20160519 DO YOU DARE TO DREAM BIG?
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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James 5:1-6 ©
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An answer for the
rich. Start crying, weep for the miseries that are coming to you. Your wealth
is all rotting, your clothes are all eaten up by moths. All your gold and your
silver are corroding away, and the same corrosion will be your own sentence,
and eat into your body. It was a burning fire that you stored up as your
treasure for the last days. Labourers mowed your fields, and you cheated
them – listen to the wages that you kept back, calling out; realise that
the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. On earth
you have had a life of comfort and luxury; in the time of slaughter you went on
eating to your heart’s content. It was you who condemned the innocent and
killed them; they offered you no resistance.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 48:14-20 ©
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How happy are the
poor in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
This is the lot of
those who trust in themselves,
who have
others at their beck and call.
Like sheep they are
driven to the grave,
where
death shall be their shepherd
and the
just shall become their rulers.
How happy are the
poor in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
With the morning
their outward show vanishes
and the
grave becomes their home.
But God will ransom
me from death
and take
my soul to himself.
How happy are the
poor in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Then do not fear when
a man grows rich,
when the
glory of his house increases.
He takes nothing with
him when he dies,
his glory
does not follow him below.
How happy are the
poor in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Though he flattered
himself while he lived:
‘Men will
praise me for all my success,’
yet he will go to
join his fathers,
who will
never see the light any more.
How happy are the
poor in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Lk8:15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are those
who,
with a noble and
generous heart,
take the word of God
to themselves
and yield a harvest
through their perseverance.
Alleluia!
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Or
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cf.1Th2:13
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept God’s message
for what it really is:
God’s message, and
not some human thinking.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 9:41-50 ©
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Jesus said to his
disciples, ‘If anyone gives you a cup of water to drink just because you belong
to Christ, then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his
reward.
‘But
anyone who is an obstacle to bring down one of these little ones who have
faith, would be better thrown into the sea with a great millstone round his
neck. And if your hand should cause you to sin, cut it off; it is better for
you to enter into life crippled, than to have two hands and go to hell, into
the fire that cannot be put out. And if your foot should cause you to sin, cut
it off; it is better for you to enter into life lame, than to have two feet and
be thrown into hell. And if your eye should cause you to sin, tear it out; it
is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than to have
two eyes and be thrown into hell where their worm does not die nor their fire
go out. For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is a good thing, but if
salt has become insipid, how can you season it again? Have salt in yourselves
and be at peace with one another.’
DO YOU
DARE TO DREAM BIG?
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ JM 5:1-6; MK
9:41-50 ]
We all seek
happiness. Yet, very few of us are truly happy. This is true in spite of the
fact that we have more than the basic needs of life; even if we are rich in
things and in talents. We can be successful and great achievers, yet
there is emptiness in our hearts. Many who reach the top of the corporate
ladder come to realize that all these achievements do not make sense. As
the author of Ecclesiastes tells us, “I said to myself, ‘Come now, I will test
you with pleasure to find out what is good.’ But that also proved to
be meaningless.” (Eccl 2:1)
In terms of achievements, he said, “I became greater by far than anyone in
Jerusalem before me.” (Eccl 2:9)
After a long pursuit, his conclusion was this, “Yet when I surveyed all that my
hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was
meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”
(Eccl 2:11)
Like him, don’t we feel that often all our labour and toil have been in
vain? “So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the
sun. For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then
they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is
meaningless and a great misfortune. What do people get for all the toil and
anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days
their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This
too is meaningless.” (Eccl 2:20-23)
Why are we not
happy? The
answer is because we do not seek true and lasting happiness.
In the gospel, Jesus invites us to enter the Kingdom of God. What is the
kingdom of God, if not to share in the life of God, the life of real
happiness? Jesus lived the fullness of life because He lived his life
passionately for the love of His Father and the proclamation of His love for
all under the theme of the Kingdom of God. He was not contented with
living a mediocre life. He gave everything, even His life, to share the
dream of His Father for us all. What He has enjoyed with His Father, He
wants us all to have a share as well. “I made your name known to them,
and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be
in them, and I in them.” (Jn 17:26)
So what must we do to
enter into this happiness? We must remove all obstacles to this kingdom. The prize of the Kingdom of God
is not comparable to any other thing on this earth. To forfeit the
kingdom is to lose everything in this life. Hence, Jesus told the people
that whether it is our hand, foot or eye that causes us to sin, then it is
better to cut them off, lest we cannot enter the kingdom. Whether we want
to take these words literally or not, the point is that the failure to choose
the Kingdom of God will cause us immense suffering, more than just losing a
limb because it could cost the loss of the body and the soul.
So the ball is in our
court. How
sincere and resolute are we in seeking this fullness of life?
The problem for us is that most of us are contented with a half-fulfilled life
given to us by the world. Most of us dare not dream big. We live
mediocre lives like the rest of humanity. Our life is lived without
passion, excitement and without a lasting dream. We just imitate the
crowd, work hard, eat, enjoy, sleep, and this routine goes on and on.
This is almost the life of an animal, a life without direction but just going
through the motions each day, not so much wanting to live fully but trying to
keep ourselves alive. We are not so desperate to seek this fullness of
life that we would do anything and everything to attain it.
What would make us so
singular-minded and focused to find this happiness even at the expense of our hands and
feet? We must search our heart to see what we are truly looking for that
could give us real happiness. We begin this search by removing the
obstacles to happiness. We need to diagnose the cause of our sadness
and misery. Perhaps, we are only focused on acquiring more material and
personal wealth. Does our desire for wealth and popularity make us forget
the greater and more important things of life?
Those who have lots of
wealth must ask whether they are ill-begotten wealth, and whether there is too
much attachment that makes wealth the end in itself. That is why Jesus said, “If
anyone gives you a cup of water to drink just because you belong to Christ,
then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward.”
How can our hearts be closed to our brothers and sisters who are deprived even
of the basic needs of life whilst we live in luxury and a wastrel life?
Those of us who are poor can fall into the sin of envy.
We end up complaining like the poor man in the responsorial psalm. He was
lamenting why others were so rich. And his meditation told him this,
“Then do not fear when a man grows rich, when the glory of his house increases.
He takes nothing with him when he dies, his glory does not follow him
below.” How true, those of us who are rich in possessions but poor
in love and compassion are actually much poorer than those who have less.
Happiness is measured not by how much we possess but how much we can give away
freely to help others.
Another hurdle to the
life of grace is the failure to live a life of integrity. We are not honest in our
dealings. This is why Jesus spoke of scandal as the cause of unhappiness.
“But anyone who is an obstacle to bring down one of these little ones who have
faith, would be better thrown into the sea with a great millstone round his
neck.” There is no peace when we do not live a life of integrity because
our conscience will condemn us for betraying the people we love and the people
who have been entrusted to us. We are all responsible to live a holy and
exemplary life, not just for our peace but for the sake of those who are under
our charge. If the world is in this bad shape today, it is simply because
we have only talkers but few witnesses. Just ask ourselves, how many
world leaders, political and corporate as well as religious leaders live
exemplary lives? Today, they are elected primarily for the purpose of
growing the economy but the world fails to realize that economic progress
without human development cannot bring happiness to their citizens. We
need leaders at every level and sector of society who can motivate the younger
generation to aspire to a noble life of love, service and integrity. Jesus says
that we are called to be the salt of the earth. “Have salt in yourselves and be
at peace with one another.”
So how can we seek real
happiness? We need to be salted with the fire of God’s love. The responsorial psalm tells us.
“How happy are the poor in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” We
need to recognize our poverty of spirit and so seek God in our lives.
We must come to recognize that the things of this world cannot bring
happiness unless we share in the Spirit of God. They are means to the
end, which is love of God and love of humanity. Most of all, we must
become aware of the transitory reality of things of this earth. We cannot
bring them with us as they are passing. Indeed, as St James says, “With
the morning their outward show vanishes and the grave becomes their home.”
So let us use what we
have for the glory of God and for the love of humanity. By so doing we are already
participating in the eternal life of God. Contentment with what the
Lord has given is ultimately the key to happiness. This is based on our
trust in the Lord by acquiring the Spirit of poverty. So this is
the time of purification in love and service. Hence Jesus said, “Salt is
a good thing, but if salt has become insipid, how can you season it
again?” When we choose God and love for our fellowmen, then we can be
sure that with the psalmist, we can be confident that “God will ransom me from
death and take my soul to himself.” Do you live for eternity or just for
this world? Unfortunately, the consciousness of the next world is
far from our mind until we face the possibility of death. If we were to
live in view of next life, then we see things in perspective. For
such people, the Word of God warns us. “This is the lot of those who
trust in themselves, who have others at their beck and call. Like sheep they
are driven to the grave, where death shall be their shepherd and the just shall
become their rulers.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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