20170711
DEALING WITH DISCOURAGEMENT WHEN DOING GOOD
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
|
First reading
|
|
Genesis 32:23-33 ©
|
Jacob rose, and taking his two wives and his two slave-girls and
his eleven children he crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent
them across the stream and sent all his possessions over too. And Jacob was
left alone.
And there
was one that wrestled with him until daybreak who, seeing that he could not
master him, struck him in the socket of his hip, and Jacob’s hip was dislocated
as he wrestled with him. He said, ‘Let me go, for day is breaking.’ But Jacob
answered, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’ He then asked, ‘What is
your name?’ ‘Jacob’, he replied. He said, ‘Your name shall no longer be Jacob,
but Israel, because you have been strong against God, you shall prevail against
men.’ Jacob then made this request, ‘I beg you, tell me your name’, but he
replied, ‘Why do you ask my name?’ And he blessed him there.
Jacob named
the place Peniel, ‘Because I have seen God face to face,’ he said ‘and I have
survived.’ The sun rose as he left Peniel, limping because of his hip. That is
the reason why to this day the Israelites do not eat the sciatic nerve which is
in the socket of the hip; because he had struck Jacob in the socket of the hip
on the sciatic nerve.
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
|
Psalm 16(17):1-3,6-8 ©
|
Lord, in my justice I shall see your face.
Lord, hear a cause that is just,
pay heed to my cry.
Turn your ear to my prayer:
no deceit is on my lips.
Lord, in my justice I shall see your face.
From you may my judgement come forth.
Your eyes discern the truth.
You search my heart, you visit me by night.
You test me and you find in me no wrong.
Lord, in my justice I shall see your face.
I am here and I call, you will hear me, O God.
Turn your ear to me; hear my words.
Display your great love, you whose right hand saves
your friends from those who rebel against them.
Lord, in my justice I shall see your face.
Guard me as the apple of your eye.
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.
In my justice I shall see your face
and be filled, when I awake, with the sight of your
glory.
Lord, in my justice I shall see your face.
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
cf.Ep1:17,18
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our mind,
so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.
Alleluia!
|
Or
|
Jn10:14
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my own sheep and my own know me.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
Matthew 9:32-37 ©
|
A man was brought to Jesus, a dumb demoniac. And when the devil
was cast out, the dumb man spoke and the people were amazed. ‘Nothing like this
has ever been seen in Israel’ they said. But the Pharisees said, ‘It is through
the prince of devils that he casts out devils.’
Jesus made a
tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and
sickness.
And when he
saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected,
like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is
rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers
to his harvest.’
DEALING WITH DISCOURAGEMENT WHEN DOING GOOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Gn 32:23-33; Ps 16:1-3,6-8; Mt 9:32-38 ]
Many of us out
of generosity respond to the call for mercy. We surrender our time and
resources, but fail to be aware that when we serve the Lord even
voluntarily, we must not expect that we will always be appreciated.
We think that everyone would be grateful to us for our generosity because we
are not paid for our job. This is often the attitude of those who offer
their services to the Church. In the face of opposition and challenges or
disagreement, they react with disappointment and resentment.
In the
gospel, Jesus faced the same challenges. He was constantly being opposed
by the Jewish leaders, the scribes and the Pharisees. He was often accused
of blasphemy, eating and drinking with sinners and now working with
Satan. Instead of being filled with wonder and amazement at the mercy of
God, they maligned Jesus and cast doubts on the work of mercy He performed.
Their response was totally the opposite of the people’s. “And when the devil
was cast out, the dumb man spoke and the people were amazed. ‘Nothing
like this has ever been seen in Israel’ they said. But the Pharisees
said, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he casts out devils.’”
Why were the
religious leaders not happy with Jesus, unlike the people who were filled with
wonder?
They were self-sufficient and self-righteous. They were not the needy of
society and hence did not need Jesus. Furthermore, Jesus was challenging
their status quo, exposing their hypocrisy and the traditions of the day.
In a word, they felt threatened by the activities and teachings of Jesus and so
they retaliated by seeking to discredit His work. Hence, we should not be
surprised that when we seek to do good and to improve the situation, we will
face opposition because we will surely tread on the comfort and convenience of
others. Whenever, people’s security is threatened, they will defend their
own interests. This is only natural. Most people put their
interests, convenience and security before others.
On the other
hand, the common people were in need. As the gospel tells us, they “were harassed and dejected,
like sheep without a shepherd.” They were seeking freedom, direction and
meaning in life. Many were sick with illnesses and some under
demonic oppression. Most of all, many felt God was far away or that they
were unworthy to come to God. But Jesus in His love and mercy revealed to
them the face and compassion of God by His works of mercy and healing,
especially reconciling sinners with God, assuring them that their sins were
forgiven and that God had accepted them. In Jesus they saw the face of
God and found God. For this reason, they were filled with wonder and
delight, unlike the religious leaders. Jesus was their liberator.
How do we
respond to our detractors and enemies? Jesus did not spend time arguing with them.
He continued with His ministry regardless. We read that “Jesus made a
tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and
sickness.” He did not give in to discouragement. He simply ignored
those who were not with Him. Instead of focusing on His enemies, He
focused on His mission and the poor and sick who needed Him. Instead of
wasting His energy on those whose minds were closed, He chose to focus on those
who needed His services. We must not allow such people and their
negativism to discourage us or make us lose our focus.
Instead, we
must return to the original intention of wanting to serve God and His people, especially the poor,
sick and the lost. Indeed, it was Jesus’ love for them that motivated
Him. It was His compassion for them that made Him persevere. We
read that “when he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them.” Compassion for
the lonely, the sick, the depressed, the wayward and those under the bondage of
the Evil One was what motivated Jesus in His ministry. Consequently, if
we give up when doing good just because there are some who oppose us, we need
to search our real motives for service. We may have hidden motives like
the Pharisees, which makes us no better than them. If our concern is not
about our ego and self-interests, we would not allow such people to derail us
from our goal of helping the poor.
Today, we can
also learn from Jacob. He was very focused in what he had been called to
do. He was very determined in spite of the difficulties he had to face. In the first reading,
he was fearful and nervous of Esau who was coming to meet him. He had
cheated him of his birthright and his blessings from Isaac twenty years
ago. So he was now worried for his safety and that of his
family’s. This explains why he sent them away to the other side of
the river. “He took them and sent them across the stream and sent all his
possessions over too.” He was humble too in seeking reconciliation
and forgiveness. He sent messengers along the way three times to meet
Esau, bearing gifts from him before he finally met him. He knew how to
win his heart over by love and sincere expression of sorrow. Jacob indeed
was a very shrewd businessman. Hence, he was very successful. Like him,
in the face of opposition, we must be like Jacob in finding ways to circumvent
difficult people in our lives, seek to win them over with humility, patience
and compassion.
Secondly, we
can learn from Jacob in his determination to earn God’s blessings for his
future.
Initially, he thought his enemy was Esau whom he tried to appease. But in
truth his real enemy was God. In a strange dream and incident, he found
himself wrestling with God. It appeared that the man did not want Jacob
to cross the river. In the process of the struggle, he injured the socket
of the hip of Jacob so that his hip got dislocated. Because of his
persistence and insistence, he was given a new mission signified by a new name,
Israel, the one who was strong against God. Because of his perseverance,
God too had confidence that he would be able to prevail against man as
well. God finally gave him His blessings.
So in our
struggles to do good and in the face of opposition, we must continue to trust
in the Lord and rely on His strength. We too must seek His face. We must
persevere in prayer when we want to seek God’s blessings. Like the
psalmist we pray, “Lord, in my justice I shall see your face. Guard me as the
apple of your eye. Hide me in the shadow of your wings. In my justice I
shall see your face and be filled, when I awake, with the sight of your
glory.” We must pray for a purification of motives, “From you may my
judgement come forth. Your eyes discern the truth. You search my heart, you
visit me by night. You test me and you find in me no wrong.” We must
avoid falling into the sin of presumption because of our hidden sins. We
must not be weary of prayers. This is the advice of the Lord, “The harvest
is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send
labourers to his harvest.” We need to pray both for more labourers in His
vineyard and also that we will be good labourers as well.
We bear in
mind the words of encouragement from St Paul when he wrote, “Do not be deceived; God is not
mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you
will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will
reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what
is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So
then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and
especially for those of the family of faith.” (Gal 6:7-10)
So let us all do what we can and surrender our good works to the grace of
God. Mother Teresa reminds us that we are called to be faithful to our
vocation and calling, not successful. God is the one who will see to
that; it is not our problem.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment