20th Sunday-Year A

Is. 56:1-6

Psalm 67:2-8

Rom. 11:13-15; 29-32

Mt. 15:21-28

Seeing as God Sees

Beloved in Christ, I would like to thank all of you very much for the love and concern you have shown in these past few days of the storm that hit our city and other parts of Iowa. I have heard many wonderful stories of how parishioners came to the aid of one another, sharing generators, water, and food and getting rid of debris from fallen trees. I experienced this love and support from many of you who called to check on me, brought me food and water, and helped me get rid of fallen trees. Despite the frustrations and all the disaster from the storm, you have shown the best side of humanity by reaching out to people you know as well as strangers and showing the love of God to all in our city and beyond. You transcended race, color, political affiliations, and religious denominations to show the love of God to all. Thank you very much!

Our scriptural readings encourage us to continue to transcend nationality, race, color, political affiliations, and religious denominations and see all human beings as children of God and treat them as such. In our first reading, God is challenging the Israelites to change how they perceived foreigners and how they understood religion and membership in the family of God. Contrary to how the Jews perceived the gentiles, God, through the Prophet Isaiah, told the Jews that the gentiles could also come into the temple, offer sacrifices acceptable to the Lord, and even become priests to serve the Lord. This was a radical shift of perspective because the Jews believed that the gentiles could not approach the altar of God. Gentiles could be put to death if they approached the altar without first converting to become Jews. So, this new teaching that the gentiles welcomed at the altar seemed too difficult for the Jews. However, God tells them that if the temple is to become a true house of prayer, a place of a true encounter with God, then Jews had to change their perception and attitude towards the gentiles.

In the gospel, Jesus challenges us, his disciples, to embrace a new understanding of life so that people can encounter God through us. When taken on the surface, today’s gospel might seem confusing and even scandalous, but we need to understand the genre that Matthew used to write this part of the gospel in order to understand the message. This story is written as a “satire, a story that is meant to ridicule a particular practice in order to get society to change it. Jesus acts out the message in the form of a satire to teach the disciples that they needed to transcend the human way of looking at non-Jews in order to see people as God sees them and treat the gentiles as God treats them. Why was this important? The disciples, like all Jews at the time of Jesus, looked down on the gentiles and saw the gentile districts as a “ no go area” for the messiah. Jesus intentionally takes the disciples on a kind of a field trip to the district of Tire and Sidon, a pagan territory, to surprise them and get them to think more deeply about what he was about to teach. Jesus ignores the woman to show the disciples how they and the whole nation of Israel had neglected the very people they had been sent to. Jesus called the woman and the gentiles “dogs” to ridicule how Israel had unfortunately referred to other sons and daughters of God as dogs and actually treated them as dogs. After showing how the Jews have been treating the gentiles, Jesus then moves on to treat the woman the way God would treat her. He listened to her, gave her back her dignity as a daughter of God, and answered her prayers. Jesus ends this encounter by comparing the faith of the gentile woman with that of the Jews and saying the faith of the woman is GREATER FAITH and far more pleasing to God. 

Beloved, like the Jews in the time of Jesus, we don’t always get it right. At times, we forget that we are sent to bring God to others, and we allow nationality, race, color, political affiliations, and even our religions to divide it. This week though, here in Cedar Rapids, we seemed to have gotten it right. May God grant us the grace to transcend anything that divides us and help us see as he sees so that we can do as he does. 

 

 

19th Sunday-Year A

1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a

Psalm 85: 9-14

Rom. 9:1-5

Mt. 14:22-33

 

God is Faithful, He Will Make a Way!

“Lord, let us see your kindness and grant us your salvation.” These are the words of our responsorial psalm today. Beloved in Christ, life is a journey, and at times, a very difficult one. Many times on this journey, we ask the ancient question: “God, is everything going to be okay? Our scriptural readings today answer that question. It doesn’t matter how difficult life gets, God will make a way!

A few years ago, I was at a conference on teaching language with technology. Something weird happened. For some reason, I began my presentation with the words “ Peace be with you”! This was not a theological conference, so what I said was very weird. Everybody in the room gave me this odd look! They might have been thinking what is wrong with this guy? Anyway, I went on with my presentation. During the presentation, I heard a very silent voice telling me to take a particular woman in the audience to lunch. I laughed and said: “ Nup, I am not doing that. I am a priest, and I am not going to take a woman on a date”. The voice was persistent, and I kept saying, this is not going to happen. But right after the presentation, the woman was the first to come to congratulate me. And from nowhere, I asked: “Would you like to have lunch with me?” She wondered why, and I told her, “that is the problem. I don’t even know why”. Surprisingly, she agreed, and we went. The moment she sat down, she started crying. I sat quietly, and she cried for a long time. I finally asked what was going on. She told me she had been going through some tough situation with her marriage, job, and health and decided to end it. I revealed to her that I was a priest and asked if she wanted to talk and pray. We had a long conversation, and then she told me that she had prayed a day before coming to the conference that if God did not want her to end it, God should give her a sign. She read my conversation with her as an answer to her prayer. Beloved, God came through for her, and she is doing very well with her husband, family, work, and health for the past five years.

Beloved, this is not the first time God has come through for somebody who called on him. Look at Our first reading talks about the prophet Elijah looking for shelter from the storms and problems in his life. He had won a great victory for God on Mt. Carmel, where he contested with the priests of a pagan god called Baal and defeated them. However, as part of his desire to reveal God's power, he did something wrong and brought untold suffering upon himself. He killed all 400 priests of Baal. So the king, Ahaz, and the queen, Jezebel, wanted him dead. They sent a whole army to hunt down Elijah and kill him. The suffering was too much for Elijah, and he eventually prayed that God should take his life. But instead of God taking Elijah’s life, God provided a better answer. He gave Elijah a shelter from the storms of life, and later a helper, Elisha, to help Elijah carry out God’s mission. Our reading today does not tell us what the small voice said, but when you read on, you come to realize that the still voice asked Elijah to anoint Elisha as a helper. Elijah was expecting God to come through familiar signs like strong winds, earthquakes, or fire, but God came through that silent voice telling him, you cannot do it all by yourself, I will give you a helper to carry through the mission I have entrusted to you. Beloved, life is not easy, but God will always give us the help we need to carry through any mission he has entrusted to us. He will always make a way.

This is the truth that St. Paul is reminding us of in our second reading. St. Paul is very sad because he sees his people, the Jews, suffering. He prays that he could lay down his life to end his people's suffering so that they would come to know the love and mercy of Christ Jesus. He goes on to say that God will not abandon his people because he is loving and compassionate. God will always find a way to save his people. 

Our gospel tells us God does not take his eyes off his children. Jesus sends his disciples on a journey to cross the Sea of Galilee. Their trip on the Sea of Galilee symbolizes the journey of human life and the storms we go through. Jesus goes up on a mountain by himself to pray by himself, but he does not take His disciples' eye. He sees them facing the storms in life, and he walks towards them and helps them sail to safety. Jesus is not just in heaven interceding for us. He is Emmanuel, God who walks with us to sail through the storms of life. That is what a good parent does. When you send your child, you don’t take your eyes of that child. Your heart follows that child, and you are ready to run and save the child if you see any danger. Beloved, are you going through any storms in your life right now? Sickness, loss of job, broken relationships, emotional, physical, psychological, and economic hardship? Do you know anybody who is like Elijah, St. Paul, or Peter is going through any storms in life right now? I don’t when and how, but I know that God will make a way even where there seems to be no way.  

 

 

 

18th Sunday-Year A

Isaiah 55:1-3

Ps. 145:8-18

Rom. 8:35; 37-39

Mt. 14:13-21

 

God Will Keep His Promises!

 

Beloved in Christ, God is faithful. Today, our gospel tells us that God’s heart moves with pity when he sees us going through suffering. The responsorial Psalm tells us that the hand of God always feeds and saves his people. God’s love for us is forever sure!

 

In our first reading, God sent the prophet, Isaiah, to tell the people of Israel, who had been in exile for over 50 years, that things were going to get better, and God kept his promise. As always, God did it in a way that surprised his people. The Israelites thought they had to fight and defeat the Babylonians themselves to be free and return to Jerusalem. But God had a better plan. God called Cyrus, a pagan King, who defeated the Babylonians, set the Israelites free and helped them to rebuild their lives. Beloved, this reading, Good news, is not meant for only the people of Israel, but the whole world. There is a word that is repeated four times in the reading. Can anyone tell? It’s “Come”. Why does God repeat the word four times in the reading? It seems God is addressing people of all nations: north, south, east, and west, saying: “Count on me!” Beloved, God’s words are not empty promises; they are “events” that must take place and practically change people’s lives for better (Is. 55:10-11). 

 

 My dear people of God, millions are hurting in our world today. Thousands of people infected by the coronavirus and thousands are dying. Many have lost their jobs. School is about to open, and families and students don’t know what to do. The emotional, physical, psychological, and economic effects of this virus are unbearable. We may be tempted to despair because we don’t know when this is going to end. You may look at these problems and, like the disciples in the gospel, say: “there is no way I can change these situations. But St. Paul, in our second reading, tells us that God is not done, so we should not give up. We should not allow these difficult times to separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:35-39) or from people. Things will get better. 

 

Our gospel reminds us that Jesus is the God who promised the people of Israel and saved them from exile. He is the same God, who fed over five thousand people in times past when the disciples thought that was impossible. He is the God who is calling on the whole world to count on him. He will not abandon us. He will save us. So let’s keep calling upon God and helping each other as we wait for God's salvation. He has strength for those who are despairing, healing for the ones who dwell in shame so do not be afraid. God is not done!

 

 

 

17th Sunday-Year A

1 Kgs 3:5, 7-12

Psalm 119

Rom 8: 28-30

Mt. 13:44-52

Don’t Stop Searching for the Pearl

Beloved in Christ, as I reflect on today’s readings, I remember an incident that happened a few years ago. I had a co-worker who always looked very grumpy and easily got angry. Every time I talked with him, he was grumpy. So I drew the conclusion that this guy is just a grumpy person, and I decided not to worry myself about him, but withdraw internally and cut him off. One day, I was having a chat with him, and he did not look that grumpy, so I remarked: “Um, no offense, but today you do not look grumpy.” He looked at me, smiled, and then told me he mostly comes across as grumpy because he has sleep problems and does not get more than one hour of sleep at night. I felt so ashamed because I was very wrong about him. I thought I understood him and was right in giving up any hope of working on my relationship with him. But I was very wrong. Something was going on in his life that I did not understand. So from that day, I began to pray that God would cure him of his sleep disorder. From that experience, I learned again to seek to understand what is going on with people before I draw conclusions about their behavior. 

Our first reading talks about Solomon, a young boy who is chosen by God to be the king of Israel but feels overwhelmed because of the problems in his family, his own weaknesses, and how difficult it is to deal with the people God has entrusted to him. He knew his brother wanted the throne, and many people don’t like him as a king. But instead of giving up on his family and the people, he asks God for an understanding heart and a deeper insight that will help him understand his family and the people the way God understands them so that he could treat them the way God would treat them. 

In our gospel, our Lord Jesus reminds us that in order to have the fullness of life, we need to keep our eyes on what is most important in life (the greatest treasure) and sacrifice all things to acquire that treasure and hold on to it. That treasure is what Jesus describes as the Kingdom of God. So what is that Kingdom of God? Many times when we hear about the Kingdom of God, we tend to think of Heaven, the place where someday we wish to go after our death. That is true, but the Kingdom of God is not just a place we go after our death. It is a state of life and primarily about relationships with God and those God has placed in our lives. The Kingdom of God is a lifestyle in which we share the joys and pains of life with God and with one another here on earth. That is what Jesus meant when he taught us to pray that God’s kingdom will be established here on earth. So, the greatest treasure we have is our relationship with God and with one another. 

Unfortunately, these relationships get broken and need to be restored. Problems and difficulties in life, as well as our own sins and weaknesses, and what people do against us can cover up the beauty and the treasure in our relationships with God and others. When you feel like you have reached the limit of your strength, and God is not listening, you might be tempted to give up hope in God or life. When you feel disappointed in somebody, a son, a daughter, siblings, husband or wife, co-worker, or friend, you might be tempted to give up that relationship, thinking nothing good can come out of it. However, Jesus tells us that a broken relationship either with God or others is not a lost relationship. It is a hidden treasure that can be discovered again if only we are ready to put in the sacrifice that it takes to do so. Today’s readings tell us not to give up searching for ways to restore our broken relationships and create new ones.

St. Paul tells us, if we don’t give up, God will turn things around for the good because He makes sure all things work out for the good of those who pursue the love of God and neighbor. Have you given up on any relationship with a friend or any member of your family? Have you grown cold towards your wife, husband, children, parents, co-workers, etc.? God is inviting you to take a second look at your relationships in order to find the treasure that is hidden in them. Like Solomon, let’s ask God for a deeper insight into what might be destroying our relationship with God and others. May Christ help us to see as he sees so that we can do as he does!