1st Sunday of Advent - B (November 29, 2020)

 

God, Have You Hidden from Us?

Mark 13:33-37

 

2020.  What a year! 

 

We might have questioned many of the things we take for granted or depend on.

 

It has been a year of uncertainties, anxieties, worries, and fears. 

 

We realize that we are not in control. 

 

Like the Prophet Isaiah in the first reading, we might ask if God is angry with us, or if God has hidden from us.

 

May our life experiences bring us to pray with trust, as Isaiah did, “O LORD, Return for the sake of your servants.”

 

At the same time, the 2^nd Reading and the Gospel encourage us not to paralyzed by fear, or to be passive bystanders.  Jesus’ disciples must make profit with the gifts that God has blessed us with, especially the gift of Jesus, God’s only Son.  In so doing, we transform our world to become more God’s world as we wait for the day of its completion.  

 

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Christ the King - A (November 22, 2020)

 

“You Did for Me”

Matthew 25: 31-46

 

John Petty points out that in Matthew, Jesus began his preaching ministry declaring that those who are poor, who hunger, who mourn … are “blessed” (the Beatitudes in Chapter 5).  Now, Jesus goes even further.  He calls them “brothers of mine.”   He identifies himself with them. [1]

 

Consequently, in serving “the least,” we serve the King of the universe.

 

At the same time, this passage challenges us to reflect on the King who we present to others.  Jesus is clearly not a king who lords it over others with power and control.  Do we present and represent a Jesus Christ who identifies himself with the least brothers and sisters?

 

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[1] www.progressiveinvolvement.com

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33rd Sunday - A (November 15, 2020)

 

God’s Possessions

Matthew 25: 14-30
 

The master “entrusted his possessions” to his servants.

 

Scholars observe that it is almost impossible to know precisely how much a talent would be in modern monetary value.  But Jesus’ emphasis does not seem to be about monetary value anyway.

It is the trust that matters.  It is the trust the master puts in his servants.  Even the third servant is entrusted with the master’s possessions.

 

And the greatest possession is not material things or money. 

 

Think of the gift of life that God has entrusted to us. 

 

Think of the gift of God’s only Son, Jesus Christ, that God has entrusted to us.  With Jesus, we are entrusted with God’s love, mercy, peace, harmony, and so much more.

 

Am I making interest in multiplying and sharing the possessions that God has entrusted to me?  Am I making God, who has been so generous to me, known and loved?

 

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32nd Sunday - A (November 8, 2020)

You Lord Give Light to my Lamp

Matthew 25: 1-13

 

Beginning today, and for the next two Sundays (the last 3 Sundays of the Church year), the Gospels are three parables from Chapter 25 of the Gospel According to Matthew.  Matthew concludes the ministry of Jesus with these parables.  (Chapter 26 begins with “the conspiracy against Jesus” by those who opposed him).

 

These three parables together teach us how to live our earthly life in reference to the Kingdom of God.  And God’s Kingdom is not something of the next life.  It is already here because Jesus has already established it with his incarnation, his ministry, his crucifixion and resurrection. 

 

One lesson that can be drawn from today’s Gospel is that in order to live in God’s Kingdom, we must stay connected with Jesus.  A lamp without oil cannot give light.  And in Scriptures, there are references to God and God’s word as the source of light.  For example, “You Lord give light to my lamp; my God brightens my darkness” (Psalm 18: 29) [1], and “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105) [2].  Thus, we, like lamps, must be filled with the Oil – God and God’s Word.

 

 

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[1] Footnote in New American Bible for Psalm 119:105.

[2] progressiveinvolvement.com.

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