20211120 THE END OF LIFE
20 November, 2021, Saturday, 33rd Week, Ordinary Time
First reading |
1 Maccabees 6:1-13 © |
'I remember the wrong I did in Jerusalem'
King Antiochus was making his way across the upper provinces; he had heard that in Persia there was a city called Elymais, renowned for its riches, its silver and gold, and its very wealthy temple containing golden armour, breastplates and weapons, left there by Alexander son of Philip, the king of Macedon, the first to reign over the Greeks. He therefore went and attempted to take the city and pillage it, but without success, since the citizens learnt of his intention, and offered him a stiff resistance, whereupon he turned about and retreated, disconsolate, in the direction of Babylon. But while he was still in Persia news reached him that the armies that had invaded the land of Judah had been defeated, and that Lysias in particular had advanced in massive strength, only to be forced to turn and flee before the Jews; these had been strengthened by the acquisition of arms, supplies and abundant spoils from the armies they had cut to pieces; they had overthrown the abomination he had erected over the altar in Jerusalem, and had encircled the sanctuary with high walls as in the past, and had fortified Bethzur, one of his cities. When the king heard this news he was amazed and profoundly shaken; he threw himself on his bed and fell into a lethargy from acute disappointment, because things had not turned out for him as he had planned. And there he remained for many days, subject to deep and recurrent fits of melancholy, until he understood that he was dying. Then summoning all his Friends, he said to them, ‘Sleep evades my eyes, and my heart is cowed by anxiety. I have been asking myself how I could have come to such a pitch of distress, so great a flood as that which now engulfs me – I who was so generous and well-loved in my heyday. But now I remember the wrong I did in Jerusalem when I seized all the vessels of silver and gold there, and ordered the extermination of the inhabitants of Judah for no reason at all. This, I am convinced, is why these misfortunes have overtaken me, and why I am dying of melancholy in a foreign land.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 9A(9):2-4,6,16,19 © |
I will rejoice in your saving help, O Lord.
I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will recount all your wonders.
I will rejoice in you and be glad,
and sing psalms to your name, O Most High.
I will rejoice in your saving help, O Lord.
See how my enemies turn back,
how they stumble and perish before you.
You have checked the nations, destroyed the wicked;
you have wiped out their name for ever and ever.
I will rejoice in your saving help, O Lord.
The nations have fallen in the pit which they made,
their feet caught in the snare they laid;
for the needy shall not always be forgotten
nor the hopes of the poor be in vain.
I will rejoice in your saving help, O Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Lk8:15 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are those who,
with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves
and yield a harvest through their perseverance.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.2Tim1:10 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death
and he has proclaimed life through the Good News.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 20:27-40 © |
In God all men are alive
Some Sadducees – those who say that there is no resurrection – approached Jesus and they put this question to him, ‘Master, we have it from Moses in writing, that if a man’s married brother dies childless, the man must marry the widow to raise up children for his brother. Well then, there were seven brothers. The first, having married a wife, died childless. The second and then the third married the widow. And the same with all seven, they died leaving no children. Finally the woman herself died. Now, at the resurrection, to which of them will she be wife since she had been married to all seven?’
Jesus replied, ‘The children of this world take wives and husbands, but those who are judged worthy of a place in the other world and in the resurrection from the dead do not marry because they can no longer die, for they are the same as the angels, and being children of the resurrection they are sons of God. And Moses himself implies that the dead rise again, in the passage about the bush where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is God, not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all men are in fact alive.’
Some scribes then spoke up. ‘Well put, Master’ they said – because they would not dare to ask him any more questions.
THE END OF LIFE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 MC 6:1-13; Ps 9:2-4,6,16,19; Lk 20:27-40]
Many of us are like King Antiochus, we hanker after wealth, power and glory. We think this is what success and happiness in life is all about. But the truth is that this is an illusion. The reality is that we will never acquire enough wealth, power and glory in life. We are always seeking for more and more. No one can ever be satisfied with whatever he has in this life. We always compare ourselves with others. We are insecure. And even if we have acquired all these, the pleasures of having them will not last. Even if we have a hundred million dollars in our bank account, can we really use up the money for ourselves? And even if we have all the pleasures of this world, we will eventually get sick and tired of them, and very soon we will be looking for new activities and things to entertain us because our hearts are restless.
And if we cannot attain them, then like King Antiochus, we fall into depression. He felt envious of the city of Elymais, “renowned for its riches, its silver and gold, and its very wealthy temple containing golden armour, breastplates and weapons.” He sought to take over the city but failed. As is said, failure and tragedy do not come singly. He received news that “the armies that had invaded the land of Judah had been defeated, and that Lysias in particular had advanced in massive strength.” As a consequence, he fell into self-pity and depression. “When the king heard this news he was amazed and profoundly shaken; he threw himself on his bed and fell into a lethargy from acute disappointment, because things had not turned out for him as he had planned. And there he remained for many days, subject to deep and recurrent fits of melancholy, until he understood that he was dying.” He lost the will to live on. There was no more meaning for him to live since he considered himself a failure.
We too will be like him if we live for the material and elusive pursuits of this world. Whether we will eventually attain what we seek in life or never, we will end up in depression and meaninglessness. If we arrive at the height of success, most likely, we will end up like King Solomon who wrote at the end of his life, “So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem; also my wisdom remained with me. Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them; I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in doing it, and again, all was vanity and a chasing after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.” (Eccl 2:9-11)
What, then, is the meaning of life if not building meaningful, loving and lasting relationships? What makes a person really happy? To be able to enjoy all the luxuries of the world? To enjoy the admiration of people? Nay, luxuries and pleasures can be enjoyed only if we have good friends to celebrate with. Popularity will not last and makes us insecure, always feeling the need to please everyone and gain their support. We are at the mercy of public opinion and we cannot be simply ourselves. They dictate to us how we should live and what we are to do for them or else they will not support us.
This is why marriage is the most beautiful gift that God has given to humanity. Jesus even raised it to the level of Sacrament, a sign of God’s perfect love for us. It was the first gift God gave to humankind after creating Adam. The bible always uses the imagery of marriage and romance to describe God’s intimate relationship with us. Citing the book of Genesis to prohibit divorce, Jesus said, “Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” (Mt 19:4-6) God intends marriage to be indissoluble, fruitful and between a man and a woman.
Unfortunately, in ancient days, marriage was a practical matter, one of convenience and economic value rather than a relationship of love and intimacy. In the gospel, the mention of the levirate laws governing marriage is a good example where marriage is seen as the means to preserve the family, and provide for the needs of the widow without children. From this perspective, we can appreciate the ludicrous example the Sadducees used of a woman married to seven brothers to deny the doctrine of the resurrection. This was because the Sadducees were basically materialists like many of us today. They lived only for this world. With death everything is finished. There is only one life. They did not believe in resurrection or life after death. There is no question of accountability and if at all, not beyond this life. Since there is no eternal life and no judgment after death, we can live our life selfishly and recklessly.
Yet, there is something positive about the development of the understanding of marriage in the contemporary world. For the sake of the survival of the family, the community and the human race, procreation was greatly emphasized in ancient times. It was considered a great blessing to have many children. If a woman were without a child, she was considered incomplete in life, for her role was to bring children into the family and the world and raise them up according to the traditions and faith of their forefathers. But today, in the modern world, procreation is the least important property of marriage, or no longer considered a property of marriage. The stress is in inter-personal relationships. Marriage is seen more for companionship, intimacy and love, rather than for procreation. This is why people marry late in life. Some even choose to marry those of the same sex, since procreation is no longer a property of marriage, it does not matter anyway. So the stress is on relationships.
Unfortunately, whilst the modern man has rediscovered that intimacy and relationship are critical in a marriage, yet they are fighting against the grain because more than anything else, cultivating a permanent, faithful, loving and caring relationship is very daunting. Most of our relationships do not last even in marriage. We change partners, spouses and friends very often. So much so, some have become weary of forging new relationships because everlasting love is not real and almost impossible. And even if we truly manage to find someone whom we love deeply, yet we know that it will end someday. And when it does, we will fall into emptiness, meaninglessness and depression when our loved one dies. So some are not willing to take the risk of investing their time and energy on forging lasting and meaningful relationships. They are afraid to get hurt.
This is why the Sadducees’ ignorance of the resurrection is that of many in the world today as well. They considered the resurrection as ludicrous because they understood the next life to be simply a continuity of this life. Indeed, some believe that in the next life, we will enjoy what we have on this earth in plenty and more. But this is our own imagination and projection. The truth, as the Lord tells us, is that in the next life, we are like angels, children of the resurrection and sons of God. In the next life, there is no marriage because we will all be immortal beings. There will be no more death and so there is no need for procreation. If that is the case, it would be disastrous for those of us who desire to see our loved ones and our spouse in heaven because it seems we would no longer be husband and wife.
This is far from the truth as such a life would no longer be considered as perfect. To share in the life of God is to be like angels, pure, holy, integrated, and at the service of God. To be sons of God is to be like our Lord in love and service. There will be no death but love of others will be perfected. There will be no more jealousy, envy, comparison or insecurity. There will be mutual love of each other, caring for one another, and living the life of the angels. Such a life will be one of intense joy, a love unlike earthly relationship, one that is inclusive, sharing the joys of each other, caring for one another where everyone is our brother and sister. This is what it means to share in the joys of heaven, the communion of saints.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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