20160111
SINGULARITY OF PURPOSE
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First reading
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1 Samuel 1:1-8 ©
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There was a man of
Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the highlands of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah son
of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. He had two
wives, one called Hannah, the other Peninnah; Peninnah had children but Hannah had
none. Every year this man used to go up from his town to worship and to
sacrifice to the Lord of Hosts in Shiloh. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and
Phinehas, were there as priests of the Lord.
One day
Elkanah offered sacrifice. He used to give portions to Penirinah and to all her
sons and daughters; to Hannah, however, he would give only one portion,
although he loved her more, since the Lord had made her barren. Her rival would
taunt her to annoy her, because the Lord had made her barren. And this went on
year after year; every time they went up to the temple of the Lord she used to
taunt her. And so Hannah wept and would not eat. Then Elkanah her husband said
to her, ‘Hannah, why are you crying and why are you not eating? Why so sad? Am
I not more to you than ten sons?’
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Psalm
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Psalm 115:12-19 ©
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A thanksgiving
sacrifice I make to you, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
How can I repay the
Lord
for his
goodness to me?
The cup of salvation
I will raise;
I will
call on the Lord’s name.
A thanksgiving
sacrifice I make to you, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
My vows to the Lord I
will fulfil
before
all his people.
O precious in the
eyes of the Lord
is the
death of his faithful.
A thanksgiving
sacrifice I make to you, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Your servant, Lord,
your servant am I;
you have
loosened my bonds.
A thanksgiving
sacrifice I make;
I will
call on the Lord’s name.
A thanksgiving
sacrifice I make to you, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
My vows to the Lord I
will fulfil
before
all his people,
in the courts of the
house of the Lord,
in your
midst, O Jerusalem.
A thanksgiving
sacrifice I make to you, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Ac16:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O
Lord,
to accept the words
of your Son.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Mk1:15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The kingdom of God is
close at hand:
repent and believe
the Good News.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 1:14-20 ©
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After John had been
arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the Good News from God.
‘The time has come’ he said ‘and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent,
and believe the Good News.’
As he was
walking along by the Sea of Galilee he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting
a net in the lake – for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them,
‘Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.’ And at once they left
their nets and followed him.
Going
on a little further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they too
were in their boat, mending their nets. He called them at once and, leaving
their father Zebedee in the boat with the men he employed, they went after him.
SINGULARITY
OF PURPOSE
In
the gospel today, we find the Lord looking for people who are committed to His
vision and mission of building the Kingdom of God and spreading the Good News. However, in this modern era,
commitment is something that is hard to come by. Most people today lack
commitment. We do not hold on to a job for long. We keep changing
our involvement in ministry. This is true of relationships as well,
especially in marriages. Yet, the truth is that without commitment and
singularity of purpose, we cannot do anything well in life. Dedication,
commitment and devotion are necessary for us to accomplish any task in life.
This
necessity for singularity of purpose is clearly brought out in the first
reading with respect to marriage. We read that Elkanah was a rich man because he could
afford two wives! In those days, polygamy was permitted. But as we
can see, polygamy goes against human nature. Marital love is always
possessive and exclusive. This is particularly true for women because when they
love, they love completely and they give themselves body, mind and soul to the
person they love. Understandably, women do not allow competitors in their
relationships. Otherwise, the demons of envy, jealousy, anger and even
rage will surface.
So
it is not surprising to hear of the family disputes between the two wives of
Elkanah because of jealousy and insecurity. In truth both were vying for the love
of their husband. They did this by making themselves useful and more
worthy. In this case, having children was a status symbol of
fertility and God’s blessings. Indeed, in the past, the role of women was
seen primarily as being at the service of their husbands as a helpmate, bearing
children for the family, being a good mother and homemaker. To be without
children was seen as a curse from God. Of course, in those days, they knew
nothing about the medical reasons for infertility. Children were needed
not just to continue with the family name but to work and sustain the family
and look after the aged ones. So we can imagine the humiliation that
Hannah suffered. It was as if she was cursed. As such her life,
which was to be both a wife and a mother, was not complete. This was made
worse by the taunts that she suffered from Penninah each day.
But
if we read between the lines, maybe it was not all Penninah’s fault. Elkanah seemed to love Hannah
more than her in spite of the fact that she bore him children. We are
told that “he would give only one portion, although he loved her more, since
the Lord made her barren.” Other translations put it as a “special”
portion or even a “double” portion. The fact remains that Elkanah
loved her more. And that was why even though she had no children,
“Elkanah her husband said to her, ‘Hannah, why are you crying and why are you
not eating? Why so sad? Am I not more to you then ten sons?’”
Of course, we can imagine how jealous Penninah would have been. This
caused her to be even more vindictive and envious of her.
In
the gospel, Jesus too was looking for disciples who could share His dream and
vision for humanity.
Fired with the Holy Spirit after His baptism, He knew that His mission cannot
be realized by Him alone. He needed to find a good team of
collaborators to help Him fulfill His mission. In seeking for His
team of disciples, what were the qualities that He looked for? He did not
look for external qualities – whether they had status, or even with academic or
ecclesiastical degrees. They were ordinary fisherman, uneducated and
simple people. Yet Jesus chose them to be His disciples, instead of trying to
win over some Pharisees or scribes that He could use to bring about a change in
His society and the establishments of His time.
Jesus
must have observed that they were sincere, passionate and hardworking
fisherman. We
are told that when Jesus called them, they were about in their work.
Peter and Andrew were casting out their nets to catch fish; whilst James and
John were busy mending their nets. We too need such people today to
collaborate with us in the work of the New Evangelization. We need
priests, religious and laity who are committed to Jesus and the work of
evangelization. Without passionate and committed people, the mission of
Christ and His Church cannot be successful.
We
can see the passion of the first apostles chosen by the Lord in the way they
responded to His call.
We are told that when “Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you into
fishers of men.’ And at once they left their nets and followed
him.” It was a similar situation in the call of James and John as
well. “He called them at once and, leaving their father Zebedee in the
boat with the men he employed, they went after him.” There was no
hesitation whatsoever. It was immediate. At once! As if
the order is from God Himself. When God is the one who calls, the answer
must be immediate, unconditional, total and without reservation. So they
left everything, their rice-bowl so to speak, their family and their loved
ones, their passion for fishing, and followed Jesus. More than just
following Jesus, we read that “they went after him.” In other words, the
first apostles were people who were devoted to the Lord, as seen by the way
they followed Jesus in His life and going after Him, that is, following Him
from behind and yet always catching up with Jesus, not for a second losing
sight of Him in their journey.
What
could be the reason for their immediate response to the call of the Lord?
We can be sure that it
was not something that happened out of the blue. They would have been
listening to Jesus and His dreams. At the end of the day, it was not
simply the plans or the dreams of Jesus that excited them but it was the man
Himself. They must have been so struck by Jesus, His passion, His life
and His teachings that they fell in love with Jesus. Indeed, vocation is
not so much a logical thing that you decide based on your expertise or skills
or knowledge or training. It is more like a marriage that is based on the
heart. Indeed, it is said that those whom we admire, we have reasons, but
those whom we love, we have no reason. Christianity is always based on
the level of the heart; not of the head.
This is
what Pope Benedict wrote in his first encyclical, “God is love.” He
wrote, “We have come to believe in God’s love: in these words the
Christian can express the fundamental decision of his life. Being Christian
is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with
an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.
Saint John’s Gospel describes that event in these words: “God so loved the
world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should … have
eternal life” (3:16). (Cf God is Love, 1) So if the disciples could
give up their whole life for Jesus, it was because they had been listening to
Him and watching Him, and then they fell in love with Jesus. Thus we can
also understand why some believers continue to follow their religious leader
even when logically they should not, because of wrong doctrines or scandalous
behavior. Following Jesus is always like marriage, we need to fall in
love and keep ourselves in love!
Thus,
today, regardless of which vocation we are in, the question is, have we fallen
in love with Jesus so much so that we are ready to give ourselves to Him
according to the vocation He has chosen for us? God calls us wherever we are. At
whatever state of life we are in, whatever work we do, just like the disciples,
He calls us. What is important is whether we are conscious that this is
His calling for us in life. Our first response must be to the Lord; that
is our primary calling. Once we are devoted to the Lord, then in
whichever vocation we are in, we would be able to give ourselves fully to what
we do, whether we are married, single, religious or clerical. The basis for fidelity
in our vocation, passion and commitment, is dependent on our singular
mindedness in wanting to serve Christ out of love for Him. Without this
grounding, whatever we do would be for ourselves and our own selfish
needs. But with Christ and for Christ, we will do all things well, with
joy and love.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
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