20150620 SERVING GOD AND MAMMON
Readings at Mass
First reading
|
2 Corinthians
12:1-10 ©
|
Must I go on
boasting, though there is nothing to be gained by it? But I will move on to the
visions and revelations I have had from the Lord. I know a man in Christ who,
fourteen years ago, was caught up – whether still in the body or out of
the body, I do not know; God knows – right into the third heaven. I do
know, however, that this same person – whether in the body or out of the
body, I do not know; God knows – was caught up into paradise and heard
things which must not and cannot be put into human language. I will boast about
a man like that, but not about anything of my own except my weaknesses. If I
should decide to boast, I should not be made to look foolish, because I should
only be speaking the truth; but I am not going to, in case anyone should begin
to think I am better than he can actually see and hear me to be.
In view
of the extraordinary nature of these revelations, to stop me from getting too
proud I was given a thorn in the flesh, an angel of Satan to beat me and stop
me from getting too proud! About this thing, I have pleaded with the Lord three
times for it to leave me, but he has said, ‘My grace is enough for you: my
power is at its best in weakness.’ So I shall be very happy to make my
weaknesses my special boast so that the power of Christ may stay over me, and
that is why I am quite content with my weaknesses, and with insults, hardships,
persecutions, and the agonies I go through for Christ’s sake. For it is when I
am weak that I am strong.
Psalm
|
Psalm 33:8-13 ©
|
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.
Revere the Lord, you
his saints.
They lack
nothing, those who revere him.
Strong lions suffer
want and go hungry
but those
who seek the Lord lack no blessing.
Taste and see that
the Lord is good.
Come, children, and
hear me
that I
may teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is he who longs
for life
and many
days, to enjoy his prosperity?
Taste and see that
the Lord is good.
Gospel
Acclamation
|
Mt4:4
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Man does not live on
bread alone,
but on every word
that comes from the mouth of God.
Alleluia!
Or
|
2Co8:9
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus Christ was
rich,
but he became poor
for your sake,
to make you rich out
of his poverty.
Alleluia!
Gospel
|
Matthew 6:24-34 ©
|
Jesus said to his
disciples: ‘No one can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the
first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with
scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.
‘That
is why I am telling you not to worry about your life and what you are to eat,
nor about your body and how you are to clothe it. Surely life means more than
food, and the body more than clothing! Look at the birds in the sky. They do
not sow or reap or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are
you not worth much more than they are? Can any of you, for all his worrying,
add one single cubit to his span of life? And why worry about clothing? Think
of the flowers growing in the fields; they never have to work or spin; yet I
assure you that not even Solomon in all his regalia was robed like one of
these. Now if that is how God clothes the grass in the field which is there
today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after
you, you men of little faith? So do not worry; do not say, “What are we to eat?
What are we to drink? How are we to be clothed?” It is the pagans who set their
hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. Set
your hearts on his kingdom first, and on his righteousness, and all these other
things will be given you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will
take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.’
SERVING
GOD AND MAMMON
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: 2 Cor 12:1-10;
Ps 33:8-13; Mt 6:24-34
What is
motivating you in your life? Which master do you serve? The truth
is simple. Jesus said, “No one can be the slave to two masters: he will
either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and
the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and
money.” Indeed, we cannot serve two masters in this life.
This was the same challenge that Elijah told the Israelites, “How long will you
go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if
Ba′al, then follow him.” (1 Kg 18:21) We have to make a clear
choice in life if we were to live a life of integrity.
If we
want to choose mammon, that is, money and pleasure, glory and power in life,
then we might never be able to find life. As Jesus remarked in
today’s gospel, “Surely life means more than food, and the body more than
clothing! Look at the birds in the sky.” What makes us happy is not
simply having good food and even nice houses to live in. It has to do
with one’s freedom like the birds in the sky. Nice clothing and
food alone cannot satisfy an empty heart. This is the folly of man.
Many deceive themselves into thinking that once they have money, wealth and
power, they will be happy. Life means friendship, love and meaning.
The body can easily be satisfied but not the spirit. The more
aesthetic things of life are equally important if not more important.
This explains why those who are not well to do can be happier than those who
have plenty. Often it is in the simple things of life that we find our
happiness.
However,
many of us are afraid to let go of our pursuits of the world. We are
people who live in anxiety. We worry almost all the time. Jesus
said, “That is why I am telling you not to worry about your life and what you
are to eat, nor about your body and how you are to clothe it. So do not worry
about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough
trouble of its own.” How can we live our lives in security when life is
so insecure? Nothing is predictable. Hence, it is only natural that
man who is fearful of suffering, pain and death would do everything to provide
for his needs and security. As a consequence, we end up serving mammon as
well. Indeed, we lack faith and confidence in God that He will look after us.
So
whilst the choice is clear that we can either serve God or mammon, we seek to
serve both. Deep in our hearts we love God but at the same time, we
do not have the confidence to surrender our lives to Him. We want to love
God but we love ourselves first. We want to trust Him but deep in our
hearts we don’t. God, for us, is not our security in whom we can place
our total trust. The “Amen” we say is not a true “amen”, that is, “I
believe and I surrender.”
What is
the reason for the lack of trust in God? We do not experience Him as our
Heavenly Father. Jesus said, “So do not worry, do not say, ‘What are we
to eat? What are we to drink? How are we to be clothed? It is
the pagans who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father
knows you need them all.” The truth is that if God is our Father, then we
can expect Him to look and care for us much more than He provided for the birds
in the sky, or the flowers in the fields. Jesus asked, “Now if that is
how God clothes the grass in the field which is there today and thrown into the
furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after you, you men of little
faith? So do not worry, do not say, ‘What are we to eat? What are
we to drink? How are we to be clothed?’” How true our hearts
are pagan in trust even though we are baptized. Our attitudes are no
better than the non-believers because our hearts are on worldly and earthly
things. We are still very much enslaved to the world, seeking after the
pleasures of this life instead of the things of heaven, that is, the greater
and finer things that have to do with the spirit and with love.
Yet the
truth is that if we set our hearts on God, the other things will take care of
themselves, as Jesus said, “Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on his
righteousness, and all these other things will be given you as well.” If we
live a righteous life and a life of integrity according to the Spirit, we will
be happy in life. We might not be rich materially but we will be happy
and live a life of peace and joy. Those of us who live responsible lives
and are dedicated in what we do, are normally successful and achieve much for
Christ. His Holy Spirit will lead us to do greater things and He will
give us the grace to do much more than we can imagine. Our family will be
at peace. Our relationship with our spouse will be loving. We will
have good, caring and supportive friends. The psalmist says, “Revere the
Lord, you his saints. They lack nothing, those who revere him.
Strong lions suffer want and go hungry but those who seek the Lord lack no
blessing.”
Even if
we suffer, we see them positively as means by which we are purified in faith
and love. This was the way St Paul viewed his struggles and sufferings in
life. He said, “In view of the extraordinary nature of these revelations,
to stop me from getting too proud I was given a thorn in the flesh, an angel of
Satan to beat me and stop me from getting too proud! About this thing, I
have pleaded with the Lord three times for it to leave me, but he has said, ‘My
grace is enough for you: my power is at its best in weakness.’”
Truly, a man of faith has nothing to fear. After all, as the psalmist
says, “The angel of the Lord is encamped around those who revere him, to rescue
them.” Such is the person who seeks first the reign of God in his heart.
So, how
then can we place our trust in Him? The psalmist invites us, “Come,
children, and hear me that I may teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is he who
longs for life and many days, to enjoy his prosperity?” To give ourselves
entirely to God and surrender our lives to Him, we need to encounter His love
as St Paul did. He himself has encountered the Lord many times in his
life when the Lord delivered him from death. He also spoke of his
mystical encounter with Him. “I know a man in Christ who, fourteen years
ago, was caught up – whether still in the body or out of the body, I do not
know; God knows – right into the third heaven. I do know, however, that
this same person – whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know; God
knows was caught up into paradise and heard things which must not and cannot be
put into human language.” But we need not only encounter God in a vision, we
encounter Him best in our moments of weakness as St Paul did. “So I shall
be very happy to make my weakness my special boast so that the power of Christ
may stay over me, and that is why I am quite content with my weaknesses, and
with insults, hardships, persecutions, and the agonies I go through for
Christ’s sake. For it is when I am weak that I am strong.” Truly,
in our moments of total helplessness, when we can no longer depend on
ourselves, it is in such moments that we encounter the power of God’s grace
most mightily. From that moment, we know that we operate by God’s
strength and not ours. Then we know that our Lord is God.
Today,
we are invited to open our hearts and minds to “taste and see the Lord.”
When we taste Him and see Him with our eyes of faith and the love in our
hearts, then we can surrender everything to Him as St Augustine did when he
wrote, “Late have I loved you, Beauty so ancient and so new, late have I loved
you! Lo, you were within, but I outside, seeking there for you, and upon the
shapely things you have made. I rushed headlong – I, misshapen. You
were with me, but I was not with you. They held me back far from you, those
things which would have no being, were they not in you. You called, shouted,
broke through my deafness; you flared, blazed, banished my blindness; you
lavished your fragrance, I gasped; and now I pant for you; I tasted you, and
now I hunger and thirst; you touched me, and I burned for your peace.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
©
All Rights Reserved
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