FIDELITY TO THE TREASURE OF CHRIST HIDDEN IN US THROUGH FAITHFUL LIVING OF THE KINGDOM LIFE SCRIPTURE READINGS: WISDOM 18:6-9; HEBREWS 11:1-2.8-19 (OR >< 11:1-2.8-12); LUKE 12:32-48 (OR >< 12:35-40) “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” What is your treasure, your goal in life? If something is your treasure, you will certainly give your heart to it. But more importantly, is your treasure something illusory and transient or is it something that is everlasting and completely fulfilling? Indeed, Jesus exhorts us, “Get yourselves purses that do not wear out, treasure that will not fail you, in heaven where no thief can reach it and no moth destroy it.” What is this treasure that truly satisfies us? You are that treasure. This treasure however is hidden in us in Christ. The psalmist says, we are the chosen ones of God. This treasure concretely is Jesus Himself, the kingdom of God. “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘there is no need to be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom.” Hence, to enjoy that treasure requires us to live the kingdom life, the life of Christ, the life of the Spirit. Such a life is a life that is rich in the sight of God, as last Sunday’s gospel reminds us. It is a virtuous living; abounding in love, generosity and compassion. It is a life of intimate relationship with God and with our fellow human beings. It is to recover and make progress the image of God in us. Indeed, things, money, health, external physical beauty; all these can be taken away from us, but not Christian character and interior beauty. No one can steal our heart of love and compassion. What we are cannot be taken away, unlike things extraneous to us. So, the treasure is really ourselves when we become who we are. But is this kingdom life available to us only at the end of time, since the gospel seems to have linked the kingdom with the second coming of Christ? It seems inappropriate that the liturgy should speak of the final coming of Christ, death and judgment at this time of the year when we are just mid-way in the calendar year. Furthermore, the talk of heaven might not sound very appealing to our generation. Most people today are not concerned about the next life as they find themselves unable even to make sense of this life, much less to worry about the next life. They are only worried about this life. Many want to live this life as fully as ever. Yet, the paradox is that if we want to live our lives fully in this world, it must be seen in the context of the next life. After all, what is heaven if not the perfect fulfillment of fellowship, love and union? To prepare for next life we must start living the life of the kingdom. Consequently, the liturgy invites us to be faithful to our calling in life, which is the building up of our Christian character and our relationship with God and with others. Fidelity is therefore the theme of today’s liturgy. How, then, can we be faithful to our calling to live the kingdom life, the treasure in us? Simply be faithful to our identity, vocation and ourselves! Fidelity firstly means having an authentic love of oneself expressed in self-actualization arising from responsible stewardship. When Peter asked the Lord “’do you mean this parable for us, or for everyone?’ The Lord replied, ‘What sort of steward, then, is faithful and wise enough for the master to place him over his household to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Happy that servant if his master’s arrival finds him at this employment.’” By living out our calling in life, Jesus says, “I tell you truly, he will place him over everything he owns.” So the more we are faithful to ourselves, the greater fulfillment we find in life because we are in the process of actualizing ourselves. For this reason, we are given more responsibilities, like the servant. Indeed, at the end of the gospel Jesus reminds us “when a man has had a great deal given him, a great deal will be demanded of him; when a man has had a great deal given him on trust, even more will be expected of him.” Thus, we must reflect what kind of servant are we? Have we been responsible for the positions we have in society and the privileges of Christian life? Have we made good the talents and gifts given to us for the building of our Christian character and for the service of love and unity. So, to be faithful is primarily to be faithful to the state of life we are in and our roles in our family, church and society. Fidelity brings self-respect and authentic love of self. Secondly, fidelity means self-transcendence. Self-actualization and self-fulfillment are still on the egocentric level, one must move to the level of self-transcendence, going out of oneself like Abraham who moved out of his homeland. How can we do this? By being stewards of God’s grace, we must use our gifts for the service and good of others. Immediately after saying that the Father wants to give us the kingdom, Jesus told the disciples, “’Sell your possessions and give alms. Get yourselves purses that do not wear out, treasure that will not fail you, in heaven where no thief can reach it and no moth destroy it.” Abraham, too, was challenged to give his greatest gift of his son, Isaac to God. The gifts that we receive are never for ourselves alone. They are given to us so that as good stewards, we can distribute them to those who are most in need. Money is for the poor and needy. Power is for service and unity. It is therefore important that we exercise faithfully all that have been given to us for the good of all. Only by using these gifts entrusted to us by God for others, can we find fulfillment through them. For through sharing the gifts, we grow in kindness, compassion and generosity. Indeed, a person implies relationship for we find ourselves in so far as we relate to others. Thirdly, fidelity means creating self-awareness and God-awareness. Living the kingdom life presupposes that we are conscious of who we are and our intrinsic relationship to God. Man cannot exist without God, and is truly man only in relationship to God. Hence, we are to be alert to the presence and the coming of God in the daily events of our lives. Indeed, Jesus tells us, “You too must stand ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.’” Christ is coming at every moment in our lives, not only on the last day. We must discern how the Lord is inviting us to meet Him, whether in the needy, the difficult colleague or boss or the demanding spouse. In order to be aware of others, we must be aware of ourselves by being aware of the presence of God in our lives. Fourthly, fidelity is self-realization, becoming who we are, created to share the life of God. By living a life of fidelity, the life of Christ is in us. That is what Jesus said, “See that you are dressed for action and have your lamps lit. Be like men waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks.” You are the light and salt of the world. No lamp is needed for Christ shines in and through us. So by living a good and holy life filled with works of love and mercy, our lives are lighted up with the life of Christ, a life of forgiveness, honesty, truth and virtues. Indeed, happiness is to live a life with clear conscience. We must always be ready to meet God. Even if God does not judge us, we will condemn ourselves if our conscience is not clear. We must be faithful to ourselves for we can cheat others but not ourselves. God, precisely, is the exemplar of what it means to be faithful. For the parable tells us that when the master returns and finds his servants awake, “he will put on an apron, sit them down at table and wait on them.” God will come and serve us instead of us serving Him. This surprising reversal of roles shows the generosity of God and His love. Not only that, He serves Himself to us as food. The joy of God is love and service. This self-emptying love of God is what captures His essence. God is faithful and He is faithful to Himself. Only because He is faithful to Himself, could He be faithful to us. If we live that life of faith, walking in the ways of the Lord and faithful to our responsibilities and calling in life, cooperating with the gifts God has given to us, using it for the service of God and man, then we will find deep satisfaction in this life. Most of all, we find interior peace and joy in our hearts because our heart is one with God. We would be identified with Him and find all that is necessary to be wholesome, attaining self-actualization, fulfillment, self-transcendence and self-realization. Yes, if we have lived our lives responsibly according to the talents and gifts God has given to us, then we already are living in the kingdom of life, love and truth. We are set free for love. And when our final day comes, we will be ready to depart, knowing that we have lived our life to the fullest on this earth and that the virtues we have cultivated in us will bring us to the next life. In this, way, we do not live a life of regrets or are fearful of our future. This is the kingdom life, that treasure given to us, the little flock! WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV MSGR WILLIAM GOH ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ___________________________ Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart. Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord. - See more at: csctr.net/11-august-2013-19th-sunday-in-ordinary-time/#sthash.JLxHqwfR.dpuf
Posted on: Mon, 12 Aug 2013 14:34:26 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015