6TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR C

Jeremiah 17:5-8
Psalm 1.1-4.6
1Corinthians 15:12.16-20
Luke 6:17.20-26

THE WAY TO TRUE HAPPINESS

Everybody wants to be happy and prosperous. But the way you chose to get there may bring you blessedness and peace, or it may lead you to woe and curse. Curse and blessing, happiness and sadness, death and resurrection, blessedness and woes: behold the two ways laid before us in today’s readings. 

In effect, he who puts his trust in men and in created things avails himself to curse, sadness and woes. He is like a dried leaf tossed about by any kind of wind. On the other hand, the man who puts his trust in the Lord is blessed and joyful. He is like a tree planted near the river. He has no fear of anything. He bears fruits in season and out of season. Nothings can rob his inner peace and interior joy. If therefore we trust in the crucified and risen Christ, blessed are we.

As such, those who are materially poor, the sad, the hungry and persecuted because of Christ are blessed and therefore should rejoice, says Jesus in the Gospel. For God is their consolation, in contrast to those who put their trust and consolation in their material possessions.

Like Moses who set before the people of Israel life and prosperity, death and adversity, and exhorted them to choose life (Deut. 30:15-20), I challenge you to trust in the Lord. Walk in his ways. Obey his Word. And you will be blessed, happy and fruitful all the days of your life, no matter the storms, challenges, and problems you may face. May the Holy Spirit help us trust God at all times so that we may inherit eternal life. Amen

FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR C

Jeremiah 1:4-5.17-19
Psalm 70
1Corinthians 13:1-13
Luke 4:21-30

THE LOT OF A PROPHET

A prophet is the spokesperson of God. He speaks on behalf of God. As such, prophets are often not welcomed. They may be rejected, maltreated or persecuted, especially by their own kins: “No prophet is ever accepted in his own country,” Jesus tells his townsmen. This was the experience of Jesus and many prophets including Jeremiah.

The evangelist Luke continues his report of the visit of Jesus to the synagogue of his hometown. He preached so well that the people marveled at his gracious words and eloquence. But this admiration turned into rage. Their amazement quickly turned into hatred. Thus, they ejected him out of the synagogue. They wanted to push him off the cliff on which their town was built. But Jesus walked through them and left.

Such treatment of men of God was not uncommon. The prophet Jeremiah was to have similar experience. Since his mother’s womb, God had chosen him to be a prophet to the nations. But he was to face opposition and hostility. The people would fight against him, but they would not overcome him because God had made him a fortified city. The Lord was with him to deliver him.

By virtue of our baptism, we too are prophets. We must speak and proclaim the words of God to our contemporaries. But we must keep two things in mind. First, we will face challenges, rejection, criticisms and oppositions. And yet, we should not be afraid because the Lord is with us. With God, we shall overcome. Second, we may have all it takes to be a good prophet; but without love, we are “simply a gong booming or a cymbal clashing”. Love is a gift that lasts forever, says St Paul in the second reading. Yes, love is everything and it changes everything. Let our love for one another become a testimony in today’s world.

Amen

SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B

Jeremiah 23:1-6
Psalm 22
Ephesians 2:13-18
Mark 6:30-34

BE CONCERNED OF OTHERS

Last Sunday, Jesus sent his disciples into mission. Today, they come back and give account of what they had done. Jesus asks them to withdraw to a lonely place so that they could rest for a while. But before they could reach their place of rest, a large crowd was already waiting for them. The people were like without guide, exhausted, and lost. They were hungry for words of light and meaning in their lives. Thus, Jesus was moved with compassion for them. He let go his legitimate right to rest so as to satisfy the needs of the crowd. In this sense, Jesus is the good, loving, caring and tenderhearted shepherd (Mark 6:30-34).

These were the qualities that were lacking in the leaders of Israel at the time of prophet Jeremiah. Hence, in the first reading God warns them for their misdeeds. They did not take care of the flock; neither did they seek the lost nor gather them. Consequently, God promises to raise up new and faithful shepherds for his people (Jer. 23:1-6).

Another quality of a good shepherd is that he gathers the flock. He promotes togetherness, peace and unity. St Paul tells us in the second reading that Jesus, by his death on the cross, has reconciled all of us into one people. He broke the wall of division and brought both Jews and Gentiles into one family (Eph. 2:13-18).

Each one of us, whether we are the Pope, a bishop, a priest, a pastor, a parent, a leader, a doctor, a teacher, a seller, a worker, etc. must strive to be caring, sensitive to the needs and miseries of others. Sometimes, we may need to let go our rights and privileges, our cherished time of rest in order to bring relief and consolation to others. We are invited also to break the barriers of hostility, division and revenge that are tearing apart our relationships, families, churches and communities.
May the Lord bless and keep all of us. Amen

FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR B

Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 51:3-4.12-15
Hebrews 5:7-9
John 12:20-33

THE CHRISTIAN PARADOX

This is the Sunday that precedes Palm Sunday that ushers us into the Holy Week. We are told in the gospel that some Greeks wanted to see Jesus. But nothing is explicitly said if their request was granted. Nevertheless, Jesus indicates the way any person wanting to see him can do so: raising one’s eyes towards the cross. It is on the cross that we can recognize the Son of God. The hour of his crucifixion becomes the hour of his revelation, glorification and exaltation.

He therefore compares his death with a grain of wheat that falls into the ground. There is no harvest that is not preceded by the sowing of a seed. The seed that is buried in the ground goes through degradation before germination. If we wish to ne great and spiritually fruitful, we must be humble and accept humiliation.

It was by accepting the humiliating death on the cross with all its associated pains and torture that Jesus became the source of eternal salvation for us. He himself learnt to obey through suffering, tears and earnest prayer. We too can only bear fruits if we accept to suffer little.
It was by dying on the cross that Jesus fulfilled the promise of God as presented to us in the first reading. The blood he shed on Calvary became the blood of the new and eternal covenant.

If we wish to meet Jesus, we must go to Calvary. If we wish to have life, we must let our ego and old ways of life die in us. If we wish to be great, we must become little. If we wish to be transformed, we must first allow ourselves to be deformed.