Walk in truth and in spirit

Today, with the help of apps like Waze or Google Maps, we are able to get directions and find our way even if we are not familiar with the place that we are headed to.

Feb 11, 2022

                               Reflecting on our Sunday Readings with Msgr Aloysius Tan

6th Sunday of Ordinary Time (C)
Readings: Jeremiah 17:5-8;
1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20;
Gospel: Luke 6:17, 20-26

Today, with the help of apps like Waze or Google Maps, we are able to get directions and find our way even if we are not familiar with the place that we are headed to. With the help of these applications, we are able to avoid traffic jams, or a wrong turn, and find the best way to reach our destination.

Recently, when we celebrated the Lunar New Year, we used the Beatitudes from the account of Matthew to inspire us to continue to choose the “new” way for the new year. Today as we listen and reflect on the Lucan account, we are given the version of Beatitudes with four “life giving” ways and four “life threatening” ways. These ways serve as a guide for us to reach our life’s destination – eternal life.

Jeremiah, in the first reading tells us that, in order to achieve true happiness, we need to place our trust in God. The Beatitudes presented by Jesus indeed show us that this trust is to be integrated in our life besides our prayers. Using the same analogy of the Waze or Google Map, we make our own choices to trust in the direction given by God or to depend solely on ourselves. I recall countless experiences when I was caught in bad traffic due to my own choice of following my way rather than the way shown by Waze. Indeed, how often in my life too, I used my way rather than trust in the guiding hand of God.

Besides the element of trust, the Beatitudes presented in the gospel reading invites us to:

1. Be aware that this new way is not a mere vision or target only but something vital to be carried out in our daily life. When we talk about true happiness or true blessedness, it is alive, active and to be lived out and this is what it means to be called to build the Kingdom of God here and now.

2. Respond to the challenge of the Beatitudes in our daily life. So many people are facing challenges and persecution. Many are homeless, living in poverty ? they are not able to see light in their life. We are called to bring them hope and thus make the promise of life in the Beatitudes become a reality. If we make the effort to share, to care and to be the voice of the voiceless, those who are poor, those who are hungry, those who are weeping, will be able to taste “happiness”.

3. Know that our faith is not merely for own salvation but rather, for the salvation of all. We cannot enjoy happiness when our brothers and sisters are suffering. We cannot say we are okay when our brothers and sisters are not.

The Lucan society was facing injustice and a huge gap between the poor and the rich. Luke’s version of the Beatitudes was very much from the social context of his time. Today as we reflect on the reading, we will notice that there is not much difference in the context that we live in today. Therefore, we cannot remain indifferent to the plight of the poor and the marginalised who are constantly struggling in the midst of the current pandemic, where injustice is so prevalent and widespread.

Today, the Church needs to look at the Beatitudes as an invitation for us to see whether we are:

a. A Church of the Poor — where we are concerned with the needs of the marginalised, not complacent or apathetic to their plight.

b. A Church which is hungry for justice and truth. The desire in seeking truth and justice means not being indifferent to things happening around us but speaking up in defence of the oppressed and the marginalised.

c. A Church which is weeping with those who are suffering. Therefore, we cannot remain happy and sweep everything under the carpet. History has proven that a Church which is ready to stand up for the truth and is prepared to suffer as a martyr is the Church that will grow and flourish.

d. A Church which is ready to be persecuted because of the Kingdom’s values. It is not difficult to be a nice Christian but not easy to be a holy, righteous and truthful Christian.

As individuals and as Church, we are invited to set our eyes on eternal life by building the Kingdom of God here and now. The way and direction to do that has been mapped out for us by God, in and through the words and works of Jesus. We know exactly what that is from the Word of God, from the teachings of the Church and by interpreting them in the light of the signs of the times. All we need to do is to follow the direction!

In the spirit of synodality, the Beatitudes presented by St Luke this week invites us to explore the ways in which we can walk together in our daily living, to walk in truth and in spirit so that we will act justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with our God. (cf Micah 6:8)

Msgr Aloysius Tan is the parish priest of the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, Penang.

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