20160516 FINDING PEACE IN THE HURLY BURLY OF DAILY LIFE
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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James 3:13-18 ©
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If there are any wise
or learned men among you, let them show it by their good lives, with humility
and wisdom in their actions. But if at heart you have the bitterness of
jealousy, or a self-seeking ambition, never make any claims for yourself or
cover up the truth with lies – principles of this kind are not the wisdom
that comes down from above: they are only earthly, animal and devilish.
Wherever you find jealousy and ambition, you find disharmony, and wicked things
of every kind being done; whereas the wisdom that comes down from above is
essentially something pure; it also makes for peace, and is kindly and
considerate; it is full of compassion and shows itself by doing good; nor is
there any trace of partiality or hypocrisy in it. Peacemakers, when they work
for peace, sow the seeds which will bear fruit in holiness.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 18:8-10,15
©
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The precepts of
the Lord gladden the heart.
The law of the Lord
is perfect,
it
revives the soul.
The rule of the Lord
is to be trusted,
it gives
wisdom to the simple.
The precepts of
the Lord gladden the heart.
The precepts of the
Lord are right,
they
gladden the heart.
The command of the
Lord is clear,
it gives
light to the eyes.
The precepts of
the Lord gladden the heart.
The fear of the Lord
is holy,
abiding
for ever.
The decrees of the
Lord are truth
and all
of them just.
The precepts of
the Lord gladden the heart.
May the spoken words
of my mouth,
the
thoughts of my heart,
win favour in your
sight, O Lord,
my
rescuer, my rock!
The precepts of
the Lord gladden the heart.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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1P1:25
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of the Lord
remains for ever:
What is this word?
It is the Good News
that has been brought to you.
Alleluia!
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Or
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cf.2Tim1:10
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Our Saviour Jesus
Christ abolished death
and he has proclaimed
life through the Good News.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 9:14-29 ©
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When Jesus, with
Peter, James and John came down from the mountain and rejoined the disciples,
they saw a large crowd round them and some scribes arguing with them. The moment
they saw him the whole crowd were struck with amazement and ran to greet him.
‘What are you arguing about with them?’ he asked. A man answered him from the
crowd, ‘Master, I have brought my son to you; there is a spirit of dumbness in
him, and when it takes hold of him it throws him to the ground, and he foams at
the mouth and grinds his teeth and goes rigid. And I asked your disciples to
cast it out and they were unable to.’ ‘You faithless generation’ he said to
them in reply. ‘How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put
up with you? Bring him to me.’ They brought the boy to him, and as soon as the
spirit saw Jesus it threw the boy into convulsions, and he fell to the ground
and lay writhing there, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the father, ‘How long
has this been happening to him?’ ‘From childhood,’ he replied ‘and it has often
thrown him into the fire and into the water, in order to destroy him. But if
you can do anything, have pity on us and help us.’ ‘If you can?’ retorted Jesus.
‘Everything is possible for anyone who has faith.’ Immediately the father of
the boy cried out, ‘I do have faith. Help the little faith I have!’ And when
Jesus saw how many people were pressing round him, he rebuked the unclean
spirit. ‘Deaf and dumb spirit,’ he said ‘I command you: come out of him and
never enter him again.’ Then throwing the boy into violent convulsions it came
out shouting, and the boy lay there so like a corpse that most of them said,
‘He is dead.’ But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him up, and he was able
to stand. When he had gone indoors his disciples asked him privately, ‘Why were
we unable to cast it out?’ ‘This is the kind’ he answered ‘that can only be
driven out by prayer.’
FINDING
PEACE IN THE HURLY BURLY OF DAILY LIFE
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ JM 3:13-18; PS
18:8-10, 15; MK 9:14-29 ]
From the moment they
reached the foot of the mountain, they were faced with the daily challenges of
the hurly burly of daily life. After such a great mystical experience of the Transfiguration of
our Lord, the joy and enthusiasm of the religious encounter faded. They found
themselves in the midst of an argument between the disciples of Jesus and the
scribes. The crowd was all confused and divided about the real condition
of the boy with the deaf and dumb spirit and why the disciples were unable to cast
out the evil spirit. This, too, is our common experience. After a
few days of peace and happiness at a spiritually high and charged retreat, we
return home and to our office only to find ourselves once again facing the
realities of daily life, the infighting at home and in the office or in the
Christian community. We find ourselves having to deal with the ordinary
humdrum of daily living, helping those who are sick, cooking and cleaning up
after our children, studying and working, dealing with conflicts, resolving
problems, etc.
Today, Jesus shows us
how calm He was in dealing with troubles and the petty quarrels and
misunderstandings of daily life. Instead of reacting and jumping to conclusion or taking
sides or being defensive, the first thing He did was to inquire into the real
matter at hand. He took the trouble to listen to the medical history of
his illness from the father and the real condition of the boy. In
dealing with problems, we need to regain our composure and make sure that we
are centered. If we are excitable, reactive, emotional and angry, we are
not yet ready to resolve any issue because we would not be able to see things
objectively. A wounded and angry man would only see through the spectrum
of his pain and would not be able to hear the other person out. So
absorbed in himself, he would not be able to see the problem in a bigger
light. Instead, he will end up defending his position, his views and his
rights. He would not be open to negotiation or to dialogue.
But we can be calm in dealing
with conflicts and opposition only if we are clear of our motives in whatever
we do. Very
often, it is our ambition that causes us to lose objectivity in our thinking.
St James tells us, “If there are any wise or learned men among you, let them show
it by their good lives, with humility and wisdom in their actions. But if
at heart you have bitterness or jealousy, or self-seeking ambition, never make
any claims for yourself or cover up the truth with lies – principles of this
kind are not the wisdom that comes down from above: they are only
earthly, animal and devilish.” When we are ambitious, we have a problem
with pride and ego. Ambition is self-serving. We want to fulfill
our desires. Ambition is not for the good of others but for ourselves.
We are seeking to build ourselves up, even at the expense of others.
Ambition therefore
causes jealousy and competition. We are jealous of the success of others and others of
ours. Again, St James says, “wherever you find jealousy and ambition, you
find disharmony, and wicked things of every kind being done.”
Truly, the crux of many problems lies in the fact that most people care for
their own interests and they do not work purely for the good of others.
It is about their security, their benefits and their fulfillment. They
are not thinking about the greater good of others and for the service of
humanity. People are jealous only because they think that others are
taking away from them what they want. Do you find people jealous of
Mother Teresa in the work she was doing for the poorest of the poor? Do
people compete with her to serve the untouchables? But people will fight
for power, position, status, glory and money. They want to be promoted,
elected into office and hold high positions. But in seeking for
positions, are they sincerely doing so for the service of society or for the
benefits they can get out of the office? Indeed, people often use
corporate and political office to benefit themselves, not for society.
If our motive is pure
and sincere, then St James says, “the wisdom that comes down from above is essentially
something pure; it also makes for peace, and is kindly and considerate; it
is full of compassion and shows itself by doing good; nor is there any trace of
partiality or hypocrisy in it. Peacemakers, when they work for peace, sow
the seeds which will bear fruit in holiness.” When our motive is
for the good and service of others, then we do not fear, or be unsettled,
because we are no longer doing it for ourselves but for others. When
there are no vested interests, nothing will affect us personally because we are
not fighting for ourselves. At most we feel sorry that the people
whom we seek to serve have been deprived of their needs. But we do not
take opposition and failures personally since we are not trying to fulfill or
achieve our ambition. Rather, we know that our enemies and detractors are
hurting and opposing us because what we do is a reprimand to their selfish
ambitions and a hindrance to their selfish objectives. On our part, we
can speak calmly without anger but in truth and charity. When we do all
things out of compassion and impartiality to all, purely for the love of God
and the service of men and women without distinction or favour, the Lord will
bless us and even if there is opposition, God will be on our side and see us
through.
How can we have a pure
and holy motive in all that we do so that we will not lose our center in
dealing with life’s daily problems? Firstly, we need to pray and fast. The Lord sets for us an
example when He would begin each day by going to the desert or to the hills to
pray all by himself. Before this incident took place, He had just come
down from the mountain, having conversed with His Father and was assured of His
Father’s love and endorsement of His mission. When the disciples asked
why they were powerless before the evil spirit, He said, “This is the kind that
can only be driven out by prayer.” In another variant translation,
it adds, “and fasting.” We cannot deal with life’s problems unless
we are focused and centered through prayer and fasting. Without
clarification and proper discernment, we will not be able to separate the wheat
from the chaff. Many of us often make decisions based on fear, anger,
revenge and anxiety rather than from a proper analysis of the problem at
hand. As St Ignatius always reminds us, we should not make any decisions
when our spirits are restless and not at peace. These are the
counter-spirits.
Secondly, we need to
have faith in God. When
the man asked Jesus if He could deliver his son from the evil spirit, the
retort of Jesus was swift, “’If you can? Everything is possible for anyone who
has faith.’” And we read, “Immediately the father of the boy cried out, ‘I do
have faith. Help the little faith I have!’” Faith is critical
if we are to face the daily ups and downs of life. We must
surrender our lives to the Lord and trust in His divine providence. We
must continue to trust that the Lord knows what is best for us. We must
surrender our sickness, our struggles and problems to the Lord. In faith,
we know that if we love God and do according to what He wants, the Lord will
see us through. We are not here to fulfill our will but if it is His
will, nothing can stop the Lord from accomplishing His word in and through us
or even without us. As the psalmist says, “The law of the Lord is
perfect, it revives the soul. The rule of the Lord is to be trusted; it gives
wisdom to the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, they
gladden the heart. The command of the Lord is clear; it gives light to the
eyes. The fear of the Lord is holy, abiding forever. The decrees of the
Lord are truth and all of them just.” So let us in faith, like the
man, surrender all our plans to the Lord.
For this faith to
develop and mature, we need once again to pray and be receptive to the grace of
God. Prayers
strengthen faith. This faith is not only strengthened through prayer but
the testimonies of others who have seen the goodness and the power of God. It is
important that as a community, we must support each other in faith and in
love. Faith is strengthened when it is shared. In our daily
struggles, we need to come together to share the Word of God regularly and
inspire each other in faith and in love. Christians must find occasions to
testify to the providence, love and faithfulness of God to us in their daily
life struggles so that others can find faith. We must seek occasions to
testify to His mercy on different platforms, in bible sharing, including the
mass media in this year of Divine Mercy.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
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