Tuesday, 6 January 2015

20150107 DRIVEN BY FEAR OR BY LOVE

20150107 DRIVEN BY FEAR OR BY LOVE 
Readings at Mass
1John 4 : 11-18
My dear friends, if God loved us so much, we too should love one another.
No one has ever seen God, but as long as we love one another God remains in us and his love comes to its perfection in us.
This is the proof that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us a share in his Spirit.
We ourselves have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as Saviour of the world.
Anyone who acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God.
We have recognised for ourselves, and put our faith in, the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.
Love comes to its perfection in us when we can face the Day of Judgement fearlessly, because even in this world we have become as he is.
In love there is no room for fear, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear implies punishment and no one who is afraid has come to perfection in love.

Psalms 72 : 1-2, 10, 12-13

[Of Solomon] God, endow the king with your own fair judgement, the son of the king with your own saving justice,
that he may rule your people with justice, and your poor with fair judgement.
the kings of Tarshish and the islands will pay him tribute. The kings of Sheba and Saba will offer gifts;
For he rescues the needy who calls to him, and the poor who has no one to help.
He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the needy from death.

Mark 6 : 45-52
And at once he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side near Bethsaida, while he himself sent the crowd away.
After saying goodbye to them he went off into the hills to pray.
When evening came, the boat was far out on the sea, and he was alone on the land.
He could see that they were hard pressed in their rowing, for the wind was against them; and about the fourth watch of the night he came towards them, walking on the sea. He was going to pass them by,
but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost and cried out;
for they had all seen him and were terrified. But at once he spoke to them and said, 'Courage! It's me! Don't be afraid.'
Then he got into the boat with them and the wind dropped. They were utterly and completely dumbfounded,
because they had not seen what the miracle of the loaves meant; their minds were closed.

DRIVEN BY FEAR OR BY LOVE 
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1 JN 4:11-18; MK 6:45-52
What is it that motivates us in life?  What is it that makes us do what we do?  There are basically two driving forces; one is fear and the other, love.  If one is propelled by fear, then the outcome might appear to be desirable but the person is not transformed.  In fact, one can become more insecure and broken.  If one was motivated by love, then the outcome can even exceed those motivated by fear because one does it willingly and happily.  Best of all, one lives a life of peace and true happiness.
Unfortunately, because we live in a meritocratic society, most of what we do is motivated by fear, as the yardstick for reward is productivity and good behavior.   This is true not only for society but in all levels of human relationships, including parent-child and spousal relationships.  We tell our children to study hard because of fear for the future.  So we study hard not because we like to study but out of fear that we would be left behind in society if we don’t.  Many of us who seek to do well in our studies and career do so because we want prestige, status, recognition and honour on one hand; and wealth and power on another.  We do well so that we are loved and accepted and thought of highly by others. That is why some are so ambitious and career-minded, even putting relationships and family after our career.  This is true especially true for some priests and those who are single.  Because they lack relationship and love, they invest their entire energy into their career as a form of escapism from confronting their loneliness in life. They exchange authentic friendship with superficial recognition from admirers, fans and society.  Of course, they also replace love of people with love of things, a life of love with a life of comfort.
We observe the laws because we fear going to jail or be punished.  Laws are our enemies. We do not see them as the wisdom of society or, if they are divine laws, the wisdom of God to guide us to live harmonious, safe and happy lives. So given the opportunity, we will break the laws when the lawgiver is not around.  We break civil laws and traffic laws hoping we won’t get caught.  St John remarks, “In love there can be no fear, but fear is driven out by perfect love: because to fear is to expect punishment, and anyone who is afraid still is imperfect in love.”
We fear suffering, hunger and privation, hence we hoard and are selfish.  We want to have more to feel secure about our future.  Greed is often rooted in exaggerated fear.  Many relationships do not work out because of fear.  Children fear when their parents are not on good terms, or when neglected, or when parents are judgemental and rule by fear, punishment and rejection. People fear death too because of an unknown future.  We fear punishment when we die.  We fear hell.  We fear we are not worthy before God.  Hence St John says, we fear judgment because our conscience is not clear. “Love will come to its perfection in us when we can face the day of Judgment without fear; because even in this world we have become as he is.”
Fear therefore cannot set us free for life and love.  God comes to cast out all fear.  This is the meaning of the incarnation.  This explains why Jesus, the Son of God, the King of kings came as a baby and as a servant or even slave.  He emptied Himself of His divinity and power.  He appeared to us in an ordinary manner.  He was not born in the palace but in a stable.  He was raised in a carpenter’s house at Nazareth.  He was anything but extraordinary, or rather, He was extra-ordinary.  He was gentle, meek and humble of heart. He did not display His power or majesty but assumed human lowliness.  This was the fundamental experience of the early Christians with respect to their encounter and relationship with Jesus.  “We ourselves saw and we testify that the Father sent his Son as saviour of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him, and he in God.”
The beginning of the mission of the Church was never motivated by fame, power, money or the need to control.  It was motivated by the love of God.  It was faith in God’s love towards us, as St John says, “We ourselves have known and put our faith in God’s love towards ourselves. God is love and anyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in him.”   Because His love was in the early Christians, they were inspired by Christ to love others as well.  This love was experienced concretely in Christ, in His life, passion and death and resurrection.  This love was completed in the indwelling of God’s love in His Spirit in our hearts.  This explains why the early Christians had no fear of death and were ready to suffer with Christ for love and in love, even to the extent of being martyred.  They knew Jesus was with them, saying to them as they went through the storms of life, “Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.”
This, too, is the basis for Christian vocation, especially to the priesthood and religious life.  This, too, accounts for Christian missionaries who are willing to give up their lives for the mission.  Otherwise it is unthinkable for one to give up comfort and convenience for work that is demanding and often unappreciated even rejected.  Love for God and humanity is the only motivation for what we do.  When motivated by love, we do all things well, whether in study or work, or mundane duties like cooking and washing and cleaning.  Without the love of God in our hearts, missionary work will become merely a propagation of an ideology or an ambition; not an act of love offered as a gift to the world.
However, like the disciples, we do not understand or believe in His love for us.  Like them, we have experienced the miracle of the bread and yet we are still ignorant.  “They were utterly and completely dumbfounded, because they had not seen what the miracle of the loaves meant; their minds were closed.”  God has looked after us all and provided for us all these years and we still doubt His love.  We don’t experience His love, hence we don’t trust Him.  The fact of life is that unless we know someone loves us, we will not hand over our lives to that person.  We listen to those whom we trust; and we trust those whom we love.  Jesus was able to walk on the sea because He knew His Father’s love.  He could perform the miracles especially in the multiplication of loaves because He knew His Father loves us all and would not fail us.
How, then, do we strengthen our trust and love in Christ?  Since trust is as strong as love, there is no way to improve trust except through a strengthening of relationship.   This relationship can only be built in and through prayer, like Jesus who would go up to the hills by Himself to pray.  “After saying good-bye to them he went off into the hills to pray.” Without a fervent prayer life, we cannot build a real relationship with God.  Without prayer we cannot discern His presence like the disciples, especially in times of trials.  “He could see they were worn out with rowing, for the wind was against them; and about the fourth watch of the night he came towards them, walking on the lake. He was going to pass them by, but when they saw him walking on the lake they thought it was a ghost and cried out, for they had all seen him and were terrified.”
Secondly, we can encounter Christ’s love by reaching out to others, especially the poor.   Through the poor, we see the face of God because they have much to teach us about life and love.  Pope Francis reminds us that we have much to learn from the poor.   We must never think that our service to the poor is driven by our generosity. Rather it is out of the generosity of God towards us that we could love and help them.  Most of all, in reaching out to them, we are participating in God’s love and we experience His love through them.
The capacity to love means that we share in His Spirit.  In this way, we could say that God lives in us because His love is in us.  Then the cycle of love is complete.  St John wrote, “My dear people, since God has loved us so much, we too should love one another. No one has ever seen God; but as long as we love one another God will live in us and his love will be complete in us. We can know that we are living in him and he is living in us because he lets us share his Spirit.”  Love has come to perfection. He loves us and we share in His love and life.  In turn, we pass on His love to others.  When all are in love with God, we have the capacity to love each other.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE

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