A LIFE OR ALIVE

20150809 A LIFE OR ALIVE

Readings at Mass

First reading

1 Kings 19:4-8 ©

Elijah went into the wilderness, a day’s journey, and sitting under a furze bush wished he were dead. ‘O Lord,’ he said ‘I have had enough. Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down and went to sleep. But an angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat.’ He looked round, and there at his head was a scone baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. But the angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat, or the journey will be too long for you.’ So he got up and ate and drank, and strengthened by that food he walked for forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.

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.

Second reading

Ephesians 4:30-5:2 ©

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God who has marked you with his seal for you to be set free when the day comes. Never have grudges against others, or lose your temper, or raise your voice to anybody, or call each other names, or allow any sort of spitefulness. Be friends with one another, and kind, forgiving each other as readily as God forgave you in Christ.

  Try, then, to imitate God as children of his that he loves and follow Christ loving as he loved you, giving himself up in our place as a fragrant offering and a sacrifice to God.

Gospel Acclamation

Jn14:23

Alleluia, alleluia!

If anyone loves me he will keep my word,

and my Father will love him,

and we shall come to him.

Alleluia!

Or

Jn6:51

Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the living bread which has come down from heaven,

says the Lord.

Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 6:41-51 ©

The Jews were complaining to each other about Jesus, because he had said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ ‘Surely this is Jesus son of Joseph’ they said. ‘We know his father and mother. How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’ Jesus said in reply, ‘Stop complaining to each other.

‘No one can come to me

unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me,

and I will raise him up at the last day.

It is written in the prophets:

They will all be taught by God,

and to hear the teaching of the Father,

and learn from it,

is to come to me.

Not that anybody has seen the Father,

except the one who comes from God:

he has seen the Father.

I tell you most solemnly,

everybody who believes has eternal life.

‘I am the bread of life.

Your fathers ate the manna in the desert

and they are dead;

but this is the bread that comes down from heaven,

so that a man may eat it and not die.

I am the living bread which has come down from heaven.

Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever;

and the bread that I shall give is my flesh,

for the life of the world.’

A LIFE OR ALIVE

SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1 Kings 19:4-8; Ps 33:2-9; Ephesians 4:30 – 5:2; John 6:41-51

Are you happy in life?  Are you living a full life?  Or do you find your life empty, meaningless and unfulfilled?  If you are just drifting through life, you do not have a life; just a body.   Neither are you alive.

Why is it that you feel aimless and frustrated in life?  The answer is simple because you are not living but merely existing on the animal level.  A human person has a mind and a heart.  He needs to feed his intellect and his heart.  Just living on sensual pleasure alone cannot change him adequately.  After some pleasures, he gets satiated and everything turns flat.  There is a limit to what we can eat and drink.  There is a limit to the pleasures of this earthly life.  There is a limit even to enjoying sex.

So those who live on the level of physical, material and sensual needs will find life boring and aimless.  This explains why such people go from one high to another high, hoping to stay high but always falling flat. They become nervous and anxious, always seeking for new things to play with, new gadgets, new toys, and new sexual partners.  The moment they are satiated, they look for something else.  This was what Jesus told the Jews, “Your fathers ate the manna in the desert and they are dead.”  It did not bring them life.

So what is needed?  The truth is that we need attention from people.  That is why we are egoistic.  We want to be loved, to be known, to be famous and popular.  And so, some people seek attention through ambition, success and work.  They need to feel needed.  They work hard to be successful.  They think that having an ambition will sustain them.  Yet, this is another form of slavery.  Unlike those who are enslaved by their sensual passions, such people are enslaved by their pride and ego.  They need to prove themselves.

This was the case of Elijah in the first reading.  He was fed up with God because He did not destroy Jezebel who sought to have him killed after he slayed the false prophets after a dramatic performance at Mount Carmel.  Now they were after his life, and he was fleeing from his persecutors.  He was now on the run.  He was angry because he did the right thing and for the good of his people, but instead of being grateful, they sought to have him killed in spite of the fact that he demonstrated to them beyond doubt that Yahweh is the only Lord and God of Israel.  Tired and disillusioned, angry and disappointed because of the anti-climax to his victory at Mount Carmel, he wished he were dead!

Indeed, this is the same disillusionment we all feel even when we work for the Church or help the poor.  After giving of ourselves, our resources and time, all we receive is ingratitude and, sometimes, false accusations, destructive criticisms and slander.  When we feel our ego is wounded, we become reactive and retaliate.  We bear grudges, harbor anger and resentment in our hearts.  Whether we serve the Church for free or work at our ambition, we face the same struggles.  We make enemies in the process, especially when we want to get things done.  Some people will not like us and will not be happy with us.  Some feel we are a threat to their status quo and comfort.  As a consequence, there is division, quarrels, jealousy, backbiting and politicking.  How can we be happy when we have so many enemies in our lives, whether we do good or evil?  How can we be at peace?  So, like Elijah, we want to throw in the towel!  What is the use of doing good, we ask.  As a result, we withdraw into our shell, but withdrawing only makes us fall into further depression.

St Paul makes it clear that when such things happen, we make the Holy Spirit sad. “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God who has marked you with his seal for you to be set free when the day comes. Never have grudges against others, or lose your temper, or raise your voice to anybody, or call each other names, or allow any sort of spitefulness.” A person with so much anger and hatred cannot be happy no matter where he is.  His life is always full of bitterness, suspicion and fears.  The past events continue to haunt him because he could not let go and forgive.  This is why St Paul urges us, “Be friends with one another, and kind, forgiving each other as readily as God forgave you in Christ.”

How, then, can we live a happy, fulfilling life even in the face of rejection, hostility and the lack of appreciation?  We need to purify our motives.  We must stop living for ourselves, our ambition, our material needs, or for the pleasures of this world and, least of all, for our ego and pride.  St Paul wrote, “Try, then, to imitate God, as children of his that he loves, and follow Christ by loving as he loved you, giving himself up in our place as a fragrant offering and a sacrifice to God.”  We need to live for God and for our fellowmen, not for ourselves.  We are called to follow Christ to make ourselves as a living sacrifice to others.  This means giving up ourselves, our vested interests and security for others.

In other words, we are called to be the bread of life for others, just as Jesus is for us.  He declares, “I am the bread of life.    I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.”  Indeed, Jesus has come to give us the fullness of life by offering Himself, and His life for our salvation.  He has come to show us the way to the fullness of life which is to lay down our lives for the service of God and humanity.  In life, it is immaterial what we do but what matters is whether what we are doing is truly for the service of God and humanity and not for ourselves.   UT Vivant!  “I come that they may have life and life abundantly.” (Jn 10:10)   Like the grain of wheat, we too must die so that others can live.

Everyone, regardless of his or her vocation, must exist to serve God and humanity.  Our task is to make this world a better place to live in, to foster harmony and mutual love; and most of all, to live a virtuous life according to the values of the gospel.  In this way, humanity will become one brotherhood in love and one big family of God with Him as our Father, Jesus, our brother, and all sharing in the one common Spirit.

But we cannot serve Him and our fellowmen selflessly unless we come to Him to draw nourishment for our body and soul, mind and heart.  Hence, Jesus today is urging us to come to Him as He is the bread of life.  As the manna from heaven, He knows the mind of the Father, and through the Word of God especially in the celebration of the Eucharist, He comes to enlighten our intellect, grant us the wisdom to see the deeper joys of life; and the understanding to grasp the truths of God and life that human reason cannot penetrate.  When our minds are enlightened in the truth, we find true liberation of self and fear from the changing realities of life because we know that our lives will end in God who is eternal truth.

We are to come to Jesus who not only nourishes our minds but also our hearts.  He comes to us in the flesh, first as a human being but now personally in the Eucharist. He said, “Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.”   When we receive Him in Holy Communion, we experience His presence in a most tangible way because of His true presence in the bread and wine.  By receiving Him sacramentally, our hearts feel His presence and love.

In the Eucharist, we taste and see the Lord.  This is what the responsorial psalm says to us. Only when we have tasted and seen the Lord ourselves, can we give ourselves completely like Jesus to others.  His Spirit must live in us just as the Father’s Spirit lives in Jesus and empowered Him in His ministry and, most of all, at His death on the cross when He surrendered His Spirit to the Lord.  This is what the Lord instructed Elijah as well.  He sent the angel to tell him, “’Get up and eat.’ He looked round, and there at his head was a scone baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. But the angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat, or the journey will be too long for you.’”

Our journey too is long.  Working and serving the Lord and His people is always challenging and often involved much pains and heartbreaking disappointments.  But if we come to the Lord often, feeding from His table, the Word of God and the Eucharist, He will enlighten us, encourage us, strengthen and empower us by His wisdom and love.  And indeed, we read, “So he got up and ate and drank, and strengthened by that food he walked for forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.” With Jesus in our hearts, as we go about serving Him and our fellowmen, regardless of whether we are successful or otherwise, we will always be fill with joy, purpose and meaning because we know that it is the Lord we serve ultimately, not man.   And when our hearts and minds are joined to the Lord, we find fulfillment, joy and freedom.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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