20180530
CULTIVATING SINCERITY
IN LOVE
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.
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First reading
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1 Peter 1:18-25 ©
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You were ransomed by the precious
blood of Christ, the spotless lamb
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Remember, the ransom that was paid to
free you from the useless way of life your ancestors handed down was not paid
in anything corruptible, neither in silver nor gold, but in the precious blood
of a lamb without spot or stain, namely Christ; who, though known since before
the world was made, has been revealed only in our time, the end of the ages,
for your sake. Through him you now have faith in God, who raised him from the
dead and gave him glory for that very reason – so that you would have
faith and hope in God.
You have been obedient to the truth and purified your souls
until you can love like brothers, in sincerity; let your love for each other be
real and from the heart – your new birth was not from any mortal seed but
from the everlasting word of the living and eternal God. All flesh is grass and
its glory like the wild flower’s. The grass withers, the flower falls, but the
word of the Lord remains for ever. What is this word? It is the Good News that
has been brought to you.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm
147:12-15,19-20 ©
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O praise the Lord,
Jerusalem!
or
Alleluia!
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Zion, praise your God!
He has strengthened the bars of your
gates
he has blessed the children
within you.
O praise the Lord,
Jerusalem!
or
Alleluia!
He established peace on your borders,
he feeds you with finest
wheat.
He sends out his word to the earth
and swiftly runs his
command.
O praise the Lord,
Jerusalem!
or
Alleluia!
He makes his word known to Jacob,
to Israel his laws and
decrees.
He has not dealt thus with other
nations;
he has not taught them his
decrees.
O praise the Lord,
Jerusalem!
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel Acclamation
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1Jn2:5
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Whenever anyone obeys what Christ has
said,
God’s love comes to perfection in him.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Mk10:45
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The Son of Man came to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom for
many.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 10:32-45 ©
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The Son of Man came to give his life
as a ransom for many
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The disciples were on the road, going
up to Jerusalem; Jesus was walking on ahead of them; they were in a daze, and
those who followed were apprehensive. Once more taking the Twelve aside he began
to tell them what was going to happen to him: ‘Now we are going up to
Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the chief priests
and the scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the
pagans, who will mock him and spit at him and scourge him and put him to death;
and after three days he will rise again.’
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached him.
‘Master,’ they said to him ‘we want you to do us a favour.’ He said to them,
‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ They said to him, ‘Allow us to sit one
at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.’ ‘You do not know
what you are asking’ Jesus said to them. ‘Can you drink the cup that I must
drink, or be baptised with the baptism with which I must be baptised?’ They
replied, ‘We can.’ Jesus said to them, ‘The cup that I must drink you shall
drink, and with the baptism with which I must be baptised you shall be
baptised, but as for seats at my right hand or my left, these are not mine to
grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted.’
When the other ten heard this they began to feel indignant
with James and John, so Jesus called them to him and said to them, ‘You know
that among the pagans their so-called rulers lord it over them, and their great
men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who
wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to
be first among you must be slave to all. For the Son of Man himself did not come
to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’
30 MAY, 2018, Wednesday, 8th Week, Ordinary
Time
CULTIVATING
SINCERITY IN LOVE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 PT 1:18-25; PS 147:12-15, 19-20; MK 10:32-45 ]
The call to Christian holiness truly is a call to love selflessly,
sincerely and unconditionally. St Peter wrote to the early Christians, “You have been
obedient to the truth and purified your souls until you can love like brothers,
in sincerity; let your love for each other be real and from the
heart.” Most of us do not love sincerely. Our service and
love is most of the time tainted with self-love even though we are apparently
serving and helping others. Many of us do not love purely. We think
we are loving just because we serve in some organizations. The
truth is that we love and serve to get love, attention and appreciation.
How many of us stop loving and serving when we feel unappreciated? Our
love is conditional. We love those who love us. Jesus in the gospel
remarked, “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not
even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers
and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles
do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
(Mt 5:46-48)
Indeed, if our love is conditional, it is because we are still not
purified in our motives in love and service. We are just like the
disciples in today’s gospel. Jesus was sharing about His imminent passion
and death. They were on the way to Jerusalem, the place of His passion,
death and glory. He said to them, “Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and
the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes.
They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the pagans, who will
mock him and spit at him and scourge him and put him to death; and after three
days he will rise again.” But the disciples apparently were so absorbed
in themselves and their aspirations that they could not hear clearly what Jesus
was saying. They were selective in their hearing. They chose to
hear what they wanted to hear. They were thinking in terms of a
triumphant messiah over the Romans and that they would eventually be given political
positions in the new kingdom. They had their dreams of what they would
receive in following Jesus.
They were thinking in earthly terms, of power, glory and
status. “James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached him.
‘Master,’ they said to him ‘we want you to do us a favour.’ He said to
them, ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ They said to him, ‘Allow us
to sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.’”
Of course, the others were not that pure in love either. They were slower
and less brazen to ask Jesus for what they also longed for but their hearts
were not different from that of James and John. This is noted by the
evangelist, “when the other ten heard this they began to feel indignant with
James and John.”
There is a real danger for many of us, including priests and
religious, not just those in the political and corporate world, that although we say with our lips that we want to serve the
people, yet deep in our hearts, if we are honest enough, we are seeking honour,
position, glory and sometimes even material things. Indeed, that was what
the disciples were expecting when they asked Jesus earlier; “Peter began
to say to him, ‘Look, we have left everything and followed you.’ Jesus said,
‘Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or
mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the
good news, who will not
receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and
children, and fields.” (Mk 10:28-30)
In their minds, they were expecting earthly rewards. Isn’t this
true for us as well? When we serve God, we expect God to bless us with
health, love, money, position and a good life. Even if we do not
seek worldly things, we do expect gratitude for our services. Many who
are involved in ministry expect appreciation and recognition.
Sometimes, we seek places of honour so that we will be recognized by
everyone. Unconsciously, some of us do seek power and glory even if we do
not admit it. Otherwise, why is there so much politicking and competition in
church and in church organizations?
When we seek the wrong reasons for service, then the Lord is
saying to us, as He said to the disciples, “You do not know what you are
asking.” “Jesus said to
them. ‘Can you drink the cup that I must drink, or be baptised with the
baptism with which I must be baptised?’ They replied, ‘We can.’
Jesus said to them, ‘The cup that I must drink you shall drink, and with the
baptism with which I must be baptised you shall be baptised, but as for seats
at my right hand or my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those
to whom they have been allotted.’” To seek the glory of Jesus is to be
glorified with Him through self-emptying in love and self-sacrifice.
St Peter reminds us that the things of this world cannot last.
Citing the prophet Isaiah, Peter cautions us that power, possessions, glory and
things of this world cannot last. “All people are grass, their constancy
is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the
breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The
grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand
forever.” (Isa 40:6-8)
Jesus offered Himself as a ransom for our salvation. St Peter wrote, “Remember, the ransom that was paid to free you
from the useless way of life your ancestors handed down was not paid in
anything corruptible, neither in silver nor gold, but in the precious blood of
a lamb without spot or stain, namely Christ; who, though known since before the
world was made, has been revealed only in our time, the end of the ages, for
your sake.” This was what the Lord said to His apostles, “For the
Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life
as a ransom for many.” This is the price of service, offering ourselves
for others, not just through words and gifts but by our very lives. Jesus
offered Himself, not with money and external gifts as we often do but His own
precious blood and life.
How, then, can we love with sincerity? The blood of Christ
then is for us the power by which we are called to love like Jesus. Sincere love involves
giving of oneself freely and unconditionally. It is to love like God in
Christ Jesus. Through the unconditional sacrifice of Christ on the cross,
He set us free from our slavery to sin and selfishness. It is the
experience of God’s love and mercy that frees us from self-centeredness so that
we can be available to others. Jesus by His life, taught us how to love
and serve humbly. Jesus made it clear to His disciples, “You know that
among the pagans their so-called rulers lord it over them, and their great men
make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No;
anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who
wants to be first among you must be slave to all.” It is ironical that
Christ set us free from the slavery to oneself and pleasures so that we can
freely be slaves for the service of others. We are set free from
selfishness to be free for unconditional love and humble service.
Secondly, we must meditate and hold on to the promises by relying
on the Word of God. St Peter urges us. “The grass withers, the flower
falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. What is this word?
It is the Good News that has been brought to you.” We must cling on to
the promise of God in Christ. The Good News proclaimed by Christ, the
kingdom message and the rewards of the kingdom should motivate us to persevere
in our faith. St Peter wrote earlier, “ By his
great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that
is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are
being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be
revealed in the last time” (1 Pt 1:3)
Ultimately, it is our faith in Christ’s death and resurrection
that can help us to love and serve as He did. “Through him you now
have faith in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory for that
reason – so that you would have faith and hope in God.” Only in the
strength of sharing in His glory can we find strength to share in His
suffering. Through our faith in God and the salvation promised to us, we
can truly praise God as our salvation. “O praise the Lord, Jerusalem! Zion,
praise your God! He has strengthened the bars of your gates, he has blessed the
children within you. He makes his word known to Jacob, to Israel
his laws and decrees. He has not dealt thus with other nations; he has not
taught them his decrees.”
Written by The Most Rev
William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
