20151011 FINDING TRUE WISDOM IN GOD WHO IS TRUE LOVE
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Wisdom 7:7-11 ©
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I prayed, and
understanding was given me;
I entreated, and the
spirit of Wisdom came to me.
I esteemed her more
than sceptres and thrones;
compared with her, I
held riches as nothing.
I reckoned no
priceless stone to be her peer,
for compared with
her, all gold is a pinch of sand,
and beside her silver
ranks as mud.
I loved her more than
health or beauty,
preferred her to the
light,
since her radiance
never sleeps.
In her company all
good things came to me,
at her hands riches
not to be numbered.
Fill us with your
love so that we may rejoice.
Make us know the
shortness of our life
that we
may gain wisdom of heart.
Lord, relent! Is your
anger for ever?
Show pity
to your servants.
Fill us with your
love so that we may rejoice.
In the morning, fill
us with your love;
we shall
exult and rejoice all our days.
Give us joy to
balance our affliction
for the
years when we knew misfortune.
Fill us with your
love so that we may rejoice.
Show forth your work
to your servants;
let your
glory shine on their children.
Let the favour of the
Lord be upon us:
give
success to the work of our hands.
Fill us with your
love so that we may rejoice.
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Second reading
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Hebrews 4:12-13 ©
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The word of God is
something alive and active: it cuts like any double-edged sword but more
finely: it can slip through the place where the soul is divided from the
spirit, or joints from the marrow; it can judge the secret emotions and
thoughts. No created thing can hide from him; everything is uncovered and open
to the eyes of the one to whom we must give account of ourselves.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Mt11:25
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you,
Father,
Lord of heaven and
earth,
for revealing the
mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia!
How happy are the
poor in spirit:
theirs is the kingdom
of heaven.
Alleluia!
Jesus was setting out
on a journey when a man ran up, knelt before him and put this question to him,
‘Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why
do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments:
You must not kill; You must not commit adultery; You must not steal; You must
not bring false witness; You must not defraud; Honour your father and mother.’
And he said to him, ‘Master, I have kept all these from my earliest days.’
Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him, and he said, ‘There is one thing
you lack. Go and sell everything you own and give the money to the poor, and
you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ But his face fell at
these words and he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.
Jesus
looked round and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it is for those who have
riches to enter the kingdom of God!’ The disciples were astounded by these
words, but Jesus insisted, ‘My children,’ he said to them ‘how hard it is to
enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a
needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’ They were more
astonished than ever. ‘In that case’ they said to one another ‘who can be
saved?’ Jesus gazed at them. ‘For men’ he said ‘it is impossible, but not for
God: because everything is possible for God.’
Peter
took this up. ‘What about us?’ he asked him. ‘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.’
FINDING
TRUE WISDOM IN GOD WHO IS TRUE LOVE
Like
the rich man in today’s gospel, we are all seeking for true happiness in
life. Like the rich man, we too ask, “what must I do to inherit eternal
life? Indeed, the truth is that many of us are like this man, so
desperate to find the fullness of life. This is particularly true for
those of us who have already achieved much in life, especially in terms of
career, business, wealth and pleasure. The irony is that after spending
all our energy, time, efforts and labour in securing wealth, power and status,
we still find our lives empty and meaningless. In spite of the fact that
we have everything, we are not happy.
Sad to
say, after so much striving, we only arrive at the realization that power
cannot bring security. Look at all the so-called powerful people around
us, they are the most insecure. They need security guards wherever they
go. They have no privacy. They need to hide from the public, especially
the paparazzi. And even when they have so much power, they never seem to
be satisfied with the power they have. Often, they feel threatened by
others and so would always look at every person with fear and apprehension that
one day they might snatch power from them.
If
power cannot bring security, money cannot bring happiness as well. True,
money can provide a comfortable living and a life of pleasure. But
pleasure cannot bring happiness. What is enjoyed is over the moment
the pleasure ends. Then one begins to feel empty and bored again.
What about
glory, status and prestige? They too cannot bring happiness. If our
lives are so dependent on what people think of us and how they look at us, then
we will always live under the threat of rejection. We become slaves to
public opinion. We spend our energy trying to stay popular in opinion
polls. We are not in control of our lives but the world and the public
control us. We do not do what we are convinced about or what we believe
in. We are prisoners and have no freedom of our own. We do not overcome
low self-esteem just by seeking popularity. Happiness begins with
self-acceptance. When we cannot accept ourselves, even if the whole world
congratulates us, we will never believe that we are good enough. So the
problem lies within oneself; not what the world thinks of us.
What is
even more frustrating is that not only does happiness elude those who seek the
things of the world, but even those who are supposedly faith believers cannot
find happiness. Many law-abiding Christians and Catholics, like the Jews
in the gospel, are not happy. They obey the laws but they do not appear
to be happy and joyful. They are obeying out of fear and with hidden
hostility against God. Life seems to be a tiresome set of rules to be
followed, or one risks being punished by this vindictive God. This was
the case of the rich man. When Jesus queried whether he had obeyed the
commandments, his answer was in the affirmative. Then why was he still
not happy when he had fulfilled the laws. Something was still
missing. Indeed, as Catholics and Christians, we must ask ourselves
whether we are happy, joyful, liberated people. If we are not an alleluia
people, then it shows that Christ has not set us free and He is not our savior.
Well,
if religion cannot set us free and make us happy and give us fulfillment, then
perhaps, doing humanitarian works might help. This seems to be what Jesus
was suggesting to the rich man when He said, “There is one thing you lack. Go
and sell everything you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven.” Indeed, there are many philanthropists and those who
have sufficient resources doing voluntary social work. Although initially
they might feel passionate and happy, but along the way they become resentful
because of organizational, institutional, political and inter-personal
clashes. Also, sometimes the poor are not so easy to please either.
They can be rather demanding and unreasonable. Caregivers in attending to
them often feel exasperated and get hurt in the process.
What,
then, is the crux of the problem? Because we lack true wisdom! What is
true wisdom? This is what the author says about true wisdom. “I
esteemed her more than sceptres and thrones; compared with her, I held riches
as nothing. I reckoned no priceless stone to be her peer, for compared
with her, all gold is a pinch of sand, and beside her silver ranks as mud. I
loved her more than health or beauty, preferred her to the light, since her
radiance never sleeps. In her company all good things came to me, at her hands
riches not to be numbered.” The day we come to see that riches, honour,
health, beauty, etc are just illusions and are transitory, then we know what
true wisdom is. We will then not hanker after such things and even if we
have them, they are not possessions to be hoarded but to be shared and given
away or used for love and for mercy.
What
can be even more lasting than the things of this world if not authentic love
and lasting relationships? But alas, even relationships today are so
fragile. True and lasting love is rare. Beautiful relationships and
even marriages break down. So much so many of us are skeptical of
relationships. This explains why many have given up on marriage
even. Most are contented with passing relationships. That is why
even love alone cannot suffice, if we are seeking real happiness. Human
love, even if it were lasting, cannot make us truly happy because one of the
partners will also die. At any rate, total unconditional, caring love is
rare today.
So what
is the secret? It is to follow Jesus. The rich man was not simply
told to give up his wealth. Giving up your resources to the poor might
not make you happy. In fact, one might end up feeling short-changed and cheated
that one has given up everything for nothing. When we experience
bitterness in service and ministry, we end up giving up faith completely in
goodness and in human beings. For this reason, Jesus did not say that the
rich man would be happy if he were to give up everything. The giving up
of his wealth was a condition and preliminary to the following of Jesus.
Only in following Jesus, can the man be truly happy, not so much in giving up
his wealth to the poor.
But in
following Jesus, he will find happiness in giving up his wealth to the poor
because he will live a life of true freedom and unconditional love. He
begins to live like the Lord, in love and in total dependence on God, detached
from the things of this world. The whole creation becomes his. He enjoys
what he is given but not missing what he has not. Indeed, the true wisdom
is Christ Himself. He is the wisdom of God in person. Anyone who
possesses wisdom has put on the mind of Christ. When we discover Christ
as the wisdom and the love of our life, and when we give ourselves totally to
Him, we will find lasting and true happiness. Only Christ can fill the
emptiness in our hearts and only Christ can enlighten our minds. Only
Christ can fill us with the divine love of God and His inner peace and
joy. Living in and from Christ, we will find true joy and peace.
How,
then, can we find Christ as our Wisdom? Not by our own strength of
course. This is what the Lord told the disciples when they said, “In that
case who can be saved?” Jesus gazed at them and said, “For men, it is
impossible, but not for God: because everything is possible for God.”
Indeed, we cannot give up our wealth and follow Jesus without His grace.
The
book of wisdom says we need to pray for His grace. “I prayed, and understanding
was given me; I entreated, and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.” The psalmist
prayed and his prayer was answered. Prayer indeed is the gate to the wisdom of
God. If we want to find Christ and His love, we need to pray.
Most of
all, we are called to pray the scriptures. Only the Word of God can
enlighten us in the truth about love. The author of Hebrews describes the
power of the Word of God. He wrote, “The word of God is something alive
and active: it cuts like any double-edged sword but more finely: it can slip
through the place where the soul is divided from the spirit, or joints from the
marrow; it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts. No created thing can
hide from him; everything is uncovered and open to the eyes of the one to whom we
must give account of ourselves.” So if we are serious about true wisdom,
distinguishing the illusory values of the world from what is true, lasting and
valuable, we need the Word of God to help us and to guide us. Most of
all, only the Word of God can expose our deceptive ways of thinking, of which
we may not even be conscious.
The
result of prayer and discernment is to know the truth of God and His love for
us. We become freer in love and for love. Because we know that our
destiny lies in God ultimately, we no longer cling to this world and its
possessions. Because we know our destiny is to share in the life of God,
we begin to live this life already. That is why, like the apostles, we
already have a foretaste of the kingdom that is to come. Possessing
nothing, we own everything. This is what the Lord promised the apostles
when they asked, “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.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
