20190920
FOCUS
ON THE LORD
20 SEPTEMBER,
2019, Friday, 24th Week, Ordinary Time
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First reading
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1 Timothy 6:2-12 ©
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This is what you are to teach the brothers
to believe and persuade them to do. Anyone who teaches anything different, and
does not keep to the sound teaching which is that of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
doctrine which is in accordance with true religion, is simply ignorant and must
be full of self-conceit – with a craze for questioning everything and
arguing about words. All that can come of this is jealousy, contention, abuse
and wicked mistrust of one another; and unending disputes by people who are
neither rational nor informed and imagine that religion is a way of making a
profit. Religion, of course, does bring large profits, but only to those who
are content with what they have. We brought nothing into the world, and we can
take nothing out of it; but as long as we have food and clothing, let us be
content with that. People who long to be rich are a prey to temptation; they
get trapped into all sorts of foolish and dangerous ambitions which eventually
plunge them into ruin and destruction. ‘The love of money is the root of all
evils’ and there are some who, pursuing it, have wandered away from the faith,
and so given their souls any number of fatal wounds.
But, as a man dedicated to
God, you must avoid all that. You must aim to be saintly and religious, filled
with faith and love, patient and gentle. Fight the good fight of the faith and
win for yourself the eternal life to which you were called when you made your
profession and spoke up for the truth in front of many witnesses.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 48(49):6-10,17-20 ©
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How happy are the poor
in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Why should I fear in evil days
the malice of the foes who
surround me,
men who trust in their wealth,
and boast of the vastness of
their riches?
How happy are the poor
in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
For no man can buy his own ransom,
or pay a price to God for his
life.
The ransom of his soul is beyond him.
He cannot buy life without
end,
nor avoid coming to the grave.
How happy are the poor
in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Then do not fear when a man grows rich,
when the glory of his house
increases.
He takes nothing with him when he dies,
his glory does not follow him
below.
How happy are the poor
in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Though he flattered himself while he
lived:
‘Men will praise me for all my
success,’
yet he will go to join his fathers,
who will never see the light
any more.
How happy are the poor
in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps94:8
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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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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Gospel
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Luke 8:1-3 ©
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Jesus made his way through towns and
villages preaching, and proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom of God. With
him went the Twelve, as well as certain women who had been cured of evil
spirits and ailments: Mary surnamed the Magdalene, from whom seven demons had
gone out, Joanna the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and several others
who provided for them out of their own resources.
FOCUS ON THE
LORD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 TIm 6:2-12; Ps 49:6-10, 17-20; Lk 8:1-3 ]
In the bible, the sin
that is most condemned is the sin of idolatry, both in the Old Testament and in
the New Testament.
God commanded the people, “You shall have no other gods before me. You
shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in
heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under
the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them.” (Ex 20:3-5) St Paul also condemned
idolatry, “though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks
to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds
were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools; and they
exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human
being or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.” (Rom 1:21-23)
Why is the sin of
idolatry seen as such an insidious sin? It is ultimately not the statues or the
idols that can cause us harm and less still to “make God jealous.”
Rather, they represent the spirits that would cause us harm. The
underlying reason for worshipping idols is that we are worshipping ourselves
because we make use of the idols to fulfil not just our needs but even selfish
needs. People pray to idols to manipulate the deities to give them what
they desire and sometimes use them to harm their enemies as well. In the
final analysis, it has to do with egotism. Greed is expressed in the
extolling of oneself, the craving for power, money and wealth. St Paul
equates greed with idolatry. “Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is
earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry).”
(Col 3:5)
In modern times, the
expression of idolatry is not so much the worship of statues but the worship of
self through self-glorification through relativism, individualism and
materialism. Such are the manifestations of secularism. Indeed, secularism is a new religion under
the guise of no religion. Its religion is the worship of self and one’s
ego. They make man absolute in his thinking and judgement of
values. It is truly the sin of pride, thinking that one can do
everything. St Paul says, “with a craze for questioning everything and
arguing about words. All that can come of this is jealousy, contention,
abuse and wicked mistrust of one another; and unending disputes by people who
are neither rational nor informed and imagine that religion is a way of making
a profit.”
However, some, in the
quest for power, manipulate the elemental spirits, as in the New Age Movement. It
is becoming a trend and attraction today for many who seek power and control to
go into the New Age Movement, including getting involved in occult
activities. The truth is that there is a spiritual hunger on one
hand and there is the ignorance of what it means to be involved in the spirit
world. St Paul warns us, “This is what you are to teach the
brothers to believe and persuade them to do. Anyone who teaches anything
different, and does not keep to the sound teaching which is that of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the doctrine which is in accordance with true religion, is simply
ignorant and must be full of self-conceit.”
Of course, we have the
crudest form of idolatry, which is greed. The root of greed is the sin of idolatry.
“People who long to be rich are a prey to temptation; they get trapped into all
sorts of foolish and dangerous ambitions which eventually plunge them into ruin
and destruction. ‘The love of money is the root of all evils’ and there
are some who, pursuing it, have wandered away from the faith, and so given
their souls any number of fatal wounds.” Greed for money leads to ambition,
power and a sensual life. Greed is always focused on oneself, one’s
needs, interests and desires. Because of greed, all crimes are
committed. It often leads to cheating, fraud, dishonesty, gambling,
drug-trafficking, human-trafficking and even killing. Greed is very
much related to the craving for power and the sin of the flesh.
So it is important that
we counter the sin of idolatry expressed in the sin of greed in all its forms. “Why should I fear in evil days the
malice of the foes who surround me, men who trust in their wealth, and boast of
the vastness of their riches?” There is no need to fear the temptations
of the Evil One because we have the means to overcome them. How do
we overcome this sin of idolatry?
Firstly, we must
offer the right teaching. “This
is what you are to teach the brothers to believe and persuade them to
do.” Right teaching of the truth is important because we need to change
the minds of people, free them from the illusory temptations of the Evil
One. People are often ignorant and believe in half-truths, not knowing
the real truth of what they subscribe to. They are misled and deceived by
what the world is offering. In the name of pragmatism, they sacrifice the
future of humanity for their present fulfillment.
Secondly, we must teach
our people the art of contentment.
St Paul warns Timothy “Religion, of course, does bring large profits, but only
those who are content with what they have. We brought nothing into the
world, and we can take nothing out of it; but as long as we have food and
clothing, let us be content with that.” Religion must not be used as some
do to make themselves materially rich. Some religious leaders use their
charisms of preaching or healing to enrich themselves materially.
Those who are truly men and women of God live simple and moderate
lifestyles. Whatever they have are used for the service of the
people and for good. When the Lord blesses us with money, wealth or
influence, they are not meant for ourselves but they are to be used for the
spread of the gospel and for good works.
Contentment is the key
to happiness. Only those who
are contented with what they have are not under the bondage of the Evil
One. St Paul himself was a man who was always contented with what the
Lord had given to him. Writing to the Philippians, he said, “I have
learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have
little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I
have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty
and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens
me. “(Phil 4:11-13) A person
who is contented is always grateful for what he already has and when he has
more, he wants to share with others who have less. This is why the responsorial
psalm exclaims, “How happy are the poor in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.”
Discontented people are
always craving for more and more. They are never happy no matter how much
they have. When
they get a house, soon they want a bungalow. When they have a car, soon
they want a luxury car. Because of greed, they are exposed to the snares
of the Evil One. To such people, St Paul warns, “People who long to be
rich are a prey to temptation; they get trapped into all sorts of foolish and
dangerous ambitions which eventually plunge them into ruin and
destruction. ‘The love of money is the root of all evils’ and there are
some who, pursuing it, have wandered away from the faith, and so given their
souls any number of fatal wounds.”
Thirdly, we must help
them to focus on the Lord.
We must help them to encounter the love and mercy of Jesus as the women did before
they could give their lives to others and for the service of God. If the
women and the apostles followed the Lord and served Him together in spite of
their diverse backgrounds, political aspirations and idiosyncrasies, it was
because of their common love for the Lord. Poor and rich were
united in their common love for the Lord, just as in the case of Magdalene who
was poor and the wealthy Joanna whose husband worked in Herod’s
Court. Indeed, because of what the Lord had done for them, they
were willing to use their resources to serve the Lord without
reservation. We read that “with him went the Twelve, as well as certain
women who had been cured of evil spirits and ailments: Mary, surnamed the
Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna the wife of Herod’s
steward Chuza, Susanna, and several others who provided for them out of their
own resources.” When we love Jesus, we will spare nothing to
provide for His needs.
Finally, we remember
that life is transitory. St
Paul says, “Fight the good fight of the faith and win for yourself the eternal
life to which you were called when you made your profession and spoke up for
the truth in front of many witnesses.” We are pilgrims along the
way. “Our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are
expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Phil 3:20) Indeed, this is what the
psalmist reminds us as well. “For no man can buy his own ransom, or pay a
price to God for his life. The ransom of his soul is beyond him. He cannot buy
life without end, nor avoid coming to the grave. Then do not fear when a
man grows rich, when the glory of his house increases. He takes nothing with
him when he dies, his glory does not follow him below. Though he
flattered himself while he lived: ‘Men will praise me for all my success,’ yet
he will go to join his fathers, who will never see the light anymore.”
Only the good works and our virtues can
bring us to heaven. That is why we must aim to “be saintly and religious,
filled with faith and love, patient and gentle.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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