as He has shown Himself to the Magi, let us all remember the dedication and commitment of the Magi who answered the Lord’s call and sought for Him as they braved the dangers of the long journey just so that they might pay homage to Him and to worship Him. Their faith is an inspiration to all of us, just as according to the Church traditions, the Magi lived to old age and became Christians themselves, and took part in their respective ministry until their lives’ end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, on this Solemnity of the Epiphany, are we willing and able to follow in the footsteps of the Magi and seek the Lord with renewed zeal and love for Him? Are we willing to renew our faith and commitment to the Lord, that we may ourselves be inspiration for our fellow brothers and sisters, and through us, we may inspire even more people and call more people to the Lord’s salvation and grace? This is our calling as Christians, brothers and sisters in Christ.

Let us all inspire each other to be ever more faithful to God in all things that we may truly be worthy to call ourselves as Christians and bear the Light of Christ within ourselves. May our actions and deeds, our words and interactions be like the bright Star of Bethlehem shining its bright light in the darkness of the world. Let us all bear faithful witness to our Lord and Saviour, for all the love and commitment He has shown us all these while.

May God, our Lord, King, High Priest and Saviour, revealed and manifested to the whole world, be our Light and Guide, and may He be our Strength as we continue to walk faithfully in His presence in this world bearing witness to His truth and love. May He bless us all in our every good endeavours and works, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 3 January 2021 : Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, one of the most important celebrations of the Liturgical Year. This Solemnity of the Epiphany celebrates the revelation of the Messiah or the Saviour of the world to all the nations and the peoples of the world. The word Epiphany came from the Greek word ‘Epiphaneia’, which means revelation and manifestation.

That is why today, on this celebration of the Epiphany of the Lord, we focus our attention on the manifestation and revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, Saviour of the whole world to all the nations, represented by the Holy Magi or the Wise Men. That is why the celebration of the Epiphany is closely tied to the Three Wise Men or Magi, and in the Gospel we heard of the account of their visit to the Lord at His manger in Bethlehem, guided by the bright Star of Bethlehem.

The Magi saw the Star of Bethlehem from afar as a very prominent and bright star, and as they were educated and intelligent people who perhaps dwelled in astrology and other studies, they knew that a very prominent event was about to happen, and in this case, it was the upcoming birth and arrival of the Saviour of the world as prophesied by the many prophets and wise men throughout the centuries and millennia past.

They undertook the very long and arduous journey from their respective lands, as was common at that time, travelling a long time and enduring difficult conditions to reach the place pointed at by the Star. Although their names were not recorded in the Scriptures, but according to the Church traditions, their names were Caspar or Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar or Balthazar. Their places of origin were often given as India, Persia and Arabia or other relatively distant places.

We heard of how they came to king Herod, the ruler of the land, both to ask for advice and direction, as well as to courteously seek permission to find the One prophesied and shown by the Star, which happened to be in the land under the rule of the king. Herod however became immediately suspicious and fearful over the news of a rival King that would come into the world, fearing that this King would seize the power and authority from him and his family.

King Herod the Great himself was in fact not a Jew or descendant of the Israelites, but rather a Nabatean, one of the neighbouring people of the Israelites. He also seized power from the rightful rulers of the land, the Hasmoneans in a coup engineered and supported by the Romans, who then came to be overlords of the region. As such, king Herod the Great always felt very insecure in his reign, and this news of the coming of a new King certainly unsettled him a lot.

Nonetheless, the Magi managed to get his permission, regardless of the vicious plots that Herod would later on execute in trying to destroy this new threat to his reign as king. The Magi eventually came to Bethlehem after a long journey and saw the King of kings, the One shown to them by the Star and prophesied by the prophets, and they recognised Him and paid Him homage.

And now I want to bring all of our attentions to the gifts that each of the Magi brought before the Lord in homage and submission. Each of these gifts were precious on their own and had great symbolic meaning and importance. The gift of gold, frankincense and myrrh had greater symbolic meaning than what their earthly values might have shown, and it revealed to us all, Who the Lord that the Magi had paid homage to, truly is.

First of all, the gift of gold signifies royalty and kingship, as gold at that time symbolises glory and wealth just as it is still the case today. Therefore this gift of gold signifies that the Lord was truly a King, and indeed not just like any other kings of this world, but the one True King of all, the King of Kings and Lord of lords. He has come into this world as King but not behaving like other kings, for instead of seeking to be served, He came to serve His people, His beloved ones.

Then, the gift of frankincense has two important meaning, first being a symbol of Christ’s role as the High Priest of all, the one True and Eternal High Priest signifying how He would offer the perfect sacrifice and offering to redeem us from our sins, and be the worthy sacrifice and absolution from our shortcomings. Incense is usually used by the priests as the offering of prayers to the gods, and in this way, it emphasised Christ’s High Priest role.

Frankincense then is also a mark of Christ’s divinity, for when offered to Him in homage by the Magi, this offering of the finest quality incense signified the sanctity of God, that the Child born of Mary in Bethlehem was not just a mere Man or a mere Child. He is God Himself in the flesh, possessing two distinct but inseparable natures of Man and Divine concurrently in the person of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour.

Last of all, is the gift of myrrh from the Magi. On a hindsight, the gift of myrrh is truly a bewildering one given that while myrrh is an expensive commodity and spice highly sought after and rare, but it was also commonly used in the preservation and embalming of dead bodies, which is why given that this was presented to the Child Jesus, it might have been strange at a glance.

However, the myrrh is an important reminder and revelation of the role that the Lord would take up in fulfilling His ministry, as the precursor and sign to His Passion, suffering and death on the Cross. The myrrh therefore marked the great sacrifice and love of God for us all that He would even suffer and go through the most terrible pain and humiliation for our sake, unto death for us.

The gifts of the Magi, the gold, frankincense and myrrh therefore revealed the true nature of the Lord and Saviour, He Who is King over all and the Lord over all things, Who is also the Most High and Almighty God, and at the same time, also the Eternal High Priest of all creation, having been incarnate as Man, and through His humanity united to His divinity, He would suffer for our sake, bearing His Cross of love, that through His suffering and death, all are to be saved from their sins and from the eternal damnation.

The Lord has revealed Himself to the Jews, to His own people at the moment of His presentation and circumcision at the Temple of God, and then now, as celebrated in this Epiphany, He has also revealed Himself and His intentions to the non-Jewish people as well, showing that everything He has promised, He would do for everyone without bias or regard for their race or origin, their status or descent among others. All are equally beloved by God, and He is the Lord and Saviour of all.

On this Solemnity of the Epiphany, we are therefore brought to focus on the Lord’s ever present love for each and every one of us, and reminded of the same love that He has showered on us from the very beginning. Through Christ all of us have seen the salvation of God, and while once we were in the darkness, but through Him and our faith in Him, hope has been restored to us, and we have been strengthened and rejuvenated as God’s beloved children once again.

On this day as we focus on the revelation of the Lord to the nations, as He has shown Himself to the Magi, let us all remember the dedication and commitment of the Magi who answered the Lord’s call and sought for Him as they braved the dangers of the long journey just so that they might pay homage to Him and to worship Him. Their faith is an inspiration to all of us, just as according to the Church traditions, the Magi lived to old age and became Christians themselves, and took part in their respective ministry until their lives’ end.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, on this Solemnity of the Epiphany, are we willing and able to follow in the footsteps of the Magi and seek the Lord with renewed zeal and love for Him? Are we willing to renew our faith and commitment to the Lord, that we may ourselves be inspiration for our fellow brothers and sisters, and through us, we may inspire even more people and call more people to the Lord’s salvation and grace? This is our calling as Christians, brothers and sisters in Christ.

Let us all inspire each other to be ever more faithful to God in all things that we may truly be worthy to call ourselves as Christians and bear the Light of Christ within ourselves. May our actions and deeds, our words and interactions be like the bright Star of Bethlehem shining its bright light in the darkness of the world. Let us all bear faithful witness to our Lord and Saviour, for all the love and commitment He has shown us all these while.

May God, our Lord, King, High Priest and Saviour, revealed and manifested to the whole world, be our Light and Guide, and may He be our Strength as we continue to walk faithfully in His presence in this world bearing witness to His truth and love. May He bless us all in our every good endeavours and works, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 3 January 2021 : Second Sunday after Christmas (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday, the second Sunday in the season of Christmas, we are reminded yet again of the reason why we celebrate this Christmas. We do not rejoice and celebrate because we seek pleasures and joys of this world, or satisfaction for our needs and desires. We rejoice because of the love that God has shown us so wonderfully and generously through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

So great was His love that since the very beginning, He has given us His compassion and love, showering us with mercy and patience throughout the journey. Despite our rebelliousness and sins, He has always continued to love us, even to the greatest of sinners. When Adam and Eve sinned against God, He could easily have annihilated them or condemned them to eternal suffering, but He did not do so.

While He forced them to wander the earth and suffer the consequences of their sins, but at that very same moment He also reassured them that salvation would eventually come for all of them, when He spoke of the Woman through whom the Lord would bring His salvation, crushing the devil, his power and dominion over the world and all the evil and wicked plots he had created against us.

When Cain murdered Abel out of jealousy, the Lord still showed Him mercy and helped him to get away from his predicament, and He rescued Noah and his family on the great Ark when all of the whole world had completely turned against God and dwelled in their wickedness and evil. Then, throughout many years, decades and centuries, again and again He helped His people, making Covenant with His servant Abraham and his descendants.

Throughout the history of mankind, God has always remained faithful to the Covenant He had made with us since the beginning. He has always guided and attempted to lead us to Himself. He has never abandoned us no matter what. Sadly, it was us and our predecessors that had abandoned the Lord and betrayed Him for the temptations and allures of the world. We sought quick satisfaction and comfort, which is why we turned to everything in the world and not to God.

Nonetheless, God remained faithful, and He rescued His people from their troubles, from their slavery in Egypt, guiding them through the Red Sea and destroying their enemies, establishing them in the lands of Promise, and made them prosper. Again and again, when the people disobeyed Him and were stubborn in rebelling against Him, He showed patience and tried to bring them back to His truth and love.

Throughout more and more centuries God continued to take care of His people, and He sent His deliverance to us, fulfilling all the promises He had made from the very beginning. The Lord Himself became Man, assuming our human nature and the existence of our flesh, became fully Man just as He is also fully Divine. In the person of Jesus Christ, exists inseparably two distinct natures, Divine and Man.

This is what the Lord has shown all of us, His enduring love for every single one of us, without exception. The Son of Man and Son of God born in Bethlehem to Mary is the perfect manifestation of this Love. We are celebrating this Christmas because of this, the generosity and wonders of God’s love that never ends, His faithful love and commitment to the Covenant which He had made with all of us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as St. Paul said in his Epistle to the Ephesians as our second reading today, the Lord has revealed His truth to us through Christ, Our Saviour and Lord. He has brought freedom to us through His Son, and most importantly through His most loving and selfless sacrifice on the Cross, by which He established a new and everlasting Covenant with all of us. By His own Blood, He has paid the price of sin and liberated us from eternal death.

Now, what is important is that, each and every one of us as Christians are His followers and believers, that is we believe in all that He has revealed to us, and we believe that He is our Lord and Saviour, our most loving Father and Creator. And now that we have received this truth from Him, our calling and purpose in life is to bear witness to this truth, and to the same hope and love that He has shown us through Christ.

How are we making our Christmas celebrations meaningful and worthwhile, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is not by spending a lot of money and lavish celebrations that we truly rejoice and celebrate this Christmas. Rather, it is by devoting our effort, time and attention to show the love of God in this world, by reaching out with love to all our brethren in need, especially those who are in need of love and compassion.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all make our Christmas celebrations truly meaningful and worthwhile, devoting ourselves to follow the Lord’s calling and do our very best to touch the lives of others, being generous in giving and in loving one another. May the Lord be our Guide, our Strength and our Hope. May He bless each and every one of us and strengthen us with the courage to live virtuously and filled with His love from now on. Amen.

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Sunday, 27 December 2020 : Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday after Christmas, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the Holy Family of Nazareth and Bethlehem, consisting of the Lord Himself as the centre focus of the Holy Family, the Lord, Divine Word Incarnate born as the Son of Mary, the Mother of God, and the foster-son of St. Joseph, who became the legal father of the Lord.

As described in the Scriptures, the story of the Holy Family is truly one that is filled with many wonders for its exemplary nature as a family as well as the challenges and trials that the Holy Family had to endure together against the difficult opposition and the troubles that were facing them, through which the Lord’s opponents wanted to stop the works of God at its infancy.

We heard of how the Holy Family travelled from the small town of Nazareth in Galilee to the city of David, Bethlehem in the land of Judea due to the demands of the census that had been ordered by the Roman Emperor Augustus at that time. St. Joseph had to lead the way and take care of the heavily pregnant Mary on the long journey to Bethlehem, and braved the difficult journey in a largely inhospitable condition along the way. When they reached Bethlehem, there was no inn or lodging available for them and Mary’s delivery time was already due.

They had to take refuge in a cramped and dirty stable outside of Bethlehem, amidst animals and their shepherds. That was where the Lord was born, a King born not in a great palace but in a lowly stable. St. Joseph took good care of Mary and her Child during this period of time, and brought them all to the Temple of God to offer Jesus to the Lord as prescribed by the Law as the firstborn son offered to God. That is how we have our Gospel passage account today of how Jesus was met by Simeon and the prophetess Anna.

Through what Simeon and the prophetess Anna told Mary and St. Joseph, certainly they knew that their family was not going to be a regular or ordinary one, just as the Angel of God had revealed earlier to each one of them of their mission in Mary as the Mother of Messiah and the Son of God, and in St. Joseph the Protector and Patron of the Holy Family respectively. The words of Simeon and Anna again emphasised the gravity and importance of the role that Christ would play in the world, and by extension, the Holy Family along with it.

And not even long after Christ was born, He already had to face a lot of trials and even hatred, from the king of Judea and Galilee, Herod the Great who was threatened by the coming of a new King in the midst of his kingdom and thus wanted Jesus eliminated and destroyed. In his desperation and unwillingness to let go of his pride and greed, Herod ordered the whole infant population of Bethlehem below the age of two to be slaughtered. But God rescued Jesus and the Holy Family, and through St. Joseph’s leadership, went into Egypt until king Herod was dead.

The Holy Family was indeed an exemplary family, with St. Joseph as its head and patron, as a father figure to Our Lord and as the protector of both Mary and the Child Jesus especially during those crucial early years. Mary is the matron of the Holy Family, the mother figure as the Mother of Our Lord and also as the wife to St. Joseph, in a loving marriage blessed by God.

And of course the Lord Himself was the Son in the family, brought up by Mary and St. Joseph in Nazareth after they all returned from Egypt. The Lord listened to both of them and learnt from them many things, from St. Joseph He likely learnt the many crafts and tools, the working of the world, while from Mary, His mother He learnt more about the ethics and the other relations of the world.

The members of the Holy Family loved each other and dedicated themselves for one another, going to the Temple of God to pray and to worship, in which occasion when the Lord was twelve, He purposefully stayed behind at the Temple, and both Mary and St. Joseph were shocked to find that He was not among their return companion. They went back all the way to Jerusalem to find Jesus, and found Him in the Temple.

Again, in that occasion, although the Lord told both Mary and St. Joseph that His place was at His Father’s house, but He listened to them and obeyed them, following them back to Nazareth, and as the Scripture said, continued to grow in wisdom and strength in the sight of the world, until the coming of the days of His ministry, in which, Mary, His mother, followed faithfully along, even all the way to the Cross, and was there by the side of her Son when He died.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we progress through the Christmas season, we should see how important the family is to our Christian faith. As the Child Jesus Himself was born into a loving family and grew up with them together and grew in the faith and wisdom, thus, all of us should also model our families along the examples of the Holy Family, building up a faithful family and a strong family bonded in genuine love.

The Holy Family shows us all that it is indeed possible for us all to have a loving family and a family dedicated to God, anchored in faith and prayer, in love and compassionate care for each other. But are we modelling and living our families like that of the Holy Family? Or have we rather neglected our families and our family members, and treat each other with contempt and lacking in love?

Now let us ask ourselves, how have we been celebrating Christmas as a family? Have we been mainly focused on the material aspects, focusing on the glamour, festivities and all the gifts, the monetary and wealth we have gained and received? Or have we instead been focusing more on the time we spend together as a family? We must all realise that no matter what, nothing can replace the love and time spent together as a family, not even money.

It is indeed sad to see families nowadays that do not even exist coherently or in love, which members were divided against each other, having disputes and bitter disagreements, having conflicts and even causing suffering and to the point of murder and killing the members of your own family. And all these are caused by our weakening family foundation and our lack of faith, as our families have increasingly become more and more corrupted by worldly values and become less centred on Christ and the Holy Family.

The family is indeed the foundation of the faith and the Church, as we must all remember that the house and the family is the domestic church that all the young experience through and that is also where our young ones learn the important values of our faith, through our own actions and implementation of what we have believed as Christians. But many of us often do not do and act in the way that we have professed and believed. As a result therefore, we ended up alienating many of those who became skeptical and doubtful due to our actions.

To many, their first impression of our faith and our life comes from the family, and if our families are functional and good, faithful and committed to God and to one another, then naturally this will lead to better relationships between the members of the family with one another as well as with their Christian faith. On the contrary, if our families never sit together and pray together, and never even talk to each other and are locked with each other in struggles and disagreements, then each of the members of our families will quickly drift apart from our faith, as well as from one another.

The devil knows this well, brothers and sisters in Christ, and that is why, in order to bring about our downfall, he is leading a lot of attacks and assault on the institution of our families. We should not allow him to have a free reign over us and our families, and the best way is by making sure that our families are modelled after the Holy Family. This means that our families should first of all be centred on God, to be Christ-centric in all the things we do.

And then, we should look up to the harmony shown in the Holy Family, of the value of care and love, obedience and care among its members. We should strive to make our families to be like the Holy Family too. If we have been selfish and arrogant, stubborn and easily angered, then let us all learn to be more selfless, be more willing to listen to each other, be more gentle and loving so that as each of the members of the family, we may come together and be more united, blessed and strengthened by the love of God in the face of many trials and challenges we may have to face as faithful Christian families in our world today.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all deepen our relationship with one another, especially with our family members, and let us all draw ever closer from the example of the Holy Family so that each and every one of us may live our lives as ever faithful and dedicated father, mother, husband, wife, children, brothers or sisters, as one united family and one community of the faithful in glorifying God by our lives. May God bless us all and our families, our family members wherever they may be, and may He strengthen the bond of unity and love between us, always. Amen.

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Friday, 25 December 2020 : Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we have come together to celebrate the great Solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which is better known as Christmas. Christmas is one of the two most important celebrations of our Christian faith together with Easter. After approximately four weeks of preparation throughout the season of Advent, we finally begin this most joyful season and celebration of Christmas beginning today.

As mentioned earlier, the celebration and season of Christmas are very important together with that of Easter, and the celebration of the birth of Our Lord and Saviour at Christmas cannot indeed be separated from the Passion, death and resurrection of the Lord at Holy Week and Easter. Without Christmas, there can be no Easter and without Easter, then Christmas would have been a meaningless celebration and event.

For without Christmas, then there can be no salvation for all of us mankind, as it was through Christmas that each and every one of us see the salvation of God in Jesus Christ, the salvation of God in the Baby born in Bethlehem in Judea two millennia ago, the Son of Mary born in the city of David. Through Him, God was no longer intangible and unreachable by mankind, for in Jesus, the Lord has bridged the gap between us and Him.

Through this very important event of the Nativity that is the birth of Our Lord into this world, the Lord Himself has chosen to adopt our humanity, and uniting our humanity to Himself, He became the personification of God’s love, the Divine Word Incarnate. The Word of God and only Begotten Son of God has assumed our human nature to become the Son of Man. In Jesus Christ therefore, we have the One God incarnate, two natures, divine and human, distinct but inseparably united in Him.

Then, when I said earlier that Christmas cannot be separated and meaningless without Easter, it means that if the One born at Christmas was just a mere man, the son of a woman and not of divine origin, then Christ could not have saved the world, for the suffering and the sacrifice He would undergo on the Cross at Calvary would have been meaningless, as the blood of a man would not have been sufficient to redeem us from our multitudes of sins.

On the contrary, if the One Who was at the Cross and died on the Cross at Good Friday was just a divine being that was not also a man, then first of all, it would have been impossible for God to die as a divine and immortal being, and then, secondly, without the significance of His incarnation, He could not have saved us, as it was by sharing in our humanity that He gathered us all and redeemed us, that we may share in His death and die to our sinful past selves, and be led into the new and eternal existence and life filled with grace through His Resurrection.

That is why, when we look at Christmas and rejoice today, ultimately it is because of the Resurrection of the Lord, for we know that this same Child born in Bethlehem celebrated today, is the same One Who was crucified for us, suffered and died for us, and Who eventually rose in glory and was triumphant against sin and death. Through Him, His Passion, suffering, death and Resurrection, we have received a new life and a new hope, and we can truly rejoice because once we have been lost in the darkness, doomed to destruction and annihilation, and now we are the beloved children of our Lord and King once again!

That is the true essence of Christmas that many of us have often forgotten, especially amidst the increasingly commercialised and materialistic nature of the secular Christmas celebrations and events. As many companies, parties and peoples wanted to make profit out of our celebrations and rejoicing, and adapting to the culture of joy of Christmas, they ended up in making us forget what Christmas truly is all about, and for all the excesses that we saw all around us, all these distract us from our true joy and what we should truly celebrate.

Instead of being preoccupied and being distracted by the many glamorous celebrations and events, the parties, revelries and merrymaking this Christmas day and the rest of the season of Christmas, we must look beyond the material and the surface appearances, and go deep into the true essence of Christmas. And this is why we should rediscover the true reason for our joy in Christmas, that is Christ. For if we sideline Christ or worse still, leaving Him out of Christmas entirely, then what is Christmas then?

There is truly great joy among all of us today, but we need to ask ourselves, are we celebrating Christmas in the right way? It is good to celebrate and to be happy, and we should rejoice and be merry, but are we too focused on the exterior celebrations and superficial appearances, materialistic considerations and the excess of secular Christmas culture? Shouldn’t we be more focused on that interior joy and true spiritual joy that we should have this Christmas?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as I have mentioned earlier on, Christmas is about the joy that all of us experience thanks to the Lord Who has willingly embraced us and reached out to us, and Who has humbled Himself and lowered Himself to our state, the wretched state of humanity that He might share the burden with us and took up upon Himself all the struggles, pains and sufferings that we have suffered. He emptied Himself of His glory and divinity in His Passion, and lovingly embraced us through His Cross, by which our salvation has come to us.

Christmas is truly about the Lord Who has humbled Himself, made Himself small and lowered Himself that He may touch us and be with us, that He may reconcile us to Himself. It is about the hope that He has brought us through His salvation, the peace that He has restored to us through His coming, the joy that He has revealed to us and returned to us after all the darkness and sorrows we experienced, and ultimately, the true and genuine love that He has for each and every one of us, all manifested and shown to us through Christ, His Son, the Child born and celebrated this Christmas.

We can see just how throughout history, man had always aspired for greater things, and many had even wanted to be like God, to have power and dominion over others and all things. That was why our history had been filled with so many bitterness and struggles, with so many conflicts and destruction as we walked down the path of conflict and war due to the clashing of our ego and pride, our desires and greed.

Yet, here we see the Almighty and all glorious God, willingly embraced our humanity and humbled Himself, to be born as a Child in a stable barely fit for any humans, less still to be the palace of a King. This is our Lord and King, the One Whom we celebrate about this Christmas, not our pride and ego, our desire and all of worldly things, but rather, the joy we have because God is on our side, and has shown His love for us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this year has been an incredibly difficult one for so many of us. So many had perished from the pandemic and many others had died, suffered and are still suffering from many trials and challenges, directly or indirectly related to the pandemic, and other unrelated issues that had always bogged us down and troubled us all these while.

Indeed, it may seem to be an ill-time for us to celebrate during this Christmas, given the still terrible situation all over the whole world. However, this is exactly what we need to do, as we ought to reevaluate our Christmas celebration and joy. We are all called, as Christians, to be the bearers of God’s Hope and Light into the world, to be the faithful and genuine witnesses of His love and desire to be reconciled with us.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all reflect and discern carefully on this most joyful occasion of Christmas, our way of celebrating it with true joy and with real purpose. Let us all realise that unless our Christmas is hope-giving, peace-giving, joy-giving, and most important of all love-giving and life-giving, then we have missed out the true essence and meaning of Christmas.

Instead of grumbling that we cannot have a ‘normal’ Christmas celebration this year due to various restrictions, let us all remember all those who had none to celebrate it with, all of our healthcare and frontline workers who had to work through even the Christmas season, risking their lives and pouring out their love for others. Let us all remember also all those who had not been able to celebrate Christmas due to various difficulties and challenges, and all those who have had to hide their Christmas joy and even their Christian faith.

Instead of worrying that we have received less Christmas gifts and lesser things in our parties and celebrations, lesser guests and lesser festivities, let us all think of how we can give from the bounty and blessings we have to all those who have not been fortunate and who has even less than what we have. If we are still able to worry about such things, then we must not forget about those who are struggling daily to make ends meet, and all those who have lost their jobs and their hopes especially during this dark year.

And last of all, instead of trying to pamper ourselves and love ourselves more, in this Christmas season we are called to imitate and follow the examples of Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. He selflessly reached out to us and showered us with love, and He came into this world and did all that He had done so that we may be saved and be released from all that we ought to have suffered.

Let us all be grateful this Christmas, for the gift of life, for all of God’s blessings, no matter how small they may be, that we may indeed find our true joy of Christmas, and celebrate together as a community, as a loving family centred on God and His love. Let us all truly rejoice as God’s beloved people, and share this joy that we have to the whole world, that even though this year may have been dark, but the Light of Christ in us will dispel even the greatest darkness, and in the end, He Who has conquered death, will lead us all into true joy and eternal glory, forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 20 December 2020 : Fourth Sunday of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday marks the Fourth and Last Sunday of Advent which means that we are about to come into the great celebration of Our Lord’s Nativity or birth in Christmas. And this Sunday we focus on the last of the four Advent themes, and this is the theme of ‘Love’. And it is fitting that we focus our attention on this theme of ‘Love’, because ultimately, that is what Christmas is truly all about, the genuine and pure, boundless and great love that God has for each and every one of us.

For we celebrate in Christmas, the birth of the Saviour of the world, the manifestation of God’s eternal and perfect love, in the Flesh, that the Lord willingly embraced and took upon our humanity, by the indwelling and incarnation of His divinity, the Son and Divine Word, as Man, through the power of the Holy Spirit, and thus, the Holy One of God was conceived in the womb of Mary, Son of God and Son of Man in One.

This is the culmination and fulfilment of all that God had long promised His people and all of His servants, just as we heard from the Scripture readings today. In our first reading today, we heard God speaking to king David of Israel through the prophet Nathan, when the king wanted to build a great House for God. That House would eventually be built by David’s son, king Solomon, as the famed Temple of Solomon, the place of the great worship of God.

God told David that it would be his own son that would build the House for His Name and dwelling, and while He has blessed David and made his reign and rule strong, he would also bless his son and descendants, and promised David that his house will last forever. While this was indeed a direct reference to how God would bless Solomon and his descendants, but in truth, it was also a hidden prefigurement of Christ and His coming.

King Solomon and the descendants of David did not remain completely faithful to God, and many among them led the people into sin and wickedness, and thus, the kingdom of Israel and Judah met its end at the hands of the Assyrians and the Babylonians respectively. It seemed that the promises of God had come to naught, but in truth, just as the Israelites believed it, the Lord would fulfil His promises yet, by sending them the Messiah Who was to be born of the House of David.

However, what they did not know was that, this Messiah is also none other than the Son of God just as much as He is the Son and Heir of David, the One Who would occupy the Throne of David and therefore, fulfil God’s promises. As the Eternal God Himself has now descended into this world and become King for His own people, His kingdom shall last forever, and all those who follow Him, will receive from Him the eternal life and glory promised to them.

This is what the Archangel Gabriel himself revealed to Mary as we listened to in our Gospel passage today, at the Annunciation, when the Lord through Gabriel finally announced the coming of His salvation, long awaited and expected by His people. This is the true proof and manifestation of God’s eternal love and His enduring compassionate care for each and every one of us, all children and descendants of Adam who had strayed from His path, that God has always loved us all and wanted us to return to Him and be reconciled with Him.

It is God’s pure love that we remember today, as we focus on the ‘Love’ as the most important aspect of our Advent preparation. Without Love, then Christmas would not have happened, and without Love, there would not have been salvation for all of us. God would not have forgiven and saved us, or spared us from the fate that awaits us due to our rebelliousness and sins. Through our disobedience and rebellion, we have fallen into sin, and because of our sins, we should have fallen into damnation and eternal suffering in hell.

But the Lord loves each one of us dearly, and He does not want us to suffer that fate. He could have easily destroyed us for our rebellion and disobedience, but He clearly did not do so. When He sent Adam and Eve away from the Gardens of Eden, He did so to let us all know that what we have done were not correct and right, and we have to suffer the consequences of our sins. Yet, as a loving Father, He did not leave us all alone. He still cared for us and wanted us all to be reconciled to Him.

It was this love that allowed Him to be so patient with us and to reach out to us with such great affection, despite the attitudes which many of us had shown Him, our ingratitude, our lack of faith and stubbornness, our constant embracing of sin and evil. He sent us His own Beloved Son, Who entered into the world and dwelled among us so that all of us may know of His love, that is not just something that is distant and imaginary, but as something that is real and genuine, and brings us hope and light even in the deepest of darkness, love that is sincere and selfless, perfect and compassionate.

I invite all of us now to reflect on the Lord our God and Saviour, Whose coming into this world we are going to celebrate in Christmas that is about to come. I want us all to reflect on the great love that God has shown us, the reason why He restored the joy and light to our lives. And we do not have to look far, brothers and sisters in Christ. Turn our gaze towards the crucifix, and we shall see there, the same Christ, the Baby born and celebrated at Christmas, hung on the Cross for the salvation of the world.

That is a further proof of God’s love, that not only just that He willingly took up our form, existence and humanity, born as a little Child in Bethlehem, but that same Jesus Christ, willingly took upon Himself our sins and the many punishments due to our sins and our rebellions, and bore all these upon His shoulders, bleeding and bruised for our many trespasses. But He bore all these willingly out of love for us, that we may not perish but live through Him.

By His suffering and death on the Cross, and by sharing in our humanity, Christ Our Lord has made us to share in His death, and then leading us through His Resurrection, He leads us into a new life and existence of grace, one that is not subject and bonded to sin and death, showing us the path forward to an eternity of true joy, happiness and glory with Him.

There is no question that God loves us all very much, that He has willingly done all of these for us, and in how He had been very patient with us and making His intention clear to us in wanting us to repent and turn away from our sins, and embrace His salvation. But the question now is, do we love Him then just as much as He has loved us?Have we ever appreciated just how beloved and fortunate we are because of God’s love?

As we are about to enter into the joyous celebrations of Christmas, those questions must be in our minds and hearts, that we may reflect on and reevaluate the way we perceive and look at Christmas. If Christmas is just another merry-making time and an occasion for us to celebrate with lavish parties and revelries, then we are not celebrating Christmas in the right way.

And if we are trying to outdo one another and are too focused on the material aspects of Christmas and its celebrations, then we are not celebrating Christmas in the right way either. Our celebration of Christmas must of course first and foremost be centred on Christ, on the love that God has shown to each and every one of us, even to the worst of sinners, that He clearly wants to embrace us and be reconciled with us, and love us fully as He has always intended.

This is what we really need to consider as we spend this Sunday focusing on this theme of ‘Love’. Not the love of ourselves but the love of God, and how much we love God and also our fellow neighbours, our brothers and sisters all around us. That is the true essence of Christmas, the fulfilment and manifestation of God’s love in Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. And we rejoice with Him because through Him we have been saved!

Now, what can we do then in order to make our Christmas celebrations more meaningful? We should share God’s love with one another, especially through this difficult year and through all that many had suffered earlier on this year, and many yet still suffer this very moment and will endure more hardships in the next few months to come. We must be the bearers of God’s hope and peace, His joy and love to one another, particularly those who have none or little of these.

That is how we should celebrate Christmas as Christians, that we rejoice not for ourselves, but for the whole community, together with God. In that way then we will fully be able to appreciate how important Christmas is to us, and how the love of God allowed us all to cheer up, be happy and hopeful once again, because we know that in Christ, and through Him, the Lord Who is always ever faithful has fulfilled His promises to us, and by His love, we shall enjoy forever His eternal glory.

Let us all renew our faith in the Lord and strengthen our love for Him. And if we have not done so, from now on, let us live our lives differently, by focusing on the Lord rather than on ourselves, and be filled with true Christian love, for each and every one of our fellow brethren. Let us all be faithful bearers of God’s love, and through that bring hope, peace and joy in our community, wherever we are. May God bless us all and guide us all to a most wonderful, blessed, fruitful and loving Christmas celebration to come. Amen.

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Sunday, 13 December 2020 : Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Rose or Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday marks the occasion of Gaudete Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent. This Sunday is unique because it is a brief moment of elevated joy and rejoicing as compared to the usually more sombre and solemn Advent theme. This is because today we focus on the aspect of ‘Joy’ in Advent, continuing from the series of ‘Hope-Peace-Joy-Love’ during the Sundays of the season of Advent.

The word Gaudete Sunday came from the beginning of the Introit for this Sunday, which goes ‘Gaudete in Domino semper : iterum dico, gaudete’ which means, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice.’ And this leads us to the focus of this Sunday of reminding us that while we have not celebrated fully in joy yet, as we preserve that for the upcoming Christmas, but Advent is a season of expectant joy, as we look forward to the joy of Christmas to come.

And therefore, as we are about halfway through this season of Advent, we need to ask ourselves, what is our joy in this life and what joy are we looking forward to in this season of Advent? What is the joy that we are looking towards in Christmas? Is it about the festivities, revelries and merry-making that we are surely familiar with during this period of time, when everyone are trying to outdo each other in their extravagance in celebrating Christmas?

We see how merchandises and Christmas paraphernalia are all around us, shopping malls and all sorts of places are filled to the brim with Christmas decorations. Christmas jingles and songs, promotions among many others, Santa Claus and all other familiar Christmas celebrations and perks are all around us, and we revel in all of these, often a bit too much, and we ended up focusing on the wrong joy in Christmas.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it is indeed that we should rejoice in Christmas, and Christmas is all about happiness and being joyful, but not because all the gifts and parties that we are having, not because of all the celebratory moods and excessive commercialisation of Christmas that we have seen all around us. What we see are merely imitation of the true joy of Christmas, the attempt of the world to profit from the Christmas celebration for their own benefits.

That is why the secularisation and commercialisation of Christmas that we have seen all these while can prevent us from understanding the true significance, meaning and importance of Christmas to us, and prevent us from knowing the true joy of Christmas that we are looking forward to, especially in this Gaudete Sunday as we focus on the joyful aspect of our Advent waiting for Christmas.

In our first reading today from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the hopeful and joyful prophecies of the prophet Isaiah speaking of the coming of the Lord’s salvation through His Messiah or Saviour, when the Lord will send forth His grace and love to the world, and touch the world and all of His people with His great compassion and tender loving care.

And that was indeed a very strong message of hope and joy, that came at the time when the people of God were having bleak outlook of their livelihood, having endured centuries of humiliation, suffering and decline after the glorious past of the mighty days of King David and Solomon. By the time of the prophet Isaiah’s ministry, whatever remained of the kingdom of Israel was just a mere shadow of its former greatness under the aforementioned kings.

The kingdom had been divided long ago into northern and southern halves, and the northern kingdom that was composed of ten out of twelve tribes of the Israelites had been destroyed just recently then, by the Assyrians who had conquered the lands, destroyed the cities and brought the people off into exile in faraway lands in Assyria and Mesopotamia, and putting foreigners in the lands that used to be dwelled by the sons and daughters of Israel.

The southern half, the kingdom of Judah itself did not fare much better, having continually been shrinking in terms of their power and glory, subjugated by neighbours and oppressed by its enemies, and the forces of the Assyrians themselves had came up to Judah, besieged its cities, looted its countryside, and even almost managed to conquer and destroy Jerusalem, if not for the Lord’s loving intervention that saw the Assyrian armies destroyed and their king fleeing in shame back to his homeland.

Amidst all of these, we can now see just how the message of the prophecy of Isaiah was indeed like a fresh breath of life and a glimmer of beautiful hope and light in the middle of the darkness and despair that were surrounding God’s people at the time. The prophet Isaiah was calling on the people to turn towards the Lord, their Saviour and their Hope, through Whom alone they could attain true joy and happiness.

All of these prophecies were to be fulfilled in Christ, through His coming into the world, which we celebrate as Christmas. In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the account of St. John the Baptist, who was asked by the priests and the Pharisees who doubted him and wanted to question him on the veracity and authority of his actions. St. John the Baptist could have said that he was the Messiah, and based on his many followers, he could very well had made that claim.

Yet, St. John the Baptist was sent into this world as the Herald to proclaim the coming of the Messiah, the Saviour of the world, and he boldly proclaim that truth before all, that he was not the One they were waiting for, but just the who was sent before the One, to clear His path and to prepare and make everything ready for His coming. St. John the Baptist pointed the people towards their true hope, and the source of their true joy, Christ, the Saviour of the world.

When later on the Lord has begun His ministry and gained more and more followers, and even more than what St. John the Baptist himself had, as some of his followers began to follow the Lord Jesus instead, he was happy when his discipled asked him, that the Lord became more important and prominent than himself, and he had true joy knowing that his mission had therefore been accomplished, to show the true joy of the world to God’s people.

And this is what we have also heard being echoed in our second reading today by St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Thessalonians, saying enthusiastically that we ought to rejoice, just as the words of the Introit that inspired the name of this Gaudete Sunday said, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always, and I said again rejoice!’. And St. Paul said that this is the vocation of all Christians, to be joyful and to rejoice.

But when we rejoice, it ought not to be caused by our own glory and power, our own achievements and happiness, but rather because we have found our true joy in Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, knowing that through Him we have the sure assurance of eternal life and glory, of eternal and true happiness with Him, and not the false and temporary, fleeting joy of this world.

That is the true joy of Christmas that we are looking forward to celebrate, and which we have to reflect at all times in our lives. We have to keep this joy in us, no matter how difficult and dark the situations may be. And we all know that during this year, things are very difficult and challenging for so many people, because of the pandemic that had claimed so many lives and destroyed so many livelihoods.

But we must not allow ourselves to be overcome by despair and darkness, brothers and sisters! This is exactly why we are looking forward to Christmas, because we know that, just like the people of Judah long ago, that God has always been with us, caring for us and loving us, journeying with us all these while even through our most difficult and darkest moments.

He sent us all our salvation, by sending to us His own Begotten Son, to be the Saviour of all. He is our true Joy, the Joy that we are looking forward to and are expecting in this Advent season, and we look forward to a renewed hope and joy through Him. And let us all be filled with this joy, and be generous in sharing them with one another, particularly those who have been sorrowful and downtrodden.

Let us all be genuine brothers and sisters to our fellow men and women, supporting each other through these difficult times, that no one should be left alone in sorrow and despair. Let us all look forward to a brighter future with hope, filled with peace and joy in our lives, and be full of love, both for God and for one another, at all times. May God bless us all and guide us through this journey, and may He bless our wonderful Advent observation. Amen.

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Sunday, 6 December 2020 : Second Sunday of Advent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday we mark the Second Sunday of Advent, and therefore we continue to journey further and deeper through the mysteries of Advent, and our time of preparation and expectation for the joy of Christmas to come. On this Second Sunday of Advent, the theme that we focus on is ‘Peace’, out of the four themes that began with ‘Hope’ last week, and then to be followed with ‘Joy’ next Sunday and ‘Love’ on the last Sunday of Advent.

As we listened to the readings from the Scripture we are constantly being reminded of the Lord’s coming, of His coming as the Saviour to deliver all of His people from their troubles. That is why this season of Advent we are always reminded of the need to focus our attentions on the Lord and reorientate ourselves spiritually and mentally that the Lord will be the centre of our lives. Too many of us have been distracted from our mission and calling in life as Christians, tempted and steered away by our many concerns and desires in the world.

In our first reading from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard again as we have been for the past few days since the first week of Advent, of the Lord’s faithful promises to His people which reminded all of them that God will triumph in the end, and He will lead all of His faithful people out of their suffering and wretched state. He promised them salvation and the coming of the Saviour that would herald the dawn of a new time and age, the glorious reign of God.

This prophecy was significant in meaning and importance because it was made at the time when the fortunes of the people of God was among its lowest, when they were beset by troubles and had been brought low by many sufferings and humiliations. The northern kingdom of Israel, constituting most of the ten tribes of Israel besides the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, has just been destroyed by the Assyrians, and then their populations brought into exile and the lands wasted and destroyed.

And the same Assyrians came to Judah and Jerusalem where Isaiah had prophesied and ministered in, in a mighty army led by their king Sennacherib with the intention of conquering and destroying the city and the kingdom as they had done with the northern kingdom. Indeed, if we read the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, we can see just how the history of the people of God at that time was rife with conflicts, wars and much destruction all over.

Kingdoms fought against each other, kings struggled against other kings and their rivals, and it was often the people who suffered through all those strife, warfare and conflicts. When kings of Israel and Judah fought against each other for their territories and for prestige, it was the people who bore the brunt of the fighting and the loss, while the kings feasted in their luxurious life, often ignorant of the plight of those who were suffering and poor.

King Sennacherib of Assyria was no different, as he laid siege to Jerusalem and other cities in Judah, bringing plenty of destruction to the whole kingdom of Judah. He led the Assyrian armies in conquering many cities and countries, in causing lots of destruction and harm to people and properties, untold suffering to so many people. Why has king Sennacherib done so, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because he sought power, glory and fame, wealth and worldly satisfaction that came from such actions.

And thus was how many wars and conflict had been fought, over the greed and desires of man for power, for wealth and worldly glory and fame. And as they did so, they had little regards for other people, but for themselves. Like king Sennacherib, he boasted that no king, ruler or kingdom as well as their gods were able to stand against his power and might, and he blasphemed against God by saying that he would bring the same ruin to the people of God and destroy the Temple of God.

The pride, arrogance, ego and greed of king Sennacherib led to his downfall, as God struck him and his army down. Through His Angels, God destroyed the armies of the Assyrians and drove them back to their homeland in utter and complete shame. Sennacherib himself was murdered by his own two sons who perhaps craved and desired power and other glories. It was indeed quite often that within the ruling families and those in power to struggle and end up in conflict among themselves.

And that was how things had gone in the past throughout the history of mankind, in all nations and peoples. Conflicts, wars and disagreements had often happened because of the conflicting interests, desires and ego of different parties involved. Through all of that, people suffer, especially those who are underprivileged, poor and weak, those who have been easily exploited and taken advantage of by the rich and the powerful.

But if we think that it is only the poor and the less privileged that suffer, then we are wrong. Do you realise that actually even the rich and powerful also suffer? Take for example the case of king Sennacherib mentioned earlier. He was murdered by his own sons likely because of conflict of power and their desires to carve up his kingdom for themselves.

As Sennacherib’s demise showed us, the rich and powerful are in fact even less secure and suffer more because they often fight among themselves and contend with each other for the power and glory, wealth and riches of the world. And the more that man has, the more we will be tempted to desire for even more of what we have already possessed and attained. That is why, those who have more often are also the least peaceful in mind.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, now having heard of all these, we are all reminded that in this world, we have often been deluded by our worldly desires and by the many temptations of false pleasures, glory and corruptions of the world. And because of these conflicting and unbridled desires and wants, we end up causing sufferings on each other, and making things difficult for one another.

How do we then find peace, brothers and sisters in Christ? This is where we ought to look towards Christ, the Prince of Peace. The One Whose coming we celebrate this Christmas and which we prepare for this season of Advent is the One Who will bring true peace and harmony into this world. And indeed, He came bearing His truth into the world, and He was preceded by none other than St. John the Baptist, who in our Gospel passage today spoke of the Lord’s coming.

And what St. John the Baptist said to the people as we heard it in our Gospel passage today is a call to repentance, a cry out for all the sinful people of God to seek God’s forgiveness, to change their hearts and their ways of life, and reorientate themselves and their lives back towards the Lord, with Him as the centre and focus of their whole attention. And this is what the Lord then revealed in full through His coming.

St. John the Baptist helped to straighten the path for the Lord, and the Lord then showed how through Him, by following Him, His teachings and His ways, He will free them from their slavery, their bondage to sin and to all the chains of worldliness and all the temptations that had hindered us all these while and caused so much suffering for so many among us, be it rich or poor, powerful, mighty or weak. As long as we continue to indulge in our selfish desires, we will continue to be swayed by the forces of sin and evil, and we can never find true peace.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, during this season of Advent let us all therefore seek the Lord with renewed faith and hope, the hope in the peace that the Lord alone can give us. The Lord has shown His love and mercy to us, and through His compassion, He has shown us the path to true peace, harmony and true joy that we can find in Him and through Him alone. Are we willing to follow this path, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we willing to commit ourselves to serve the Lord faithfully?

Today, let us all commit ourselves to the path of peace, by reorientating our lives towards the Lord, and not towards our foolish and selfish desires, our worldly pursuits of power, glory and wealth among many others. Brothers and sisters, let us all reject these temptations and strive to do our best to be faithful, to be righteous and just in our every actions and deeds, and to seek peace over violence, to be loving to one another rather than to put our own self-interests first. Let us all reflect the Lord’s examples, His hope, His peace and His love in our own lives, and in our actions.

Throughout this season of Advent, let us all renew our relationship with God by deepening our spiritual life, by spending more time with God in prayer, and by rethinking how we have lived our lives and even also how we prepare for Christmas. Is Christmas really about all the glamour, parties and the celebrations? Or is it rather to celebrate together as a community the joy of expecting the coming of the Lord and the coming of His reign of peace?

Let us all discern carefully how we are going to continue living our lives from now on, with faith. Let us all renew our devotion to God and make best use of this blessed time and season of Advent. May the Lord be our Guide and may He strengthen us always in our faith, as well as in our desire to love and serve Him, at all times. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.