20151029 WINNING THE DAILY BATTLES OF LIFE
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Romans 8:31-39 ©
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With God on our side
who can be against us? Since God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up to
benefit us all, we may be certain, after such a gift, that he will not refuse
anything he can give. Could anyone accuse those that God has chosen? When God
acquits, could anyone condemn? Could Christ Jesus? No! He not only died for
us – he rose from the dead, and there at God’s right hand he stands and
pleads for us.
Nothing
therefore can come between us and the love of Christ, even if we are troubled
or worried, or being persecuted, or lacking food or clothes, or being
threatened or even attacked. As scripture promised: For your sake we are
being massacred daily, and reckoned as sheep for the slaughter. These are
the trials through which we triumph, by the power of him who loved us.
For I am
certain of this: neither death nor life, no angel, no prince, nothing that
exists, nothing still to come, not any power, or height or depth, nor any
created thing, can ever come between us and the love of God made visible in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
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Psalm
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Psalm
108:21-22,26-27,30-31 ©
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Save me, O Lord,
because of your love.
For your name’s sake
act in my defence;
in the
goodness of your love be my rescuer.
For I am poor and
needy
and my
heart is pierced within me.
Save me, O Lord,
because of your love.
Help me, Lord my God;
save me
because of your love.
Let them know that is
your work,
That this
is your doing, O Lord.
Save me, O Lord,
because of your love.
Loud thanks to the
Lord are on my lips.
I will
praise him in the midst of the throng,
for he stands at the
poor man’s side
to save
him from those who condemn him.
Save me, O Lord,
because of your love.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Ps147:12,15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
O praise the Lord,
Jerusalem!
He sends out his word
to the earth.
Alleluia!
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Or
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cf.Lk19:38,2:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessings on the King
who comes,
in the name of the
Lord!
Peace in heaven
and glory in the
highest heavens!
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 13:31-35 ©
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Some Pharisees came
up. ‘Go away’ they said. ‘Leave this place, because Herod means to kill you.’
He replied, ‘You may go and give that fox this message: Learn that today and
tomorrow I cast out devils and on the third day attain my end. But for today
and tomorrow and the next day I must go on, since it would not be right for a
prophet to die outside Jerusalem.
‘Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How
often have I longed to gather your children, as a hen gathers her brood under
her wings, and you refused! So be it! Your house will be left to you. Yes, I
promise you, you shall not see me till the time comes when you say:
‘Blessings
on him who comes in the name of the Lord!’
WINNING
THE DAILY BATTLES OF LIFE
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SCRIPTURE
READINGS: ROM 8:31-39;
LK 13:31-35
How
should one respond to the challenges of life, be it moral, ethical or life
options? St Paul’s letter describes the uphill battles we have to fight each
day. All of us in some ways and on some days are “troubled or worried, or
being persecuted, or lacking food or clothes, or being threatened or even
attacked.” Not only is our fight just with life’s struggles, but we also have to
fight with powers beyond our control. This battle cannot be fought with human
strength. Unfortunately, many fail to realize that winning this battle
just by our own might is almost impossible. Hence, we must consider which
group of people we belong to in our fight against evil for a life of goodness
and integrity.
The
first category of Christians ironically is those who have no faith except in
themselves. They seek to do the right thing, but by their own
strength. They may or may not be sincere in wanting to observe the Laws
and Commandments perfectly. But instead of relying on God, they rely only
on themselves. As a result most of them condemn themselves because they
find that they are unable to observe all the Laws that they know should be
obeyed. Failing to observe the Laws, they feel hypocritical and unworthy
of God. They are in a dilemma. In truth, they are not hypocritical,
but because of their pride and their wrong understanding of God as an exacting
lawgiver and unforgiving judge, they live in fear of Him and cannot forgive
themselves for being so weak and sinful. Of course, some, because of
their pride, just want to put up a show for people to see how good, holy and
righteous they are. Unaware of their own sins, because pride has blinded them
into thinking that they are so perfect and great compared to others, they look
down, despise and judge others, often comparing them with themselves.
The
second group is those who have no faith in God or themselves. They are
deeply insecure people with very low self-esteem. They have no faith in
God, but neither do they believe in themselves. They are failures in life
and in faith. They feel so discouraged and disappointed with themselves,
thinking that nothing good can come from them. As a consequence, they
give up completely, believing they cannot do anything perfectly. They
give up trying, as no matter what and how they try, they are unable to overcome
their sins. Because of their incapacity to live up to their faith and the
gospel life, they keep away from the Church, stop receiving communion and going
for the sacrament of reconciliation and then withdraw from having a
relationship with Christ, giving the excuse that they are no longer worthy to
come to Church or to God. As they distance themselves from Christ, they
fall deeper into sin. Eventually, they lose faith in God and in
themselves completely.
There
is a third group of Christians who live in fear and guilt. This group
suffers most because, unlike the Pharisees, they know their sinfulness and
sincerely want to live a good life. They love Jesus but cannot overcome
evil and imperfections completely. They live in constant guilt and fear
of God’s punishment and shame in the face of themselves and their fellowmen.
They are actually good and humble Christians who truly want to live a righteous
and holy life, but are weak and unable to resist sin, especially the sins of
the flesh. They are the ones with imperfect faith. With proper
formation and understanding of the love and justice of God, they will love
themselves even more and humbly come to accept their weaknesses and failures
whilst seeking to improve themselves. But in no way are they deceiving
themselves into thinking that they are beyond correction. What they need
to remember is that neither are they beyond redemption. God surely knows
their struggles and pain. Unfortunately, such people find it difficult to
believe and accept that God is patient with them, forgiving all the time; that
God loves them even more for trying and that God does not expect them to be
perfect. He only looks at their humble efforts, sincere intentions,
goodwill and not the results.
Indeed,
today’s scripture wants to assure us that we can grow in the likeness of Christ
only through the strength that comes from Christ. We are invited by St
Paul, who had gone through this same journey with us to arrive at a conviction
of God’s love because he himself realized how impossible it is to live
according to what we believe all the time. How can we be so sure that His love
for us is irrevocable, regardless how we sin against Him?
Firstly,
we must realize that God is on our side and that He never stops loving us
regardless. “Could anyone accuse those that God has chosen? When
God acquits, could anyone condemn? With God on our side who can be
against us?” Indeed, it is not enough to be on God’s side, but we must be
conscious that He is on our side. Our struggle against sin and evil must
be done by soliciting the help of God.
Secondly,
God reserves nothing from us in His unreserved love for us. We can ask
from Him anything and be confident He will not deny us if what we ask is for
our good. How could He, St Paul quizzed? “Since God did not spare his own
Son, but gave him up to benefit us all, we may be certain, after such a gift,
that he will not refuse anything he can give.” Jesus is the visible love
and mercy of God. We see this love in the gospel graphically when
He refused to give up His mission even when His life was under threat, and when
He was made aware that even His friends would abandon Him. He never
withholds His mercy from us. Even in His deep sadness when He realized
that His life was at an end, Jesus still thought of the stubborn and
unrepentant heart of Israel when He appealed to the people, “Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How
often have I longed to gather your children, as a hen gathers her brood under
her wings, and you refused!”
Thirdly,
Christ stands and pleads for us. He is our advocate. That is what
St Paul says with regard to the judgment of God. “Could anyone accuse
those that God has chosen? When God acquits, could anyone condemn?
Could Christ Jesus? No! He not only died for us – he rose from the dead, and
there at God’s right hand he stands and pleads for us.” The psalmist
shares the same sentiments when he prayed, “I will speak my thanks earnestly to
the Lord, and in the midst of the throng I will praise him, for he stood at the
right hand of the poor man, to save him from those who would condemn his
soul.”
In the
light of God’s love in Christ, what can we conclude if not the same conviction
of St Paul when he wrote, “Nothing therefore can come between us and the love
of Christ, even if we are troubled or worried, or being persecuted, or lacking
food or clothes, or being threatened or even attacked. For I am certain of
this: neither death nor life, no angel, no prince, nothing that exists, nothing
still to come, not any power, or height or depth, nor any created thing, can ever
come between us and the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our
Lord.” When we are confident and assured of His love for us, then we
should not be too worried about our failures in Christian living so long as we
have tried our best. He will also forgive us and bring us back to
Him. If there is any separation or barrier between God and us, it is on
our side rather than His. We cannot reconcile our love of God and for sin
at the same time, since no one can be a servant of two masters.
Consequently,
if we want to overcome our pride and self-reliance which leads us to self-pity
and fear, we must turn to Jesus, contemplating on His passion and His
resurrection. Christ’s protective love and forgiveness extends to every
area of our life. And yet He does not force His love on us except to warn
us of the consequences. “So be it! Your house will be left to you.” This
too was the secret of Christ’s passion on the cross. If He found courage
to face His enemies, it was because His strength comes from His Father.
Hence, He told the Pharisees who warned Him to get away as Herod was seeking
His life, “You may go and give that fox this message: Learn that today and
tomorrow I cast out devils and on the third day attain my end. But for
today and tomorrow and the next day I must go on, since it would not be right
for a prophet to die outside Jerusalem.” We need to come to Him and be loved by
Him. Jesus said, “Yes, I promise you, you shall not see me till the time
comes when you say: Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
©
All Rights Reserved
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