20150304 NO SHORT CUT TO GLORY
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Jeremiah
18:18-20 ©
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‘Come on,’ they said,
‘let us concoct a plot against Jeremiah; the priest will not run short of
instruction without him, nor the sage of advice, nor the prophet of the word.
Come on, let us hit at him with his own tongue; let us listen carefully to
every word he says.’
Listen to me, O Lord,
hear what my
adversaries are saying.
Should evil be
returned for good?
For they are digging
a pit for me.
Remember how I stood
in your presence
to plead on their
behalf,
to turn your wrath
away from them.
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Psalm
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Psalm
30:5-6,14-16 ©
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Save me in your
love, O Lord.
Release me from the
snares they have hidden
for you
are my refuge, Lord.
Into your hands I
commend my spirit.
It is you
who will redeem me, Lord.
Save me in your
love, O Lord.
I have heard the
slander of the crowd,
fear is
all around me,
as they plot together
against me,
as they
plan to take my life.
Save me in your
love, O Lord.
But as for me, I
trust in you, Lord;
I say:
‘You are my God.
My life is in your
hands, deliver me
from the
hands of those who hate me.
Save me in your
love, O Lord.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Jn6:63,68
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Glory to you, O
Christ, you are the Word of God!
Your words are
spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message
of eternal life.
Glory to you, O
Christ, you are the Word of God!
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Or
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Jn8:12
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Glory to you, O
Christ, you are the Word of God!
I am the light of the
world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me
will have the light of life.
Glory to you, O
Christ, you are the Word of God!
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Gospel
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Matthew 20:17-28
©
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Jesus was going up to
Jerusalem, and on the way he took the Twelve to one side and said to them, ‘Now
we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about to be handed over to
the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him
over to the pagans to be mocked and scourged and crucified; and on the third
day he will rise again.’
Then the
mother of Zebedee’s sons came with her sons to make a request of him, and bowed
low; and he said to her, ‘What is it you want?’ She said to him, ‘Promise that
these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and the other at your left
in your kingdom.’ ‘You do not know what you are asking’ Jesus answered. ‘Can
you drink the cup that I am going to drink?’ They replied, ‘We can.’ ‘Very
well,’ he said ‘you shall drink my cup, but as for seats at my right hand and
my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have
been allotted by my Father.’
When
the other ten heard this they were indignant with the two brothers. But Jesus
called them to him and said, ‘You know that among the pagans the rulers lord it
over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen
among you. No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and
anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of
Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for
many.’
NO
SHORT CUT TO GLORY
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: JER 18:18-20; MT 20:17-28
There
was once a group of traders who decided to travel to another land for
business. They hired a guide to show them the way. One day, they
passed a temple. Then one of them said, “According to our custom, we must
make a human sacrifice to the gods to ensure a safe journey. But as
relatives, we cannot kill each other.” And so in the end, they killed the
guide and offered him as a sacrifice. Soon after, without the guide to
lead them, they lost their way in the wilderness and all of them died there.
Yes,
many of us are just like them. We want to have quick solutions to a
difficult problem. Very often, we look for short-term solutions only
to conceal a bigger crisis. But such short term solutions will cause us
even more difficulties down the road. This is true especially in the area
of our personal and spiritual growth.
In the
first reading, we see how the tender-hearted Jeremiah was a victim of a plot.
Jeremiah spoke out for the sake of his countrymen. He saw that his
country men were heading for disaster. Unfortunately, his prophetic words
were seen as threats to the well-being of the people, especially of the
leaders. Thus, they plotted to kill Jeremiah. They said, “Come on,
let us concoct a plan against Jeremiah; the priest will not run short of
instruction without him, nor the sage of advice, nor the prophet of the word.
Come on, let us hit at him with his own tongue; let us listen carefully to
every word he says.” Indeed, all of us who dare to speak the truth which is
unpleasant to the ears of the perpetuators of evil will have to face similar
persecution. But if we examine the reaction of Jeremiah’s enemies deeper,
it was very foolish of the leaders to kill Jeremiah. By killing him,
they were actually killing themselves, for without prophetic people like
Jeremiah, they would be lost and continue to indulge in a life-style that
brings about decadence for the country. Indeed, because they did not heed
the words of Jeremiah, they were eventually destroyed and sent into
exile. By listening to the false prophets who predicted blessings and
victory for the kingdom, they allowed themselves to be misled.
Now
what is said for the leaders and citizens of Judah, could very well be applied
to the disciples as well. Again, like them, they too were seeking for an
easy solution to the struggles of life. They knew their lives were
unstable and insecure. After all, they were simply a bunch of
vagrants. Furthermore, we can be certain that they were aware of the
mounting tensions against them, coming from the Jewish leaders. Against
such a backdrop, Jesus spoke about His impending death and the sufferings that
He would have to go through in order to bring about the realization of His
Father’s kingdom.
But of
course, the sentiments, fears and words of Jesus fell on deaf ears.
They were not ready to speak about such matters. They were more concerned
about their positions and status, as evidenced by the request of James and John
to be given places at the right and left of Jesus in His Kingdom. In St
Matthew’s account of this incident however, this request for power and glory
was assigned to their mothers, in deference to the apostles, who by then were
holding positions of authority in the Christian community. The truth is that
the apostles were not ready to face any sufferings, much less death. They
did not even realize what they were saying when they said they were ready to
drink the cup with Jesus, for we know how they fled when Jesus was arrested at
Gethsemane. Only Jesus had the courage to drink the cup of suffering
caused by the sins of His enemies.
The
most important lesson we can draw from today’s scripture readings is that there
is no short cut to success and glory. The way of Jesus is through the
cross. And it will be no exception for us. This we all know!
But there is something even more important than simply realizing that
the cross is the way to victory. What is it? It is this – to follow
the cross to glory is nothing else but to choose the way of self-emptying. Consequently,
Jesus’ admonition on the need to be servants of each other is a reminder that
the only glory that we can seek to bring us real liberation is to be a servant,
or better still, be a slave, as Paul would say of Jesus in his letter to the
Philippians. “anyone who wants to be great among you must be your
servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as
the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a
ransom for many.”
True
greatness lies in self-emptying. True greatness lies in one who is not
great in worldly standards. A person is truly great when he does not
seek to be great. This is the irony of life. If one has to be
great in order to feel great, it simply means that we are not so great after
all. What is said about greatness can easily be extended to the other
pursuits as well, be it glory, honour, recognition or success. Thus, the
person who has emptied himself and given his life for others actually finds
life in himself. This was the case for Jesus and it will also be true for
us. Such a road to life is surely the most difficult route to take for
many. But there is no escape from the cross for those who really want
to find life.
Hence,
the challenge is given to us. Do we prefer to take the short-cut to
life? Or do we take the difficult path of self-emptying? So long
as we prefer worldly success, worldly honour and recognition for who we are and
what we do, our happiness will be short lived. Because the moment we
become successful, we also become frightened, for we fear that either we might
not be successful the next time or that others will compete with us for the
crown. To win is surely to lose at the same time. But if we choose
the lowest, the joy to be unknown, unrecognized, unappreciated, misunderstood,
then there is nothing to fear because there is nothing one can possibly lose
when he lives on that level. Then truly, joyful and liberated is that
person.
Of
course, we cannot do it by our own strength. Even Jesus could not do it
without the help of His Father! That is why, if we want to overcome our
enemies, who could come in the form of external opposition from our opponents,
or interiorly from our sins of pride, envy, anger, lust, gluttony and greed, we
must, following Jeremiah, cry out to God for divine assistance. He
cried out to the Lord and prayed “Listen to me Lord, hear what my adversaries
are saying. Should evil be returned for good? For they are digging a pit
for me. Remember how I stood in your presence to plead on their behalf, to turn
your wrath away from them.” The testimony of the psalmist should give us
encouragement and hope when he said. “Save me, O Lord, in your kindness. You
will free me from the snare they set for me, for you are my refuge. Into your
hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, O Lord, O faithful God. My trust
is in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” In your hands is my destiny; rescue
me from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors.” When the Lord is with
us, we will overcome. Not even death could overcome life, nor hatred
overcome love. The resurrection of Jesus is the proof of God’s victory
over sin, falsehood and death.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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