20160731 THE MEANING OF LIFE IS TO RESTORE OUR IMAGE, WHICH IS
HIDDEN IN CHRIST
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Ecclesiastes
1:2,2:21-23 ©
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Vanity of vanities,
Qoheleth says. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity!
For so it
is that a man who has laboured wisely, skilfully and successfully must leave
what is his own to someone who has not toiled for it at all. This, too, is
vanity and great injustice; for what does he gain for all the toil and strain
that he has undergone under the sun? What of all his laborious days, his cares
of office, his restless nights? This, too, is vanity.
EITHER:
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
89:3-6,12-14,17 ©
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O Lord, you have
been our refuge from one generation to the next.
You turn men back to
dust
and say:
‘Go back, sons of men.’
To your eyes a
thousand years
are like
yesterday, come and gone,
no more
than a watch in the night.
O Lord, you have
been our refuge from one generation to the next.
You sweep men away
like a dream,
like the
grass which springs up in the morning.
In the morning it
springs up and flowers:
by
evening it withers and fades.
O Lord, you have
been our refuge from one generation to the next.
Make us know the
shortness of our life
that we
may gain wisdom of heart.
Lord, relent! Is your
anger for ever?
Show pity
to your servants.
O Lord, you have
been our refuge from one generation to the next.
In the morning, fill
us with your love;
we shall
exult and rejoice all our days.
Let the favour of the
Lord be upon us:
give
success to the work of our hands.
O Lord, you have
been our refuge from one generation to the next.
OR:
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Alternative
Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 94:1-2,6-9
©
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O that today you
would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
Come, ring out our
joy to the Lord;
hail the
rock who saves us.
Let us come before
him, giving thanks,
with
songs let us hail the Lord.
O that today you
would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
Come in; let us bow
and bend low;
let us
kneel before the God who made us:
for he is our God and
we
the
people who belong to his pasture,
the flock
that is led by his hand.
O that today you
would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
O that today you
would listen to his voice!
‘Harden
not your hearts as at Meribah,
as on
that day at Massah in the desert
when your fathers put
me to the test;
when they
tried me, though they saw my work.’
O that today you
would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
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Second reading
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Colossians
3:1-5,9-11 ©
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Since you have been
brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in
heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on
heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth, because you have
died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ
is revealed – and he is your life – you too will be revealed in all
your glory with him.
That is
why you must kill everything in you that belongs only to earthly life:
fornication, impurity, guilty passion, evil desires and especially greed, which
is the same thing as worshipping a false god; and never tell each other lies.
You have stripped off your old behaviour with your old self, and you have put
on a new self which will progress towards true knowledge the more it is renewed
in the image of its creator; and in that image there is no room for distinction
between Greek and Jew, between the circumcised or the uncircumcised, or between
barbarian and Scythian, slave and free man. There is only Christ: he is
everything and he is in everything.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Jn17:17
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O
Lord:
consecrate us in the
truth.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Mt5:3
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Alleluia, alleluia!
How happy are the
poor in spirit:
theirs is the kingdom
of heaven.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 12:13-21 ©
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A man in the crowd
said to Jesus, ‘Master, tell my brother to give me a share of our inheritance.’
‘My friend,’ he replied, ‘who appointed me your judge, or the arbitrator of
your claims?’ Then he said to them, ‘Watch, and be on your guard against
avarice of any kind, for a man’s life is not made secure by what he owns, even
when he has more than he needs.’
Then he
told them a parable: ‘There was once a rich man who, having had a good harvest
from his land, thought to himself, “What am I to do? I have not enough room to
store my crops.” Then he said, “This is what I will do: I will pull down my
barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods in them, and I
will say to my soul: My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many
years to come; take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time.” But God said to
him, “Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this
hoard of yours, whose will it be then?.” So it is when a man stores up treasure
for himself in place of making himself rich in the sight of God.’
THE
MEANING OF LIFE IS TO RESTORE OUR IMAGE, WHICH IS HIDDEN IN CHRIST
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ ECCL
1:2; 2:21-23; COL 3:1-5, 9-11; LK 12:13-21 ]
What do
you live for? Some live for work. This is vanity. For if the
meaning of life is found in work, then life becomes drudgery. Indeed, the
author of Ecclesiastes bemoans, “for what does he gain for all the toil and
strain that he has undergone under the sun? What of all his laborious days, his
cares of office, his restless nights?” Perhaps you live for power and
status. Well, this is also vanity. Great leaders, presidents and
prime ministers, famous movie stars and singers have come and gone. One
day, we will have to relinquish our office and positions to someone else.
And once out of office, like those once great and famous people, we will
languish away quietly and fade from the world.
What if
you live for money and wealth? That too is vanity. The truth in
life is that nothing lasts. At any rate, money cannot buy you everything
in life. Money cannot buy love and peace. In fact, the more money
you have, the more worries and anxieties there are. Most of all, you
cannot bring your money to your grave. Hence, once again as the author laments,
“a man who has laboured wisely, skillfully and successfully must leave what is
his own to someone who has not toiled for it at all.” Lastly, maybe
you live for pleasure. But can one find fulfillment in sensual pleasure
alone? Are we mere animals that can be satisfied by the physical and
material needs alone? Do we not have spirits that cry out for
fulfillment? So pleasure too is vanity!
The
stark truth is that even when we have status, power, money and the luxuries of
life, we are not much happier. In fact, surveys have shown that increase
in status, power, wealth and luxury do not bring a corresponding increase in
happiness. They might give us some satisfaction but not happiness. There
is a limit to the satisfaction that power, money and luxury can bring to a
person. Once the limit is reached, greed begins to take control of our life. We
become increasingly dissatisfied and this greed will eventually destroy our
happiness and peace.
What is
most frustrating in life is that after all the hard work accumulating wealth,
power and status, we live in fear and anxiety. Quite often, the people
who are beneficiaries of our wealth and inheritance are ungrateful. Even
at our deathbed we can hear our loved ones fighting for their share of our
property and wealth.
In the
light of all these, the author of the first reading could not but be
pessimistic because of the great injustices of life. Life is unfair!
Ironically, many of those who commit suicide are seldom poor, but people who
are rich, powerful and famous. In spite of their success and fame, they find
life meaningless. Having attained all they wanted, they found success a
disillusion, as it has not brought them real happiness. So why invest so
much energy to work for something so transient? Why spend our whole life
making a living when we do not know how to live?
For
this reason, Jesus warns us, “Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of
any kind, for a man’s life is not made secure by what he owns, even when he has
more than he needs.” Security and happiness in life is not determined by
our possessions. Even though what we own can provide some security, it
cannot fulfill our emotional, affective and spiritual needs. Life is
surely vanity if we think that it is simply about physical wealth, prestige and
power or even pleasure.
Where,
then, can we find happiness in life? We must live for a higher purpose.
The truth is that we cannot live only for this world or for ourselves
alone. Such a life is always a life under threat and is meaningless.
What is this higher goal that St Paul is inviting us to aspire to? We are
called to live for others by living for God. We must go beyond
ourselves. We must live in a transcendent manner, living transcendent
values. St Paul says, “since you have been brought back to true life with
Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is,
sitting at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on
the things that are on the earth, because you have died.”
It is
the life of the Spirit, the life of God. This is what Jesus is inviting
us in today’s gospel as well. He warns us not to store up treasure for
ourselves in place of making ourselves rich in the sight of God. The only
treasure that can last is when we are rich in God, which is to share in His
life. The good news is that this treasure is already given to us in
Christ. St Paul reveals to us that the true meaning of life is sharing in
the life “hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ is revealed – and he is
your life – you too will be revealed in all your glory with him.”
In
other words, what is the meaning of life and its happiness if not to become
Christ and to share in His life? Our goal and purpose of life is to be
restored in the image and likeness of God. St Paul says, “you have put on
a new self which will progress towards true knowledge the more it is renewed in
the image of its creator.”
What is
the life of Christ? It is a life of love and selfless service. It
is a life that is concerned with values and virtues. Such is the life of
the Spirit and being rich in the sight of God. Indeed, when we look at
the life of Christ, it is about relationship, love and service.
Relationship makes life
meaningful. Only a right relationship with God, others and ourselves can
give us fulfillment and happiness. One of the main reasons for our
unhappiness in life is disunity in our family, workplace and community.
Quarrels, misunderstandings and broken relationships cause us to be upset and
incomplete. What is the use of bringing so much money home when there is
no peace in the house because your spouse is fighting with you; and your
siblings are fighting among themselves or even not talking to you?
Indeed,
it is for relationship that Christ came into this world, to put us in right
relationship with God and with each other. St Paul tells us “there is no
room for distinction between Greek and Jew, between the circumcised or the
uncircumcised, or between barbarian and Scythian, slave and free man. There is
only Christ: he is everything and he is in everything.” In Christ, we
become one. This is what the reconciling work of Christ is all about.
Besides
relationship, what makes us happy is when we are able to go beyond ourselves to
care for others through selfless service. St Paul urges us, “you must kill
everything in you that belongs only to earthly life: fornication, impurity,
guilty passion, evil desires and especially greed, which is the same thing as
worshipping a false god; and never tell each other lies. You have stripped off
your old behaviour with your old self.”
Hence,
Jesus’ advice to us all is that we must store for ourselves the riches of God.
We do this by cultivating virtues such as love, forgiveness and
compassion. We must realize that what we do in life will build up our
character for better or for worse. Every time we do something wrong,
selfish or evil, we reinforce negative attitudes in us. Conversely, when
we do good works, even if it is a small act of good deed, we increase our
capacity to love. Our whole life is really a pilgrimage, pedagogy, when
we learn to grow in love and selflessness through our struggles in
relationships and the difficulties of loving. If we pursue that
direction, we will build up our Christian character and restore our image in
Christ.
With
the invitation to a life in Christ as our goal, there is also a warning not to
procrastinate and live in false security. Whatever time, talents and
money we have we should use them for personal sanctification through a life of
charity without expecting any return. In this way, when the time comes
for us to leave this world, we can depart in peace without any unfinished
agenda or unresolved issues. If not, we would have to endure the
restlessness and the pains of not being able to let go of this life to return
to God. For at the end of our lives, what remains is only the soul, that
is, the “I”, our thoughts, feelings, our mind and heart! If our hearts
remain resentful and selfish, we cannot leave this world in peace. Our
attachment, anger and unforgiveness will return to haunt us.
One
thing that is certain about life is this: death. The question we must ask
ourselves today is: How do you want to die? The way we respond to
this question will determine how we should live our lives now. Do you
want to end your life in misery, anger, resentment, and bitterness, feeling
that life has been unjust to you? Or do you want to let go of all that
you have, be these riches or negative feelings, so that you can be free from
selfishness and be free for love and service. It is better that we
die poor and be rich in heaven. We die poor when we have given our lives
in service and love to others. In emptying ourselves for others, we
enrich ourselves with love, generosity, goodness and kindness. A rich
life is one of love, compassion and detachment. This is the life of
God. So if we want to avoid falling into a state of disillusionment at
the end of our lives, we must start living now by loving and serving and
sharing until we extinguish ourselves. For when we are not, then Christ lives
in us and everything is in Christ.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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