20190303
HAPPINESS
IS FOUND IN A HEART OF WISDOM AND GOODNESS
03 MARCH, 2019,
Sunday, 8th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Ecclesiasticus 27:5-8 ©
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The test of a man is in his conversation
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In a shaken sieve the rubbish is left
behind,
so too the defects of a man
appear in his talk.
The kiln tests the work of the potter,
the test of a man is in his
conversation.
The orchard where a tree grows is judged
on the quality of its fruit,
similarly a man’s words betray
what he feels.
Do not praise a man before he has spoken,
since this is the test of men.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 91(92):2-3,13-16 ©
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It is good to give you
thanks, O Lord.
It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to make music to your name, O
Most High,
to proclaim your love in the morning
and your truth in the watches
of the night.
It is good to give you
thanks, O Lord.
The just will flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a Lebanon cedar.
It is good to give you
thanks, O Lord.
Planted in the house of the Lord
they will flourish in the
courts of our God,
still bearing fruit when they are old,
still full of sap, still
green,
to proclaim that the Lord is just.
In him, my rock, there is no
wrong.
It is good to give you
thanks, O Lord.
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Second reading
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1 Corinthians 15:54-58 ©
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Death is swallowed up in victory
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When this perishable nature has put on
imperishability, and when this mortal nature has put on immortality, then the
words of scripture will come true: Death is swallowed up in victory.
Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? Now the
sting of death is sin, and sin gets its power from the Law. So let us thank God
for giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Never
give in then, my dear brothers, never admit defeat; keep on working at the
Lord’s work always, knowing that, in the Lord, you cannot be labouring in vain.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Ac16:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord,
to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Ph2:15-16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
You will shine in the world like bright
stars
because you are offering it the word of
life.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 6:39-45 ©
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Can the blind lead the blind?
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Jesus told a parable to his disciples:
‘Can one blind man guide another? Surely both will fall into a pit? The
disciple is not superior to his teacher; the fully trained disciple will always
be like his teacher. Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and
never notice the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, “Brother,
let me take out the splinter that is in your eye,” when you cannot see the
plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and
then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter that is in your
brother’s eye.
‘There
is no sound tree that produces rotten fruit, nor again a rotten tree that
produces sound fruit. For every tree can be told by its own fruit: people do
not pick figs from thorns, nor gather grapes from brambles. A good man draws
what is good from the store of goodness in his heart; a bad man draws what is
bad from the store of badness. For a man’s words flow out of what fills his
heart.’
HAPPINESS IS
FOUND IN A HEART OF WISDOM AND GOODNESS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Ecc 27:4-7; Ps 92:2-3,13-16; 1Cor 15:54-58; Lk 6:39-45 ]
Where is happiness found
if not in the heart? But
why the heart? Right from the outset, it is important to understand the
constitution of man. St Paul wrote, “May the God of peace himself
sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and
blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Th 5:23) The spirit is man’s capacity
to communicate with God. The body, which is the flesh, as St Paul
mentioned in today’s reading, will be resurrected. “When this perishable
nature has put on imperishability, and when this mortal nature has put on
immortality, then the words of scripture will come true: Death is swallowed up
in victory.”
But what about the
soul? The soul is further distinguished as mind, emotions and will. The mind is more than just the rational
brain of the human person. The mind consists of memory, intellect and
intelligence. The emotions, that is, the feelings, respond to the data that the
mind sends. The will is the capacity and the drive to act based on the
person’s perception of the good that comes both from the mind and the emotions.
So when we speak of the
heart, what are we referring to? Certainly, we are not speaking about the
organ itself. We are referring to the memory and the emotions, which are
parts of the soul.
That is why, we often use expressions like, “Mary treasured all these words and
pondered them in her heart” (Lk 2:51; cf 2:19) or to remember by heart. In other
words, to commit them to memory. But the heart is also associated not
just with the memory, the storage of words and events, it is also a place where
we feel. God said of Israel, “My heart recoils within me; my compassion
grows warm and tender.” (Hos 11:8) The heart is a place where we
feel pain, sadness, joy and love. Hence, love is always portrayed by the
heart.
So when bringing both
the memory and the feelings together, we often refer to the entire being of the
person. For example, the
psalmist prayed, “For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my
salvation.” (Ps 62:1) “As a deer
longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for
God, for the living God.” (Ps 42:1f) Mary said, “My soul
magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” (Lk 1:46f) Jesus prayed at the Garden of
Gethsemane, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” (MK 14:34 NIV)
Consequently, because
the memory and the emotions are very much related, we can therefore surmise
that happiness has very much to do with our memory. In fact the memory is where the
messages are sent to the emotional dimension of man, making him feel happy,
joyful, exhilarated, or sad, depressed, angry, anxious or disheartened.
Indeed, we are distinguished from each other more by memories than by character.
The latter is the outcome of how a person is shaped by his memories after a
long period of time when such memories harden and form the character of the
person.
This explains why in the
gospel Jesus said, “There is no sound tree that produces rotten fruit, nor
again a rotten tree that produces sound fruit. For every tree can be told by its
own fruit: people do not pick figs from thorns, nor gather grapes from
brambles. A good man draws what is good from the store of goodness in his
heart; a bad man draws what is bad from the store of badness. For a man’s words
flow out of what fills his heart.” How we respond and act out in life is
dependent on what is stored in our heart, that is, our memory and
emotions. So if we have negative memories, then we have corresponding
negative emotions which lead the will to act in a negative manner.
But if our memories are happy memories, then we will also respond positively to
new events or similar ones because of our positive attitudes to life.
Indeed, happiness in
life is more than understanding and knowledge. One can have knowledge about what
is right and wrong but unless such knowledge strikes the emotion, that is the
“heart” of the person, the right actions do not follow from right
thinking. Of course, right understanding and knowledge are important
insofar as they precede the “heart”, meaning the memory and the emotions.
But once the knowledge is sunk into the memory of the person, then the heart
will act according to the knowledge received. So in the final analysis,
it is the heart that counts. This explains why many people might have
knowledge of God, theology, morality but they do not manifest faith in God in
their daily lives or even live moral lives. Simply because the knowledge
remains on the level of the intelligence and has not yet settled into the
recesses of the mind, that is, the memory.
This is what Sirach in
the first reading says about the character of the man. “In a shaken sieve the rubbish is left
behind, so too the defects of a man appear in his talk. The kiln tests the work
of the potter, the test of a man is in his conversation. The orchard where the
tree grows is judged on the quality of its fruit, similarly, a man’s words
betray what he feels. Do not praise a man before he has spoken, since this is
the test of men.” The words of the person will show forth the true
character of the person. Whether a man is a gentleman or not is not to be
seen by the way he dresses, the wealth he flaunts, or the eloquence of his
speech but what he says, the genuineness, truth and wisdom of what he says and
how he says it, with humility and sincerity.
For this reason, Jesus
warns us about judgement. He
said, “Can one blind man guide another? Surely both will fall into a pit? Why
do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in
your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the
splinter that is in your eye,’ when you cannot see the plank in your own?
Hypocrite!” The truth is that when we are blinded by our past hurts and
negative experiences in life, we tend to impose our limited and impaired vision
and understanding on others. Our judgement is flawed and skewed.
In judging others, we
end up judging ourselves. When
our heart is good, we speak goodness. When our heart is merciful, we are
merciful in talking about others, even their weaknesses. When we are
positive, we tend to see everyone positively. That is why the Lord advised
us, “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment
you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you
get.” (Mt 7:1f) St James exhorts
us, “So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of
liberty. For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no
mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.” (Jms 2:12f)
Indeed, if we were to
find happiness, we must store only the good things in our memory, in our
hearts. The Lord warns
us, “It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For it is from within,
from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft,
murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy,
slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they
defile a person.” (Mk 7:20-23) What
we read, learn, see, hear and store in our memories will affect our emotions
and will, for better or for worse.
So for us to judge
wisely and to see things in such a way that can bring us happiness, we must,
“Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the
splinter that is in your brother’s eye.” Secondly, we must turn to the
Lord to find guidance and wisdom. “The disciple is not superior to his
teacher; the fully trained disciple will always be like his teacher.” St
James teaches, “Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters.
Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another, speaks evil against the
law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law
but a judge. There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to
destroy. So who, then, are you to judge your neighbor?” (Jms 4:11f)
Hence, we must ask the
Lord to heal our memories of the past, the negative and painful memories through claiming, as St Paul did, His
victory over sin and death by His death and resurrection. Because St Paul
was confident of Christ’s promise of resurrection, he could say, “Death, where
is your victory? Death, where is your sting? Now the sting of death is sin, and
sin gets its power from the Law. So let us thank God for giving us the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Never give in then, my dear
brothers, never admit defeat; keep on working at the Lord’s work always,
knowing that, in the Lord, you cannot be labouring in vain.” We too must
not allow negative memories to control our heart, making us react negatively
towards life and towards people. We must store goodness, love and
truth. Let us take heed of the warning of St Paul, “Do not be deceived;
God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own
flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit,
you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in
doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give
up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of
all, and especially for those of the family of faith.” (Gal 6:7-10)
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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