20240622 THE PRICE OF SERVING THE WORLD AND OURSELVES
22 June 2024, Saturday, 11th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
2 Chronicles 24:17-25 |
'You have deserted the Lord: now he deserts you'
After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came to pay court to the king, and the king now turned to them for advice. The Judaeans abandoned the Temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, for the worship of sacred poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God’s anger fell on Judah and Jerusalem. He sent them prophets to bring them back to the Lord, but when these gave their message, they would not listen. The spirit of God took possession of Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood up before the people and said, ‘God says this, “Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord to no good purpose? You have deserted the Lord, now he deserts you.”’ They then plotted against him and by order of the king stoned him in the court of the Temple of the Lord. King Joash, forgetful of the kindness that Jehoiada, the father of Zechariah, had shown him, killed Jehoiada’s son who cried out as he died, ‘The Lord sees and he will avenge!’
When a year had gone by, the Aramaean army made war on Joash. They reached Judah and Jerusalem, and executed all the officials among the people, sending back to the king at Damascus all that they had plundered from them. Though the Aramaean army had by no means come in force, the Lord delivered into its power an army of great size for having deserted him, the God of their ancestors.
The Aramaeans treated Joash as he had deserved, and when they retired they left him a very sick man; and his officers, plotting against him to avenge the death of the son of Jehoiada the priest, murdered him in his bed. So he died, and they buried him in the Citadel of David, though not in the tombs of the kings.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 88(89):4-5,29-34 |
I will keep my love for him always.
‘With my chosen one I have made a covenant;
I have sworn to David my servant:
I will establish your dynasty for ever
and set up your throne through all ages.
I will keep my love for him always.
‘I will keep my love for him always;
with him my covenant shall last.
I will establish his dynasty for ever,
make his throne endure as the heavens.
I will keep my love for him always.
‘If his sons forsake my law
and refuse to walk as I decree
and if ever they violate my statutes,
refusing to keep my commands;
then I will punish their offences with the rod,
then I will scourge them on account of their guilt.
I will keep my love for him always.
‘But I will never take back my love,
my truth will never fail.’
I will keep my love for him always.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt4:4 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Alleluia!
Or: | 2Co8:9 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus Christ was rich,
but he became poor for your sake,
to make you rich out of his poverty.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 6:24-34 |
Do not worry about tomorrow: your holy Father knows your needs
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘No one can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.
‘That is why I am telling you not to worry about your life and what you are to eat, nor about your body and how you are to clothe it. Surely life means more than food, and the body more than clothing! Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they are? Can any of you, for all his worrying, add one single cubit to his span of life? And why worry about clothing? Think of the flowers growing in the fields; they never have to work or spin; yet I assure you that not even Solomon in all his regalia was robed like one of these. Now if that is how God clothes the grass in the field which is there today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after you, you men of little faith? So do not worry; do not say, “What are we to eat? What are we to drink? How are we to be clothed?” It is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on his righteousness, and all these other things will be given you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.’
THE PRICE OF SERVING THE WORLD AND OURSELVES
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 2 CH 24:17-25; MT 6:24-34]
Greed for power, wealth and position often leads to the destruction of innocent and good people. And this in turn will destroy the perpetrators in the long run. This is why in the gospel, Jesus warns His disciples, “‘No one can be the slave to two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and money.” Indeed, we can either work for God, for truth and justice; or work for the idols of this world – seen in power, glory, pleasure and wealth. When our eyes are on the things of this world, whatever we do are motivated by the desire to accumulate more wealth, power and fame.
We see this in the history of Israel. In today’s first reading, we read of the struggle for power in the Kingdom of Judah. Before King Joash, there was the evil mother of the previous king, Ahaziah. After he was assassinated, his mother, Athaliah, seized the throne. She was crazy for power and sought to kill all the members of the royal family. Fortunately, King Ahaziah’s sister managed to save Joash, his son, and hid him in the Temple, away from the evil mother of Ahaziah. In the seventh year of the reign of Queen Athaliah, Jehoiada, the priest, helped to restore the throne to the rightful heir, namely, Joash, the son of Ahaziah. He was still a boy when he was made king. Nevertheless, Jehoiada guided him all the way.
But the tragedy of it all was that, after the death of Jehoiada, King Joash was misled and betrayed by the corrupt court officials. He was too naïve as a boy to be able to see through the political snares around him. He had to turn to them for advice. But these officials unfortunately were not true to the God of Israel. They had “abandoned the Temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, for the worship of sacred poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God’s anger fell on Judah and Jerusalem.” Yet, God was still with him and sent him the prophet Zechariah, “son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood up before the people and said, ‘God says this, “Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord to no good purpose? You have deserted the Lord, now he deserts you.”‘ As a consequence, those officials who served the pagan gods were angered by his prophetic call to repentance. Instigated by them, they plotted and finally had the King “stoned him in the court of the Temple of the Lord.” It was a sad day. Evil had triumphed over truth and justice.
Ingratitude is perhaps one of the worst sins we can commit against our fellowmen who have done us good. Unfortunately, most of us have short memories. This was true in the case of King Joash. The author remarked, “King Joash, forgetful of the kindness that Jehoiada, the father of Zechariah, had shown him, killed Jehoiada’s son who cried out as he died. ‘The Lord sees and he will avenge!'” He was too weak to do the right thing, or simply helpless in the face of political connivance to act on his own. But to kill the son of Jehoiada was not just an act of injustice but a lack of gratitude to the father who put him on the throne. But that is life; we are often overwhelmed by our self-interests. When we serve ourselves first, we act against God and His commandments.
Eventually, as history showed, Joash himself suffered a tragic fate for his sin of apostasy. God executed judgment on him through the army from Aram. “Although the army of Aram had come with few men, the Lord delivered into their hand a very great army, because they had abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors. Thus they executed judgment on Joash. When they had withdrawn, leaving him severely wounded, his servants conspired against him because of the blood of the son of the priest Jehoiada, and they killed him on his bed. So he died; and they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.” (2 Chr 24:24f) We pay a price for choosing the world.
This is why Jesus in the gospel reminds us not to be too worried about our life and our needs, what to eat and what to wear. “Surely life means more than food, and the body more than clothing!” Indeed, life is more than comfort and pleasure. Life is about loving and living a purposeful life. Just living a life of pleasure and glory will not give us real happiness. Soon we get tired of the pleasures we have, or the attention we get from the world. Those who have reached the top of the ladder know only too well the emptiness of riches, power and glory. Nothing can satisfy them. Rather, happiness is about caring, about meaningful relationships, about being a life-giver, providing hope and encouragement to others. When we see others uplifted by our service and love, we find a joy that nothing in this world can give us. Indeed, as the Lord said, “It is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things.”
Rather, the Lord said, “Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on his righteousness, and all these other things will be given you as well.” When we put our motives and goals in life in the right place, then all these other things will be ours too. In life, we do not work for the world directly, but we work for God and His kingdom. In the process of working for His kingdom, these other things would be given to us so that we have the means to help others, and to continue to build the kingdom of God. When we promote the values of the kingdom, of justice, love, mercy and compassion, God will bless us with the resources and the manpower and collaborators to serve this cause. The only difference is that we do not desire money, power, status or position for ourselves, or to fulfil our insecurities, but use them for the service and the good of others, especially those who are marginalized, oppressed and poor.
Indeed, God will provide. How do we know? Jesus gives us the examples from nature. He said, “Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they are? Can any of you, for all his worrying, add one single cubit to his span of life? And why worry about clothing? Think of the flowers growing in the fields; they never have to work or spin; yet I assure you that not even Solomon in all his regalia was robed like one of these. Now if that is how God clothes the grass in the field which is there today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after you, you men of little faith?” Truly, we can trust in the divine providence of God. What is more important is that we be faithful with what the Lord has blessed us with. We must use them wisely and usefully for ourselves and for our brothers and sisters. Most of all, we must use our blessings to establish the Kingdom of God and for the spread of the gospel.
I am reminded of the words of St Paul when he was writing to the Corinthians for help. “God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. As it is written, ‘He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.’ He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us.” (2 Cor 9:8-11)
The psalmist also declares God’s fidelity to His servant. “With my chosen one I have made a covenant; I have sworn to David my servant: I will establish your dynasty forever and set up your throne through all ages. I will keep my love for him always; with him my covenant shall last. I will establish his dynasty forever, make his throne endure as the heavens.” However, when His servant abandoned Him, he would be punished so that he could return back to serve God and not be a slave to the world. “If his sons forsake my law and refuse to walk as I decree and if ever they violate my statures, refusing to keep my commands; then I will punish their offences with the rod, then I will scourge them on account of their guilt.” So let us act rightly and justly for the good of all. We must choose to serve God alone. Everything else must be subordinated to this overarching goal. In this way, we will have the right perspective and appreciation of the worldly goods which are meant for our happiness and not for our destruction. We serve God and not allow ourselves to be the slaves of the world.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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