Friday of the 3rd Week of Advent

Every once in a while, we come across certain so called religious groups who claim that only their group are eligible to be with God in heaven. These people so easily and conveniently condemn others, saying that unless one joins their group or follow certain ways, one would be condemned to hell. Such persons even misquote certain scripture passages to prove and back up their claims. However, we should take caution and watch out for such persons, since they may have a hidden agenda and we should not fall for their gimmicks.

In today's reading, we are assured: "Foreigners who have attached themselves to the Lord to serve him and to love his name and be his servants – all who observe the sabbath, not profaning it, and cling to my covenant – these I will bring to my holy mountain. I will make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their holocausts and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples. It is the Lord who speaks, who gathers the outcasts of Israel: there are others will gather besides those already gathered."

God is not restricted only to certain groups or if one follows certain ways, but anyone who attaches themselves to the Lord is acceptable to Him. Let us not so easily and conveniently condemn others just because they think differently or pray differently than we do, but build peace and harmony among all, while giving Gof the glory in all we do.

Thursday of the 3rd Week of Advent

We sometimes come across some people who seem to think that they have life figured out, as if they are in full control of their life, or they think that they are masters of their own destiny, or that they seem to have a plan in life. Such people, especially when they seem to be doing well in life, begin to think that all that they have achieved is due to their own efforts, hard work and determination. But behind the facade, the show of confidence, there may be issues that these people are facing, of which there seems to be no plan. When these people find themselves without a solid, reliable plan to face such issues, then what happens? If you are in their shoes, what would you do?

God has a plan for us, and He invites us to participate in His plan. His plan is that all of us are to be with Him. In today's Gospel, we come across some people who chose to stick to God's plan, while others chose to reject it. The Gospel tells us: "All the people who heard him, and the tax collectors too, acknowledged God's plan by accepting baptism from John; but by refusing baptism from him the Pharisees and the lawyers had thwarted what God had in mind for them." God did not abandon the Pharisees and the lawyers, and invited them to play according to His plan, but they chose to do things their own way, thinking adamantly that their way was a better way compared to God's plan.

Likewise, we too are invited to play according to God's plan. God does not force us to be a part of His plan, but we know from history that God's ways are far better than human ways. It is a question of whether we trust in Him and are humble and willing to let Him be our providence and guide.

Friday of the 3rd Week of Advent

There are some people who think that only a certain exclusive group of persons are eligible to be with God in heaven. There people begin a tirade of scary sounding threats and condemnations towards others, saying that unless one joins their group or follow certain ways, one would be condemned to fire and brimstone in hell. More often than not, such persons have got a hidden agenda and one should be careful not to fall for their gimmicks.

In today's reading, we are comforted in knowing: "Foreigners who have attached themselves to the Lord to serve him and to love his name and be his servants – all who observe the sabbath, not profaning it, and cling to my covenant – these I will bring to my holy mountain. I will make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their holocausts and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples. It is the Lord who speaks, who gathers the outcasts of Israel: there are others will gather besides those already gathered." This means that being with God is not restricted only to certain groups or if one follows certain ways. May we stop bickering among ourselves and concentrate in serving Him, loving His name and being His servants, knowing that He would care and provide for us.

Thursday of the 3rd Week of Advent

God has a plan for us, and He invites us to participate in His plan. His plan is that all of us are to be with Him, and to further strengthen His plan, God even sent Jesus to the world to die on the cross for us and to save us from our sins. But it is interesting and tragic to note that there are people in this world who do not want to be a part of God's plan. Would you want to be part of God's plan, or would you prefer to stay out of it and do your own thing?

In today's Gospel, we come across some people who chose to stick to God's plan, while others chose to reject it. The Gospel tells us: "All the people who heard him, and the tax collectors too, acknowledged God's plan by accepting baptism from John; but by refusing baptism from him the Pharisees and the lawyers had thwarted what God had in mind for them." God did not abandon the Pharisees and the lawyers, and invited them to play according to His plan, but they chose to do things their own way, thinking adamantly that their way was a better way compared to God's plan. It is ironic that the tax collectors, who many hated or disliked, were among the ones who recognised that God's plan was the way to go, whereas the Pharisees and lawyers who were supposed to be good people turned out to be going against God's plan.

Today, may we truly recognise God's plan and seize the opportunity to follow it. God does not force us to be a part of His plan, but we know from history that God's ways are far better than human ways. It is a question of whether we trust in Him and are humble and willing to let Him be our help, providence and guide.

Wednesday of the 3rd Week of Advent

We sometimes forget who we are. We think that a particular property belongs to us, since we had paid for it. We think that the money we have in the bank belongs to us, since we may have worked hard to accumulate the money, or through other investment or other means. We think that our family members belong to us, since we had conceived, given birth and cared for them from young till now. But do we really own all these things, to be used and disposed as we see fit? Can we bring these things with us when we die?

In today's reading, we are reminded: "Apart from me, all is nothing. I am the Lord, unrivalled, I form the light and create the dark. I make good fortune and create calamity, it is I, the Lord, who do all this." Everything that we have is actually not ours, not our sole property. We are merely stewards, entrusted which such things and persons, since we will need to leave them behind some day. May we learn not to be possessive or proud of such things and persons, and learn to be detached from them, so that we can learn to be attached to God and let Him be our help, providence and guide.

Wednesday of the 3rd Week of Advent

When a person is imprisoned in a dark cell for quite a while, the person may sometimes lose track of reality or what is actually taking place outside. Sometimes, the person's mind could start playing tricks on him or her, and it could be quite a challenge to remain sane and cheerful. This may have been the case with John the Baptist, to the point that he began to wonder whether Jesus is really the messiah or not. Perhaps John the Baptist may not have fully understood what sort of messiah Jesus really was, so that is why he summoned two of his disciples, and sent them to the Lord to ask, 'Are you the one who is to come, or must we wait for someone else?'

Jesus reassured John that He is the messiah by giving this response to John the Baptist: "Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind see again, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, the Good News is proclaimed to the poor and happy is the man who does not lose faith in me." Jesus is not the kind of messiah which some may have expected, certainly not a political messiah which some may have hoped would rescue Israel from Roman oppresion, but Jesus is the kind of messiah which brings salvation and forgiveness of sins to the world. In a way, Jesus was helping John to understand that John had prepared the way for spiritual salvation to all, and not wonder, lose faith or doubt any longer, but trust and believe in Him.

What about us? Have we had doubts or wondered whether Jesus is really going to save us from our sins? When we face difficulties, persecution or problems, some of us may have been tempted to ask, 'Are you the one who is to come, or must we wait for someone else?' Let us set aside any doubts in our minds, and put our trust and confidence in Jesus, knowing that He is truly our messiah and He will be our help and guide.

Tuesday of the 3rd Week of Advent

Throughout our lives, we have been given plenty of opportunities to change and experience a conversion, so that we may grow closer to God. However, we are not forced to change, since we have a choice to grow closer to God, or to remain as we are. Of course, we should know that our time on this earth is short, and we do not know when we would be called to face the Lord. No matter how hard we try, we cannot escape judgement, and hopefully during our lifetime on this earth, we had been maintaining a good and healthy relationship with God and with others.

However, there are still some among us who seem to think that we have plenty of time to change, or that we have become so preoccupied with earthly things, that we have neglected our spiritual life and our soul. This is where prophet Zephaniah in today's reading warns us: "Trouble is coming to the rebellious, the defiled, the tyrannical city! She would never listen to the call, would never learn the lesson; she has never trusted in the Lord, never drawn near to her God." Let us not be caught unprepared or under the illusion that all would be well, since trouble will come to us if we are not ready to meet the Lord. Are we risking our eternal future through our neglect or "tidak apa" or "don't care" attitude?

Tuesday of the 3rd Week of Advent

When our parents give us some chores or some task, would we do it willingly, or would we do it grudgingly, or would we pretend to not hear and not do the chore or task? What if God were to give us some chore or task, what would our response be? Sometimes, we come across people who do a task because they expect to gain something out of it. How many of us would do a chore or task without expecting anything in return? How many of us would do a chore or task simply to glorify God?

In today's Gospel, we come across two brothers who were asked by their father to go and work in the vineyard. The first boy was at first reluctant to go, but later chose to go. The second boy perhaps tried to sound good and please his father by saying that he would go, but he may have said it thinking that it would make his father happy with his response, but in his heart, he had no intention whatsoever of going. Which of these two brothers would we identify with?

Ultimately, saying is one thing, but doing is a different matter altogether. Words are easy and cheap but meaningless if no action is taken. Let us consider the words we utter, and be genuine not only in what we say, but also in carrying out what we say for the greater glory of God.

Monday of the 3rd Week of Advent

Every once in a while, we hear of people putting their foot in their mouth by trying to act smart and end up saying something foolish or stupid. When we are so full of ourselves, when we think we know it all, when we look down at others, we may sometimes try to show off our so-called superiority, only to be shot down or humbled, especially when we are cornered with a response which we are unable to counter. Some are even so thick-skinned that even when they have been proven wrong, their minds have been so conditioned to think that they are still right and everyone else is wrong, no matter how silly or absurd their arguments may be.

Today's Gospel gives us an example of some people who have put their foot in their mouth. These people who are known as the chief priests and elders of the people knew very well who Jesus was and also who John the Baptist was, but they were unable and unwilling to admit and change their ways. Instead, they had the gall to ask Jesus: "What authority have you for acting like this? And who gave you this authority?" As a result, Jesus shot back a question to them which left them cornered and unable to answer. They knew what the answer was, since they could still "argue it out this way among themselves", but pride had infested into them and they were stubbornly refusing to admit the truth.

In some cases, we too may have inadvertently put our foot in our mouth, especially when we lack humility and a willingness to admit our mistakes. At the end, we may only cause ourselves to look foolish, and we may even lose our status or credibility. Are we willing and able to walk humbly before our God, and let Him change our lives, our behaviour and our attitudes, or are we still stubborn and adamant in remaining as we are?

Monday of the 3rd Week of Advent

"Jangan cari pasal," is a Bahasa Malaysia phrase which is translated as "Don't look for trouble." In today's Gospel, we see the chief priests and the elders of the people trying to "cari pasal" with Jesus, hoping to find some excuse to trap Him. They challenged Him by asking: "What authority have you for acting like this? And who gave you this authority?" They knew who Jesus was but refused to admit and acknowledge Him. When Jesus questioned them back, they themselves fell into the very trap which they had tried to set on Jesus.

In our lives, we too may be guilty of trying to "cari pasal" with others, especially when we think we are smarter, better qualified, or better off than they are. We think we can put other people down or belittle them and get away with it. But, as Jesus has shown us, sometimes we may just end up eating humble pie or we may end up making a fool of ourselves. Are we allowing our ego to swell and take control of our lives? Or are we willing to walk humbly in God's presence?