LOVE FOR GOD MUST COME BEFORE LOVE FOR HUMANITY

20170111 LOVE FOR GOD MUST COME BEFORE LOVE FOR HUMANITY

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading

Hebrews 2:14-18 ©

Since all the children share the same blood and flesh, Christ too shared equally in it, so that by his death he could take away all the power of the devil, who had power over death, and set free all those who had been held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. For it was not the angels that he took to himself; he took to himself descent from Abraham. It was essential that he should in this way become completely like his brothers so that he could be a compassionate and trustworthy high priest of God’s religion, able to atone for human sins. That is, because he has himself been through temptation he is able to help others who are tempted.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 104(105):1-4,6-9 ©

The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

or

Alleluia!

Give thanks to the Lord, tell his name,

  make known his deeds among the peoples.

O sing to him, sing his praise;

  tell all his wonderful works!

The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

or

Alleluia!

Be proud of his holy name,

  let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice.

Consider the Lord and his strength;

  constantly seek his face.

The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

or

Alleluia!

O children of Abraham, his servant,

  O sons of the Jacob he chose.

He, the Lord, is our God:

  his judgements prevail in all the earth.

The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

or

Alleluia!

He remembers his covenant for ever,

  his promise for a thousand generations,

the covenant he made with Abraham,

  the oath he swore to Isaac.

The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

or

Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation

cf.Col3:16a,17

Alleluia, alleluia!

Let the message of Christ, in all its richness,

find a home with you;

through him give thanks to God the Father.

Alleluia!

Or

Jn10:27

Alleluia, alleluia!

The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,

says the Lord,

I know them and they follow me.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Mark 1:29-39 ©

On leaving the synagogue, Jesus went with James and John straight to the house of Simon and Andrew. Now Simon’s mother-in-law had gone to bed with fever, and they told him about her straightaway. He went to her, took her by the hand and helped her up. And the fever left her and she began to wait on them.

  That evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were possessed by devils. The whole town came crowding round the door, and he cured many who were suffering from diseases of one kind or another; he also cast out many devils, but he would not allow them to speak, because they knew who he was.

  In the morning, long before dawn, he got up and left the house, and went off to a lonely place and prayed there. Simon and his companions set out in search of him, and when they found him they said, ‘Everybody is looking for you.’ He answered, ‘Let us go elsewhere, to the neighbouring country towns, so that I can preach there too, because that is why I came.’ And he went all through Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out devils.

LOVE FOR GOD MUST COME BEFORE LOVE FOR HUMANITY

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Heb 2:14-18; Mk 1:29-39 ]

It is significant that the author to the Hebrews highlighted that “it was not the angels that he took to himself; he took to himself descent from Abraham.”  Indeed, this is a profound observation.  Jesus lowered Himself to save us by reducing Himself not to just a created spirit, like the guardian and archangels, but He chose to descend even lower by becoming a man like one of us.  In a pointed manner, he wrote, “since all the children share the same blood and flesh, Jesus too shared equally in it.” Thus, Jesus was truly a man in every way.  He knows our pains, our struggles, our anxieties, our fears, our brokenness, our desire for love and to love.  Most of all, He understands our fear of death, emotional, physical and spiritual death.

For this reason, the author explains, “it was essential that he should in this way become completely like his brothers so that he could be a compassionate and trustworthy high priest of God’s religion, able to atone for human sins.  That is, because he has himself been through temptation he is able to help others who are tempted.”  And most of all “by his death he could take away all the power of the devil, who had power over death, and set free all those who had been held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death.”

Indeed, by His identification with us in our misery and pain, He is our leader in salvation.  Since He not only carried our infirmities upon Himself but our sins and the consequences of sin, He is the One who can show us how to conquer sin and death by His unconditional forgiveness and love on the cross and His resurrection.  With sin and death overcome, we know that not even illness or persecution can kill us.  Even if our bodies are killed, we live forever in Him.  It is truly comforting to know that no one understands and empathizes with us more than Jesus, for He is truly a man, one who can feel with and for us, because He is not self-centered but people-centered.  He feels our sorrows more than He feels for His own.

We see the compassion of Jesus and solidarity of Jesus with the sick, as described in the gospel.  The evangelist describes His normal day which was filled with activities.  His primary mission was to heal and to reconcile and to restore.  We read “that evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were possessed by devils.  The whole town came crowding round the door, and he cured many who were suffering from diseases of one kind or another; he also cast out many devils, but he would not allow them to speak, because they knew who he was.”  So if we think we are busy, we can be certain that many more people were demanding some time from Jesus.  Many were desperate to find a cure for their illness or to seek deliverance from obsessions or from evil spirits.

We too are overwhelmed.  Regardless of who we are, whether priest or parent, worker or student, we have many responsibilities in life.  Besides, we have many friends and even strangers seeking assistance from us, especially if they know we have the capacity or the influence to get things done for them.  Yes, we hear the same words that Simon and his fellow companions said to Jesus, “Everybody is looking for you.”   Like Jesus, if we are available and especially if we are blessed with many charisms, we will be much sought after.  Our program will be packed, back to back.

This is where the real danger lies.  We can be so involved in the lives of our fellowmen that we lose focus entirely.  So filled with compassion for them and sincerely desiring to help them, there is always the possibility of us being possessed by them.  Yes, if we are rich, famous, popular, talented, influential, powerful, etc, many will want to be our friends and many more will seek our help.  Many will try to possess us and even seek to control our lives by making us feel obligated towards them, sometimes using financial, material or emotional blackmail.  This explains why Jesus resisted such temptations to make Him a king in His village.  His immediate response was, “’Let us go elsewhere, to the neighbouring country towns, so that I can preach there too, because that is why I came.’  And he went all through Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out devils.”

Of course, the opposite danger is that when we are loved and accepted, having found our niche, we might become too complacent to extend ourselves beyond our boundaries.  We are not so keen to move out of our comfort zone and our familiar way of doing things.  Change in status quo always upsets us and inconveniences us.  So there is a great temptation to establish our kingdom in a place and with a community that is like-minded and most of all, where there is fraternal love and support.  In this case, we are making the community, and even the place, our possession.  Being too attached to them, we become paralyzed in extending the kingdom of Christ to all the nations.

How then do we prevent such a situation from happening?  Jesus shows us the way.  The basis for His ministry to the wounded and broken was not founded merely on human compassion.  It was Jesus’ personal identification with His Father’s love for humanity that made Him empty Himself of His divinity to manifest to us the Father’s love and mercy for us.  In other words, He loved His Father first, and it was from this love that His compassion for the sick, the poor and the marginalized originated. In other words, Christian ministry is not reducible to works of charity based on humanism.  Rather, our works of mercy must spring from our deep experience of the Father’s love for us in Christ.  Otherwise, we will become crippled in our service to the poor because of their overwhelming demands and needs that cannot be completely satisfied.  Some of us might even become jaded, angry and resentful because of the apparent injustice or indifference of the world to our cause for humanity.

For this reason, we must learn from Jesus to draw strength, inspiration and love from His Father.  The evangelist wrote that “in the morning, long before dawn, he got up and left the house, he went to a lonely place and prayed there.”  The key to avoid a compassion that leads to a gross attachment to those whom we love and serve is to root our service in the Father’s love and not in our human need for love.  In this way, we can be one with those whom we serve without being absorbed by them, that is, exercise compassion without attachment.

We must pray.  Unfortunately, in our daily activities, there is a tendency for us to be so caught up in what we are doing that we forget or have no time to pray.  Our projects and work come first before our relationship with God.  Our time with God is always left on the backburner; we come to Him only when we are available.  Of course, we are never available to Him because we are all so busy!  Truly, we do not look for Jesus the way the people looked for Him.  We do not look for the Father the way Jesus did.  He was always yearning to spend time with His Father regardless of how busy He was in His ministry.

But even if we forget about Him, let us remember that God is always looking for us.  He is saying to us, “I am looking for you.  Where are you?” So even if we do not look for Him, be assured that He is looking for us!  How gracious is our God!  That is what the psalmist proclaims, “He remembers forever his covenant which he made binding for a thousand generations which he entered into with Abraham and by his oath to Isaac. Give thanks to the Lord, invoke his name; make known among the nations his deeds. Sing to him, sing his praise, proclaim all his wondrous deeds.”  However, no matter how much He loves and cares for us and is looking for us, unless we allow Him to find us, we will not find Him.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved