20180404
MAKING SENSE OF OUR GRIEFS
04 APRIL, 2018, Easter Wednesday
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
|
First reading
|
Acts 3:1-10 ©
|
|
I will give you what I have: in the name of Jesus, walk!
|
Once, when Peter and John were going up to the Temple for the
prayers at the ninth hour, it happened that there was a man being carried past.
He was a cripple from birth; and they used to put him down every day near the
Temple entrance called the Beautiful Gate so that he could beg from the people
going in. When this man saw Peter and John on their way into the Temple he
begged from them. Both Peter and John looked straight at him and said, ‘Look at
us.’ He turned to them expectantly, hoping to get something from them, but
Peter said, ‘I have neither silver nor gold, but I will give you what I have:
in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk!’ Peter then took him by the
hand and helped him to stand up. Instantly his feet and ankles became firm, he
jumped up, stood, and began to walk, and he went with them into the Temple,
walking and jumping and praising God. Everyone could see him walking and
praising God, and they recognised him as the man who used to sit begging at the
Beautiful Gate of the Temple. They were all astonished and unable to explain
what had happened to him.
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
|
Psalm 104(105):1-4,6-9 ©
|
Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Give thanks to the Lord, tell his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
O sing to him, sing his praise;
tell all his wonderful works!
Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Be proud of his holy name,
let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice.
Consider the Lord and his strength;
constantly seek his face.
Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
O children of Abraham, his servant,
O sons of the Jacob he chose.
He, the Lord, is our God:
his judgements prevail in all the earth.
Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
He remembers his covenant for ever,
his promise for a thousand generations,
the covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath he swore to Isaac.
Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
Ps117:24
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
This day was made by the Lord:
we rejoice and are glad.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
Luke 24:13-35 ©
|
|
They recognised him at the breaking of bread
|
Two of the disciples of Jesus were on their way to a village
called Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking together about
all that had happened. Now as they talked this over, Jesus himself came up and
walked by their side; but something prevented them from recognising him. He
said to them, ‘What matters are you discussing as you walk along?’ They stopped
short, their faces downcast.
Then one of
them, called Cleopas, answered him, ‘You must be the only person staying in
Jerusalem who does not know the things that have been happening there these
last few days.’ ‘What things?’ he asked. ‘All about Jesus of Nazareth’ they
answered ‘who proved he was a great prophet by the things he said and did in
the sight of God and of the whole people; and how our chief priests and our
leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and had him crucified. Our
own hope had been that he would be the one to set Israel free. And this is not
all: two whole days have gone by since it all happened; and some women from our
group have astounded us: they went to the tomb in the early morning, and when
they did not find the body, they came back to tell us they had seen a vision of
angels who declared he was alive. Some of our friends went to the tomb and
found everything exactly as the women had reported, but of him they saw
nothing.’
Then he said
to them, ‘You foolish men! So slow to believe the full message of the prophets!
Was it not ordained that the Christ should suffer and so enter into his glory?’
Then, starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to
them the passages throughout the scriptures that were about himself.
When they
drew near to the village to which they were going, he made as if to go on; but
they pressed him to stay with them. ‘It is nearly evening’ they said ‘and the
day is almost over.’ So he went in to stay with them. Now while he was with
them at table, he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and
handed it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognised him; but he
had vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, ‘Did not our
hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the
scriptures to us?’
They set out
that instant and returned to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven assembled
together with their companions, who said to them, ‘Yes, it is true. The Lord
has risen and has appeared to Simon.’ Then they told their story of what had
happened on the road and how they had recognised him at the breaking of bread.
MAKING SENSE OF OUR GRIEFS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 3:1-10; PS 105:1-4,6-9; LUKE 24:13-35 ]
No one on
this earth can avoid suffering. This is the consequence of a fallen
nature.
“Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days
of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall
eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat
bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you
are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Gn 3:17-19)
Instead of grumbling and lamenting why we have to suffer in life, it is more
important, if we want to be happy, to learn how to deal with our sufferings,
especially our griefs. Indeed, whilst all of us suffer, some suffer
happily and grow through their sufferings; others suffer negatively and fall
into depression; others still, suffer like a stoic and become hardened to life
and the people around them.
The key to
overcoming grief and suffering is to make sense of what is happening in our
lives, especially when they are negative events. Of course, it would
be better still if we also learn to discover the meaning of the good and
positive events that happen to us. “In the day of prosperity be joyful,
and in the day of adversity consider; God has made the one as well as the
other, so that mortals may not find out anything that will come after
them.” (Eccl 7:14)
This was the
case of the crippled man at the Temple of Jerusalem. We read that “he was a
cripple from birth; and they used to put him down every day near the Temple
entrance called the Beautiful Gate so that he could beg from the people going
in.” Looking at others who were healthy and strong, he must have envied
them and cursed God for his misfortune through no fault of his. Why
should he suffer disability from birth? We can be sure that this question
was constantly on his mind. When we cannot make sense of our suffering,
then we feel angry with God and with the world, or ourselves.
In the
gospel, we read that the disciples of our Lord were also in grief after the
heart-rending crucifixion. They were losing hope in God and His love. They were
leaving Jerusalem, the supposed place of glory which became a tragedy.
“Two of them were on their way to a village called Emmaus, seven miles from
Jerusalem, and they were talking together about all that had happened. Now as
they talked this over, Jesus himself came up and walked by their side; but
something prevented them from recognising him. He said to them, ‘What matters
are you discussing as you walk along?’ They stopped short, their faces
downcast.”
Why were they
disheartened? Because they were confused by what they saw. How could Jesus their
master, miracle worker and the presence of God in person end up crucified as a
criminal on the cross? They had high hopes in Jesus “who proved he was a
great prophet by the things he said and did in the sight of God and of the
whole people; and how our chief priests and our leaders handed him over to be
sentenced to death, and had him crucified. Our own hope had been that he would
be the one to set Israel free.” As if this heartbreaking event was not
perplexed enough, they also heard reports of Jesus’ resurrection. They said,
“some women from our group have astounded us: they went to the tomb in the
early morning, and when they did not find the body, they came back to tell us
they had seen a vision of angels who declared he was alive. Some of our friends
went to the tomb and found everything exactly as the women had reported, but of
him they saw nothing.”
How can we
make sense of our griefs in life? When we learn to see our sufferings and the events of our
lives as a whole and not out of context. No single event in our lives
stands alone but as part of a bigger picture. When we see our life events
in connection with what has gone before and what will come after, both in
relation to ourselves and to the people around us and society at large, then we
will learn to appreciate the meaning of both suffering and joy in our lives,
the painful and the joyful events.
In other
words, we must see the larger picture and our part in this whole mosaic or
tapestry of life. Unless we see beyond our suffering and connect it with the
larger picture, we will not be able to understand the purpose of our suffering
and our joys as well. When that happens, we will just go through life,
without learning from our sufferings and growing from our joys as well.
We become like animals, just absorbing and living with the events without
understanding its purpose in life. Nothing happens without the permission
of God. Everything happens for a reason. This is what St Paul says,
“We know that all things work together for good or those who love God, who are
called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28)
Precisely,
the crippled man did not know that he was destined to be a sign of God’s power
at work in the lives of many people, bringing them to conversion. Because of his sickness,
Peter and John could heal him and he became a messenger of the Good News to all
those who were seeking meaning and purpose in life. If he were not
crippled, then the message of Peter and John would not have been
preached. Indeed, when Peter said to him, “‘I have neither silver nor
gold, but I will give you what I have: in the name of Jesus Christ the
Nazarene, walk!’ Peter then took him by the hand and helped him to stand up.
Instantly his feet and ankles became firm, he jumped up, stood, and began to
walk, and he went with them into the Temple, walking and jumping and praising
God”, it was also an occasion for the bystanders who saw the miracle to reflect
on the goodness and the power of God. “Everyone could see him walking and
praising God, and they recognised him as the man who used to sit begging at the
Beautiful Gate of the Temple. They were all astonished and unable to explain
what had happened to him.”
So too for
the death of Jesus. This was what the Lord explained to the apostles so
that they could understand the plan of God for Him and for them. He said, “You foolish
men! So slow to believe the full message of the prophets! Was it not ordained
that the Christ should suffer and so enter into his glory?’ Then, starting with
Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages
throughout the scriptures that were about himself.” Indeed, the
death of Jesus was part of God’s plan to bring about the salvation of
humanity. What humanity thought was tragic, God used that tragedy to
bring about His glory and the manifestation of His power by destroying death,
which is the cause of sin, through the death and resurrection of our Lord.
As for the
disciples and apostles themselves, they had to go through this period of
confusion so that they could become witnesses of our Lord as Peter and John did
at the Temple of Jerusalem. The greater the tragedy, the greater the grace
of God at work in our lives. Indeed, when we come to understand the
place and purpose of our suffering in God’s plan, we will be grateful and
thankful instead of being resentful. This was the response of the
psalmist. “Give thanks to the Lord, tell his name, make known his
deeds among the peoples. O sing to him, sing his praise; tell all his
wonderful works! Be proud of his holy name, let the hearts that seek
the Lord rejoice. Consider the Lord and his strength; constantly seek his face.
He remembers his covenant for ever, his promise for a thousand
generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.”
Indeed, it
was appropriate that the gospel concluded with the awakening experience through
the celebration of the Eucharist. “Now while he was with them at table, he took the bread and
said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it to them. And their eyes were
opened and they recognised him; but he had vanished from their sight. Then they
said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on
the road and explained the scriptures to us?’” The Eucharist is a
memorial of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection. By celebrating the
Eucharist, we call to mind the plan of God in Christ’s paschal mystery, which
we are called to participate as well and to connect our lives with the life of
Christ.
The word
“Eucharist” is also thanksgiving. We are called to give thanks to God for
the wondrous salvation He effected in Christ through His death and resurrection
and ours as well. Only when we are able to give thanks for all that
happens to us, good and bad, then we can truly say that we are healed and are
enlightened. Unless we can thank God for all our trials in life, we are
still not healed. St Paul could testify without shame when he wrote, “I
am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he
judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was
formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received
mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of
our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ
Jesus.” (1 Tim 1:12-14)
Finally, to
make sense of our suffering, we must continue to recount these events so that
as we recount them, our understanding of the plan of God in our lives will
deepen.
This is why the Eucharist, which is celebrated by the community, is the place
where deep sharing of the Word of God takes place and as a result, we are
inspired by each other. Indeed, we read, “They set out that instant and
returned to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven assembled together with
their companions, who said to them, ‘Yes, it is true. The Lord has risen and
has appeared to Simon.’ Then they told their story of what had happened on the
road and how they had recognised him at the breaking of bread.” Christian
fellowship and sharing of how God works in our lives will help each one of us
to see our place in God’s plan. We must find a community where we can
share the Word of God regularly if we are to grow in faith and understanding of
God’s plan in our lives. By so doing, we will remain grateful and
positive even when we suffer, because we know it is for the greater good of
all, including ourselves.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment