20220301 PRIVILEGE AND RESPONSIBILITY
01 March, 2022, Tuesday, Week 8 in Ordinary Time
First reading | 1 Peter 1:10-16 © |
Put your trust in the grace that is coming to you
It was this salvation that the prophets were looking and searching so hard for; their prophecies were about the grace which was to come to you. The Spirit of Christ which was in them foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would come after them, and they tried to find out at what time and in what circumstances all this was to be expected. It was revealed to them that the news they brought of all the things which have now been announced to you, by those who preached to you the Good News through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, was for you and not for themselves. Even the angels long to catch a glimpse of these things.
Free your minds, then, of encumbrances; control them, and put your trust in nothing but the grace that will be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. Do not behave in the way that you liked to before you learnt the truth; make a habit of obedience: be holy in all you do, since it is the Holy One who has called you, and scripture says: Be holy, for I am holy.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 97(98):1-4 © |
The Lord has made known his salvation.
Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.
The Lord has made known his salvation.
The Lord has made known his salvation;
has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.
The Lord has made known his salvation.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.
The Lord has made known his salvation.
Gospel Acclamation | Ph2:15-16 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
You will shine in the world like bright stars
because you are offering it the word of life.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt11:25 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 10:28-31 © |
Whoever has left everything for the sake of the gospel will be repaid
At that time Peter began to tell Jesus, ‘What about us? We have left everything and followed you.’ Jesus said, ‘I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not be repaid a hundred times over, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land – not without persecutions – now in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life.
‘Many who are first will be last, and the last first.’
PRIVILEGE AND RESPONSIBILITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 PETER 1:10-16; PS 98:1-4; MK 10:28-31]
In the first reading, we read of the great privilege of the prophets. We read that “the Spirit of Christ which was in them foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would come after them.” How wonderful it is to know that Christ existed before His coming into the world and that He had been inspiring prophets to announce His coming! God never abandoned the world even when humanity is mired in sin. Today, He continues to inspire humanity everywhere to come to the knowledge of the truth. Jesus said, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (Jn 16:12)
St Peter says that as Christians we even more privileged than the prophets and the angels. Although they were given the revelation of the coming of the Messiah, they only had a glimpse of Him. They did not see the fulfilment of the promise. He said, “It was revealed to them that the news they brought of all the things which have now been announced to you, by those who preached to you the Good News through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, was for you and not for themselves. Even the angels long to catch a glimpse of these things.” How wonderful and privileged we are to have received the fullness of the revelation of Christ and what is to come in our times! In Jesus’ life, passion, death and resurrection, we have witnessed the love and mercy of God; and given a foretaste and a preview of our inheritance that is to come.
For us Christians, are we conscious of this great privilege given to us, freely and unconditionally? We are living, so to speak, in eschatological time, that is, the end-time when we are already enjoying the promise of eternal life as a pledge in the life to come. Unfortunately, many of us do not treasure this gift. We take our faith for granted. We never consider the price that God has paid to ransom us, the blood of His only begotten Son. We are insensitive to the suffering that God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit went through, especially at the passion of Jesus. We fail to realize that unlike the prophets and the early Christians, this gift of faith was paid at a price no less than the cost of their lives. Many were persecuted and martyred for their faith. So most of us have received this gift of faith in a manner not much different from those that Jesus condemned in the bible when He warned us “Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swines, lest they trample them under foot and turn to attack you.” (Mt 7:6)
This was the case of the rich man in the gospel. God blessed him with great riches and, most of all, the privilege of encountering Christ. He was offered the gift of eternal life. But unfortunately, like most of us, he only wanted to receive the blessings but he was not ready to follow Jesus. He was not ready to surrender his blessings and gifts for the service of love, especially to the poor. He chose earthly riches over the Lord and the gift of eternal life. Hence, he went away sad. Indeed, many of us only desire to receive the blessings of God. We ask the Lord for good health, for wealth, for talents, for a car, for a job, but we have not used our health well. We have not taken care of our health, or use it for the service of others. We do not share our wealth of this world for the good of others, especially those in need. Instead of using our talents, our beauty and intelligence for the good of others, we use them only for our selfish interests, vanity and egotism. We are not even grateful for the job we have. We only know how to complain or worse still, we are irresponsible in our job. We are lazy, careless and negligent. We want to enjoy the blessings but not the burden of sharing that comes with them.
There cannot be blessings without the corresponding responsibility and burden that comes with them. Again, St Peter wrote, “It was this salvation that the prophets were looking and searching so hard for; their prophecies were about the grace which was to come to you”, “and they tried to find out at what time and in what circumstances all this was to be expected.” Clearly, the gift of inspiration and revelation requires our human cooperation. Whilst it is true that revelation is a gift from God, it requires that we do our part in searching and inquiring, like the prophets. Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” (Mt 7:7)
This principle of nature cooperating with grace is true in all aspects of human life. God can help us to do well in our studies, but we must also study and not just pray and hope that God will inspire us. To be a good preacher or teacher, we need inspiration from God but we have to do our part by doing research and preparing ourselves to teach. So we cannot expect God’s divine assistance without cooperating with Him. In a similar vein, if we want to receive God’s full blessings, we must share with others what we have; using our wealth, office, position for the service of God and humanity and not for the promotion of one’s self.
For this reason, we should not focus only on the sufferings but more on the blessings. Instead of grumbling about the price of looking after our children, we should focus on the joy of loving them and seeing them grow and mature in life. Instead of lamenting at the burden of the office we hold, we should be looking at the blessings given to us and others through the exercise of our office. Instead of feeling lonely in being single, we should treasure our freedom and the joy of including everyone in our lives. Indeed, we must always enjoy the blessings and embrace the suffering because this is part and parcel of life.
Jesus is the exemplar for us of what it means to be responsible with our blessings and gifts. Jesus used His messianic gifts of the Spirit for the work of liberation and healing. All the blessings He received were not for His own benefit. He lived a life of simplicity and He shared all His talents and resources with the people. He recognized that with the blessings come the carrying of the cross, even unto death. There is no resurrection without the passion. There are no blessings without the implication of the burden of responsibility.
The disciples were no better than the rich man. St Peter, the impetuous man that he was, revealed his true ambition when he arrogantly said to Jesus, “‘What about us?’ Peter asked Jesus. ‘We have left everything and followed you.'” Proudly, he felt that unlike the rich man, he and his fellow disciples had left everything to follow Jesus. He thought therefore that it was a noble thing for them to do. Yet, the underlying reason for following Jesus was not because they were seeking eternal life, they too wanted to acquire riches like the rich man. They were making use of Jesus for their selfish ambitions. The difference between the rich man and the disciples was that for the former, he had already attained what he wanted, but he still felt restless; whereas for the disciples, they already had Jesus but failed to recognize that He was all that they needed. Instead they were looking for riches that they did not have.
Hence, once again, Jesus took the occasion to remind the disciples that the riches and blessings they sought should not be of this world but of the life that was to come. What is eternal life? It is a life of love and relationship. This was what Jesus told them. “I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not be repaid a hundred times over, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land – not without persecutions – now in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life.”
In choosing Christ and the Church, Christians belong to a bigger family of God beyond their own. Those who are rejected by their loved ones because of Christ now find in the Church, the true family of unconditional acceptance and love. This was the case of St Paul. When he was converted to Christianity, his fellow Jews cut him off from their race. But he was welcomed by the bigger family of Christians wherever he went.
In seeking Christ, besides the earthly blessings, they have the blessings of love, unity and relationship with God and with their fellowmen. They find peace, joy and love. Such blessings are more than what the world can give. In other words, the judgement of this world is different from the judgment of God. What man judges as good will turn out to be vanity! But if we seek the judgement of God on what are truly our blessings beyond this world, we will find great happiness that the world cannot give. This was what the rich man was seeking. This was what the prophets sought as well and found it in Christ, the Messiah.
However, once again, Jesus reminds us that such blessings are not ours without persecution. Receiving the blessings means the responsibility to share and in the process of sharing, we might be persecuted, opposed and used. As recipients of God’s grace, we must obey the Word of God which we have received from Him. We are called to be holy, that is, to be different from the world by witnessing to the life that is to come in the way we live our lives in generosity, compassion, forgiveness, unconditional love and service. Like the Israelites, we are called to “Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked wonders. His right hand and his holy arm have brought salvation. The Lord has made known his salvation; has shown his justice to the nations. He has remembered his truth and love for the house of Israel.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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