Through the Haze

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

(World Mission Sunday)

Readings: Isaiah 45: 1, 4-6; Psalm 95 (96): 1, 3-5, 7-10; 1 Thessalonians 1: 1-5; Matthew 22: 15-21
Picture: By Lizgrin F on Unsplash

What can we do about this haze? Realistically, there probably isn’t much we can do to stop it. But does this mean we should do nothing? Simply carry on as usual? Perhaps even add to the pollution, by going out into the haze, and puffing defiantly on a cigarette? Isn’t it true that not being able to stop something, doesn’t mean we can’t or shouldn’t take steps to reduce its bad effects on us? Steps like learning how to read the signs. To know, for example, the difference between the 24-hour PSI and the 1-hour PM2.5 readings. Where to check them, and what to do or refrain from doing, when they reach certain levels. Reading the signs may also help us realise an important truth. Namely, that we’re not completely helpless. Nor are we alone. And that there are useful resources on which we can rely. Our own, as well as those provided by others. Windows we can close, masks we can wear, purifiers we can use, public spaces we can share… All of which may help us respond more appropriately. Instead of just doing nothing… Reading the signs, realising the truth, relying on resources, so as to respond better. Don’t we find something similar in our scriptures today?

More than just a speech addressed by God to a foreign king, what we find in the first reading is a people who have been languishing for decades in the hazardous haze of exile, in faraway Babylon. Painfully aware that their exile is not just political, but also spiritual. For they have come to see that they are reaping the fruits of their own idolatry. But then, one day, their captors are conquered by the Persians. And the new king, Cyrus, decides to allow them to return and rebuild their home. Even providing them with what they need to do so. And the people learn to read this development as a sign. Allowing them to realise a consoling truth. That despite being a pagan, Cyrus has been called and anointed by God. He is the chosen instrument through whom God is protecting and providing for them. Which implies that even in the hazy darkness of exile, they are not alone. Their God is with them, forgiving them, caring for them. What they need to do is rely on the resources being made available to them, so as to respond appropriately. Not just by returning and rebuilding their home, but by repenting from their sin. By turning away from idolatry, so as to worship and praise the One True God. To give the Lord glory and power…

In the gospel too, we find a people living under the hazardous haze of foreign rule. A haze that’s the result not just of their own military weakness, but also of their spiritual fragility. Their idolatry and infidelity. And again, God refuses to forsake them. God sends a Messiah, a Christ, an Anointed One, on a mission of mercy. A mission to save them, by proclaiming the coming of God’s kingdom, and calling them to repent. But, as we heard in the gospel read three Sundays ago, although the tax collectors and prostitutes –– the public sinners –– were quick to heed God’s call, the religious leaders were not. So for the last three Sundays, Jesus has been telling them parables designed to soften and enlighten their hearts. Stories that are also signs pointing them to the path of repentance. But they fail to read the signs. They refuse to realise who Jesus is. They reject the Anointed Resource provided by God for sinners to rely on. Rather than responding positively to God’s call, in today’s reading, they seek to trap him with a dangerous question.

All of which should help us appreciate the significance of what Jesus says to them in reply: give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God. Rather than drawing a hard line strictly separating the realm of politics from that of religion, Jesus is implicitly highlighting a central truth of our faith. The same truth found at the end of the first reading. Where God tells the great Persian conqueror, I am the Lord, unrivalled; there is no other God besides me…. apart from me all is nothing. Which may lead us to recall the opening words of the Creed we will shortly stand to profess together: I believe in one God… Not two or three or none, but one God. Apart from whom, all is nothing. All, including me. Could it be that it’s only when I learn to accept and to live according to this great truth, that I can then see clearly enough to consider other questions? Not just whether or not to pay taxes to Caesar, but also what career to choose for myself… Whether to marry… How many children to have… How much tuition to provide them…  How to spend my retirement… What to do with my wealth… How to face the inevitability of my own diminishment and death…

The ability to accept and to live out the practical implications of our belief in one God, who loves and cares for us. Isn’t this also what St Paul is describing in the second reading? Where he highlights what for him is the sure sign that the Thessalonians have been chosen by God. Namely, that the Good News has come to them not only as words, but as power and as the Holy Spirit and as utter conviction. The power to see through the confusing haze of everyday life, in order to recognise the face of Christ –– the Anointed One sent by the One True God –– and to follow him. What is Christian mission, if not to experience and live out of this same power, and to help others do the same?

Sisters and brothers, how is the Lord calling us to respond to the different kinds of haze we may encounter today?

Bridging the Gap

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Readings: Isaiah 5: 1-7; Psalm 79 (80): 9, 12-16, 19-20; Philippians 4: 6-9; Matthew 21: 33-43

Picture: By Miguel Ángel Díaz on Unsplash

How do we bridge the gap? As some of us may have heard, this is a crucially important question posed by the results of two local studies released over the last fortnight. One on fertility, and the other on parental attitudes toward the education of children. The fertility study, jointly conducted by Thomson Medical and NUS, found that up to 84% of young adults in Singapore (aged 18-39) actually aspire to have at least one child. So why does our total fertility rate remain so low? What’s keeping our young people from acting on their aspirations? The study on education, conducted by the Institute of Policy Studies, uncovered something similar. An overwhelming 90% of parents surveyed agreed that children in Singapore already spend too much time on tuition and enrichment. And yet 70% of them still said they would spend more on tuition and enrichment if they had the resources to do so. As with fertility, so too with parenting. Somehow, the right attitude isn’t getting translated into appropriate action. Why? And how to bridge the gap?

Efforts to bridge a gap of some sort. Isn’t this what we find in our scriptures today? The first reading presents us with what’s advertised as a love song, but sounds more like a lament. For it tells of how the people of Judah––symbolised by a delinquent vineyard––have fallen far short of God’s legitimate expectations. Despite having been carefully cultivated by its owner, the vineyard has yielded sour or wild grapes. Despite having enjoyed so much favour from the Lord, the people have not lived justly. They have, instead, oppressed the poor and vulnerable among them. Causing these to cry out to God in distress. In response, God resolves to let the people face the consequences of their wickedness. Exposing them to their enemies’ attacks. Not so much to punish them, as to help them see and change the folly of their ways. To help them bridge the gap between their own sinful actions and God’s loving intentions for them.

In the gospel too, Jesus tells a parable about a disappointing vineyard. Except that, this time, it’s not the vineyard itself that’s the problem, but its wayward leadership. The arrogant, greedy and entitled tenants to whom the vineyard is entrusted. To more fully appreciate the significance of this parable, it’s helpful to consider its context in Matthew’s gospel. For many weeks now, we have been following Jesus and his disciples as they travelled together to Jerusalem. After the reading we heard two Sundays ago, the Lord went on to predict, for a third time, that in Jerusalem, he would be handed over to his enemies, be killed by them, and then be raised from the dead. That was in chapter 20. Chapter 21 begins with Jesus finally entering Jerusalem as a king, humbly riding on a donkey. After which he promptly enters the temple and drives out all those doing business there. Which prompts the religious leaders to challenge him. To ask him by what authority he does such things. The parable of the two sons, which we heard last week, and the parable of the wicked tenants, which we are considering today, can be seen as part of the Lord’s response to this challenge.

Whereas the tax collectors and prostitutes, the public sinners, had heeded John the Baptist’s call to repentance, the religious leaders have not. Instead, like those wicked tenants, they persist in misappropriating the fruits of the vineyard. And to preserve their privileged position, they will even go to the extent of plotting to kill Jesus, the owner’s son. In response, God will depose them, and entrust the vineyard to others. But not out of any vindictive desire to bring those wretches to a wretched end. In the reading, these dark words are spoken not by Jesus, but by the leaders themselves. No, as in the first reading, God’s aim is not so much to punish or to seek vengeance, but simply to help God’s people bridge the gap between their own wretched state and God’s loving intentions for them.

To be fair, not all failures are due to wickedness and greed. As the recent studies on fertility and parenting seem to show, sometimes even though we have the best of intentions, and the highest of aspirations, other factors may still prevent us from translating these into action. Factors like fear and anxiety, for example. Isn’t this where the second reading can be helpful? For here, we find St Paul––one of the new tenants to whom the vineyard was entrusted––teaching the early Christians how to bridge the gap between anxiety and true peace. Encouraging them to do three things. First to pray. There is no need to worry, but if there is anything you need, pray for it… Next, to ponder. To fill your minds with everything that is true… noble… good and pure… And then, to practice. To keep doing all the things you have learnt from me… and have heard or seen me do… To imitate Paul’s example. The same Paul, who now sits in prison for preaching the gospel. And who, in letters to other Christians, has emphasised the importance of mutual assistance, of caring for, and sharing one’s resources with, those most in need (eg, 2 Cor 8-9). Prayer, pondering and practice. This is how the peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard your hearts and your thoughts, in Christ Jesus… For Christ is the ultimate Bridge crossing the immense gap between our weakness and God’s strength, between our failures and God’s dreams for us.

Sisters and brothers, what possible gaps might our Crucified and Risen Lord be helping and inviting us to bridge today?

Beyond First Come, First Served

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Readings: Isaiah 55: 6-9; Psalm 144 (145): 2-3, 8-9, 17-18; Philippians 1: 20-24, 27; Matthew 20: 1-16

Picture: By Marco J Haenssgen on Unsplash

What is it like to receive a queue number? Some of us may remember a time when queue numbers were always sequential. Those who arrived earlier received a smaller number, and were called first. First come, first served. But these days things are not always so simple. Take a public hospital or polyclinic, for example. Rather than first come, first served, the queues at such places often follow a different, more complex, logic. The number I’m assigned, and exactly when it’s called, may depend on various factors, including whether or not I’ve made an appointment, the type and severity of my ailment, the procedure I’m scheduled to undergo, the doctor I’m consulting, and so on. Which makes it highly possible that some of those who arrive later than me, will be served before me. Is it reasonable for me to get angry and to kick up a fuss when this happens? Only if I stubbornly choose to cling to the idea that those who come first must be served first. Only if I refuse to accept that the queue at the clinic follows a different logic.

Accepting a logic other than first come, first served. Isn’t this something like what our scriptures are inviting us to do today? To see this, it’s helpful to note that the parable Jesus tells in the gospel is bracketed by two similar statements. Today’s reading begins from verse 1 of chapter 20. The opening bracket is found in the verse immediately before that, in verse 30 of chapter 19, where Jesus says, Many who are first will be last, and the last, first. And the closing bracket is found at the end of our reading, where he says, Thus the last will be first, and the first last. The shocking reversal of first and last. This is what the parable is meant to illustrate. For by choosing to pay all the workers exactly the same wage, even though some arrived earlier, and did more work, the landowner effectively treats the last as though they were first. Why does he do this? Before we answer this question, it’s important to note that one denarius was the standard daily wage at the time. So, in the parable, no one is being shortchanged. Everyone receives the daily wage. It’s just that some receive it for doing less. Again, the question is why?.

And the likely answer is that God’s kingdom operates according to a logic different from that of the world. What is this logic? It’s the same one mentioned in the collect, the prayer we offered at the start of Mass. Where we were reminded that all the commands of (God’s) sacred Law are founded on love… The generosity and compassion born of love. This is what moves the landowner not only to pay the latecomers more than what is just, but also to keep tirelessly going out and recruiting workers throughout the day. Even till the eleventh hour. Not just because the vineyard requires labourers, but also because the unemployed need work. Why have you been standing here idle all day? Can our hearts not hear and be moved by the tender care and concern expressed in the landowner’s poignant query?

And yet, if he is truly so generous and compassionate, then why, we may ask, doesn’t the landowner pay the first-comers more than the agreed wage? Why stick to one denarius? After all, isn’t this what distinguishes love from justice? That whereas justice seeks only what is enough, it’s in the nature of love to always go beyond. To overflow. To overwhelm. So why not more than one denarius? The parable itself doesn’t provide an answer. But it may be helpful for us to again consider its wider biblical context. In addition to being bracketed by the Lord’s statements about the reversal of first and last, the parable is also framed by two other important passages. Before Jesus tells the parable, he encounters a rich young man, who wants to know what he needs to do to gain eternal life (19:16-30). And later, in the passage immediately following today’s reading (20:17-19), Jesus will tell his disciples for the third time that they are on their way to Jerusalem, where the Lord will be handed over to the religious and civil authorities, and be condemned, tortured, and crucified, before being raised on the third day.

So why not more than one denarius? Could it be because, much as this may seem a paltry sum, it points to nothing less than the precious gift of eternal life, obtained for us at the cost of the life of Christ. Is there more that could be given us beyond what has already been given? Is there more that could be paid to us than what has already been paid? And could it be that it’s only by carefully and continually pondering the immensity of God's love for us in Christ, that we can then receive the grace to do what the other readings call us to do. To seek the Lord while he is still to be found… To (a)void anything in (our) daily lives that would be unworthy of the gospel of Christ… To strive to do what the rich young man was not yet ready to do. To let go of anything that might prevent us from accepting and living by the logic of Christ, the logic of love, the logic of the Cross.

Coincidentally (or not), in recent days, wages have featured very prominently in our local news. On the one hand, the sudden closure of an international fitness chain has underscored how precarious were the livelihoods of its staff, including many foreigners. On the other hand, the parliamentary debate on ministerial salaries has again highlighted the cost of attracting suitable talent to political leadership. If nothing else, doesn't news such as this remind us what the queue looks like? Who is first, and who last? And how different is the world’s logic from that of God’s kingdom? Sisters and brothers, in our own lives, which logic do we follow more closely, today and everyday?

Why So Long?

 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Readings: Ezekiel 33: 7-9; Psalm 94 (95): 1-2,6-9; Romans 13: 8-10; Matthew 18: 15-20

Picture: By Timo Wielink on Unsplash

Why is it taking so long? Why is it taking so long to make a reliable fully self-driving car? This is a question some people have been asking. Already back in 2019, Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, had announced that his company was only a year away from putting one million robotaxis on the road. Today, seven years later, that goal is still a long way from being reached. Just a couple of days ago, BBC Technology & AI editor, Zoe Kleinman, reported her experience riding one of Uber’s new autonomous taxis in London. At one point in Zoe’s brief ride, the safety driver had to take over the wheel, when the doors of a nearby van suddenly opened. Perhaps a sign that the car isn’t exactly fully autonomous. So, again, why is it taking so long? As far as an ignorant lay person like me can tell, the delay is due to a combination of at least two factors. On the one hand, driving is a highly complex activity. Vehicles may encounter any number of unexpected situations on the road. But, on the other hand, the artificial intelligence, which operates autonomous vehicles, needs to run according to pre-programmed instructions called algorithms. In other words, AI needs predictability. But driving is inherently un-predictable…

Why does it take so long? This is a question that might be asked, not just about self-driving cars, but also about what we find in our scriptures today. In the gospel, Jesus offers his disciples some important instructions for the practice of fraternal correction. What to do if your brother (or sister) does something wrong… At one level, this offers us valuable guidance for managing our own interpersonal conflicts. What to do if someone offends or backstabs us… But the first reading broadens our perspective considerably. For here we find the Lord God entrusting the prophet Ezekiel with the task of being a sentry for the people of Israel. To sound the alarm at any sign of danger. Warning the people to renounce their evil ways, so as to avoid suffering dire consequences. And one implication we might draw from the bringing together of both these readings is that, like Ezekiel, the whole community of disciples of Christ is called to be a prophetic people. As a body, we have been entrusted with the solemn responsibility of being a sentry. For one another, and even for the rest of the world. To promptly sound the alarm at any sign of danger.

But if this is true, then why does it sometimes take so long for us to live up to our call? In Magnifica Humanitas, Leo XIV’s first encyclical, released earlier this year, On Safeguarding the Human Person in The Time of Artificial Intelligence, our beloved pope offers a formal apology for the Church’s long delay in speaking up against the sin of slavery. It has taken eighteen centuries – eighteen hundred years – for the Church to explicitly recognise the full incompatibility of slavery with humanity’s inherent dignity. It is impossible, the pope writes, not to feel deep sorrow when contemplating the immense suffering and humiliation endured by so many in stark contrast to their immeasurable dignity as persons infinitely loved by the Lord. For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon (MH, 176). Nor is slavery the only instance of delay. Ahead of the pope’s visit to Our Lady’s shrine in Lourdes later this month, the local bishop there has ordered all the mosaic frescoes created by a certain artist – a former Jesuit – to be permanently covered. Reason being that this same artist is facing highly credible accusations of psychological, spiritual and sexual abuse, dating as far back as the 1990s. That’s more than three decades ago. And the case is still pending. Again, why is it taking so long?

To ponder this question is not just to face the possibility of our own negligence and culpability. It’s also to deepen our appreciation for the complexity of fraternal correction. Just as it’s possible to encounter a wide variety of situations while driving, so too are there many different types of wrongdoing and wrongdoers. Which may mean that, to be truly helpful, the instructions offered in our gospel today need to be approached in a certain way. Not so much the way an AI relates to its algorithm. Not as absolutely binding rules. But more as flexible general guidelines. For example, it may not always be appropriate to keep things strictly private. Not even at the start. For example, what if the alleged wrongdoing is a serious crime? Could there not then be an obligation to report it? So how are we to know when and how to adapt the guidelines? Perhaps we need to follow the advice we heard Jesus give in last week’s reading, when the Lord rebuked Peter, and called him to get behind me. Perhaps we need to give up trying to be self-driving vehicles, and strive instead to let the Lord be our co-driver. For it is from him we learn what love requires of us in each and every situation. And, as the second reading reminds us, love is the answer to every one of the commandments…

Just 10 minutes before devastating flood waters swept away his school in Nepal, head teacher Rajendra Dawadi received and promptly heeded warnings to evacuate. Thus saving the lives of 900 students, as well as his own. If we didn't make a quick decision, he is reported as saying, if it was 10 minutes later, we all… wouldn't be able to speak to you today… However complex the situation, prompt action can mean being spared great suffering, and even tragic loss of life. Sisters and brothers, whatever may be the future of autonomous vehicles, how might the Lord be calling us to be more prompt in practising loving fraternal correction, by allowing him to drive our efforts today?

Football is Life...

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Readings: Jeremiah 20: 7-9; Psalm 62 (63): 2-6, 8-9; Romans 12: 1-2; Matthew 16: 21-27

Picture: By on Connor Coyne Unsplash

Does the name Dani Rojas ring a bell? Some of us may recognise it as belonging to a fictional character in the delightful TV comedy series, Ted Lasso. In the show, Dani is a skilful and super-energetic professional football player, whose total devotion to the game is summarised in a mantra he keeps repeating with great enthusiasm: football is life! Then one day tragedy strikes. In a freak accident, while taking a penalty, Dani kills his club’s mascot, a dog named, Earl Greyhound. After that, Dani is stricken with guilt, unable to shake off the feeling that he is a murderer, and that football is death. Which severely affects his game. His worried coaches send him for therapy, and are pleasantly surprised when, after just a few sessions with a sports psychologist, Dani shows dramatic improvement. When asked how this came about, Dani reveals few details, except to say, rather cryptically: (the psychologist) helped me remember that even though football is life, football is also death. And football is football, too. But mostly football is life!… Football is life. Football is death. Somehow Dani was helped to reconcile and accept these apparently contradictory realities, allowing him to return to his beloved game with renewed vigour…

There are no footballers in our scriptures today. But what we do find are people who have devoted the whole of their lives to something or some-one else. In the first reading, Jeremiah is a prophet, dedicated to proclaiming the word of the Lord. And in the gospel, Peter has left everything to follow Jesus, the Word-of-God-Made-Flesh. As we may recall, just last week, we heard him profess his belief in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. So for both Jeremiah and Peter, the Word of God is no less than what football means to Dani Rojas. It’s much more than a favourite game, or a Sunday obligation, or even a professional career. No, to them, the Word of God is the whole of life itself.

Which makes it all the more difficult for them to bear when, in the course of serving the Word of God, they encounter severe trials, and even the very real risk of death. The word of the Lord has meant for me insult, derision, all day long, says Jeremiah. While, in the gospel, we’re told that, at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined… to suffer grievously… to be put to death… and to be raised… The Word of God is life. And the Word of God is also death… What to do when one is faced with these apparently contradictory realities? In the gospel, Peter’s initial reaction is to cling to one, while rejecting the other. Heaven preserve you, Lord… this must not happen to you… In other words, the Word of God is life. So it cannot, it must not, be death. And yet, much as we humans prefer to avoid talking or even thinking about it, isn’t death an unavoidable part of every human life? Isn’t this why Jesus rightly criticises Peter’s reaction not just for being too human, but also for being satanic? For whether he realises it or not, at Caesarea Philippi, Peter is doing precisely what the Devil did in the wilderness. He is tempting Jesus to be in-human. Yet we believe that Jesus, the divine Son of God, came to save us, not by escaping, but by fully embracing, our humanity.

The Word of God is life. The Word of God is also death… How is Peter to reconcile and to accept these apparently contradictory realities in a truly life-giving way? The gospel presents the process as one of re-location. Peter must relinquish the place of a tempter — who stands in front of the Lord — and resume the position of a disciple — who follows him closely from behind. And doesn’t the second reading give us more details as to what this might involve? First, one needs to think of God’s mercy. To ponder, to reflect on the immense love and compassion that led God to embrace our own weak and fallible humanity, even to the point of accepting a shameful death on a cross. Next, we need to resist being conformed to the world around us. And, instead, be transformed, or reformed, by the renewal of our minds. Only then can we discover, or recognise, the will of God… what it is that God wants. Reflection and resistance, reformation, renewal and recognition. For Paul, this is also a process of true worship. This is how we Christians join ourselves to the offering already made by Christ once for all. This is how we offer our living bodies as a holy sacrifice to God. As we are doing here and now, at this very Eucharist.

Reflection and resistance, reformation, renewal and recognition. Isn’t this a process that our world still sorely needs today? In his 2024 book, The Perfection Trap, social psychologist Thomas Curran details how (t)oday, burnout and depression are at record levels, driven by a combination of intense workplace competition, the comparative world of social media, the quest for elite credentials, and helicopter parenting. Society continually broadcasts the need to want more, and that we have to be perfect to get it… And Curran links all this to a form of idolatry. According to him, (e)conomic growth… is the almighty secular God. We worship at its altar and place it on a gilded pedestal high above all other considerations. Whatever the economy needs to grow, no matter the human or environmental costs, it’ll inevitably get… Yet, in contrast, we Christians profess to be disciples of One who mercifully became poor for us, even to the point of death, only to be raised up on the third day.

Sisters and brothers, like football for Dani Rojas, for us Christians, Christ is life, and Christ is also death… How is the Lord  helping us to reconcile and to accept this anew today?