1st Sunday Of Advent Year C

Jeremiah 33:14-16
1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2
Luke 21:25-28,34-36

Keeping focus on Jesus this Advent.

My brothers and sisters, we have commenced our Advent preparation. Just as Lent is a preparation period for Easter, Advent is a preparation period for us to receive our infant Lord at Christmas. However, with the secularisation of Christmas, many of us have lost sight of the spiritual significance of Christmas and more generally, our life on earth. This challenge is hardly new or surprising. Afterall, as Christians, we live in the world but are called to be not of the world. Indeed, as Jesus prayed for us the night before His Passion: “I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.” (Jn 17:15-16)

Of course, spiritual or secular, Christmas is always a busy time for most families. On the secular aspects, there are gifts to prepare, meals to cook, gatherings to organise, etc. And just because these are largely secular activities does not mean they are bad for us spiritually – not by themselves anyway. What matters is where we put our emphasis. To help us put our life and Christmas in perspective, in the Gospel this week, Jesus paints us a vision of His Second Coming. “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” (verse 25-26) So, while there is nothing wrong with secular preparation activities, Advent is a time where the Church invites us to cast our eyes beyond our secular. With our eyes firmly focused on the spiritual, we are called to be detached from the world: “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life” (verse 34)

So, how do we live in the world but not take on the values of the world? As Christians preparing for the coming of our infant Lord, we are called to adopt spiritual virtues instead of worldly characteristics. And what better ways to do this than to imitate the ways of holy men and women and our Lord Jesus Himself? It is as St Paul said to the Thessalonians in the Second Reading this week: “we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more.” (verse 4:1) Indeed, to help us keep focus on the spiritual, we need life models to whom we may imitate; so that in turn, we act as life models for others who look up to us to imitate.

So, my brothers and sisters, let us ask ourselves: In my life, who have I been imitating? Have I been imitating Jesus or have I been imitating the world. If it is the latter, how am I going in life? If I have been imitate the ways of materialism, greed, pride, unforgiveness, anger, greed, envy, how does it make me feel? Do I find it elusive to attain peace, fulfilment, joy and contentment? As dire as this may sound, in truth, many of us are not completely in dire straits. For most of us, we straddle between the spiritual and the secular – we imitate Jesus in some aspects of our life and the world in other aspects. Even then, the hold of the world is strong on us. As we prepare for Christmas, this Advent, the Lord invites us to depart from the embrace of the world and come walk alongside him more closely.

So, in this first week of Advent, God provides three spiritual virtues to imitate.

• Righteousness. In the First Reading, pointing to the genealogy of Jesus, Jeremiah wrote, “I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David” (verse 15) This is the name Jesus would be known: “The Lord is our righteousness.” (verse 16). And it is the righteousness of Jesus that we are called to imitate.
• Love. In the Second Reading, St Paul exalts the virtue of love. “And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you.” (verse 3:12) And as St Paul pointed out, unlike other earthly assets, love is a virtue that as we give more of it away, it grows, and we come to possess more of it!
• Holiness. And finally, St Paul calls us to practise holiness. “And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.” (verse 3:13) And as Jesus Himself urges us, “as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.'” (1 Pet 1:15-16)

My dear friends, this year, as we begin our Advent preparation, amidst our busy activities, let us always keep a firm focus on Jesus – in righteousness, love and holiness. Amen.

Christ The King, Year B

Daniel 7:13-14
Apocalypse 1:5-8
John 18:33-37

Am I ready to claim Jesus’ heavenly Kingship as my own?

The Feast of Christ the King, which we celebrate this week, marks the end of the liturgical year. Next week, we will commence a new liturgical year with the season of Advent.

At the Feast of Christ the King, God invites us to reflect on the question of kingship. In these modern days, even though we are no longer ruled by kings, we nevertheless have the equivalent of earthly kings who rule over our lives. Our Parliament makes law which we are obliged to obey. Our government agencies exert authority over us by enforce these laws. Less obvious are the roles of community leaders, celebrities and social media influencers. These set trends which many of us consciously and, in some cases, blindly follows. In truth, even though we no longer have traditional kings who rule over us, our lives are nevertheless ruled by many alternative forms of earthly kingships.

In truth, many of us yearn to be conferred earthly kingships. This is because kingship is associated with attention, power and control. Many of us yearn to be in positions where we can exert authority over others. Some of us strive for positions of power in organisations and governments; some of us strive to become celebrities and influencers. Where we could not attain influence and authority in our own rights, many of us strive to be close to or be seen with those with influence and authority. In this Feast of Christ the King, God invites us to take stock and reflect: Why are earthly kingships attractive to me? Do they make my life more complete, fulfilling or happy? Do these feelings of satisfaction last; or are they fleeting satisfaction? Do I yearned for something that may persist in my afterlife? And if so, perhaps we should turn to heavenly kingship instead? This is precisely what God invites us to on the Feast of Christ the King.

In the First Reading this week, Daniel painted us a vision of Jesus when he wrote, “I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven.” (verse 13) In other translations, this text reads, “one like the son of man”. Indeed the “Son of Man” is one of the titles Jesus commonly used on Himself. The Second Reading paints a similar vision: “Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him;” (verse 7)

So, what is the difference between Jesus’ heavenly kingship and the earthly kingships we referred to earlier? And why is this important? In the Gospel this week, we read Jesus explaining this to Pontius Pilate. Firstly, He said to Pilate, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” (verse 36) In other words, heavenly kingship is not one of strong-arm tactics or violence. The chief priests exercised their earthly kingship by sending a contingent of temple guards to arrest Jesus by force. In contrast, there is no violent or high-handed push back from Jesus the heavenly King. This is a kingship that does not incite violence, but instead, it promotes love, mercy and peace.

Secondly, Jesus’ kingship is never imposing. In the Gospel, we read Pilate becoming inquisitive of Jesus’ kind of kingship. “Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king.'” (verse 37) Here, we see Jesus inviting Pilate to proclaim Jesus as king. In other words, Jesus’ kingship is a kingship that is not imposed on us, unlike earthly kingships. There is no coercion. Jesus is only our King if we are prepared to acknowledge Him as such. Jesus went on to say, “I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” (verse 37) Hence my brothers and sisters, we ask: Am I prepared to accept Jesus’ kind of kingship? Am I prepared to listen to His voice?

Finally, in earthly kingships, many of us try very hard to become associated with people in authority; whereas in heavenly kingship, the authority is there ready for us to claim as our own. For this is what St Paul said of us, “we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ” (Rom 8:16-17). Not only can we share in Jesus’ kingship, it is a kingship that persists into eternity. In the First Reading, Daniel wrote this of Jesus and us, “To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.” (verse 14) In a similar vein, St John wrote in the Second Reading, “To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (verse 6-7)

So, my brothers and sisters, we see that heavenly kingship is fundamentally different to earthly kingships that we often yearn. The question remained: Is Jesus’ heavenly kingship attractive to me? Or do I remain on the world plain and am only attracted to earthly kingships? In truth, it is only with spiritual maturity that we become attracted to Jesus’ heavenly kingship. In other words, we ought to develop a love of Him, His word and His teaching. For to claim Jesus’ kingship as our own, we do not simply do it by paying lip services. We have to claim by the way we live our life. Jesus forgives those who commits wrong; He sacrifices His own life for the sake of love; He accepted great injustice inflicted upon Him, all for the sake of leading us to accepting His kingship. In the Gospel this week, we read how Jesus led Pilate on, hoping that Pilate would choose righteousness over political convenience. This is the same invitation He extends to us today – that even though it is not easy, we may freely claim His Kingship as our own by our imitation of Him. For only in this way will we receive that kind of completeness and fulfillment that earthly kingships cannot provide. It is the type of satisfaction that endures to the end of our life and beyond – “an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away”.

My brothers and sisters, as we end yet another liturgical year; and as we prepare to begin our Advent preparation for Christmas, let us reflect on Jesus’ heavenly Kingship and ask: Am I prepare to claim this Kingship as my own?

33nd Sunday Year B

Daniel 12:1-3
Hebrews 10:11-14,18
Mark 13:24-32

Be well-prepared for end-time. Be well-prepared for life.

My dear friends, we are coming to the end of yet another liturgical year. Next Sunday, we will celebrate the Feast of Christ The King, which will mark the end of the current liturgical year. The end of the liturgical year is an apt time for us to reflect on life. This week, the Scripture invites us to reflect on the end-time, that is, the time when our life on earth will come to an end. Why is this important? Whatever the uncertainty in life, one thing we can be assured of is that our life on earth, and in fact the earth itself, will one day come to an end. Whether we are believers or not, we know this is an absolute certainty. Ironically, in spite of its absolute certainty, for most of us, we do not often think about the end-time. This is the case even for many believers. Hence, it is important that we reflect on the end-time. Because in life, if we strive to end well, we will also live well.

The First Reading this week describes a vision of end-time, when the world we know will come to an end. We read, “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” (verse 2-3) In the Gospel this week, Jesus too gives as a vision of end-time. He said, “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.” (verse 24-25) In the First Reading, Daniel mentioned the Archangel St Michael, “the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise.” (verse 1). In the Gospel, Jesus offers an equivalent vision, when God “will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.” (verse 27) In all these visions, there is a sense of a new beginning, but not before we stand before God to account for our life. My brothers and sisters, let us ask ourselves today: If I carry on living my life as I do now, on current trajectory, what will be God’s judgement on me at end-time? Will He say, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” (Mt 25:23). Or will He say, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me. Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” (Mt 25:41-43, 45)

And when is this end-time? Jesus says in the Gospel this week, “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (verse 32) That is why in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus reminded us, “if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” (Mt 24:43-44) And in the Gospel of Luke, He warned us, “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking, and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed all of them. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed all of them – it will be like that on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.” (Lk 17:26-30)

My brothers and sisters, the Scripture this week invites us to grow and deepen the meaning of our lives. So, we reflect: What will be my eternal life look like after my sojourn on earth comes to an end? What must I do to live well? In the Gospel two weeks ago, Jesus gave us these commandments: “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” (Mk 12:30) “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” (Mk 12:31) In what areas of my life have I not love as Jesus commanded? Perhaps, in my family, I am not fulfilling my responsibilities as a child or parent? Perhaps, at my workplace, I have not performed my work to the best of my ability? Perhaps, at my church and community, I am reluctant to serve the community; or when I do, I am doing it for the wrong reasons. Perhaps, in the society, I have not been reaching out to help the poor? And finally, in our human relationships, perhaps I have strained relationships due to my pride, unforgiveness or failure to admit my faults? Whatever it is, this week, God invites to focus on the end-time and ask ourselves: What areas in my life do I need to set right before my end-time?

Let us live well. Only when we live well can we end well. May the Holy Spirit come upon us as we discern. Amen.