20180622 BLINDNESS IS THE CAUSE OF OUR FOLLY
22 JUNE, 2018, Friday, 11th Week,
Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
|
First reading
|
|
2 Kings 11:1-4,9-18,20 ©
|
|
Saved from the massacre, the true king is anointed by the high
priest
|
When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah learned that her son was dead,
she promptly did away with all those of royal stock. But Jehosheba, daughter of
King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, secretly took away Jehoash, her brother’s
son, from among the sons of the king who were being murdered, and put him with
his nurse in the sleeping quarters; in this way she hid him from Athaliah, and
he was not put to death. He stayed with her for six years, hidden in the Temple
of the Lord, while Athaliah governed the country.
In the
seventh year, Jehoiada sent for the commanders of hundreds of the Carians and
of the guards, and had them brought to him in the Temple of the Lord. He made a
pact with them and, putting them under oath, showed them the king’s son.
The commanders
of hundreds did everything as Jehoiada the priest had ordered. They brought
their men, those coming off duty on the sabbath together with those mounting
guard on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. The priest equipped the
commanders of hundreds with King David’s spears and shields which were in the
Temple of the Lord. The guards formed up, each man with his weapon in his hand,
from the south corner to the north corner of the Temple, surrounding the altar
and the Temple.’ Then Jehoiada brought out the king’s son, put the crown and
armlets on him, and he anointed him king. They clapped their hands and shouted,
‘Long live the king!’
Athaliah, on
hearing the shouts of the people made for the Temple of the Lord where the
people were. When she saw the king standing there beside the pillar, as the
custom was, with the captains and trumpeters at the king’s side, and all the
country people rejoicing and sounding trumpets, Athaliah tore her garments and
shouted, ‘Treason, treason!’ Then Jehoiada the priest gave the order to the
army officers: ‘Take her outside the precincts and put to death anyone who
follows her.’ ‘For,’ the priest had reasoned, ‘she must not be put to death in
the Temple of the Lord.’ They seized her, and when she had reached the palace
through the Entry of the Horses, she was put to death there.
Jehoiada
made a covenant between the Lord and king and people, by which the latter
undertook to be the people of the Lord; and also between king and people. All
the country people then went to the temple of Baal and demolished it; they
smashed his altars and his images and killed Mattan, priest of Baal, in front
of the altars.
The priest
posted sentries to guard the Temple of the Lord. All the country people were
delighted, and the city made no move. And they put Athaliah to death in the
royal palace.
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
|
Psalm 131(132):11-14,17-18 ©
|
The Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for
his dwelling.
The Lord swore an oath to David;
he will not go back on this word:
‘A son, the fruit of your body,
will I set upon your throne.
The Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for
his dwelling.
If they keep my covenant in truth
and my laws that I have taught them,
their sons also shall rule
on your throne from age to age.’
The Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for
his dwelling.
For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his dwelling:
‘This is my resting-place for ever;
here have I chosen to live.
The Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for
his dwelling.
There David’s stock will flower;
I will prepare a lamp for my anointed.
I will cover his enemies with shame
but on him my crown shall shine.’
The Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for
his dwelling.
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
Jn8:12
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light of life.
Alleluia!
|
Or:
|
Mt5:3
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
How happy are the poor in spirit:
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
Matthew 6:19-23 ©
|
|
Store up treasure for yourselves in heaven
|
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not store up treasures for
yourselves on earth, where moths and woodworms destroy them and thieves can
break in and steal. But store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where
neither moth nor woodworms destroy them and thieves cannot break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
‘The lamp of
the body is the eye. It follows that if your eye is sound, your whole body will
be filled with light. But if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be all
darkness. If then, the light inside you is darkness, what darkness that will
be!’
BLINDNESS IS THE CAUSE OF OUR FOLLY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 2 Kings 11:1-4, 9-18, 20; Mt 6:19-23 ]
Jesus said, “The
lamp of the body is the eye. It follows that if your eye is sound,
your whole body will be filled with light. But if your eye is diseased,
your whole body will be all darkness. If then, the light inside you is
darkness, what darkness that will be!” This warning of our Lord is indeed
so true. The eye is the window of the soul and the body. What
we see will determine how we think and what we think will be conceived in words
and actions. Hence, if we see things both in the physical sense and in
the intellectual sense wrongly, then our hearts will be skewed into desiring
the wrong things. This will lead us to our ultimate destruction and even
that of our loved ones. So if we were to ask why are we so shortsighted
to seek the things of the world just to satisfy the flesh and allow our soul to
die, then it is simply because we are blinded by pride, fear, prejudice, envy
and greed!
This was the
case of Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah. She was obsessed with
power and even had her grandchildren, the children of Ahaziah, her son, killed so
that she could grab power. Indeed, power and glory and perhaps fear of her
enemies consumed her, so much so that anyone who was perceived to be a threat
to her power was murdered. She was so blinded by her thirst for power and
control that she would even kill her own loved ones. This is unthinkable,
but that is the truth of obsession. As Jesus says in the gospel, “for
where your treasure is, there will your heart also.” The prophet
Jeremiah says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately
corrupt; who can understand it?” (Jer 17:9)
This desire
for power is so real, both within and without the Church. The thirst for power
exists not only in the secular, corporate and political world. It is
present very subtly even in religious life. Often, the Church is divided
because priests, religious and the laity fight for power and control over their
organizations. In the name of God, all kinds of sins are committed, such
as, slander, distortion of facts, false accusations, manipulation and even the
use of threats and coercion. Everyone is purportedly working for the good
of the Church, but in truth, it is for their own glory and security. They
desire power in their hearts but their eyes are so blinded that they cannot
recognize their true desire. It is sad, but politicking is a reality in
Church life and this is entirely against the gospel values where the Lord asks
us to choose the lowest place and be a humble servant of all.
Perhaps we
are not consumed by power and fear like Athaliah; but we could be consumed by
material things and worldly pleasures. This is what Jesus warns us
in the gospel, “Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moths
and woodworms destroy them and thieves can break in and
steal.” We think that worldly pleasure is sufficient to keep
us happy and satisfied. The truth is that nothing in this world can fill
the vacuum and the desire of the human heart.
What is it
that moths can destroy if not the beautiful clothes that we wear? When we buy and hoard
all these beautiful fine silk clothes, moths will destroy them. They do
not last. Such things cannot bring us lasting happiness. Clothes
will get old and out of fashion and we will have to discard them.
This is why we are never satisfied with material things. When we move
into a big bungalow, we are happy for a few months, but soon we take it for
granted and tire of it. It is true for those who buy big luxury cars as
well. Initially they feel great driving it, but the happiness wears off
after some time. Likewise, we get tired of our tech gadgets, TV, our
mobile phones, etc. For this reason, we keep on changing them because
they cannot satisfy us any longer.
Those who are
obsessed with food and pleasure will be left dulled after reaching satiation
point. Food
has a diminishing pleasure. The more we eat, even of the best foods, the
less pleasurable it becomes. Indeed, the things of this world cannot
sustain our pleasure for long. We go for better and newer foods.
After some time, we get so sick of good and rich foods that we go back to the
simple food of the ordinary folks, such as porridge and a bowl of
noodles. This is true also for sex and wine. There is a certain
limit after which we lose our interest and our desire. When the climax or
saturation point is reached, we quickly sink into the doldrums. Indeed, those
who are consumed by lust, gluttony and sloth are reduced to the level of
animals.
What are
those things that thieves can steal? People can steal our things,
property and intellectual rights. But the most devious thieves are those
who can rob us of our peace, joy and love. When we allow pride, anger
and envy to consume us, we lose our peace because pride, revenge and envy will
eat into us. There is no joy in our hearts but only bitterness. When we
allow lust and greed to consume us, we lose our joy because we cannot love
others or share our love with them. A man can lose many things in life,
but when he loses himself, he has lost everything. That is what Jesus
meant when He remarked, “what good will it be for someone to gain the whole
world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their
soul?” (Mt 16:26)
The wisdom of
St James’ advice is timely when he remarked that even those in the religious
world can use spiritual powers for earthly gains, but to their own destruction. He wrote, “There is
great gain in godliness with contentment; for we brought nothing into the
world, and we cannot take anything out of the world; but if we have
food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who
desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and
hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of
money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have
wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs.” (1 Tim 6:6-10)
So what
treasure should we seek in life if not the treasure that is kept safe for us in
heaven? When we seek heavenly things, we will never get tired of them and
always hunger for more. When we seek heavenly things, we experience joy, peace,
love, generosity, goodness and kindness in our hearts. (Cf Gal 5:22)
Indeed, when we spend time basking in the love of God or our loved ones, we
just want to be with them forever. When we read something inspiring and
uplifting, like the Word of God, we want to keep on reading because it
nourishes our soul and keeps us hungering for more. When we are generous
with the poor and serve unconditionally in love, the joy that we receive in
touching the hearts of others is so much greater than what we can receive from
our worldly success and the honours bestowed upon us by the world.
So let us
store treasures not in our houses or in the banks but in our hearts. If we build ourselves up and
have a good character, no one can steal from us. If we increase in
knowledge, wisdom and understanding, no one can take them from us. They
can rob us of material things but they cannot take what belongs to us. That is
why cultivating a life of virtue, a life of wisdom, love and compassion is the
best treasure that we can store in this life. Such treasures will also
see themselves into the next life because these are the only things we can
bring with us when we die. Only charity and its fruits that constitute
the life of the “Kingdom of truth and life, of holiness and grace, of justice
and peace” will last. (GS 39) Let us therefore humble ourselves
before the Lord and seek His wisdom and love by focusing our eyes on the Lord
and seek guidance from Him, for as the psalmist says, “From Your precepts I get
understanding; Therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a
lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Ps 119:104f)
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment