20190217
A
LIFE OF JOY
17 FEBRUARY,
2019, Sunday, 6th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Jeremiah 17:5-8 ©
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A blessing on the man who puts his trust
in the Lord
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The Lord says this:
‘A curse on the man who puts his trust in
man,
who relies on things of flesh,
whose heart turns from the Lord.
He is like dry scrub in the wastelands:
if good comes, he has no eyes for it,
he settles in the parched places of the
wilderness,
a salt land, uninhabited.
‘A blessing on the man who puts his trust
in the Lord,
with the Lord for his hope.
He is like a tree by the waterside
that thrusts its roots to the stream:
when the heat comes it feels no alarm,
its foliage stays green;
it has no worries in a year of drought,
and never ceases to bear fruit.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 1:1-4,6 ©
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Happy the man who has
placed his trust in the Lord.
Happy indeed is the man
who follows not the counsel of
the wicked;
nor lingers in the way of sinners
nor sits in the company of
scorners,
but whose delight is the law of the Lord
and who ponders his law day
and night.
Happy the man who has
placed his trust in the Lord.
He is like a tree that is planted
beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due season
and whose leaves shall never
fade;
and all that he does shall
prosper.
Happy the man who has
placed his trust in the Lord.
Not so are the wicked, not so!
For they like winnowed chaff
shall be driven away by the
wind:
for the Lord guards the way of the just
but the way of the wicked
leads to doom.
Happy the man who has
placed his trust in the Lord.
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Second reading
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1 Corinthians
15:12,16-20 ©
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If Christ has not been raised, you are
still in your sins
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If Christ raised from the dead is what has
been preached, how can some of you be saying that there is no resurrection of
the dead? For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised, and if
Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins. And what is more
serious, all who have died in Christ have perished. If our hope in Christ has
been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people.
But
Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have
fallen asleep.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Mt11:25
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Lk6:23ab
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Rejoice and be glad:
your reward will be great in heaven.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 6:17,20-26 ©
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Happy are you who are poor, who are
hungry, who weep
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Jesus came down with the Twelve and
stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his
disciples with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and from
Jerusalem and from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. Then fixing his eyes
on his disciples he said:
‘How happy are you who are poor: yours is
the kingdom of God.
Happy you who are hungry now: you shall be
satisfied.
Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh.
Happy are you when people hate you, drive
you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of
Man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, for then your reward will
be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets.
‘But alas for you who are rich: you are
having your consolation now.
Alas for you who have your fill now: you
shall go hungry.
Alas for you who laugh now: you shall
mourn and weep.
‘Alas for you when the world speaks well
of you! This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.’
A LIFE OF JOY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JER 17:5-8; 1 COR 15:12, 16-20; LK 6:17, 20-26 ]
St Thomas Aquinas once
said, “Man cannot live without joy;
therefore, when he is deprived of true spiritual joys, it is necessary that he
become addicted to carnal pleasures.” Indeed, even a theologian and monk like
St Thomas Aquinas recognizes the basic need of man, which is to find joy and happiness
in life. No one can live without joy or happiness. All of us seek
happiness in life. Man is always afraid of suffering in all its forms,
whether physical, emotional or mental. We all fear pain and seek to avoid
pain and suffering as far as possible.
How can we find real
happiness and joy in life? This is the theme of today’s scripture
readings. There are two ways to search for happiness. One way is in
individualism and self-indulgence, the other is in communitarianism and
service.
The first way of
individualism is that of the world. The way of the world, especially for
atheists, secularists and humanists, relies on oneself. They believe that man has all the answers
to the problems of the world. They do not need God, which they believe
cannot be proven and therefore they dispute the existence of God. Not
believing in anything beyond this earth, they only have themselves to rely
on. But Jeremiah warns us, “A curse on the man who puts his trust in man,
who relies on things of flesh, whose heart turns from the Lord. He is like dry
scrub in the wastelands: if good comes, he has no eyes for it, he settles in
the parched places of the wilderness, a salt land, uninhabited.”
Those who rely on themselves will one day find that he is not that powerful and
almighty after all. In the face of illness and death, he will realize his
finiteness and powerlessness. Indeed, no matter how rich or powerful we
may be, if we are struck by a terminal illness, even the best doctors in the
world cannot cure us. When that day comes, we will realize that money,
power and fame cannot save us.
Some of us put our trust
in power and might, such as money, technology and influence. Again even the best technology can
one day fail us. Money and influence alone cannot protect us from illness
and death. Money can give us problems instead of being a help.
There are people who are always seeking money from us. We do not know who
are our true friends until we are poor and in need of help. People are
good to us because they can get something from us. Fair weather friends
are a plenty. Those of us who seek popularity and praises of men live in
deep insecurity because those who praise us will condemn us when we are no
longer in office or in power or are useless to them. They live in
anxiety all the time, worrying how popular they are, and seeking to do things
to please others and win their favour. They are slaves to public
opinion. (cf Ps 33:16-20)
Some think happiness is
found in worldly and sensual pleasures. Life is about enjoying and having fun
without any regard for authentic love, respect for fellow human beings.
Many in the world live as if there is no tomorrow. They are irresponsible
and indifferent about the future of humanity and creation. All they seek
is to take whatever they can from this earth but will not help creation to grow
and to flourish. It is about themselves and not about others. When they
indulge in the things of this world, eating, drinking, making merry, gambling,
taking drugs, living a promiscuous life, they will end up living a futile
life. Some will be led into crime, and fall into all kinds of
addictions. Ultimately, they will destroy themselves, their body, their
family and their career.
Those of us who choose
the ways of the world will end up frustrated and be deprived of real happiness
in life. The Lord said,
“‘But alas for you who are rich. Alas for you who have your fill now: you
shall go hungry. Alas for you who laugh now: you shall mourn and weep. Alas for
you when the world speaks well of you!” Indeed, for those of us who
are rich, thinking we have everything, these will be taken away by others, our
competitors, our enemies, or illness and death. Those of us who have our
fill now and never go hungry will never be able to feel with the poor or be
grateful for what we have received. A man without gratitude will always
be inward-looking, dissatisfied, demanding for more and more. Those of us
who laugh and enjoy now, will one day mourn and weep because our
self-centeredness will lead us to live an immoral life of licentiousness which
will destroy our loved ones, our family, causing us to lose our job, become
addicted to the things of this world, such as sex, womanising, drugs, drinking,
gambling and committing all sorts of crime.
The life that the Lord
wants to offer us is a blessed life. This
blessed life is achieved through our solidarity with our fellowmen and with
God. Happiness is to be identified with every man, especially those who
are suffering, hungry, rejected and in pain. Only then will we be
able to reach out in love and compassion. Jesus taught us, “How
happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God. Happy you who
are hungry now: you shall be satisfied. Happy you who weep now: you shall
laugh. Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you,
denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice when that
day comes and dance for joy, for then your reward will be great in heaven.”
To be identified with
our fellowmen, we
need to be receptive of whatever the Lord wants to give us. Only
the poor, those who recognize their limitations and finiteness will learn to
trust in God and rely on Him. Those who are poor in spirit are always
grateful for whatever blessings they receive in life. That is why those
who are poor in Spirit are always generous towards others because they know
what it means to be poor.
This is true for those
who suffer much in life.
When we suffer, we learn to identity with the sufferings of others. Those
of us who are sick, have fallen ill, or even suffering from terminal illness,
or have to look after those who are mentally and physically challenged, will
know how to empathise with such people, and at the same time, thank God for
their health instead of complaining about what they do not have. There
are so many healthy people who are always lamenting that they do not have
beautiful clothes, jewellery, positions in life, forgetting that health is the
most precious of gifts. Indeed, if we have food, shelter and good health,
it is more than enough for us all. What we need in life is more than just
food but living a meaningful, challenging, fulfilling and enriching life.
Indeed, if we want to
live a blessed life, Hellen Keller once said, “The best and most beautiful
things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the
heart.” It
is in relationship that we find meaning and happiness. Things that
are free in this world and could really satisfy us are love, laughter and good
relationships. That is why what we have are secondary
compared to finding true friendships in life and eternal friendship with the
God who never dies. It is when we reach out to others in love and
service that we find real and lasting joy. To know that we have made a
difference in the lives of others give us great joy. One of the
best feelings in the world is to know that someone is happy because of you.
The best way to overcome
our sufferings and unhappiness is by making others happy. When we are good to others, we are
good to ourselves. Let us not forget that the things we do for ourselves
are gone when we are gone, our wealth, power and status. But the
good things we do for others remain with humanity as a legacy. That is
why we must spread love everywhere we go. Let no one ever come to us
without leaving happier. Let us therefore stop pushing so hard on the
door looking for happiness because it opens inwards. That is why the book
of Revelation tells us that Jesus is knocking at our doors. Only we can
open our door to the love for people and God. We hold the keys.
In the final analysis,
Jesus tells us happiness and security is found in God alone. Only with God can we love the way
He loves. This is what Jeremiah advised us. “A blessing on the man
who puts his trust in the Lord, with the Lord for his hope. He is like a tree
by the waterside that thrusts its roots to the stream: when the heat comes it
feels no alarm, its foliage stays green; it has no worries in a year of
drought, and never ceases to bear fruit.” Only in God, can we find our
security and refuge. This is because when we reduce love to
humanitarianism, we end up frustrated, angry and bitter with the world because
there will always be poor and the suffering among us. Not everyone will
collaborate with us to help them and those whom we help will never think that
they have enough. So we can end up in despair.
That is why, while we
offer life on earth to the people we reach out to, it is but only a foretaste
of the life that is to come. Jesus who is our resurrection and the life shows us
that our real and ultimate life is not in this world but in God. St Paul
wrote, even if we are Christians and “our hope in Christ has been for this life
only, we are the most unfortunate of all people.” We cannot be
living only for this world, as what worldly people who do not believe in God
do. Rather, we are called to live our life for God and for our
fellowmen. By so doing, we find life ourselves. In a
nutshell, this means that happiness keeps us sweet, sorrows keep us human,
trials keep us strong, failures keep us growing but only God can keep us going!
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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