Tuesday, 23 December 2014

20140727 HEALING OF A WOUNDED IMAGE Which hinders effective ministry

20140727 HEALING OF A WOUNDED IMAGE Which hinders effective ministry  


Reading 1, First Kings 3:5, 7-12

5 At Gibeon Yahweh appeared to Solomon in a dream during the night. God said, 'Ask what you would like me to give you.'
7 Now, Yahweh my God, you have made your servant king in succession to David my father. But I am a very young man, unskilled in leadership.
8 And here is your servant, surrounded with your people whom you have chosen, a people so numerous that its number cannot be counted or reckoned.
9 So give your servant a heart to understand how to govern your people, how to discern between good and evil, for how could one otherwise govern such a great people as yours?'
10 It pleased Yahweh that Solomon should have asked for this.
11 'Since you have asked for this,' God said, 'and not asked for long life for yourself or riches or the lives of your enemies but have asked for a discerning judgement for yourself,
12 here and now I do what you ask. I give you a heart wise and shrewd as no one has had before and no one will have after you.


Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-128, 129-130

57 My task, I have said, Yahweh, is to keep your word.
72 The Law you have uttered is more precious to me than all the wealth in the world.
76 Your faithful love must be my consolation, as you have promised your servant.
77 Treat me with tenderness and I shall live, for your Law is my delight.
127 So I love your commandments more than gold, purest gold.
128 So I rule my life by your precepts, I hate all deceptive paths.
129 Wonderful are your instructions, so I observe them.
130 As your word unfolds it gives light, and even the simple understand.


Gospel, Matthew 13:44-52

44 'The kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which someone has found; he hides it again, goes off in his joy, sells everything he owns and buys the field.
45 'Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls;
46 when he finds one of great value he goes and sells everything he owns and buys it.
47 'Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet that is cast in the sea and brings in a haul of all kinds of fish.
48 When it is full, the fishermen bring it ashore; then, sitting down, they collect the good ones in baskets and throw away those that are no use.
49 This is how it will be at the end of time: the angels will appear and separate the wicked from the upright,
50 to throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.
51 'Have you understood all these?' They said, 'Yes.'
52 And he said to them, 'Well then, every scribe who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of Heaven is like a householder who brings out from his storeroom new things as well as old.'


Reading 2, Romans 8:28-30

28 We are well aware that God works with those who love him, those who have been called in accordance with his purpose, and turns everything to their good.
29 He decided beforehand who were the ones destined to be moulded to the pattern of his Son, so that he should be the eldest of many brothers;
30 it was those so destined that he called; those that he called, he justified, and those that he has justified he has brought into glory.
HEALING OF A WOUNDED IMAGE Which hinders effective ministry  
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1 KG 3:5, 7-12, ROM 8:28-30, MT 13:44-52 or MT 13:44-46
http://www.universalis.com/20140727/mass.htm
We are all seeking for happiness in life.  What is the secret of happiness?  Is it dependent on wealth, power and status?  These cannot bring happiness. On the contrary, such pursuits make us selfish and blind to the needs of others.  Instead of looking out for others’ interests, we care more for our own. The truth is that by pursuing these things we have caused much pain to ourselves and hurt others in the process.  We become insecure of ourselves, whether we have or do not have them.  Some of the most insecure people in the world ironically are the rich and powerful.

We lack the wisdom and the discernment to pursue the right things in life and often find them in the wrong places.  As a result our lives are empty and purposeless.  We do not know what we are living for.  Our lives are no better than an animal’s; eat, work and enjoy.   Pleasures in life cannot give us real happiness.   Wealth and things cannot give us security and fulfillment.  This is because we do not pursue what is most needed in life.

The root of our problems does not lie outside of us but in the receptacles of wealth and power.  Indeed, King Solomon knew the real cause of his unhappiness in life was the lack of wisdom.  He had his heart in the correct place. He did not ask for riches and power for himself.  The gifts he asked were selfless as they were meant for the good of the people.  “Give your servant a heart to understand how to discern between good and evil, for who could govern this people of yours that is so great?” That was why God was pleased with Solomon for he said, “Since you have asked for this and not asked for long life for yourself or riches or the lives of your enemies, but have asked for a discerning judgement for yourself, here and now I do what you ask. I give you a heart wise and shrewd as none before you has had and none will have after you.”   It was not for himself but for the service of his people.    Solomon knew that in the final analysis, meaning and happiness in life is not just a matter of having position, power or wealth but when we give ourselves in service to others.

Service then is the key to happiness, but it must be a pure, selfless and godly service; not as another means to acquire power, recognition and security.   Unfortunately, many enter into service with a lack of consciousness of their motives.  They do not search deep enough into their hearts.  Many of us are insecure and look for recognition.  We make use of apparent service to find acceptance and popularity.  So we transfer the insecurity of those who pursue the world through the spiritual world.  This explains why there is so much division in the ministry.

We need to purify our motives as the parable of the dragnet suggests. “When it is full, the fishermen haul it ashore; then, sitting down, they collect the good ones in a basket and throw away those that are no use. This is how it will be at the end of time.”  We must distinguish between what we do and why we do.  It is not enough to do the right thing but we must do it with the right intention.   Only then can we speak of real and authentic service, otherwise it is still worldly pursuits for self under the guise of spiritual service, which is even more insidious and dangerous.  That is why Christ reserved the harsh scolding not for sinners but the self-righteous and hypocritical religious leaders.

What is the crux of the problem? We need to discern the motivation of our service. Does it come from a wounded and insecure self?  In truth, many of us are operating as children of Adam; our fallen nature causes us to be fearful of pain and death.  We have no control of our will; instead, we have a disoriented appetite and are ignorant of self, of God and others and lack wisdom and understanding to recognize the essentials of life, especially our identity, calling and purpose.  We forget our real nature and identity.   Grace works in and through nature. Grace is meant to perfect an existing nature.  We must seek to know our humanity and to understand ourselves.  Human psychology must work with faith.

Pope John Paul II says the key to all pastoral planning is holiness.  What is holiness if not the restoration of our integrity?  Baptism makes us a new creation. Today, our church workers and volunteers, including those under formation in the priesthood and religious life, require more human formation and not just spiritual and doctrinal formation.  The reality is that all of us come from a very broken society and sad backgrounds.  All the scandals and division in the Church are the consequence of us trying to build a spiritual life on a foundation that is weak and unstable.  Grace works on nature and it presupposes that our nature can welcome grace.

To find our integrity, we must rediscover who we are, that is, to be the image of Christ who is our brother.   “They are the ones he chose especially long ago and intended to become true images of his Son, so that his Son might be the eldest of many brothers. He called those he intended for this; those he called, he justified, and with those he justified he shared his glory.”  Indeed, this is our true image and identity.  We are called to be brothers and sisters of Jesus and true images of Him.  Our task and goal is to become more and more like Jesus in our lives, in the way we live.  Unless we recover our identity we cannot talk about ministry for ministry flows from our being, that is, identity.  If we know who we really are, then we can live out our identity accordingly.

This discovery of Jesus is the key to the healing of our image and our identity. This is what the two parables of the treasure and pearl want to tell us.   Unless we have discovered Jesus as the treasure of our lives, we cannot give ourselves entirely to it.  We need to be excited about Christ, otherwise we cannot make Him the center of our lives.  We need to be healed first; humanly, emotionally and spiritually.  This is what is asked of us.  There can be no ministry unless we have been restored and healed, otherwise, we are going to hurt others and ourselves in the process of service as we try to protect our ego and seek security and popularity.

We must first find our treasure in Christ.  We need a conversion experience, like the merchant. Unless we come to know the real treasure in our lives, we cannot give ourselves entirely to ministry.  This is what the gospel says, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which someone has found; he hides it again, goes off happy, sells everything he owns and buys the field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls; when he finds one of great value he goes and sells everything he owns and buys it.”   Is Jesus that treasure or that pearl that keeps us going in life?  That God did not keep His gem to Himself but gave Him up for us all, shows His mercy and love.

But the condition is that we accept Christ and surrender our lives to Him as the psalmist says.   “Lord, how I love your law!  My part, I have resolved, O Lord, is to obey your word.  The law from your mouth means more to me than silver and gold. Your will is wonderful indeed; therefore I obey it.  The unfolding of your word gives light and teaches the simple.”   We must surrender our lives to Him, good and bad.  “We know that by turning everything to their good God co-operates with all those who love him, with all those that he has called according to his purpose.”  He will heal us of our pains and brokenness of the past.  For those who love Him and are obedient to Him, He will bring grace out of disgrace.  Only those who love Him and are obedient to His will, can find life.  St Paul wrote, “We know that by turning everything to their good God co-operates with all those who love him, with all those that he has called according to his purpose.”

When we have Jesus you do not fear because our motives are clear and selfless.  His love will heal us of our insecurity and need to have power over others and things.   Jesus is our security.  The psalmist says, “Let your love be ready to console me by your promise to your servant. Let your love come and I shall live for your law is my delight.”  His love will heal us from our insecurity because we trust in Him as the source of our fulfillment and security.

How can we find in Jesus our gem and pearl?  There are two ways.  One way is that of searching like someone who, by divine providence, happens to find a treasure and sells everything to buy it.  The other is like the merchant who went about finding the pearl and through hard work found it and then buys it.  Whichever way we take, one thing is clear. The joy of finding the treasure or pearl in our lives, that is, Jesus, will fill us with great joy, a joy that money cannot buy.   Only when we find that Jesus is truly the Gem in our lives, will we have good news to share with others.  Only those who have been so touched by the Lord would want to announce Him to the whole world, using whatever charism and means he or she has.

Have you found Jesus?  If you have not yet found Him, then what is motivating you to serve the Lord?  And if you are not serving the Lord, who are you serving?  What is the cause of your happiness and fulfillment in life?  And if it is not the Lord who is the cause of your happiness, then your happiness is at risk because you live only for this world.  Jesus is our Wisdom, treasure and pearl of our lives.

WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV WILLIAM GOH

ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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