20191005
MISPLACED
JOY
05 OCTOBER,
2019, Saturday, 26th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Baruch 4:5-12,27-29 ©
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Take courage, my people,
constant reminder of Israel.
You were sold to the nations,
but not for extermination.
You provoked God;
and so were delivered to your enemies,
since you had angered your creator
by offering sacrifices to demons, not to
God.
You had forgotten the eternal God who
reared you.
You had also grieved Jerusalem who nursed
you,
for when she saw the anger fall on you
from God, she said:
Listen, you neighbours of Zion:
God has sent me great sorrow.
I have seen my sons and daughters taken
into captivity,
to which they have been sentenced by the
Eternal.
I had reared them joyfully;
in tears, in sorrow, I watched them go
away.
Do not, any of you, exult over me,
a widow, deserted by so many;
I suffer loneliness because of the sins of
my own children,
who turned away from the Law of God.
Take courage, my children, call on God:
he who brought disaster on you will
remember you.
As by your will you first strayed away
from God,
so now turn back and search for him ten
times as hard;
for as he brought down those disasters on
you,
so will he rescue you and give you eternal
joy.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 68(69):33-37 ©
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The Lord listens to the
needy.
The poor when they see it will be glad
and God-seeking hearts will
revive;
for the Lord listens to the needy
and does not spurn his
servants in their chains.
Let the heavens and the earth give him
praise,
the sea and all its living
creatures.
The Lord listens to the
needy.
For God will bring help to Zion
and rebuild the cities of
Judah
and men shall dwell there in
possession.
The sons of his servants shall inherit it;
those who love his name shall
dwell there.
The Lord listens to the
needy.
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Gospel Acclamation
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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 10:17-24 ©
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The seventy-two came back rejoicing.
‘Lord,’ they said ‘even the devils submit to us when we use your name.’ He said
to them, ‘I watched Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Yes, I have given
you power to tread underfoot serpents and scorpions and the whole strength of
the enemy; nothing shall ever hurt you. Yet do not rejoice that the spirits
submit to you; rejoice rather that your names are written in heaven.’
It
was then that, filled with joy by the Holy Spirit, he said:
‘I
bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from
the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father,
for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by
my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the
Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’
Then
turning to his disciples he spoke to them in private, ‘Happy the eyes that see
what you see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what
you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.’
MISPLACED JOY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Baruch 4:5-12. 27-29; Ps 69:33-37; Lk 10:17-24 ]
“The seventy-two came
back rejoicing. ‘Lord,’ they said ‘even the devils submit to us when we use
your name.” We
can imagine how thrilled and excited they were when God gave them the power to
cast out the devils and not just to heal the sick. As mere human
weaklings, they could never think that God would share such miraculous powers
with them. It was simply amazing. Indeed, what the disciples
experienced is how those of us in the ministry feel when we see transformation
through the work we do. It might be a project that we organized, a talk
or a retreat that we conducted. Most of all, those of us in the healing
and deliverance ministry have seen with our own eyes how those possessed by
evil spirits have been liberated; those who were sick in mind and body and
whose doctors have given up hope on them, were restored to health.
We have seen the amazing power of God when those who were lame, blind or
suffering from terminal illness were given a new lease of life.
However, the immediate
reaction of our Lord was to tame down such exuberance that comes from
achievements. Jesus
said to them, “I watched Satan fall like lightening from heaven. Yes. I
have given you power to tread underfoot serpents and scorpions and the whole
strength of the enemy; nothing shall ever hurt you. Yet do not rejoice
that the spirits submit to you; rejoice rather that your names are written in
heaven.” Indeed, when such things happen, and it leads us to focus on
what we have done, it is a misplaced joy. We rejoice because we have
discovered a newfound power in us to heal and to have power even over the evil
spirits. This is the most frightening part of acquiring spiritual
powers. When we begin to dwell on the powers we now possess, the focus is
about us.
The temptation to
spiritual worldliness is what Pope Francis constantly warns us. What is spiritual worldliness if not
a transference of the pursuits of the world into the religious realm? The
world seeks most of all for power. It is the basic sin of egoism and
pride. People want power to control others and the world so that they can
feel great about themselves. That is why fame, popularity, status,
influence and money are important so that they can control others. They
want the world to worship them. So too, priests, religious and lay
leaders could also be tempted to seek religious powers and authority so that
they could be the center of attraction. Although claiming to be serving
God, instead of drawing people to God, they are drawing people to themselves by
their preaching, writing, counselling, ministering and healing. It is
about themselves, their popularity. As a result, even in Church, there is
unhealthy competition among church groups, church members and among priests and
religious as well, with each trying to outdo the other and compete with each
other for honour and glory. It is not about working for the kingdom of God
or the spread of the Good News. It is about how good they are, what they
have done and how great they are!
The temptation to power
is dangerous, not simply because it leads to the worship of self but we use
that power to manipulate others.
People use their authority and power to enrich themselves financially through
manipulation of the goodness and gratitude of people. Some even use power
for sexual gratification by winning over the hearts of their fans. They
forget that whatever they have, skills, knowledge, power, money, resources and
spiritual gifts, are meant for the service of others, to build up the Church,
the Body of Christ and not for their own enjoyment and pleasure. St Paul says,
“The gifts he gave were … to equip the saints for the work of ministry,
for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the
unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the
measure of the full stature of Christ.” (1 Cor 12:6f; 1 Cor 12:7)
Hence, instead of
rejoicing in ourselves, we should be rejoicing in God. This was what the Lord reminded His
disciples. “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you; rejoice rather
that your names are written in heaven.” The great joy of being a
Christian is not that we are given a share in the power of God over the evil
spirits but that He loves us and we are in Him. Being God’s beloved, His
friend and His chosen one is of greater importance than what we can do or
whatever glory the world can give to us. To have confidence that our
“names are written in heaven” in the book of Life, should give us greater
comfort and joy because we know that all these temporal things of the world,
power, honour, glory and wealth will pass away. Being secure in the arms
of our heavenly Father is a gift beyond all other gifts. That is why
Nehemiah told his people, “do not be grieved, for the joy of
the Lord is your strength.” (Neh 8:10)
We can however rejoice
in God only when are humble.
Only those who are humble are aware that all that we have, blessings and
powers, come from God. Precisely, those who are proud like the devil fall
from grace because they attribute all success and achievements to their own
ingenuity and power. Without humility, we fall into the same sins as the
Israelites in the first reading. Because they did not listen to God and
His prophets, they were exiled to Babylon. The prophet said, “You
provoked God; and so were delivered to your enemies, since you had angered your
creator by offering sacrifices to demons, not to God. You had forgotten the
eternal God who reared you. You had also grieved Jerusalem who nursed you.”
To rejoice in God we
must be like children, humble and dependent on Him. “It was then that, filled with joy by the
Holy Spirit, he said, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for
hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere
children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do.” Only
those who are aware of their limitations and acknowledge God’s power can
rejoice in Him. Those who are proud rejoice in their own strength and
knowledge. They lack wisdom and understanding because of their
pride.
In contrast, Jesus was
that humble child and Son of God.
He was totally dependent on His Father, always turning to Him for assistance
and direction, spending time in prayer and intimacy with Him. His mind
was always with the Father and for the Father. He did everything
not for Himself or His glory but for the love of His Father. At the
Temple, He asked, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must
be in my Father’s house?” (Lk 2:49) He told the disciples, “My food
is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.” (Jn 4:34) To the Jews, He said, “The
words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in
me does his works.” (Jn 14:10) “The
Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to
lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command
from my Father.” (Jn 10:17f)
However, for us, our
greatest joy should be to know Christ as our Lord and savior. This was what the Lord told the
disciples when He said, “Happy the eyes that see, for I tell you that many
prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what
you hear, and never heard it.” Those who came before Christ did not see
Jesus, the Son of God, the fulfillment of the promise made to King David.
They only heard of God through the prophets. They only had the promise
and a vision. Nevertheless, for us, Jesus is the Word of God made
flesh. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. (Jn 14:6) He is the Son of God who comes
to reveal to us the love of our heavenly Father. “Everything has been entrusted
to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who
the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal
him.” So we are privileged people, who have seen Christ and His power at
work in our lives. We should therefore rejoice in His mercy and kindness
towards us. Instead of glorifying ourselves, we must bring His joy to
others by doing good. “He it is who gave himself for us that he might
redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are
zealous for good deeds.” (Tit 2:14)
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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