Sunday, 7 June 2015

HAPPINESS COMES FROM SUFFERING FOR THE SAKE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD

20150608 HAPPINESS COMES FROM SUFFERING FOR THE SAKE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Readings at Mass

First reading
2 Corinthians 1:1-7 ©
From Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from Timothy, one of the brothers, to the church of God at Corinth and to all the saints in the whole of Achaia. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, a gentle Father and the God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our sorrows, so that we can offer others, in their sorrows, the consolation that we have received from God ourselves. Indeed, as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so, through Christ, does our consolation overflow. When we are made to suffer, it is for your consolation and salvation. When, instead, we are comforted, this should be a consolation to you, supporting you in patiently bearing the same sufferings as we bear. And our hope for you is confident, since we know that, sharing our sufferings, you will also share our consolations.

Psalm
Psalm 33:2-9 ©
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
I will bless the Lord at all times,
  his praise always on my lips;
in the Lord my soul shall make its boast.
  The humble shall hear and be glad.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Glorify the Lord with me.
  Together let us praise his name.
I sought the Lord and he answered me;
  from all my terrors he set me free.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Look towards him and be radiant;
  let your faces not be abashed.
This poor man called, the Lord heard him
  and rescued him from all his distress.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
The angel of the Lord is encamped
  around those who revere him, to rescue them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
  He is happy who seeks refuge in him.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Gospel Acclamation
cf.2Th2:14
Alleluia, alleluia!
Through the Good News God called us
to share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Alleluia!
Or
Mt5:12a
Alleluia, alleluia!
Rejoice and be glad:
your reward will be great in heaven.
Alleluia!

Gospel
Matthew 5:1-12 ©
Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them:
‘How happy are the poor in spirit;
  theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Happy the gentle:
  they shall have the earth for their heritage.
Happy those who mourn:
  they shall be comforted.
Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right:
  they shall be satisfied.
Happy the merciful:
  they shall have mercy shown them.
Happy the pure in heart:
  they shall see God.
Happy the peacemakers:
  they shall be called sons of God.
Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right:
  theirs is the kingdom of heaven.


HAPPINESS COMES FROM SUFFERING FOR THE SAKE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD

SCRIPTURE READINGS: 2 Corinthians 1:1-7; Matthew 5:1-12
We are all seeking happiness in life.  Indeed, St Thomas Aquinas tells us that no one can live without joy.  Today, Jesus gives us the beatitudes as the blueprint to happiness.  But the happiness that is offered by Jesus is different from the happiness that is sought by the world.
We must not confuse worldly happiness with true blessedness.  For the world and the Jews, happiness is identical with the blessings of success, wealth, power and freedom from suffering.  But if we study the beatitudes carefully, Jesus never promised us a blessed life without pain or suffering.   For Jesus, a blessed life is a life lived for God and for His people.  To be blessed is to be identified with His people, since the heart of God is always for His people.  Hence, a blessed life is to feel for and with others, and putting others before self.
For this, we need to acquire the spirit and mind of Jesus as summarized in the beatitudes. Within this context we can better appreciate why the beatitudes speak of our thirst for justice and mercy; and why we are called to gentleness and mourning.  Indeed, only those who have purity of heart can see God.  Peacemakers are called sons of God.    Above all, the key to identify ourselves with God and with others is the spirit of poverty.  For only when we are available and docile, can we be one with God and with the sufferings of our fellowmen.  Thus, all spiritual writers speak of the first beatitude as the key to all the beatitudes.  Thus seeking these attitudes is to seek the heart of God.
But quite often, we forget the objective of the beatitudes is for the sake of the proclamation of the gospel and the extension of the Kingdom of God.  Significantly, the beatitudes at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount serve as the blueprint to the realization of the Kingdom.  The beatitudes must be seen from the perspective of witnessing for Christ, the proclamation of the Kingdom and our identification with the poor or those outside the Kingdom life. Twice, Jesus mentioned the beatitudes in the context of the Kingdom of heaven.  He said, “Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  Then again, He said, “Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven; this is how they persecuted the prophets before you.”
This perspective of seeing the beatitudes is important, lest we take the beatitudes out of context and reduce them to mere guidelines for personal sanctity and fail to see the evangelical dimension of the beatitudes. We must view the beatitudes in the larger context of the establishment of the Kingdom of God, and the formation of a community of love.  So the primary intention of these beatitudes is not simply guidelines for personal holiness and sainthood, but a necessary disposition for the proclamation of the Kingdom, especially in the face of opposition.
Consequently Christian happiness will always entail suffering until the Kingdom of God is established.  It is helpful to call to mind that within this context; even the saints, including Mary and Christ, still suffer for us since they thirst for the happiness; that is the salvation of everyone.  But this suffering is within the context of love.  Such suffering will not lead us to self-pity or depression because we suffer not for ourselves but for love of others.  True love always entails suffering.  It is true – what God desires is mercy, not sacrifices.  But when we practice mercy, it always entails sacrifices on the part of those who give mercy.  It means the willingness to forgive, to let go and be compassionate.  Indeed, if we do not suffer, it is difficult to believe that we ever loved.  If we are afraid of suffering, then we are afraid to love.  If there is no suffering in our lives, then we are loving ourselves more than others.
Thus, we can identify with the suffering of St Paul on account of his apostolate.  He considered his sufferings as a consolation because he knew he was suffering for Christ, with Christ, and for the good of the people.  Indeed, only when we view our suffering in the light of the Kingdom, can we find joy in suffering. He said, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, a gentle Father and the God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our sorrows, so that we can offer others, in their sorrows, the consolation that we have received from God ourselves.”
What is this consolation he himself has received?  It is the contemplation on the suffering of Christ.  Hence, he said, “Indeed, as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so, through Christ, does our consolation overflow?  When we are made to suffer, it is for your consolation and salvation.  When, instead, we are comforted, this should be a consolation to you, supporting you in patiently bearing the same sufferings as we bear.  And our hope for you is confident, since we know that, sharing our sufferings, you will also share our consolations.”  Truly, St Paul understood that it was for the sake of Christ that he bore his sufferings, and he invited the Corinthians who suffered for their faith to do the same.
When we suffer for the Kingdom, we can find joy and strength because we suffer with the saints for the good of humanity and in turn be an inspiration to others. We take inspiration and encouragement from St Paul in his sufferings for the apostolic mission.  Surely, none of us have suffered as much as St Paul in his missionary endeavours.  He had been rejected, persecuted, humiliated and hurt more than anyone of us.  So let us take St Paul as our model in giving ourselves completely to whatever has been entrusted to us.  In this way, the conclusion to the beatitudes is appropriate and in fact the climax of the beatitudes when Jesus said, “Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven; this is how they persecuted the prophets before you.”


Written by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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