20170906
KEEPING OUR FOCUS
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Colossians 1:1-8 ©
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From Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and
from our brother Timothy to the saints in Colossae, our faithful brothers in
Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
We have
never failed to remember you in our prayers and to give thanks for you to God,
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ever since we heard about your faith in
Christ Jesus and the love that you show towards all the saints because of the
hope which is stored up for you in heaven. It is only recently that you heard
of this, when it was announced in the message of the truth. The Good News which
has reached you is spreading all over the world and producing the same results
as it has among you ever since the day when you heard about God’s grace and
understood what this really is. Epaphras, who taught you, is one of our closest
fellow workers and a faithful deputy for us as Christ’s servant, and it was he
who told us all about your love in the Spirit.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 51(52):10-11 ©
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I trust in the goodness of God for ever and
ever.
I am like a growing olive tree
in the house of God.
I trust in the goodness of God
for ever and ever.
I trust in the goodness of God for ever and
ever.
I will thank you for evermore;
for this is your doing.
I will proclaim that your name is good,
in the presence of your friends.
I trust in the goodness of God for ever and
ever.
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Gospel Acclamation
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1P1:25
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of the Lord remains for ever:
What is this word?
It is the Good News that has been brought to you.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Lk4:17
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 4:38-44 ©
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Leaving the synagogue, Jesus went to Simon’s house. Now Simon’s
mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever and they asked him to do
something for her. Leaning over her he rebuked the fever and it left her. And
she immediately got up and began to wait on them.
At sunset
all those who had friends suffering from diseases of one kind or another
brought them to him, and laying his hands on each he cured them. Devils too
came out of many people, howling, ‘You are the Son of God.’ But he rebuked them
and would not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ.
When
daylight came he left the house and made his way to a lonely place. The crowds
went to look for him, and when they had caught up with him they wanted to
prevent him leaving them, but he answered, ‘I must proclaim the Good News of
the kingdom of God to the other towns too, because that is what I was sent to
do.’ And he continued his preaching in the synagogues of Judaea.
KEEPING OUR FOCUS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Col 1:1-8; Ps 52:10-11; Lk 4:38-44 ]
Most of us
live extremely busy lives because we wear so many hats and multi-task. We have our full time
career and work that keep us very occupied. We have to look after our
children, elderly parents, in-laws and siblings. We are worried about our
children’s studies and education. We know we need to maintain good
communication with our spouse, not just on house matters but on the emotional
level. If we have loved ones or parents who are sick, immobile, suffering
from dementia or Parkinson’s disease, more attention and time would be
needed. At the same time, we are called to be responsible to the
community, the Church and society at large. We feel the need to render
our time and resources to serve the community. In short, everyone is
asking for a bit of our time.
In the gospel,
we also read about the hectic life of Jesus. We read that He
would preach in the synagogues regularly. “And he continued his preaching in
the synagogues of Judaea.” Immediately after a tiring service at the
synagogue, He was called to heal Peter’s mother in law. He did not take a
break because of the severity of the fever. Jesus could not wait
longer. So off He went to Simon’s house. Then in the evening, we
read that “all those who had friends suffering from diseases of one kind or
another brought them to him, and laying hands on each he cured them.
Devils too came out of many people, howling, ‘You are the Son of
God.’” Such was the life of Jesus. Early the next morning He
rose up to pray but even before He finished praying, the people went to look
for Him. They never even allowed Him to have some peace!
The problem
with us is that we do not know or cannot say “No”. We are running all
over, frenzied with activities. As a consequence, we get burnt-out.
We become edgy, angry, resentful, tired and short-tempered. In the
process of helping others, we are not careful with our words and actions
because of stress, and we end up hurting people consciously or unconsciously.
Our spouse is hurt by our remarks; our children are resentful of us for
throwing our temper at them or for not spending quality time with them.
Parishioners too have been hurt by priests and religious when they get
told off rudely.
What is the
real problem? We have lost our bearing and focus. We are merely doing
things and fulfilling responsibilities. We have forgotten the hope before
us. What is meant to be a service of love has become a chore and an
obligation or responsibility. We have forgotten our mission. There
is no relationship. Jesus was clear of His mission and hence when He was
asked to stay behind, He told them in no uncertain terms, “I must proclaim the
Good News of the kingdom of God to the other towns too, because that is what I
was sent to do.” He did not come to build His own kingdom or to
find security, comfort or popularity.
He came to heal
and to proclaim the Good News to all about God’s love and eternal life with
Him. He was aware that the Good News is for everyone and not just a
sector of people. He did not fall into the temptation of being made king
by the people.
As for us, we
often forget what we are called to do. We forget that we work hard to contribute to the nation and
to society. We forget that our task is not simply to ensure that our
children do well in life and in their studies but that they are formed in love
and in truth. We make use of them as trophies rather than caring for
their integral formation. We forget that looking after our elderly
parents is the way we grow in love and share God’s love with them.
Similarly, for a priest too, in his active involvement in the apostolate, he
loses his focus from serving the people of God and end up serving
himself. He becomes ambitious in wanting to prove himself so as to win
the adulation of the people. Instead of glorifying God, he unconsciously
seeks his own glory, wanting people to praise him and honour him. He
becomes annoyed when people do not share his views and plans. Instead of
reaching out to the masses and the many parishioners that are not connected
with the Church, he is contented simply with those people who gather around
him.
At the bottom
of all these is the lack of prayer and quiet time with the Lord. That is why we read
that “when daylight came he left the house and made his way to a lonely
place.” Once we stop praying and discerning, we will lose focus.
When we are not in touch with ourselves and our motives in what we do, we start
to do things more for ourselves, our security, our comfort, and our happiness
than really serving others selflessly. Of course, it is so difficult to
admit that our motives are not pure. Many of us are too blind to see that
we are seeking earthly glory, material needs and our security even when we claim
that we are serving others. Jesus was always conscious of this subtle
temptation to seek glory and security. Thus He rebuked the devils “and
would not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ.”
He did not want the people to come to Him for the wrong reasons. He was
not trying to build His kingdom but to announce the Good News of His Father’s
kingdom of love.
Today, we
have the exemplary lives of St Paul and the early Christians in the
first reading. St Paul praised the Christians saying, “we heard about
your faith in Christ and the love that you show towards all the saints because
of the hope which is stored up for you in heaven.” The Christians were
filled with faith, hope and charity. It was because of their faith in
Christ that they were clear of the hope before them, which is to share in the
life of Christ and be in union with the Father. It is this hope of the
fullness of life in Christ that kept them going even in times of
persecution. This hope is not merely a wishful thinking but a
certain hope in what is to come at the end of life. Faith and hope
gives birth to charity. Their Faith was not just orthodoxy but
orthopraxis. Their faith was expressed in their love. So
strong was their faith that they spread the Good News all over the world. “It
is only recently that you heard of this, when it was announced in the message
of the truth. The Good News which has reached you is spreading all over
the world and producing the same results as it has among you ever since the day
when you heard about God’s grace and understood what this really is.”
They did not keep the Good News for themselves.
Hence, it
behooves us to cling to Jesus so that we can find focus in all our activities.
We must find a center in all that we do. Christ must be the center of all
our programs and activities. Otherwise, we become the center and all that
we do is for ourself, our security, comfort and glory. The psalmist says,
“I am like a growing olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the goodness of
God for ever and ever. I will thank you for evermore; for this is your doing. I
will proclaim that your name is good, in the presence of your friends.”
Yes, we must root ourselves in Jesus and draw water and wisdom and love from
Him if we are to proclaim His goodness and love. If we do not come to
Jesus daily, we will lose our focus and direction and we will not find the
strength to continue loving and serving selflessly.
There is no
excuse for us not to pray, regardless how busy we are and what positions we
hold in life. If Jesus the Son of God saw the need to pray to His
Father daily, we who are only sons of men need to pray even more.
Jesus drew strength from His Father’s love and He was always in loving
conversation with the Father. We too must not just be saying prayers but
be in communion with Him. If we say that we are busy, Jesus is even
busier. Who is not busy? So it is a matter of time management
and priority. If we see prayer as a priority, we will make the necessary
time. But if we do not think it is that important and it is among the
least in our priorities, then we will never find time to pray. Like
Jesus, we must get up early before others are awake so that we can pray undisturbed
in tranquility and in peace. We need to find our own desert, prayer
space, so that we can be recharged each morning and find the strength for the
rest of the day. It is better to sleep early, give up our favorite
late night programs and supper sessions so that we can rise up early for our
time with the Lord, basking in His love and enlightened by His wisdom, for He
is our light and our truth. Otherwise, the rest of the day would be a
mess and we will create more problems for others and ourselves.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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