20240619 SEEK THE RIGHT MOTIVATION FOR THE THINGS WE DO
19 June 2024, Wednesday, 11th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
2 Kings 2:1,6-14 |
Elijah is taken up to heaven
This is what happened when the Lord took Elijah up to heaven in the whirlwind: Elijah and Elisha set out from Gilgal, Elijah said, ‘Elisha, please stay here, the Lord is only sending me to the Jordan.’ But he replied, ‘As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you!’ And they went on together.
Fifty of the brotherhood of prophets followed them, halting some distance away as the two of them stood beside the Jordan. Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water; and the water divided to left and right, and the two of them crossed over dry-shod. When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Make your request. What can I do for you before I am taken from you?’ Elisha answered, ‘Let me inherit a double share of your spirit.’ ‘Your request is a difficult one’ Elijah said. ‘If you see me while I am being taken from you, it shall be as you ask; if not, it will not be so.’ Now as they walked on, talking as they went, a chariot of fire appeared and horses of fire, coming between the two of them; and Elijah went up to heaven in the whirlwind. Elisha saw it, and shouted, ‘My father! My father! Chariot of Israel and its chargers!’ Then he lost sight of him, and taking hold of his clothes he tore them in half. He picked up the cloak of Elijah which had fallen, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.
He took the cloak of Elijah and struck the water. ‘Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?’ he cried. He struck the water, and it divided to right and left, and Elisha crossed over.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 30(31):20,21,24 |
Let your heart take courage, all who hope in the Lord.
How great is the goodness, Lord,
that you keep for those who fear you,
that you show to those who trust you
in the sight of men.
Let your heart take courage, all who hope in the Lord.
You hide them in the shelter of your presence
from the plotting of men;
you keep them safe within your tent
from disputing tongues.
Let your heart take courage, all who hope in the Lord.
Love the Lord, all you saints.
He guards his faithful
but the Lord will repay to the full
those who act with pride.
Let your heart take courage, all who hope in the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Col3:16a,17 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Let the message of Christ, in all its richness,
find a home with you;
through him give thanks to God the Father.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn14:23 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 6:1-6,16-18 |
Your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Be careful not to parade your good deeds before men to attract their notice; by doing this you will lose all reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give alms, do not have it trumpeted before you; this is what the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win men’s admiration. I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. But when you give alms, your left hand must not know what your right is doing; your almsgiving must be secret, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.
‘And when you pray, do not imitate the hypocrites: they love to say their prayers standing up in the synagogues and at the street corners for people to see them; I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. But when you pray, go to your private room and, when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in that secret place, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.
‘When you fast do not put on a gloomy look as the hypocrites do: they pull long faces to let men know they are fasting. I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that no one will know you are fasting except your Father who sees all that is done in secret; and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.’
SEEK THE RIGHT MOTIVATION FOR THE THINGS WE DO
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [2 Kgs 2:1,6-14; Mt 6:1-6,16-18]
If we want to live a fuller life, we must always ask ourselves why we do what we do. We will not do anything if we were not motivated. So what is it that motivates us for all that we do? If our motives are shallow then we will live a shallow life; but if our motives are more transcendent, then we live a transcendent life. In other words, as Jesus asks us in the gospel, do we seek the rewards of this world, or the reward that comes from a good life of love and faith, a reward that comes only from God? It is important, therefore, that we are rightly motivated in whatever we do in life, whether it is with respect to our marriage, family, faith, work or even in service, voluntary or otherwise.
Elijah and Elisha were motivated prophets because of their conviction. Elijah was zealous for the House of the Lord and in preserving the faith of the Israelites from pagan influence. He was singular-minded in removing the idolatrous influence of the Baal deity of the Canaanites. Elisha, inspired by Elijah, followed in his footsteps. He had a good mentor in the person of Elijah and therefore asked for a double portion of his spirit to continue the work he had been doing. It is within this context that the scripture readings invite us to examine our motivations in what we do.
This is particularly revealing when we reflect on the three critical dimensions of any human person’s life, namely, charity, prayer and discipline. They are also considered the three pillars of spiritual life. If anyone possesses these three virtues, he or she would live a happy and blessed life. Unfortunately, although everyone knows how important it is to practice charity, especially almsgiving to the poor and the disadvantaged; or the importance of prayer in one’s spiritual life; or the importance of fostering fasting and discipline; yet many of us perform these spiritual exercises with the wrong motives. As Jesus remarked, they have had their reward – having already been paid in full with the rewards of this world. However, the point is that the rewards of this world cannot give us meaning and joy. At best they make us feel great about ourselves, but the spirit remains hungry and empty because we do not go beyond the rewards of this world.
Consider the first essential act of man, which is charity and almsgiving. Many of us give not because we want to but because we have to. Even the rich can give out of obligation, not because they want to give. Often, we feel guilty that we have so much compared to others, especially when we visit poorer countries. Hence, some of us give because our conscience is pricked. We cannot continue to enjoy our steak and lobsters when others do not even have a plate of rice! Of course, some give from more egoistic motives. They want the world to know how generous they are. So they give for the honour and public recognition of their generosity. And certainly, they get what they ask for. Worse still, there are some who give with strings attached. They hope to get something greater out of it. So corporate companies give in order to get publicity and also more business, or they have a political or ideological agenda.
Real giving comes from the heart of love and compassion. Only when we give because we love, do we get closer to God. When we give without counting the cost, without worrying whether we are recognized or not; without any expected returns; we share the joys of the Father who gives unconditionally and freely. When giving springs from our identification with our fellowmen, their sufferings and their needs, and when love urges us to reach out, we know that love comes from God Himself living in us in His Spirit. Such giving is actually a sharing of God’s love already in this life because it means that we are not attached to the worldly things but use them for love, compassion and friendship. Making someone happy; giving someone hope; providing a future for those whose future is bleak; alleviating the pains and suffering of others fill us with a joy that the word cannot give. This is the basis for humanitarian and charitable acts. This reward, which is kept for us in heaven, is now ours as a foretaste, since heaven is love and there is endless giving and receiving, like the Holy Trinity.
With respect to the second essential need of man, which is prayer, we need to ask ourselves why we pray. Again, some people pray for fear that God would be angry with them if they do not pray. But for most people, prayer is simply a matter of asking God for things and blessings. Such attitudes are tolerable because such people do not have a real relationship with God. They perceive God as a distant disciplinarian and an abstract reality. Their relationship is based on infantile fear of authority and a relationship of need. Since they have no personal relationship with God, their prayer life is basically done out of duty, fear and need. But there are others who pray simply because they want others to see them as pious. They pray to get attention from others, not from God. They are more concerned about what people think of them than what God thinks of them.
But such prayers will not get us very far. What will change us and fulfil us is when we have a personal relationship with God. It is intimacy, basking in His love and peace that give us a joy that the world cannot give. Only those who have no love will always seek for things to fill the vacuum in their lives. But for those who have experienced the joy of love and intimacy with someone, no amount of things in this world can replace that joy. Prayer is meant to help us engage God in an intimate conversation, basking in His glory and mercy, singing beautiful praises of thanksgiving and love to Him as we do with our loved ones; and also be enlightened by His words of life and wisdom. Only a real relationship with God can enlighten the mind and fill the emptiness of our heart.
Finally, another important consideration in spiritual life is fasting. This is a form of self-discipline. We cannot expect to control our minds, our thoughts and our tongue if we cannot control our body. As Jesus tells us, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. So discipline, especially self-discipline, is the mark of a successful man because he is in charge of himself. He has conquered himself and therefore he can now command the world. Food, of course, is one thing that is most difficult to control, besides our sexual needs. That is why, most of us fall when it comes to the sin of lust and gluttony because our body and the sensual needs of the flesh overpower our minds. So unless we can control our food intake, we cannot expect much discipline in other areas of our lives, especially in prayer and in physical intimacy.
But then again, often fasting and other forms of discipline, such as mortification and penance, become means by which we seek to earn the praises of man. Most of the people in affluent nations fast because they are too fat and they need to slim down. Slimming down at best could be for health reasons, at worst, for vanity, especially for women. Then some fast because they want to save money at the expense of their health. Of course, there are those who fast because they want to prove to others that they have self-control. There is a certain ego trip in this form of fasting. Now, if we fast for all these reasons, then Jesus said, this is all we get from fasting, namely, vanity!
But blessed is the man who fasts because he wants to strengthen his spiritual life so that he could be more prayerful and available to God in prayer. Blessed is the man who fasts so that he could identify himself with the sufferings and hunger of others, both physical and spiritual hunger so that he could grow in compassion. When we fast so that we can be more available to God and to others, this kind of fasting will help us to be humble and grateful for what we have. Often, we take too many things for granted and forget to praise and thank God for what we have. Instead, we are always envying others, complaining and lamenting that we do not have what others have. But a grateful person is always contented.
Today, let us remember that we are called to be motivators for our children and colleagues and those under our charge. If we want our children and workers to be passionate and zealous in their work, we must first and foremost be good mentors for them. We ourselves must be motivated rightly in what we do so that we can show others the more noble goals of our mundane work. Many of our young people take life for granted because they have all that they want. They need to be motivated beyond material gains if we want them to work hard and find passion in what they do. We need to give them higher ideals to work for in life, so that they can find meaning, purpose and fulfilment.
In the final analysis, we must be wise like Elisha who asked Elijah for a double portion of his spirit. What we need is the Spirit of Jesus in the way we live our lives, for God and for our fellowmen. The joy of Elisha and Elijah was to be the prophet of God for their people. They were given the powers of God to perform miracles, not for their selfish needs or glory but for the service of the people. In this way, our thoughts will be like that of Elijah who was brought up into the heavens by the chariot and horses of fire. We remember the words of St Paul when he wrote to the Colossians, “So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Col 3:1-3) Indeed, to acquire the Spirit of Christ is what ultimately matters at the end. In all that we do, let us be motivated by this desire to be more and more like Christ in mind and in heart.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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