20170410 THE COST OF LOVE
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
|
First reading
|
Isaiah 42:1-7 ©
|
Here is my servant
whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom
my soul delights.
I have endowed him
with my spirit
that he may bring
true justice to the nations.
He does not cry out
or shout aloud,
or make his voice
heard in the streets.
He does not break the
crushed reed,
nor quench the
wavering flame.
Faithfully he brings
true justice;
he will neither
waver, nor be crushed
until true justice is
established on earth,
for the islands are
awaiting his law.
Thus says God, the
Lord,
he who created the
heavens and spread them out,
who gave shape to the
earth and what comes from it,
who gave breath to
its people
and life to the
creatures that move in it:
‘I, the Lord, have
called you to serve the cause of right;
I have taken you by
the hand and formed you;
I have appointed you
as covenant of the people and light of the nations,
‘to open the eyes of
the blind,
to free captives from
prison,
and those who live in
darkness from the dungeon.’
|
Responsorial
Psalm
|
|
Psalm
26(27):1-3,13-14 ©
|
The Lord is my
light and my help.
The Lord is my light
and my help;
whom
shall I fear?
The Lord is the
stronghold of my life;
before
whom shall I shrink?
The Lord is my
light and my help.
When evil-doers draw
near
to devour
my flesh,
it is they, my
enemies and foes,
who
stumble and fall.
The Lord is my
light and my help.
Though an army encamp
against me
my heart
would not fear.
Though war break out
against me
even then
would I trust.
The Lord is my
light and my help.
I am sure I shall see
the Lord’s goodness
in the
land of the living.
Hope in him, hold
firm and take heart.
Hope in
the Lord!
The Lord is my
light and my help.
|
Gospel
Acclamation
|
|
Praise and honour to
you, Lord Jesus!
Hail to you, our
King!
You alone have had
compassion on our sins.
Praise and honour to
you, Lord Jesus!
|
Gospel
|
John 12:1-11 ©
|
Six days before the
Passover, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom he had raised from the
dead. They gave a dinner for him there; Martha waited on them and Lazarus was
among those at table. Mary brought in a pound of very costly ointment, pure nard,
and with it anointed the feet of Jesus, wiping them with her hair; the house
was full of the scent of the ointment. Then Judas Iscariot – one of his
disciples, the man who was to betray him – said, ‘Why wasn’t this ointment
sold for three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor?’ He said this,
not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he was in
charge of the common fund and used to help himself to the contributions. So
Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone; she had to keep this scent for the day of my
burial. You have the poor with you always, you will not always have me.’
Meanwhile
a large number of Jews heard that he was there and came not only on account of
Jesus but also to see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. Then the chief
priests decided to kill Lazarus as well, since it was on his account that many
of the Jews were leaving them and believing in Jesus.
THE
COST OF LOVE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [
IS 42:1-7; JN 12:1-11]
“Why wasn’t this
ointment sold for three hundred denarii, and the money given to the
poor?” That seems to be a reasonable and logical criticism of what Mary
did when she “brought in a pound of very costly ointment, pure nard, and with
it anointed the feet of Jesus.” How many of us would agree with Judas
that it was a waste of money? Furthermore, when you think of the many
poor and suffering people in the world, it would seem that Mary had committed a
great sin of wastefulness. If we go by this reasoning, then perhaps, all
the Churches’ treasures should be sold and given to the poor. All the
expensive and fine vestments, sacred vessels, including the chalice, should be
made of wood or metal. Then all churches should be built with the basic
practical needs, without any frills or concern for aesthetics. Then
again, if the Lord were to dwell in such a temple, so too, all our homes must
be stripped of all unnecessary items. And we should save the money spent
on expensive wedding gowns, which are used once only and then set aside, and
not hold any grand dinners too because most of the time, much food is thrown
away, especially at buffets! Such reasoning can go on and on. We will
have divided opinions and never come to any consensus.
What was the response of Jesus? “Leave
her alone; she had to keep this scent for the day of my burial. You have the
poor with you always, you will not always have me.” Indeed, we are all
obliged to help the poor and the suffering. But we need to see things in
perspective. Some things cannot be measured by money and time. Actions of
love cannot be quantified or calculated like a mathematical problem. True
love does not count the cost because it is not logical. Daily life
examples should convince us. There are many mothers who are professionals and
busy career women. Yet they would wake up early in the morning to prepare
breakfast for their children rather than let the domestic helper do it.
Why? Because they love their children and want them to have a proper
breakfast and also to pack for them a healthy and sumptuous lunch. For
the same reason, they would rush home from work to pick up their children or
chauffeur them to school and for their activities. Some of them are old
enough to take public transport on their own. Yet they do it because they
love their children and cannot bear to see them suffer the inconvenience.
Logically, it is also economical for them to go home on their own than to waste
the precious time of their parents. Furthermore, it is good for discipline
and formation as well, lest they become too demanding and take their comforts
for granted.
The truth is that when we love, we do not
act rationally but we allow the heart to express itself spontaneously. We
do not really think of the trouble and inconvenience when we reach out to
someone we love. The immediate and spontaneous response is to make our
beloved feel loved and comfortable. We do not count the cost because the
heart only knows that love is all that matters. We are always lavish and
generous with people we love. We cannot say ‘No’ to our loved ones even
though we know at times that it is not good to pamper them. But love is
such.
Conversely, if we act and think like
Judas, it is because we are not sincere in love. Judas had no real love
for Jesus. He was more concerned about his interest than that of Jesus’,
and lesser still for the poor. The evangelist commented, “He said this, not
because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he was in charge
of the common fund and used to help himself to the contributions.” Clearly,
such objections do not hold water for those who harbor selfish motives.
We must therefore ask ourselves when speaking against such extravagance;
whether it is because our pockets are hurt. Of course, not all are motivated by
selfishness when they speak out against such apparent extravagance.
When we take a logical and financial
stance, it is more likely because we are detached from the person
concerned. In other words, when we have no personal relationship, that
person becomes just a case, and we use pure objectivity in assessing our
response to the needs of the person. In public decisions affecting the
interests of everyone, as in an organization or society, we need to be
transparent, objective and impartial in making decisions, without fear or
favor. This is to ensure that justice and fair play prevail. We
cannot allow our emotional ties or vested interests to influence us in the way
we make decisions. When we are not emotionally related to a person, we
can of course think and act logically.
But when we are speaking about love and
relationship, it is a different ball game. Does a judge in the court
behave like a judge at home, analyzing the needs of the family according to
pure logic alone? Does not a judge also have compassion for his or her
son even if he commits a crime? Surely, he or she will get the best
lawyer to defend him. This is not to say that he or she will hide the
guilt, but he or she will find the best defence so that the son would not be punished
too harshly. So often, we have those in authority protecting their loved ones
by covering up for their mistakes.
So with our loved ones, we use the heart
rather than the head. This is inevitable! Isn’t that the way God
acts? Because He loves us, His way of rendering justice to sinners and
evil people is to forgive us and to save us; not to punish us! As
our loving Father, He has no heart to punish us because it grieves Him as much
to see us suffer. When God saw the world in sin, during the time of Noah,
He grieved. “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the
earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it
grieved him to his heart.” (Gn 6:5f)
So like God, we love and care for our
loved ones in this manner. Whether your darling is your spouse, friend or
even a dog or cat, you act in the same manner. When your dog is old and
sickly, why do you spend so much money bringing it to the vet? Isn’t it
better to let the dog die and get a new one, which is much cheaper? But
you cannot buy emotional ties and happy memories. You cannot buy
love and affection. There is no price for that! This explains why
animal lovers would do anything for stray animals, cats, dogs, birds,
etc. They would tend to them especially when they are sick or wounded and
feed them when they are hungry. They feel for and with the hurting and
hungry animals. When we see them scavanging for food, we feel sorry for
them.
So the reality is that we do not feel for
what we do not see. If we do not see something with our own eyes, we are
not emotionally moved. When we do not see them hungry and without shelter,
we think such stray animals are a nuisance. St Teresa of Calcutta started
to reach out to the poorest of the poor only because she came into contact with
the suffering in India. To see them suffering grieved her heart like God
who grieves for us. When you see someone on the road, thin to the bones,
won’t you be moved by the sufferings of your fellowman? Unless you have
hardened your heart like Judas, you will stretch out to help. The priests
had no compassion for Lazarus and even wanted to kill him because “it was on
his account that many of the Jews were leaving them and believing in Jesus.”
What if Lazarus was one of their children, or their loved one? Would they see
Jesus differently? Of course! They would be grateful to Jesus.
But because of selfish interests, they saw Jesus and even Lazarus as a threat
to their status quo and greed.
Jesus is our exemplar in love. He
is the model of the suffering servant, giving without reservation, as expressed
in the first reading. He was endowed with the Spirit of God to bring justice,
hope, healing, enlightenment and freedom to the poor, the discouraged, the
sick, the prisoners and those who live in darkness. We too must follow
Jesus in the way of love. Let us use our heart to love and not our head
so that we can feel the heart of God.
In the final analysis, to love the way
Jesus loved, and how God loves us, we need His Spirit to “bring true justice to
the nations.” The strength and capacity of His love came from His
Father. He was full of compassion even towards His enemies. His
sense of justice and passion for His mission came from the Father’s love in
Him. He lived and died for His Father. Even when persecuted, condemned
and crucified, He never failed to cling to His Father; “The Lord is my light and
my help; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; before
whom shall I shrink? I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of
the living. Hope in him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the
Lord!” Both Father and Son, because of their deep love for us, emptied
themselves of each other for the sake of us all so that we will never doubt
their unconditional and total love for us.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment