20180820
SEEING ALL THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE WITH CHRIST
20 AUGUST, 2018, Monday, 20th Week,
Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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Ezekiel 24:15-24 ©
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The Lord will profane his sanctuary
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The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows, ‘Son of man,
I am about to deprive you suddenly of the delight of your eyes. But you are not
to lament, not to weep, not to let your tears run down. Groan in silence, do
not go into mourning for the dead, knot your turban round your head, put your
sandals on your feet, do not cover your beard, do not eat common bread.’ I told
this to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening, and the
next morning I did as I had been ordered.
The people then
said to me, ‘Are you not going to explain what meaning these actions have for
us?’
I replied,
‘The word of the Lord has been addressed to me as follows, “Say to the House of
Israel: The Lord says this. I am about to profane my sanctuary, the pride of
your strength, the delight of your eyes, the passion of your souls. Those of
your sons and daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword. And
you are to do as I have done; you must not cover your beards or eat common
bread; you must keep your turbans on your heads and your sandals on your feet;
you must not lament or weep. You shall waste away owing to your sins and groan
among yourselves. Ezekiel is to be a sign for you. You are to do just as he has
done. And when this happens, you will learn that I am the Lord.”’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Deuteronomy 32:18-21 ©
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You forget the God who fathered you.
You forget the Rock who begot you,
unmindful now of the God who fathered you.
The Lord has seen this, and in his anger
cast off his sons and his daughters.
You forget the God who fathered you.
‘I shall hide my face from them,’ he says
‘and see what becomes of them.
For they are a deceitful brood,
children with no loyalty in them.
You forget the God who fathered you.
‘They have roused me to jealousy with what is no god,
they have angered me with their beings of nothing;
I, then, will rouse them to jealousy with what is no people,
I will anger them with an empty-headed nation.’
You forget the God who fathered you.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps118:24
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Train me, Lord, to observe your law,
to keep it with my heart.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Mt5:3
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Alleluia, alleluia!
How happy are the poor in spirit:
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 19:16-22 ©
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If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own
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There was a man who came to Jesus and asked, ‘Master, what good
deed must I do to possess eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you ask me
about what is good? There is one alone who is good. But if you wish to enter
into life, keep the commandments.’ He said, ‘Which?’ ‘These:’ Jesus replied ‘You must not kill. You must not
commit adultery. You must not bring false witness. Honour your father and
mother,and: you must love
your neighbour as yourself.’ The
young man said to him, ‘I have kept all these. What more do I need to do?’
Jesus said, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the
money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’
But when the young man heard these words he went away sad, for he was a man of
great wealth.
SEEING ALL THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE WITH CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ EZEKIEL 24:15-24; MATTHEW 19:16-22 ]
Like the rich
man who came to Jesus seeking eternal life, many of us too are unsatisfied with
our lives.
Our lives might even be good in the eyes of the world, a good career, status,
and a beautiful family. But something seems to be missing. So
too we ask, “Master, what good deed must I do to possess eternal life.”
What was the
response of Jesus? “There is one alone who is good. However, if you wish
to enter into life, keep the commandments. You must not kill. You must
not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not bring false witness.
Honour your father and mother, and: you must love your neighbour as
yourself.” These commandments that Jesus referred to all concern our
relationship with our neigbours. The young man said, “I have kept all these.
What more do I need to do?” It is significant that he had done what the
commandments required and still he was not complete. Thus, he felt that
perhaps he was not doing enough and needed to do more.
What was he
lacking? He lacked the right motivation for doing what he did. This is true for us
all. Many of us might observe the commandments to love our
neighbours. We obey slavishly what the law requires of us.
We become self-righteous. We feel good and great about ourselves that we
have fulfilled the laws. However, that only draws us further from our
fellowmen who are struggling to obey the laws. We lack compassion,
understanding and forgiveness for their failures. In fact, some of us
might even despise them for not living up to the standards of the gospel.
Then there
are those who observe the commandment to love their neighbours more out of
guilt than charity. They are doing well in life. They have plenty and are
successful. They know that they are among the 1% who owns half of the
world’s wealth, or the top 10% that holds 85% of the world’s wealth, or at
least the top 30% that holds 97% of the total wealth of the world. So
they feel guilty that they are enjoying so much of the world’s resources and
out of guilt give a small token of what they have to the poor and
society. Such giving is not motivated by charity but guilt when they see
others who are so much poorer than them.
Others care
for their neighbours because they feel good about being involved in all these
activities. They are activists. They like to feel needed and be
recognized or loved. So they are busy with all kinds of activities.
The activities sustain them. Beneath the flurry of activities, there is a
fear to confront one’s inner self and motives. Deep within, they are
afraid to be lonely, to be without friends or they seek recognition. So
they serve the poor, or rather, they make use of the poor or their services for
their sense of self-worth.
And there are
others who truly love their neighbours because of humanitarian reasons. They feel sorry for those
who are poor, or a sense of responsibility towards their countrymen and
society. They offer their services and their resources to help
them. They spend their time serving the community and those who are in
need. Still, after all that they have done, there seems to be something
lacking in their lives. There is a gnawing feeling that there is
something more.
What is
lacking? It is God. This is why the Lord told the rich man, “If you wish to be
perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will
have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” To be perfect is to
find completion in God alone. If you desire to make your life
complete, then what is necessary is not so much that we give our money to the
poor, rather it is in order that we can follow Jesus. Eternal life is to
share in the life of Jesus. God comes to share with us His life in
Christ. He wants us to enjoy the same intimacy that Jesus has with His
Father. It is only when God is with us and in us, that we can find
fulfillment in life. Without God, no matter what we do, life will not be
complete. Salvation precisely is not by good works but faith in Christ as
the revealer of the Father.
Putting God
as the ultimate in our lives is the key to perfection of life. Our hearts are restless
until we rest in God. However, we read that “when the young man heard
these words he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.” He was
not willing to put God as the center of his life. His wealth was his
god. Although he did a lot of good works and was faithful to the
commandments, he was still serving mammon and not God. His priority in
life was not God but himself, his security and his wealth. This was the
case of the Israelites in today’s first reading. They worshipped money,
power and idols rather than God. Indeed, as the psalmist says, “You
forget the Rock who begot you, unmindful now of the God who fathered you.”
To put God as
the focus of our lives does not mean always that we are to give away everything
to the poor. God might not want us to give away everything to the poor and
follow Him as priests, religious and missionaries do. Different people
are chosen for different vocations, marriage, family and service to the
country. However, the motive in all that we do must be correct. It
must be done with the love of God in mind. In the final analysis, we must
love God and put Him first above all things. This is what the Lord
taught, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all
your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first
commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.'” (Mt 23:37-39) The problem with the rich man and many of
us is that we love our wealth and for some, our neighbours first.
So when we
love God above all things, then we will know how and what we should do with
ourselves, our resources and our time. Everything we have is meant
for His service and for the love of neighbour. What we do should spring
from our love for God and then expressed concretely in our daily life where we
are called to help and serve. That is why when we put God as the centre
of our lives, then we will be able to see in perspective the things of this
world. We will realise that these are passing things and that they are
not the ends themselves but the means through which we share in the life and
love of God through service of our fellowmen. Loving God entails loving
our neighbours because the life of God is love and emptying. But we do
not love our neighbours or make use of them for our insecurity and
fulfilment. Rather, it is because we are fulfilled and loved in Christ
that we want to pour out our love for others.
This absolute
commitment to the Lord is seen in today’s exemplary life of Ezekiel. God wanted to use him
as a sign for the people of Israel who were unfaithful to Him. So He told
Ezekiel that He was going to take away his wife from him. When that day
comes, he was “not to lament, not to weep, not to let your tears run
down. Groan in silence, do not go into mourning for the dead.” It
must have been extremely difficult enough for him to lose his dear wife.
However, not to be allowed to mourn for her was a double blow. Yet the
prophet accepted the will of God in his life. He did not fight against
God’s will because he knew that the death of his wife and being forbidden to
mourn for her was to enable him to serve the greater good of his people.
He was a prophetic sign to them to repent of their sins and to prepare them for
the day when they had to be exiled to Babylon. We too must learn from the
prophet to trust in God and to put our lives in complete surrender to His will
and service. We must love Him above all things. By so doing, we
will find the grace to be detached from the world and be available for the
service of God. In this way, we share in the eternal life of God, a
life of love and joy.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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