Life is Worth Living

Shortly before His passion and death, Jesus said a whole of things in order to strengthen His disciples and prepare them for the difficulties and pains that would come with His passion and death (cf. John 14:1-6). In John 14:1, we hear Him say to them, “Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me.” Imagine how the disciples might have felt at that point in time when they had become fully aware of what would befall them and their master!  By that statement, Jesus never implied that there won’t be troubles or problems or difficulties. Rather He was plainly saying that in the midst of the trials and sufferings, the disciples shouldn’t let their hearts be troubled; they should trust in God and trust in Him too. To believe or trust in Jesus is to become fully aware and unshakable in one’s conviction that Jesus is the way even when there appears to be no way; that Jesus is the truth in a world full of lies and empty promises; and that Jesus is the life even when d...

John presents us with an account of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples (cf. Jn. 13:16-20). Among all that He said, there is an outstanding statement that is worth my attention: “Whoever receives the one I send receives ME”. Being a Christian is more than merely going through the ritual of baptism. It is an encounter which makes us taken on another personality, the personality of Christ. That is why the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, wrote in his first encyclical _“Deus Caritas Est”,_ that “Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with a person who gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction”. In this sense then, when we share the faith, we do not just merely hand on or pass on a baton, an idea, a thing or a piece of information. We share a person, Jesus himself. When we share the faith, we take Jesus to other people. One way of doing this is through humble service. Of course, when Jesus was washing the feet of His disciples, H...

Over the past few weeks, we have come across gospel stories of Jesus employing certain imageries or things common to the people of His time in order to teach or help them understand who He is. He describes Himself as bread (cf. Jn. 6) and shepherd (cf. Jn. 10); next Sunday, we will hear Him describe Himself as the true vine (cf. Jn. 15). In Jn. 12:44-50, amongst other things, He describes Himself as the light that has come into the world so that anyone who believes in Him may not remain in darkness. As a great teacher, Jesus was truly the light; and that is why the greater part of His earthly ministry was all about enlightenment: leading the people out of the darkness of ignorance, especially the ignorance of the law and the prophets. He came as light but people preferred darkness to light (cf. Jn. 3:19). We should now understand why He was persecuted and eventually killed. It is not easy to adjust to light when we stay long in the dark. To those who are used to darkness, light may see...

The more the early Christians were persecuted, they more they scattered. As they scattered, they continued to spread the Word of God, bringing more people into the Christian fold. Those who persecuted them wanted to put a stop to the Christian movement. But they did not know that they were even helping the movement to grow and expand. As they persecuted the Christian movement, they thought they were burying it and putting an end to it. But they didn’t know that seeds germinate and multiply when they are buried. Just like seeds, Christianity germinated, multiplied, grew, expanded and spread beyond frontiers. But one thing that caught my attention is the fact that the early Christians never hid or concealed their identity even in the heat of the persecutions. They were proud of who they are wherever they found themselves. They spoke about Christ; they preached the word of God to all men and women. They were very authentic in their witnessing to Christ. They followed the footsteps of thei...

After the resurrection of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit, there were massive conversions to Christ in and outside Jerusalem. The wind of the Spirit continued to blow, penetrating consciences and hearts, and disposing many men and women to experience the resurrection reality. Acts of the Apostles furnishes us with the conversion stories of certain individuals who experienced that power, not just outside the Church but even within the Church (the early Christian community). Some Jewish converts within the early church were still strongly Jewish in their mentality and belief. They were described as the circumcision party, and they maintained that the circumcised should have nothing to do with the uncircumcised. That is why they criticized Peter for going to the uncircumcised (cf. Acts 11:1-18). Though they were Christians, nevertheless they too needed to be converted: they needed a change of mentality so that they could begin to think and live in imitation of Christ the door of t...

INTRODUCTION Today is Good Shepherd Sunday or Vocations Sunday: it’s a day we set apart to pray for all vocations: priesthood, religious life and the marital. By our vocations, we’ve been called to serve in the footprints of Jesus the Good shepherd who came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. May the Spirit help us respond to God’s call in our chosen states in life! To celebrate this mass worthily, we are sorry for those times we did not lay down our lives for others in humble service. We humbly ask for God’s pardon and mercy!     Every Fourth Sunday of Easter, the gospel tells us something about the “Good Shepherd”. The theme of the Good Shepherd speaks to us all: it is not just about Reverend Fathers and other Church leaders. Parents, teachers, and so on are all shepherds. Insofar as there is someone who looks up to you for some direction, you are a shepherd. But do we understand what it means to be a good shepherd? There is no bette...

Reference texts: Acts 9:31-42; John 6:60-69 In Acts 9:31b, we are told that: “Walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, the early Church multiplied”. From this expression, it should be clear to everyone that the Holy Spirit was and still remains the principal actor responsible for the growth and sustenance of the Church. I have not seen where it is written in the Bible that the Church grew because of the great sermons of the apostles or because of the miracles, signs and wonders done by them. The Spirit was the main agent. In fact, the story of the early Church is basically the story of the acts of the Holy Spirit: the Spirit was manifestly operative in the church. The early Christians never dared to begin anything without invoking the help of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 1:15-26, the disciples invoked the assistance of the Holy Spirit before they conducted the election that brought in Matthias to fill the space left by Judas. In Acts 2, when the disciples were...

We were never created by chance. Every one of us was beautifully and carefully fashioned in the image and likeness of God. Having been tainted by sin and marred by human limitations, God continues to remold us into better creatures than we are. It is then a mockery of grace when people are disregarded, treated unfairly or looked down upon on account of their past, weaknesses, backgrounds or circumstances.  Acts 9:1-20 tells a moving story about Paul’s conversion experience. Before his conversion, he was a great persecutor of the followers of Jesus. But by the power of God’s grace, he was fashioned into a veritable instrument of God. Ananias almost wanted to deal with him on the basis of his past. But Jesus told him, “No, don’t think that way! Paul has become a chosen instrument of mine.” What Ananias needed to do is to look beyond Paul’s past, and see the triumph of God’s grace in him.  In John 6:52-59, we understand how difficult it was for the Jews to accept Jesus’ teaching ...

We eat food/bread in order to live. Simply, we cannot do without food. In John 6:44-51, Jesus describes Himself as the “Bread of Life”. By that, He is plainly saying that for us to live, we cannot do without Him. Just as we strongly desire food for the satisfaction of physical hunger, so must we desire Jesus for the satisfaction of our spiritual hunger! In the heart/soul of every human person, there should be some kind of attraction to God or a divine pull so to say. In Acts 8:26-40, the Ethiopian eunuch could not resist the divine pull as he listened to Philip explain the scriptures to him. The apostles were always in the move, spreading the good news even to the point of laying down their lives because of that irresistible divine pull to make Jesus known to the ends of the earth. We should be worried when we face the problem of constant loss of appetite for food. But we should be much more worried when we do not feel naturally attracted or pulled to God. It is a red flag when the thi...

Acts 7:51-8:1 gives us an account of the persecution and death of Stephen, a man filled with Holy Spirit. He was brutally stoned to death on account of his affiliation with Jesus and testimony to good news. We may be tempted to question God’s sense of justice when bad things happen to those who promote His cause. Why did God keep mute when Stephen was being stoned to death on account of his testimony to the truth? I have been much attentive to history and to my personal experiences, and I have come to a certain conviction that sometimes, God allows bad things to happen so that something good will come out of them. Our “worst” moments have good lessons for us. God may appear to be quiet when we go through pains but it does not mean that He is distant. On account of the persecution of Stephen, the Church left Jerusalem and the message of salvation reached those who were scattered in different parts of the world. If persecutions did not break out, I still wonder how the gospel message wou...

Jesus’ miracle of the multiplication of loaves for the five thousand as recorded by John was not performed just to satisfy physical hunger. In fact, the entire chapter six of the gospel account of John is all about the Bread of Life discourse which began with the miracle of the multiplication of loaves. As John has it, it was a sign which ultimately points to Jesus the True Bread of Life. In John 6:30-35, as the discourse builds up, we come to a point where Jesus told the people that “His Father gives the true bread from heaven, the bread which gives life to the world”. Having strongly stimulated their curiosity, the people requested, “Lord, give us this bread always”. In response to this request, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall not thirst”. The discourse has now taken another dimension: moving from Jesus’ miraculous provision of the physical bread to the establishment of the fact that He is the Bread of Life. Ou...

We seem to be living in a purely utilitarian society where people's VALUE appears to be mainly measured in terms of usefulness. In simple terms, society says that WE ARE RELEVANT and VALUABLE INASMUCH AS WE SERVE A PURPOSE. That’s very unfortunate! Stephen was among the first deacons in the early Church, chosen because he was a man of good repute, full of the Holy Spirit, wisdom, grace and power. Acts 6:8 has it that Stephen did great wonders and signs among the people. To some people, Stephen’s relevance was never to be questioned as signs and wonders accompanied his words and actions. But to some other people, Stephen was a nuisance whose words were useless, unacceptable and blasphemous.  After the miraculous feeding of the five thousand, Jesus RELEVANCE skyrocketed. The signs and wonders which He performed made Him so famous and very relevant that people followed Him wherever He went (cf. John 6:22-29). As the gospel story unwinds, beyond those signs and wonders, we will see whe...

One point that can’t be overlooked as we celebrate Easter is the fact that it is a story that recounts the foundation of our faith; a story that tells how the Church began. Before Jesus suffered and died, the disciples seemed not to have known who their master is. As Jews, they expected to see a conquering messiah. Remember Peter rebuking Jesus that God forbid that He should suffer (Matt. 16:22). At last, it was very shocking for them to learn that their messiah had been “conquered” on the cross. From the moment of Jesus’ arrest, they refused to identify with Him: they deserted Him. They were disoriented and felt defeated. When Jesus finally died on the cross, all their hope was dashed. When Jesus rose from the dead, the storyline of the faith of the disciples changed from defeat to victory; from uncertainty to certainty; from hopelessness to hope. What happened to them was a resurgence of faith, hope and confidence. The same should happen to us. As we listen to their testimonies, the ...

We know how beautiful the early Church was: a community united in heart and soul (cf. Acts 4:32-37). For many of us, it was a community of “saints”. For obvious reasons, we may look up to it as an ideal Christian community, but it was never a perfect community as we think it was. Acts 6:1-7 tells us that it was also a community beset with internal problems of injustice, negligence and inequality. The Hellenists (Greek-speaking Christians) murmured against the Hebrew-speaking Christians because the Hellenist widows were neglected in the daily distribution of food. That was a genuine concern which was never treated with kid gloves. And it is not reported that someone left the community on account of the problem. In an atmosphere of prayer, with wisdom and fear of God, the apostles picked seven men of good repute, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, and ordained them to the ministry of service. This is how the ministry of service as deacons was instituted in the Church. What do we learn f...

John 6:1-15 is an account of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves, one of those miracles performed by Jesus as recorded by John. In the gospel account of John, the miracles performed by Jesus are described as signs. A sign points to a reality outside of itself; it is not the reality itself. Now, miracles, being signs, are meant to help us believe not in the signs but in the reality to which the signs point to: that is, Jesus. One thing about the signs performed by Jesus is that we don’t need to experience millions of them in order to believe in Jesus. Just a sign directly experienced by us or narrated by someone else should be enough for us to believe. But what obtains in our time (as it was in the time of Jesus) is that people seem to have preferred signs to Jesus to whom the signs point to. This may be understandable considering the fact that many, if not all, have real life problems to be solved. And Christianity seems to have been completely reduced to a problem-solving ...

To be a witness and to be a preacher, these are two different things. Anyone can be a preacher. Anyone can take to the streets and begin to preach. But to be a witness is not just about speaking but living out what one speaks about. Christians are called to be witnesses: to be witnesses by their utterances and by their lives. In Acts 5:27-33, we see the disciples bearing witness to the Risen Lord not only by words of mouth but by their lives: before the Jewish officials they were ready to die as they testified to the Risen Lord; ever ready to obey God rather than men. This is what it means to bear witness to Jesus! In John 3:31-36, John the Baptist, talking about Jesus, told His disciples, “Jesus must increase; he (John) must decrease. Jesus is the one who comes from above and He is above all.” By these words, John the Baptist has given us another dimension of witnessing: placing Jesus at the centre of all that we do and say. Of course, by His words and life, John the Baptist bore witn...

  Still on Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, a reference is made to light: “the light has come into the world but men have preferred darkness to the light because their deeds are evil” (Jn. 3:19). Thinking about light, we may have to take note of the following. Light cannot be hidden. It cannot but shine. No matter how thick darkness is, it must naturally be overpowered by light. In fact, light is much more visible and stronger in the dark. Just as light is much more visible in the dark, so should faith be much more visible and stronger in moments of trials. As recorded in Acts 5:17-26: in the darkness of persecution, the faith of the apostles became much more visible and stronger. After the resurrection of Jesus and the coming of the Pentecost, they were thrown into the darkness of persecution. But they were very confident that darkness will never be victorious over light. They were constantly threatened; sometimes, even arrested and imprisoned. But all these never stopped them....

Every positive transformation or change does not happen without some tension. Sometimes, struggles and pains must be endured before the “old” can give way for the “new”; before something new can emerge from the old. When we use the above to analyze the kind of group of believers written about in Acts 4:32-37, we see a united force that was nothing but a disorganized group of people before the suffering and crucifixion of their master. A certain kind of metamorphosis took place which of course must have come through some tension or struggle: fear, crucifixion and death of their master, struggle with belief and unbelief in the resurrection reality, suspicion, mistrust, persecution and so on. In John 3:7-15, Jesus tried to deepen what He meant when He told Nicodemus that one must be born from above in order to enter the kingdom of God. The process of birth also involves some tension: there must be a struggle; pains must be endured in the process. If this is how it is in its physical sense...

  From now up till the Feast of Pentecost, the scriptural readings for Mass may be more emphatic on the acts of the Holy Spirit in and through the apostles/disciples as recorded in the Acts of Apostles.  In Acts 4:31, it is noted that the disciples were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim the word of God boldly. In other words, the Spirit gave them courage and boldness needed for the proclamation of the word of God. We remember that the first time ever that the timid disciples were able to preach with courage was on the Pentecost day. When they received the Spirit, they were empowered to speak about the Risen Lord without fear of the Jews. This text may be reminding us of what the Spirit is capable of doing in our lives. In John 3:1-8, we are presented with an interesting interaction between Jesus and Nicodemus. Of particular interest to me is what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit in His interaction with Nicodemus: “Unless one is born of water and the Holy Sp...

  On a day like this, we may have to reflect a little bit on “mercy”. What does it mean to show mercy? There were times I deserved to be punished but was not. There were times I never deserved to receive certain favors, but I did receive them. At those moments, I was shown mercy. Mercy can be shown in the form of generosity, forbearance, forgiveness; mercy is an expression of love. One of the fruits of mercy is peace. If an offended party forgives an offender, the offender enjoys peace. On this Second Sunday of Easter, we may have to learn that even the raising of Jesus from the dead is one of the clear expressions of divine mercy for humankind. By Christ’s death and resurrection, we have been reconciled with God and with one another; we have been united into a family; we have been pardoned and we now enjoy peace.  Acts 4:32-35 describes a certain group: the group of believers made up of the disciples (who ran away when Jesus was arrested) and the new converts to Christianity....

In Mk. 16:9-15, we see a certain form of unbelief or incredulity (that is, not being sure of what was heard or seen) clearly evident in the Eleven Disciples "who were upbraided by Jesus for their unbelief" (cf. Mk. 16:14). In Acts 4:13-21, we see some form of obstinacy or stubbornness of heart (that is, being sure of what was heard or seen but refusing to believe) clearly evident in the Jewish rulers, elders and scribes who saw the mighty power of God at work in the disciples but refused to believe (cf. Acts 4:13-21). As at the time of the resurrection, there was already some tension between Judaism (the  orthodox Jewish religion) and Christianity (the new religious movement championed by the apostles). Judaism didn’t want to become extinct because the new movement (i.e. Christianity) was becoming more popular. The apostles were performing signs and wonders; they were preaching; people believed; and more people were added to their number.   The Jewish leaders felt threatened ...

The gospel (cf. John 21:1-14) remarks towards the end that: “This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead”. We may have to ask: Was it actually necessary that Jesus should appear to them again and again? Let us not forget that these were a people who were still dazed by what had happened, possibly still living in fear and suspicion. In fact, the gospel notes that when Jesus appeared to them again for the third time, “they did not know that it was Jesus”. Why did they not know that it was Jesus if Jesus had appeared for the first and second time? Their faith and confidence needed to be rebuilt not once, but over time. Appearing to them on several occasions was also another way of strengthening their faith, rebuilding their confidence, reviving their hope and reassuring them of His constant presence. Their experiences and testimonies should also achieve the same for us and in us.   Acts 4:1-12 narrates that the apostles were b...

The first few words that we utter when we want to talk to someone or some people matter a lot. Such words can put people off; put them at ease or make them anxious about what will come next. In fact, the first few words set the stage for an encounter. When a situation is bad, it is wise to use words that heal, not words that will make the situation worse. Some words can induce fear; some can inject faith. A wise person chooses his or her words considering the situation on ground. *mBefore Jesus’ encounter with his disciples, I am sure the disciples might have battled with guilt (for abandoning their master). They might have battled with fear (fear of the Jews). They might have battled with a lot of things. The atmosphere must have been tensed. But when Jesus appeared to them, He did not make the situation. Rather, He spoke words of peace: “Peace to you” (cf. Luke 24:35-48). No condemning words proceeded from the mouth of the Risen Lord: His words were soothing and comforting. Those few...

It is EASIER TO SING and TALK about having FAITH in God and having HOPE for a better future; but quite DIFFICULT TO HAVE and SUSTAIN this FAITH and be HOPEFUL when life seems to have "perpetually" confined us in a seemingly hopeless situation.   In Acts 3:1-10, there was a lame man from birth who stood up and walked when he experienced the resurrection power. This man must have lost hope and faith. In fact, he was not at the Beautiful Gate to ask for healing; he was there to ask for alms. For him, all hope of being healed was gone but God showed up when he least expected it. By the name of the Risen Lord, the “tomb” of his hopelessness was shattered and “life” was miraculously communicated to his lame and dead limbs. The message of Easter is a powerful message of hope that the God who raised Jesus from the dead will surely show up for us even when we least expect Him. In Luke 24:13-35, we hear about two disciples who were leaving Jerusalem for Emmaus. They were distraught, tr...

Psalm 33:5 says that “God’s MERCIFUL LOVE fills the earth”. LOVE and MERCY can’t be meaningfully separated from each other. When we talk about MERCY, we talk about LOVE because mercy, by its very nature, is an expression of love. MERCIFUL LOVE comes from someone who is ready to forgive without counting the cost; from someone who is ready to let go without considering the pains caused to him or her. And we must be sincere that such an attitude is very rare among humans. It is best attributable to God. In Acts 2:36-41, Peter, recounting the resurrection story of Jesus and the wonders of God, told the Jews who gathered for a feast that the “God has made Jesus whom they crucified both the Lord and Christ”. When they heard this, they were cut to the heart (they had a sudden feeling of sorrow, remorse and desire for repentance and salvation). A people who were headstrong and inattentive to Jesus’ call to repentance later on began to show signs of repentance, seeking God’s forgiveness and sal...

INTRODUCTION It has always been the case that great faith experiences are certainly accompanied by great and lasting testimonies. The apostles had such experience and they testified, not only by their words of mouth but with and by their lives. We rely on their testimonies to build up our own faith in the Risen Lord. By faith, their experiences have become our experiences. But the question is: do we testify as they did?  HOMILY PROPER Have you ever encountered someone who has undergone great conversion experience (an experience that changed his or her life perspectives)? One thing I have observed about such people is that they are always at the vanguard of witnessing to what they have experienced: they become very serious and committed in bearing witness. No threat, nothing at all can change their new perspective or understanding of life. That is what it means to be converted. The person believes not just because he or she has heard, but because he or she has had a personal faith e...