20170612
HAPPINESS COMES FROM SUFFERING FOR THE SAKE OF
THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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2 Corinthians 1:1-7 ©
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From Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and
from Timothy, one of the brothers, to the church of God at Corinth and to all
the saints in the whole of Achaia. Grace and peace to you from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, a gentle Father and the God of all
consolation, who comforts us in all our sorrows, so that we can offer others,
in their sorrows, the consolation that we have received from God ourselves.
Indeed, as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so, through Christ, does
our consolation overflow. When we are made to suffer, it is for your
consolation and salvation. When, instead, we are comforted, this should be a
consolation to you, supporting you in patiently bearing the same sufferings as
we bear. And our hope for you is confident, since we know that, sharing our
sufferings, you will also share our consolations.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 33(34):2-9 ©
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Taste and see that the Lord is good.
I will bless the Lord at all times,
his praise always on my lips;
in the Lord my soul shall make its boast.
The humble shall hear and be glad.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Glorify the Lord with me.
Together let us praise his name.
I sought the Lord and he answered me;
from all my terrors he set me free.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Look towards him and be radiant;
let your faces not be abashed.
This poor man called, the Lord heard him
and rescued him from all his distress.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
The angel of the Lord is encamped
around those who revere him, to rescue them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
He is happy who seeks refuge in him.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.2Th2:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Through the Good News God called us
to share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Mt5:12a
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Rejoice and be glad:
your reward will be great in heaven.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 5:1-12 ©
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Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and
was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught
them:
‘How happy are the poor in spirit;
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Happy the gentle:
they shall have the earth for their heritage.
Happy those who mourn:
they shall be comforted.
Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right:
they shall be satisfied.
Happy the merciful:
they shall have mercy shown them.
Happy the pure in heart:
they shall see God.
Happy the peacemakers:
they shall be called sons of God.
Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right:
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak
all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your
reward will be great in heaven: this is how they persecuted the prophets before
you.’
HAPPINESS COMES FROM SUFFERING FOR THE SAKE OF THE KINGDOM OF
GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 2 Corinthians
1:1-7; Matthew 5:1-12 ]
We all seek
happiness in life. Indeed, St Thomas Aquinas tells us that no one can live
without joy. Today, Jesus gives us the beatitudes as the blueprint to
happiness. But the happiness that is offered by Jesus is different from
the happiness that is sought by the world.
We must not
confuse worldly happiness with true blessedness. For the world and
the Jews, happiness is identical to the blessings of success, wealth, power and
freedom from suffering. But if we study the beatitudes carefully, Jesus
never promised us a blessed life without pain or suffering. For
Jesus, a blessed life is a life lived for God and for His people. To be
blessed is to be identified with His people, since the heart of God is always
for His people. Hence, a blessed life is to feel for and with others, and
putting others before self.
For this, we
need to acquire the spirit and mind of Jesus as summarized in the
beatitudes. Within this context we can better appreciate why the beatitudes
speak of our thirst for justice and mercy; and why we are called to gentleness
and mourning. Indeed, only those who have purity of heart can see
God. Peacemakers are called sons of God. Above all, the
key to identify ourselves with God and with others is the spirit of
poverty. For only when we are available and docile, can we be one with
God and with the sufferings of our fellowmen. Thus, all spiritual writers
speak of the first beatitude as the key to all the beatitudes. Thus
seeking these attitudes is to seek the heart of God.
But quite often,
we forget the objective of the beatitudes is for the sake of
the proclamation of the gospel and the extension of the Kingdom of God.
Significantly, the beatitudes at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount serve
as the blueprint to the realization of the Kingdom. The beatitudes must
be seen from the perspective of witnessing for Christ, the proclamation of the
Kingdom and our identification with the poor or those outside the Kingdom life.
Twice, Jesus mentioned the beatitudes in the context of the Kingdom of
heaven. He said, “Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right:
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Then again, He said, “Happy are you
when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against
you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in
heaven; this is how they persecuted the prophets before you.”
This perspective
of seeing the beatitudes is important, lest we take the beatitudes out
of context and reduce them to mere guidelines for personal sanctity and fail to
see the evangelical dimension of the beatitudes. We must view the beatitudes in
the larger context of the establishment of the Kingdom of God, and the
formation of a community of love. So the primary intention of these
beatitudes is not simply guidelines for personal holiness and sainthood, but a
necessary disposition for the proclamation of the Kingdom, especially in the
face of opposition.
Consequently Christian
happiness will always entail suffering until the Kingdom of God is
established. It is helpful to call to mind that within this context; even
the saints, including Mary and Christ, still suffer for us since they thirst
for the happiness, that is, the salvation of everyone. But this suffering
is within the context of love. Such sufferings will not lead us to
self-pity or depression because we suffer not for ourselves but for love of
others. True love always entails suffering. It is true – what God
desires is mercy, not sacrifice. But when we practice mercy, it always
entails sacrifice on the part of those who give mercy. It means the
willingness to forgive, to let go and be compassionate. Indeed, if we do
not suffer, it is difficult to believe that we ever loved. If we are
afraid of suffering, then we are afraid to love. If there is no suffering
in our lives, then we are loving ourselves more than others.
Thus, we can identify
with the suffering of St Paul on account of his apostolate. He
considered his sufferings as a consolation because he knew he was suffering for
Christ, with Christ, and for the good of the people. Indeed, only when we
view our suffering in the light of the Kingdom, can we find joy in suffering.
He said, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, a gentle
Father and the God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our sorrows, so
that we can offer others, in their sorrows, the consolation that we have
received from God ourselves.”
What is this
consolation he
himself received? It is the contemplation on the sufferings of
Christ. Hence, he said, “Indeed, as the sufferings of Christ overflow to
us, so, through Christ, does our consolation overflow? When we are made
to suffer, it is for your consolation and salvation. When, instead, we
are comforted, this should be a consolation to you, supporting you in patiently
bearing the same sufferings as we bear. And our hope for you is
confident, since we know that, sharing our sufferings, you will also share our
consolations.” Truly, St Paul understood that it was for the sake of
Christ that he bore his sufferings, and he invited the Corinthians who suffered
for their faith to do the same.
When we
suffer for the Kingdom, we can find joy and strength because we suffer with
the saints for the good of humanity and in turn be an inspiration to others. We
take inspiration and encouragement from St Paul in his sufferings for the
apostolic mission. Surely, none of us have suffered as much as St Paul in
his missionary endeavours. He had been rejected, persecuted, humiliated
and hurt more than anyone of us. So let us take St Paul as our model in
giving ourselves completely to whatever has been entrusted to us. In this
way, the conclusion to the beatitudes is appropriate and in fact the climax of
the beatitudes when Jesus said, “Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute
you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and
be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven; this is how they persecuted
the prophets before you.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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