Tempus Post Pentecosten

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Sunday, 27 October 2019 : Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday we listened to the words of the Scripture that are reminding us of what it means to be truly faithful to God. To be faithful to God means to be wholehearted in our commitment and dedication to Him, to centre our attention and focus to God and to have a good and healthy relationship with Him at each and every moments of our lives.

This is presented most clearly in our Gospel passage today where the Lord Jesus spoke to His disciples and to the people on the story of two people who were praying to God in the Temple. He mentioned the prayers of a Pharisee and a tax collector and described the way they prayed at the Temple. While it was not necessary that all the Pharisees and the tax collectors behaved or prayed in that way, the Lord wanted to highlight the widespread bias and prejudice existing at that time.

The Pharisees were seen as a great, intellectual and honourable group of people who were dedicated to the preservation as well as the implementation of the Jewish laws and customs as handed down from generations to generations from the time of Moses. They were influential and powerful, supported by the Temple and by the chief priests and elders, respected for their knowledge of the Scriptures and for their piety.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum were the tax collectors, who together with the lepers, prostitutes and criminals were treated as the lowest and most despicable members of the community. And some, especially among the Pharisees did not even treat them as proper members of the community, but as outcasts and even as supposed pagans and wicked people unworthy of God.

And the tax collectors were despised and treated badly because of their profession in collecting taxes for the king and especially for the Romans, who were the overlords and rulers of the land at that time. First of all, no one ever liked to be taxed of their income, as the history of man has proven again and again. Whenever taxes were levied or increased, often the people rose up in rebellions or became angry.

Unfortunately, the anger and the unhappiness of the people were then often directed at those who collected the taxes as part of their livelihood rather than those who received the collected taxes. It was most convenient to despise the tax collectors as they were the ones at the frontline doing the work of getting the taxes from the people while the Romans were essentially untouchable.

That was the likely reason why the tax collectors received the brunt of the anger and displeasure of the people who treated them as traitors to the nation, as those whom they alleged to have sold the people to the Romans. These were certainly the prejudices and biases that were rampant in the community of the Israelites at that time, and to many if not most of the Pharisees in particular, the tax collectors were seen as unclean, unworthy and sinful people.

That prejudice was clearly seen in the story that Jesus told His disciples, as the Pharisee in the story looked down upon the tax collector and mentioned it openly in his prayer to God, as he looked highly on his own pious faith practices and despised the tax collector as a sinful man. Certainly that was the same attitude shared by many of the Pharisees in real life as listed throughout many parts of the Gospels.

The Pharisee however did not realise that God actually looked with favour on the tax collector, and the prayer of the tax collector was heard because he humbled himself so completely, recognising that he was a sinner not just because the other people said so, but he was aware of his own sins and unworthiness before God. And while the Pharisee held his head up high and praised himself in the prayers he made, the tax collector humbled himself so much and was so ashamed at his sins, that he dared not even to look up and bowed down right far back away from the presence of God.

Comparing the two prayers, both in the words and in the methods, we certainly should know between the Pharisee and the tax collector, who was the one whose prayer was more genuine and true, and whose attention and focus were on the Lord and whose one was on himself. The Pharisee prayed with pride and praised himself before God while actually demeaning someone else, but he was oblivious and failed to notice the sins in his own self. And that was not what a true prayer and what a Christian should behave like.

For prayer in its essence is based on the close and intimate relationship between us and God, and is a form of communication between us and Him. And as how all communications are, prayer is supposed to be two-directional, meaning that a prayer is a means for us to be able to speak to God, but also at the same time, for God to speak to us in our hearts and in our minds.

The Pharisee closed his heart and his mind before he even began to communicate with God. He was so full of pride and arrogance in himself and in his intelligence, piety and status that he did not even allow God to enter into His heart or speak in Him. As he was praising himself and looked down on the tax collector, it showed that he loved himself more than anything or anyone else, even God.

Compare this to the tax collector who bowed himself down, consciously humiliating himself probably in the plain sight of the public. He did not even dare to look up to God, knowing the sins he had committed, reinforced by being ostracised by the community, considered and treated as traitors and as despicable people. He humbled himself such that he emptied himself from all pride and desire, and focused himself entirely to God.

And that was how someone can open himself or herself to God for true communication to be made. Too often in our lives we are too busy and too distracted to realise God wanting to speak to us in our hearts and minds. We must realise that God has always wanted to speak with us and to hear us, just as the prophet Sirach in our first reading today mentioned, that the prayer of a humble person pierces even the clouds of heaven.’

A lot of times in life, we are making too many expectations and having too many desires while succumbing to those tempting desires at the same time. That is how we end up distancing ourselves from God and failing to realise His love for us. Whenever we got caught up by being too busy in life, thinking too highly of ourselves like the Pharisee, we end up sidelining God and shutting ourselves from Him.

Today, as we heard and remembered the passages from the Scriptures, let us all discern and reflect on our own lives, on how we have lived them and how we have been faithful or even unfaithful to God, on whether we have had a good and loving relationship with Him, or whether we are too busy, too distracted or too proud and full of ourselves that we have sidelined him and being too focused on ourselves.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are we able to open ourselves to God, to His sincere love, His generous mercy and forgiveness, His kindness and compassion to us, His willingness to be reconciled with us despite our sinfulness, our many wicked actions and our stubbornness all these while? Are we willing to embrace Him wholeheartedly and sincerely from now on, humbled knowing just how much He loves us regardless of our imperfections and flaws?

Let us be like the tax collector, who came to God baring himself and humbling himself, and coming to God wanting to be forgiven and to embrace Him fully with love. Let us all waste no more time and seek Him in prayers, prayers that truly came from our hearts and not just from our mouths. Let us all seek Him with all of our heart, sparing no effort to become ever closer to Him. Come to Him and receive the fullness of His wonderful love. May God be with us always. Amen.

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Sunday, 27 October 2019 : Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 18 : 9-14

At that time, Jesus told another parable to some people, fully convinced of their own righteousness, who looked down on others : “Two men went up to the Temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the other a tax collector.”

“The Pharisee stood by himself, and said, ‘I thank You, God, that I am not like other people, grasping, crooked, adulterous, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and give a tenth of all my income to the Temple.’ In the meantime the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’”

“I tell you, when this man went back to his house, he had been reconciled with God, but not the other. For whoever makes himself out to be great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be raised up.”

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Sunday, 27 October 2019 : Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

2 Timothy 4 : 6-8, 16-18

As for me, I am already poured out as a libation, and the moment of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Now, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, with which the Lord, the just Judge, will reward me, on that day, and not only me, but all those who have longed for His glorious coming.

At my first hearing in court, no one supported me; all deserted me. May the Lord not hold it against them. But the Lord was at my side, giving me strength, to proclaim the Word fully, and let all the pagans hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will save me from all evil, bringing me to His heavenly kingdom. Glory to Him forever and ever. Amen!

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Sunday, 27 October 2019 : Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 33 : 2-3, 17-18, 19 and 23

I will bless the Lord all my days; His praise will be ever on my lips. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the lowly hear and rejoice.

But His face is set against the wicked to destroy their memory from the earth. The Lord hears the cry of the righteous and rescues them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves the distraught. But the Lord will redeem the life of His servants; none of those who trust in Him will be doomed.

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Sunday, 27 October 2019 : Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Sirach 35 : 15b-17, 20-22

Is she not crying out against the one who caused her to weep? The one who serves God wholeheartedly will be heard; his petition will reach the clouds. The prayer of the humble person pierces the clouds, and he is not consoled until he has been heard.

But the Lord will crush the backbone of the merciless and have vengeance on the nations, until He has completely destroyed the hordes of the violent and broken the power of the wicked, until He has repaid each one according to his deeds.

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Saturday, 26 October 2019 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day through the Scripture passages we have heard, we are reminded by God to be righteous and to grow in faith and be fruitful in all of our actions. The Lord used the parable of the fig tree to highlight this to His disciples and to all of us, how each and every one of us must be living faithfully in accordance to the way of the Lord.

The Lord used the examples of a fig tree in the parable because many of the people living at the time of Jesus’ ministry were farmers, or if not, they were quite aware and knowledgeable of what a fig tree looks like, how they grow and behave in life. And figs are frequently consumed in the region, being highly prized for their sweetness and many uses in food. Therefore, figs that are not sweet or good in quality were useless.

And knowing how plants and trees work, if the fig tree produces a bad quality fig, it is likely that many more of its fruits will be of bad quality as well. But this is not necessarily true, as the fruits will have variations in its quality, although it will still reflect the quality of the parent plant. Nonetheless, from the perspective of a farmer, having a tree that does not produce fruit or produce bad fruits did not make sense.

That is why, the owner of the fig tree wanted to cut down the tree as having the tree to remain growing did not serve well the purpose of its growth, only being a burden to the farm and does not bring benefit to the owner. That is how a farmer thinks, and that is how this world is usually thinking as well, because something that is of no value should not be kept or maintained, and instead should be replaced.

But the Lord used this example because He wants us all to understand first of all that His ways are not like the ways of this world. He does not treat us like a commodity or a possession, for each and every single one of us are precious to Him and are dearly beloved, and that was how the Lord represented this in the gardener, who pleaded for the fig tree to be spared and be given a second chance to grow and bear good fruits.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, each and every one of us are represented by those fig trees and God is the master and the gardener both. And why is that so? That is because God is both our Judge and our loving Father. As God loves us all as mentioned, He wants us all to have a chance and to be reconciled with Him as much as possible. If we have been living our lives wickedly all these while, like those fig trees producing the bad and rotten fruits, or having no fruits at all, then He wants us to be transformed into those who can bear good fruits of faith, being righteous and just in all things.

But at the same time, we cannot and should not delay in accepting God’s generous offer of love and mercy, as many of us took for granted the love and mercy that God had been showing us all these while. If we keep on rejecting Him and continue to live in sin, the time of reckoning will eventually come to us and catch up with us, at the time that we are most unprepared for. And at that time, no matter how much regret we have, it will be meaningless and too late for us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s Scripture passages point out to us how God wants us to be faithful to Him and therefore to follow Him and His path. And He is calling on us to turn to Him and to be righteous in life. St. Paul in our first reading today in his Epistle to the Romans also spoke of this as he exhorted the faithful to live by the way of the Spirit and not by the way of the flesh.

This is a reminder for us to turn away from our sins and from our past disobedience against God’s will. Are we able to commit ourselves to God and to His will from now on? Are we able to make the effort to walk in His path regardless of the challenges and difficulties we may face along this journey? Let us be more faithful and bear good fruits from now on, and be ever closer to God. May God be with us always and bless us in our good endeavours. Amen.

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Saturday, 26 October 2019 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

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

Luke 13 : 1-9

At that time, one day, some people told Jesus what had occurred in the Temple : Pilate had had Galileans killed, and their blood mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. Jesus asked them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered this? No, I tell you. But unless you change your ways, you will all perish, as they did.”

“And those eighteen persons in Siloah, who were crushed when the tower fell, do you think they were more guilty than all the others in Jerusalem? I tell you : no. But unless you change your ways, you will perish as they did.” And Jesus continued, “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it, but found none. Then he said to the gardener, ‘Look here, for three years now I have been looking for figs on this tree, and I have found none. Cut it down, why should it continue to deplete the soil?’”

“The gardener replied, ‘Leave it one more year, so that I may dig around it and add some fertiliser; perhaps it will bear fruit from now on. But if it does not, you can cut it down.’”

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Saturday, 26 October 2019 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

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

Psalm 23 : 1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

The earth and its fullness belong to the Lord, the world and all that dwell in it. He has founded it upon the ocean and set it firmly upon the waters.

Who will ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who will stand in His holy place? Those with clean hands and pure heart, who desire not what is vain.

They will receive blessings from the Lord, a reward from God, their Saviour. Such are the people who seek Him, who seek the face of Jacob’s God.

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Saturday, 26 October 2019 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

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

Romans 8 : 1-11

This contradiction is no longer exists for those who are in Jesus Christ. For, in Jesus Christ, the Law of the Spirit of life has set me free from the law of sin and death. The Law was without effect, because the flesh was not responding. Then God, planning to destroy sin, sent His own Son, in the likeness of those subject to the sinful human condition; by doing this, He condemned the sin, in this human condition.

Since then, the perfection intended by the Law would be fulfilled, in those not walking in the way of the flesh, but in the way of the Spirit. Those walking according to the flesh tend toward what is flesh; those led by the Spirit, to what is Spirit. Flesh tends toward death, while Spirit aims at life and peace. What the flesh seeks is against God : it does not agree, it cannot even submit to the Law of God.

So, those walking according to the flesh cannot please God. Yet your existence is not in the flesh, but in the spirit, because the Spirit of God is within you. If you did not have the Spirit of Christ, you would not belong to Him.

But Christ is within you; though the body is branded by death as a consequence of sin, the spirit is life and holiness. And if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead is within you, He Who raised Jesus Christ from among the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies. Yes, He will do it through His Spirit Who dwells within you.

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Friday, 25 October 2019 : 29th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scripture through which we are reminded that we must do our best to resist the temptation to sin in this world because by our human nature, we are always exposed and easily tempted by sin, because as the Lord said, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Therefore, unless we make the conscious effort to resist those temptations, it is likely that we will fall again and again into sin.

In our first reading today, St. Paul in his Epistle to the Church and the faithful in Rome spoke of how sin truly is a very dangerous enemy that we have in us, and because of that, we must always be vigilant lest these sins mislead us further and even deeper into the trap of sin. Sin brings us into more sins because sin by nature itself is disobedience against God, and the more we disobey God, the more we are disconnected from Him and become more vulnerable against even more temptation.

But St. Paul also reminded us all that while we are easily tempted to sin because of the weakness of our flesh, but in truth, this was not how it was all supposed to be. When God created us man in the beginning, as well as all creation as described in the Book of Genesis, He intended everything to be good and perfect, unblemished and pure, and indeed He created everything to be all good.

Unfortunately, because of our desire and pride, our preference to listen to the lies of the devil rather than to obey the words of our Lord and Creator, sin entered into our hearts, into our minds and into our whole beings, corrupting us and making us filled with this sin, the original sin. And this sin made us enslaved to it, making us vulnerable even more to the temptations of Satan and his wicked forces.

And in our Gospel passage today, the Lord is reminding us all of what we need to do before it is too late for us, as He spoke of signs and wonders that led to the coming of the time of reckoning, as all of us ultimately have to give account of our own respective lives. We have to own up on all things we have done in our lives, whether we have been faithful or whether we have been disobedient and sinful in our way of life.

He reminds us all that the coming of the end of times is a certainty, while we ourselves completely do not know of the time of that precise occurrence. And in addition, all of us will also encounter death in our life sooner or later, as our earthly and mortal existence is limited and temporary. No one can lengthen their lives beyond what God has willed it. And when the time comes, we have to face the Judge of all, God Himself, and give an account of our lives.

If we have allowed ourselves to be swayed by sin and continue to sin without repentance or regret of the wicked things we have done in disobedience to God, then the outcome for us will not be good. And as long as we allow ourselves to be enslaved by sin and reject God’s rich offering of mercy and forgiveness, there will be no place for us in God. For God is all good and perfect, and the sins in us will be obstacles for us in our reconciliation with Him.

But as I have mentioned, and which all of us should be aware of is the fact that God loves us all regardless of our sins. And He is always patient and ready to welcome us back to His embrace should we be willing to accept His offer of mercy and strive to be forgiven from our sins by sincere and complete repentance. Indeed, this is not something that can just easily be done, as we all know that sin is very powerful in its allure and power, and we have ended up falling again and again into sin despite our best efforts.

Yet, we should not give up, as God Himself is by our side, guiding us and encouraging us on our struggle and journey. We must trust in Him and let Him to guide us on our journey, and not allow our desires and pride to lead us even further into sin. This is why it is important for us to deepen our relationships with God by having a healthy and regular prayer life, as well as by practicing our faith sincerely in our respective lives and capacities.

Let us all draw closer to God and strive to stay true to God’s path, dedicating our time and effort, our whole lives from now on to God’s greater glory. Let us all turn our backs towards our sinful past and allow God to forgive us our sins that we may be welcome into the kingdom of His eternal glory and receive true joy and happiness forevermore. Amen.