20200916 UNDERLYING MOTIVE
16 September, 2020, Wednesday, 24th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Red.
These are the readings for the feria
First reading |
1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13 © |
The supremacy of charity
Be ambitious for the higher gifts. And I am going to show you a way that is better than any of them.
If I have all the eloquence of men or of angels, but speak without love, I am simply a gong booming or a cymbal clashing. If I have the gift of prophecy, understanding all the mysteries there are, and knowing everything, and if I have faith in all its fullness, to move mountains, but without love, then I am nothing at all. If I give away all that I possess, piece by piece, and if I even let them take my body to burn it, but am without love, it will do me no good whatever.
Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offence, and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes.
Love does not come to an end. But if there are gifts of prophecy, the time will come when they must fail; or the gift of languages, it will not continue for ever; and knowledge – for this, too, the time will come when it must fail. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophesying is imperfect; but once perfection comes, all imperfect things will disappear. When I was a child, I used to talk like a child, and think like a child, and argue like a child, but now I am a man, all childish ways are put behind me. Now we are seeing a dim reflection in a mirror; but then we shall be seeing face to face. The knowledge that I have now is imperfect; but then I shall know as fully as I am known.
In short, there are three things that last: faith, hope and love; and the greatest of these is love.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 32(33):2-5,12,22 © |
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
Give thanks to the Lord upon the harp,
with a ten-stringed lute sing him songs.
O sing him a song that is new,
play loudly, with all your skill.
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
For the word of the Lord is faithful
and all his works to be trusted.
The Lord loves justice and right
and fills the earth with his love.
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
They are happy, whose God is the Lord,
the people he has chosen as his own.
May your love be upon us, O Lord,
as we place all our hope in you.
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.1Th2:13 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept God’s message for what it really is:
God’s message, and not some human thinking.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.Jn6:63,68 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 7:31-35 © |
'We played the pipes, and you wouldn't dance'
Jesus said to the people:
‘What description can I find for the men of this generation? What are they like? They are like children shouting to one another while they sit in the market-place:
‘“We played the pipes for you,
and you wouldn’t dance;
we sang dirges,
and you wouldn’t cry.”
‘For John the Baptist comes, not eating bread, not drinking wine, and you say, “He is possessed.” The Son of Man comes, eating and drinking, and you say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” Yet Wisdom has been proved right by all her children.’
UNDERLYING MOTIVE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 COR 12:31-13:13; LUKE 7:31-35 ]
We can all identify with Jesus in today’s gospel on trying to please people. No matter what we say or do, we cannot please everyone or make everyone happy. Some will agree with what we say and some will not. Some are happy with our decisions and some will not be. Instead of trying to make everyone happy, we must understand the motives and the reasons for their unhappiness. Those with valid reasons and criticisms, we must take into consideration. However, those who are just venting their frustrations and motivated by selfish and self-centred reasons, we should not be too worried about what they say.
Love is the ultimate principle in all we do. This is what St Paul tells us in his letter to the Corinthians. “Be ambitious for the higher gifts. And I am going to show you a way that is better than any of them. If I have all the eloquence of men or of angels, but speak without love, I am simply a gong booming or a cymbal clashing. If I have the gift of prophecy, understanding all the mysteries there are, and knowing everything, and if I have faith in all its fullness, to move mountains, but without love, then I am nothing at all. If I give away all that I possess, piece by piece, and if I even let them take my body to burn it, but am without love, it will do me no good whatever.” Whatever gifts we have, whether personal gifts of eloquence or spiritual charisms of spiritual knowledge and faith, if they are not motivated by love and performed with love, then as St Paul said, “it will do me no good whatever.”
When love is not what is driving us, we will find all kinds of excuses to reject the message of God. Jesus gave us the analogy of Himself and John the Baptist. “For John the Baptist comes, not eating bread, not drinking wine, and you say, ‘He is possessed.’ The Son of Man comes, eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'” Indeed, when we lack love, we will find all excuses to reject an invitation. It is just like the Jews during the time of Jesus. When John the Baptist came preaching, the religious leaders discredited him as a fanatic because of his ascetic lifestyle. When Jesus came, they made him out to be a glutton and a drunkard unworthy to be a rabbi. Discrediting them appeared to be the best way to explain their rejection.
We, too, have many Catholics who make all kinds of lame excuses for not attending Mass or fulfilling their obligations as Catholics. Before Covid-19, the reason they gave for not going to Mass was that the Church is full of hypocrites and that they did not like to see some people and those priests that have hurt them. Now we have Masses via online streaming, but they still do not attend because they say their family members do not want to join them. When you do not organize activities, programs or events for them, the people say the parish is inactive and the priests are doing nothing. When we organize such events, they will not come because they are busy or because the programs are not good enough for them.
Such people are impossible to please. They are just whiners and complainers. Deep in their hearts, their focus is on themselves, their convenience and their interests. Their hearts are not with God or with the community, the body of Christ. This is what the second parable is teaching us. Jesus said, “What description can I find for the men of this generation? What are they like? They are like the children shouting to one another while they sit in the market place: ‘We played the pipes for you, and you wouldn’t dance; we sang dirges, and you wouldn’t cry.'” Indeed, both groups were shouting out to each other. One group of children wanted to sing and dance. The other group wanted to sing dirges and cry. Neither would give in to each other. You choose this way, I will choose the other way.
What is the real reason? It is pride. Some people always want to be the ones to provide the idea, the proposal, or take the lead. When we propose the same thing, they would object. However, later on, they would propose a very similar idea for us to accept. The religious leaders were too proud to admit that Jesus, or for that matter, John the Baptist, was right. By accepting Jesus and John the Baptist, it would give credibility to their ministry. Not only would they have to follow what they taught but it also meant that their positions in society would be compromised. They would not be as highly respected as before. Their followers might follow Jesus or John the Baptist instead. Therefore, for religious leaders, it had to be their way and no other way. They wanted to be leaders and be in control.
Hence, Jesus remarked, “Yet wisdom has been proved right by all her children.” At the end of the day, what we say does not matter but the fruits of what we believe in. John the Baptist and Jesus’ teaching were true because they brought about a real conversion of heart. Lives were transformed and those who walked in the truth found peace and joy in life. The spiritual rebirth as children of God through baptism initiated by John the Baptist, and renewed by our Lord provides Christians with the way to a new life by walking in truth and love. In the final analysis, we must judge the fruits of our teachers and their teaching. Those who choose the Lord will be liberated and become a new creation in Christ.
This is why St Paul’s letter is an important guide to assess our motive in what we do. When we commit ourselves to the love of God and love of men, we will not be argumentative, arrogant, envious and resentful. St Paul wrote, “Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offence, and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes.” When there is love in our hearts, we are ever ready to trust, to excuse and humble ourselves to serve and cooperate with our loved ones.
This is the way of our Lord. It is one of adjustment, accommodation and moderation. A good leader must know when to adapt so that he can reach out to those marginalized by religion and society. If Jesus was perceived as a glutton and drunkard, eating and drinking with sinners and tax-collectors, it was because there was no other way to reach out to them. This is so true. Our short-sightedness is that we are preaching often to the converted, and at most those who are still weak in their faith. This group of people are found in the Church already. But the majority of lapsed Catholics and many others who have no faith and are searching for God never hear the gospel because no one reaches out to them. Most of our rallies are organized for Catholics. Catholics who are already fervent in faith, rather than those who have left the Church, or those who are seeking for meaning and purpose in life, attend most of these rallies. This is why St Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.” (cf 1 Cor 9:19-23)
Hence, we should continue to purify our motives in serving the Lord and His people. The truth is that we are often blinded by a lack of self-awareness due to our pride, selfishness and insecurity. As St Paul said, “For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophesying is imperfect; but once perfection comes, all imperfect things will disappear. When I was a child, I used to talk like a child, and think like a child, and argue like a child, but now I am a man, all childish ways are put behind me. Now we are seeing a dim reflection in a mirror; but then we shall be seeing face to face. The knowledge that I have now is imperfect; but then I shall know as fully as I am known.” We will have to purify our motives and search ourselves in whatever we do until we arrive and see God face to face.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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