20180216
ENTRUSTING OUR FUTURE INTO GOD’S HANDS
16 FEBRUARY, 2018, Friday, Chinese New Year
Num 6 : 22-27
22 The Lord said to Moses, 23 “Say
to Aaron and his sons, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say
to them,
24 The Lord bless you and keep you:
25 The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and
be gracious to you:
26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and
give you peace.
27 “So shall they put my name
upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”
Ps 90 :1-6, 12-14, 16-17
in
all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
or
ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world,
from
everlasting to everlasting thou art God.
3 Thou turnest man back to the dust,
and
sayest, “Turn back, O children of men!”
4 For a thousand years in thy sight
are
but as yesterday when it is past,
or
as a watch in the night.
5 Thou dost sweep men away; they are like a dream,
like
grass which is renewed in the morning:
6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in
the evening it fades and withers.
12 So teach us to number our days
that
we may get a heart of wisdom.
13 Return, O Lord! How
long?
Have
pity on thy servants!
14 Satisfy us in the morning with thy steadfast love,
that
we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
16 Let thy work be manifest to thy servants,
and thy glorious power to their children.
17 Let the favor of the Lord
our God be upon us,
and establish thou the work of our hands upon us,
yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.
James 4:13-15
3 Come now, you who
say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year
there and trade and get gain”; 14 whereas you do not know about tomorrow. What is your life?
For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live
and we shall do this or that.”
Mt 6:31-34
31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What
shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles
seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But
seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be
yours as well.
34 “Therefore do not be anxious
about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble
be sufficient for the day.
ENTRUSTING OUR FUTURE INTO GOD’S HANDS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Num 6:22-27; Ps 90:1-6, 12-14,16-17; James 4:13-15; Mt 6:31-34
]
Today, we
enter into another Lunar New Year. We have managed to survive the trials and challenges of the
previous year. Will we be able to face up to the challenges of the New
Year? Indeed, whilst we are happy to leave the Old Year behind, the year
of the Rooster, we are anxious about the year of the Dog.
So we seek to
control the future. That is why Chinese people are overly superstitious in
daily life.
We believe that everything we do, from the food we eat to the colours we wear,
will determine the future of our happiness and success in life. So we
wear red for good luck and happiness. We eat sticky rice cake, Nian Gao,
so that we can advance in life. We take black moss seaweed for prosperity
since it is called 髮菜; fàcài or ‘fat choy’ in Cantonese. So, we have the
greeting, “Gong Xi Fa Cai’. Fish is a must at the table on Chinese New
Year because the word 魚 (yú) has the same pronunciation as the word 餘, which is “remain or surplus.” We
exchange oranges because they are symbols of gold and wealth, since it has the
pronunciation, 柑橘; gānjú. Even
numbers are important, especially the number eight, which symbolizes
fortune. Chinese also believe that our future is determined by
which Chinese zodiac sign we are born in. The year of the animal will
determine our character and relationship with others.
Of course,
for us, we Christianize the symbols as expression of our hope and our prayers
to God who provides us and our daily needs. We do not presume to be
able to control our lives. The truth is that life is unpredictable. We
cannot control everything in life, whether by manipulating our stars or even
using our human will. In the play by William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar
suggests, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves,
that we are underlings.” (1.2.138-140)
Man proposes,
God disposes.
Everything might seem to be going on well in life for us but unexpected tragedy
can happen, a terminal illness or a tragic accident. No matter how
powerful we are on this earth, we are still human beings, finite. We can
have all the riches and wealth and afford the best doctors and security in the
world, but accidents and illness happen and no one can prevent such unforeseen
circumstances. Indeed, only God is in full control. This is
what the responsorial psalm says, “You sweep men away like a dream, like grass,
which springs up in the morning. In the morning, it springs up and flowers; by
evening, it withers and fades. Make us know the shortness of our life
that we may gain wisdom of heart. Lord, relent!” Many of us come to this
wisdom of heart only when we meet with tragedy or challenges that make us
totally helpless in spite of our knowledge and power.
Surrendering
to God’s will is the advice of St James for those of us who seek security on
this earth, in wealth, status and power in life. “You never know what will
happen tomorrow; you are no more than a mist that is here for a little while
and then disappears. The most you should ever say is: ‘If it is the Lord’s
will, we shall still be alive to do this or that.’” If we want to live a
life of joy and peace, we must seek to do His will. God knows
best. We must trust in His divine providence. (cf Isa 55:8f)
In His will is our peace. When we are focused on living in accordance to
His will for us, we can give our heart and soul into what we are doing.
God will somehow bless us in what we do and help us to make progress in our
works. He will not take away our struggles but He will give us the grace
to overcome them.
For this
reason, we are invited to enter into the New Lunar Year with peace of mind and
freedom from anxiety. If we allow our anxieties about tomorrow to control
us, we will be crippled in our happiness in life. The truth is that we do
not know what will happen tomorrow. We can plan many things but not everything
will work out according to our plans. Jesus said to His disciples, “Do
not worry; do not say, ‘What are we to eat? What are we to drink? How are we to
be clothed?’ It is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things.”
Indeed, there are many people who are always thinking and planning for tomorrow
that they forget to live today. Instead of enjoying what they are doing
each day, being with their loved ones and doing things that energize them, they
are planning for happiness tomorrow. Jesus advises us, “So do not worry
about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough
trouble of its own.” So learn to enjoy each moment and each day with all
its challenges and joys.
The solution
to all our worries is simply to seek God and His kingdom. “Your heavenly Father knows
you need them all. Set your hearts in his kingdom first, and on his
righteousness, and all these other things will be given to you as well.”
So what does it mean to set our hearts on His kingdom first as our purpose in
life? What is the kingdom of God? St Paul says, “the kingdom of God does
not mean food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy
Spirit.” (Rom 14:17) Happiness in life is more than merely having
lots of money or power or influence. Such things in themselves cannot
make us happy but they are means by which we can use them for the service of
God and humanity. Happiness in life depends on whether we are living for
meaning and purpose. Indeed, we can be very happy if we have a purpose in
life and find meaning in what we are doing. All the other things are used
to help us realize our meaning and vision. They are not ends in
themselves.
True meaning
in life is found in love and relationship. Indeed, science has
discovered that those of us who live longest and enjoy healthy lives are those
with meaningful relationships. It is not enough to keep fit, go to the
gym or keep a healthy diet. What is of utmost importance is building good
relationships with others. Indeed, when we celebrate the year of the dog,
we know that dogs are often man’s best companion. They can feel with us
and feel for us. A dog gives us the consolation of his love and presence,
sometimes even more than our friends who only know how to criticize us and
condemn us. That is why during the Lunar New Year, we visit each other to
renew ties and friendships, especially those whom we have not met for quite
some time. New Year is not a time to run away and isolate ourselves
from the larger community. It is a time to reach out and to build ties
with others. In this way, life becomes worth living because we have good
relationships with people.
This love is
also expressed in selfless service and contribution to the good of others and
society.
In the process of serving others, we build up ourselves and attain
self-realization. If we live for ourselves, we will eventually find
ourselves useless and living an aimless life. We must maximize ourselves and
grow through our contribution to society, otherwise we will rot. The
human body needs to be active to function and so is the mind. Meaningful
work and service to others give us joy and we keep ourselves alive not just
physically but emotionally. Service to humanity is the way to keep
ourselves happy.
Secondly,
Jesus tells us to seek righteousness. This means that we are to live
in right relationship with God, our fellowmen and with ourselves. When we live
responsible lives, doing what is right, living an honest and upright life,
whether in our relationship with God, with others or with respect to ourselves,
we find happiness. In other words, we are called to live a life of integrity
and justice. Peace is found when we have lived an upright
life. When we have been responsible and do all we can for our fellowmen,
our conscience is clear. Peace comes from justice that we render to
others. In the gospel, Jesus taught us the golden rule. (cf Mt 7:12)
In another text, St Paul wrote, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not
inherit the kingdom of God? (cf 1 Cor 6:9f)
The Kingdom of God therefore is to live under the rule of God’s love.
Seeking righteousness, peace and joy is what makes us happy in life.
At the same
time, to seek His righteousness is more than simply striving to live a moral
life.
Ultimately, justice comes from God because no one can justify himself because
we are all sinners. This is what St Paul wrote, “For no human being will
be justified in his sight by works of the law, since through the law comes
knowledge of sin.” (cf Rom 3:20-22) St John consoles us by saying, “Little
children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our
hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than
our hearts, and he knows everything. ” (1 Jn 3:18-20)
As for the
future, we know that God’s grace will see us through. When we desire to
live the life of God, seeking to live a just life, a life of integrity and
charity in accordance to His will, we can live each day in peace and with
calmness, doing all that we can, according to our limitations and
strength. So long as we live fully each day, discharging our
responsibilities well, we can live in peace knowing that we have not lived our
lives in vain. So let us seek God’s blessings and divine protection as
what Moses did for His people.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment