20170816
LETTING GO OF AMBITION AND PRIDE
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Deuteronomy 34:1-12 ©
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Leaving the plains of Moab, Moses went up Mount Nebo, the peak of
Pisgah opposite Jericho, and the Lord showed him the whole land; Gilead as far
as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah
as far as the Western Sea, the Negeb, and the stretch of the Valley of Jericho,
city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. The Lord said to him, ‘This is the land I
swore to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying: I will give it to your
descendants. I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you shall not cross
into it.’ There in the land of Moab, Moses the servant of the Lord died as the
Lord decreed; he buried him in the valley, in the land of Moab, opposite
Beth-peor; but to this day no one has ever found his grave. Moses was a hundred
and twenty years old when he died, his eye undimmed, his vigour unimpaired. The
sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab for thirty days. The days
of weeping for the mourning rites of Moses came to an end. Joshua son of Nun
was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. It
was he that the sons of Israel obeyed, carrying out the order that the Lord had
given to Moses.
Since then,
never has there been such a prophet in Israel as Moses, the man the Lord knew
face to face. What signs and wonders the Lord caused him to perform in the land
of Egypt against Pharaoh and all his servants and his whole land! How mighty
the hand and great the fear that Moses wielded in the sight of all Israel!
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 65(66):1-3,5,16-17 ©
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Blessed be God, who gave life to my soul.
Cry out with joy to God all the earth,
O sing to the glory of his name.
O render him glorious praise.
Say to God: ‘How tremendous your deeds!’
Blessed be God, who gave life to my soul.
Come and see the works of God,
tremendous his deeds among men.
Come and hear, all who fear God.
I will tell what he did for my soul:
to him I cried aloud,
with high praise ready on my tongue.
Blessed be God, who gave life to my soul.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps110:7,8
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Your precepts, O Lord, are all of them sure;
they stand firm for ever and ever.
Alleluia!
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Or
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2Co5:19
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Alleluia, alleluia!
God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself,
and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 18:15-20 ©
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Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If your brother does something
wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he
listens to you, you have won back your brother. If he does not listen, take one
or two others along with you: the evidence of two or three witnesses is
required to sustain any charge. But if he refuses to listen to these, report it
to the community; and if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like
a pagan or a tax collector.
‘I tell you
solemnly, whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven;
whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.
‘I tell you
solemnly once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it
will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in
my name, I shall be there with them.’
LETTING GO OF AMBITION AND PRIDE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ DT 34:1-12; PS 66:1-3,5,16-17; MT 18:15-20 ]
Pride is the
cause of our sins. Most of our problems stem from a low self-esteem and a
lack of self-confidence. This explains why many of us are ambitious, winning laurel
after laurel to prove to ourselves and to others that we are good enough,
intelligent and capable. We want to feel good about ourselves. That
is why we compete with others to climb to the top. But the truth is
that we will never be good enough for everyone and we can never be the best as
there will always be others who are better than us in other things.
Pride also
leads to anger, resentment and grudges. This is especially so when others have
more than us or are better than us and are more popular and loved. We
want to compare and when others are better than us, we fall into the sin of
envy. Pride also insists on justice and the need to secure our rights.
We become reactive and vindictive when our rights are compromised. We
feel the need to defend our rights and take what belongs to us. We are
always worried about how people think of us rather than how we think of
ourselves.
But today we
are called to see the bigger picture of life. Whilst ambition and justice
are important, they are not everything. It is right to have an ambition
in life so that we can live a purposeful and meaningful life. It is not
wrong to demand for your rights. Yet, if we spend all our time winning
crown after crown, and fighting with our opponents, we will feel drained and so
sapped of energy that we have little left to enjoy life with our friends and
loved ones. We will be pursuing goals that can never be realized
because there will be always another goal to achieve.
Indeed, the
Lord told Moses to let go of his ambition. Whilst Moses had done much to set His
people free from the slavery of the Egyptians, formed a motley crowd of people
into a nation and preparing them to enter the Promised Land after 40 years in
the desert, He would not be allowed to enter into it. The Lord said
to him, “This is the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying:
I will give it to your descendants. I have let you see it with your own
eyes, but you shall not cross into it.’”
Moses
accepted the will of God and His plan for himself and the people. Moses did not appeal
to the Lord to give him the opportunity to see through until the mission was
accomplished. He was ready to surrender everything into the hands
of God. He did not insist that since he rescued the people from
Egypt and brought them out and up, he deserved the right to lead them into the
Promised Land. This is so unlike most of us when we bargain with the Lord
that we be given the grace to see through what we started. Parents
when sick often pray that they will live till they are able to see their
children graduate, get married and have a child. They feel the need for
closure before they leave the world.
But God was
saying to Moses to leave everything into His hands. He knew best
and He knew what to do. God had His plans in place. God had already
prepared his successor in the person of Joshua. He “was filled with
the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. It was he that
the sons of Israel obeyed, carrying out the order that the Lord had given to
Moses.” In other words, no one is indispensable. God will see
through His projects and plans. We need not worry about what will happen
when we are no longer around. Hence, the Lord gave Moses a preview of
what He intended to give to the people of Israel. “Leaving the plains of
Moab, Moses went up Mount Nebo and the Lord showed him the whole land.”
With or without Moses, the plan of God would be realized.
We must learn
from Moses to graciously let go and let God take over. It is true that no
one could replace Moses for he was an exceptional leader. “Since then,
never has there been such a prophet in Israel as Moses, the man the Lord knew
face to face. What signs and wonders the Lord caused him to perform in
the land of Egypt against Pharaoh and all his servants and his whole land! How
mighty the hand and great the fear that Moses wielded in the sight of all
Israel!” Yet, we can trust that it is not in our hands or power but in
the hands and power of God. As leaders, we are simply laying the
foundation for the next leader to bring the organization to a higher
level. So in truth, we build upon each other’s successes and
failures. But at the end of the day, it is God’s work, not
ours. Like the psalmist, we pray, “Cry out with joy to God all the earth,
O sing to the glory of his name. O render him glorious praise. Say
to God: ‘How tremendous your deeds!’ Come and see the works of God, tremendous
his deeds among men. Come and hear, all who fear God. I will tell
what he did for my soul: to him I cried aloud, with high praise ready on my
tongue.” All glory be to God alone.
Indeed, in
life, we must remember that God has a plan for each one of us. We are not
here permanently but are pilgrims along the way. As William Shakespeare
in his play, “As you like it”, said, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men
and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one
man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.” So
let us not cling to our positions, to our offices and roles that we play in
this life. We should simply do our best, play our part and when it is
time to exit, exit graciously and not grudgingly. Life on this earth is
temporary, so is everything else – money, health, beauty, accomplishments,
power, position and fame. All these things do not last. Our real
heaven and the true Promised Land is in heaven where we get our final
reward. This was what Moses was to arrive at, not the earthly
Promised Land. But he had a foretaste of what the heavenly Promised Land was
like – much greater than what he could see.
However, the Kingdom
of God is not built in a day. Already during the time of Matthew’s Christian
community, there were quarrels, misunderstandings and scandals. This was
the context of the evangelist in citing the advice of Jesus in handling
difficult matters in the community, especially errant members. Whether these
are the real words of Christ or the thoughts of Jesus reinterpreted by the
early Christian community, the truth remains that there is no perfect
community. If Catholics are scandalized by the sins and weaknesses of
fellow Christians and Church leaders, it is because they are not realistic
about themselves. As Jesus said to the adulterous woman, “Has no one
condemned you? Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not
sin again.” (Jn 8:10f)
But it is
important to take note of the process. Underpinning the whole process of
fraternal correction is dialogue in truth and in charity. It is not about
revenge and seeking to destroy the sinner or seeking punishment on someone who
has wronged us. Unfortunately, when we seek justice, we are in truth
seeking revenge; not the restoration of the social order. We just want
the person who hurt us to be punished, not so much corrected or to
repent. Hence, the procedures taught by the Lord involves a series
of steps. Firstly, to have it out quietly with the person
concerned. If he refuses to listen, find some others to mediate.
Only when that fails, is it then to be reported to the authorities. But
how many of us observe the instructions of our Lord in dealing with errant
Catholics? We report them immediately to the authorities so that they
could be humiliated and be given the punishment that we hope to
see. Underlying such desire is the inability to let go and let God
take over. We cannot let go of our anger and vindictiveness. But
Jesus is asking us, as He asked Moses, to let go of our attachment to our
pride. Jesus said, “But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to
the community, treat him like a pagan or a tax collector.” In other
words, let him be and allow the grace of God to bring him back at the proper
time. We cannot force people to be converted. They need
self-awareness and grace is required. We need to wait for God’s time.
Reconciliation and repentance cannot be rushed.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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