Saturday after Epiphany

Whose will are we trying to follow? Are we following God's will, or are we following our own will? If we say we are following God's will, then surely we should be praying for His will to be done, just as we do when we pray the Lord's Prayer. But sometimes we pray that our needs and wants are met, instead of leaving it to the Lord, and trusting that His will would be sufficient. Are we willing to refocus our prayers so that God's will be done?

In today's reading, we are reminded: "We are quite confident that if we ask the Son of God for anything, and it is in accordance with his will, he will hear us; and, knowing that whatever we may ask, he hears us, we know that we have already been granted what we asked of him." Ultimately, the reading reminds us that God listens to our prayers in accordance with His will, not ours, and that if we ask for something in accordance with His will, then we can be confident that He will hear us. Are we willing to ask in accordance with His will, trusting and knowing that He will do what is best for us, for His purposes and glory?

Saturday after Epiphany

How many of us have trust and confidence that God listens to our prayers? Perhaps we may say that we have trust and confidence, but how many of us would have trust and confidence that God would answer our prayers? Perhaps this is where our trust and confidence may be tested, since God does not necessarily answer our prayers according to our expectations or demands, but according to His will and for His purposes. When God answers our prayers in a way quite different to what we hope for or expect, would we still let His will be done?

In today's reading, we are reminded: "We are quite confident that if we ask the Son of God for anything, and it is in accordance with his will, he will hear us; and, knowing that whatever we may ask, he hears us, we know that we have already been granted what we asked of him." The reading tells us that God listens to our prayers in accordance with His will, not ours, and that if we ask for something in accordance with His will, then we can be confident that He will hear us. The question is: are we asking in accordance with His will, or is what we are asking for laced with self-interests and self-centered desires?

Friday after Epiphany

Some of us seem to have lots of things to do each day, and sometimes our involvement in doing so many things could lead some us to a crisis. On the one hand, we need to be active in ministry, but when we become too engrossed in active ministry, we face the danger of being worn out, tired and in some cases, burned out. On the other hand, when we begin to live a passive life and not do anything, we may lose touch of our ministry and in some cases, even our purpose as Christians. Both extremes certainly are not good for our well-being. So what do we do?

In today's Gospel, we can learn from Jesus on how to be balanced in our ministry. The Gospel tells us: "His reputation continued to grow, and large crowds would gather to hear him and to have their sickness cured, but he would always go off to some place where he could be alone and pray." Notice that Jesus was not always teaching and helping people. He also took time off to be alone and pray. We must remember that we are not superman or superwoman; we can only do so much. What we can do, we do our best, and the rest, let us leave it in the hands of the Lord. God will take care of the rest in His time. Are we willing, patient and humble enough to let God be God?

Thursday after Epiphany

The world that we live in can sometimes be quite an unloving place for some of us. There are people who live lives as if only they mattered and everyone else is insignificant or useful only where it suits them. There are people who love, but their love is often attached with some term or condition. There are also people who are genuine and selfless in their love, but such people are not always so easy or apparent to find, as more and more people become individualistic and materialistic. What sort of person have you become at this stage of your life?

In today's reading, we are reminded: "We are to love, because God loved us first. Anyone who says, ‘I love God’, and hates his brother, is a liar, since a man who does not love the brother that he can see cannot love God, whom he has never seen. So this is the commandment that he has given us, that anyone who loves God must also love his brother." The reading also tells us that God's commandments are not difficult. We make the commandments difficult and complicate our lives and the lives of others because of our pride and prejudice, our ego, our self-interests and also because we have been stubborn and refused to be honest, genuine and true in our love. Are we willing to change our ways and attitudes, so that with God's grace, we can learn to love the way He loves us all?

Wednesday after Epiphany

At some point of our lives, we may have experienced difficult or challenging situations. These situations are like storms or facing a headwind. When we are facing such moments, how do we respond? Some choose to brave the storm or winds, and try to move on. Some begin to feel low in the doldrums, and may resort to other distractions to try and escape from the situation at hand. But how do we, as Christians respond to such a situation?

In today's Gospel, Jesus said to His disciples: "Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid." Jesus did not just say these words to calm his disciples down, but He also got into the boat with them. When we are facing difficult or challenging situations, Jesus is echoing the same words to us: "Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid." He is not abandoning us, but He is also getting into the boat of our difficulties, so that He can be with us and help us weather out the storm. Are we willing to trust Him and let Him take control of the situation?

Tuesday after Epiphany

It is often easy to say that we love another person, but how many of us truly mean what we say? Some of us say we love a person, but what we really mean is we merely like the person. Some say that we love a person, but we have reasons, terms and conditions attached to our so called love. How many of us are able to love truly, completely, selflessly, happily and constantly without condition; without any strings attached?

In today's reading, we are reminded to "love one another since love comes from God and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God." The reading also shows us how great and selfless God's love is where He "sent into the world his only Son to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away, so that we could have life through him." Would we be willing and able to love others thoroughly, even those who are challenging or difficult to love, just like the way God loves us all?

Monday after Epiphany

Whenever we come across someone who claims to have received a message from God, or perhaps a testimony which sounds quite extraordinary, how would you respond? Some may be quite easily taken in by such messages or testimonies, and take the person's word for it, thinking that the Holy Spirit has touched or spoken to the person. Some may be quite skeptical or doubtful about such messages or testimonies. But how should we as Christians respond to such messages or testimonies?

In today's reading, John cautions us: "It is not every spirit, my dear people, that you can trust; test them, to see if they come from God, there are many false prophets, now, in the world. You can tell the spirits that come from God by this: every spirit which acknowledges that Jesus the Christ has come in the flesh is from God; but any spirit which will not say this of Jesus is not from God, but is the spirit of Antichrist, whose coming you were warned about." While there are instances of genuine messages from God, we should not be so easily accepting of just any message. It may be wise and prudent, as the reading tells us, to "test them" thoroughly, cautiously and diligently, so as not to be duped or taken in by those whose intention may be to lead others astray.

Friday after Epiphany

Some of us would have been in active ministry for quite a while. Throughout our ministry, we would have experienced joy, sadness, challenges, difficulties, etc. If we are to continuously work and do things for others, there may come a time where we may feel tired, fed up, or burned out. This is where we ought to follow Jesus' example. In today's Gospel: "His reputation continued to grow, and large crowds would gather to hear him and to have their sickness cured, but he would always go off to some place where he could be alone and pray."

Notice that Jesus wasn't working or doing things all the time. He would always go off to some place where he could be alone and pray. This shows us that we need to take time off for rest, reflection and recreation. Let us not overdo things, but take opportunities to spend time with the Lord in silence and prayer, while recharging our "batteries" as well.

Thursday after Epiphany

For many of us, loving God seems easy. We do not actually see Him, we do not feel Him directly, and we experience His continuous care in one form or another, without us even having to ask at times. However, when it comes to loving our neighbour, that becomes a great hurdle for some. Our neighbour could be our spouse, children, parents, in-laws, out-laws, friends, associates, acquaintances, un-friends, enemies, etc. We may find it easy to love those who love us, but loving those who hurt us, belittle us, irritate us, anger us, betray us; that seems a tough thing to do.

Today's reading reminds us that: "Anyone who says, ‘I love God’, and hates his brother, is a liar, since a man who does not love the brother that he can see cannot love God, whom he has never seen. So this is the commandment that he has given us, that anyone who loves God must also love his brother." Are we selective in our love towards others? Or do we genuinely love all, regardless of how they treat us? Loving indeed is not easy, but we should remember that God loved all and sent His Son to save all. Are we willing to follow Jesus' way in loving all?

Wednesday after Epiphany

In life, we face all sorts of challenges and obstacles. As time goes by, some of us may feel worn out, discouraged, anxious, afraid, etc. However, Jesus in today's Gospel assures us: "Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid." Jesus can help us as we struggle along in life and with Him as our guide, we do not need to fear or worry any longer. Storms may come and go, but Jesus is there to protect us and help us weather the storm. Are we willing to let Him take control and care for us? Do we really and truly trust Him with our lives?

Tuesday after Epiphany

When we hear of some people loving others without any hidden agenda or condition, we call that unconditional love. However, we sometimes come across people loving others because it is beneficial to them, and such love would be advantageous to them in some way. What about us? What sort of love do we have and practise?

Today's reading reminds us that love comes from God "and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God." Also, today's reading tells us of God's unconditional love, where He "sent into the world his only Son so that we could have life through him..." We also see in today's Gospel how Jesus loved the crowd by not only teaching them, but also feeding them by performing the miracle of the multiplication of five loaves and two fish. Do we really know God and are willing to love unconditionally just as God loves us unconditionally? Are we following Jesus' example in loving all?

Monday after Epiphany

Every once in a while we hear someone preaching something which seems to be about Christ. They appear to be gaining lots of followers and soon they have megachurches or big buildings, property and land to be used for so called evangelisation. However, today's reading warns us to be careful and not be easily influenced by such people. The reading tells us:

"It is not every spirit, my dear people, that you can trust; test them, to see if they come from God, there are many false prophets, now, in the world. You can tell the spirits that come from God by this: every spirit which acknowledges that Jesus the Christ has come in the flesh is from God; but any spirit which will not say this of Jesus is not from God, but is the spirit of Antichrist, whose coming you were warned about."

Not everything which people do in Jesus name is true. Sometimes there is deception in what appears to be true, so we need to discern carefully and see whether these people are genuine or just trying to lure us away from the Gospel. Many tragedies, forms of cheating and other evil have been committed, under the pretext of preaching the Gospel. Let us be careful and not be so easily influenced.