20170121 DISCOURAGEMENT FROM OUR LOVED ONES IN THE MINISTRY
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Red.
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First reading
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Hebrews
9:2-3,11-14 ©
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There was a tent
which comprised two compartments: the first, in which the lamp stand, the table
and the presentation loaves were kept, was called the Holy Place; then beyond
the second veil, an innermost part which was called the Holy of Holies.
But now
Christ has come, as the high priest of all the blessings which were to come. He
has passed through the greater, the more perfect tent, which is better than the
one made by men’s hands because it is not of this created order; and he has
entered the sanctuary once and for all, taking with him not the blood of goats
and bull calves, but his own blood, having won an eternal redemption for us.
The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer are sprinkled on those
who have incurred defilement and they restore the holiness of their outward
lives; how much more effectively the blood of Christ, who offered himself as
the perfect sacrifice to God through the eternal Spirit, can purify our inner
self from dead actions so that we do our service to the living God.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
46(47):2-3,6-9 ©
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God goes up with
shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.
All peoples, clap
your hands,
cry to
God with shouts of joy!
For the Lord, the
Most High, we must fear,
great
king over all the earth.
God goes up with
shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.
God goes up with
shouts of joy;
the Lord
goes up with trumpet blast.
Sing praise for God,
sing praise,
sing
praise to our king, sing praise.
God goes up with
shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.
God is king of all
the earth,
sing
praise with all your skill.
God is king over the
nations;
God
reigns on his holy throne.
God goes up with
shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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2Co5:19
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Alleluia, alleluia!
God in Christ was
reconciling the world to himself,
and he has entrusted
to us the news that they are reconciled.
Alleluia!
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Or
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cf.Ac16:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O
Lord,
to accept the words
of your Son.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 3:20-21 ©
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Jesus
went home, and once more such a crowd collected that they could not even have a
meal. When his relatives heard of this, they set out to take charge of him,
convinced he was out of his mind.
DISCOURAGEMENT
FROM OUR LOVED ONES IN THE MINISTRY
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ HEB 9:2 -14; MK 3:20 – 21
]
Today’s
gospel is one of the shortest gospel texts for the Mass. The Church
deliberately selected this short text to bring across the centrality of the cross
in the proclamation of the Good News. Over the last few days, we heard of
the healing miracles of Jesus and His power over the devil. Lest we
glorify in a triumphant Lord working on earth, the Church wants us to bear in
mind that the success of Jesus’ ministry is always to be seen in the shadow of
the cross. So right at the very beginning of His ministry, we must bear
in mind that the proclamation of the gospel entails rejection and suffering.
In
previous gospel texts, we read of Jesus facing His opponents over the Sabbath
Law. Such opposition must have discouraged Jesus in His zeal for the
restoration of God’s kingdom. But the fact that opposition came not only
from without but from within, specifically His own relations and loved ones,
must have made it even more difficult to bear. Indeed, we know how
discouraging it is when even our loved ones do not support us in our vocation
and mission in life. The trials in the apostolate, and the work itself,
are already challenging enough, but when we do not have the support and
understanding of our loved ones, or worse still, when we face discouragement
from our most important source of comfort and consolation, it is very difficult
to find the motivation and courage to carry on.
This
was certainly the case with Jesus in the gospel. We read that the
relatives “set out to take charge of him, convinced he was out of his mind.” In
simple terms, they thought that Jesus must have gone crazy. Of course,
the intentions of the relatives were good, even though they might have been
embarrassed by His actions. Which one of us would not feel that way too
if our loved ones, our parents or siblings, behave in a manner that is
considered pathological and unconventional? Unlike the
religious authorities, they wanted to put Jesus in the mainstream so that He
could be more acceptable to everyone. Perhaps they also thought that He
was overworked and had lost His focus. Surely they must have heard how
Jesus left His mother to become an itinerant preacher and healer, moving without
a proper place to stay, and no financial security to boot. Furthermore,
He was challenging the religious and cultural traditions of the day, especially
in the observance of the Sabbath Law, forgiving sins in the place of God,
eating and drinking with sinners, which bordered on heresy. He even
touched the lepers, something so disgusting, risky and imprudent to do in His
time.
But isn’t this the way we
feel too, when we seriously try to live out the gospel values and are
ostracized? We know of many people who have given up their lucrative
careers or businesses to devote themselves entirely to the service of the poor,
the marginalized, or join the priesthood or religious life. Such
actions would have been considered unwise and stupid even, not to say
irresponsible, by the world. The world does not know Jesus and has never
experienced the joy of loving Him and His people, and so will never be able to
understand the actions and life options of these people.
When we face such
criticisms and ridicule, let us not react negatively. The world is
ignorant of what true happiness and joy are. People in love always appear to be
mad to the world. So too, someone who has fallen in love with Christ will
appear as utterly mad to the world. St Paul in his letters mentioned many
times that our faith in the crucified Christ is madness to the Jews and folly
to the Gentiles. If the gospel were to be judged by worldly standards,
then indeed the values espoused by Christ are madness. However, for those
of us who know Christ and the truth about love and life, then the gospel brings
us fullness of life. In living the kingdom life of love, forgiveness,
compassion, service and charity, we find life even more liberating and healing.
So what do we do when even
our loved ones misunderstand us, especially when we are involved in the service
of the Church or voluntary organization, working so hard, without pay, and
often having to face persecution from within and without? For many of us,
the temptation is often to give up, since such involvements are
voluntary. After all, how stupid can we be, to work free for those
who do not appreciate our love and service? How often have we thought of
abandoning ship and going where we can be appreciated, or at least be paid for
what we do!
But for
us who know how Jesus our Master and Lord Himself was so misunderstood,
ridiculed and persecuted, we can see why we need not surrender our convictions,
our values and our hopes for humanity and ourselves. Yes, drawing
strength from our master, we will doggedly push on, knowing that the crown is
at the end of the cross; the resurrection is at the end of death. We live
not just for man but for God, and we want to glorify Him in all that we do so
that we can share in His glory.
Instead of reacting with
anger and vindictiveness, we must win them over, slowly but surely, by our
patience, tolerance, forgiveness, prayers and most of all, by the witness of
joy and peace in our lives. That was what Jesus did. This sacrificial and
humble love of Jesus for us and His relatives is seen by His restraint in
criticizing them for the lack of understanding of His mission and identity. He
won them over eventually by His death on the cross and His resurrection.
His fidelity to His mission eventually was vindicated by His life and, most of
all, by His Father who raised Him from the dead.
This
explains why Jesus is considered in the first reading as both the priest and
the victim. Jesus, we read, offers the perfect sacrifice because He
offered Himself. The animal sacrifices in the Old Covenant did not effect
the changes in the hearts of people because it was external and only a symbol
and the priests could not offer themselves as sacrifice to God since they were
sinners themselves. The unblemished animal offered to God had to take their
place as a substitute. But this did not change the hearts of those whose
blood the sacrificial animal was shed for. We are not moved by the
external sacrifice of an animal because it is merely an animal, even if it
costs some money.
Jesus’ sacrifice is
different. “He has entered the sanctuary once and for all, taking with
him not the blood of goats and bull calves, but his own blood, having won an
eternal redemption for us.” That being the case, the author concluded,
“how much more effectively the blood of Christ, who offered himself as the
perfect sacrifice to God through the eternal Spirit, can purify our inner self
from dead actions so that we do our service to the living God.” Yes,
through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection, our hearts are
transformed from fear of God to love for Him; from sin to grace; from despair
to hope, from hatred to forgiveness, from death to life. It is this faith
and hope in Jesus that will see us through this journey of life and our service
to God, regardless of the vocation that we have. So long as what we do is
in accordance to God’s will and the values of the gospel, we will find joy and
peace, even when the world is against us, especially our loved ones.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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