Second Sunday of Advent - We Hope in Jesus

Image via WikipediaThis is the Second Sunday of Advent and our reading this week are as follows:
[Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11] [2 Peter 3:8-14] [Mark 1:1-8]

In this week’s reading, we are offered the message of hope with the coming of Jesus Christ. We are called to dedicate our life to God and we are all exhorted to be holy.

In this difficult period of time facing many due to the economy recession and financial melt-down, we can place our hope in our Shepherd to carry us through our difficulties and to restore us with His tender love and care.

Just as John the Baptist has preached for repentance from sins to prepare ourselves for a new life to herald the arrival of Jesus, this season of Advent is a good time for us to reflect on our lives. Can we take stock of our short-coming and sins and do something about it to prepare ourselves to receive the coming of Jesus Christ?

Can we do something to “Make a straight highway for our God across the wastelands” (Is40:3) and “Let every valley be filled in, every mountain and hill be levelled, every cliff become a plateau, every escarpment a plain” (Is40:4) – “then the glory of Yahweh will be revealed and all humanity will see it together” (Is40:5)

All the valley are what we lack perhaps in our love, virtues and goodness and we should pray o the Lord to help us have more of that to fill the valley….

And every mountain are like our sins – obstacles to the Kingdom of God and we pray to the Lord to help us over-come our sins such as addictions, bad habits etc.. so that the mountains of sins will be leveled.

Let’s not get discouraged because of what we have done or failed to do but asked God for help so that we too can build this straight highway to God - bit by bit knowing that “The Lord is not being slow in carrying out his promises, as some people think he is; rather is he being patient with you, wanting nobody to be lost and everybody to be brought to repentance.” (MK1:9)

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• First Sunday of Advent

The wedding dinner continues.....

Image via WikipediaThis is a continuation from my previous post. This is my personal reflection of this week's readings.

This week, we learned that God is inviting everyone to his Kingdom and yet many turn him down because of other priorities – in general, too busy. Sounds familiar?

Jesus as we know from the Bible often shocked the self-righteous of his day because "he welcomed sinners and ate with them". Yet, these are the ones who refused the invitations as they do not want to be part of Jesus who welcomed tax collectors and sinners.

They even seized the servants send to invite them, maltreated them and killed them and proved themselves to be unworthy.

So these servants were ordered to go out onto the roads and invite “everyone they could find, bad and good alike and the wedding hall was filled with guests”.

But one guest who was without a wedding garment the King asked him why but he kept silent. The King ordered : "Bind him hand and foot and throw him into the darkness outside, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth."

As Fr Gerard Weerakoon (from The Church Of The Holy Spirit) explained, the wedding garment was the garment of love.

”For many are invited but not all are chosen” (MT22:14) - Are you the chosen one?

I cannot help but think of testingblog (for those who do not know, you can refer to the post about anti-Christ and some comments he made here) and his version of Christianity through his words and actions.

One may become a Christians and yet, if one does not live a Christian life as Jesus taught us (to love God and to love our neighbour), one can still be thrown out of the Kingdom of Heaven. It is good to refer also to MT 25:31-46 about the last judgement where Jesus clearly tell us that love and charity is the key to Heaven.

We become Christians because we have accepted God's invitation and our search for love and happiness is the search for God!

Are you a hypocrite?

Image by nick kulas via FlickrIn this week’s reading, Jesus told the chief priests and the scribes (Mt21:28-32 ) :

28 What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He went and said to the first, "My boy, go and work in the vineyard today."

29 He answered, "I will not go," but afterwards thought better of it and went.

30 The man then went and said the same thing to the second who answered, "Certainly, sir," but did not go.

31 Which of the two did the father's will?' They said, 'The first.' Jesus said to them, 'In truth I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before you.

32 For John came to you, showing the way of uprightness, but you did not believe him, and yet the tax collectors and prostitutes did. Even after seeing that, you refused to think better of it and believe in him.

Wow, “tax collectors and prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before you”! That’s a strong way to compare the lowest (least respected) people with the highest (most respected) chief priests and scribes. And what is worst to find out that people whom everyone think least of are making their way into Kingdom of God ahead of the most respected. Why?

Jesus once again tell us that to be a true disciple, it is not lip service that He wants. It must be a total conversion and total obedience to God. We need to hear what Jesus command us to do and to do it. And His commandment is really simply to love one another like how He has loved us.

As per my previous post, God is Love.

Jesus told another parable immediate after this and “ the chief priests and the scribes realised he was speaking about them (Mt 21:45)”.

Are we like these hypocrites who go round telling people that they are wrong and we are right and yet, everything we do are anti-Christ i.e. not the teaching of Christ. Cursing, swearing, baseless allegations etc…are certainly not teachings of Christ.

The other 2 readings are as follows:
Ez 18:25-28 and
Phil 2:1-11