20170412 LOSING FOCUS
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Isaiah 50:4-9 ©
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The Lord has given me
a disciple’s tongue.
So that I may know
how to reply to the wearied
he provides me with
speech.
Each morning he wakes
me to hear,
to listen like a
disciple.
The Lord has opened
my ear.
For my part, I made
no resistance,
neither did I turn
away.
I offered my back to
those who struck me,
my cheeks to those
who tore at my beard;
I did not cover my
face
against insult and
spittle.
The Lord comes to my
help,
so that I am
untouched by the insults.
So, too, I set my
face like flint;
I know I shall not be
shamed.
My vindicator is here
at hand. Does anyone start proceedings against me?
Then let us go to
court together.
Who thinks he has a
case against me?
Let him approach me.
The Lord is coming to
my help,
who will dare to
condemn me?
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
68(69):8-10,21-22,31,33-34 ©
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In your great
love, O Lord, answer my prayers for your favour.
It is for you that I
suffer taunts,
that
shame covers my face,
that I have become a
stranger to my brothers,
an alien
to my own mother’s sons.
I burn with zeal for
your house
and
taunts against you fall on me.
In your great
love, O Lord, answer my prayers for your favour.
Taunts have broken my
heart;
I have
reached the end of my strength.
I looked in vain for
compassion,
for
consolers; not one could I find.
For food they gave me
poison;
in my
thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
In your great
love, O Lord, answer my prayers for your favour.
I will praise God’s
name with a song;
I will
glorify him with thanksgiving.
The poor when they
see it will be glad
and
God-seeking hearts will revive;
for the Lord listens
to the needy
and does
not spurn his servants in their chains.
In your great
love, O Lord, answer my prayers for your favour.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Glory to you, O
Christ, you are the Word of God!
Hail to you, our
King!
Obedient to the
Father, you were led to your crucifixion
as a meek lamb is led
to the slaughter.
Glory to you, O
Christ, you are the Word of God!
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Or
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Glory to you, O
Christ, you are the Word of God!
Hail to you, our
King!
You alone have had
compassion on our sins.
Glory to you, O
Christ, you are the Word of God!
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Gospel
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Matthew 26:14-25
©
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One of the Twelve,
the man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What are
you prepared to give me if I hand him over to you?’ They paid him thirty silver
pieces, and from that moment he looked for an opportunity to betray him.
Now on
the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus to say, ‘Where do
you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the passover?’ ‘Go to
so-and-so in the city’ he replied ‘and say to him, “The Master says: My time is
near. It is at your house that I am keeping Passover with my disciples.”’ The
disciples did what Jesus told them and prepared the Passover.
When
evening came he was at table with the twelve disciples. And while they were
eating he said ‘I tell you solemnly, one of you is about to betray me.’ They
were greatly distressed and started asking him in turn, ‘Not I, Lord, surely?’
He answered, ‘Someone who has dipped his hand into the dish with me, will
betray me. The Son of Man is going to his fate, as the scriptures say he will,
but alas for that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! Better for that man
if he had never been born!’ Judas, who was to betray him; asked in his turn,
‘Not I, Rabbi, surely?’ ‘They are your own words’ answered Jesus.
LOSING
FOCUS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [
ISAIAH 50:4-9; MATTHEW 26:14 –
25 ]
“The Son of Man is
going to his fate, as the scriptures say he will, but alas for that man by whom
the Son of Man is betrayed! Better for that man if he had never been
born!’” It is easy to lose focus in life, especially in times of success
or failure or challenges. This was the case of Judas. He was a member
of the Twelve. What was the real reason for Judas’ betrayal of
Jesus? Scholars are not in agreement. John’s gospel suggests that
he was greedy. “He was a thief; he was in charge of the common fund and
used to help himself to the contributions.” (Jn 12:6) But some
scholars suggest that Judas was disillusioned with Jesus for not starting a
revolution to claim back the independence of Israel from their Roman enemies.
This indeed is the tragedy for many of
us. Even priests and religious are not exempted. We enter into a
priestly or religious vocation but along the way we are tainted by the lure of
the world; pleasure, power and money; so much so we forget our original
intention of responding to a religious vocation. Or it could be because of
sufferings in the ministry; being misunderstood and unappreciated, we give
up. Most of all, many suffer from disillusionment when we see others not
doing what they should be doing and the authorities seem to be supporting the
rich, the powerful and the influential. What I say to priests apply to
all in Church ministries and full time workers in the Church. Many
respond to the call of service and the spread of the gospel with good
intentions, but end up fighting for position, power and honour, and squabbling
for recognition. In some cases, the politics, injustice and
discrimination is so rife, one cannot but give up hope and faith in the
institution, if not Christ as well. Otherwise, the lack of support
and appreciation from the community will lead one to discouragement and
despondence.
Even in the area of personal life, we too
can lose focus. Those who are married start with the great hope of
building a loving relationship with their spouse and raising up a loving,
caring and supportive family. Along the way, many lose their focus.
They do not spend time with their spouse, share their life, their joys and
sorrows, their successes and trials, aspirations and fears. Couples take each
other for granted and hardly spend time with each other. As a result they
grow more and more distant until they no longer feel with and for each
other. With the lack of intimacy and personal sharing, they lose touch of
each other. When love wanes, the vacuum in their lives is either filled
by ambition, responsibilities, career or another person. This is how
affairs always begin. What has happened to their dream of having
each support, love, care, encourage and inspire the other, staying by each
other’s side, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, in riches
and poverty till death to them part? Infidelity to one’s partner is so
common today that trust in the institution of marriage has eroded. This
explains why partners who are equally accomplished in their careers prefer to
cohabitate than marry today than risk the messy process of getting a divorce.
Even for those of us who are career
minded. The intention of earning more money and to be successful in
career and business is to provide a good life for our spouse, children and
loved ones. Money is a means to an end; not the end itself. Then
again, we forget our original purpose. We get so caught up with our
career, fame, money and power that we neglect our family. We become
strangers to our children and spouse. We end up as financial providers,
bursary dispensers and discipline masters. At the end of the day, with
all our success and money, do we really bring happiness, love and unity to the
family? True happiness in life is when we are with our loved ones, sharing,
caring, laughing, joking and doing things together as a family.
Today, Jesus teaches us how to remain
focused on our vision and mission in life. Although troubles were ahead
of Him, even death, Jesus was unshaken. Doggedly and with singularity of
purpose, He proceeded towards Jerusalem, the place of His passion and
glory. He did not shrink from fear. Deliberately, He told His
disciples that they would meet for the Passover Meal. The way Matthew described
it seems as if it was all pre-planned by the Lord. He instructed the
disciples, “Go to so-and-so in the city and say to him, ‘The Master says: My
time is near. It is at your house that I am keeping Passover with my
disciples.’” Earlier on in His ministry, when the disciples were searching
for Jesus, He said, “’Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there
also; for that is why I came out.’ And he went throughout all Galilee,
preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.” (Mk 1:38f)
What is the secret to remaining
focused? Firstly, we must again and again remind ourselves of our vision,
mission and purpose of what we are doing. It is not enough to just keep
on doing and repeating what we are doing each day without a deliberate
intention and focus. We must not allow routine to set in and make us act
like robots. Rather, we must be intentional in what we do each day, like
the Suffering Servant in the first reading. “The Lord has given me a
disciple’s tongue, so that I may know how to reply to the wearied. He
provides me with speech.” His calling was to give hope and encouragement
to the weak and those who are tired. This too was the mission of Jesus
when He said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest.” (Mt 11:28)
Secondly, we must pray and listen.
The suffering servant said, “Each morning he wakes me to hear, to listen like a
disciple. The Lord has opened my ear.” We are told that similarly, the
Lord also woke up early in the morning to pray and listen to His Father.
“And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose and went out to a lonely
place, and there he prayed.” (Mk 1:35) This is the
secret of our Lord. Intimacy with the Father, basking in His love and
dialogue with Him is the key, the strength and passion for His ministry.
Many of us do not pray to God. Neither do we have intimacy with our loved
ones. This is why we lose our passion, zeal and capacity to love.
Thirdly, we must trust in the power of
God to save us. Jesus did not take things into His own hands, unlike
Judas who tried to force the hand of God to act. Like the Suffering
Servant, Jesus relied on the defence that came from God. “The Lord comes
to my help, so that I am untouched by the insults. So, too, I set my face
like flint; I know I shall not be shamed.” We too must remember
that success is not all hard work and strategy, but everything is in the hands
of God. So we must entrust our work to God’s hand and not think that we
can do it our way always. This was what the Suffering Servant and the
Lord did. “In your great love, O Lord, answer my prayers for your favour.
Taunts have broken my heart; I have reached the end of my strength.”
Fourthly, we must never retaliate. “For
my part, I made no resistance, neither did I turn away. I offered my back to
those who struck me, my cheeks to those who tore at my beard; I did not cover
my face against insult and spittle.” Jesus taught us this in the sermon
on the mount. “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a
tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if any
one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if anyone
would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if any
one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” (Mt 5:38-41) We must
act, not react. To act means to think through carefully without vested
interest how we should best respond to a situation, for the good of the enemy
and for the greater good of the community.
Finally, we must at all times keep a
clear conscience. This was what the Suffering Servant said, “My
vindicator is here at hand. Does anyone start proceedings against me? Then let
us go to court together. Who thinks he has a case against me? Let him
approach me. The Lord is coming to my help, who will dare to condemn me?
They shall all go to pieces like a garment devoured by moths.” If we are
true to our conscience, no one can condemn us. Even if they do, the Lord will
liberate us, as He did even upon death, as was the case of our Lord. If
we have done all we could for the good of others and for the glory of God
without any self-interest or personal gain, we should not be too concerned
about failure or success.
In the light of this reflection, would
you also say with Judas to the Lord, “Not I, Lord, surely?” Are we so
sure we have not betrayed the Lord? Before we cast a stone at Judas and
those whom we condemn, we need to have a good look at ourselves. The
tragedy,, as Jesus remarked, is that the one “who has dipped his hand into the
dish with me, will betray me.” We are the ones because we have
dipped ourselves into the waters at baptism and received the Eucharist,
sometimes even daily. Yet our lives contradict our dignity as the
disciples of Jesus. Perhaps, the same could be applied to us, “Better if
we had not been baptized!” Let us regain our focus in life and as a
Christian as we reflect on the passion of our Lord. If we have
betrayed Him, let us redirect our lives once again and focus on Him and His mission
for us.
Written by The Most
Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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