20141126 THE CHRISTIAN MEANING OF ENDURANCE
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Apocalypse
15:1-4 ©
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What I, John, saw in
heaven was a great and wonderful sign: seven angels were bringing the seven
plagues that are the last of all, because they exhaust the anger of God. I
seemed to see a glass lake suffused with fire, and standing by the lake of
glass, those who had fought against the beast and won, and against his statue
and the number which is his name. They all had harps from God, and they were
singing the hymn of Moses, the servant of God, and of the Lamb:
‘How great and
wonderful are all your works,
Lord God Almighty;
just and true are all
your ways,
King of nations.
Who would not revere
and praise your name, O Lord?
You alone are holy,
and all the pagans
will come and adore you
for the many acts of
justice you have shown.’
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Psalm
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Psalm 97:1-3,7-9
©
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How great and
wonderful are all your works, Lord God almighty.
Sing a new song to
the Lord
for he
has worked wonders.
His right hand and
his holy arm
have
brought salvation.
How great and
wonderful are all your works, Lord God almighty.
The Lord has made
known his salvation;
has shown
his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his
truth and love
for the
house of Israel.
How great and
wonderful are all your works, Lord God almighty.
Let the sea and all
within it, thunder;
the
world, and all its peoples.
Let the rivers clap
their hands
and the
hills ring out their joy
at the presence of
the Lord.
How great and
wonderful are all your works, Lord God almighty.
For the Lord comes,
he comes
to rule the earth.
He will rule the
world with justice
and the
peoples with fairness.
How great and
wonderful are all your works, Lord God almighty.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Lk21:36
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake, praying
at all times
for the strength to
stand with confidence
before the Son of
Man.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Rv2:10
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Even if you have to
die, says the Lord,
keep faithful, and I
will give you
the crown of life.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 21:12-19 ©
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Jesus
said: Men will seize you and persecute you; they will hand you over to the
synagogues and to imprisonment, and bring you before kings and governors
because of my name – and that will be your opportunity to bear witness.
Keep this carefully in mind: you are not to prepare your defence, because I
myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents
will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and
brothers, relations and friends; and some of you will be put to death. You will
be hated by all men on account of my name, but not a hair of your head will be
lost. Your endurance will win you your lives.’
THE
CHRISTIAN MEANING OF ENDURANCE
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: REV 15:1-4; LK 21:12-19
Like
everyone else in the world since the beginning of creation, we all have to
face trials and persecutions in our lives. Persecutions can come from
without and from within. From without, we have people who are against us
for one reason or another. Some do not like us simply because we are
Christians or because we are too smart, handsome, poor, or unsuccessful.
Others perceive us as their oppressors or mistake us for their enemies who make
life difficult for them. From within, quite often our enemies come from
our own parents, brothers, relations and friends. It is not uncommon to
have our loved ones and friends betray us. Then again, because of
differences in views and in work, we can become great enemies with our fellow
community members. From professional differences with our fellow colleagues,
quite often it leads to personal differences as well.
But
greater still is the challenge that comes from within us, our own
selves. As it is often said, we are our greatest enemies. We find
ourselves incapable of overcoming personal defects in our character. We
have to contend with our weaknesses, be they spiritual, moral or
otherwise. Perhaps, some of us find it so difficult to overcome our
fears, insecurity, anxiety, suspicions, jealousy and guilt. All these
will eventually paralyze and destroy us. And what is worse, we do
not understand why all these things are happening in our lives.
How then do we deal with
our persecutions and trials? For some of us, we can be so overwhelmed by them that we
give up even trying. We find ourselves succumbing to our weaknesses or
our persecutors. Prayer seems to be of not much help as well, as God
seems to be so far away. The apparent absence of God, cumbered with the
lack of understanding from our friends, aggravate the situation further.
Others withdraw from loving and from being good because they become so
vulnerable to the manipulation of others. Others still develop low
self-worth and increase in suicidal tendency, as life seems to be so
meaningless. But that would only be escapism. This would be tragic.
Not only will we lose life
in this world but more frightening still is eternal life in the next.
Whilst we can escape from the sufferings of this world, we cannot escape the
eternal sufferings that would be ours if we end our lives in shambles, anger
and incompleteness. Hence, we are exhorted to endure to the end so that
we will win life for ourselves. It is within this context that the first
reading makes sense. The early Christians who suffered martyrdom knew
that there was more to life than on this earth. The ultimate life is
a life lived in and with God. This life on earth is but a journey to that
eternal home with God in heaven. Hence, it is important to remember the
final goal of this life. We must not think that this life is
everything. It is even more important to recognize that all that we are
and do now will have eternal significance for us in the future. Thus, we
must endure right until the end in order to win life for ourselves.
But what is the meaning
of endurance? Does it mean that we take a stoic stance towards
suffering, bearing them without flinching even a little? Or do we take
the way of the ascetic towards suffering by being passionless? If that is
the meaning of endurance, it means therefore that we must have a stony heart
and be unfeeling. But this cannot be the real meaning of endurance.
If that were so, then we become less than human. We would only end
up more hardened, bitter, angry and resentful and isolated from everyone else.
This kind of life can hardly be said to be the life of God. It would be
hell and misery. So Jesus is not asking us to be totally indifferent
to life or even to suffering and pain.
Or perhaps, we should take
the road of enlightenment taught to us by Buddha, which is to transcend pains
through meditation by raising our minds above our bodies. By cultivating a pure
mind, uncontaminated; and by thinking and acting positive; one transcends one’s
physical, mental and emotional sufferings. Such transcendent outlook entails an
attitude of detachment leading to a state of equanimity. By being
enlightened and mindful of the transitory values of life, one is liberated from
attachment, which is the cause of our sufferings. Detached from one’s ego
and self, one can go beyond the self to others, to the whole universe and to
God himself. This is the ultimate goal of meditation, to be one with the
whole creation by losing oneself in it.
Christian endurance is quite similar to this attitude of
detachment and selflessness. However, it is not simply being detached
but being attached to Christ, being identified with His vision and His love.
That is the unique quality of Christian endurance. The truth is that
Christian endurance is borne not from a stoic reaction to sufferings but from
one’s interior strength that comes from our identification with Jesus.
This is what Jesus meant when He tells us that we are not to prepare our
defense because He will give us an eloquence and a wisdom that none of our
opponents can resist or contradict. In other words, such a strength
comes from our inner being, our inner conviction and realization of who we are
and our union with God in Christ and the transitory values of the world. It
is our identification with Jesus that will see us through in life.
Indeed, this was the case of the early Christians under persecution.
Such kind of endurance is
neither detached to the extent of being indifferent, nor attached to the extent
of being a puny hapless person at the mercy of others. Nay, such
endurance possesses the quality of the patience and love of God. It is a
sharing in the compassion of Christ. It does not go against our human
nature as it adopts a holy indifference to the things of this world and yet
able to feel with the world and with others especially in their sufferings
without being overwhelmed by them. Hence, there is a certain quality of tranquility,
inner strength, joy and patience. Only this kind of endurance can
bring us life and win us life because it makes us better, stronger, more loving
and more virtuous.
How can we have such kind
of patience? Such union presupposes first and foremost, detachment
from self. This was what the early Christians under persecution did.
It should be noted that the martyrs who went through the persecution sang the
song of victory to God not thinking of what they were going through. They
attributed everything to the work of God. Their response was that God was
great and wonderful in His works. Nothing is mentioned about what they
have gone through. They were not inward looking in their
sufferings. Rather, their hearts were focused on God and His greatness and
love. We too must look outwards to others even in our sufferings so that
we can forget our own. In this way, we forget ourselves and our own pain
like the Christians in sufferings. Without the self, there is no self to
engage in self-pity.
Secondly, we must see
sufferings as ways in which our faith and virtues are tested. They are occasions for us to help us
grow in holiness; opportunities to bear witness to Christ. Jesus
certainly did not see them as obstacles for growth but opportunities for life
and for love. Hence, sufferings are instruments for our personal
sanctification and the sanctification of others. Through our persevering
love and patience, we will be able to show the love of God to others. And
through our long-suffering love, we too will lead others to sanctification as
well.
Finally, we can bear
such sufferings only when we know that we suffer with Jesus. Jesus assures us that not a hair
on our head would be lost. He also promised us that He would act
and speak through us. After all, as the first reading tells us, our
victory is the work of God. Having this confidence in God’s providential
care for us especially during our hardships will see us through until we reach
the end. What is important for us is to remain united with Jesus so that His
Spirit can live, work and speak through us. In other words, our being
must be identified with Christ in His mind and heart so that sharing in His
sufferings; we might also one day share in His triumph and victory over sin and
death.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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