20250216 LIVING FROM THE FUTURE IS THE WAY TO LIVE FULLY IN THE PRESENT
16 February 2025, Sunday, 6th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Jeremiah 17:5-8 |
A blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord
The Lord says this:
‘A curse on the man who puts his trust in man,
who relies on things of flesh,
whose heart turns from the Lord.
He is like dry scrub in the wastelands:
if good comes, he has no eyes for it,
he settles in the parched places of the wilderness,
a salt land, uninhabited.
‘A blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord,
with the Lord for his hope.
He is like a tree by the waterside
that thrusts its roots to the stream:
when the heat comes it feels no alarm,
its foliage stays green;
it has no worries in a year of drought,
and never ceases to bear fruit.’
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 1:1-4,6 |
Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
Happy indeed is the man
who follows not the counsel of the wicked;
nor lingers in the way of sinners
nor sits in the company of scorners,
but whose delight is the law of the Lord
and who ponders his law day and night.
Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
He is like a tree that is planted
beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due season
and whose leaves shall never fade;
and all that he does shall prosper.
Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
Not so are the wicked, not so!
For they like winnowed chaff
shall be driven away by the wind:
for the Lord guards the way of the just
but the way of the wicked leads to doom.
Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
Second reading |
1 Corinthians 15:12,16-20 |
If Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins
If Christ raised from the dead is what has been preached, how can some of you be saying that there is no resurrection of the dead? For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins. And what is more serious, all who have died in Christ have perished. If our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people.
But Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt11:25 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
Or: | Lk6:23ab |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Rejoice and be glad:
your reward will be great in heaven.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 6:17,20-26 |
Happy are you who are poor, who are hungry, who weep
Jesus came down with the Twelve and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and from Jerusalem and from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. Then fixing his eyes on his disciples he said:
‘How happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God.
Happy you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied.
Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh.
Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, for then your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets.
‘But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now.
Alas for you who have your fill now: you shall go hungry.
Alas for you who laugh now: you shall mourn and weep.
‘Alas for you when the world speaks well of you! This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.’
LIVING FROM THE FUTURE IS THE WAY TO LIVE FULLY IN THE PRESENT
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JER 17:5-8; 1 COR 15:12, 16-20; LK 6:17, 20-26]
It is human to desire to be rich, to be full, to be happy and to have people speak well of us. No one wants to be poor, hungry, and sad, or be hated by others. Yet, Jesus in today’s gospel said, “‘But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now. Alas for you who have your fill now: you shall go hungry. Alas for you who laugh now: you shall mourn and weep. ‘Alas for you when the world speaks well of you! This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.'” Is it therefore wrong to desire these blessings in life? Surely not!
So what, then, is the underlying message of Jesus when He declared: “‘How happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God. Happy you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied. Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh. ‘Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, for then your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets.”
The truth is that Jesus wants us to go beyond living for this life only. Being rich, full, and having a good reputation will only see us through in this life, if we can find it. However, this is clearly not possible. This explains why St Paul said, “If our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people.” Indeed, if happiness is rooted in this world only, then we will be the most miserable of all people as, knowing the shortness of life, we will constantly be living in anxiety and fear of death, of losing all that we possess. The fear of death and the loss of wealth and our loved ones will make us always poor, hungry, and sad, and thus craving for more and more. It will be like an abyss that cannot be filled.
When this kind of attitude sets in, we cannot ever find happiness in this life! That is why we are always unhappy, pursuing one thing after another, chasing, so to speak, after the wind. Indeed, the Lord warns us through the prophet Jeremiah, “A curse on the man who puts his trust in man, who relies on things of flesh, whose heart turns from the Lord. He is like dry scrub in the wastelands: if good comes, he has no eyes for it, he settles in the parched places of the wilderness, a salt land, uninhabited.”
However, if we believe that our life is not only to be lived on this earth and that there is life beyond death, then we will live this life in view of the future life promised us. Fundamentally of course, It is important that such hope is not simply a dream but a reality. This confidence in the future life is based on Christ who died and rose for our sake. Indeed, St Paul reiterates that “Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep.” Hence, we are confident that we will share this life with him.
If people live only for this life, it is because they have no hope beyond this world. They are like the people during the time of St Paul who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Hence, the counter argument of Paul is, “If Christ raised from the dead is what has been preached, how can some of you be saying that there is no resurrection of the dead? For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins. And what is more serious, all who have died in Christ have perished.”
However, if we believe that our life is beyond this world, then necessarily, we must prepare ourselves to live that life that is eternal. Consequently, knowing that the life with Christ is the life of God, then we must live from the future in the present. From this perspective, we can better understand why Jesus extolled poverty, hunger, sadness and rejection. For the truth is that when we are rich and self-sufficient, we find it more difficult to grow in virtue and sanctity. Jesus warned us that it is difficult for the rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. But when we are poor and hungry, we will have to depend only on God alone as we know that we cannot depend on this world. Furthermore, our poverty, hunger and pain will help us to become more conscious of the sufferings and miseries of our fellowmen. This can prompt us to grow in compassion and understanding as well. Thus, being poor and rejected in this world help us to appreciate the brevity and fragility of this life. In this way, we grow in perfection and in holiness.
Recognizing that our goal is to be with Christ in heaven, sharing the resurrected life, we will then live for the future by living this life here and now. We can live this life on earth more fully than before because knowing the shortness of this life and our goal, we are no more fearful of suffering, death or failure. For whether in good times or in bad times, pain or joy, riches or poverty, we know that all things will work for our good, provided we make use of them for growth in generosity, love and service.
This of course is possible only if we put our trust in the Lord. Yes, Jeremiah urges us, “A blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord, with the Lord for his hope. He is like a tree by the waterside that thrusts its roots to the stream: when the heat comes it feels no alarm, its foliage stays green; it has no worries in a year of drought, and never ceases to bear fruit.” This invitation to trust in God rather than in man and this world is the same advice given by the psalmist in today’s responsorial psalm.
Yes, life to be lived fully must be lived without fear of the future. But life can be lived fully only if we are certain of the future. Hence, Christians can live their lives to the fullest here on earth and later in heaven only because they live lives of authentic freedom and equanimity with regard to wealth or poverty; joy or sorrow. With equanimity, a Christian faces life’s vicissitudes, knowing that everything is within the hands of God. When we place all our trust in Him, the Lord will bless us and make us fruitful not only in our material life but most of all, enrich our interior life with love, joy and peace.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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