Sundays after Pentecost

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Tuesday, 31 August 2021 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Thessalonians 5 : 1-6, 9-11

You do not need anyone to write to you about the delay, and the appointed time for these events. You know, that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When people feel secure, and at peace, the disaster will suddenly come upon them, as the birth pangs of a woman in labour, and they will not escape.

But you, beloved, are not in darkness; so that day will not surprise you like a thief. All of you are citizens of the light and the day; we do not belong to night and darkness. Let us not, therefore, sleep as others do, but remain alert and sober.

For God has not willed us to be condemned, but to win salvation, through Christ Jesus, our Lord. He died for us, so that, we might enter into life, with Him, whether we are still awake or already asleep. Therefore, encourage one another and build up one another, as you are doing now.

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Monday, 30 August 2021 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Lord speaking to us through the Scripture, we are all called to remember that even though our journey as Christians may be tough and challenging, we must not give up our faith and hope in the Lord, as the Lord is truly our hope and strength, and through Him alone we can gain the full assurance of eternal life and true joy, in the end, when our faith in Him will bear fruits, a most joyful fruit for each one of us.

In our first reading today, we heard from the description by the Apostle St. Paul to the faithful in Thessalonica how all the faithful shall rise on the last day, at the time of the final judgment of the world, echoing what we may have also read from the Book of Revelations of St. John, how God would take all those who are faithful to Him, and rescue them. We heard from that account by St. Paul, how all, past and present and future, all will rise in body and spirit, and fully reunited with God, to share with Him the eternal glory and joy that He has promised to us.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard about the moment when the Lord went to His hometown in Nazareth and then read the scroll of the prophet Isaiah in the town’s synagogue. That very passage proclaimed the Lord’s coming into the world as its Saviour, and as He Himself proclaimed those words, He announced to all gathered that the Lord is truly faithful to His people, loving all those precious to Him and has always fulfilled His words, and the coming of Jesus as the Messiah of the world is the perfect example of that.

The Lord reassured all of us that what He has promised us will come true, just as the Lord has shown His works, all the miracles and healing that He has performed among the people, all throughout Galilee and Judea. The Lord healed many of the sick, cast out many demons, opened the eyes of the blind, and the ears of the blind and the loosened the tongues of the deaf, and taught among the people, revealing God’s truth to them, fulfilling the words of the prophecy of Isaiah as mentioned in the scroll.

Yet, He was ridiculed and rejected, as the people of His own hometown of Nazareth refused to listen to His truth, and in fact were angered by His revelation that He was the One referred to in the prophecy of Isaiah. Those people must have heard about and perhaps might have even seen the miracles performed by the Lord. Then, why did they refuse to believe in Him? That is because they would have seen the Lord when He was still young, as He spent His growing years there.

Therefore, they likely could not believe and accept the fact that a mere local village boy, the mere Son of the village carpenter, could have been the promised Saviour of the people of God, less still the Saviour of the whole world. But it is in this presumption and thoughts which hindered their ability and willingness to listen and to be open to the Lord’s truth, hardening their hearts and minds against Him, and preventing the Lord from doing His works among them.

What is the significance of all of these passages that we have just read then, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is that each and every one of us should trust in the Lord, and listen to Him, and not be swayed easily by the temptations of pride, ego, our human desires and other distractions that may prevent us from finding our way to the Lord. This is why we should spend the time to reflect carefully on the path that we are going to take in life. And we should remind ourselves of God’s love for us, and His faithfulness to the Covenant that He has made and sealed with us.

Let us all grow more in our faith and trust in Him, opening our hearts and minds to welcome Him into them, so that by the Lord’s guidance and strength, we may be inspired to live our lives in ever greater commitment and devotion to Him, and in greater desire to love and show care and compassion for one another, just as we should do as Christians, as God’s beloved people, doing what He has shown and taught us to do, in each and every moments of our lives. May God bless us all, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Monday, 30 August 2021 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 4 : 16-30

At that time, when Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, as He usually did. He stood up to read, and they handed Him the book of the prophet Isaiah.

Jesus then unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written : “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me. He has anointed Me, to bring good news to the poor; to proclaim liberty to captives; and new sight to the blind; to free the oppressed; and to announce the Lord’s year of mercy.”

Jesus then rolled up the scroll, gave it to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. Then He said to them, “Today, these prophetic words come true, even as you listen.” All agreed with Him, and were lost in wonder, while He spoke of the grace of God. Nevertheless they asked, “Who is this but Joseph’s Son?”

So He said, “Doubtless you will quote Me the saying : Doctor, heal yourself! Do here, in Your town, what they say You did in Capernaum.” Jesus added, “No prophet is honoured in his own country.” Truly, I say to you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens withheld rain for three years and six months and a great famine came over the whole land.”

“Yet, Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow of Zarephath, in the country of Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha, the prophet; and no one was healed except Naaman, the Syrian.”

On hearing these words, the whole assembly became indignant. They rose up and brought Him out of the town, to the edge of the hill on which Nazareth is built, intending to throw Him down the cliff. But He passed through their midst and went His way.

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Monday, 30 August 2021 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 95 : 1 and 3, 4-5, 11-12a, 12b-13

Sing to YHVH a new song, sing to YHVH, all the earth! Recall His glory among the nations, tell all the peoples His wonderful deeds.

How great is YHVH and worthy of praise! Above all gods, He is to be feared. For all other gods are worthless idols, but YHVH is the One Who made the heavens.

Let the heavens be glad, the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound; let the fields exult and everything in them.

Let the forest, all the trees, sing for joy. Let them sing before YHVH Who comes to judge the earth. He will rule the world with justice, and the peoples, with fairness.

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Monday, 30 August 2021 : 22nd Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

1 Thessalonians 4 : 13-18

Brothers and sisters, we want you not to be mistaken about those who are already asleep, lest you grieve as do those who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose; it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus. God will bring them together, with Jesus, and for His sake.

By the same word of the Lord, we assert this : those of us who are to be alive at the Lord’s coming, will not go ahead of those who are already asleep. When the command by the Archangel’s voice is given, the Lord, Himself, will come down from heaven, while the divine trumpet call is sounding.

Then, those who have died in the Lord, will rise first; as for us who are still alive, we will be brought along with them, in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the celestial world. And we will be with the Lord forever. So then, comfort one another with these words.

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Sunday, 29 August 2021 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this Sunday all of us are called to follow the Lord and obey His will and commandments wholeheartedly, and by this it means that each and every one of us should understand and appreciate the true nature, importance and purpose of the Law and the commandments that we may truly follow the Lord in the right manner, and not fall into the wrong paths as how many among the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had done.

The Law of God had been revealed to His chosen people through Moses, and He made clear what they all needed to do in order to follow Him, by giving them sets of rules and regulations, the Law and the Commandments, centred on the Ten Commandments which highlighted the core tenets of the Law. Those laws and rules were all in fact meant to help the people to remember that they all ought to be faithful to God and to love Him, and to abandon all sorts of evil and wicked ways and practices, that they would not fall into sin and therefore destruction.

Yet, despite everything that the Lord had done for them, the people refused to listen to Him and disobeyed Him, repeatedly again and again falling into sinful ways, into the worship of pagan and false idols, and thus, the Lord imposed those laws and regulations meant to help them to remain true to the path He has shown them, and to stay away from the temptations that could lead them down the path towards damnation. It was never intended to make their lives difficult or to make it a burden for them to follow the Lord.

As mentioned in the Book of Deuteronomy in our first reading today, God has told His people through Moses, that they should not add any more or remove anything from the Law and the commandments that He had given them. That they should live in the manner that God has shown them, and called them to do. And this is truly what the Lord wanted from His people, to be righteous, good and virtuous, to be worthy of Him in their actions and deeds. He did not want them to suffer or to be burdened by those laws.

Yet, it was man themselves who misinterpreted and misunderstood His Law, and thinking of them as mere formality and regulations, that were dreaded and which the people found bothersome and unwilling to keep or follow. They also followed the temptations and worldly desires and were unable to keep up with the Law, fell into disobedience and refused to believe in God, fell into sin and suffered for their lack of faith in Him. They refused to listen to the prophets and messengers that God sent into their midst to guide then and help them.

Then on the other extreme, by the time of the Lord Jesus and His ministry, many among the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who imposed a very strict interpretation of the Law, which arose because of long period lasting centuries in which the people interpreted the Law in ever increasing rigidity as they experienced great suffering and the tragedy of the destruction of their nation and the first Temple, when Jerusalem itself was destroyed by the Babylonians, and many of the Israelites were uprooted into exile by the Assyrians and the Babylonians both.

As such, there were those over the centuries who sought to impose the Law strictly on the people, to keep them in toe and to prevent them from suffering the same fate. However, over the centuries, as things developed, some took it to the extreme, as the number of rules and regulations grew beyond what was originally prescribed in the Torah, or the Books of the Law corresponding to the first five books in the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. And those people entrusted with the spiritual leadership of the people and those deemed as experts of the Law ended up making these as a means to gain popularity and influence, and to be praised by the others who saw them.

But what the Lord often rebuked those Pharisees and teachers of the Law was the fact that despite having outwardly observed the Law, all the many rules and customs, but they did not truly love God in their hearts, and instead, they loved themselves and their interpretation of the Law more, as they lost the focus and the true intention of the Law, imposing the rules and regulations that ended up being too inwardly looking and bereft of true spiritual benefits, that they focused more and more on the letter of the Law than its Spirit.

For example, on the matter of the washing of hands before meal as mentioned by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law in today’s Gospel passage, the rules stated that the people ought to wash their hands in a particular manner, right up to their elbow and over a few times, and as well as other things to be washed and purified before doing certain things and activities. It was their preoccupation and excessive attention to the details and excessive attachment to the rites and rituals which distracted them from the true intention of the Law and the love of God which the Law was meant for.

And as St. James then mentioned in his Epistle, in our second reading today, we are all called to follow the Lord faithfully in our every actions and deeds, in doing the Law and putting to use the gifts that God has given us, in the Word that He has sown within our hearts and minds. We should not be mere bystanders or idle followers of God, or to be those who profess to be faithful to God and yet in our actions we have no God reflected in them, like how many of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law practiced their rigorous version of the Law and yet forgetting the true intention and purpose of what they have practiced and done.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to these readings from the Scripture, all of us are reminded that as Christians we have to be truly faithful to the Lord, in all things and from all of our entire being. We have to show our love to the Lord in all things, in our love for God in every words, actions and deeds, that all that we say and do, are truly for God and in accordance with God’s will. This is what we are called to do, and what we should be doing as we obey the Lord and do what we can to follow Him. And if we truly love the Lord, then as the Lord Jesus had said, we have to love one another in the same manner as well.

That is yet another reason why the Lord rebuked the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, that while they professed to love God, yet, they were lacking in love and empathy for their fellow brothers and sisters, often looking down on those who were deemed as sinners and unworthy, like the prostitutes, adulterers, tax collectors, people with diseases and demonic possessions, among others. The Lord was telling all of the people, including those same Pharisees and teachers of the Law, who were also often listening to Him, reminding them of the truth of the Law of God, the true intention and purpose of what the Lord has given to all of them.

That is why, He came not to abolish the Law and commandments, but rather to make it perfect for all of us. He wants us to rediscover our love for Him, and to practice it in our lives, to believe in Him wholeheartedly and not just being outwardly pious, and profess to be a loving Christian, yet we do not show love to our brothers and sisters, or are being prejudiced and angry at them. Indeed, we are not perfect people, and we make mistakes from time to time, and we do fall into being angry, jealous, prejudiced and biased against others, but what is important is that we must not allow those things to continue to shape our lives and actions.

If we truly love the Lord, brothers and sisters in Christ, then our love for Him must be genuine in all things, and not just being outwardly devoted. Some of us think that by saying long prayers and devotions, we are good Christians, but we ignore our brothers and sisters around us, or worse still, we gossip about one another, talking bad about others whom we encounter at work, at school, or even in our own homes, among our relatives and friends. Is this what is meant for us to be Christians? Certainly not. God called us to be His true disciples, not just in obeying the Letter of the Law, but also in the Spirit.

That is why, all of us should spend some time today and onwards to reflect on our lives and our attitudes. Are we really good Christians in all things, in loving God and in loving one another? Or have we loved ourselves more and been selfish all these while, in desiring recognition and praise, or in wanting God to do something for us and to give us what we want? We have to discern all these carefully, so that from now on, we may follow the Lord with the right intention, with the right love in our hearts, not love that is inwards and selfish, but rather pouring outwards from ourselves to God and to our brothers and sisters.

Just like our Lord, Who loved us all infinitely, and Who has given to us His life in exchange for our salvation, by dying on the Cross for us, we have to be life-giving in our every actions and deeds, in our words and interactions with one another. We have to remove from us the poison of ego and pride, of greed and desires for power and glory, all the things that prevent us from truly being faithful to God genuinely, and from loving Him and our fellow brothers and sisters as His Law has taught us.

Let us all obey God’s Law and commandments, brothers and sisters, following what the Church, inspired by the Holy Spirit and following the traditions of the faith from the time of God’s Apostles, have given and shown us, in ways how we can lead a most wholesome Christian life, that we may draw ever closer to God and be ever more loving in our every actions, not just to ourselves, but even more importantly to God and to all those who need our love and care, our attention and kindness.

May the Lord move all of us in our hearts that we may walk with Him, in the path of love, of genuine Christian love, in full and true obedience to His Law and commandments. May all of us be ever more courageous in our faith, and seek the Lord for strength whenever we need Him, and provide that same support and strength to one another, when we are struggling and in need of assistance. May God bless us all in our every good endeavours and works, and bring us ever closer to His grace and presence. Amen.

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Sunday, 29 August 2021 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 7 : 1-8, 14-15, 21-23

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

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

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

Jesus then called the people to Him again and said to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and try to understand. Nothing that enters a person from the outside can make that person unclean. It is what comes from within that makes a person unclean, for evil designs come out of the heart : theft, murder, adultery, jealousy, greed, maliciousness, deceit, indecency, slander, pride and folly. All these evil things come from within and make a person unclean.”

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Sunday, 29 August 2021 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

James 1 : 17-18, 21b-22, 27

Every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of Light, in Whom there is no change, or shadow of a change. By His own will, He gave us life, through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of offering to Him, among His creatures.

And welcome the word that has been planted in you, and has the power to save you. Be doers of the word, and not just hearers, lest you deceive yourselves. In the sight of God, our Father, pure and blameless religion lies in helping the orphans, and widows in their need, and keeping oneself from the world’s corruption.

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Sunday, 29 August 2021 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 14 : 2-3ab, 3cd-4ab, 5

Those who walk blamelessly and do what is right, who speak truth from their heart and control their words.

Those who do no harm to their neighbours and cast no discredit on their companions, who look down on evildoers but highly esteem God’s servants.

Those who do not lend money at interest and refuse a bribe against the innocent. Do this, and you will soon be shaken.

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Sunday, 29 August 2021 : Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Deuteronomy 4 : 1-2, 6b-8

And now, Israel, listen to the norms and laws which I teach that you may put them into practice. And you will live and enter and take possession of the land which YHVH, the God of your fathers, gives you. Do not add anything to what I command you nor take anything away from it. But keep the commandments of YHVH, your God, as I command you.

When they come to know of all these laws, they will say, “There is no people as wise and as intelligent as this great nation.” For in truth, is there a nation as great as ours, whose gods are as near to it as YHVH, our God, is to us whenever we call upon Him? And is there a nation as great as ours whose norms and laws are as just as this Law which I give you today.