14th Sunday of Year A

Zechariah 9:9-10
Romans 8:9,11-13
Matthew 11:25-30

Finding true peace and fulfilment.

My brothers and sisters, this week, the Scripture invites us to reflect on a vital question: Am I at peace, that is, truly at peace? If I dig down into my heart, beyond my social facade, are there things that are troubling my mind and soul? Do I feel unfulfilled in some ways? Do I struggle to find my place in the world? Do I have a relationship challenge? The good news is that we are not alone. Even better news is that if we are prepared to open ourselves to God’s grace, healing and directions are at hand.

In the First Reading, the prophet Zechariah painted an imagery of a king coming on a donkey: “Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (verse 9). That a king would come not on horses and chariots, but on a donkey, is a paradoxical image. This imagery challenges us to not see things the way the world sees them – to look outside the box. For example, the world might tell us that wealth and fame is the path of happiness. Yet we know, many rich and famous people are not at peace – many suffer from hurt and loneliness. But this imagery of a king on a donkey goes further than challenging our norms. It is a prophesy of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. As we read in the Gospel, as the disciples prepared for Jesus to enter Jerusalem, “they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!'” (Mt 21:7-9)

This triumphant scene pf Jesus’ entry and the events that ensued should provoke a deeper reflection in us. We read how, after welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem, barely a few days later, the people would call for Jesus to be crucified in the courtyard of Pontius Pilate. Why this dramatic change? Did Jesus do something in those few days that drew the anger of the people in a way that triggered the sudden change? Unlikely. His cleansing of the temple might have angered a few with vested interest, but certainly not something that would swing the public mood so drastically. So, what changed the people’s attitude? The truth is, the problem was not with Jesus. It was with the people. The truth is, they had no peace in their hearts. They had a worldly objective, which is to rid themselves of the Roman rulers. Jesus was to be that person to deliver that outcome. When Jesus proved not to be that kind of king, they swung their support behind the religious leadership represented by the chief priests, who incited the people to call for Jesus’ crucifixion. The truth is, when there is no peace in the heart, people become emotionally unstable and are subject to sudden swings. This is also true with us. Often, we do not have peace because we pin our hopes on worldly objectives. This disorientation is further amplified when we harbour past emotional trauma. For example, a person who experience a broken marriage – either as child or a spouse – may become so disenchanted with the notion of marriage. It might incite the person to abandon all meaningful relationships, and to make money at all costs. Indeed, when we harbour past hurt, we tend to act out our hurt, often without even us realising it. When we act out our hurt, we hurt other people. It is true that hurting people hurt other people.

What we need is peace – true peace. Often, when the world speaks of peace – whether it is between people, community groups or nations – it just means the lack of conflict. But this is superficial peace. It is not true inner peace of the heart. Superficial peace – the lack of conflict – is simply a state of the flesh. This contrast with true peace, which is a state of the spirit. As St Paul wrote to the Galatians, “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these.” (Gal 5:19-20) “By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Gal 5:22-23) Fruits of the flesh leads to destruction, while fruits of spirit lead us to true fulfilment. We are called to reject superficial peace – the fruits of the flesh – and strive for true peace that resides in our spirit. As St Paul wrote in the Second Reading this week, “for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (verse 13)

Let us now return to the imagery of a triumphant king coming on a donkey and ask ourselves: Do I welcome Jesus? More importantly, do I welcome Jesus superficially as the crowd did, or do I welcome Jesus into my heart and be my King? In other words, do I let Jesus and His Spirit dwell in me? We know Jesus is a King like no other. He comes humbly on a donkey. He comes to heal, to love and to serve; and in an ultimate expression of love and service, He gave His life for His subjects. Hence, truly welcoming Jesus the King does not come with being coronated with a crown. Truly welcoming Jesus requires us to take on the persona of Jesus – to heal, to love and to serve. If there is a crown, it is a crown of thorns, like the one the soldiers put on Jesus (Mt 27:29).

But our past hurt can become barriers to us truly welcoming Jesus. Hence, we first need to heal. We need Jesus to heal us of our broken relationships and past disappointments. For this to happen, we must tear down the walls that we have built to shield our hearts and open our hurts to Jesus. Be vulnerable to Jesus. If Jesus cannot come in, He cannot heal us. Secondly, we need to forgive the people who hurt us. We need to let go. And unless we do, we imprison ourselves by the walls we built. My brothers and sisters, there is much we can reflect on finding healing from Jesus. And this is the secret of leading a joy-filled and fulfilled life. It is so simple yet can be so unattainable for some. It is as Jesus said the Gospel this week, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants” (verse 25).

Let us conclude by meditating on the words of Jesus in the Gospel this week: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (verse 28-30) My brothers and sisters, what is Jesus’ invitation to me today. Can I learn to let go? Do I find healing? Can I put on forgiveness, sacrifice, and love? This is the path we need to take if we want true peace, fulfilment and joy. Let us heed Jesus’ call.

Amen.

13th Sunday of Year A

2 Kings 4:8-11,14-16
Romans 6:3-4,8-11
Matthew 10:37-42

How do we treat our blessings in life?

How do we treat our blessings in life – wealth, health, talent, etc.? Does God bless us with these for our own sake, or for others’ sake?

The First Reading this week tells the story of how a wealthy woman treated prophet Elisha with kindness. The woman was wealthy. But she did not forget it was God who blessed she and her husband with wealth. So, on recognising that Elisha is a holy man of God, the couple extended their generosity to Elisha by offering the prophet food and hospitality whenever Elisha passed by their house. But in spite of their wealth, their lives remained unfulfilled on one aspect – they have no children. When Elisha found out, he interceded with God and promised the couple, “At this season, in due time, you shall embrace a son.” (verse 16) This was a just reward for their generosity. As Jesus said in the Gospel this week, “Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous” (verse 41)

What about me? In the developed world that most of us live, we have ample material comfort. Most of us own our cars, luxury possessions and we take regular holidays. Do I treat my wealth as blessings from God? Do I regard my wealth as something I should use to bless others, such as helping the poor? The wealthy woman in the First Reading enjoyed fruits from her generosity. At an intangible level, she was surely blessed with peace and content, which enable her to expand her generosity by offering Elisha a dedicated room in their house. At a tangible level, God blessed the woman with something she always wanted – a child.

However, we must not draw the conclusion that our expectant rewards from God should be the motivations for our righteous acts. A relationship of love is never transactional. Our relationship with God is a relationship of love, so too are our relationships with loved ones. We do not perform acts of love in expectant of rewards. In fact, a reward mentality is dangerous as it could corrupt our love. A loving act, if performed for a reward, is then not pure love. Indeed, our righteous acts should flow from our gratefulness of the blessings that God has already given us – blessings such as wealth that gives us the capacity to be generous. And it is our love that motivates us to helping others, not our expectation for rewards. Why? Because God loves us first while we were still sinners (Rom 5:8). And if God were to reward our righteous acts with further blessings, then we are double blessed. This was the attitude of the wealthy woman. When Elisha promised her a child, she did not treat it as something she deserved. Rather, she said, “No, my lord, O man of God; do not deceive your servant.” (verse 16)

But our acts of love should not be restricted to just things that God blesses us in this life. In fact, our very life is a blessings from God. As St Paul wrote to the Romans in the Second Reading, “But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” (verse 8) Hence, just as the wealthy woman was generous with her money, shouldn’t we be generous with our lives, in using our time and talent in service of humanities? And just as the wealthy woman was rewarded for her acts of love in sharing her wealth, we will be rewarded for our acts of love in sharing our lives. This was what Jesus meant when He taught in this week’s Gospel, “Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” (verse 39)

So, how does generosity with our time and talent reward us with life? This is one of the greatest ironies in life. In order to gain life, we have to give it. It is no accident that some of the most contented and at peace people in the world are those who volunteer and serve others. Indeed, it is in giving that we receive. It is in selfless serving – in dying to ourselves for others – that we find true fulfilment in life.

Let us conclude our reflection this week with these words of St Francis of Assisi:

For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.