Between Lock & Key

Solemnity of St Ignatius of Loyola

Readings: Jeremiah 20: 7-9; Ps 34 (33): 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, 10-11; 1 Corinthians 10: 31 – 11: 1; Luke 14: 25-33

Picture: By Amol Tyagi on Unsplash

My dear friends, what does a key look like? I’m not sure if you’ll agree, but isn’t the safest answer to this question, it depends? That’s because keys are made to open locks, and locks come in different forms. A hole in a door requires the turning of a metal rod. A touchpad, the swipe of a plastic card. A scanner, the imprint of a finger, or the flash of an eye. A keypad, the pushing of a series of symbols. And then there are also locks that are not physical but intellectual. Such as a code or a puzzle. Which is what we find in our scriptures today. Each of the readings contains something like a puzzle, requiring the right key, for access to deeper understanding.

In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah is suffering terribly. His proclamation of God’s message has resulted in him being rejected and mocked, persecuted and thrown into prison. As he ponders his own sad plight, Jeremiah cannot help but complain to God for deceiving him. By promising to protect and care for him (eg, 1:8), God had enticed him to accept his prophetic mission. And yet, now that Jeremiah is in trouble, God seems to have forsaken him. Which brings us to the puzzle. To escape his sufferings, all the prophet has to do is renounce his message, forsake his mission. So why doesn’t he do that, especially now that he has already seen through God’s deception? Why does the prophet persist in his folly? Jeremiah himself provides the key to the puzzle. (W)ithin me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. Like a raging flame that refuses to be quenched, God’s word sustains the prophet in his mission, even in the face of stiff opposition from others, and apparent abandonment by God. The prophet’s experience of God’s word is the key to the puzzle.

In the second reading too, we find something like a puzzle. On the one hand, St Paul claims to do everything for the glory of God. But, on the other hand, he also says that he tries to please everyone in everything he does. How to reconcile these two claims? For one thing, don’t we all know from experience, how exhausting, and even pointless and foolish, it is to try to please everybody? Not just in school and at work, but even back at home, and here in church? Also, as it was for Jeremiah, isn’t it true that God’s wishes often conflict with what many people want? So how can Paul both glorify God, and please everyone, at the same time? Again, the reading itself provides the key to the puzzle, specifically in the last two lines. First, Paul gives us a clearer idea of what he means, when he adds that he tries to please everyone, so that they may be saved. His aim is not to satisfy superficial cravings, but to help others attain salvation, the fullness of life. Which is what Jesus came among us to accomplish, and why the reading ends with Paul inviting his readers to (b)e imitators of me, as I am of Christ. Christ, who came among us both to glorify God, and to save everyone. Christ, the Word-of-God-Made-Flesh, he is the key to the puzzle.

And the same goes for the gospel. We all know that the Ten Commandments require us to honour our parents (Ex 20:12). And Jesus himself said he came not to abolish, but to fulfil the law and the prophets (Mt 5:17). So how can the Lord require his followers to hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters… and even life itself? Beyond trying to explain this apparent contradiction in theory, don’t we need to consider how the Lord himself lived it in practice? How, by his Life, Death and Resurrection, Jesus showed us what it looks like to love God in everyone, and everyone in God, even to the point of accepting death on a cross? And to appreciate what this might look like in our own lives, along with Jeremiah and Paul and Jesus himself, don’t we have to keep allowing the Word of God to burn ever more brightly in our own hearts? As we are invited to do every time we gather for the Eucharist? Again, Christ, the Word-of-God-Made-Flesh, is the key to the puzzle.

Christ is the key, not just to the readings, but to the lives of the prophet, the apostle, and all who seek to follow the Lord, including our patron, St Ignatius. For it is said that, despite opposition from various very important people, Ignatius insisted on naming his religious order not after himself, but after Jesus. Why, if not because Ignatius wanted not just his own personal life, but also the corporate life of the least society he cofounded to be shaped around the Word-of-God-Made-Flesh? He wanted Jesus to be the key to everything. Which shows us that it’s not just the case that keys need to be fitted to locks. Especially when the key is Jesus, locks too need to be continually shaped to better receive the Key. 

Sisters and brothers, as we joyously celebrate yet another parish feast-day, what must we do to keep allowing the Lord to shape our hearts and our lives, our families and our communities around none but him, today and everyday?

Wasting Time With Family Is Not Wasted Time

Feast of St James, Apostle

Day 9 of Novena to St Anne

Readings: 2 Corinthians 4: 7-15; Psalm 125 (126): 1-6; Matthew 20: 20-28

Picture: By Raj Rana on Unsplash

My dear friends, what’s the difference between occupying space and making space? Right now, each of us is occupying physical space, here in this church. But what does it feel like to make space?… As an example, if you don’t mind, perhaps we can do a very simple exercise together. When I say go, we’ll gently take a deep breath, hold it for two seconds, and then slowly breathe out. That’s it. Okay? Ready? Go… What just happened? By tightening some muscles around our ribs, we expanded our chest. We made space. As a result, air flowed through our nostrils and into our lungs, filling our blood with oxygen, and our bodies with life. In fact, if we were to stop breathing, we’d all die. Which shows us how important it is to make space. And to do it regularly. It’s nothing less than a matter of life and death.

This contrast between occupying and making space is also what we find in our scriptures today. What is the mother of James and John asking Jesus to do in the gospel? Promise that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your kingdom. Isn’t she doing a very Singaporean thing? She’s choping the best seats for her sons. I don’t know if tissue-paper was already invented back then. But if it was, we can imagine her handing two packets to Jesus as she made her request. And why are the other apostles so angry? Isn’t it because they are also eyeing those same positions? But we shouldn’t be too quick to point fingers or to laugh at them. Aren’t we often like them too?

And notice how the Lord responds. He tells the apostles that their attitude is similar to that of the pagans, whose rulers like to throw their weight around. But Jesus says we Christians must be different. Instead of choping seats, our concern should be serving people. Instead of occupying space for ourselves, we need to make space for others. For this is what Christ does for us. The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Through his Cross and Resurrection, Jesus makes space for us in God’s kingdom. And by asking us to imitate him, the Lord is not placing a heavy burden on our shoulders. By teaching us to make space for God, he’s helping us to enjoy the fullness of life. Like breathing, it’s a matter of life and death.

The first reading shows us what this can look like in practice. Although they face many hardships, St Paul and his friends do not despair. Why? We are only the earthenware jars that hold this treasure. They are able to remain hopeful, amid their many trials, because their focus is not on their own success or failure, but on the Lord. Their concern is not to occupy but to make space. That’s what jars do. They make space for the Lord, and for others. As a result, they are able to see their sufferings as a participation in the sacrifice of Christ. The same sacrifice we are celebrating here at Mass. The sacrifice that brings life to all. So death is at work in us, but life in you… Again, like breathing, it’s a matter of life and death.

Which brings us to the theme for this ninth and final day of our novena to St Anne. Why is wasting time with family not wasted time. Isn’t it because wasting time is a way of making space, not just for family, but also for God? Some of us may remember that, back in 2016, Pope Francis issued a document entitled Amoris Laetitia (AL), or The Joy of Love. And in this document, the Pope reminds us that God doesn’t just live in individual persons, but also in families. According to the Pope, (t)he Lord’s presence dwells in real and concrete families, with all their daily troubles and struggles, joys and hopes (AL 315). It’s very important, of course, that every Catholic family should try to make time to pray and celebrate the Eucharist together regularly (AL, 318). But, beyond that, the Pope tells us that God is present not only when the family prays, but also in the thousands of small but real gestures family members make to express their love for one another (AL, 315). It doesn’t have to be in front of an altar, or in a church. It can also happen at the dining table or in the living room, at a restaurant or in the family car. Wherever we serve or make space for one another, we are serving and making space for God. Married couples shape with different daily gestures a “God-enlightened space in which to experience the hidden presence of the risen Lord” (AL, 317).

And there are many different ways to do this, limited only by our own creativity and generosity, as well as the receptivity of the other. What’s important is that we be present to others, by paying attention to them. As the Pope tells us, (w)e can be fully present to others only by giving fully of ourselves and forgetting all else. Our loved ones merit our complete attention. Jesus is our model in this, for whenever people approached to speak with him, he would meet their gaze, directly and lovingly (cf. Mk 10:21) (AL, 323). But this is not easy for us, since we live in a time of continual distraction. Don’t many of us find it hard even to tear our eyes away from our phones long enough for us to cross a busy street?

Which is why we can’t really make space for one another in the family, unless each of us is also regularly making space in our own hearts for God. And when we do this, when we each make efforts to deepen our relationship with God, it brings our families many spiritual benefits. According to the Pope, (t)he space which each of the spouses makes exclusively for their personal relationship with God not only helps heal the hurts of life in common, but also enables the spouses to find in the love of God the deepest source of meaning in their own lives (AL, 320). For (i)f a family is centred on Christ, he will unify and illumine its entire life. Moments of pain and difficulty will be experienced in union with the Lord’s cross, and his closeness will make it possible to surmount them (AL, 317). In other words, like breathing, it’s a matter of life and death.

My dear friends, if you like, perhaps we can end our reflection this evening by repeating that exercise we did at the start. Except that, this time, when we breathe in, let’s humbly ask God to help us to truly make space for one another and for God. And when we exhale, let’s ask God to remove from us everything that might hinder our efforts. Okay? Ready? Go…

Sisters and brothers, through his Dying and Rising, Jesus has already made a life-giving space for us in God’s kingdom. What shall we do to make space for him, by wasting time with our families more regularly, in the days ahead?

The Benefits of Putting Up Our Feet

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: Jeremiah 23: 1-6; Psalm 22 (23); Ephesians 2: 13-18; Mark 6: 30-34

Picture: By Philippe Murray-Pietsch on Unsplash

My dear friends, have you ever finally gotten a chance to sit down and put your feet up, after a long day of running around, and only then realised how exhausted you really are? The tiredness was actually already there before, but we appreciate it more only when we rest. Isn’t it interesting how we know something better by experiencing its opposite? But could the reverse be true too? Could we also know better what it means to rest, by considering its opposite? So what is the opposite of rest? What does it look and feel like?

This is a question that our beautiful responsorial psalm helps us to ponder today. Psalm 22(23) is, of course, very familiar to us. We often use it at funerals, to remind us that death is not an end, but a doorway to final rest in God. And yet, more than what we can expect after we die, the psalm speaks about what we can enjoy here and now, if only we allow the Lord to lead us on life’s journey. The psalm mentions three earthly experiences that are the opposite of rest. Instances where we need the Lord to care for us. The first is the drooping spirit. For the psalmist, the Lord is like a good shepherd, a caring leader, who ushers us to green pastures and restful waters to revive our drooping spirit. Refreshing us when we feel discouraged and depressed, when our motivation flags, and our morale is low. Sort of like how a brief power nap can rejuvenate us, when the burden or boredom of the day makes it difficult to keep our focus, to maintain our passion for life.

The second experience is the valley of darkness, where we find ourselves struggling to discern the right choices we need to make, the proper path we need to take. When various distractions or temptations may cloud our vision, confuse our inner compass, making it hard for us to see where we need to go… Should I leave this job… marry that person… adopt a child… listen to my friend… do more… do less…? In such morally exhausting moments, the Lord gives us rest, by providing safe and reliable guidance. You are there with your crook and your staff; with these you give me comfort. The third experience is when we find ourselves in the sight of our foes. Times when we may actually know quite well what the Lord wishes us to do, but feel intimidated by opposing voices or forces, and lack the courage to do what needs to be done. Then the Lord energises and sustains us, by preparing a banquet to feed us, and by anointing us with oil for strength. Helping us to stiffen our backbone, so that we are able to stand up bravely for God before the world.

Refreshment for the drooping spirit, guidance in the valley of darkness, and sustenance in the sight of our foes. These are among the ways the Lord cares continually for those who follow his lead. But it’s not just individual persons who need rest. Don’t families and communities, nations and societies do too? And like individuals, don’t groups of people also encounter situations that are the opposite of rest? Signs that the group needs to be cared for. Signs that the group’s leaders have the responsibility of noticing and addressing. Isn’t this why God criticises the political and religious authorities in the first reading? You have let my flock be scattered and go wandering and have not taken care of them. The scattering of the flock is a sign that it needs rest. Yet the leaders have neglected to do anything about it. They have failed to help their people find rest. Very likely, this is because the leaders themselves have not paid enough attention to their own need for rest. Unlike the psalmist, they have not allowed the Lord to shepherd them.

All of which helps us to better understand what Jesus is doing for the apostles and the crowds in the gospel, as well as what he does for us, especially when we gather for Mass. By calling the apostles to accompany him to a lonely place to rest for a while, by making the effort to teach the crowds at some length, and by feeding us at this Eucharistic table of Word and Sacrament, the Good Shepherd gathers and guides, sustains and refreshes his sheep. Helping us to find true rest in him, even as we continue on life’s arduous  journey. Teaching us how to look at ourselves and at others with that compassion, which the Lord offers particularly to all who are exhausted from having to bear life’s burdens. The same compassion that eventually leads Jesus to Calvary. Where, as the second reading reminds us, by allowing his blood to be shed, the Lord gathers the previously separated Jews and Gentiles into a single flock. Creating one single New Man in himself… by restoring peace through the cross.

Refreshment for the drooping spirit, guidance in the valley or darkness, sustenance in the sight of our foes, and peace for the scattered sheep. This is what Jesus offers us, if only we are willing to follow him. Sisters and brothers, how is the Lord calling us to put up our feet, and find our rest in him today?

Between Changing Faces & The Constant Heart

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: Amos 7: 12-15; Psalm 84 (85): 9-14; Ephesians 1: 3-14; Mark 6: 7-13

Picture: By Joeyy Lee on Unsplash

My dear friends, how are we coping with work? Even if we are already retired or in-between jobs, a home-maker or still in school, isn’t this question still relevant to us, if not directly, then at least indirectly? All the more because the face of work is changing rapidly. For better or worse, some countries are moving towards a 4-day work week. Greece being a notable exception. Also, more jobs now offer the possibility of working off-site. And, what’s perhaps most significant of all, it’s becoming more and more difficult to stay in a chosen career. In the past, it was possible to devote one’s youth to training for a career, and then most of one’s adulthood to practising it, before spending the twilight years relaxing in retirement. But now, increasingly, many have to go through two or more cycles of training and practice, often in different fields, even as the retirement age gets raised ever higher. And it’s taken for granted that the growth of artificial intelligence will further accelerate this process. So how are we to cope? The obvious way is, of course, to continually push ourselves to learn new skills, to acquire fresh knowledge, to keep up with work’s rapidly changing face.

Our scriptures, however, offer us a different approach. They remind us that, more than just an external face, work also has a deeper heart… When Amaziah calls Amos a seer, or a prophet, in the first reading, he sees prophecy only as an occupation, as a means of earning (one’s) bread. Amaziah is talking about the face of work. But Amos quickly corrects the priest, by telling him that, for Amos, prophecy is not a mere career that he has chosen for himself, but a vocation, for which God has chosen, called and sent him. It was the Lord who took me from herding the flock, and the Lord who said, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.” God’s call lies at the very heart of Amos’ prophetic work.

Similarly, when the Twelve apostles in the gospel set out to preach repentance, to cast out… devils, and to cure the sick, they do all this not as a mere occupation, but as a vocation. They do it, because Jesus has summoned and sent them, as well as giving them authority over the unclean spirits. Over all the evil influences that diminish human dignity, and occasion human suffering in this world. And it’s important for us to see that this prophetic work of preaching and healing, benefits not only those who receive it, but also those who perform it. Isn’t this what the second reading reminds us?

Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ… By choosing, calling and sending us in Christ, God has blessed us not just with one or two or even three, but with all the blessings of heaven. Not just training us for a career that’s here today, and may be gone tomorrow, but forming in us and for us an enduring identity: the priceless gift of being adopted sons (and daughters) of God. Not just freeing us from the burden of our sins, but also revealing to us the grand vision of God’s eternal plan for all of creation, as well as our cherished place in that plan. Whatever our chosen career or occupation or state of life, whatever we may happen to do to earn our living, we Christians share the dignity of a common vocation. We are chosen to be, for his greater glory, the people who… put their hopes in Christ… As it was for Amos and the Twelve, so too for us. God’s call lies at the heart of all we do.

But if this is true, if God’s call were truly to lie at the heart of everything we Christians do, then doesn’t it follow that there should be one specific type of training that we need most of all? One crucially important ability, in which we all need to be formed? The same ability that the psalmist is exercising in the opening verse of the psalm, when she says, I will hear what the Lord God has to say, a voice that speaks of peace, peace for his people… The ability to listen attentively, to recognise perceptively, and to respond generously to God’s voice, amid the many other different voices that call out to us every day. A tender, loving, and merciful voice that calms and consoles us, even as it may challenge us. Calling and sending us to share this same precious blessing with others, including our own beloved children and grandchildren. Helping them too, to allow God’s voice to remain ever at the heart of all they do.

And isn’t this a blessing and an ability that’s needed all the more now, when so many are being driven to burnout and mental distress, just trying to keep up with the ever-growing demands of daily living? For when one is forced to keep changing one’s face, isn’t it only to be expected that doing so might well place a heavy strain on one’s heart?

Sisters and brothers, even as we may have to keep up with the rapidly changing face of work, what must we do to help one another allow God’s voice to remain always at the heart of all we do, today and every day?

A Tale of Two Trajectories

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: Ezekiel 2: 2-5; Psalm 122 (123); 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10; Mark 6: 1-6

Picture: By Joseph Pearson on Unsplash

My dear friends, have you ever had trouble standing up? Recently someone shared one such experience with me. After casually bending over to feed his dog, this person was shocked to find that he could not straighten up… He had thrown out his back… I think I’d be shocked too, if the same thing were to happen to me. Shocked, because the power to stand upright is something I take too much for granted. I know, of course, that most of us acquire this power near the beginning of our lives, only to lose it as we approach the end. And I also know that this is true not just physically, but also psychologically, and socially. Although we may devote much of our time to acquiring the ability to make up our own minds, to regulate our own feelings, to stand on our own two feet, this independence will eventually come to an end. Physically, psychologically and socially, our lives follow a similar trajectory to that of a rocket. What goes up must eventually come back down. I know this. But I too easily allow myself to forget it. Hence my shock, whenever something happens that brings me crashing back to earth. Not just a bad back, but any sudden misfortune, any unexpected trial.

Which is why it’s good to recall that, in addition to the physical, psychological, and social, there’s also a spiritual approach to standing upright. What does it look like, and how do we follow it? These are the questions our scriptures help us to ponder today. The first reading begins by telling us that, when the Spirit of God enters Ezekiel, the prophet is given the power to stand upright before God. And not just before God, but also before the rebellious people of Israel. God sends Ezekiel to proclaim God’s message to them, even though they will reject it. God wants them to know there is a prophet among them. But that’s not all. Two verses before our reading begins, we’re told that Ezekiel’s initial reaction to the sight of God’s glory, is to fall on his face. Which indicates that, if the prophet receives the power to stand up, it’s likely because he first knows how to bow down. Spiritual uprightness follows the trajectory not of a rocket, but of the poor servant and slave in the psalm. Instead of climbing up, only to fall back down, they humbly bow down, to be mercifully lifted up.

We find something similar in the gospel. Which, at first glance, seems to offer us nothing more than an unsettling, even scandalising, image of a powerless Jesus. Due to the stubborn disbelief of his former neighbours–their lack of faith–the Lord is unable to perform any miracle–any work of power–in his own hometown. And yet, isn’t Jesus exercising the same spiritual power that Ezekiel received in the first reading? Rather than watering down his words and actions to appease his audience, to gain their approval, Jesus remains true to God’s message. In the face of suspicion and rejection, he is able to stand upright before both his faithful God, as well as the faithless people. And he will keep standing upright, even when rejection escalates to persecution, and then to condemnation. Humbly he submits himself to the trajectory of a suffering servant, even to the point of accepting death on a cross. Only to be raised up on the third day. Bringing with him, the rest of creation, including all those brave enough to follow in his steps. As the opening prayer reminds us, in the abasement of (the) Son, (God) has raised up a fallen world…

Isn’t this why, in the second reading, St Paul can speak of making his weaknesses his special boast? Although he prays earnestly for God to remove the mysterious thorn in (his) flesh, Paul is still willing to accept it, to submit to it, along with all the other trials he has to suffer for the sake of the gospel. Like Ezekiel and Jesus before him, Paul follows the trajectory of a servant. He first learns to humbly bow down, in order to be mercifully raised up by the Lord. He realises that, in his own weakness, the power of Christ becomes more effective. For it is when I am weak that I am strong.

And isn’t this the same Mystery to which we are being conformed, whenever we gather to celebrate the Eucharist? We recall the trajectory of Christ’s Life and Death and Resurrection, in order to follow more faithfully in his steps. Learning to treat our own trials as opportunities to humbly bow down before the Lord, so that God might mercifully raise us up. Receiving the power not just to stand upright before our God and our world, but also, as much as we are able, to reach out and to help raise up those bowed down by the burdens of life. Especially now, when our local society is finally being encouraged to embrace wider definitions of success, perhaps it's an opportune moment for us Christians to find ever more creative and intentional ways to follow our own God-given trajectory for standing upright.

Sisters and brothers, even if we may be shocked when we are suddenly bowed down by life, how might God be using such trials to teach us to follow Christ more closely today?