Homily: August 10, 2025, Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

 “You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

Do you like surprise visits?

Some of us do. Recently, I went again to visit my sister and her family. Since the last visit, my 4-year-old nephew had been calling me almost daily and asking me to visit him again. So, this time, I told my sister to keep my trip a secret, I wanted to surprise the little boy.

When he saw me finally, his eyes were wide open with disbelief, and his mouth too was wide open in surprise! I will never forget that look on his face, and the exuberant joy of the moment when I hugged and carried him.

But not all of us like surprise visits, especially when the visitors come at the wrong time, and we are caught unprepared.

When I was in high school, our principal, Fr. George, was very strict. He didn’t talk much, but he knew every student. Occasionally, he would walk along the school corridors, surveying every corner and if he caught any student misbehaving, he would carry out strict disciplinary measures, possibly including a call to the parents or suspension if necessary. His visits were always expected but his timing was never predictable. We knew for certain he would come, but we never knew when. And that suspense kept us on our best behavior.

Some visits are highly anticipated and awaited, especially when we miss their absence. When I was in 5th grade, my eldest sister left home to study in another state, and in the following years, two more of my older sisters did the same. Even though we used to fight a lot with them when they were home, once they left, we younger siblings missed them dearly. We would wait eagerly for their return during the summer holidays. I still remember going excitedly to the bus station to pick them up, and the reunion with them were joyous and precious.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus says: “Be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

We know for certain, Jesus will come again, but we do not know when. He might come to us soon, at the moment of our death, or late, at His second coming. No one knows. How do we feel about that?

Sometimes, I would pray that day would not come so soon, because I feel so unprepared, not at all ready to face Him. 

For the saints, they yearn and look forward to seeing Jesus as soon as possible, and that is because they are always ready, their hearts are always prepared for Jesus’ coming again, anytime.

It should be the same for us. Meeting Jesus should be more excitingly joyful than anxiously fearful, because we know He comes to us with love. 

He loves us more than anyone else, deeper than we can ever imagine, stronger than we can ever love Him back. Think about it, isn’t it a most joyous and happy thing to be reunited with someone who loves us so much?

Recently, an elderly parishioner told me, “Father, I have prayed the rosary every day for the last 50 years. Some days I even pray twice. That means I have said around one million Hail Marys, and in each one I ask her to pray for me at the hour of my death. I am sure she will, so I do not fear death.”

It is never about how worthy or unworthy we are, it is about how much Jesus really wants to see us. The only preparations we need to do, is to ensure we do not delay, do not doubt, do not disappoint Him when it is time.

Practise saying ‘Yes’ to Jesus every day, say ‘Amen’ with our greatest conviction when we receive Him in Holy Communion, immerse being united with Him in our heart. 

And we will anticipate His coming with excitement, we will await His return with holy fear. We do not need to know when, but surely, He will come again, and we will be wide-eyed and wide mouth with exuberant joy when we finally see Him face to face!

Amen.