The Lost Son
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Lk 15:1-3, 11-32)
Today is one of those days when I feel a homily might steal the gospel reading of its depth. The parable that we heard read is a much-quoted story and we are all too familiar with it. Perhaps I might just challenge that familiarity, so that the Word of God may become alive in us today.
Usually in stories and movies, there are three types of main characters: the hero and/or the heroin – the protagonist, around whom the story revolves; there is the anti-hero – the antagonist who creates a conflict which the hero attempts to resolve; and the supporting characters, who contribute to the events that lead up to the conflict. There would also be the minor characters (like the servants), and ‘the extras’.
The story of two boys
In the parable of […]
Year C
Year C Sunday Sermons
Sermon for 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C Homily
Remember, you are following a martyr!
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Lk 14:25-33)
Our world today has too many celebrities and very few heroes. Our contemporary culture focuses so much on celebrities. The media hypes up stars in sports, entertainment, and popular culture. Often these celebrities are far from being role models for the younger generation, yet young people have them as their pin-up models. The personal life of these celebrities is often a disaster. The few heroes we have around are people who have endured difficulties; they have exhibited tremendous courage in being altruistic; they are visionaries. These are people to be imitated.
Jesus does not want people to rally around him as if around a celebrity. He does not want a large following of fans and admirers. He wants […]
Sermon for 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle C Homily
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Psychology of the Virtue of Humility
One of the areas of my academic specialisation is positive psychology. It is a branch of psychology that focuses on wellbeing and happiness. My area of focus in positive psychology revolves around the concept of “character strengths.” Character strengths are nothing but what religious traditions have referred to as virtues. These include, among others: wisdom, self-control, forgiveness, hope, altruism, love, spirituality, responsibility, leadership, humility, etc. Psychologists ask, why religious traditions and cultures across the world have highlighted these virtues throughout known history of humanity, praising people who are paragons of these virtues and challenging people who have lacked these virtues? Is it because the practice of these character strengths provides gratification and wellbeing to the individual, and ensures the continuity of the human […]
Sermon for 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle C Homily
The Narrow Door
21th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Lk13:22-30)
When you were in school, did you prefer easy-going teachers to demanding ones? I have been in formal education for 24 years and I generally preferred the demanding teachers, because most often I found the easy-going ones not only shallow but very “stingy” with marks to maintain the class average because they wanted to please all students!
In the gospel reading of today, Luke presents Jesus as a demanding teacher. This portrayal of Jesus is very unlike Luke. For instance, Matthew uses the phrase “grinding of teeth” (NJB), or in other translations, “gnash their teeth” (RSV), five times in his Gospel, whereas Luke uses it only once. And that happens to be in the gospel text of today. Being consistent within the Gospel of Luke, what is the central orientation of the Word […]
Sermon for 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle C Homily
Disturb us, Lord
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Lk 12:49-53)
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already! When I read the gospel reading of today, a phrase kept coming back to me very spontaneously. It was the first line of a prayer that I had heard before. I googled and came across this poem-prayer, written by a famous British sailor of the 16th Century, Sir Francis Drake:
Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a […]