May 3 2021

First reading 1 Corinthians 15:1-8

The Lord appeared to James, and then to all the apostles

Brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, the gospel that you received and in which you are firmly established; because the gospel will save you only if you keep believing exactly what I preached to you – believing anything else will not lead to anything.

Well then, in the first place, I taught you what I had been taught myself, namely that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; and that he was raised to life on the third day, in accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared first to Cephas and secondly to the Twelve. Next he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died; then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles; and last of all he appeared to me too; it was as though I was born when no one expected it.

Responsorial Psalm 18(19):2-5

Their word goes forth through all the earth.

Alleluia!

The heavens proclaim the glory of God,

and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.

Day unto day takes up the story

and night unto night makes known the message.

No speech, no word, no voice is heard

yet their span extends through all the earth,

their words to the utmost bounds of the world.

Gospel John 14:6-14

To have seen me is to have seen the father

Jesus said to Thomas:

‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.

No one can come to the Father except through me.

If you know me, you know my Father too.

From this moment you know him and have seen him.’

Philip said, ‘Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied.’

‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip,’ said Jesus to him ‘and you still do not know me?

‘To have seen me is to have seen the Father,

so how can you say, “Let us see the Father”?

Do you not believe

that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?

The words I say to you I do not speak as from myself:

it is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work.

You must believe me when I say

that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;

believe it on the evidence of this work, if for no other reason.

I tell you most solemnly,

whoever believes in me

will perform the same works as I do myself,

he will perform even greater works,

because I am going to the Father.

Whatever you ask for in my name I will do,

so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

If you ask for anything in my name,

I will do it.’

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3rd May 2021 Monday 5th Week of Easter – SS. Philip and James, Apostles.

Reflection
1 Corinthians 15:1-8, John 14:6-14

“To see Jesus is to see God the Father”
In today’s gospel, Philip told Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father and then we shall be satisfied”. This request revealed his longing to encounter God face-to-face so that he could have complete joy and peace here and now. What about us? What are we searching for in order to be satisfied? May we come to realise that no created things in this world can truly satisfy us. Like St. Teresa of Avila, we too say with conviction: “Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices.”

How can we see God in our daily lives? Jesus, in the gospel, told Philip: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father”, and this gives us the clue to the question. Jesus is the human face of God the Father, and thus, to see Jesus is to see God. The invitation is to constantly enter into an intimate and loving relationship with Jesus by contemplating His life in the gospel, by recognising His love in the Eucharist, by seeing Him in the face of those around us, especially in the poor and the weak. Seeing Jesus with eyes of faith in the here and now is a foretaste of seeing God face-to-face in the life to come.

Question for reflection:
What is the invitation of Jesus for me today?

3 April 2021. Isnin, Minggu Paskah Ke-5 – SS. Filipus and Yakobus, Rasul.

Renungan
1 Korintus 15:1-8, Yohanes 14:6-14

“Melihat Yesus adalah melihat Allah Bapa”
Dalam injil hari ini, Filipus berkata kepada Yesus, “Tuhan, tunjukkanlah Bapa itu kepada kami, itu sudah cukup bagi kami”. Permintaan ini menunjukkan kerinduannya untuk bersemuka dengan Tuhan agar dia mendapat sukacita dan damai yang penuh. Bagaimana dengan kita? Apakah yang kita cari agar kita berpuas hati? Semoga kita menyedari bahawa tidak ada apapun ciptaan didunia ini yang mampu memuaskan hati kita. Seperti St. Teresa dari Avila, kita juga dapat mengatakan dengan yakin: “Sesiapa memiliki Tuhan tidak akan kekurangan apapun; memiliki Tuhan sudah mencukupi.”

Bagaimana kita dapat melihat Tuhan dalam hidup harian kita? Di dalam injil Yesus mengatakan kepada Filipus: “Sesiapa telah melihat Aku, ia telah melihat Bapa”, ini memberikan petunjuk kepada pertanyaan ini. Yesus adalah wajah manusia Allah Bapa dan dengan demikian, melihat Yesus adalah melihat Tuhan. Jemputan untuk kita adalah untuk sentiasa masuk dalam relasi yang intim dan penuh kasih dengan Yesus dengan merenungkan hidupNya yang boleh kita lihat di dalam melalui injil, dengan mengenali cintakasihNya dalam Ekaristi, dengan melihatNya melalui orang-orang yang kita temui, terutama pada mereka yang miskin dan lemah. Melihat Yesus dengan mata iman disini dan sekarang adalah permulaan untuk bersemuka dengan Tuhan di kehidupan akan datang.

Soalan renungan:
Apakah jemputan Yesus kepada saya hari ini?