20140808 FINDING LIFE IN THE CROSS AND THROUGH
SELF-DENIAL
Reading 1, Nahum 2:1, 3; 3:1-3, 6-7
1 To Judah See on the mountains the feet of the herald!
'Peace!' he proclaims. Judah, celebrate your feasts, carry out your vows, for Belial will never pass
through you again; he has been utterly destroyed.
3 (For Yahweh has
restored the vine of Jacob, yes, the vine of Israel, although the plunderers
had plundered them, although they had snapped off their vine-shoots!)
1 Disaster to the city of blood, packed throughout with
lies, stuffed with booty, where plundering has no end!
2 The crack of the whip! The rumble of wheels! Galloping
horse, jolting chariot,
6 I shall pelt you with filth, I shall shame you and put
you in the pillory.
7 Then all who look at you will shrink from
you and say, 'Nineveh has been ruined!' Who will mourn for
her? Where would I find people to comfort you?
Responsorial Psalm, Deuteronomy 32:35-36, 39, 41
35 Vengeance is mine, I will pay them
back, for the time when they
make a false step. For the day of their ruin is close, doom is rushing towards
them, for he will see to it
that their power fails. that neither serf nor free man remains.
39 See now that I, I am he, and beside me there is no
other god. It is I who deal death and life; when I have struck, it is I who
heal (no one can rescue anyone from me).
41 When I have whetted my flashing sword, I shall enforce
justice, I shall return vengeance to my foes, I shall take vengeance on my
foes.
Gospel, Matthew 16:24-28
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone
wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross
and follow me.
25 Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it;
but anyone who loses his life for my sake
will find it.
26 What, then, will anyone gain
by winning the whole world and forfeiting his life? Or what can anyone offer in
exchange for his life?
27 'For the Son of man is going to
come in the glory of his
Father with his angels, and then he will reward each
one according to his behaviour.
28 In truth I tell
you, there are some standing here who will not taste
death before they see the Son of man coming with
his kingdom.'
FINDING
LIFE IN THE CROSS AND THROUGH SELF-DENIAL
Everyone wants to live but more than just being physically
alive, we want to find the true meaning of life so that we can live
fully. No one wants to live an unfulfilled and aimless life. But
how can we find life? All are seeking for life but in different
ways. The world tells us that to find life, we must enjoy ourselves by
having all the pleasures that this world can give, have things done our way, be
honored, loved, known and be glorified.
Yet in today’s gospel, Jesus
gives us a different way to find life. He said, “If anyone wants to
be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and
follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who
loses his life for my sake will find it. What, then, will a man gain if he wins
the whole world and ruins his life? Or what has a man to offer in exchange for
his life?” To find life, we have to lose it by self-denial and take
up the crosses that come our way. How can we find life in this
manner? Who wants to suffer in life? This seems ridiculous and
appears to contradict our goal.
Of course it might be true
that if we deny ourselves and follow after Jesus in carrying our crosses, we
might be assured of eternal life. Indeed, only when we destroy our
selfishness and remove sins from our life can we be ready to meet the
Lord. It is for this reason that in my sufferings in the ministry, I
always see them in view of the life hereafter. I live in the awareness
that I could depart from this world any time. And so I want to be ready
and be prepared, lest His summon comes. Hence, I try to life a holy and
righteous life, doing His will as faithfully as I can, doing what is right so
that my conscience will be clear when I come before the Lord for judgment.
However, does it mean
therefore that this life is but a life in the valley of tears? Is it
a life of punishment and suffering without real happiness? If that were
the case, some people say that the next life is not assured, let me enjoy this
life first in case there is nothing for me in the next. Certainly
not! By living a disciplined life, a life of mortification, I have
already experienced great joy. By giving up my freedom and pleasures for
others, I find an even greater joy and happiness that money and human pleasures
cannot give.
The joy of a mortified
life is different from that of the world. I remember what St Ignatius
himself discovered. For during his convalescence, he could only spend his
time reading spiritual books as no worldly books could be found. However
he found that by reading such spiritual books, his thoughts tended to dwell on
them and the joy lasted longer than when he merely read worldly books, which
could only give him some pleasure, lasting as long as he was in it.
Furthermore, after the pleasure was over, he felt empty and
depressed. Whereas after reading spiritual books, the joy was
sustained. This experience helped him to realize the difference between
the good and bad spirit.
In the same way too,
although carrying the cross and practicing mortifications is not a pleasurable
thing in itself, yet it brings joy and lasting joy. As the first reading
says, it brings peace. Mortification and penance increase our
capacity to love; strengthen our will, discipline the use of our senses,
keeping them in control. In the context of the Israelites in exile, going
through the purification process, such words from the prophet gave them
encouragement; that God will restore Israel by punishing Assyria through the
Babylonians. Indeed, as Helen Keller said, “Only through experience of
trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition
inspired, and success achieved.”
Truly, when I overcome
my attachment or bondage to weaknesses, I find joy. When I read the
bible, even after the reading, my thoughts and heart are filled with joy at the
inspiration and consolation I received. Whereas when I watch a movie, I
almost immediately forget what I watched, and the joy ends with the pleasure of
watching. For worldly things, the enjoyment and pleasure stays as long as
it lasts, but for spiritual delights, it continues even when the event is
over. For this reason, Jesus in the gospel said, “I tell you solemnly,
there are some of these standing here who will not taste death before they see
the Son of Man coming with his kingdom.” Indeed, anyone of us who
overcomes his/her weaknesses and slavery is filled with a joy that lasts longer
than when giving in to his/her passions. So long as we share in a life
that is given for others in service and love, we never see death in this life
or the next. Our lives will always be one of great joy, peace and freedom
in love.
So it is within this context,
that we need to reconsider the need for mortifications and the carrying of the
cross in our lives. When seen in the right perspective, self-denial
does bring true joy and liberation even though it is carrying the
cross. True joy is sanctification of life, which is what it means to
follow Jesus as is commanded of us in the gospel. This is the paradox of
true meaning in life.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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