Saturday, 10 August 2019

MATURATION IN FAITH

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
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 4:7-15MT 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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