20151123 GIVING WITHOUT RESERVE TO THE REIGN OF GOD
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Daniel
1:1-6,8-20 ©
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In the third year of
the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched on
Jerusalem and besieged it. The Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his
hands, with some of the furnishings of the Temple of God. He took them away to
the land of Shinar, and stored the sacred vessels in the treasury of his own
gods.
The king
ordered Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to select from the Israelites a certain
number of boys of either royal or noble descent; they had to be without any
physical defect, of good appearance, trained in every kind of wisdom,
well-informed, quick at learning, suitable for service in the palace of the
king. Ashpenaz himself was to teach them the language and literature of the
Chaldaeans. The king assigned them a daily allowance of food and wine from his
own royal table. They were to receive an education lasting for three years,
after which they were expected to be fit for the king’s society. Among them
were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, who were Judaeans. Daniel, who was
most anxious not to defile himself with the food and wine from the royal table,
begged the chief eunuch to spare him this defilement; and by the grace of God
Daniel met goodwill and sympathy on the part of the chief eunuch. But he warned
Daniel, ‘I am afraid of my lord the king: he has assigned you food and drink,
and if he sees you looking thinner in the face than the other boys of your age,
my head will be in danger with the king because of you.’ At this Daniel turned
to the guard whom the chief eunuch had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael
and Azariah. He said, ‘Please allow your servants a ten days’ trial, during
which we are given only vegetables to eat and water to drink. You can then
compare our looks with those of the boys who eat the king’s food; go by what
you see, and treat your servants accordingly.’ The man agreed to do what they
asked and put them on ten days’ trial. When the ten days were over they looked
and were in better health than any of the boys who had eaten their allowance
from the royal table; so the guard withdrew their allowance of food and the
wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. And God favoured these four
boys with knowledge and intelligence in everything connected with literature,
and in wisdom; while Daniel had the gift of interpreting every kind of vision
and dream. When the period stipulated by the king for the boys’ training was
over, the chief eunuch presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. The king conversed
with them, and among all the boys found none to equal Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael
and Azariah. So they became members of the king’s court, and on whatever point
of wisdom or information he might question them, he found them ten times better
than all the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.
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Canticle
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Daniel 3:52-56 ©
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You are blest, Lord
God of our fathers.
To you
glory and praise for evermore.
Blest your glorious
holy name.
To you
glory and praise for evermore.
You are blest in the
temple of your glory.
To you
glory and praise for evermore.
You are blest on the
throne of your kingdom.
To you
glory and praise for evermore.
You are blest who
gaze into the depths.
To you
glory and praise for evermore.
You are blest in the
firmament of heaven.
To you
glory and praise for evermore.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Rv2:10
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Even if you have to
die, says the Lord,
keep faithful, and I
will give you
the crown of life.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Mt24:42,44
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake and stand
ready,
because you do not
know the hour
when the Son of Man
is coming.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 21:1-4 ©
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As Jesus looked up,
he saw rich people putting their offerings into the treasury; then he happened
to notice a poverty-stricken widow putting in two small coins, and he said, ‘I
tell you truly, this poor widow has put in more than any of them; for these
have all contributed money they had over, but she from the little she had has
put in all she had to live on.’
GIVING
WITHOUT RESERVE TO THE REIGN OF GOD
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The
story of the widow’s mite in today’s gospel has often been narrowly interpreted
as Jesus’ exhortation to be generous, especially with God, down to the last
mite we have. However if we were to read the story in Luke’s gospel
within context, we will find that this is not the main message of Luke.
Rather, in placing today’s gospel within the context of the resurrection
dispute and the signs of the coming of the Kingdom, he wants us to see the
widow’s mite as an exhortation to give of ourselves without reserve to the
extension of the Kingdom of God. This is even more so for the widow was
giving her last mite to the Temple, which is the symbol of God’s presence, the
heavenly Jerusalem and the heavenly Kingdom.
Without
a doubt, such an interpretation would be in line with the evangelist’s
favourite theme of poverty which once again is to be seen in the light of the
Kingdom. For Luke, poverty is not simply material poverty but the poverty
of spirit, that is, total dependence and reliance on the power of God.
This he illustrates through the example of Mary particularly. But
in various ways, especially in the calling of the disciples, Luke would
underscore that they would leave everything immediately, even their parents and
relatives, to follow Jesus.
Consequently,
discipleship and ministry require that we are ready to leave our nets behind
and follow Jesus. To leave our nets behind means more than simply leaving
our wealth or loved ones behind because the fact is that as we go along, we
will begin to collect new wealth and new loved ones. Abandoning our nets
is to be totally detached and to rely only on the power and love of the Lord
Jesus and no one else and nothing else, especially not on oneself and one’s
ingenuity.
There
is a story of a young man who decided to renounce the world and become a monk.
It was great news for the village, and every one turned out to bid him
farewell. Some had tears in their eyes because he was much loved for his
cheerfulness and service. He was going to be sorely missed, and in all
probability he would never return home.
The
village band was in full swing, and they played gaily as they accompanied the
lad, with the young and the old, slowly making their way to the river that
served as the boundary of the village. On the banks of the river, there
were more floral tributes and a string of speeches by the elders and the prominent
people of the village. Finally, the youth got into the boat, and rowed
away as the band continued to play and the people shouted with joy. When he
reached the other shore, he got off the boat, waved once more to the villagers
and then began his long trek across the fields and up the mountain.
He was
made to wait at the gates of the monastery till the Master, who was informed of
his arrival came personally to welcome him. “I’m glad you are here,” said
the Master. “However, in this monastery, you can only come in alone.”
The young man looked around him in astonishment. “But I am alone,”
he said, confused.
The
Master looked kindly at him and said softly, “I didn’t look around you. I
looked inside you. I see a crowd there – your family, friends, relatives, and
the people of the village; I hear the village band, the showers of adulation,
and shouts of revelry. Only when you leave them, leave everything,
outside, can you enter. I do not deal with crowds or noise; I deal with
individuals in the silence of their hearts.”
The
young man closed his eyes in reverence, and let the words of the Master sink
in. But he found his mind clouded with the faces and voices … and he
understood. He bowed deeply, and walked slowly to where the pilgrims left
their footwear. He squatted in a corner with his head bent down.
That’s where the Master left him. The aspirant spent most of the
day dusting the shoes and sandals left there by pilgrims who visited the
monastery. He spent the rest of the time by himself in meditation.
He eventually forgot his village, his family, his farewell.
One
day, the Master came by and finding him alone, offered him a hand and took him
into the inner chambers of the monastery, to a new family, and with the freedom
to commune with the Other (from “Persons Are Gifts”, by Hedwig Lewis, SJ).
Indeed,
this is also the problem and a real challenge for each one of us. Even in
ministry, we do not trust in God or in His divine providence. The root of
the problem is that we lack faith in God. In other words, we do not
believe that the Lord will look after us and protect us. Material things
and our temporal needs are not our concerns, but His. We only need to
give ourselves completely to Him and He will look after us, and provide us with
much more than we need or can imagine.
Yes,
today’s scripture readings want us to realize that the work of the Kingdom is
not achieved through human means and reckoning, but by the power of God.
Unless we surrender ourselves to him, He cannot use us mightily and manifest
His Lordship. This is because the power of the ministry cannot come from
the power of man but the power of God. Our role is to cooperate with His
grace. To the extent we are available to the Lord through faith in His
Lordship, to that extent His power, grace and divine providence will enable us
to be effective in our ministry. However, when we decide to find success
in our ministry through human effort and hard work alone, we are doomed to fail
because even if we are successful, we will become proud of ourselves. If
that is the case, people will not find faith to surrender themselves to the
Lord but will rely only on their efforts.
Thus,
we cannot underscore once again the importance of living the spirit of poverty,
that is, to be living from the hands of God. We should not be too
calculative especially with respect to our material needs and personal
success. To have a spirit of poverty is to live our lives and especially
our ministry in such a way that everything is dependent on the Lord. On
our part, we simply do our best and respond to the situations as well as
could. Once having done our best, we must leave the results to the Lord
and not manipulate the results in our favour. If the Lord wills us to be
successful, praise the Lord for this. If He wills us to fail, we too must
praise the Lord for He has a reason for everything. What is important is
that we remain faithful to His holy will and are doing what He wants us to do.
Indeed,
this is also what I experience in my ministry. Often, I feel helpless and
inadequate but time and time again, the Lord comes to my help to get the things
done, and done well. I know in all sincerity that the work I do is not
based on my own strength for without His help, I would not have been able to do
so much. That is why my busy schedule has revealed to me the power of
God, especially when I surrender my ministry to Him and not rely on my own
strength. Yes, St Paul himself experienced this when he said that it is
only when one is weak that one is strong.
Today,
the first reading gives us the story of Daniel and his friends. He is the
exemplar of trust and confidence in the Lord. In spite of the possibility
of being put to death, yet in his sincerity in wanting to be faithful to the
Laws and by trusting in God, an understanding steward was placed in charge of
them. Furthermore, God ensured that they were growing well even though
they did not take the food and wine from the royal table.
More than that, God blessed them with talents, especially
knowledge, wisdom and divine interpretation. Truly God cannot be outdone
in generosity. If we are willing to give ourselves to the service of God
and His kingdom, He will surely look after us and empower us to do even much
more than we can imagine. Success is the Lord’s responsibility, not
ours. We only have to be faithful and trust in Him.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
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