20190627
DOING
GOD’S WILL, NOT OUR OWN
27 JUNE, 2019,
Thursday, 12th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
|
First reading
|
|
Hagar bears Abram a son
|
Abram’s wife Sarai had borne him no child,
but she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram,
‘Listen, now! Since the Lord has kept me from having children, go to my
slave-girl. Perhaps I shall get children through her.’ Abram agreed to what
Sarai had said.
Thus
after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan for ten years Sarai took Hagar her
Egyptian slave-girl and gave her to Abram as his wife. He went to Hagar and she
conceived. And once she knew she had conceived, her mistress counted for
nothing in her eyes. Then Sarai said to Abram, ‘May this insult to me come home
to you! It was I who put my slave-girl into your arms but now she knows that
she has conceived, I count for nothing in her eyes. Let the Lord judge between
me and you.’ ‘Very well,’ Abram said to Sarai ‘your slave-girl is at your
disposal. Treat her as you think fit.’ Sarai accordingly treated her so badly
that she ran away from her.
The
angel of the Lord met her near a spring in the wilderness, the spring that is
on the road to Shur. He said, ‘Hagar, slave-girl of Sarai, where have you come
from, and where are you going?’ ‘I am running away from my mistress Sarai’ she
replied. The angel of the Lord said to her, ‘Go back to your mistress and submit
to her.’ The angel of the Lord said to her, ‘I will make your descendants too
numerous to be counted.’ Then the angel of the Lord said to her:
‘Now you have conceived, and you will bear
a son,
and you shall name him Ishmael,
for the Lord has heard your cries of
distress.
A wild-ass of a man he will be,
against every man, and every man against
him,
setting himself to defy all his brothers.’
Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave to
the son that Hagar bore the name Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when
Hagar bore him Ishmael.
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
O give thanks to the
Lord for he is good.
or
Alleluia!
O give thanks to the Lord for he is good;
for his love endures for ever.
Who can tell the Lord’s mighty deeds?
Who can recount all his
praise?
O give thanks to the
Lord for he is good.
or
Alleluia!
They are happy who do what is right,
who at all times do what is
just.
O Lord, remember me
out of the love you have for
your people.
O give thanks to the
Lord for he is good.
or
Alleluia!
Come to me, Lord, with your help
that I may see the joy of your
chosen ones
and may rejoice in the gladness of your
nation
and share the glory of your
people.
O give thanks to the
Lord for he is good.
or
Alleluia!
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
Heb4:12
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and
active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
|
Or:
|
Jn14:23
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
|
The wise man built his house on a rock
|
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘It is not
those who say to me, “Lord, Lord,” who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but
the person who does the will of my Father in heaven. When the day comes many
will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons
in your name, work many miracles in your name?” Then I shall tell them to their
faces: I have never known you; away from me, you evil men!
‘Therefore,
everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a
sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales
blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was
founded on rock. But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not
act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. Rain came
down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell; and what a
fall it had!’
Jesus
had now finished what he wanted to say, and his teaching made a deep impression
on the people because he taught them with authority, and not like their own
scribes.
DOING GOD’S
WILL, NOT OUR OWN
Doing good is not good
enough. Indeed,
many of us are apparently doing works, and yet such good works need not
necessarily be pleasing to God. As the Lord said, “When the day comes
many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out
demons in your name, work miracles in your name?’ Then I shall tell them
to their faces: I have never known you; away from me, you evil
man!” We can be serving in church ministries. We can be
serving the poor in humanitarian organizations. We can be doing great
works, apparently for God, healing the sick and even work miracles in His name,
but the Lord does not recognize us.
This is because we are
not doing what God wants of us but what we want for ourselves. The Lord warns us, “It is not those who
say to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person
who does the will of my Father in heaven.” Doing our will, even if what
we do is not evil, does not mean that we are doing God’s will. We
can be doing good for ulterior motives, like seeking glory and honour, or
power, recognition and even material riches under the guise of doing God’s
work. Some use their charisms, popularity and eloquence to win people
over. This often happens with those who are in the healing
ministry. Some make use of their healing charism to enrich themselves.
Indeed, those who are gifted are often tempted to make use of their gifts for
themselves and not truly for the people they claim to serve.
Even if not for our
material enrichment, when we do our own will it is more for ourselves. It is the sin of pride and selfishness.
Often, when people choose a ministry, they do so out of personal interest or
gain, and not because that is where they are needed. The ministry in this
instance becomes a tool for them to make themselves feel important and needed.
Some hold on to positions and offices, fearing that if they let go, they
would lose control and people would no longer respect or love them. So,
in the final analysis, when we seek to do our own will, it is not about serving
God or others primarily but it is about ourselves.
So long as our will is
not aligned to God’s will, there will be a misfit and a hindrance to true
happiness in life.
This was the case of Abram in the first reading. God promised Abram many
descendants. He was then 75 years old when the promise was made to
him. However, at the age of 86, he still did not have a child.
Understandably, he was growing impatient and anxious. He could not wait
for God’s plan to unfold and so he took things into his own hands.
Instead of listening to God and searching for His will, he and Sarai presumed
that God’s promise would be fulfilled by Abram taking the Egyptian slave girl,
Hagar, to be his concubine. But that was not part of God’s plan.
Consequently, this lack
of discernment and impatience on their part caused division and
misunderstanding among themselves.
Hagar who conceived the child of Abram became arrogant and felt superior to
Sarai. She became disobedient and difficult to control. Sarai, on
the other hand, felt slighted and threatened in her position as Abram’s
wife. Jealousy and envy became the order of the day, leading to quarrels,
finger-pointing and accusations. Sarai blamed Abram for the mess when she was
the one who lacked faith and proposed the solution. “Sarai said to Abram,
‘Listen, now! Since the Lord has kept me from having children, go to my
slave-girl. Perhaps I shall get children through her.’ Abram agreed
to what Sarai had said. Thus after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan
for ten years Sarai took Hagar her Egyptian slave-girl and gave her to Abram as
his wife.” This led to greater injustices when Hagar had to flee because
she was ill-treated by Sarai.
Truly, when we do not
seek to do His will, we create unnecessary problems for ourselves. We lack wisdom and foresight to
know what is best for us. We must learn patience and take time to discern
instead of rushing into things without careful reflection and prayer. As the
proverb says, “More haste, less speed!” We will cause more problems, as
in the case of Abram and Sarai. They created problems for future
generations because humanity became divided between the descendants of Hagar
and Sarai. “The angel of the Lord said to her, ‘I will make your descendants
too numerous to be counted. Now you have conceived, and you will bear a son, and
you shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard your cries of distress. A
wild-ass of a man he will be, against every man, and every man against him,
setting himself to defy all his brothers.” In spite of our sinfulness, it
is comforting to know that God’s plan cannot be derailed. St Paul wrote,
“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are
called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28)
To avoid suffering the
consequences of our sins, we must always learn to listen before we act. “Therefore, everyone who listens to
these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his
house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled
themselves against the house, and it did not fall: it was founded on
rock.” Listening is the first step to taking action. Listening
involves silence and reflection. Those who react often lack silence and
solitude in their hearts. All the nasty emails and the reactive social
messaging we read in social media show that most people do not listen enough,
and do not think through exactly what they are feeling, why they are feeling
that way, and what is the right thing to say before they respond. They
use social media to express their unprocessed emotions and thoughts.
How, then, do we
listen? We do not just listen to anything and everything. Indeed, we must listen to the pains
and opinions expressed by others and take them seriously. We must also
listen to our own hearts and pains as well. However, before we react to
any of these, we must first present them to the Lord and listen to what He has
to say to us. We must first listen to the Word of God. “All
scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for
correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who
belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3:16f) Hence, listening to the Word of
God in prayerful silence and study must take place before any action is
taken. St John warns us, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test
the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone
out into the world.” (1 Jn 4:1)
It is not enough just to
listen and pray. Failing to act is no better than not listening to the
Word of God.There are many Catholics
who spend much time in prayer, attend daily mass, say the rosary, etc, but
their lives are not changed. Again, the Lord warns such people.
“But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will
be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. Rain came down, floods
rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell: and what a fall it
had!” Unfortunately, this is often the case with many Catholics who know
the right thing to do but fail to carry them out. They are afraid to
speak and act for Christ and His Church. They are silent when the Church
is attacked, ridiculed or misinterpreted in her teachings or actions. We
prefer to take refuge by doing good works, such as charity to the poor where it
is more appreciated by the world rather than to be unpopular.
Today, we are asked to
follow Jesus who taught with authority.
The gospel noted that “his teaching made a deep impression on the
people because he taught them with authority, and not like their own
scribes.” His teaching was effective only because the authority of His
teaching came from His inner convictions. He spent many hours in intimacy
with His Father, with His fellowmen, hearing and ministering to their
pains. That was why Jesus taught with authority because He was not simply
in touch with God and His fellowmen but with Himself. What He taught, He
lived in His own life. He acted out the compassionate love of His Father in His
teaching and ministry to the sick, the oppressed and the marginalized.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment