20150124 DISCOURAGEMENT FROM OUR LOVED ONES IN THE MINISTRY
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Hebrews
9:2-3,11-14 ©
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There was a tent
which comprised two compartments: the first, in which the lamp stand, the table
and the presentation loaves were kept, was called the Holy Place; then beyond
the second veil, an innermost part which was called the Holy of Holies.
But now
Christ has come, as the high priest of all the blessings which were to come. He
has passed through the greater, the more perfect tent, which is better than the
one made by men’s hands because it is not of this created order; and he has
entered the sanctuary once and for all, taking with him not the blood of goats
and bull calves, but his own blood, having won an eternal redemption for us.
The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer are sprinkled on those
who have incurred defilement and they restore the holiness of their outward
lives; how much more effectively the blood of Christ, who offered himself as
the perfect sacrifice to God through the eternal Spirit, can purify our inner
self from dead actions so that we do our service to the living God.
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Psalm
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Psalm 46:2-3,6-9
©
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God goes up with
shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.
All peoples, clap
your hands,
cry to
God with shouts of joy!
For the Lord, the
Most High, we must fear,
great
king over all the earth.
God goes up with shouts
of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.
God goes up with
shouts of joy;
the Lord
goes up with trumpet blast.
Sing praise for God,
sing praise,
sing
praise to our king, sing praise.
God goes up with
shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.
God is king of all
the earth,
sing
praise with all your skill.
God is king over the
nations;
God
reigns on his holy throne.
God goes up with
shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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2Co5:19
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Alleluia, alleluia!
God in Christ was
reconciling the world to himself,
and he has entrusted
to us the news that they are reconciled.
Alleluia!
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Or
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cf.Ac16:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O
Lord,
to accept the words
of your Son.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 3:20-21 ©
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Jesus went home, and
once more such a crowd collected that they could not even have a meal. When his
relatives heard of this, they set out to take charge of him, convinced he was
out of his mind.
DISCOURAGEMENT
FROM OUR LOVED ONES IN THE MINISTRY
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: HEB 9:2 -14; MK 3:20 – 21
Today’s
gospel is one of the shortest gospel texts for the Mass. The Church
deliberately selected this short text to bring across the centrality of the
cross in the proclamation of the Good News. Over the last few days,
we have heard of the healing miracles of Jesus and His power over the devil.
Lest we glorify in a triumphant Lord working on earth, the Church wants us to
bear in mind that the successes of Jesus’ ministry is always to be seen in the
shadow of the cross. So right at the very beginning of His ministry, we
must bear in mind that the proclamation of the gospel entails rejection and
suffering.
In
previous gospel texts, we read of Jesus facing His opponents over the Sabbath
Law. Such opposition must have discouraged Jesus in His zeal for the
restoration of God’s kingdom. But the fact that opposition came not
only from without but from within, specifically His own relations and loved
ones, must have made it even more difficult to bear. Indeed, we know how
discouraging it is when even our loved ones do not support us in our vocation
and mission in life. The trials in the apostolate, and the work itself,
are already challenging enough, but when we do not have the support and
understanding of our loved ones, or worse still, when we face discouragement
from our most important source of comfort and consolation, it is very difficult
to find the motivation and courage to carry on.
This
was certainly the case with Jesus in the gospel. We read that the
relatives “set out to take charge of him, convinced he was out of his mind.”
In simple terms, they thought that Jesus must have gone crazy. Of course,
the intentions of the relatives were good, even though they might have been
embarrassed by His actions. Which one of us would not feel that way too
if our loved ones, our parents or siblings, behave in a manner that is
considered pathological and unconventional? Unlike the
religious authorities, they wanted to put Jesus in the mainstream so that He
could be more acceptable to everyone. Perhaps they also thought that He
was overworked and had lost His focus. Surely they must have heard how
Jesus left His mother to become an itinerant preacher and healer, moving
without a proper place to stay, and no financial security to boot.
Furthermore, He was challenging the religious and cultural traditions of the
day, especially in the observance of the Sabbath Law, forgiving sins in the
place of God, eating and drinking with sinners, which bordered on heresy.
He even touched the lepers, something so disgusting, risky and imprudent to do
in His time.
But isn’t this the way
we feel too, when we seriously try to live out the gospel values and are
ostracized? We
know of many people who have given up their lucrative careers or businesses to
devote themselves entirely to the service of the poor, the marginalized, or
join the priesthood or religious life. Such actions would have been
considered unwise and stupid even, not to say irresponsible, by the world. The
world does not know Jesus and have never experienced the joy of loving Him and His
people, and so will never be able to understand the actions and life options of
these people.
When we face such
criticisms and ridicule, let us not react negatively. The world is ignorant of what
true happiness and joy are. People in love always appear to be mad to the
world. So too, someone who has fallen in love with Christ will appear as
utterly mad to the world. St Paul in his letters mentioned many times
that our faith in the crucified Christ is madness to the Jews and folly to the
Gentiles. If the gospel were to be judged by worldly standards, then
indeed the values espoused by Christ are madness. However, for those of
us who know Christ and the truth about love and life, then the gospel brings us
fullness of life. In living the kingdom life of love, forgiveness, compassion,
service and charity, we find life even more liberating and healing.
So what do we do when
even our loved ones misunderstand us, especially when we are involved in the service of the Church or
voluntary organization, working so hard, without pay, and often having to face
persecution from within and without? For many of us, the temptation is
often to give up, since such involvements are voluntary. After all,
how stupid can we be, to work free for those who do not appreciate our love and
service? How often have we thought of abandoning ship and going where we
can be appreciated, or at least be paid for what we do!
But for us who know how
Jesus our Master and Lord Himself was so misunderstood, ridiculed and
persecuted, we can see why we need not surrender our convictions, our values
and our hopes for humanity and ourselves. Yes, drawing strength from
our master, we will doggedly push on, knowing that the crown is at the end of
the cross; the resurrection is at the end of death. We live not just for
man but for God, and we want to glorify Him in all that we do so that we can
share in His glory.
Instead of reacting with
anger and vindictiveness, we must win them over, slowly but surely, by our patience,
tolerance, forgiveness, prayers and most of all, by the witness of joy and
peace in our lives. That was what Jesus did. This sacrificial and humble
love of Jesus for us and His relatives is seen by His restraint in criticizing
them for the lack of understanding of His mission and identity. He won them
over eventually by His death on the cross and His resurrection. His
fidelity to His mission eventually was vindicated by His life, and most of all,
by His Father who raised Him from the dead.
This explains why Jesus is
considered in the first reading as both the priest and the victim.
Jesus, we read, offers the perfect sacrifice because He offered Himself.
The animal sacrifices in the Old Covenant did not effect the changes in the
hearts of people because it was external and only a symbol and the priests
could not offer themselves as sacrifice to God since they were sinners
themselves. The unblemished animal offered to God had to take their place as a
substitute. But this did not change the hearts of those whose blood the
sacrificial animal was shed for. We are not moved by the external
sacrifice of an animal because it is merely an animal, even if it costs some
money.
Jesus’ sacrifice is
different. “He
has entered the sanctuary once and for all, taking with him not the blood of
goats and bull calves, but his own blood, having won an eternal redemption for
us.” That being the case, the author concluded, “how much more
effectively the blood of Christ, who offered himself as the perfect sacrifice
to God through the eternal Spirit, can purify our inner self from dead actions
so that we do our service to the living God.” Yes, through Jesus’
sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection, our hearts are transformed from
fear of God to love for Him; from sin to grace; from despair to hope, from
hatred to forgiveness, from death to life. It is this faith and hope in
Jesus that will see us through this journey of life and our service to God,
regardless of the vocation that we have. So long as what we do is in
accordance to God’s will and to the values of the gospel, we will find joy and
peace, even when the world is against us, especially our loved ones.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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