Guess how much?

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

One of my favourite comedians is Hong Kong born and now USA based Jimmy O. Yang. One of his most poignant jokes which had me rolling in laughter while nodding my head in agreement is his observation that while most people in the West brag about how much money they spend, Asians love to brag about how little they pay. This best describes my usual exchanges with Fr Bona on my latest acquisition on the Shopee app. After showing him the item I will gleefully ask, “Guess how much?” The cheaper the item, the bigger the boast. Fr Bona will then roll his eyes in disgust because of his disdain for my predilection for cheap bargains.

If what Jimmy Yang says is true about Asians, most would be rolling their eyes in disbelief after hearing the two parables of our Lord. Instead of paying below market prices, the protagonists of the two tales make the seemingly imprudent decision of paying not just “full price,” but over and above their actual value. The protagonists in both stories are willing to part with their entire wealth, possession and everything they own just to buy an item without consulting an expert assessor to determine if this is a good “buy.”

Some measure of risk is to be expected in any endeavour, but this seemingly impulsive decision and action seems altogether preposterous in the eyes of any right-minded person, more so if you happen to be Asian. But both these imaginary characters are convinced that the value of the item which they desire and seek to possess far exceeds anything else which they treasure and possess. Their decision is not governed by the common sense question, “how much am I willing to give up?” The only question which matters is “how much more do I gain?” The point which our Lord is trying to make is that the kingdom of God is so valuable that losing everything on earth, but getting the kingdom, is a happy trade-off.

The apostle Paul expresses this very idea in Philippians 3:7-8, ‘Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”

The point here is not that you have to buy the kingdom or barter for the kingdom or negotiate for the kingdom or work hard to earn entry into the kingdom. The kingdom of heaven which is Matthew’s Jewish euphemism to express the same idea found in the other synoptic gospels - the Kingdom of God - is received without pay. The Kingdom of God is not a geographical location or domain. It primarily speaks of God’s reign or rule, not just in the universe but more importantly in your hearts, the place where man expresses his freedom. For God to reign in our hearts, it is something which we must assent to. He cannot and will not compel us and that is why it is hidden until discovered through our repentance and conversion.

And so, it is priceless in that the kingdom is not for sale. No amount of wealth or sacrifice would be enough to buy it. So the point here is that the people who wish to receive the kingdom, should treasure it more than everything else. Yes, you don’t buy it. You can’t buy salvation. You get it freely because you want it more than you want anything else. In other words, there is a condition for having the kingdom—for having God as king and sovereign ruler of your entire life —but the condition is not wealth or power or intelligence or eminence or the amount of good works and devotion you rock up. The condition is that you prize the kingdom more than you prize anything else. For God to rule in your life, you must desire it above all else! You must hand over the keys to your heart. The point of selling everything in this parable is simply to show where your heart is. “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).

This is the reason why every Christian, just like Solomon in the first reading, must desire and seek out the wisdom necessary to discern between what is good and evil, what is of value and what is valueless, what is authentic and what is false. Discernment is the ability to see beneath the surface. It helps you spot the difference between a pretty lie and a hard truth. Without discernment, we would always find it impossible to discover the hidden treasure and pearl of great value which is the Kingdom of God. Instead we will be desiring for all the things that distract and lead us away from that goal.

But discernment is just the first step. This must ultimately lead to action. Knowing what is right is not enough. You must also obey and do what is right. What good is it to know the truth if we fail to act accordingly? This was the problem of Solomon. He was praised and admired for his God-given wisdom, even by unbelievers. But not putting that wisdom into practice led to his eventual downfall and his wayward life. Solomon is biblical proof that even true discernment can give way to a destructive self-delusion. Disobedience inevitably undermines discernment. The only way to guard against that is to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. Notice that the two protagonists in our Lord’s parable did not just give a correct appraisal of the value of the objects they discovered. They immediately took action by selling everything they owned to buy those prized objects. There is no use in admiring something from a distance but then hesitate to take action because the decision appears too costly.

Both discernment and acting upon it are essential. But we must do so cheerfully and not regard it as overly burdensome. Notice that the man in the first parable was not driven by cold duty. We are told by the Lord that he “goes off happy!” He happily disposes all his wealth to buy the field where the treasure is buried. He did not complain about having to give up everything to acquire that field. All that he did, he did so willingly and joyfully. That is how we welcome God’s Kingdom, His rule into our lives. The only way we can surrender to Him is to do it joyfully and willingly after having recognise that He is the greatest and most prized treasure in our lives. We do it because we want to and not because we were forced to. That’s the big difference. The loss of earthly things for the sake of the kingdom is not sad. It is not sad when we have Jesus. It is a blessed privilege. Why were the martyrs in the past willing to give up everything including life itself? Here is the answer: For the joy of it.

We live in a world that has been inundated and saturated with information, technology, science and the wonders of AI. But there is something which the world’s most advanced AI cannot do. It cannot help us discern what is of value and what is not. Only our Father in heaven can reveal such mysteries to us who are mere children. Discernment, therefore, requires docility instead of stubbornness, obedience instead of reckless disobedience, self-conquest instead of prideful self-determination. In a world of competing allures and possibilities, may we discern wisely and recognise the immense worth of the Kingdom of Heaven and joyfully take decisive action, gladly letting go of lesser things to secure it. Once our hearts are captured, we will not begrudgingly give up everything but instead do it happily because we know that it is a happy trade. Let us share the gospel of Christ while asking: “Guess how much?” And then enthusiastically tell our hearer, “It’s priceless but free!”

A Kingdom of Priests, A Consecrated Nation

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

One of the most common questions I get from Catholics, young and old, is this: “Why did God choose Israel out of all the nations of the world?” I guess this seems troublesome within the Asian context because we have so many great civilisations to boast of. If you belong to one of these great civilisations with its rich legacy of tradition and history, I’m quite sure you would feel a little envious at God’s choice. But an answer may be more urgent and pressing in the light of growing anti-semitism in both the East and West. Just like the Nazis did in the past, it is quite convenient and popular these days to blame everything on the Jews, the synagogue of Satan. So, the question “Why did God choose Israel out of all the nations of the world” requires a clear answer, if not merely to assuage our curiosity but also to see their role in God’s plan of salvation. Was the choice merely accidental or intentional?

The truth is, as we had heard in the first reading, God chose Israel to be a distinct, holy people not out of favouritism, but to serve His purpose: “you of all the nations shall be my very own for all the earth is mine. I will count you a kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation.” What does this mission entail?

Firstly, their election served to reveal the One True God in an ancient world dominated by polytheism and idol worship. Monotheism was a radical revolution in an age of institutionalised relativism, where every deity was as good as another, or as long as the people whom they protected flourished. The claim of divine election was less to do with an arrogant claim of a nation to be superior to others, which many nations have done so, but rather the assertion of the supreme authority and sovereignty of One God over all nations.

Secondly, the election of Israel is a preparation for the human lineage which will give rise to the Messiah. In fact, this is the primary mission of Israel, that is to be the tribe and family through which the Saviour, Jesus Christ, would be born. He was not just a national saviour for the Jews hoping to be unshackled from the chains imposed by Imperial Rome, but the Saviour of the whole world who came to free us from slavery to sin and death.

Finally, it is the universal mission of Christ that reminds Israel of its own universal mission, that it was elected to be “a light to the Gentiles”. God did not choose Israel just for their own privilege, but so that they could act as a "kingdom of priests" that would eventually draw all nations to Him. They were chosen to be a model to show all nations how to worship the One True God and obey His commandments.

But all the above could be said about any other nation on earth. So, why Israel? Why the Jews? There is no definitive answer that can be given beyond the fact that it was a gratuitous act of God’s love and mercy. God's choice of Israel was to fulfill the promises He made to their ancestors, such as Abraham. In the story of salvation, God chose persons before He chose nations. In the Book of Deuteronomy, we hear God giving His reason or non-reason for this simply inexplicable choice: “For you are a people holy to the LORD, your God; the LORD, your God, has chosen you from all the peoples on the face of the earth to be a people specially his own. It was not because you are more numerous than all the peoples that the LORD set his heart on you and chose you; for you are really the smallest of all peoples. It was because the LORD loved you and because of his fidelity to the oath he had sworn to your ancestors” (Deut. 7:6-8).

While the Israelites struggled with unfaithfulness throughout the Old Testament, their “chosen-ness” set the foundation for the New Covenant. Jesus (who was Jewish), the Apostles, and the first Christians were all part of this chosen people. And in today’s gospel, we see an affirmation of the divine election of Israel with the selection of twelve Jewish men. The Lord’s choice of twelve leaders was symbolic and suggestive — even provocative. For a Jew of the first century, it recalled the twelve tribes of Israel, the tribes now dis­persed among the Gentiles and assimilated into other peoples. The gathering of the scattered was seen as an essential component of God’s salvation and the work expected of the Messiah.

This begs the next question: Is the modern state of Israel the Israel of the Old Testament (and of the New), who is the beneficiary of all the above promises and mission? The Catholic answer may surprise you. A simple answer is “No.” As simple as this sounds, it requires some unpacking. The Catholic Church views herself as the New Israel. The Church doesn’t simply replace Israel; rather, in a very real sense, the Church is Israel. It is the multi-ethnic and multi-national family made up of both Jews and Gentiles that the Old Testament prophets always said Israel would one day become. But rather than the old Israel whose membership was based on lineage, the members of the New Israel would be based on their relationship with Christ.

This does not mean that God has revoked with Israel. The Second Vatican Council (in Nostra Aetate) reiterated that God's original covenant with the Jewish people remains irrevocable and holds a special place in the mystery of God's plan. But now because of Christ, Gentiles or other nations have been grafted to Israel, the original People of God. Given that the Church truly is Israel, what practical consequences does this have for our spiritual lives? In a nutshell, it means that we have inherited the vocation of ancient Israel: we are called to be “a kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation.”

We normally think of priests as people who celebrate Mass and run parishes, but the office is actually much broader than that. A priest is essentially someone who mediates between God and humanity. He stands before God as a representative of the people and before the people as a representative of God. More specifically, in ancient Israel, priests taught the people God’s laws (Leviticus 10:11) and blessed them (Numbers 6:22-27), so that’s what the Israelites were supposed to do. In other words, they were supposed to evangelise the rest of mankind and bring them back to the worship of the One true God.

And as the New Israel, we now have this same vocation. In fact, the New Testament describes the Church in a way that calls to mind what God said about Israel in Exodus: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

So, as members of the Church, the New Israel, we are indeed privileged to be the Chosen People of God. Does that make us special or entitled? Hardly. As Spider-Man’s Uncle Ben rightly puts it, “With great power (or privilege) comes great responsibility.” We have a fundamental responsibility to share in the mission of the Church to preach the gospel in season and out of season, in whatever circumstances we may find ourselves, and bring others to Christ, thereby fulfilling our vocation as the New Israel to be God’s priestly people among the nations.

How have you loved?

Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

The three readings we’ve just heard today seem to make strange bed-fellows. The first reading provides us with the criteria of a perfect wife, the second is St Paul’s exhortation to be ready for the Lord’s Second Coming because it would be as surprising as a thief who pays a visit in the night and finally, we have the gospel parable that many often take as a wise piece of advice to invest well and use our talents productively. What seems to be the underlying theme in all three readings? We already have a taste of it last week. It is wisdom. As wisdom distinguishes the perfect wife from other women, so should wisdom distinguish the disciple of Christ from others as he awaits the return of the Lord.

The Book of Proverbs gives us this earthy advise - “Charm is deceitful, and beauty empty; the woman who is wise is the one to praise.” Charm, personality and appearances may win you many friends and ensure that you ascend the ladder of success, but none of these traits can ensure that you would be ready to face the Lord’s judgment at the end of this age. Only acting wisely and preparing prudently can ensure that we can “stay wide awake and sober.”

Let us now turn to the famous parable of the talents in the gospel. Unlike what most people think, this is not a parable about how we should use our gifts, skills or talents for the betterment of the church. This is a common mistake among modern readers unfamiliar with the meaning of a talent. We think that the word “talent” in this passage means a person’s skill and ability. Only in St Matthew’s version of the parable, is the parable correctly named because only here in this gospel do we have mention of the monetary currency as talents.

A talent in this context is a measurement of weight, and the value of any talent depended on whether it was gold, silver or copper. Nevertheless, a single talent was a significant amount of wealth by any measure. A talent of gold was equal to the annual tribute of a medium sized province to the Roman Empire. So, the monetary trust given to each servant - five talents to the first, two to the second and one to the third - would have been staggering - an extremely great endowment, even for the last guy who just got one talent.

We must remember that this is an eschatological parable, which means it is about the end times. The message is simple but demanding: readiness for the Lord’s coming requires both foresight and an investment of effort on the part of His disciples. A disciple of the Lord does not just idly wait for the Master’s return, wasting his time without paying attention to his own spiritual growth and hoping that he can just make up for lost time at the end or defend his actions or inactions with some lame excuse. In all these parables concerning the end times, just like what we heard last week, there is a distinction made between wise and foolish behaviour and a stern reminder that there will be an accounting - the wise who were prepared are rewarded and the foolish would be punished.

So, the parable goes beyond the purpose of encouraging a prudent use and nurturing of one’s personal endowments. Like the other parables preceding it, we have here once again a cautionary tale, an ominous warning, our actions, our attitudes, our behaviour in relation to the Lord have dire consequences. In a world where many deny the existence of hell and have projected their own prejudices unto God, making Him out to be some Teddy Bear, who only gives hugs and never reprimands, these parables are potent reminders that we should never take God’s mercy for granted, and that we should never postpone and delay what changes that need to be done today. His coming will take all of us by surprise “like a thief in the night.”

Our Lord has entrusted the treasures of the Kingdom to us by calling us to be His servants. Whatever has been given to us, we will have to render an account for the way we have lived our lives on the graces and blessings we have received. Though a charming personality and a beautiful appearance may get us what we want in this life, it would not be enough for what is to come. Only by wisely investing our gifts and turning a profit of spiritual growth over to the Lord at the end of our earthly life, will we enter into the joy of His Kingdom and hear these infinitely consoling words, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have shown you can be faithful in small things, I will trust you with greater; come and join in your master’s happiness.”

First Holy Communion Postscript

Here’s a little story for our children who will be receiving First Holy Communion today. This is a story about St Tarcisius, the patron of altar servers, but I would like to add that he would be a good patron for those receiving their holy communion for the first time.

Tarcisius was a young boy who lived during a time when it was dangerous for Christians to be seen practising their faith and worship publicly. Masses were celebrated secretly in the catacombs, the tombs where dead people were buried. If you were caught practising your faith as a Catholic, you would not only be thrown into prison, but you would also be executed in a most horrific way, being burned alive or thrown to the animals to be eaten.

One day, a group of these Christians who were awaiting their execution made an appeal to the Pope that they wanted to receive holy communion, the Body and Blood of Jesus before they died. The Church calls communion viaticum, which actually means food for the journey – the journey to death and through death. It is indeed a great privilege and blessing to receive Jesus before one dies. But it was dangerous for any adult priest to be seen bringing communion to these Christian prisoners because it would raise a lot of suspicion. So, they decided to send a young boy and Tarcisius volunteered to bring holy communion to the condemned.

But on the way, he met with some of the youth from his neighbourhood who demanded to see what he was carrying. The Holy Communion was safely wrapped in a cloth. But Tarcisius refused to let them see it because he knew that Jesus in the Holy Communion was the greatest treasure that he had to keep safe. So, the boys began to beat him. He was beaten up so badly that he would die from his wounds. But Tarcisius kept the Holy Communion in the firm grip of his hands and refused to relent. A soldier, who happened to be a secret Christian, passed by and found Tarcisius dying. Tarcisius gave the communion to the soldier and disclosed his mission. He told the soldier to carry Jesus to the prison on his behalf, and then he died.

The life and death of Tarcisius shows us that Jesus, especially in the Eucharist, is our greatest treasure, more precious and valuable than all the riches of the world. God entrusted the Body of His own Son to this young boy as He entrusts it to you today. Tarcisius’ life and death shows us that the most important question that Jesus will ask us when He returns is not, “How much money have you made?” but “How have you loved? How have you cared for and served others?” This is what we must do whenever we receive Jesus in Holy Communion. We are called to become more like Jesus, to love like Jesus, and to be ready to sacrifice everything like Jesus. Jesus tells us: “Greater love than this no man has, than that a man lay down his life for his friend.”

Wisdom and Good Deeds

Thirty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

We have another parable from St Matthew’s gospel. This time it is that of the ten bridesmaids who fall into two categories. A distinction is made between the sensible and the foolish ones. What differentiates one group from the other? The sensible ones treasure wisdom while the foolish ones show disdain for it. What is this wisdom which some yearn and seek while others ignore and reject?

Wisdom or Chokhmah, according to Hebrew understanding, is not just intelligence or theoretical or philosophical concepts regarding the nature of things. Wisdom is a direct attribute of our Divine and Eternal Lord. When applied to man it is the ability to judge correctly and to follow the best course of action, based on knowledge and understanding. As opposed to the Greek idea of wisdom, Chokhmah is practical. Wisdom leads to right action. It grants a person the ability to see something from God’s viewpoint. That is why a rejection of wisdom is not just a matter of rejecting reason and logic but rather, the rejection of God.

In the wisdom literature of the Old Testament, such as the example taken from the Book of Wisdom in the first reading, God’s infinite wisdom is personified as a woman. The association of divine wisdom with the feminine is not accidental. The relationship between a wife and her husband is the reflected spiritual relationship between Israel and God. The Law and the Prophets provided the wisdom writers with many feminine images (including homemaker, counselor and wise woman, and lover) that influenced their use of female imagery for divine wisdom. The maternal aspect of wisdom comes to the fore. Just as a mother would be the first teacher for her children, guiding them and tutoring them, wisdom literature was written to teach young male students how to function in society and find meaning and order in the world.

In the first reading, we are assured that people have access to common wisdom, which is described as being right out there on the street—out in public. It is in the forest; it is in the city; it is on the job—it is everywhere! We are surrounded by it! While wisdom belongs to God, it can be pursued and in fact pursues individuals. This is why St Paul can make the accusation that the Gentiles who do not have the law are a law unto themselves when they do what the law says is right (Romans 2:14). Their own conscience bears them witness that they understand what is right and what is wrong (verse 15)!

As we turn to the Gospel, we see how our Lord uses this principle of wisdom in a novel way. Wisdom is now the prerequisite for salvation, being admitted to the eschatological wedding banquet, whereas those who had ignored her counsel would be denied entry.

The storyline is simple enough. The parable takes place within the festive and joyful context of a wedding, yet the final message is a sober exhortation to be properly prepared. It relates that ten young maidens, bridesmaids, were outfitted with torches/lamps and oil, were awaiting the arrival of a bridegroom. Notice the feminine and the lover-bride motif in this parable, both being traditional symbols of wisdom. Five of the maidens, the wise ones, had extra oil with them, the others, foolish ones, did not. When the time of the bridegroom’s arrival finally draws near, the foolish ones needed more oil and asked the wise for oil; the wise refused and sent the foolish ones to buy their own. Meanwhile, the wise ones went in with the bridegroom to the wedding feast and the door was locked. The foolish ones returned and were turned away. Thus, the parable ends with our Lord’s admonishment to stay awake, to be prepared.

This story begs the question, “Why would the five maidens not share their oil?” This appears selfish, so why are they called “wise.” First, while it is not clear whether they were carrying lamps or torches (the Greek word can mean either), they would need oil, either to fill the lamps or to apply to the rags used for torches. On the human level, these five maidens had foresight; they had not only made immediate plans but had also planned for any eventuality, including a long wait, and they knew they might not have enough oil to last the night. But this logical explanation is inadequate for us to discern their behaviour. If the bridegroom is Christ, however, and the wedding feast is the end-time banquet, we have a clue to unravel the conduct of these maidens.

In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord tells His audience that they are “the light of the world.” He encourages them: “Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in Heaven” (5:14-16). Light is not just a metaphor for evangelisation, but we see in these words of the Lord a clear connexion between light and good works.

At the end of the Sermon, our Lord says: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (7:21) – this saying reinforces the truth that deeds are necessary to enter the kingdom. At the end of today’s parable, the foolish bridesmaids make this request: “Lord, Lord … open the door for us.” The repeated petition, “Lord, Lord” allows us to connect this to the necessity of good deeds in verse 7:21 in the Sermon on the Mount. Finally, a later Rabbinic text, Midrash Rabbah, uses “mixed with oil” to refer to the study of the Law combined with good deeds.

And so, the oil for the lamps/torches was meant to signify good deeds. Then it is clear why the five sensible bridesmaids could not share their oil with the foolish ones; these latter would need their own good deeds. No one can borrow the good works of others to make up for the good works they’ve failed to do. Its merits are non-transferable. Each person must, as St Paul wrote, “work out [their] own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12). Wise are those who understand this. Foolish are those who don’t.

Chapter 9 of the Book of Proverbs, a reading read during the Feast of Corpus Christi, describes how Lady Wisdom has built her house, set her table and invites her guests to a special banquet. The Eucharist is meant to empower all of us who dine in wisdom to go into the world with the Life of Christ we have received. To faithfully partake of the supper of the lamb in His flesh and blood is to be sufficiently prepared and to have opened the door to wisdom in the Holy Spirit. Let us all pray to receive Christ today and as we return to our seats in our time of thanksgiving after communion, let us ask Him for the gift of wisdom to know how to do His will in our particular life’s calling. With the fuel of Holy Communion, let us keep the flame alive in our hearts as we await our Lord’s coming, not idle but committed to a life of good works, so that we may shine the Light of His Gospel on the world.

A Banquet for all peoples

Twenty Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

The significance of a meal can never be overstated. It is clear that food is more than just essential for our species’ survival. For survival needs, people everywhere could eat the same food, to be measured only in calories, fats, carbohydrates, proteins, and vitamins. But a meal is also an important social event. We celebrate weddings, anniversaries and birthdays with a meal. We honour and remember our dead at wakes and funerals with a meal. We conclude business discussions and seal contracts over a meal. We deepen bonds of friendship over a meal. There is something magical, even mystical about meals. It is no wonder that a priest who was an avid promoter of basic ecclesial communities (BEC) often joked that the acronym BEC should stand for Best Eating Club, alluding to the food potlucks being the most popular reason why Catholics decide to gather in small groups, if for no other reason.

The first reading provides us with a description of a sumptuous feast of “rich food” on an unnamed mountain which marks the end of a period of mourning. Most scholars agree that the prophet Isaiah was painting a picture of restoration for those of the House of Judah who had been taken into exile after the fall of Jerusalem to the invading Babylonians. The exiles were returning home and God was going to enter into a new relationship with them. The scene recalls another banquet that took place on another mountain. In Exodus (24:1-11), Moses and the seventy elders whom he has chosen, go up to Sinai, the mountain of the Lord, where they feasted. It was not just a social celebration but a covenant meal, sealing their relationship with God who had brought them out of Egypt and had blessed them with the Law, food and water.

But the time of the restoration of Israel in Isaiah’s prophetic vision would not only be a time of a New Exodus but also a time of Conquest. The banquet celebrates God’s ultimate victory over suffering and death, where He “will destroy Death for ever” and “wipe away the tears from every cheek” and “take away His people’s shame everywhere on earth.” It will be a banquet which is not only confined to the leaders of Israel as during the Exodus, nor even confined to the Jews. It would be a banquet which the Lord prepares “for all peoples.” And this meal would be held in plain sight and not hidden behind the walls of the Temple where the Jewish performed their rites in secrecy, nor behind the veil which concealed the Holy of Holies.

What the Old Testament promises, the gospel fulfils and we see this in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus often finds Himself in the middle of a feast. He also seemed to enjoy a hearty meal and did not refuse any opportunity to dine with His hosts and guests. Table fellowship among the Jews was a big deal. Pharisees did not dine with people whom they regarded were below their stature because they saw each meal as “eating with God.” This is where our Lord was subject to their ire because He frequently feasted with disreputable folks like tax collectors and sinners. He concluded His public ministry and inaugurated His passion with a meal. The communal meal did not only provide our Lord with an opportunity to provide teaching to those who were in attendance but was also the subject of His teaching parables. Today’s parable of the wedding feast is one such example.

Notice that Isaiah’s covenant meal has now morphed into a wedding banquet in our Lord’s parable. We already see the typology of a wedding and marriage in the Old Testament writing of Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah and the Psalms. The covenant between God and Israel is often described as a marriage and Israel’s apostasy is seen as infidelity of the bride towards her spouse. Our Lord now strings together these related themes of an eschatological or end times banquet, a covenant meal and a wedding feast in this compelling parable of judgment.

Our Lord describes the Kingdom of Heaven as a wedding banquet thrown by the king for his son to which the king’s subjects are invited. Two groups emerge - those who actually attend the feast and those who do not. Perhaps the most important feature of this parable is the invitation. Though this is a wedding banquet, the bride is significantly missing from the narrative and the bridegroom, the son of the king, is not an important character in the storyline even though the banquet is held in his honour. This would suggest that the focus is not on the wedding between the bride and the bridegroom but on the king’s invitation.

The focus of the parable seems to be on the response made to this invitation, rather than on the feast itself. A rejection of a king’s invitation to such an important event was unimaginable because it would be political suicide and yet we find the invited guests turning down the invitation not just once but twice and on the second instance, even abusing and killing the king’s emissaries that had been sent to them to persuade them to reconsider the invitation. The first time could be seen as a grievous insult, but the second rejection was an outright act of rebellion. One can then understand the king’s violent response in putting down this rebellion.

When the first group of invited guests were “found to be unworthy”, that is they failed to respond to the invitation, the king sends a second set of servants to gather “everyone.” The Greek word translated into “everyone” suggests “outsiders”, those at the fringes of society. But even though the king seems to have lowered the bar in terms of who gets to attend his son’s wedding banquet, it does not mean that all and sundry would get to enjoy the “sumptuous banquet” of “rich food” and “rich wine.” One man was expelled because he was not wearing the proper attire. Could we be excluded from salvation for one such petty reason as improper dressing? Perhaps, we can find a clue to this symbolism when we heed the words of St Paul that we too must, “clothe ourselves with heartfelt mercy, with kindness, humility, meekness and patience. Bear with one another and forgive whatever grievances you have against one another.” (Colossians 3:12-13)

We finally come to the final saying of our Lord in this passage: “For many are called, but few are chosen.” To describe it as cryptic would be an understatement. It is definitely not suggesting that salvation is for an elite few. Personally, I am comforted by such passages as 1 Timothy 2:4, where Paul says that God “wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of truth.” So, what does this sentence mean? Saint Jerome says that, “The chosen are those who accept the call and do not reject the invitation, like the first guests, or who do not accept it fully, like the man who comes to the dinner but does not dress in the proper manner.”

Our God came to earth and became one of us in the person of Jesus Christ to prove His love for us and to extend a personal invitation to each and every one of His sons and daughters, to come and join Him at the banquet table that He has prepared for us in His heavenly Kingdom. It is an open invitation. Salvation is not something we earn. It is an invitation that we are free to either accept or reject. Merely claiming that we have received the invitation is no guarantee that one is able to partake in the wedding feast of the kingdom. That invitation must be accepted, not just on our own terms but on God’s terms. So, it is crucial to remember that salvation won by Jesus for the sake of all is not applied automatically; it requires that to attain Eternal Life each individual must, to the extent of his or her understanding, accept and live in the grace won by Christ. We must take care to “clothe ourselves with heartfelt mercy, with kindness, humility, meekness and patience.”

My Precious!

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

A lot of parishioners often walk up to me and tell me that they really pity me. They think that I have lost a great deal and given up so much for the priesthood - a family, a career, comfort and money and all these must have come at a terrible loss to me. I don’t really know how to tell them that I haven’t really given up that much. In fact, I don’t feel the loss at all. It would be so, if these things were really considered valuable to me, but they no longer do. In fact, for me the priesthood is a GAIN, not a LOSS!

It is ironic that the pitiable character of the creature known as Gollum in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings should provide us a lesson of valuing something. Upon the discovery of the One Ring which rules the rings of power, this creature descends into a world of darkness, forsaking friend and kin, enduring banishment and torture, risking death and even the damnation of his soul, and goes through great lengths to recover the one thing which he describes as his “Precious.” What he was willing to endure shows how much he truly values this object.

The parables today raise a similar question: what do we value most in life? How would we really know if something or someone is valuable to us? The real litmus test is not how loud or persistent we say that something is of value to us but what are we prepared to sacrifice for it.

The parables set out this basic principle to determine the value of a thing desired: what are we willing to sacrifice? What is the cost that we are willing to pay? Both tales indicate that the kingdom is of such inestimable value that those who understand this truth will do whatever it takes to possess it.

In the first parable, the man finds a treasure in a field; in the second, the man seeks the valuable pearl. Both parables make a similar point about the Kingdom of heaven – this is the greatest treasure. Receiving it brings joy to the finder, but also calls for the valuing of this treasure above all others. The order is the same in both parables - joy over receiving the Gospel, and then the willingness to sell all their possessions. Their sacrifice was not out of obligation or done grudgingly, but one made out of joy! Our joy in the Lord and our estimation of His incomparable value in our lives produce the willingness to give everything we have to God--our talents, time, and resources. This joy in finding the greatest treasure, Jesus, results in a radical life change, the kind of change that causes us to reorientate our lives, reevaluate our priorities and render all previous attachments dispensable and disposable.

The two parables though conveying a similar message, express two different experiences - two ways where the protagonist comes upon their treasures. In the first parable, the hidden treasure is found by chance, it seems, without the man intentionally looking for it. In the surprise of it all, the accent falls on his shocking and happy response: from his joy he goes and sells all he has, to buy the field. Joy flooded his heart as he stumbled on such value.

In the second parable, the merchant is looking. He is searching high and low, near and far. Being a merchant and connoisseur of pearls, he knows their value. And this merchant is not just seeking pearls but “fine pearls” — beautiful pearls, precious pearls. His palate is refined. He has a keen eye. The merchant’s life has been bound up with pursuing the most precious of earthly objects. Now, he comes across one singular pearl of such beauty, of such great value, one pearl so precious, he goes and sells all he has just to have it. The emphasis is not on his accidental find but on the over-the-top fulfillment of an intentional search.

Together the short parables contribute to one picture, seen in the obvious repetition: the man sells all he has to obtain the newfound treasure. However accidental or intentional the search, the man has come upon something of such value that he is eager (“from his joy”) to count all else loss in view of the surpassing value of the treasure — of the exceeding preciousness of the treasure and pearl.

The apostle St Paul expresses the very same thing in his letter to the Philippians 3:7-8, “Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” St Paul suffers the loss of all things that he may gain Christ. Both the Gospel and Paul’s words express the very same reality and truth: if you profess that something is most precious to you, no cost is too big or price too high or sacrifice too great, in order for you to attain it or keep it. The treasure far outstrips the cost that we gladly say, “gain!” This is why the whole army of martyrs and saints can declare with St Paul, “For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”

One last caveat must be made about the message of these parables. The point here is not that you buy the kingdom or barter for the kingdom or negotiate for the kingdom. The kingdom of God is received without pay, like a poor child, not a rich businessman. It is given to the undeserving, to those who have not earned it or will ever be able to pay for it. So the point here is that you can never buy it. You get it freely because you want it more than you want anything else. In other words, there is a condition for having the kingdom—for having the King on your side and as your friend—but the condition is not wealth or power or intelligence or eminence. The condition is that you prize the Kingdom more than you prize anything else. The point of selling everything in this parable is simply to show where your heart is.

So, the point of these two parables is that the Kingdom of God is so valuable that losing everything on earth, but getting the Kingdom, is a happy trade-off. Losing everything is no real loss, because the Kingdom is by far the greatest gain. The loss of all things is not sad if we gain Christ. Do you truly value Him in your heart? If so, what are you prepared to sacrifice and endure for Him? Remember this: finding our Lord as your one Precious, will not poison and shrink your soul, unlike what the Ring did to Gollum. Rather, Christ is the antidote to what ails us, the catalyst to expand our small hearts, the surprising remedy we’ve long been seeking. In casting off all other attachments in our lives we will not be impoverished. Rather, we will be immensely and undeniably enriched. “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

Seek the Kingdom, Seek Humility

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

At one time, Catholics were expected to learn and memorise the 10 commandments, a collection of Catholic prayers, the names of the seven sacraments and the Beatitudes. Most of us may still be able to make a fair stab at the first three. But how many of us can recall all eight beatitudes?

Today, we have a chance to listen to the list of Beatitudes which serves as the opening to the Sermon on the Mount. Saint Matthew clearly saw the Beatitudes as important, as crystallising Jesus’ teaching. They are the first words of teaching that Matthew quotes in his gospel. The “sermon” is given its name because Matthew tells us that the Lord had gone up to the mountain to teach (just as Moses did when he received the 10 commandments on Mount Sinai), and the Lord teaches sitting down, the traditional position of a rabbi when wanting to teach officially, not just off-the-cuff, throw-away lines while wandering along. Jesus and Matthew are telling us: this is important!

The Lord looks at those gathered around Him on that mountain. These are people who do not live easy, comfortable lives. They are people who for the most part live in poverty, for whom hunger, starvation even, is only one bad harvest away, for whom sickness and disease can all too readily lead to suffering and death, who are weak and vulnerable to the rapaciousness of the rich, to the violence of the powerful. He looks at them and tells them that if they follow the way of the kingdom, they will be “happy!” Try wrapping your head around this. To say to this group of poor, struggling people that one day they will be comforted, they will inherit the earth, they will see God, they will be called children of God, is just an extraordinary promise. To make such a radical connexion would require more than a few mental summersaults.

And yet, the Lord goes further: “If you follow me, you are blessed”. Each one of these eight remarkable statements begins with: “Happy are…” In other words “blessed are you…” or “you are in a good place when you are poor in spirit, when you mourn, etc…” You are in a place of hope, of life, of truth, in the here and now. Jesus tells those listening whose lives are so tough, He tells us too, “when you follow me, you are in that good place”. It’s the promise that in the midst of struggles we can be in a place of current hope, peace, joy, life. The beatitudes point us forward to an even better future but there is the promise that we can experience the taste of that future even now - joy can be found even in the midst of sorrow.

So how do we experience that place of current and future blessedness, that place of hope, of joy, of peace, of life, in the midst of the turmoil and struggles of life? Our Lord tells us: Live the life of the kingdom.

Here’s a hack on how to read the beatitudes. Although each beatitude merits a lengthy commentary, the first beatitude provides an adequate summary of the rest. “How happy are the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Who are the poor in spirit? The poor in spirit was a phrase used throughout the Old Testament to describe those who had come to acknowledge that they were totally in need of God’s help. It was often associated with those who were economically destitute, those who had nothing left to rely on – no money, no power, no influence – and so could only trust in God. Poverty of spirit is a total emptying of oneself, an abandonment of the self to the will of God.

It is that sense of utter dependence, of acknowledging that only God can meet our needs, that is meant here. We are not to rely on our own wealth, or status, or abilities. We are to humbly acknowledge that we need God in every aspect of our lives. Christ Himself shows us what that looks like.

So, the first beatitude could be re-phrased: “You are in a good place when you acknowledge that you totally need God, that you cannot do it by yourself.” That leads us to prayer and to humility. Humility is the key to understand the Beatitudes. Humility is the key which opens the door to the kingdom. Humility is the basis and foundation of all to follow. As Saint John Chrysostom says, “Pride is the fountain of all wickedness, so is humility the principle of all self-command.”

Of all the virtues Christ commended in the Beatitudes, it is significant that the first is humility, being ‘poor in spirit’. Here is the divine irony, the ascent to the mountain of the Lord (the Mount of Beatitudes) first requires a descent: the closer we come to the Lord, the more keenly aware are we of our distance, the more we grow in holiness, the greater the awareness of our unworthiness. That is why the virtue of humility (the blessed gift of self-forgetfulness) underlies all the others. For example, you cannot mourn without appreciating how insufficient you are to handle loss in your own strength. That is humility. You cannot hunger and thirst for righteousness if you proudly think of yourself as already righteous. Longing to fill that spiritual appetite demands humility. You cannot be merciful without recognising your own need for mercy. To confess your sin and ask God and others for forgiveness takes humility. You cannot be pure in heart if your heart is filled with pride.

In the first reading, the prophet Zephaniah describes the remnant of Israel who will be restored to their land after the period of exile as “the humble of the earth.” In his view, it is the humble of the Lord who will receive divine blessing, those who seek refuge in the Name or Power of the Lord and recognise their entire dependence on Him. So if one wishes to be reconciled to God and with others, heed the call to “seek integrity, seek humility.”

St Paul provides a correction to the popular identification of humility to self-deprecation. It is not about boasting about your achievements or lack of it which makes you proud or humble but rather in whether one seeks to give glory to God or dwell in some form of narcissistic self-worship. That is why St Paul tells us in the second reading: “The human race has nothing to boast about to God” and that is why “if anyone wants to boast, let him boast about the Lord.”

The Beatitudes encourage an upside-down view of what leads to being in a good place, a place of blessing, a place of solid not just fleeting happiness. We may be tempted to think that it is when all our needs are met, when we are self-reliant, when we are financially independent, when we are in control of our lives, that we are happy. Instead, the Lord calls us to humbly acknowledge that we are always in need of God, and to live that out by living lives of prayerfulness. And we may be tempted to deny real sorrow or to avoid recognising the impact of our own failings. But instead, the Lord calls us to acknowledge the depths of our grief, the gravity of our powerlessness and the extent of our failings, for it is in doing so that we discover God as healer and comforter and the only true source of strength.

Getting it right

Thirty First Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

Our gospel passage begins with a question posed by a scribe, a scholarly expert of the Law: “which is the first of all the commandments?” His motives are unclear. Why would an expert of the Law seek knowledge from someone who has no formal training in the Law? Is he trying to test our Lord’s knowledge of the Law? Even if his motives are pure and his question is genuine, being a scholar, was he looking for an intellectual answer rather than some insight that would lead to personal spiritual growth?

But our Lord’s response is not just any theoretical answer which academics enjoy brandishing in public to show off their erudition. He is not just reciting some Jewish catechism from memory. If you have paid attention to the first reading you would realise that the first part of the answer given by the Lord is not novel nor ground breaking. In fact, His answer is surprising precisely because of its simplicity and notoriety. The Shema is an affirmation of God’s singularity and kingship, the foundation of Israel’s covenantal relationship with God and principle which underlies all the commandments. Thus, it is the centrepiece of the daily morning and evening prayers and is considered the most essential prayer in all of Judaism.

It is good to note that the Shema was not meant to be an ethical principle but rather a doctrinal one which asserted that there is but one God, who has created all things and who holds all things in existence by His goodness and power. His claim on us is therefore total, calling for a total response at every level of our being.

In prayer, the faithful Jew carries the text literally before his eyes (traditionally, it is recited with the hand placed over the eyes to block out all distractions), on his hands and on the doorposts of his house, so that he is always aware of the most important loyalty in life. It is a reminder that love of God must dominate all our actions and thoughts; it must be always in our minds and thoughts, and must be the guide of all our deeds and motivations.

The second part of our Lord’s answer is a quotation of Leviticus 19:18: “You must love your neighbour as yourself.” If the first part of our Lord’s answer came as no surprise to His listeners, this second part stands as something unique. Our Lord is the first one known to have explicitly combined these two commandments - the doctrinal is now inseparably tied to the ethical. Our love of God is concretised and expressed in our love for fellow human beings.

St Bede in his commentary on this text, wrote: “neither of these two kinds of love is expressed with full maturity without the other, because God cannot be loved apart from our neighbour, nor our neighbour apart from God… There is only one adequate confirmation of whole-hearted love of God - labouring steadily for the needy in your midst, exercising continuing care for them.”

Our Lord then concludes by stating that “there is no commandment greater than these.” The scribe then condescendingly expresses his approval of what the Lord had said, as if the Lord had given the correct answer to a riddle posed by the scribe. This is ironic since our Lord is in no need of this man’s approval nor is our Lord’s knowledge inferior to his. But our Lord seems to accept the affirmation of this scribe graciously as the latter repeats the formula again whilst adding at the end: “this is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice.’”

Our Lord recognises the wisdom of this man and appears to praise him for his insight: “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” But these words are double edged. This man may not be far from the kingdom because of his knowledge and learning but he is still not in the kingdom. Thus, our Lord was challenging this scribe to go further than his scholarly knowledge.

Our Lord was helping the scribe to understand that the real answer lay not in any theoretical formulary but its real meaning could only be derived from living out the truth that was conveyed by that answer. Yes, many can give the correct answers to doctrinal questions of faith, but the greater challenge would be to live out that truth in a practical way, to put into practice what we profess with our lips - and what better way of putting into practice the faith we profess than to love our neighbour. Christianity is no mere theoretical or philosophical discipline but an ethical one. Knowledge of our faith will do us little good if we do not put into practice what we profess. Likewise, merely showing acts of kindness and doing good without finding its basis in our love for God in response to His love for us is not enough. In the absence of God, the Church will be nothing more than a non-governmental organisation.

Thus, at the heart of our Christian lives as a whole, we must seek to nurture this precious gift of faith: for as we seek to deepen our understanding of the mysteries of our salvation, so we come to perceive more fully the depth of God’s love for us, and thus are drawn, by His grace, to love Him with more and more of our mind, as of our heart. This love incorporates both the vertical and the horizontal - love of God and love of neighbour - as well as the practical and the intellectual – because we were made by God “to know Him, to love Him, to serve Him and be with Him in paradise forever. If like the scribe in today’s Gospel, we truly grasp the primacy of this, then our Lord’s words are also meant for us: ‘you are not far from the kingdom of God’. But, if we should go further than the scribe by putting this faith and love into practice, then we will be rewarded by another set of our Lord’s words, “yours is the kingdom of heaven.”

God is still in charge

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

This entire year has plunged many into an existential crisis. Plans have been disrupted, some even cancelled, anxiety levels have escalated as we struggle to comprehend and navigate a future that remains uncertain. One thing that many have learnt during this year is that, we are not in charge. Before this, we had bought into the myth that through hard work and a can-do (Malaysia Boleh) attitude, we can control our own lives. We can master our own destiny, captain our own ship, and set a course for the future. But we’ve realised that control is an illusion. The good news is that God is still in charge. You just need to get out of the way.

Today’s gospel treats us to two parables instead of one: the parable of the growing seed and the parable of the mustard seed. You may have heard it explained to you that parables are short stories which our Lord likes to tell His audience and how we wished that all our priests would confine their homiletic material to similar anecdotal wonders, instead of meandering off into some inexplicable theological maze where everyone gets lost. This is the popularly held view. But though their content seems simple and the message simpler still, they actually do contain something far more profound. That is why the learned of Jesus’ time often found difficulty in comprehending His message and why our Lord had to explain the meaning of these stories to His own disciples, who should have known better.

Pope Emeritus Benedict explains that through parables, our Lord “shows how the divine light shines through in the things of this world and in the realities of our everyday life.” The whole of creation is a revelation of God’s mysteries, for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. I’m reminded of the words of Elizabeth Barret Browning who wrote:

“Earth's crammed with heaven,

And every common bush afire with God,

But only he who sees takes off his shoes;

The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.”

The Greek word “parabole” means juxtaposing, placing side by side, making a comparison. And that is basically how we learn. We compare things that we already know with new things that we are getting to know. On the surface, the parables are simple enough for a child to understand. They make spiritual realities accessible by conveying them in concrete images, instead of theoretical abstractions. But paradoxically, these parables have a mysterious dimension, a hidden depth of meaning that is not always easy to grasp and that comes to light only upon thoughtful, open-minded and faith-filled reflexions. Therefore, the parables both conceal and reveal the mystery of the kingdom, depending on the disposition of the hearer. More importantly, parables elicit a response. We cannot remain neutral in the face of a parable, they are not just nice stories to be enjoyed, but they provoke thought and challenges the listener to a decisive response to our Lord and His message. You will either love Him or hate Him.

Let us consider the first parable in today’s passage. This is a parable which is only found here in Saint Mark’s gospel. Unlike the more familiar parable of the Sower and the Seeds which focuses on the different kinds of soil, this parable highlights the intrinsic power of the seed. The sower in this parable literally scatters his seeds and then goes about his daily routine with little care for “how his garden grows.” He has such confidence in the power of his seed that he doesn’t seem to fret over the outcome of his planting. Slowly, imperceptibly, the seed begins to sprout. For the man in the story, life is a mystery as our Lord explains, “Night and day, while he sleeps, when he is awake, the seed is sprouting and growing; how, he does not know.” The man does not know how it is happening, neither is he in control of the process. He understands that God is ultimately in control and he just needs to get out of the way.

With this parable, our Lord explains that the Kingdom of God is a divine work, not a human achievement. God brings about its growth, which at times is imperceptible. Sometimes we grow impatient and we attempt to hurry things along, but our efforts can never determine the time and condition of the final outcome which is in the hands of God. We can only cooperate, but we cannot control or hasten the arrival of the Kingdom by our efforts, any more than the farmer can harvest his grains at a time of his own choosing. The lesson is that we should place less confidence in our own ingenuity, efforts or machinations, but more in the Lord. Saint Paul wrote, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth. Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth” (1 Cor 3:6-7). The parable serves as an encouragement for those who think their efforts are fruitless, and a warning for those who think they can bring about the kingdom by their own programmes.

The next parable is more familiar - it is the parable of the mustard seed. Because the Kingdom is a divine reality and not a humanly engineered utopia, it cannot be defined or contained in human categories. It can only be understood by using analogies that force the listener to think and ponder at a deeper level.  In this second parable, the emphasis is on the smallness of the mustard seed. A mustard seed is insignificant in comparison to the glorious kingdom. The contrast is meant to be a hyperbole, a literary exaggeration, e.g. “I’m so hungry I could eat an entire horse.”  And so, “the smallest of all the seeds on earth,” when “sown it grows into the biggest shrub of them all and puts out big branches so that the birds of the air can shelter in its shade.” The outcome is also another hyperbole because a mustard plant can never grow into a huge tree. This tree sounds like the cosmic tree spoken of by the prophets (Daniel 4:10-12 and Ezekiel 31:6). This tree signifies the new heavens and new earth, it points to the resurrected life of the age to come. And it all starts with a mustard seed. The growth of the kingdom will not be due to human efforts but entirely driven by God’s hidden power.

So, back to the question: “who’s in charge?” If there is one thing this pandemic has taught us, is that we are not in charge. As long as we hold onto our illusion, we are setting ourselves up for a major disappointment – we will continue to be fearful and anxious. When we choose to trust God, though, He transforms us into people who find our strength and our confidence in Him rather than in ourselves.

The parables are also important reminders that the growth of the kingdom can be hard to trace, detect, or measure. So many grow impatient and despondent when they are unable to detect any significant or visible change. But God often works quietly and in a hidden manner, but His hand remains firmly on the wheel. This is the paradox of Christ’s kingdom—a mysterious mix of visibility and hiddenness, glory and humility, power and weakness. But why is this the paradox of the kingdom?  Because this paradox matches Christ’s cross. He had to appear defeated in order to be victorious. He accepted humiliation at the moment of His glorification. He had to die in order to win for us eternal life. And though it may seem, that His enemies were in control, He was, is now and will always be in control. So, don’t be deceived into thinking that God is doing nothing about the mess that we are in. He is doing something and He is always in charge. Let us just stop whining, stay out of the way and let Him do His job.

The Time is Now!

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

People often wonder why I wear two watches, an anologue watch on my left wrist and a digital Fitbit watch on my right; one to keep time and the other, to keep track of the steps I’ve taken in a day, some silly comfort to assure myself that I’ve done some exercise. And of course, I’ve got my smart phone which I would readily whisk out if I wish to be more precise with the time. So back to the question: why do I need three time-keeping devices? Simple answer: I have poor time management. All these devices help keep me in check.

Time management is a skill some people excel in while others struggle to manage. I belong to the second category. You would think that with the plethora of apps and other tools to be more efficient, they would make us better at managing our time, but the truth is that time management is one of the biggest stressors in our culture. We work too many hours, we have too many distractions, and we're trying to squeeze in more work in less time. Procrastination is often the result of being so overwhelmed with tasks that we keep putting things off, only to find that we're now even more squeezed for time.

The ancient Greeks referred to the ticking of the clock as chronos time, from which we get "chronological" time. Matter of fact, if you go to a jewellery store to purchase an expensive watch, it is now often referred to as a chronograph, rather than a watch. It makes it sound more expensive.

However, Kairos is the brand of time most often mentioned in the New Testament. You won't find it on a watch. Instead, kairos refers more to a decisive time - the right time, the appropriate time, the opportune time, the decisive time. The writers of the New Testament seem to understand kairos in relation to the moment when God intervenes or is about to intervene in human history. And it is this time, Kairos time, which our Lord announces at the start of His public ministry. “The time has come ... and the kingdom of God is close at hand.”

The Kairos of God’s intervention intersects with our own Kairos moment. Encountering the Lord calls for an immediate decision, not just a proposal for our consideration. Our Lord does not say to us, “Take your time, I’m not in a hurry.” Every scene in the gospel of St Mark is filled with urgency and the various characters therein do not seem to dally or take their time to make a response. It’s interesting how Jonah, the reluctant prophet in the first reading, takes such a long time to accede to God’s call to deliver His message to the Ninevites, in contrast to the Ninevites immediate response to repent upon hearing the warning. I guess most of us are like Jonah rather than Peter, Andrew, James, John, Levi or even the Ninevites. We seem to take our time, put off the decision, find excuses and even attempt to run away from the inevitable before we come round to accept God’s invitation.

I guess I have a theory for this procrastination on our part, especially in spiritual matters. Most often, we don’t live with enough urgency. We live on the assumption that we have plenty of time. We live in a world of chronos and we don’t notice the kairos moments of God at work around us. But today, our Lord reminds us that “the time has come,” no more excuses, no more delays, no more attempts at worming out of this. So, how should we live and respond to this perpetually urgent Kairos moment:

The first point is to appreciate the urgency of our Lord’s call. Remember those immortal words of Benjamin Franklin, “Do not put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” It is now time to stop thinking, there is plenty of time for living. Life is short; you do not have the time as you think you do. Live, think, and act for today, for “tomorrow” may be too late. Live as if today is your last.

The second is that repentance should be a constant and daily affair. For those who think that going for confession once a year during one of the scheduled penitential services is already a big deal, think again. Seize the opportunity to repent, recognise its urgency because let’s be honest - no one is an immaculate saint. Even if you get pass the day without some major mortal sin, there is not a single day when some thought, some action, some speech, some decision would be tainted by sin or impure motives.

The third point is that we must make a response of faith which is to “believe the Good News.” But this is not just knowledge or observance of some paper doctrine. Faith, in the Christian context, is ultimately translated into discipleship, it is heeding the call of our Lord, “Follow me.”

The fourth would be to re-evaluate the priorities in our lives and place our Lord at the very top. Values shape our decisions. What makes you decide to take up a project immediately or delay it depends on the value you attach to it. If you have been putting off the call from the Lord because you seem to have other more urgent or important things on your plate, it is evidence of how little value you give to the Lord in your life. A simple rule is this: God first, others second, me last.

Finally, don’t wait for the “perfect” or “ideal” time to respond to God’s call. Notice that His call comes at any moment and in whatever situation you may find yourself in, and that moment is the “perfect time.” God flows into our existence when we least expect Him. Let us live with urgency…always anticipating those kairos moments when God shows up in the most unexpected ways.  And they can happen anytime! A friend calls you out of the blue. Your child disrupts your current preoccupation and calls you away to attend to her needs. A co-worker reaches out to ask for help. Your Parish Priest gives you a surprise call, asking for a favour. God is always surprising us with His perfect, kairos timing. Are you ready, waiting, and watching to make the correct response? There is no time to waste. The time is NOW!