20190725
MATURATION
IN FAITH
25 JULY, 2019,
Thursday, St James, Apostle
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Red.
First reading
|
2 Corinthians 4:7-15 ©
|
Such an overwhelming power comes from
God and not from us
|
We are only the earthenware jars that hold
this treasure, to make it clear that such an overwhelming power comes from God
and not from us. We are in difficulties on all sides, but never cornered; we
see no answer to our problems, but never despair; we have been persecuted, but
never deserted; knocked down, but never killed; always, wherever we may be, we
carry with us in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus, too,
may always be seen in our body. Indeed, while we are still alive, we are consigned
to our death every day, for the sake of Jesus, so that in our mortal flesh the
life of Jesus, too, may be openly shown. So death is at work in us, but life in
you.
But
as we have the same spirit of faith that is mentioned in scripture – I
believed, and therefore I spoke – we too believe and therefore we too
speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus to life will raise us with
Jesus in our turn, and put us by his side and you with us. You see, all this is
for your benefit, so that the more grace is multiplied among people, the more
thanksgiving there will be, to the glory of God.
Responsorial Psalm
|
Psalm 125(126):1-6 ©
|
Those who are sowing in
tears will sing when they reap.
When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage,
it seemed like a dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
on our lips there were songs.
Those who are sowing in
tears will sing when they reap.
The heathens themselves said: ‘What
marvels
the Lord worked for them!’
What marvels the Lord worked for us!
Indeed we were glad.
Those who are sowing in
tears will sing when they reap.
Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage
as streams in dry land.
Those who are sowing in tears
will sing when they reap.
Those who are sowing in
tears will sing when they reap.
They go out, they go out, full of tears,
carrying seed for the sowing:
they come back, they come back, full of
song,
carrying their sheaves.
Those who are sowing in
tears will sing when they reap.
Gospel Acclamation
|
cf.Jn15:16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I chose you from the world
to go out and bear fruit,
fruit that will last,
says the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel
|
Matthew 20:20-28 ©
|
'Can you drink the cup that I am going
to drink?'
|
The mother of the sons of Zebedee came to
Jesus with her sons to make a request of him, and bowed low; and he said to
her, ‘What is it you want?’ She said to him, ‘Promise that these two sons of
mine may sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your
kingdom.’ ‘You do not know what you are asking’ Jesus answered. ‘Can you drink
the cup that I am going to drink?’ They replied, ‘We can.’ ‘Very well,’ he said
‘you shall drink my cup, but as for seats at my right hand and my left, these
are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted by
my Father.’
When
the other ten heard this they were indignant with the two brothers. But Jesus
called them to him and said, ‘You know that among the pagans the rulers lord it
over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen
among you. No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and
anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of
Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for
many.’
MATURATION IN
FAITH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [2 COR 4:7-15; MT 20:20-28 ]
Very often, we are impatient
with ourselves, and more so with others in their growth in maturity, be it
emotional, intellectual or spiritual maturity. We feel that we are not good enough.
We are, as St Paul says, “earthenware jars.” We are weak in so many
ways. We are slow to understand and ignorant as to what is really good
for us. We are short-sighted, worldly in our thinking, selfish in our
outlook and ambitious for ourselves. We have no real love for others or
even for God. We love only to expect love. Our love and service are
not that altruistic after all.
This certainly was the
case of James and John in today’s gospel. They were ambitious and callous
with regard to Jesus’ feelings.
He had just prophesied His imminent suffering and death. He was on His
way to Jerusalem. He took the Twelve aside and said, “See, we are
going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief
priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand
him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the
third day he will be raised.” (Mt 20:18f) Ironically, it took the two
blind men in the next periscope to confess their faith in Jesus as the Lord,
Son of David! (cf Mt 20:29-31)
Their ambitions blinded
them to the needs of Jesus. They were more concerned about what they will
get for standing up for Jesus.
They were thinking in terms of glory, honour and power. They were not
able to hear Jesus clearly when He said, “You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?” Without thinking and
considering the implications of their answer, with great confidence and
foolishness, they replied “We can.” Indeed, often our ambition and
desires blind us to the commitments that we need to make. Many a man take
up a huge responsibility simply because it pays well and is a prestigious
position without considering the toll it would take on him and his
family. Many a man or a woman would go to bed with each other when there
is no real commitment of love, only to find later that the lady is pregnant or
that the man is married.
Indeed, when we look at
the life of St James, he was such an impulsive person. In one incident, we read that Jesus had
entered a Samaritan village but they did not welcome Him. “When his
disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command
fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ But he turned and rebuked
them.” (Lk 9:54f) Well,
this is not surprising because James and John were both brothers and must have
inherited the same impulsive, impetuous and ambitious DNA. They
were consumed with pride and self-righteousness.
Yet, the surprising and
the most gracious thing about Jesus is that He takes us where we are. He does not expect us to be where
He wants us to be in His time. He waits for His apostles to mature in
faith. He did not condemn His apostles for being so immature in
faith, for being so selfish and inward looking. He did not write them off
and dismiss them from His group. Instead, He continued to guide them
slowly and patiently. He told them. “You know that among the pagans the
rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This
is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be
your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave,
just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life
as a ransom for many.” In fact, those who were disgusted with them were
the other ten apostles. Indeed, “when the other ten heard this they were
indignant with the two brothers.” So the truth is that it was not only
James and John who were serving the Lord for the wrong reasons; the rest did
not have noble motives as well.
It takes time for us to
come to realization, like the Prodigal Son, and to come to terms with
ourselves. Rather than pretending to be what we are not, and be blind to
our weaknesses, we should simply acknowledge and accept them. Indeed, we are all earthenware
jars. This must be the starting point of spiritual growth. Unless
we realize we are weak, we cannot be strong. This is what St Paul said, “Three
times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he
said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in
weakness.’ So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the
power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses,
insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for
whenever I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor 12:8-10) Hence, we should not be too
impatient with ourselves or with others in their growth. No one becomes a
saint overnight.
This is what St Paul
meant when he wrote, “Indeed, while we are still alive, we are consigned to our
death every day, for the sake of Jesus, so that in our mortal flesh the life of
Jesus, too, may be openly shown. So
death is at work in us, but life in you.” We must continue to die to
ourselves more and more each day so that God’s grace and power can be seen in
us even much more. This was true in the case of Jesus. If He did
not die, there would be no resurrection! Indeed, “we too believe and
therefore we too speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus to life will
raise us with Jesus in our turn, and put us by his side and you with us. You
see, all this is for your benefit, so that the more grace is multiplied among
people, the more thanksgiving there will be, to the glory of God.”
When we recognize this,
then we will come to realize that greatness lies not in our strength but in
allowing God’s grace to work in and through us. We are called to cooperate with His
grace and love. That is why St Paul wrote, “We are only the earthenware
jars that hold this treasure, to make it clear that such an overwhelming power
comes from God and not from us. We are in difficulties on all sides, but never
cornered; we see no answer to our problems, but never despair; we have been
persecuted, but never deserted; knocked down, but never killed; always wherever
we may be, we carry with us in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of
Jesus, too, may always be seen in our body.”
Truly, when we look at
our life, we wonder how we have arrived at where we are today. We have faced many challenges in
life. There were times when we think we could not survive or made it, but
we did. We all worked with disadvantages and constraints. But the
wonderful thing is that in spite of such challenges, we have become stronger,
better and more resilient. We have become wiser, more realistic and
gained greater self-awareness. Our faith has also increased because we
know that without God’s grace, we would not have made it. We become more
humble and grateful for the blessings of God. We do not despise others
who are weak or slow or ignorant but will support them in their growth
patiently and lovingly.
So as we celebrate the
Feast of St James, we know that the grace of Christ did transform him
eventually. Instead of
seeking glory and power, he suffered shame for Christ. Instead of looking
for honours, he suffered martyrdom. In fact, he was the first among the
apostles to die as a martyr for the Lord. It appeared that in the 40’s
during the reign of King Herod Agrippa, James as the head of the Christian
community in Jerusalem was beheaded. St James died for Christ and truly
drank the cup that he said he could drink. Then when he said it, he was
not aware of the full implications of his answer. But soon, when the time
was ready for James to profess his love and faith in Christ, he was given the
opportunity to prove his fidelity to Christ even unto death. We, too,
must be patient, for God’s grace is continuously at work in us. We are
dying to ourselves little by little each day. Some can die more, some
less. Regardless, it is the grace of God as well. So we thank God
if we are able to die more to Him and share in His life and love. For those
who still cannot, be humble and accept your limitations, ask for His grace and
mercy. In His time, He too will work wonders for us as He did for the
Israelites, as we prayed in the responsorial psalm.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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