20220926 SELF-SERVING LOVE AND SERVICE
26 September, 2022, Monday, 26th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Job 1:6-22 © |
The Lord gave, the Lord has taken back: blessed be the name of the Lord
One day the Sons of God came to attend on the Lord, and among them was Satan. So the Lord said to Satan, ‘Where have you been?’ ‘Round the earth,’ he answered ‘roaming about.’ So the Lord asked him, ‘Did you notice my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth: a sound and honest man who fears God and shuns evil.’ ‘Yes,’ Satan said ‘but Job is not God-fearing for nothing, is he? Have you not put a wall round him and his house and all his domain? You have blessed all he undertakes, and his flocks throng the countryside. But stretch out your hand and lay a finger on his possessions: I warrant you, he will curse you to your face.’ ‘Very well,’ the Lord said to Satan ‘all he has is in your power. But keep your hands off his person.’ So Satan left the presence of the Lord.
On the day when Job’s sons and daughters were at their meal and drinking wine at their eldest brother’s house, a messenger came to Job. ‘Your oxen’ he said ‘were at the plough, with the donkeys grazing at their side, when the Sabaeans swept down on them and carried them off. Your servants they put to the sword: I alone escaped to tell you.’ He had not finished speaking when another messenger arrived. ‘The fire of God’ he said ‘has fallen from the heavens and burnt up all your sheep, and your shepherds too: I alone escaped to tell you.’ He had not finished speaking when another messenger arrived. ‘The Chaldaeans,’ he said ‘three bands of them, have raided your camels and made off with them. Your servants they put to the sword: I alone escaped to tell you.’ He had not finished speaking when another messenger arrived. ‘Your sons and daughters’ he said ‘were at their meal and drinking wine at their eldest brother’s house, when suddenly from the wilderness a gale sprang up, and it battered all four corners of the house which fell in on the young people. They are dead: I alone escaped to tell you.’
Job rose and tore his gown and shaved his head. Then falling to the ground he worshipped and said:
‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
naked I shall return.
The Lord gave, the Lord has taken back.
Blessed be the name of the Lord!’
In all this misfortune Job committed no sin nor offered any insult to God.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 16(17):1-3,6-7 © |
Turn your ear to me, O Lord; hear my words.
Lord, hear a cause that is just,
pay heed to my cry.
Turn your ear to my prayer:
no deceit is on my lips.
Turn your ear to me, O Lord; hear my words.
From you may my judgement come forth.
Your eyes discern the truth.
You search my heart, you visit me by night.
You test me and you find in me no wrong.
Turn your ear to me, O Lord; hear my words.
I am here and I call, you will hear me, O God.
Turn your ear to me; hear my words.
Display your great love, you whose right hand saves
your friends from those who rebel against them.
Turn your ear to me, O Lord; hear my words.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn14:6 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;
No one can come to the Father except through me.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mk10:45 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Son of Man came to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 9:46-50 © |
The least among you all is the greatest
An argument started between the disciples about which of them was the greatest. Jesus knew what thoughts were going through their minds, and he took a little child and set him by his side and then said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For the least among you all, that is the one who is great.’
John spoke up. ‘Master,’ he said ‘we saw a man casting out devils in your name, and because he is not with us we tried to stop him.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘You must not stop him: anyone who is not against you is for you.’
SELF-SERVING LOVE AND SERVICE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JOB 1:6-22; PS 17:1-3,6-7; LUKE 9:46-50]
How much do we really love God as we think we do? How generous are we in serving God and His people? It is a fact that for those of us who are blessed in so many ways, career, business, health, loving spouse and united family, wealth and status, it is easier to love God. We can give praise and thanks to Him all the time for His goodness and mercy towards us. Indeed, on our lips we say that God is good and great. As a result, many of us too are willing to serve God and His people because we have more time and resources. We are happy to be of service to the poor or to the church. We want to serve Him and His people.
But the question posed to us is, whether our love for God and service of Him and His people is genuine? Does our love and service spring from our unconditional love for God and His people, or from love of self? Of course, this calls for an honest examination of one’s motive. The story in the first reading is precisely challenging our purity in loving God and serving Him.
Interestingly, this story of Job speaks of Satan not so much as the devil as known in the New Testament, but someone who will lead us to do evil and oppress us. In this book of Job, the Devil is called the Adversary with a definite article “the.” At this point of time, he is considered still an agent of God under God’s authority. He was not yet a tempter as in the book of Genesis but he acted like a divine prosecutor. As in the book of Revelation, he is called the accuser. “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.” (Rev 12:10) He is given the authority to expose the hypocrisy of human beings and their selfishness.
Thus, Satan came to taunt the Lord when He spoke highly of His servant, Job. “Did you notice my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth: a sound and honest man who fears God and shuns evil.” But Satan doubted that Job could be that kind of person. He was sceptical of humanity’s potency to goodness. So he said, “Yes, but Job is not God-fearing for nothing, is he?” According to his assessment, if Job was good, it was because he had something to gain from God. He is God-fearing only because he has been blessed with wealth, flocks, health and family. It is not difficult to love someone who loves and provides us all our needs.
Indeed, what the Devil suggested has much truth in reality. Most of us serve God because of selfish needs and love of self than love of God. We serve God because He loves us. But if He does not love us, we will not love Him. And for us, the signs of His love for us are seen in tangible actions. We need to experience His healing grace. When we pray for health, we expect Him to heal us. When we are in financial needs, we expect Him to send us a windfall. When we need a job, we expect Him to provide us one. If we have problems in relationships, with our spouse and children and colleagues, we expect Him to settle them. Only when our family, career and health are doing well, do we say God is good all the time and that He loves us. Otherwise, we begin to doubt His love for us. This explains why those who are desperate for His divine assistance, and after praying for some time or even a long time, feel abandoned by God when their prayers are not answered. We not only give up loving Him but also our faith in Him. Then we will say that God does not exist. He does not care. So we stop praying, reading the scriptures, doing good and even walking the right path. We become angry with Him and refuse to worship Him. Some of us even turn to other false gods so that if they give us what we want, we will then worship them. So in truth most so-called religious people are self-serving. It is about themselves, their needs and wants.
In the gospel, clearly the apostles of our Lord did not serve with pure motives either. Underlying their discipleship was the desire for power and ambition. They were arguing and comparing among themselves who was the greatest. Even in serving the Lord, they were seeking for glory, recognition and power. That is why we must not be too naïve to think that in the religious world, even among those serving God in church or among the poor, many bring worldly motives into service. Many who are serving God actually do it, presumably unconsciously, for recognition and glory. Otherwise, how do we explain that when their needs, whether psychological or emotional, are not met, they would resign? Many of them are fighting for power and fame. Although they claim to be serving God and the people, it is about their organization and society. They want to be the best, not in serving God but to be better and be praised. There is no real desire to help each other to serve the church better. Instead of completing each other, they compete against each other.
Besides honour, many also desire power in the church. Again, and again, we see church members fighting to hold office, to control the priests or the members. They want to be seen to be the one in charge, the one who has the power to influence and make decisions. Everything must go through them and they feel great that they are acknowledged as the power brokers. Again, this was what happened to the disciples. They wanted to stop other exorcists from exercising their charisms. Indeed, why should we stop those who are doing good even if they do not belong to us. Anyone who does good, especially for the poor, selflessly, must be praised and encouraged. This is true even for those good people who are from other religions or without religions. We should be happy for them, that they have a heart of compassion and love, rather than be jealous of them. At the end of the day, it is about power and control. It is not about allowing people to encounter God’s love, serve His people and give glory to God. We are seeking for glory.
To such insecure and power-hungry people, the Lord said, “You must not stop him; anyone who is not against you is for you.” Similarly, Jesus told them, “Anyone who welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For the least among you all, that is the one who is great.” If we truly love God, then we will be happy to be the least. We will not claim honour for what we do. We do not wish to be in the limelight if it is not necessary. We will not desire credit for what we do. We are happy simply to be His servants and make use of whatever gifts He has given to us. We will certainly not seek position or power at all. We should be content just to be His servants, humble servants, that we are capable of being at His service is itself the greatest reward.
The first reading presents to us Job who is the example of one who truly loves God. In spite of the fact that he was stripped of everything, his possessions, his loved ones, he did not blaspheme God. He did not curse God or blame Him. On the contrary, “falling to the ground he worshipped and said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, naked I shall return. The Lord gave, the Lord has taken back. Blessed be the name of the Lord.’ In all this misfortune Job committed no sin nor offered any insult to God.” Such was the selfless love and devotion of Job to God. He proved the Devil wrong, that there was no one who could serve God in that manner. Job was totally detached and trusted in the love and mercy of God. He might not have understood His ways but he trusted in the Lord’s ways. Instead of thinking what he had lost, he remained grateful for what the Lord had blessed him. Instead of counting his woes, he counted his blessings. He remained grateful to the Lord for those times; he had been blessed with a comfortable life. But in adversity, he remained faithful to God and accepted His plan for him.
How many of us can surrender our lives and sufferings to God? Many people are in fact resentful of God especially when their loved ones are taken away because of illness, old age or accident. They blame God for not taking care of them and abandoning them. Many young people refuse to pray to God because they blame God for taking their parents away either through illness or divorce. How do we continue to believe in a merciful God if this God does not care?
Job prefigures Christ who precisely came to serve and not be served and to give His life as a ransom for many. He came as a servant. Even at His death on the cross, He submitted humbly with cries and tears but He too accepted God’s will and commended His Spirit to God. We too are called to do the same. We are to surrender our lives to God in good and bad times. We are called to trust in His Divine providence and do His will at all times. We have much to learn from Job in purifying our love for Him and our service to His people. We have much to imitate his disposition towards God’s will and His divine providence.
So like Job, let us love and serve Him for He is God. Regardless of the vicissitudes of life, we must remain firm and have our eyes fixed on Him. He will rescue us as the psalmist says. “Lord, hear a cause that is just, pay heed to my cry. Turn your ear to my prayer: no deceit is on my lips. From you may my judgement come forth. Your eyes discern the truth. You search my heart, you visit me by night. You test me and you find in me no wrong. I am here and I call, you will hear me, O God. Turn your ear to me; hear my words. Display your great love, you whose right hand saves your friends from those who rebel against them.” With faith and confidence, let us entrust our lives to Him.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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