20141103 LOVE THOSE WHO CANNOT REPAY YOU
First
reading
Philippians
2:1-4 ©
If
our life in Christ means anything to you, if love can persuade at all, or the
Spirit that we have in common, or any tenderness and sympathy, then be united
in your convictions and united in your love, with a common purpose and a common
mind. That is the one thing which would make me completely happy. There must be
no competition among you, no conceit; but everybody is to be self-effacing.
Always consider the other person to be better than yourself, So that nobody
thinks of his own interests first but everybody thinks of other people’s
interests instead.
Psalm Psalm 130:1-3 ©
Keep
my soul in peace before you, O Lord.
O
Lord, my heart is not proud
nor haughty my eyes.
I
have not gone after things too great
nor marvels beyond me.
Keep
my soul in peace before you, O Lord.
Truly
I have set my soul
in silence and peace.
A
weaned child on its mother’s breast,
even so is my soul.
Keep
my soul in peace before you, O Lord.
O
Israel, hope in the Lord
both now and forever.
Keep
my soul in peace before you, O Lord.
Gospel
Acclamation Ps118:18
Alleluia,
alleluia!
Open
my eyes, O Lord, that I may consider
the
wonders of your law.
Alleluia
Or Jn8:31-32
Alleluia,
alleluia!
If
you make my word your home
you
will indeed be my disciples,
and
you will learn the truth, says the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel Luke 14:12-14 ©
Jesus
said to his host, one of the leading Pharisees, ‘When you give a lunch or a
dinner, do not ask your friends, brothers, relations or rich neighbours, for
fear they repay your courtesy by inviting you in return. No; when you have a
party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; that they cannot pay
you back means that you are fortunate, because repayment will be made to you
when the virtuous rise again.’
OVE
THOSE WHO CANNOT REPAY YOU
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: PHIL 2:1-4; LK 14:12-14
St Luke
has a particular concern for the poor and the marginalized. His
gospel is a gospel written for the poor and the anawim. Thus, in today’s
gospel, Jesus teaches us that we should invite the poor, the crippled, the lame
and the blind when we have a celebration. This is because it is a
blessing that those whom we invite would not be able to reciprocate our
gesture, unlike those who are rich. But most important of all, repayment
would be made to us when we rise again in the next life.
In
saying this, Jesus is reminding us of the need to act for the poor, especially
the poorest of the poor. Yet, in helping the poor, we must not think that
we are doing them a favour. On the contrary, if those we help cannot
repay us, we should consider ourselves really fortunate and that they are
actually doing us a favour. Why?
This is
because when they cannot pay us back, then we know that our love for them is
genuine, real and unconditional. When our love is given with the
expectation that we will receive something in exchange, then such love is
tainted with some form of selfishness. It is only human love and not the
pure love of God, which is unconditional and gracious. True love gives
freely without expecting anything in return. If we give with the
right hand and expect to receive with the left hand, then we are like those who
invite the rich people hoping that they would be invited in return.
But
more importantly, when the poor cannot pay us back, repayment will be made in
the next life. In other words, what we do in this life has eternal
significance for our next life. The eternal significance does not lie
on what we do, but the virtues that are inculcated in the process of doing
good. Thus, we are actually building up our character for better
by our generosity. The poorest of the poor give us the opportunity to
perfect our love for others so that, purified of selfishness and the lack of
compassion, we will become more and more like God. Hence, we must take
all those moments when we help others with no hope of any repayment as truly
the grace of God to educate us in true and authentic love. So that by the
time we reach the end of our earthly life, we would have grown to be more
loving, generous, kind and compassionate like Christ. The virtues
which we develop in this life would be carried on to the next life, as
Jesus said in today’s gospel, “Repayment will be made to you when the virtuous
rise again.”
Thus,
following the exhortation of St Paul in the first reading, we are called to
live the life of Christ in selflessness and in utter concern for others before
ourselves. The more we think of others’ interests before our own; the
more we live a self-effacing life; the more we love and are compassionate to
others; then we can be certain that this life of Christ which we live now will
be ours in the next.
Consequently,
let us therefore pray that we will use whatever opportunities we have in this
life to serve the poorest of the poor, not only the materially poor, but also
those who are intellectually, emotionally and physically poor.
However, we must serve without any expectation of returns or rewards so that we
can truly empty ourselves in unconditional love. Whenever we help others
and we receive no gifts in return; perhaps not even any appreciation at all,
then we know that we have loved selflessly. To be able to serve and
love those who do not give us anything back is divine love. This
itself is the greatest reward because when we love and serve in this manner, we
are truly liberated from attachments of all sorts. We will experience the
deepest joy of giving, loving and surrendering; a joy that no amount of money
can buy.
Let us
therefore thank God every time we are given such opportunities to love and
serve the poor because the poor give us more than what others can give us,
as they teach us how to love deeply and truly. No wonder Mother
Teresa often remarked that the poor are the most generous people because they
give us “virtues” and godly joy which the rich cannot give us.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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