20161201 WHAT IS THE FOUNDATION OF YOUR LIFE?
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Isaiah 26:1-6 ©
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That day, this song
will be sung in the land of Judah:
We have a strong
city;
to guard us he has
set
wall and rampart
about us.
Open the gates! Let
the upright nation come in,
she, the faithful one
whose mind is
steadfast, who keeps the peace,
because she trusts in
you.
Trust in the Lord for
ever,
for the Lord is the
everlasting Rock;
he has brought low
those who lived high up
in the steep citadel;
he brings it down,
brings it down to the ground,
flings it down in the
dust:
the feet of the
lowly, the footsteps of the poor
trample on it.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
117(118):1,8-9,19-21,25-27 ©
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Blessed in the
name of the Lord is he who comes.
or
Alleluia.
Give thanks to the
Lord for he is good,
for his
love has no end.
It is better to take
refuge in the Lord
than to
trust in men;
it is better to take
refuge in the Lord
than to
trust in princes.
Blessed in the
name of the Lord is he who comes.
or
Alleluia.
Open to me the gates
of holiness:
I will
enter and give thanks.
This is the Lord’s
own gate
where the
just may enter.
I will thank you for
you have answered
and you
are my saviour.
Blessed in the
name of the Lord is he who comes.
or
Alleluia.
O Lord, grant us
salvation;
O Lord,
grant success.
Blessed in the name
of the Lord
is he who
comes.
We bless you from the
house of the Lord;
the Lord
God is our light.
Blessed in the
name of the Lord is he who comes.
or
Alleluia.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Is40:9-10
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Shout with a loud
voice, joyful messenger to Jerusalem.
Here is the Lord God
coming with power.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Is55:6
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Seek the Lord while
he is still to be found,
call to him while he
is still near.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew
7:21,24-27 ©
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Jesus
said to his disciples: ‘It is not those who say to me, “Lord, Lord,” who will
enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in
heaven. ‘Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on
them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down,
floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did
not fall: it was founded on rock. But everyone who listens to these words of
mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on
sand. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it
fell; and what a fall it had!’
WHAT IS
THE FOUNDATION OF YOUR LIFE?
It is
obvious to anyone who wants to build a house that he must ensure that the
building has a good foundation, whether with respect to the soil or the pillars
on which everything is built. Without laying a good foundation, as Jesus says
in the gospel, when “rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that
house, and it fell; and what a fall it had!” When it comes to laying down
a good foundation, there cannot be any let up; otherwise the price to pay will
be heavy, not just in monetary or material terms but even at the cost of lives.
If this
is true for physical buildings, what about the human person? Why is it
that many do not take seriously the need to ensure that their lives have good
foundation. Many people get married and have children. But have
they carefully given thought to the kind of foundation they want their marriage
to be built on, or that of their family life, particularly in the way they
raise their children? The truth is that many couples enter into marriage
without agreeing on the kind of foundation they intend to build their
relationship on. They do not even have time to really speak about the
things that really matter to their hearts and to their lives together as a
couple.
This is
equally true with respect to the raising of children. Isn’t it true that
many couples have no real idea what it takes to raise up holistic and integrated
children? All they are concerned about is that they do well in life,
which is reduced to giving them a good academic education, getting good results
and performing well in sports and the arts. But have they given
thought to the importance of forming their character, inculcating them with
good and lasting values? How could they, if the parents themselves are
lacking in moral values, when all they care about are the values of this world:
success, riches, fame and status? If only parents know that what they say
and do will affect their children, then they will think twice before they say
or do anything, whether in their interpersonal relationships or the way they
relate with their children. Many of us today are deeply wounded and
broken, suffering from low self-esteem, insecurity, and failure in
relationships because we are not capable of love, as we have never received
unconditional love and forgiveness from those who were supposed to be our
mentors, tutors, models and exemplars.
Hence, we must reflect
carefully the kind of foundation we are building our lives and that of our
children’s on. If the foundation is built only on this world, then
we are building on sand, because like sand, the world is unstable,
unpredictable and illusory. Even if one becomes rich, successful and
achieves status in life, the heart remains empty, especially when one’s
personal life is a failure with regard to relationships. In vain are all our
successes when we have no one to share our life and joy with because we are
estranged from our spouse, misunderstood by our parents, marginalized by our
siblings, treated with hostility by our colleagues and stressed out by jealousy
and competition in the office. Worse still, if because of the lack
of ethical values, we fall into debt, are addicted to drugs, drink and gambling
and live a wanton and promiscuous life.
Alas,
history will repeat itself. If we are so broken, our children will only
mimic us. That is why the bible warns us, “For I the Lord thy God am a
jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the
third and fourth generation.” (Ex 20:5;
Dt 5:9) The effects
of our sins will continue to affect them. Although we cannot pass down
our personal sins to others, we can affect them negatively because of the
wounds we inflict on them and the negative values and lifestyles they imbibe
from us. That is why sin is a vicious cycle, which is one of the meanings
of Original Sin.
So if we want to build a
lasting future for ourselves, and this is what the scripture readings at Advent
are exhorting us, then let us, at the very start of Advent, lay down the right
foundation for ourselves, our family and society. If society today is so
divided and confused, it is because when there is no strong leadership in
morality, then all those with compromised values will begin to exert their
influence on the world. This is true in every aspect of life. If an
organization is divided, it is always the consequence of a lack of strong
leadership. When there is no strong leader to provide the vision for the
people, then those with smaller visions will impose theirs on others, resulting
in disunity and division.
Our
position as Christians is clear. Only God can provide us with the
absolute and lasting values. Man cannot, because he is neither absolute
nor lasting. The scriptures call God, the Rock, for the simple reason
that rock stands for stability, strength and durability. The Prophet
says, “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord is the everlasting Rock.”
Jesus in the same vein tells us to build our house on solid rock. Jesus
of course is the rock and that was why He told Peter that He would build the
Church on the rock of his faith in Him as the Christ, the Son of the Living
God. (Mt 16:16)
If we build our house on Him, then He will bring “low those who lived high up
in the steep citadel; brings it down, brings it down to the ground, flings it
down in the dust: the feet of the lowly, the footsteps of the poor trample on
it.” Such a house can withstand rain, floods, gales and all the storms of
life, and it will not fall as it is built on rock. Indeed, only a life
that is founded on the love of God, His wisdom and His love, is secure against
all forms of disasters and suffering.
For those of who do not put
God as the center of their lives, their ignorance and folly will cause them to
suffer not just in this life but in the life hereafter. Preferring to
trust in themselves, their pride will destroy them. Indeed, the psalmist
urges us, “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is
better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.” Why must we wait
to meet disaster before we turn to Him? Why are we not awakened from our
blindness to the truly important matters in life?
If we
want to take the right step in providing for our future and that of those under
our care, then we must avoid taking short cuts, as this is a slippery path to
self-destruction. This was what the man did in building his house on the
sand. One does not need much effort to build such a house. If we
cheat in our exams, we will soon be caught out because the time will come when
our inadequacies will show up at work. If we pursue success without hard
work, gamble and speculate in the stock market in the hope of making a quick
buck, we may end up bankrupt and eventually break up the family. If we
cheat the company, evade taxes and manipulate the company’s accounts, we may
find the law pursuing us in years to come. We will live in fear and with
a bad conscience.
Consequently,
if we want to build our house on solid rock, we must not only come to Christ
who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, but we must also put into practice all
that He has taught us and shown us. Faith in Christ is not just an
intellectual or verbal assent but a commitment of the heart to His person, His
works and His words. As Jesus warns us, “It is not those who say to me,
“Lord, Lord”, who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the
will of my Father in heaven. Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of
mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on
rock.” We must let the Word of God transform our lives. So to
build the house on solid rock in the final analysis is to do the will of the
Father, putting into practice what the Lord has taught us.
This
Advent, as we await the coming of Christ and His kingdom of love and peace in
our lives, we must welcome the Word of the Lord, first into our hearts and
minds, then live it out in our daily life. When we keep His word, “the
Father will love him, and we shall come to him. (Jn 14:23)
It is His presence in us
that will strengthen us to resist any temptation and evil. As the prophet
declares, “That day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a
strong city; to guard us he has set wall and rampart about us. Open the gates!
Let the upright nation come in, she, the faithful one whose mind is steadfast,
who keeps the peace, because she trusts in you.” Let us form
ourselves with a strong Christian character so that we will remain unmoved by
all the temptations of the world and be wise enough to reject the illusory
values the world is offering us. There is no short cut to
happiness. It is the way of the cross, the way of forming ourselves in
the light of Christ’s teaching and walking in the Spirit of Christ.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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