20190930
TRUE
GREATNESS
30 SEPTEMBER,
2019, Monday, 26th Week, Ordinary Time
|
First reading
|
Zechariah 8:1-8 ©
|
The word of the Lord of Hosts was
addressed to me as follows:
‘The Lord of Hosts says this.
I am burning with jealousy for Zion,
with great anger for her sake.
‘The Lord of Hosts says this.
I am coming back to Zion
and shall dwell in the middle of
Jerusalem.
Jerusalem will be called Faithful City
and the mountain of the Lord of Hosts, the
Holy Mountain.
‘The Lord of Hosts says this.
Old men and old women will again sit down
in the squares of Jerusalem;
every one of them staff in hand
because of their great age.
And the squares of the city will be full
of boys and girls
playing in the squares.
‘The Lord of Hosts says this.
If this seems a miracle
to the remnant of this people (in those
days),
will it seem one to me?
It is the Lord of Hosts who speaks.
‘The Lord of Hosts says this.
Now I am going to save my people
from the countries of the East
and from the countries of the West.
I will bring them back
to live inside Jerusalem.
They shall be my people
and I will be their God
in faithfulness and integrity.’
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
|
Psalm
101(102):16-21,29,22-23 ©
|
The Lord shall build up
Zion again and appear in all his glory.
The nations shall fear the name of the
Lord
and all the earth’s kings your
glory,
when the Lord shall build up Zion again
and appear in all his glory.
Then he will turn to the prayers of the
helpless;
he will not despise their
prayers.
The Lord shall build up
Zion again and appear in all his glory.
Let this be written for ages to come
that a people yet unborn may
praise the Lord;
for the Lord leaned down from his
sanctuary on high.
He looked down from heaven to
the earth
that he might hear the groans of the
prisoners
and free those condemned to
die.
The Lord shall build up
Zion again and appear in all his glory.
The sons of your servants shall dwell
untroubled
and their race shall endure
before you
that the name of the Lord may be
proclaimed in Zion
and his praise in the heart of
Jerusalem,
when peoples and kingdoms are gathered
together
to pay their homage to the
Lord.
The Lord shall build up
Zion again and appear in all his glory.
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
Jn14:6
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says
the Lord;
No one can come to the Father except
through me.
Alleluia!
|
Or:
|
Mk10:45
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Son of Man came to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
Luke 9:46-50 ©
|
An argument started between the disciples
about which of them was the greatest. Jesus knew what thoughts were going
through their minds, and he took a little child and set him by his side and
then said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes this little child in my name welcomes
me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For the least
among you all, that is the one who is great.’
John
spoke up. ‘Master,’ he said ‘we saw a man casting out devils in your name, and
because he is not with us we tried to stop him.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘You
must not stop him: anyone who is not against you is for you.’
TRUE GREATNESS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ZECH 8:1-8; PS 102:16-21, 29, 22-23; LK 9:46-50 ]
“An argument started
between the disciples about which of them was the greatest.” This tendency to compare is inbred in all
of us. From young, our parents would compare us with our siblings,
cousins and our neighbors. Who is better, who is prettier, who is
smarter, who sings better, and so on. Our self-confidence and self-esteem
are taken from what people think of us, not so much what we think of
ourselves. Even in today’s world, people are obsessed with what others
think of them. They use social media to gain attention and
popularity. People will use social media, Instagram, Facebook, blogs and
twitter to express their opinions so that the world will know how smart and
intelligent they are; or let the world know how good, generous and caring they
are. The more ‘likes’ and approval they get, the greater they feel about
themselves.
This striving for
greatness is in itself not wrong but to be better than others is destructive
both of the person seeking for greatness and those who are seen as their
competitors. We become
ambitious, always wanting to win more glory, power and influence. Those
who seek greatness often do it at the expense of others. They see
all others as their competitors. Their joy is to see the downfall of
their competitors. They have no peace because they are always
watching their competitors as opposed to striving to achieve their full
potential. Such ambition for glory and power exist not just in the world
but in Church ministries where one organization is competing for greater glory
against the others. Some in the Church are always thinking about their
status, their position and their ranking in the community. They want
honour, recognition and status. It is pride and egotism.
Ambition leads to
jealousy and exclusivity. This
was the case of the disciples in today’s gospel. John told the Lord, “we
saw a man casting out devils in your name, and because he is not with us we
tried to stop him.” An ambitious person cannot bear to see another
person succeed or do well in life. He is always envious of those who can
do better or are more successful. He wants to grab all the glory and have
the spotlight shine on him. This is why those who are jealous of
others and feel threatened by them will seek to exclude them from the
community. They want to be special and different from the rest. They want
to be outstanding, praised and glorified. Instead of working for the
glory of God and for the greater good of the Church, they are parochial-minded,
protective of their interests, their knowledge, their resources and their
members. Instead of sharing with other organizations, especially if they
are of a similar nature so that all can learn from each other and become more
effective in their ministry, they are more concerned with their position than
truly seeking to build up the Church of God. It is about themselves,
their organization and their popularity. Indeed, if we are truly
concerned for the spread of the gospel, we should be more than happy to share
our resources, our talents and even our members with others so that all can be
witnesses for Christ. Ultimately, it does not matter who brings someone
to the Lord so long the gospel is preached.
St Paul reprimanded the
Corinthians who were jealous of each other. “For as long as there is jealousy
and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to
human inclinations? For when one says, ‘I belong to Paul,’ and another, ‘I
belong to Apollos,’ are you not merely human? What then is Apollos? What is
Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to
each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither
the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives
the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common
purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. For
we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.”
(1 Cor 3:3-9)
True greatness is not
about being better than others but simply to be who we are and what the Lord
has chosen us to be. In
God’s eyes, we are all important to Him, regardless of who we are, whether we
are professionals, ordinary workers, married or single, adults or children,
virtuous or even sinners. God loves each one of us and we are all created
to be great in Him by fulfilling our vocation in life. We are God’s
children and our greatness lies in just being God’s children. How much
greater can one be than to know that we are God’s children? This is the
highest dignity that could be accorded to anyone. Even being the President
of a country or the Prime Minister or a CEO or a Cardinal of the Church is
nothing in comparison to being a son or a daughter of God. It is for this
reason that Jesus took the child in His arms, sat him by His side and told the
disciples, “Anyone who welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and
anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For the least among
you all, that is the one who is great.” Children during the time of Jesus
were considered the lowest ranking people in the community because they were
not able to contribute to society yet. They were not taken seriously and
not accorded respect and dignity. But for Jesus, our dignity comes not
from what we can do but who we are, namely, God’s children.
True greatness therefore
presupposes deep humility like that of a child. Children are dependent on adults.
They are humble and always willing to discover about themselves and the world
around them. A truly great person knows his limitations and his
inadequacies. He is also appreciative and grateful for his talents and
strengths, which he knows come from the goodness of God. So he has
nothing to boast about himself. All he has comes from God and so in
gratitude he offers whatever he can do for His glory and the good of His
people. He does not seek position and glory but he thinks of how he could
be of greater service to God’s people. Those who seek position are always
worrying about their ranking in the community and have no time to think of the
needs of others and to serve them genuinely. They are insecure, petty-minded
and inward looking.
That is why great people
are always team-players.
They know their short-comings and constraints. They are happy to
collaborate with others so that a great good could come out of their
cooperation. They are concerned about serving the greater good of the
people, not about themselves or their organization. Whoever can do better
and is more effective, they are willing to work together and step aside if
necessary when a better leader is found. Magnanimity is always found in
great leaders who are generous enough to include everyone. No one is a
competitor in their eyes. Everyone is a collaborator. Unlike
the disciples, they do not exclude those who do not belong to their
group. This was why the Lord said, “You must not stop him: anyone who is
not against you is for you.” When a leader practices protectionist
policies and exclusivity, he operates out of insecurity, pride and
self-interests.
Indeed, who are the
truly great? Jesus said, “For the least among you all, that is the one
who is great.” Jesus
came to serve and not be served! When we serve without conditions and
without seeking honour and glory, not worrying about our position, then we are
truly great. At any rate, a great person does not think about his
greatness. He is oblivious to his greatness because he is always focused
on serving people that he has no time to think of glory. He is
fully immersed in living and serving. That is already his great joy and
reward. He does not need any worldly honours and commendations to make
him feel great or happier. He is happy to be with people and be one of
them in love and service.
Today, we are called to
be jealous, not like the world but like God. The jealousy of God is not about Himself but
about us, our well-being and happiness. God is jealous not because He is
afraid of losing us but of us losing Him and as a consequence, suffer misery
and pain. God wants to dwell among His people. “I am coming back to Zion
and shall dwell in the Middle of Jerusalem.” We, too, if we want to
be great, we must live amongst our people and be a servant to them. In
God’s house, all are welcomed and loved. We are all one in Christ. Our
joy is to be a member of the family of God, each serving and loving one
another.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment