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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All Saints (November 1, 2020)

 

“We Shall Be Like God”

Matthew 5:1-12a

 

The writer of the First Letter of St. John attests to God’s transformative love.  “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called children of God.”  The writer repeats, “We are God’s children now.”  This love of God is transformative because “we shall be like” God (Second Reading). 

 

With the Beatitudes, Jesus teaches us how we can allow God’s love to transform us to be like God. 

 

Today, as we celebrate All Saints, we celebrate all those who have responded to God’s transformative love that makes them like God. 

 

They have done it.  How about me?

 

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30th Sunday - A (October 25, 2020)

 

Loving God in Loving Our Neighbor

Matthew 22: 34-40

 

Today’s Gospel comes from Matthew Chapter 22.  In this same chapter, last Sunday Jesus told us to “repay to God what belongs to God” (v. 21)

 

Perhaps that instruction gives me a reason to strive to love my neighbor.  My neighbor and I are both gifts from God.  It is God who has created us in God’s image and likeness.  We are redeemed by God’s only Son, Jesus Christ.  We are temples of the Holy Spirit.    

 

We do not always act or live as gifts from God, or as people redeemed by Christ.  We do not always reflect God’s image and likeness.  We do not always behave as temples of the Holy Spirit. 

 

Regardless, nothing could nullify the source of our existence, God.  Nothing can undo Christ’s redemption.  Nothing can destroy the Holy Spirit dwelling in us.        

 

When we love one another, we witness to the life, power and presence of God.  Likewise, we express our love and gratitude for God, our Creator and the Gift-giver.

 

 

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29th Sunday - A (October 18, 2020)

 

“Repay To God What Belongs to God”

Matthew 22: 15-21

 

The question then is, “What does not belong to God?”

 

All things and all people are from God and belong to God.

 

In the current social and political climate, this fact challenges us to examine our attitude regarding all that God has created. 

 

Some possible questions are:

Do I allow myself, other people, or created things to take God’s place in my life and in my heart?  One practical application of this question is in our political viewpoint and affiliation.  Is the #1 rule in my life God’s law, or my political agenda, or that of my political party or leader?

 

Another question:  How do I treat others, particularly those who hold different opinions than mine?  In the Second Reading, St. Paul reminds us that we all are “brothers and sisters,” “chosen” and “loved by God.”  

 

Today is also World Mission Sunday.  View Pope Francis' message for this day  here.

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28th Sunday - A (October 11, 2020)

 

“All Peoples”

Matthew 22: 1-14

 

Isaiah uses the image of a banquet to speak of God’s Reign.  About seven hundred years before the time of the Messiah, Isaiah prophesized, “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples” (First Reading, emphasis mine).   

 

In the Gospel, Jesus tells a parable signifying the time has come when he fulfills that prophesy.

 

In Jesus Christ, God invites to his banquet all kinds of people, “bad and good alike.”  They are now all “guests.” 

 

Our world today still needs to know this inclusivity of God’s Reign.  And each follower of Christ must be a witness and instrument of God’s invitation and welcome for all people. 

 

I might think “I’m in” and become full of pride, forgetting that I cannot earn a place at the banquet.  Besides, I might be tempted to judge people by my standards, to allow some in and keep others out.  

 

It is helpful to keep in mind that the banquet is God’s, not mine.  And it is God who offers the invitation and who is also the host, not me.

 

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27th Sunday - A (October 4, 2020)

God’s Patience

Matthew 21: 33-43

 

“The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.”  These words from the Prophet Isaiah (first reading and the response) provides the background for Jesus’ use of the vineyard image in the Gospel parable.

 

The Lord also treats the Church, the new Israel, as His vineyard.

 

So does God treat each of God’s children. 

 

Think of God’s patience and repeated efforts to care for the vineyard, each one of us, and to enable us to bear fruits.

 

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26th Sunday - A (September 27, 2020)

 

The Son Who Does the Father’s Will

Matthew 21: 28-32

 

Today’s Gospel passage comes from Chapter 21 of the Gospel According to Matthew.

The chapter began with Jesus entering Jerusalem.  Prior to this passage, Jesus had purified the Temple by chasing out the vendors and money changers.

 

The plot is thickening leading to his arrest, unjust trial, and crucifixion. 

 

Jesus is the son who “does the Father’s will” to the point of death.  This is also the emphasis of the 2^nd reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians. 

 

Thanks to Jesus who does the Father’s will, sinners who believe in him may now enter the kingdom of God.

 

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25th Sunday - A (September 20, 2020)

 

I Deserve This.

Matthew 20: 1-16a

 

The first group of laborers complained to the landowner, “You have made them equals to us.”  (emphasis is mine).  They also credited themselves, “We bore the day’s burden and the heat.”

To be fair to them, they were there at dawn, ready to work. 

 

We hear these kind of expressions that often.  We all probably have said or thought similarly about ourselves too.  We worked hard.  We took our job seriously.  We deserved it.  Then we compare ourselves with others, “We work harder.  They don’t deserve it.”

 

There is room for a system of merits and rewards in human society.  Sometimes, it’s even a matter of justice.

 

But we are wrong to apply this way of thinking to God and God’s gift. 

 

If the landowner had not given the laborers work, all of them, including the first group, could be “standing idle all day.” 

 

God’s forgiveness, mercy, and love are all given to us unconditionally. 

 

If God had not created us, we would not even exist.  Moreover, God gave us God’s only Son to die for us sinners to save us and to make us children of God.  The Holy Spirit is present to guide us to eternal life with the Trinity. 

 

Therefore, gratitude is the only thing we have to offer.  

 

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24th Sunday - A (September 13, 2020)

God’s Gift of Conscience

Matthew 18: 21-35

 

We have “in [our] hearts a law inscribed by God” [1] that is called conscience.  Thus, conscience is God’s gift to us. 

 

One of the gifts of a well-formed conscience is it helps us know our sins.  Knowing our sins could help us be more aware of our need for God’s forgiveness.

 

The awareness our need for God’s forgiveness should then lead us to greater gratitude to God and appreciation of God’s mercy.  (On the contrary, without the awareness of God’s boundless mercy, the awareness of sins alone can easily lead us to despair).

 

Appreciation of God’s mercy in turn could help us grow in our compassion with ourselves and with others. 

 

The first servant in today’s Gospel does not know the immensity of what he owes the king.  He even brags, “I will pay you back in full” although he has “no way of paying it back.”  He is clueless of either the size of the debt or his situation.  That is similar to the unawareness of one’s sins. 

 

Consequently, the servant has no appreciation for the king who was so “moved with compassion” for him that the king just “let him go and forgave him the loan.”

 

We know the rest of the story. 

 

[1] Catechism of the Catholic Church #1776, quoted Gaudium et Spes 16, quoted Romans 2:15.

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23rd Sunday - A (September 6, 2020)

 

When We Sin

Matthew 18: 15-20

 

The verb used for “to sin” in Matthew 18: 15 is a Greek verb that “came originally from the world of archery and means "missing the mark." [1]   It also means “to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honor,” or “to wander from the law of God.” [2]

 

When we sin, we miss the mark.  We fail to be the people God creates [1] and calls to be.

 

Correction in the community, according to the way of Jesus, is an act of charity.  Its purpose is to help the community members to become who God calls us to be – “perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5: 48) 

 

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[1] https://www.progressiveinvolvement.com

[2] https://www.blueletterbible.org

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22nd Sunday - A (August 30, 2020)

 

It Is Not Easy

Matthew 16: 21-27

 

It is easier to profess with our words who Jesus is.  That was what Peter did in last Sunday’s Gospel.  Peter acclaimed that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

 

It is harder to accept that the Christ must “suffer greatly and be killed” by crucifixion.  That’s where Peter fails in today’s Gospel.

 

We know and believe that Jesus suffered and died on the cross to save us.  But it is not easy to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow him.

 

Lord Jesus, give me strength to carry my cross and follow you, because that is the way you allow me to share in your mission of saving us and the whole world from sin and death.  

 

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21st Sunday - A (August 23, 2020)

A Loaded Question

Matthew 16: 13-20

“Who do you say that I am?” 

Peter answered it then.  Each one of us still needs to answer it today. 

It’s not enough to know other people’s answers, even if they have the right answer.  Jesus reminds us that faith is a gift revealed by the heavenly Father.  And we need to embrace it.

The faith Peter professes is the faith of the Church.  The Church professes that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  This Son of God came to earth so that by his cross and resurrection, he has brought all people into the family of God, as God’s sons and daughters. 

If I accept this gift of faith from God, there are a number of consequent ramifications.  One, Jesus must be first in my life.  Two, I must treat other people as my brothers and sisters, children of the same heavenly Father.  

Let us today pray for Pope Francis, Peter's successor.

 

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20th Sunday - A (August 16, 2020)

 

“Send Her Away”

Matthew 15: 21-28

 

The disciples’ reaction to the woman asking Jesus for help is, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.” 

 

Send her away for she is bothering us. 

 

Unfortunately, that kind of response to a person who is in need is not uncommon.

 

In the Gospel passage that we heard two Sundays ago, the disciples had the same reaction before Jesus fed the people.  They suggested that Jesus sent the people away.  “Dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.”

 

The disciples want to send people away, feeling they are being bothered.  

 

How often do I do the same?

 

Jesus, in spite of the apparently harsh words, responded to the woman’s request.  Moreover, he would lay down his life for all humanity. 

 

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18th Sunday - A (August 2, 2020)

“His Heart Was Moved with Pity”

Matthew 14: 13-21

 

“It’s not my problem.”   “I can’t help.”  Most, if not all of us, probably have either felt or responded in similar words when encountered a person in need, or a situation we wished we could do something to change or to improve it.   

 

The first response is about attitude.  The second is about ability or means.

 

The disciples in today’s Gospel had the same responses when they saw the hungry crowds.  Regarding their attitude, they first said to Jesus, “It’s not our problem.  Let’s send them away so ‘they can go and buy food for themselves.’”

 

But Jesus told them to give the people some food themselves.  They now responded, “We can’t help.”  They had five loaves and two fish.  Was the food what they brought for themselves and Jesus?  This was about their ability and means.  They said, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”

 

Jesus has the divine ability to feed the hungry crowds.  But first, his attitude.  “His heart was moved with pity” for the people. 

 

We have much to learn from Jesus and for Him to change us. 

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17th Sunday - A (July 26, 2020)

Treasure and Pearl of Great Price

Matthew 13:44-52

Three weeks ago, on the 14^th Sunday, we heard Jesus giving praise to God who “have revealed to little ones” out of God’s “gracious will.”

Today, we hear again in St. Paul’s testimony that God has chosen us to be God’s children (2^nd Reading).

God is the merchant who searches for us because for God, we are the treasures and the pearls of great price.  The parable of a merchant selling all that he has to buy a pearl or a field with a treasure might sound ridiculous.  But still, that is merely a symbol of God’s love.  This love is so great, beyond our comprehension, that God’s only Son, Jesus Christ, died the death of a slave on the cross for us sinners.   

Thus, in the Easter Proclamation, the Church professes, “to ransom a slave you gave away your Son.”

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16th Sunday - A (July 19, 2020)

Kindness

Matthew 13:24-43

Good seed, children of the kingdom, smallest, bear fruit (Gospel), lenient, clemency, kind (First Reading).  

These keywords from the readings of this Sunday remind us of the way God deals with us and the way we are called to imitate. 

There are times when things may not appear that way.  Our sins, darkness, and evil can appear loud, powerful and overwhelming. 

Still, the goodness of God is already in us and all around us.  Jesus calls us, “children of the kingdom” (Gospel).  St. Paul assures us, “The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness” (Second Reading).   The writer the Book of Wisdom professes God’s patience to us sinners, “[giving] your children good ground for hope, [and permitting] repentance for their sins” (First Reading).

That is the way of our God who is “master of might” and “over all things.”  This God also teaches “that those who are just must be kind” (First Reading).