20160606 LIVING A BLESSED LIFE ENTAILS SERVING GOD AS OUR LORD
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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1 Kings 17:1-6 ©
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Elijah the Tishbite,
of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the Lord lives, the God of Israel whom I
serve, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years except at my order.’
The word
of the Lord came to him, ‘Go away from here, go eastwards, and hide yourself in
the wadi Cherith which lies east of Jordan. You can drink from the stream, and
I have ordered the ravens to bring you food there.’ He did as the Lord had
said; he went and stayed in the wadi Cherith which lies east of Jordan. The
ravens brought him bread in the morning and meat in the evening, and he
quenched his thirst at the stream.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 120:1-8 ©
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Our help is in the
name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
I lift up my eyes to
the mountains;
from
where shall come my help?
My help shall come
from the Lord
who made
heaven and earth.
Our help is in the
name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
May he never allow
you to stumble!
Let him
sleep not, your guard.
No, he sleeps not nor
slumbers,
Israel’s
guard.
Our help is in the
name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
The Lord is your
guard and your shade;
at your
right side he stands.
By day the sun shall
not smite you
nor the
moon in the night.
Our help is in the
name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
The Lord will guard
you from evil,
he will
guard your soul.
The Lord will guard
your going and coming
both now
and for ever.
Our help is in the
name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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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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Or
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Mt5:12a
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Rejoice and be glad:
your reward will be
great in heaven.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 5:1-12 ©
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Seeing the crowds,
Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then
he began to speak. This is what he taught them:
‘How happy are the
poor in spirit;
theirs is
the kingdom of heaven.
Happy the gentle:
they
shall have the earth for their heritage.
Happy those who
mourn:
they
shall be comforted.
Happy those who
hunger and thirst for what is right:
they
shall be satisfied.
Happy the merciful:
they
shall have mercy shown them.
Happy the pure in
heart:
they
shall see God.
Happy the
peacemakers:
they
shall be called sons of God.
Happy those who are
persecuted in the cause of right:
theirs is
the kingdom of heaven.
‘Happy
are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny
against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great
in heaven: this is how they persecuted the prophets before you.’
LIVING
A BLESSED LIFE ENTAILS SERVING GOD AS OUR LORD
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ 1 KINGS
17:1-6; MATTHEW 5:1-12 ]
All of
us seek happiness in life, yet few of us have found it. Why?
Because we seek happiness according to the ways of the world.
The world’s pursuit of
happiness is epitomized in the person of King Ahab in today’s first
reading. He was the King of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
By marrying Jezebel, daughter of the King of the Sidonians, he created military
and economic alliance with them. Although it brought the country
prosperity, it also resulted in a crisis of faith. With the influx of the
Canaanites, the Israelites began to apostatize and worship their gods of Baal,
which they believed to be responsible for fertility, life, the rain and the
seasons. As part of their ritual, they even hired temple
prostitutes so that the land would be fertile and the crops would grow.
It is within this context that the prophets associated prostitution not just
with moral licentiousness, but with apostasy and abandonment of Yahweh.
Isn’t this the way of the
world as well? It is power, pleasure, sex and glory that determine the
way we do things. These are the new symbols of idolatry in our days.
The contemporary man believes only in himself and the idols of the world, which
he believes will guarantee him happiness.
But the
gospel’s way to happiness is different from that of the world’s. Jesus
gave us a blueprint of what a blessed life is like in the beatitudes. The
values proffered are just the opposite of the world’s. The beatitudes
speak of a blessed life which is the life of God, the life of Mary and the life
of Jesus.
So what is this blessed
life? And how can one live this blessed life? It is a life lived in
love and service for others. Blessedness therefore has to do with a life
of authentic relationship with God, others and self. When we
examine the beatitudes, we find that all of them pertain to the way we should
relate with God, ourselves and others.
A blessed life in the first
place entails a life that is lived in total dependence on God. God is the
foundation of this life. A person who lives from God and in Him will
never fear about his future or about his life. This is the kind of life
that Jesus lived. That is why He could say, “How happy are the poor in spirit;
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Only when we are deeply rooted in the
love of God, can we surrender our lives to Him in faith.
Secondly,
a blessed life is a life of integrity. Only a man who is at peace with
himself can find real happiness in life. This is what Jesus asks of us
when He said, “Happy the pure in heart: they shall see God.” He also
declared, “Happy the gentle: they shall have the earth for their heritage.
Happy those who mourn: they shall be comforted. Happy those who hunger and
thirst for what is right: they shall be satisfied.” Truly, those who live
a life of purity before God, are contrite for their sins and seek to do the
right and just things in life will find themselves at peace as they have a
clear conscience before God and man. He is able to live such a life even
in the face of persecution, for his strength comes from his deep trust in
divine protection. Indeed, Jesus Himself who was persecuted and maligned
for helping the poor and the sinners understood this deep inner peace. He
could thus say, “Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right: theirs
is the kingdom of heaven.”
Thirdly,
a blessed life of integrity must flow into a life of love and compassion for
others. A man who has seen God and is conscious of his own needs and pain
will naturally be open to the wounds and pains of his fellowmen. Yes, he
will be merciful when he sees the sufferings of others. Recognizing the
pain of division and disunity, he seeks to be a peacemaker in reconciling
opposing forces and, most all, he is a champion of the underdogs and the
oppressed. Rightly so, Jesus said, “Happy are you when people abuse you
and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my
account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven;
this is how they persecuted the prophets before you.”
The
first reading provides us a living example of such a person in the life of
Elijah. In fact, his name itself is symbolic for it means “Yahweh is my
God.” It is significant that he came from Tishbe, a town beyond the
Jordan. Being born poor in a remote region of the country, he was
protected from the pagan influence and learnt to depend on God alone for his
security. Hence, we can understand why Elijah was so staunchly protective
of his faith and felt responsible for keeping the purity of the faith of Israel
against such alien contamination and false compromises. He spent his
whole life seeking to restore the covenant and reform the sins of Israel, not
just against God because of the worship of Baal and the fertility gods, but
also against injustice and immorality.
Elijah was a man of deep
faith who knew the power of the word of God. Inspired by the Spirit, he
spoke the Word of God from his heart without mincing his words. He
was totally confident when he prophesied that no rain or dew would fall on
Israel for three and a half years. St James held him up as a model of a
man of faith. (Cf James 5:17
). Because of his prayers, drought came to Israel.
). Because of his prayers, drought came to Israel.
Elijah in many ways
followed Christ in being a witness to God even in the face of intense
opposition and persecution. He remained persistent in his faith,
unwavering in his devotion to God and courageous in opposing the false
prophets. Because of his fidelity, God the Faithful One protected Elijah
and sustained him by providentially sending the ravens to feed him in his
hunger in the desert. Because he had borne God’s burden, the Lord would
also bear his burden.
Jesus
who preached the beatitudes Himself lived them in His very own life. That
is why His is a blessed life; a life lived for God, with Him and for His fellow
brothers and sisters. Let us take Jesus and Elijah as our models in faith
as we strive to live authentic lives of integrity, fidelity and charity.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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