20200107
CAPACITY
TO LOVE AS GOD LOVES US
07 January,
2020, Tuesday after Epiphany
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
|
First reading
|
1 John 4:7-10 ©
|
Let us love one another, since love comes from God
My
dear people,
let
us love one another
since
love comes from God
and
everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Anyone
who fails to love can never have known God,
because
God is love.
God’s
love for us was revealed
when
God sent into the world his only Son
so
that we could have life through him;
this
is the love I mean:
not
our love for God,
but
God’s love for us when he sent his Son
to be
the sacrifice that takes our sins away.
|
Responsorial
Psalm
|
|
Psalm 71(72):1-4,7-8 ©
|
All
nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.
O
God, give your judgement to the king,
to
a king’s son your justice,
that
he may judge your people in justice
and
your poor in right judgement.
All
nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.
May
the mountains bring forth peace for the people
and
the hills, justice.
May
he defend the poor of the people
and
save the children of the needy.
All
nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.
In
his days justice shall flourish
and
peace till the moon fails.
He
shall rule from sea to sea,
from
the Great River to earth’s bounds.
All
nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.
|
Gospel
Acclamation
|
cf.Mt4:23
|
Alleluia,
alleluia!
Jesus
proclaimed the Good News of the kingdom
and
cured all kinds of diseases among the people.
Alleluia!
|
Or:
|
Lk4:17
|
Alleluia,
alleluia!
The
Lord has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,
to
proclaim liberty to captives.
Alleluia!
|
Or:
|
Lk7:16
|
Alleluia,
alleluia!
A
great prophet has appeared among us;
God
has visited his people.
Alleluia!
|
Or:
|
cf.1Tim3:16
|
Alleluia,
alleluia!
Glory
to you, O Christ,
proclaimed
to the pagans;
glory
to you, O Christ,
believed
in by the world.
Alleluia!
|
Or:
|
Mt4:16
|
Alleluia,
alleluia!
The
people that lived in darkness
has
seen a great light;
on
those who dwell in the land and shadow of death
a
light has dawned.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
Mark 6:34-44 ©
|
The feeding of the five thousand
As Jesus stepped
ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them because they were like
sheep without a shepherd, and he set himself to teach them at some length. By
now it was getting very late, and his disciples came up to him and said, ‘This
is a lonely place and it is getting very late. So send them away, and they can
go to the farms and villages round about, to buy themselves something to eat.’
He replied, ‘Give them something to eat yourselves.’ They answered, ‘Are we to
go and spend two hundred denarii on bread for them to eat?’ ‘How many loaves
have you?’ he asked. ‘Go and see.’ And when they had found out they said,
‘Five, and two fish.’ Then he ordered them to get all the people together in
groups on the green grass, and they sat down on the ground in squares of
hundreds and fifties. Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his
eyes to heaven and said the blessing; then he broke the loaves and handed them
to his disciples to distribute among the people. He also shared out the two fish
among them all. They all ate as much as they wanted. They collected twelve
basketfuls of scraps of bread and pieces of fish. Those who had eaten the
loaves numbered five thousand men.
CAPACITY TO LOVE
AS GOD LOVES US
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 JOHN 4:7-10; MARK 6:34-44]
How do we know that we
have God in us?
It is not measured by how many voluntary organizations we are involved in, or
started, or which political or religious organization we are in. It is
not even determined by how many masses we attended or rosaries we have
said. Attending theological classes and earning academic degrees and
accumulating knowledge of one’s faith are also not indicative of whether God is
in us. St John makes it clear, “everyone who loves is begotten by God and
knows God. Anyone who fails to love can never have known God, because God is
love.” Indeed, as the Lord tells us in the parable of the Last
Judgement in Matthew 25:31-46, we will
be judged by the norm of love and compassion for our brothers and sisters,
especially those who are strangers, naked, sick and in prison.
Truly, anyone who is
capable of selfless unconditional love for others is begotten by God. We know that God lives in that
person when we see that the love they offer humanity is genuine, and not
motivated by self-interests, by an ideology, by ulterior motives, or personal
gain, whether in terms of money or ego and status. We see God in such a
person. And this person that we see may not even be a Christian but a
Buddhist, Muslim or a Taoist or even a free thinker. They too have known
God in their own ways and the Spirit of God’s love lives in their hearts since
all gifts come from the Holy Spirit. Whenever we meet a man of humble and
selfless love, we know that Jesus has incarnated Himself in him or her.
The love of God transcends religions, cultures, races and languages.
Anyone who truly loves has known God.
This was the way Jesus
manifested to us the love of God.
This is what the season of Epiphany celebrates, the manifestation of God’s love
for us not in the abstract, not in intellectual debate but concretely in man
and in our lives. And so in the gospel, we read of how Jesus identified
with the spiritual and material hunger of His people. “As Jesus stepped
ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them because they were like
sheep without a shepherd, and he set himself to teach them at some length.”
Jesus who wanted to provide some rest for His apostles who were sent out
earlier on a mission to proclaim the gospel (cf Mk 6:7-13) found Himself surrounded by hungry
souls who sought His wisdom and healing love. Jesus Himself also
needed time to mourn the death of John the Baptist and to reckon the
implications of the martyrdom of His cousin on His own fate. (Mk 6:14-29) Yet, in the face of their
hunger for God and for healing, He set aside His personal agenda to accommodate
Himself to the crowd. Such was the compassion of our Lord. Truly a
Good Shepherd indeed who would surrender His own comfort, deserved rest and personal
pains, putting them aside to attend to the needs of others.
We, too, are to be like
Jesus, a man for others, putting others before ourselves. We are called to serve selflessly,
sacrificing our comforts, our rest and our resources for others. However,
we know that the demands of the apostolate can be rather challenging.
Much as we like to serve God and our fellowmen, we find ourselves limited in
our capacity to love. How often we wish we could love the poor like St
Teresa of Calcutta. We want to give more but not only is the flesh weak,
but so is the will. So some of us in the face of challenges, unreasonable
and excessive demands, misunderstandings and frustrations, feel that the good
we do is in vain. This explains why many in church ministries and humanitarian
organizations suffer burn out in the process of giving and serving.
For this reason, we are
not to rely on ourselves because we have limited strength and resources. Like the disciples in today’s
gospel, when the Lord told them, “‘Give them something to eat yourselves.’ They
answered, ‘Are we to go and spend two hundred denarii on bread for them to
eat?’ ‘How many loaves have you?’ he asked. ‘Go and see.’ And when they
had found out they said, ‘Five, and two fish.'” Yes, we are limited in
talents and resources, time and energy. This is particularly true when it comes
to the promotion of the Good News and responding to humanitarian needs.
We feel so constrained in every way, whether it comes to funds, manpower or
resources. Many of us, realizing the daunting demands, give up in
despair, like the disciples.
This is where we can
learn from the Lord, to rely on the power of God and not on oneself, one’s
ingenuity and resources.
Jesus turned to God in prayer and in thanksgiving. “He ordered them to
get all the people together in groups on the green grass, and they sat down on
the ground in squares of hundreds and fifties. Then he took the five loaves and
the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing; then he broke
the loaves and handed them to his disciples to distribute among the people. He
also shared out the two fish among them all.” Jesus entrusted all that
they had to the Father, knowing that He will make all things possible for those
who ask. After all, He did teach us, “Ask, and it will be given you;
search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For
everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone
who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if
your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a
fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give
good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good
things to those who ask him!” (Mt 7:7-11)
True enough, “they all
ate as much as they wanted. They collected twelve basketfuls of scraps of bread
and pieces of fish. Those
who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand men.” God surprised the
people with the abundance of His blessings. He gave them more that they
needed. God cannot be outdone in generosity if we cooperate with Him,
using the little resources we have. He will bless us with more than
what we need. This is the same exhortation of St Paul to the Corinthians when
he wrote, “And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so
that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every
good work. He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will
supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your
righteousness.” (2 Cor 9:7-10)
Indeed, the capacity to
love comes from the love of God alone. This is the heart of Christian
love. St John wrote,
“God’s love for us was revealed when God sent into the world his only Son so
that we could have life through him; this is the love I mean: not our love for
God, but God’s love for us when he sent his Son to be the sacrifice that takes
our sins away.” It is not so much our love for God and for others but
rather our response to God’s prior love for us. Unless we recognize that,
our capacity to love comes from God alone and not simply from our meagre
efforts and strength, we will be disillusioned when we experience failure and
the lack of appreciation from those whom we serve. Certainly, God expects
us to give all that we have as a sign of faith in Him, but it will not be from
our resources alone that God will work miracles.
Our motivation to love
simply comes from the fact that God has loved us by becoming Man and assuming
our humanity in Jesus.
Through Him, He demonstrated His unconditional love for us through His works of
mercy, compassion in exorcism, healing and forgiveness. By His death, He
revealed the depth of God’s sacrifice of His only Son. By His
resurrection, He confirmed the power of God to save and win victory over sin
and evil. Indeed, because of Jesus, we are made adopted sons and
daughters of God through the forgiveness of sins and the bestowal of the Holy
Spirit. Because His Spirit dwells in us at our baptism and continues to
nourish us as we celebrate the Eucharist, we grow in our capacity to love as we
continue to contemplate on His love for us. Indeed, the
multiplication of loaves in today’s gospel story is but an anticipation and a
commemoration of Christ’s total giving of Himself, body and soul to us.
By receiving Him in person in Holy Communion, we find strength to love and
serve unconditionally like Him.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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