17th Sunday of Year A

1 Kings 3:5,7-12
Romans 8:28-30
Matthew 13:44-52

What does my faith mean to me?

My brothers and sisters, this week, God asks this question of us: What does my faith mean to me? Indeed, how do we treat our faith? This is an important question for all believers. For the answer to this question define us. It defines our life. The truth is, our faith is a treasure chest. But only the truly faithful ones can see its value. In the Gospel this week, Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (verse 44) “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (verse 45-46)

How do we treat the teachings and traditions that has been handed down to us through the generations? How about the things that we have learned; things that God has revealed to us through sermons, talks and life experiences? How do we use the new things we learn to build upon the foundation that has been handed down? And importantly, how do we tell if a teaching is fake and was designed to deceive us and lead us astray? In Jesus’ days, there were the scribes, who were a group of scholars tasked with preserving the faith. This was what Jesus said of the scribes in the Gospel this week: “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” (verse 52)

Only with maturity in faith can we discern the true from the fake. Consider the Parable of the Weed and Darnel from the previous week. (Mt 13:24-30) We read how the householder instructed the slaves to not try to pull out the weeds among the wheat (Mt 13:29), for without wisdom in discernment, wheat might be mistaken as weed and vice versa. Jesus reemphasises the same point this week when he said, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad.” (verse 47-48) But how do we do that?

Firstly, we need wisdom. But no one gains wisdom by being proud. Before we can attain wisdom, we must first have humility before God. For example, how many of us look at our achievements in life and deem ourselves as deserving of the achievements? How many of us look at our achievements and forget that they are God’s blessings – even if we had worked hard for them? For when we work hard, we are simply working in partnership with God, utilising the potentials He has blessed us with. In the First Reading, even as king Solomon assumed the throne of his father David, he showed great humility. Solomon said to God, “O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted.” (verse 7-8) Because Solomon has shown humility, God granted him wisdom: “Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you.” (verse 12) Indeed, humility and wisdom go hand in hand.

Secondly, the treasure chest of our faith is not just for us. It is for the whole of humanity. Like Jesus, we are called to be member of the common priesthood, to be carrier of this treasure, so that we may present it to the world. “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Pet 2:9) How many of us, given a choice, would ask for good things for our own benefits – wealth, pleasure, power and honour? How many of us even go so far as wishing misfortunes to fall upon our enemies? Again, let us learn from Solomon. He sought wisdom not to benefit himself, but so that he may be more equipped to serve. “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?” (verse 9) In response, God said to Solomon, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, I now do according to your word.” (verse 11-12)

Ultimately, faith must lead to love. Solomon wanted to serve the people better because he loves them. Indeed, love is to always wish the good of others, even those who we find hard to love or do not love us back. When we love truly, we become self-giving, i.e. we are willing to sacrifice ourselves or what is ours for the good of others. When wishing something for ourselves, we would wish for something that we may use to benefit others. For example,

• If I wish for wealth, is it because I want to use my wealth to help others?
• If I wish for pleasure, is it because I want the physical ability and energy to serve?
• If I wish for power and honour, is it because I want to have an amplified voice to speak the truth and speak again injustice?

My dear friends, if this is how we approach our faith and the blessings we receive from God, then God in His kindness and love, will reward us accordingly – and in His time. In the words of St Paul in the Second Reading, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (verse 28) But it is not something we can demand of God. Like the unprofitable servant in the parable, we must simply say, “We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!” (Lk 17:10)

Peace be with you. Shalom.

16th Sunday of Year A

Wisdom 12:13,16-19
Romans 8:26-27
Matthew 13:24-43

Judging the wheat and darnel around and within us.

The world is filled many different types of people – people with good intentions; and those with bad intentions. And often, these are the same people – people who performed righteous acts in moments of grace; and the same people performing evil acts in moments of weakness. In the language of the Gospel parable this week, not only is the world filled with wheat and darnel; we ourselves are filled with wheat and darnel. Let’s reflect on the parable a little deeper.

In the Parable of the Wheat and Darnel, even though the darnel (weed) is growing among the wheat, the householder instructed the slaves to not try to pull out the weeds, saying, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them.” (verse 29) Why did the householder say that? It is because, when they are small, the wheat and darnel are almost indistinguishable from each other. So, any attempt to pull out the darnel is prone to mistakes. This is the case with the world. Around us, sinners and righteous people live alongside each other, often indistinguishable from one another. Not only that, sinful and righteous acts are often performed alongside each other too, also indistinguishable from each other. For example, consider two persons performing the same charitable act, say, both donating the same amount to the same charity. One may do it out of pure love, while the other do it solely to attract publicity and praises. And it can be hard to distinguish one act from the other, as we cannot see the disposition of the heart.

The same applies to religious practices such as the worship rituals of our Church. We cannot see the disposition of the heart, whether a person is genuinely fervent in their faith; or just pretending to be pious. It is the same with prayers. Most of us think a good prayer must be in words. We admire those who pray in rich and profound words. While we may be impressed with those who can pray eloquently, what we do not see is the heart of the person. As Jesus cautioned us, “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Mt 6:7-8) In the same vein, St Paul said to the Romans in this week’s Second Reading, that in prayers, it is what is in the heart that matters: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” (verse 26)

Indeed, whether an act is pure and righteous, or corrupt and evil, only time will tell. Over time, as they grow, the wheat and darnel do become distinguishable. So it is in life. With the passage of time, we can distinguish sinfulness from righteousness by the types of fruits they bear. A righteous person with altruistic motives will bear good fruits – in the words of St Paul, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Gal 5:22-23) An evil person with ulterior motives will bear bad fruits – in the words of St Paul, “fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these.” (Gal 5:19-21) Not only that, but God blesses and multiply good works. Hence, we can also judge is by examining how God multiplies the good fruits. As Jesus explains in the Parable of the Mustard Seed in this week’s Gospel, “it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” (verse 32)

But such judgement not only takes wisdom, it also takes time for the truth to be revealed. So in most instances, we are not in the position to judge justly. Hence, we must always err on the side of love and mercy. The First Reading teaches us that even God, who has the ultimate wisdom and power to judge and punish us for our sins, treats us with gentleness and mercy. For there are wheat and darnel in each and every one of us. “Although you are sovereign in strength, you judge with mildness, and with great forbearance you govern us; for you have power to act whenever you choose.” (verse 18) This is a stern reminder to us, especially those of us vested with authority. That we must exercise our power in a responsible way; and always acts with mercy and compassion. The same applies when we judge others. There are always elements of wheat and darnel in those we judge. We must follow the example of God to act with love and mercy. This is what God calls us to do: “Through such works you have taught your people that the righteous must be kind, and you have filled your children with good hope, because you give repentance for sins.” (verse 19)

Let us conclude with a final point of reflection. While it is often difficult for us to judge others, it is not so when we judge ourselves. We always know our true motives when we act in a certain way – we just have to be honest with ourselves. Hence, we must be always on the alert about our apparent acts of righteousness – whether we are donating money, volunteering, helping someone, worshiping and even just praying. Are we doing so as wheat or darnel? Am I at peace with my conscience when I perform the act? Out of pride, do I musk my evil intent with righteous sounding reasons? Over time, would God reward me with good fruits; or in fact, multiply these good fruits like he does with the mustard seed? Or would I be punished by bad fruits? My dear friends, as we reflect on our life and our work, let this be our self-contemplation this week. May the wisdom of the Holy Spirit be with us as we reflect. Amen.