20160922 LOOK TO WHAT IS LASTING
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Ecclesiastes
1:2-11 ©
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Vanity of vanities,
the Preacher says. Vanity of vanities. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity! For
all his toil, his toil under the sun, what does man gain by it?
A
generation goes, a generation comes, yet the earth stands firm for ever. The
sun rises, the sun sets; then to its place it speeds and there it rises.
Southward goes the wind, then turns to the north; it turns and turns again;
back then to its circling goes the wind. Into the sea all the rivers go, and
yet the sea is never filled, and still to their goal the rivers go. All things
are wearisome. No man can say that eyes have not had enough of seeing, ears
their fill of hearing. What was will be again; what has been done will be done
again; and there is nothing new under the sun. Take anything of which it may be
said, ‘Look now, this is new.’ Already, long before our time, it existed. Only
no memory remains of earlier times, just as in times to come next year itself
will not be remembered.
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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.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Ps118:18
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Open my eyes, O Lord,
that I may consider
the wonders of your
law.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Jn14:6
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the Way, the
Truth and the Life, says the Lord;
No one can come to
the Father except through me.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 9:7-9 ©
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Herod
the tetrarch had heard about all that was being done by Jesus; and he was
puzzled, because some people were saying that John had risen from the dead,
others that Elijah had reappeared, still others that one of the ancient
prophets had come back to life. But Herod said, ‘John? I beheaded him. So who
is this I hear such reports about?’ And he was anxious to see Jesus.
LOOK TO
WHAT IS LASTING
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ ECCLESIASTES 1:2-11; LUKE 9:7-9 ]
Today, we begin reading the
Book of Ecclesiastes. If we are not careful in reading this book in
perspective, it can lead us to have a very pessimistic and fatalistic view of
life. This is because what the Preacher says is so true that we cannot
but immediately identify with his sentiments. So we can end up giving up
on life. Life seems to have no meaning. No matter what we do, what
we achieve, what we have, all will come to naught. If that is the case,
why work so hard and why seek to build anything at all? They will
ultimately be destroyed. All our hard work and toil and labour will be in
vain. So we enter into a state of despondency and lose all zeal for life
and work, wishing that we die earlier.
We can even go to the other
extreme of just enjoying life. Since life has no meaning, pleasure is
what is left. So there are many people whose life is reduced to pleasure,
eating, drinking and merry-making. They have no thought of tomorrow
because there is no tomorrow. Left with today, they want to enjoy everything
they can, including indulging in immoral activities because once dead, life is
no more. So in desperation to seek happiness in life, they get themselves
involved in all kinds of adventure, even risky ones to get the most out of
life. Yet, at the end of the day, those whose lives are filled with
pleasure, entertainment, sex and eating, are they really happy or
fulfilled? Isn’t such a life no better than that of an animal?
Hence, it is important to
read the teachings of the Preacher in context. Supposedly, the author of
this book is King Solomon who was writing in his old age, around the 9th
century. Appropriately, this book is placed next to the Song of
Solomon. However, the style of writing appears to come much later,
perhaps in the 3rd century before Christ. Regardless, the
point remains that whoever the author was, he had arrived at the climax of his
career and had begun to wonder what life was all about. Like King
Solomon, he had all he wanted in life. He had riches, power, wives,
glory and a beautiful palace to live in. So he was not lacking in
anything. Yet, he was not at peace. He was not happy or
fulfilled. This is very true for many people in the world. When
they arrive at the height of their career and are now wealthy, powerful and
have whatever life can afford, having enjoyed all these, they begin to wonder
whether there is more to life than just eating, drinking, sex and
entertainment.
Most painful of all is that
if we live longer, we will see that all that we have done would be undone.
Life just carries on with or without us. This is what the first reading
seeks to express. Life is a cycle. History will repeat
itself. “A generation goes, a generation comes, yet the earth
stands firm forever. The sun rises, the sun sets; then to its place it speeds
and there it rises. Southward goes the wind, then turns to the north; it turns
and turns again; back then to its circling goes the wind. Into the sea all the
rivers go, and yet the sea is never filled, and still to their goal the rivers
go. All things are wearisome.” It is an endless repetition. We have
seen what happened to those before us, great, wealthy and powerful men.
Where are they today? So with us as well! We will go and join our
forefathers in time to come.
And the reality is that we
never learn. We should not be surprised. We know what history is
like. We know that we cannot escape from the same end our forefathers had
gone through. “No man can say that eyes have not had enough of seeing,
ears their fill of hearing. What was will be again; what has been done will be
done again; and there is nothing new under the sun. Take anything of which it
may be said, ‘Look now, this is new.’ Already, long before our time, it
existed. Only no memory of remains of earlier times, just as in times to come
next year itself will not be remembered.” Nothing is new under the
sun!
That is why we need to pray
for wisdom of heart. The psalmist says, “Make us know the shortness of
our life that we may gain wisdom of heart. Lord, relent! Is your anger forever?
Show pity to your servants.” Indeed, we need to see life in
perspective. Otherwise we will end up disillusioned, like the Preacher,
if we just continue with our worldly pursuits, giving so much time and energy
and arrive at nothing. We are no happier than one who is less wealthy and
powerful than us. This has happened to so many people because we keep
listening to the world that says that we will only be happy if we are
successful, have more money, a big house, a big car and food and
holidays. Are these people really happy and at peace?
Realizing the mistakes of
our forefathers, we must therefore avoid repeating the mistakes of the
past. We must learn from them so that we can live happy, meaningful and
fulfilling lives. Firstly, let us remember that life is short. “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. 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.”
For this reason, we must live as fully as possible and not allow time to be
wasted away.
Secondly, to be happy
presupposes we live a life of integrity, a life of responsibility, according to
our conscience. We have King Herod in the gospel. He too was
rich and successful. He had power and money but he was also living in
guilt and fear, especially after sentencing the prophet, John the Baptist to
death. He could not live with his guilt and could not forgive himself for
committing such a heinous crime. He might have been able to
continue with his adulterous relationship with Herodias but there was no
peace. How can a couple truly love when there is no peace in that
relationship? They can be together in bed but there is no real joy in
love because there is no peace. A guilty person tends to read into every
situation even when it has nothing to do with him. That was the case of
Herod when he heard about Jesus, thinking it was John the Baptist who came back
to life.
Thirdly, happiness is
simply to enjoy whatever life can afford, especially spending time with our
loved ones and friends in fellowship. Be happy and contented with what we
have and make the best of it. Do not be envious of what others have that
we do not have. If only we just make full use of what is given to us, we
would be happy enough. This is what the psalmist says, “In the morning, fill us
with your love; we shall exult and rejoice all our days.” We are to enjoy
the little and big pleasures of life, the flowers in the garden, the morning
exercise, the simple breakfast and occasionally, a holiday or a big meal and
celebration. Such moments are little reprieves for the hard work we do
and the stressful life we lead.
Fourthly, happiness and
meaning is found in work. The psalmist prays, “Let the favour of the Lord
be upon us: give success to the work of our hands.” Life is not all
pleasure and enjoyment because they can satisfy the body but not the
spirit. We have a soul and we have a mind. We need to feel and
think. This is what makes us human. We need to exercise and use our
potentials so that we can grow intellectually and mentally. Otherwise, we
become demented in no time if we do not use our brains often. God gives
us a mind to think and to be creative. So having a balanced life includes
finding work that gives us meaning and purpose and can enrich us.
Fifthly, happiness in life
comes when we give ourselves to others. If we want to be happy in life,
it is not sufficient to take care of ourselves or our work; we need to expand
our humanity by reaching out to those who need help. In reaching out to
the poor and the suffering, we become more aware of our humanity; and it helps
to develop the humanity inside us, drawing out from us our compassion, love and
kindness. Knowing that we are capable of feeling with and caring for
those who are suffering or deprived makes us more human. As we love them,
we feel loved also in return. It is the human touch that keeps us human
and not like a robot without feelings.
Finally, happiness
ultimately depends on our relationship with God. A man without God, a man
without a good prayer life will find that his life has no foundation, no goal
and no purpose. That is why faith in God and in eternal life is what
gives meaning to our life and brings everything we do on earth together. Faith
in God is that thread that sews all things together, giving us a holistic
life. This explains why those without God and without faith, in spite of
their success, live unfulfilled lives. There is a vacuum and at the end
of their life, they leave without hope for tomorrow. Such is the vanity
of life without God. It seems this life is futile.
Indeed, if we observe these
basic principles of life, then we need not end our life in resentment and
disappointment. By living our life to the fullest in enjoyment, love,
work and service, we have a foretaste of the life to come. By living a
contented life, but not a complacent life, doing what we can, enjoying what is
given to us and making ourselves useful to the world, we find that life is not
too bad at all, even if this life will come to an end. What is important
is not whether what we have achieved would continue but that through our
involvement and contributions, we have built ourselves up in maturity in the
manhood of Christ. The world is the arena in which we help to build the
lasting city of love, peace and joy.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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