20151114 THE SIN OF DESPAIR
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Wisdom
18:14-16,19:6-9 ©
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When peaceful silence
lay over all,
and night had run the
half of her swift course,
down from the
heavens, from the royal throne, leapt your all-powerful Word;
into the heart of a
doomed land the stern warrior leapt.
Carrying your
unambiguous command like a sharp sword,
he stood, and filled
the universe with death;
he touched the sky,
yet trod the earth.
For, to keep your
children from all harm,
The whole creation,
obedient to your commands,
was once more, and
newly, fashioned in its nature.
Overshadowing the
camp there was the cloud,
where water had been,
dry land was seen to rise,
the Red Sea became an
unimpeded way,
the tempestuous flood
a green plain;
sheltered by your
hand, the whole nation passed across,
gazing at these
amazing miracles.
They were like horses
at pasture,
they skipped like
lambs,
singing your praises,
Lord, their deliverer.
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Psalm
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Psalm
104:2-3,36-37,42-43 ©
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Remember the
wonders the Lord has done.
or
Alleluia!
O sing to him, sing
his praise;
tell all
his wonderful works!
Be proud of his holy
name,
let the
hearts that seek the Lord rejoice.
Remember the wonders
the Lord has done.
or
Alleluia!
He struck all the
first-born in their land,
the
finest flower of their sons.
He led out Israel
with silver and gold.
In his
tribes were none who fell behind.
Remember the
wonders the Lord has done.
or
Alleluia!
For he remembered his
holy word,
which he
gave to Abraham his servant.
So he brought out his
people with joy,
his
chosen ones with shouts of rejoicing.
Remember the
wonders the Lord has done.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Jm1:21
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept and submit to
the word
which has been
planted in you
and can save your
souls.
Alleluia!
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Or
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cf.2Th2:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Through the Good News
God called us
to share the glory of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 18:1-8 ©
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Jesus told his
disciples a parable about the need to pray continually and never lose heart.
‘There was a judge in a certain town’ he said ‘who had neither fear of God nor
respect for man. In the same town there was a widow who kept on coming to him
and saying, “I want justice from you against my enemy!” For a long time he
refused, but at last he said to himself, “Maybe I have neither fear of God nor
respect for man, but since she keeps pestering me I must give this widow her
just rights, or she will persist in coming and worry me to death.”’
And
the Lord said ‘You notice what the unjust judge has to say? Now will not God
see justice done to his chosen who cry to him day and night even when he delays
to help them? I promise you, he will see justice done to them, and done
speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?’
THE SIN
OF DESPAIR
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SCRIPTURE
READINGS: WIS 18:14-16;
19:6-9; LK 18:1-8
“When
the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?” This is indeed a
very critical question that we are all asked to consider today. Will we
remain faithful to God until the end of our lives? Will we remain true to
our faith in God? Will we remain true to our vocation in life, especially
those of us who are married or those called to priestly life or religious
life? The fact is that we are all being tested and challenged in many
ways. We can be tried in big ways and in the daily humdrum of life too.
Like
the widow in today’s gospel, we are put through all kinds of onslaughts and
disappointments in life and pushed to our wits end. We can certainly feel
with the widow in her predicament. It is unfortunate enough that she
could no longer depend on her husband for her livelihood. Not only did
she have to look after herself, but perhaps her children as well. Life
must indeed have been tough for her. However, that is not all. We
are also told that she was being persecuted by her enemies and lost some of her
rights. In that kind of situation, we can certainly empathize with her in
her plight.
But we
too suffer similar struggles in our own lives. We too have our own
tragedies. Some of us are in ill health; others are in financial straits;
yet others have difficulty securing employment. Some of us also face the
challenge of trying to change certain situations in our life, in our family, at
work, or the community we belong to. Unfortunately our attempts to
rectify such irregularities are often met with indifference and
opposition. Such difficulties can be rather trying.
One of
the most painful experiences in life is the suffering that comes from being
unjustly treated; discriminated at our workplace and at home. Like the widow,
we feel the need to address the injustice. However, justice must be seen in the
biblical context. Justice in the bible is firstly understood in terms of
distributive justice, that is, an equal and fair distribution of goods, and the
respect of each individual’s rights. This is the most basic level of
justice. However, in the bible, justice goes beyond mere legal
justice. It entails a harmonious relationship with our neighbours and
with God. It is concerned with a right and loving relationship.
According to our own situations, we all suffer some form of deprivation or the
lack of relationship with others and even with God. Redressing our rights
is certainly a tedious and time-consuming process. Quite often, such
mediation or litigation can result in further complications, especially when
neither party is willing to admit its error.
But
even more difficult and daunting is the restoration of relationships,
especially after a misunderstanding. Even if one party is willing to
forgive, the other party might not. In such circumstances, most of us
would be tempted to give up. As the gospel says, there is a real
possibility of losing heart when we find that seeking justice is too difficult
a process. As a result, some of us succumb to unjust
practices. Most of us give up in those situations where we have
fought hard to make changes but received no support. Students give up
studying because they fail in their exams; parents give up on their wayward
children and surrender them to the homes when they fail to change their
behaviour. We too also give up on our friends when they hurt us. In
giving up hope, we are admitting defeat.
Even if
we are not overwhelmed by the major trials of life, the real test is our
fidelity to what we believe and who we are in the long haul. It is in the
ordinary, everyday life that we are truly tested, the daily sacrifices of a
mother; the giving of spouse to each other in mutual love, forgiveness, patience
and tolerance of each other’s weaknesses; the perseverance in our duties,
whether at home, in our faith or in looking after our loved ones, particularly
our children who have endless needs and want our attention; and the dying to
one’s self-will and interests. It is easy to love, to forgive or do a
good deed once or twice, but to do it every day and every year, that is a
different matter altogether!
This is
also true in our spiritual life. There are some of us who have a
beautiful experience of God, especially after a good retreat. But then
the euphoria does not last. We cannot thrive on mere spiritual highs and
sentimental experiences of God. After the spiritual renewal, we need to
take the difficult step of deepening our spiritual life through prayer, reading
the Word of God, receiving the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Reconciliation,
almsgiving and good works, fasting and mortification. Most of us do not
persevere in prayer; much less strive to grow in virtues and in deepening our
love and faith in love. In no time, we stop praying, ongoing formation in
our faith and the scriptures. And of course, we slide back to our old way
of life; a life of sin and irresponsible living.
However,
it is precisely this situation that the gospel encourages us to avoid.
Jesus is telling His disciples and us “never lose heart.” Indeed, the
teaching of Jesus in today’s gospel is not simply a question of perseverance in
prayer so that our petitions could be answered. Rather, when we interpret
this story in the context of Jesus’ message of the Kingdom, then Jesus’ message
is that we must never give up our hope for the realization of the Kingdom of
God in our lives. Jesus is assuring His disciples and us that even when
things seem to be against us; even when things do not seem to be moving or
changing, we must never give up hope. We must believe that things are
changing, gradually, but certainly. When we feel that we are getting
nowhere, we are not making much progress, when things are not changing; when
our diocese, parish or Church group is not growing in strength and unity; when
we get impatient with ourselves or others or the situation, then the gospel is
saying, “Be patient and persevere!
Yes, to
give up hope is to give in to the biggest temptation of the Evil one.
This is precisely the intent of the petition in the Lord’s Prayer when we say,
“Do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil.” The greatest
temptation that we need to pray to be delivered from is the temptation to
despair, to lose heart and to lose hope. It is not even to pray for
deliverance from our sufferings because if we lose hope in life, in love, in
humanity, then the Devil is victorious over us. Once we give up hope, we
give up life. Giving up hope is to give up trust in God and the
Kingdom. This would spell the end of us.
What
then is our basis for not giving up hope? Simply this: we must
realize that the mercy and love of God is so much greater compared to the
unjust judge. God is more merciful than him. Indeed, Jesus reminds
us that if an unjust judge could listen to the appeal of the widow, certainly
God, who is unlike the unjust judge, would all the more listen to our
prayers. And this faith in God’s mercy and care is also founded in the
history of Israel. This is what the first reading from the book of Wisdom
wants to teach us. In that passage, we are reminded of how God helped
Israel to cross the Red Sea in their flight from Egypt. Just as God
helped Israel in all their difficulties, God will certainly also respond to our
pleas for help.
Consequently,
today, the responsorial psalm invites us to “remember the wonders the Lord has
done.” It is important that we remember. If not, during our trials
and difficulties, we will fall into depression. Remembering the past blessings
we have received from the Lord will give us confidence to continue hoping and
trusting in the power of God who is always at work in unseen ways. Yes,
today, if we feel discouraged or about to lose hope in goodness and in life,
let us recall the wonderful deeds of the Lord in our lives.
And, as
the first reading tells us, when we least expect, God will manifest His powers
and stretch out His hands to save us. God will come, like as the author
tells us “when peaceful silence lay over all, and night had run the half of her
swift course, down from the heavens, from the royal throne, leapt your
all-powerful Word; into the heart of a doomed land the stern warrior leapt.”
Indeed, God will come in a sudden, decisive and surprising way. He will
work the same wonders He did at Exodus. He will deliver us in a most stupendous
way. When that day comes, we will never, like the Israelites, the Jews and the
early Christians, doubt that Jesus is Lord, or the efficacious power of the
Word of God at work in us.
So, if
we are losing our patience with the Lord because He appears to be late in
responding to our prayers, let us never doubt that He is aware of our
needs. According to St Augustine, it is because the time is still not yet
opportune. What we need to do is to wait for God so that at the opportune
time, God can give us the better things we are praying for. In the
meantime, God wants us to wait so that we can purify ourselves. It is our
patience and perseverance in times of trials and difficulties that we become
victorious in the end. Hence, we will prove also with God’s grace that
the Kingdom of love is the last word,;not evil and despair.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
©
All Rights Reserved
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