Homily: June 25, 2024, Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time (God Alone)

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 “Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.”

The Assyrians had already encamped themselves near Judah, ready to march into the city and take over the nation, like how they had already taken over the other ten tribes of Israel. Only Judah and Benjamin were left.

This statement is from the letter which the Assyrian king Sennacherib sent to Hezekiah, king of Judah. It did not just warn Judah that they were coming to take over Judah by force, but was also mocking that the God of Israel will be helpless and a fake.

What should King Hezekiah do in such a situation?

It was a fact that the Assyrian army was huge, Judah was simply too small to fight them.  Logically, it would make sense to surrender to Sennacherib to avoid bloodshed and accept the disgrace and the capture. All the neighboring countries had already lost to the Assyrians.

In our own life, have we also faced such situations before? Stuck and unable to move forward, when decisions are not so straightforward, complications confuse us, and we can’t even figure out what would be the right move next. What should we do? Who can we turn to for wisdom and help?

King Hezekiah, without hesitation, brought the letter up to the temple and spread it out before the Lord, surrendering not to the enemy but to His God, seeking His direction and appealing to Him to show His power to the Assyrians, “Therefore, O LORD, our God, save us from the power of this man, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God.”

Indeed, God alone is almighty and powerful. He alone decides life and death, and when He chooses to defend His people, He does not need a big army to work. That very night, the angel of the Lord went and struck down all the hundreds of thousands of men in the Assyrian camp.

With that, He declared to the world that He is the true, powerful and living God. He alone decides that “I will shield and save this city for my own sake, and for the sake of my servant David.”

We do believe and acknowledge that God is almighty and powerful, Lord of heaven and earth, Master and Creator of us all. But do we even trust to let Him take control of everything in our life, everything that happens to us?

When we are stuck in our situations as King Hezekiah was, do we turn to Him to let Him fight our battles for us? And fight it the way He wants?

Is He the director and we the servant, or are we the director and He the servant?

Throughout the salvation history of church, God has always been the same. The same God of King Hezekiah is with us today, and nothing is impossible for Him, yet His plans are not ours. Do we trust Him enough to be God, and we His servants?

Our beloved Heavenly Father, we surrender our whole life to you, take charge, take control, we trust in you. Amen.


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Homily: November 16, 2024 Saturday of the Thirty Second week in Ordinary time (Find Faith)

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 The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. The soul of Bill is in the hand of God, no torment shall touch him. We are here to bid our final farewell to Bill, our beloved brother, grandpa, dad, husband, friend. I feel privileged to have known Bill these last two years and honored to preside over this Mass for his sending off. Many of you would have known him much longer and much better than I. I wish I had more time with him. I was awed when I read his obituary, his life story is inspirational. I know from my encounter with him that he was a dedicated husband, a loving and caring father, the greatest fan to every one of his grandchildren, and an incredible friend to countless people here and around the world. His going would surely leave a void in our lives. It is only natural that we grieve this loss. Bill was a man of remarkable character. His love for life, his sense of humor, and his thoughtfulness for others were the hallmarks of his persona...
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Homily:August 18, 2024, Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Wisdom)

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 “Let whoever is simple turn in here; To the one who lacks understanding, she says, Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed!” This generous invitation in today’s first reading is from Lady Wisdom. This reading is taken from Chapter 9 of the Book of Proverbs which portrays two women: Lady Wisdom and Dame Folly. Our first reading presents only the invitation of Lady Wisdom. She invites us, ‘whoever is simple’, to her home to enjoy the real good life, one of understanding and food good for our body and soul, while Dame Folly attracts people to destruction. Many people seek wisdom, sometimes for unwise reasons, often in the wrong places, and in the wrong ways. Wisdom is unlike knowledge and intellect, it is not something we can gain through studying or hard work, it does not come automatically with age or experience; it is ultimately a gift from the Holy Spirit. In Proverbs 2:6, it says ‘For the Lord gives wisdom…” I am very blessed to have met many wise people who in ...
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Homily: March 14, 2023, Tuesday of the Third week in Ordinary time.

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