20170315 WALKING IN THE LIGHT OF LOVE
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Jeremiah
18:18-20 ©
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‘Come on,’ they said,
‘let us concoct a plot against Jeremiah; the priest will not run short of
instruction without him, nor the sage of advice, nor the prophet of the word.
Come on, let us hit at him with his own tongue; let us listen carefully to
every word he says.’
Listen to me, O Lord,
hear what my
adversaries are saying.
Should evil be
returned for good?
For they are digging
a pit for me.
Remember how I stood
in your presence
to plead on their
behalf,
to turn your wrath
away from them.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
30(31):5-6,14-16 ©
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Save me in your
love, O Lord.
Release me from the
snares they have hidden
for you
are my refuge, Lord.
Into your hands I
commend my spirit.
It is you
who will redeem me, Lord.
Save me in your
love, O Lord.
I have heard the
slander of the crowd,
fear is
all around me,
as they plot together
against me,
as they
plan to take my life.
Save me in your
love, O Lord.
But as for me, I
trust in you, Lord;
I say:
‘You are my God.
My life is in your
hands, deliver me
from the
hands of those who hate me.’
Save me in your
love, O Lord.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Jn6:63,68
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Glory to you, O
Christ, you are the Word of God!
Your words are
spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message
of eternal life.
Glory to you, O
Christ, you are the Word of God!
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Or
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Jn8:12
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Glory to you, O
Christ, you are the Word of God!
I am the light of the
world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me
will have the light of life.
Glory to you, O
Christ, you are the Word of God!
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Gospel
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Matthew 20:17-28
©
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Jesus was going up to
Jerusalem, and on the way he took the Twelve to one side and said to them, ‘Now
we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about to be handed over to
the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him
over to the pagans to be mocked and scourged and crucified; and on the third
day he will rise again.’
Then the
mother of Zebedee’s sons came with her sons to make a request of him, and bowed
low; and he said to her, ‘What is it you want?’ She said to him, ‘Promise that
these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and the other at your
left in your kingdom.’ ‘You do not know what you are asking’ Jesus answered.
‘Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?’ They replied, ‘We can.’ ‘Very
well,’ he said ‘you shall drink my cup, but as for seats at my right hand and
my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have
been allotted by my Father.’
When the
other ten heard this they were indignant with the two brothers. But Jesus
called them to him and said, ‘You know that among the pagans the rulers lord it
over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen
among you. No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and
anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of
Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for
many.’
WALKING
IN THE LIGHT OF LOVE
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ JER 18:18-20;
PS 30:5-6,14-16; MT 20:17-28 ]
It is important that we all
have a focus in life. Happiness in life is not just about romance and relationship.
This is of course important and indeed primary. But in itself, it is
insufficient. We need to live for a purpose. To live for a purpose
is to live for meaning. Only two things can satisfy the human person,
truth and love. To live for love is to live for relationship. To
live for truth is to live for a meaning. So what we need to ask is, what
is driving us? In asking this question, we raise the question of
ambition. We are all driven by what we desire. We are driven by
ambition. A man without ambition, a man without any purpose in life would
just drift on like a rolling stone that gathers no moss. He is easily
swept by the wind, novelties in life and chasing one to another craze.
One day he is into Pokémon and another day he is into something else.
The tragedy is that many of
us who live in darkness are ignorant about how to find real happiness and
meaning in life. Most of us are misled by the world into thinking that
power, money and fame will bring us happiness. This was the case of the
Israelites in the first reading. They turned to false gods. Their
ambition for money and power led them to forge alliances with foreign powers
and worship of their gods. They refused to listen to the Word of
God. They continued in their selfishness, worshipping false gods and
engaging in immoral activities and dishonesty.
In the gospel, the apostles
sought worldly power. So scandalous it was that St Matthew had to
attribute blame to the mothers by having them ask, “Promise that these two sons
of mine may one sit at your right hand and the other at your left in your
kingdom.” But when Jesus asked, “Can you drink the cup that I am going to
drink?” They replied, “We can.” Clearly, it was the apostles themselves who
wanted power, wealth and fame. The other Ten were not much different. We
read that “when the other ten heard this they were indignant with the two
brothers.” Pope Francis never cease to warn us of the temptation to
spiritual worldliness. Even within the religious world, this need to find
security and our egotism continue to drive us to seek power, fame and
recognition.
When we walk the ways of
the world, then we are living in darkness. That was why Jeremiah was
trying to enlighten the kings, the false prophets and the people not to pursue
this way of life, otherwise the judgement of God would come to destroy
them. He invited them to repent of their disobedience to God’s will
and His laws. But the people would not listen. As predicted,
because of sin, Jerusalem was eventually destroyed. The Temple was ruined
and the people were led into captivity in Babylon. In the final analysis,
the people were responsible for their own destruction because they refused to
listen to God’s message.
Indeed, this is true of
many people who are ambitious over the wrong things in life. They work
hard day and night. They think that wealth and money can afford them all
the pleasures of life. But in truth, there is a limit to the
satisfaction that wealth and pleasure can bring. Once you have a certain
amount of money, the rest is a number because you cannot spend all the money
you have. Once you have tasted all the good food, you will not want to
eat too much of it because too much good food is ultimately bad for
health! Once you have travelled to many places, you get jaded and just
wish to spend time at home enjoying the simple things of life. This was the
same experience of King Solomon when he wrote his reflections in Ecclesiastes.
(Eccl 2:4-11)
Some think that fame and
power can make them happy. This is also not true. Egotism that
springs from a deep insecurity in oneself cannot be overcome simply by being
great and powerful because there will always be people who are better than us.
No matter how powerful we are, we remain insecure of our competitors.
That is why businesses try to outsmart their competitors; and those in power
would seek to unseat those who are a threat to their status quo. So it
does not mean we will be at rest. We will always be fighting with our
opponents and competitors until we die. We will never be able to enjoy
life on earth or be happy. Indeed, at the end of the day, after all the
pursuits, it comes to nothing. (cf Eccl 2:20-23)
So let us not be
deceived. This was what Jeremiah was trying to warn his fellowmen; not to
walk the way of ignorance that leads to darkness and sin. Instead, the
Lord is asking us to walk in the path of humble service and love. It is
not about oneself but about others. “You know that among the pagans the
rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This
is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be
your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave,
just as the Son of Man.” We are called to be of service to humanity. Not
just any form of service but selfless, humble and total service. That was
how Jesus lived His life. He “came not to be served but to serve, and to
give his life as a ransom for many.” Happiness in life is when we
give ourselves in service to God and to humanity. This is the only way to
have an ambition that is not motivated by love of self, egotism or love of
worldly pleasures, but simply for the joy of unconditional love and
service. When our motives for service are not driven by wealth, power and
recognition, we find great peace in serving the Lord and our fellowmen.
Jesus advised us, “As for seats at my right hand and my left, these are not
mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted by my
Father.”
But this entails much
opposition. It is not easy to remain focused on our goals in life.
It is very daunting to live the values of Christ and the gospel because the
lifestyle offered by the Lord as enshrined in the beatitudes are out of this
world. They contradict the standards of the world. People would
find us odd and stupid because we choose against what the world values as
achievements in life. Instead, we choose poverty, simplicity, meekness,
mercy, righteousness, purity, and even persecution for the sake of the
kingdom. The values of the kingdom of course differ from that of the
world. Jeremiah suffered for truth and the Word of God. He spoke
the Word of God for the sake of his countrymen, because instead of being
grateful, they sought to remove him from their midst.
Indeed, because of our
faith, some of us are being ridiculed at school or in our environment.
Non-believers would often taunt us and mock at us for not joining them in their
worldly lifestyle. This was the same situation that Jeremiah found
himself in. He had to bear the taunts of those who opposed his message.
“Come on, let us concoct a plan against Jeremiah. Come on, let us hit at him
with his own tongue.” So much so, we may even feel ashamed to be known as
Catholics. Of course it does not help that many of us do not live up to
our faith and those who know we are Catholics use our failures in Christian
conduct to humiliate and attack us. This explains why many Catholics
prefer to remain anonymous at their workplace and in schools for fear of being
challenged, ridiculed and attacked.
Should we be surprised?
Jeremiah asked, “Should evil be returned for good? For they are digging a pit
for me.” Even Jesus was aware of the passion before Him when He was
on His way to Jerusalem. He prophesied, “They will condemn him to death
and will hand him over to the pagans to be mocked and scourged and crucified.”
Jesus was clearly aware of what He was doing and the sufferings ahead of
Him. But He was equally confident that God and truth will triumph in the
end. Like the psalmist, He would have said, “But as for me, I trust in
you, Lord; I say: ‘You are my God. My life is in your hands, deliver me from
the hands of those who hate me.’” The apostles too were asked the same
question, “Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink? You shall drink my
cup.” We too must be cognizant of the challenges of being a Catholic
and a Christian in today’s society. The call to witness to Christ is not
easy. We must be ready to drink the cup of wrath, of the consequences of
our sins and the sins of others.
For this reason, we need
the support of our fellow Catholics. We cannot journey alone. That is why
during this season of Lent, we are called to travel as a community of
faith. Alone, we might be too weak to resist the temptations of the world
or the trials of the apostolate. But with fellow Catholics in this
journey, they can help us to walk in the light together, and render support for
each other in this journey of life, inspiring and edifying each other.
Jeremiah was all alone. Jesus, who was at the edge of His passion, was
also abandoned by the apostles. Instead of consoling Jesus or feeling
with Him as He faced the trials ahead, they were too busy squabbling among
themselves over wealth, power, glory and recognition. Let us not
therefore abandon each other. Let us support each other in this journey
of faith. Together, we will also triumph with Jesus over sin and death.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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