Gospel Reflection 2020/2021

Someone told me that: the life of a Christian is to prepare to die. Indeed, our faith always reminds us that we are only pilgrims on a journey: our world as we know it is passing away [1 Co 7:31], and we do not live here forever.

And on the 3^rd Sunday in the Ordinary Time, the Scripture readings are already expressing a sense of urgency.

1) In the first reading, God instructed Jonah to preach the ‘bad news’ to the sinful and corrupt city of Nineveh, “Only in forty days more and Nineveh is going to be destroyed.”

2) In the second reading, St Paul reminded the Corinthians, “Our time is growing short… The world as we know it is passing away…”

3) And in the Gospel reading, Jesus proclaims that “The time has come… The kingdom of God is close at hand! Repent, and believe the Good News!”

We can expect the kind of reactions from most hearers of Jesus’ time, and even from the hearers of today. We expect gracious words and good news from Jesus, but instead Jesus brings us no peace! We shudder at the thought that ‘the time is up’ and ‘the end is near’!

Furthermore, in today’s world, everything must be sugar-coated and politically correct. In the post-truth era, the world no longer believes in objective truth – truth is now relative, subjected to individual interpretation and personal preference – the words ‘sin’, ‘sinner’ and ‘repentance’ are taboos not to be mentioned. We cringe when Jesus uses the word ‘repent’!

Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is the incarnate Truth. He is Truth Himself. He does not come to please us or to sweet-talk us. But rather, He comes to reveal Himself to us to save us. In His presence, we see our own sin, we acknowledge ourselves as sinners, and yes, we need to repent and believe the Good News. As Christians, we are not called to one-off conversion, but we are called to a continuous and profound conversion (of mind and heart) every moment in our life.

Yes, ‘the end is near’ and ‘the end is here’. We need to have the spirit of urgency. Urgency does not mean fear, panic, anxiety, or knee-jerk reaction. Rather, urgency is the sense of insistence that calls for steady, swift and proactive response. As Christians, our fundamental duty is to know Christ. As Christians, we must conform to Jesus the Truth, and not making Jesus the Truth conform to us. Like the first disciples, we are to always choose Jesus: enter by the narrow gate [Mt 7: 13], swim against the tide, and consciously choose the road less travelled. Putting all our hope in Jesus, let us always believe the Good News, live the Good News and give the Good News.

Let our fervent prayer be:

“Lord, make me know Your ways and teach me Your paths. [Ps 24: 4]”