Daily Archives: March 3, 2018

4 March, Sunday – Bright As Day

Lent, Ordinary Time,

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

We give thanks to God for your steadfast following of Oxygen.

As we enter into the Paschal Mystery of the Church, we invite our readers who want to help contribute a reflection to come forward.

The following readings are available for reflection:

Holy Saturday

1st Reading + Responsorial Psalm

2nd Reading + Responsorial Psalm

3rd Reading + Responsorial Psalm

4th Reading + Responsorial Psalm

5th Reading + Responsorial Psalm

6th Reading + Responsorial Psalm

7th Reading + Responsorial Psalm

Epistle + Responsorial Psalm

Gospel

This is a good time for you to share with our readers the joys you have had in reading Oxygen. Do drop an email to descksoon@yahoo.com who will be in touch with you on how to proceed.

God bless

Oxygen Core Team

 

4 March 2018

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Exodus 20:1-17

God spoke all these words. He said, ‘I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

‘You shall have no gods except me.

‘You shall not make yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven or on earth beneath or in the waters under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God and I punish the father’s fault in the sons, the grandsons, and the great-grandsons of those who hate me; but I show kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

‘You shall not utter the name of the Lord your God to misuse it, for the Lord will not leave unpunished the man who utters his name to misuse it.

‘Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy. For six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath for the Lord your God. You shall do no work that day, neither you nor your son nor your daughter nor your servants, men or women, nor your animals nor the stranger who lives with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that these hold, but on the seventh day he rested; that is why the Lord has blessed the sabbath day and made it sacred.

‘Honour your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God has given to you.

  ‘You shall not kill.

 ‘You shall not commit adultery.

  ‘You shall not steal.

  ‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.

  ‘You shall not covet your neighbour’s house. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or his servant, man or woman, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is his.’

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1 Corinthians 1:22-25

While the Jews demand miracles and the Greeks look for wisdom, here are we preaching a crucified Christ; to the Jews an obstacle that they cannot get over, to the pagans madness, but to those who have been called, whether they are Jews or Greeks, a Christ who is the power and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
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John 2:13-25

Just before the Jewish Passover Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and in the Temple he found people selling cattle and sheep and pigeons, and the money changers sitting at their counters there. Making a whip out of some cord, he drove them all out of the Temple, cattle and sheep as well, scattered the money changers’ coins, knocked their tables over and said to the pigeon-sellers, ‘Take all this out of here and stop turning my Father’s house into a market.’ Then his disciples remembered the words of scripture: Zeal for your house will devour me. The Jews intervened and said, ‘What sign can you show us to justify what you have done?’ Jesus answered, ‘Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews replied, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this sanctuary: are you going to raise it up in three days?’ But he was speaking of the sanctuary that was his body, and when Jesus rose from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the words he had said.

During his stay in Jerusalem for the Passover many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he gave, but Jesus knew them all and did not trust himself to them; he never needed evidence about any man; he could tell what a man had in him.

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“He could tell what a man had in him”

Growing up, one of my favourite comedies was ‘The Life of Brian’ by Monty Python. It was the story of a man named Brian, who was mistaken for the Messiah, being born just next door to Jesus.

A particularly memorable scene was one where a whole platoon of centurions stormed Brian’s residence in the hope of capturing him and his disciples. Caught unawares, the whole group scrambled for all available hiding places, including one behind the curtains and another pretending to be the lamp, lamp-shade included! It was hilarious because it was so obvious people were hiding in those spots!

What made the scene particularly funny was the fact that all the centurions failed to spot any of the disciples, including those who were hiding in plain sight! What amazing humour!

In today’s Gospel, Jesus “never needed evidence about any man; he could tell what a man in him”. I wonder if our efforts to conceal ourselves from our God are as funny as the Monty Python movie. Despite our best efforts to keep our actions and thoughts in the dark, I am sure they appear as bright as day.

Because our God can see us clearly for who we are, and what we are capable of, He gives us the 10 commandments. Like children, we rebel and think that we are beyond rules. Yet, like children, it often turns out that the commandments will keep us along the straight and narrow path to eternal life.

Let us be humble and continue to allow ourselves to be led by our God. We need to remember that no matter what, God loves us and loves us completely, warts, imperfections and all.

(Today’s Oxygen by Paul Wee)

Prayer: Lord, help us depend on You and to trust in You completely. We pray that we will exercise our free will responsibly and with love, in line with Your commandments for us.

Thanksgiving: Thank You Father, for allowing us to make our own choices. Thank You for being there, whatever the circumstances.

2 March, Saturday – God’s Love and Mercy

Lent,

3 March

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Micah 7:14-15,18-20

With shepherd’s crook, O Lord, lead your people to pasture,
the flock that is your heritage,
living confined in a forest
with meadow land all around.
Let them pasture in Bashan and Gilead
as in the days of old.
As in the days when you came out of Egypt
grant us to see wonders.

What god can compare with you: taking fault away,
pardoning crime,
not cherishing anger for ever
but delighting in showing mercy?
Once more have pity on us,
tread down our faults,
to the bottom of the sea
throw all our sins.
Grant Jacob your faithfulness,
and Abraham your mercy,
as you swore to our fathers
from the days of long ago.

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Luke 15:1-3,11-32

The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he spoke this parable to them:

‘A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, “Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me.” So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.

‘When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, “How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants.” So he left the place and went back to his father.

‘While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.” And they began to celebrate.

‘Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. “Your brother has come” replied the servant “and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound.” He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father, “Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property – he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening.”

‘The father said, “My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.”’

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he was lost and is found

Have you ever been lost? Be it in a foreign country as a tourist or as a young child in a shopping mall, the feeling of fear which one may have experienced is certainly not something which you would like anyone to go through. Yet in the Gospel of today, we see how envy can lead one to wish others to remain lost as what the elder brother wished upon his prodigal younger brother.

The elder brother was certainly envious of how his father was very happy to have his younger son return. Perhaps this is a point which we can reflect upon – why was the reason the elder brother remain faithful to his father? It appears that he wanted to just obey all the commandments because of a sense of obligation rather than a genuine desire to love his father. This is something which we need to be aware in our own lives. Do we follow God because we are afraid of him or that we may suffer the consequences of breaking the rules?

The first reading of today reminds us that God is full of mercy and compassion. He wants us all to return to Him and will not hesitate to welcome us back. Indeed, this season of Lent is for us to grow closer to God and to discover what it means to experience the wonderful love which God is waiting to pour out upon us. Let us take time today to ask God to forgive us of all our faults and remove the fear of being lost from His love in exchange for his generous love and mercy.

(Today’s Oxygen by Nicholas Chia)

Prayer: Dear Lord, let us remain faithful to you despite all the challenges in life.

Thanksgiving: We give thanks for all confessors