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
© All Rights Reserved
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