Sermon on the Mount Pt.3 – the Lord’s Prayer

Sermon on the Mount Pt.3 (Mathew 6:1-18)

This section of the Sermon on the Mount contains the Lord's prayer, and instructions on giving,prayer and fasting. This is also a very practical lesson for us all who do a lot of things except those commanded by Jesus himself.

Giving to others

Jesus says, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”(Mathew 6:1-4)

We are all at sometime in our lives guilty of showing off our righteousness and generosity in public. We give alms and help the poor to gain praise from others, for some material benefits to soothe our ego which by Jesus standards is definitely wrong. Jesus says “do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing”. Jesus wants us to be humble and do good things in secret such that only God alone knows what we do.

This is indeed a difficult commandment to follow in a world where those who work in silence are suppressed and at times even punished whereas those who show off are praised and rewarded. It seems very unfair the way the good are denied their rights and the bad are rewarded but Jesus reassures us that what is done in secret may not be noticed by man but be rewarded by God who sees all things. What we have to do is to do the right thing at all times under the most difficult circumstances and God will be there for us without fail at the right time and at the right place when we need Him most.

Pray in secret

Jesus says “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”(Mathew 6:4-6)

Fasting

Jesus says “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you”.(Mathew 6:16-18)

Again Jesus stresses that we must not be hypocrites whom he condemns. He wants us to pray and fast in private and not openly for others to see. Our praying and fasting if sincere is not for others to see but for only for God to know. Our prayer and fasting should be a means to give us the courage to do the right thing against all adversaries and not a means to seek favours from God who knows what to give us.

Today we seem to do the opposite of what Jesus commanded – we organise mammoth prayer sessions in the form of feasts, processions and pilgrimages for the world to see.We want to show how mighty we are by these mammoth gatherings to worship God.Many of these prayer sessions have in fact become highly commercialised to attract huge numbers of tourists from near and far. Is this what Jesus really wants of us? Let’s search our hearts for the answer.

The Lord's Prayer (Mathew 6:9-15)

Our Father who art in heaven Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sinned against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.

He continues, “Yes, if you forgive others their failings, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours; but if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failings either.”

Jesus even taught us how to pray in the Lord’s Prayer. This very simple but meaningful prayer is recited by us many times a day but very often we do not really mean what we say.

Very often we ask God to forgive our sins and grant us our needs but we ourselves are not willing to forgive others who have sinned against us or grant others what they need. Jesus has clearly stated that we must forgive others in order for Him to forgive our sins. God does not come directly to us to give us what we ask for but grants our needs through others and unless we are good to those we encounter there is no way God is going send people to deliver us.

In short we have to build God’s Kingdom here on earth, a Kingdom that must resemble His in Heaven where forgiveness reigns to deliver us from all evil.

Relevance of Lord's Prayer to us today

The following are some real life situations that we often encounter.

1. A leader in a community who takes all for himself and leaving little or none for those whom he is supposed to serve.At national level we see the leaders being corrupt to the core at the epense of the massess who are struggling to make ends meat.

2. Those who react with anger and seek vengence towards those who have hurt them in some way.They are unwilling to forgive others but epect others to forgive them for their sins.

3. Those in power with-holding their service to those under their care as a form of punishment for not following their directives or go against their will.

This is very common these days not only in the various institutions in the country but sadly even in our own church that diligently preaches the Gospel.We have governments which punish the people who vote against them by denying their legitimate rights.

In our church we have priests who punish their parishioners by refusuing the sacraments for not following their rules.They act as the the prosecutor,judge and eecutor to mete out punishment with no compassion or forgiveness,the fundamental principles in the teachings of Jesus.

We are all familiar that baptism,matrimony,last rights and funerals services are being denied to those whom the priests think are sinners as they lapse in their duties to the church as an institution.These priests forget the very words of Jesus that they preach “Let the one who has not sinned cast the first stone”

4. Those who hold God to ransom – offering to to do something in return for favours received.These are common among pilgrims who go in search of God from place to place.

5. Those who are hypocrites,pretending to do good in public but they do that with a motive to gain benefits for themselves and their families.We are all familiar with such practices being rampant among our politicians.Regretabbly knowing them we still continue to support them.

The above are just a few of the numerous eamples we have today in our midst.Are we also doing the same?It is time for us to stop and reflect on what we are doing.Are we really doing what Jesus commanded or only pretending to do what He wants? Have we forgiven those who have hurt us?Have we asked forgiveness from those whom we have hurt? If we haven’t it is never late to do so now.

Sermon on the Mount Part II – The New Law

New Law Mathew 5:17-28

In this part of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus contrasts the old Law of Moses with the new laws of his own which was more appropriate to his time. However He made it clear that he did not come to abolish what was already there but to fulfil – giving us his new laws to supplement those already in existence. The principles of his new Laws, if scrutinised very closely, will be seen to be applicable and relevant to us today and till end of times.

It is surprising that many of us are so resistant to change despite Jesus asking us to do so. We prefer to cling onto old laws that have become obsolete. It is time for us to look into the new laws of Jesus more closely and adopt them in our own lives in the world today.

A brief summary of the new laws of Jesus as contained in this part of his Sermon on the Mount is as follows.

Old Laws of Moses		New laws of Jesus
New and old Law Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfil. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.	Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Murder You have heard that the ancients were told, "You shall not commit murder" and "Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court."	But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, "You good-for-nothing," shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, "You fool," shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
Reconcile your differences	Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.
Adultery You have heard that it was said, "You shall not commit adultery."	But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.
Divorce It was said, "Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce."	But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Making false wows Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, "You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfil your vows to the Lord."	But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.
Go the extra mile You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth."	But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you
Love your neighbor/enemies You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy."	But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

The New and old lawLaw (Mathew 5: 17-28)

New law and old law

Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfil. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

A scribe refers to a teacher of religious law whereas a Pharisee is a person who thinks he is very religious, but who does not care about others. By saying that we must be more righteous than a scribe and Pharisee to enter the kingdom of heaven, Jesus has once again given so much importance to moral integrity and abhors the hypocrite who only pretends to be holy. He specifically refers to the Pharisee, reminding us that we cannot be truly religious if we do not care for others.

This is what is happening in our society today where we continue to adhere strictly to set rules and rituals that are seen as holy but doing little to care for others. How can rituals by themselves make us holy if they do not touch the hearts of those around us? The parable of the Good Samaritan clearly illustrates what is to be really holy. Are we really holy as Jesus described or are we just hypocrites pretending to be so? Let’s examine ourselves to see how righteous and sincere we are in our lives. Let us examine our hearts to see how willing we to care for others.

Murder

You have heard that the ancients were told, "You shall not commit murder" and "Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court."
But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, "You good-for-nothing," shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, "You fool," shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.

In this commandment Jesus clearly states that there is no need to commit murder to be guilty of the crime but to be angry with someone and passing remarks of ill-intent itself is guilty of such an offense. Most us may not murder or cause physical harm to anybody but we all at some time or other have reacted with anger and wished that some misfortune may befall on those who harm us which itself is wrong by the standards set by Jesus.

Reconcile your differences

Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.
Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.

This law is one of the basic tenets of His teachings which we all tend to ignore. We go to church, offer prayers, hymns and money, participate actively in all the ministries but are not willing to reconcile with those who have hurt us. Jesus was absolutely clear that if we do not reconcile with those who are against us, it is meaningless to proceed with our worship.

It is timely to examine ourselves to see who we have hurt and who holds grudges against us for some reason or another and take steps to mend those ill-feelings. We all know that reconciliation is not as easy as it sounds. It can be a very humbling experience approaching someone to seek forgiveness, especially when we feel we are not in the wrong. When we approach him after finally gaining the courage he snubs us by ignoring us or even insult us further.

Jesus has told us to reconcile our differences but what are we to do if the person whom we approach for reconciliation rudely snubs us? Well Jesus assures that if we can take those insults with humility and sincerity ours will be the Kingdom of Heaven.

Adultery

You have heard that it was said, "You shall not commit adultery." But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.

Adultery is sex between a married man or woman and someone who is not their wife or husband and is forbidden by all religions. As Catholics we were all taught that such an act is mortal sin that will land us in Hell. However despite knowing that it is a grievous sin it is not frowned at as it used to be. At a time when adultery is so rampant even among Christians, Jesus teaching that even looking at a woman with lust is already like committing adultery may seem so absurd and irrational. Where do we stand on this issue of morality today where adultery, which was once looked down with great contempt, is being accepted as a norm? Is Jesus crazy and outdated by our modern standards of sophistication?

The problem is that illicit sex including adultery has been taken so lightly these days. We all succumb to our weaknesses but that does not make such acts morally right. As parents, teachers and even religious leaders we have all lost our moral integrity to lead the young. We have stopped our strong stand against such immoral activities for fear of our own guilt. It is timely for us to take the lead in stop indulging in such immoral activates and become role models for our children.

Divorce

It was said, "Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce."
But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

If Jesus is considered crazy for speaking strongly on adultery, what will he be seen as for forbidding divorce which has become so acceptable in societies all over the world. Divorce is so common today even among Catholics who are staunch followers of the Church. When our parents could stay together for life, tolerating and respecting their differences why we can’t? What has gone wrong?

What are we doing to reduce divorce among us? We organise pre-marital courses, marriage encounters sessions and even marriage counselling for those in trouble but yet the divorce rate keeps escalating. It looks as though the church is becoming irrelevant in the lives of people. Why is it so and how can we arrest its declining influence of its members?

Making false vows

Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, "You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfil your vows to the Lord."
But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.
But let your statement be, "Yes, yes" or "No, no." Anything beyond these is of evil.

Go the extra mile

You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth."
But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.
If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.
Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

Believe it or not Jesus tells us not to resist the demands of an evil person but give him more than what he wants from us. To our minds this is the most impractical command in a world driven by egoism and greed for materialism. We are still holding onto the old teaching of "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth”. Mahatma Gandhi saw the essence of this teaching and adopted it into his peaceful resistance against injustice saying said that an eye for an eye will make the world blind. Well we may not see the logic of the commandment but Jesus cannot be wrong. In fact He has demonstrated how to live by this commandment by his own passion and unjust death on the cross.

We have to in our own lives live up to this commandment whether we like it or not. Whenever we can we must go the extra mile to give what we have to those who need our assistance even without them asking. We may lose some money, some time or some of our energy that cause us some inconvenience but be reassured that our sacrifices will never be in vain as they will all be rewarded by God at the right time, right place and in a right way. By giving freely to those in need we may appear losers in the eyes of men but winner in the eyes of God as Jesus was the ultimate victor despite being unjustly sentenced to be crucified not for crimes he committed but for upholding the truth.

Love your neighbour

You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy."
But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

This is another crazy commandment where Jesus asks us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. To love our neighbour who does no harm is already not that easy but to love someone who plots to harm us is almost impossible. However it is what Jesus commands us to do if we want to follow him. We can never be perfect like Jesus but that is what we should all try to if we call ourselves his followers.

Conclusion

All these commandments are very difficult ones and may seem inappropriate in our society today which has become so competitive and materialistic. Many will say it must be crazy to adhere to such obsolete commandments and if we do so others may ridicule and laugh at us. We may even be considered stupid not knowing how to survive and so on.

We are all guilty of breaking these commandments from time to time; we may not murder but we curse others with anger, we refuse to reconcile with those whom we dispute, we succumb to lust, quick to divorce and commit adultery and justify the reasons for doing so, we make false promises and refuse to share what we have with others for fear they will take advantage of our goodness and of course there is no way we are going to love our enemies.

So where do we stand as Christians? We say we are the followers of Christ but refuse to follower His commandments to the fullest. We say we are Christians because we strictly observe all the man-made rituals of the church which Jesus did not ask but refuse to follow those he truly commanded. Let us seriously ask ourselves whether we are really his followers or just opportunists who pick and choose what we what to follow for our own benefits and convenience.

These commandments come from none other than Jesus himself and as Christians we have no option but try to follow them to the fullest. We may be ridiculed and persecuted in the process but we must persevere in what we do as He himself told us “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great”

Next: Part III – The Lord’s Prayer

The sermon on the mount and the Lord's prayer

Sermon on the Mount - Beatitudes

Sermon on the Mount

All the teachings of Jesus can be summarised in this sermon, which he delivered on a mountain near Capernaum. This was the greatest sermon Jesus ever preached.Many Christians believe that the Sermon on the Mount is a form of commentary on the Commandments.

To most believers in Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount contains the central tenets of Christian discipleship, and is considered as such by many religious and moral thinkers—such as Tolstoy, Gandhi, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer and it has been one of the main sources of Christian pacifism.

It can be divided into 5 sections as contained in the Gospel of Mathew in Chapters 5,6 and 7.

The Sermon on the Mount

The contents of the sermon are as follows:

Beatitudes - Teachings that begin with "blessed." These were meant to comfort suffering believers.
New laws - Contrasts the old law of Moses with the new law of Christ. A brief summary of Christian doctrine.
Lord's prayer - Instructions on prayer. Jesus also teaches the proper motives for fasting and offering gifts.
Money - Christian attitudes concerning the use of money. Reasons to avoid worry.
Warnings - Dangers of false teachers and hypocrisy. Jesus also presents the parable of the wise and foolish builders.

Last Sunday the Gospel was about the the Beatitudes which can be considered as the new commandments of Jesus to us. It is one of my favourite passages in the Gospel and I would like to share my thoughts and reflections.

Very often we do a lot of things praise God but have we paused to think whether it is what Jesus wanted us to do? When things are going right for us, we may think God is blessing us, but in real fact is He? On the contrary when things are not going the way we wanted, we may think He is not blessing us but is He? The answers to these questions are in the Beatitudes in which Jesus comforts those who suffer to keep to his teachings, saying those who are in pain to follow Him are the ones who are really blessed.

Part I - The Beatitudes (Mathew 5: 1-12)

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

In this teaching Jesus apart from the poor, the gentle, the merciful, peacemakers and those in sorrow who he said are blessed, he seem to emphasise another factor that has become very important these days - the fight for righteousness. He says “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” and “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

He was crystal clear that we must strive to be righteous which is to be morally upright in what we say and do and unwavering in our fight for righteousness. He says we must even be prepared to be persecuted for being upright and defending those who are righteous. These are very strong messages which very few dare to follow. Instead, limited by our human weaknesses, we tend to take the easy way out to please God – pray, fast and observe certain rituals.

In our society today the main problem is being morally upright and it has become a big challenge to be righteous. In the pursuit of wealth, success and comforts in life we seem to have compromised on being righteous. Corruption, both moral and material, is becoming a way of life where injustice to the ordinary man is not seen as wrong.

If we look around we will realise that there are five categories of people in our society today.

1. The leaders. The rich and powerful who want to have their ways always. They bulldoze their views with little or no consideration for the less fortunate majority who are righteous but without wealth, power or influence. There is a lot of frustration among this latter group who are helpless and continue to suffer in silence. Those in positions of power have little consideration for the righteous who they see as threats to their well being and opulent living.

2. Cohorts of the leader. These are those who are ardent supporters of those in power. These people are the “yes-men” who will do anything for their leader to keep him in power for their own benefits. Even the most evil deeds of the leader will be justified and aggressively defended by them. We are all too familiar with such people in our midst.

3. The fence-sitters (opportunists).These there are those who standby idle whenever there is injustice for fear of being victimised. They are the fence-sitters who follow the tide to be on the side of the winner. They continue to support the aggressor just to reap benefits, least bothered about those who are denied their legitimate rights. They will only be quick to desert the leader once they see his imminent fall from power.

4. Silent majority. This comprise of mainly good and peace-loving people who are busy coping with the struggles in life to take care of themselves and their families. They are not interested or have no time for what is happening around them. They abhor corruption and injustice but not willing to do anything as their hands are full. In any society it is this silent majority that determine the direction of their organisation or nation. Most of us belong to this category and it our voting power that determine our destiny. Our righteousness will determine the well being of our society. Often it is the greed in us that is the cause of all the problems we face in our society and country.

5. The righteous. The truly righteous are the few who stand up for truth and justice at all costs. Despite their righteousness they are crushed by those in positions of power, might and influence. All sorts of false scandals are propagated against them to make them look bad in the eyes of the people, the silent majority. They are regarded as rebellious, evil and even dangerous to the well being of others. They are silenced with the abuse of the very laws that are meant to protect their rights to speak up and reveal the truth.

This last group is where Jesus belongs and so do many great men and women of the past.It is where we all must strive to be but it is the most difficult.We may not be able to equal Jesus or the great people but we can try to be righteous like them in our own little ways in our own little environment which offers a lot opportunities to do so.

Breach of justice and rule of law and abuse of power is ongoing at all levels of our society today; in the family, schools, places of work, in the government institutions and the country in general. Regrettably it is also becoming rampant in charitable organisations that are established to help the poor, needy and disabled and worse still even in religious institutions, including our own church, which preaches justice, love and compassion to all mankind.

The sermon on the mount is directed at each one of us who claim to be His followers, that we must hunger and thirst for righteousness and in the process to stand up for justice wherever and whenever it is breached and whoever the perpetrator may be. In doing so we may be ‘persecuted’ by those in power but that should not deter us from continuing to do so as then as Jesus promised ours will be the Kingdom of Heaven.

Many of us today have got the wrong concept of heaven. We are made to believe that we can go to heaven if we strictly observe certain rituals, pray, fast and abstain, meditate, go on pilgrimages and give a little alms during Lent and so on. These may be good deeds that we practiced before but are not relevant anymore.

On the contrary Jesus has given us new criteria for entry into His Kingdom in the form of the Beatitudes. According Him only the poor in spirit, those who mourn for others, the gentle, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, the merciful, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness and those who are persecuted and insulted for the sake of righteousness will be blessed and rewarded.

The Beatitudes is the supreme commandment of Jesus and it is time for us to reflect to what extent we adhere to it in our own lives. It is not easy to follow what He taught us in the Beatitudes as doing so we will be treading an ardours and dreadful path. Let us reflect on whether we are willing to face the challenges which come our way if we follow that path or avoid facing them altogether for fear of repercussions.

Injustice is everywhere and in our own little ways fight it wherever and whenever we come across it in our own lives. Let us not pray to be sheltered from dangers that may come our way in fighting injustice but pray for courage to be fearless when facing them.

Part II – the New Laws

TBC – Past,present and future

Where do we go from here?

The year 2010 was a tumultuous year for the TBC (Togetherness in Building a Caring) Community. which was formed after the forced division of the Taman Senangan Basic Ecclesial Community(BEC). The special BEC meeting with the Parish priest (PP on 23 June 2010 at Mr. Jeremiah’s home paved the way for the division of the BEC which led to the subsequent formation of the TBC on 22 July 2010.There were many attempts on our part to reunite but there was fierce opposition from certain quarters, including the PP himself, who was adamant on dividing the BEC for reasons only best known to him.

When all attempts to reunify failed and reconciliation was not possible anymore it was decided to form another group and continue our activities until the PP recognizes it as the new BEC.There was consensus among us that we adopt an attitude of “let’s move on” with our activities without any hatred or vengeance towards our friends who had left us after years of living together as a family. We should not let those setbacks deter us from doing the right thing.

It was with that determination we decided to carry on, calling our group as Togetherness in Building a Caring (TBC) Community. The main purpose of the TBC was to continue the activities of the BEC before it; to forge closer rapport among the members and carry out charitable and spiritual deeds for those in need in our midst.

Since its formation the members of the TBC continued to strive to make their TBC a great success and a force to be reckoned. We were met with many obstacles including from those who wanted to sabotage us.Attempts were made to break up the new group by many backhand tactics. There was a lot of negative publicity of the group, which was branded as rebellious, unchristian and even deviationist. The TBCwas branded as an illegal BEC by none other than the PP himself and forbidden to even pray for the sick in their midst. We just could not understand how prayers can be illegal even if it comes from a sinner.

During this period of being in the wilderness we had managed to forge tremendous closeness among ourselves in facing the many challenges that came our way. We continue to cherish pleasant memories of the numerous meetings we had to reassure, console and inspire one another after each blow we received during the peak of the crisis that followed the division of the BEC.The unyielding bonds that developed among the members during that period were unbelievable. It was a really a scintillating experience that made us realize who our real friends were.

Nevertheless with the guidance from God, we succeeded to emerge from the crisis without having to resort to hate and revenge. We managed to hold onto the basic principle of our faith, to love even those who go against us. Looking back now we realize it was a period of great trials and tribulations that provided useful lessons for us in our own lives which we really appreciate.

Despite all the setbacks we managed to successfully carry out a number of activities with very limited knowledge, experience, manpower and resources which came as a surprise to us all. Some of the activities were as follows:

1. Numerous fellowships – countless, hosted by all members in their homes at very short notice.

2. Merdeka prayers & dinner on 30 August 2010.It was a great success with about 100 people attending despite a ban being imposed by the PP as it was declared an illegal gathering. A special prayer for the nation and our BEC was offered

3. Meeting withanew PPC members on 16 September 2010.Themeeting was indeed a success as it fulfilled the aims of forging bettermutual understanding and dispelling the suspicion of the TBC among the PPC members who had been given a bad picture of the TBC.

We understand the obstacles the PPC members had to overcome to be present with us, the very people whose interests they are to uphold. We hope we can have more such sessions and establish a culture of dialogue and consultation in dealing with all our problems.
An appeal letter was handed to them with the hope it will be circulated among their colleagues before their first PPC meeting. The TBC is of the view that the PPC being the representatives of the parishioners, it must uphold their interests at all times and not succumb to the short term interests of the PPs who come and go.

4. Prayers for the sick – Prayers for Aunty Adeline and Aunty June Chin were conducted in their homes. In addition to that aunty June was also visited several times at her home and the hospital by our members who offered to console and encourage her in her fight against terminal cancer.

Anniversary prayers for the late Mr.Francis was also held at the home of his widow,Mrs Mary Francis.

5. Surprise birthday bash for heads of families – Dr.Chris, Bernard, Lawrence.We hope to have more such functions in the coming months.

6. Rosary in month of October 2010 – all families opened their homes. All Mondays and Thursdays were fully taken up. Some families could not be covered due to the lack of time.

7. Support for Greg and family in their new ventures – for Greg’s success at his economy food outlet and then at his new job in Kuala Lumpur

8. Visit to orphanage and the Christmas cum charity dinner with children from Shan’s Home which was the pinnacle of all our efforts.

9. Christmas cum charity dinner with children from Shan’s Home . With very limited manpower and resources at our disposal and with all the setbacks we managed to forge closer fellowship among us that brought us our grand success in organizing the

Christmas cum Charity dinner for the children from Shan’s Home on 18 December 2010.It was a great success where we managed to attract more than 200 generous people of various races and faiths to participate and raised more than RM5,000.00 to be donated to the SCH.

10. Christmas house-house caroling was a great success so was the TBC Christmas fellowship that followed on 21 December 2010 in Winson’s house.


The way forward

At a private meeting with PP on 5 January 2011, I urged him to recognize our TBC as a legitimate BEC as I felt is the only way to get out of the impasse of our BEC.

Unfortunately our PP did not appear to be agreeable to the suggestion at the present moment. Therefore we are back to where we started after the BEC division in June 2010.Where do we go from here?

It is time for us to stop basking in the glory of our successes and get down working to provide our service to those in need in keeping with the teachings of Jesus. Let us continue with what we have been doing since the formation of our TBC to bring a little cheer to those around us as laid down in our plans for 2011which we discussed at our meeting on 15 January 2011 in Winson’s house to celebrate Pongal (See attached plans).

Over the last couple of weeks there have been many over enthusiastic suggestions of fund raising and big projects but we must be careful not to be carried away by our recent success of the SCH project, to undertake tasks beyond our capabilities. We should not take the closeness we had created among us for granted but continue to nourish it further. The most important asset we have now is the close-rapport among the members which we should continue to nourish in order to succeed further in helping others. We must continue to be a closed group and must be extremely careful in admitting others who may want to join us.

We must bear in mind the limitations under which we operate – lack of manpower and resources. We are not corporate players but a small group of people united in the love of Christ to go out to serve fellow men and women who are in need. We need not do great things but small things with great love as mother Teresa put it. So let us go forth in the small ways that we are used to and with the little funds we have and touch the hearts of the few people that we encounter.



Plans for 2011

1. Charitable acts – visit to poor,visit to sick,visit to the elderly
2.Two-monthly meeting/get together – strengthen our fellowship and evaluate our plans
3. Spiritual activities – prayers, rosary, special needs – sickness,death,exams
4. Rosary months– May & October
5. Lent& Easter – to organize a visit and an old folk’s home or orphange
6. Christmas celebrations as usual
7. Family activities – trips,games,health walk
8. Educational programmes– medical talks, finance talks, legal talks,Will-writing
9. Major project for the year if any
10.Fund for TBC – to pay for charitable acts
Monthly collection – any amount
Other fund raising projects – e.g.Treasure hunt,etc


In the meantime let us continue to pray that the Holy Spirit will enlighten our PP to see the sincerity of our actions and recognise our group as a legitimate BEC.Let us not not give up hope but continue to strive in our attempts to build His Kingdom here among us.