22nd Sunday Reflection

 

22nd SUNDAY, 30 August 2020, JER 20. 7-9; ROM 12. 1-2; MATTHEW 16. 21-27

Focus: Divine wisdom is better and more preferable than the mere human intelligence; Discernment is more important than mere knowledge

1. The whole life is a constant process of choices, discerning among many choices and opting for the right choice. The quality of this discernment for the right choice determines the quality of life and action. Why today, in spite of all the intelligence and competence and all the affluence and abundance, people continue to make wrong choices in life?

2. The reason for this is the lack of wisdom. Many lack this wisdom to distinguish between the right and the wrong, the good and evil, the true and false, the praiseworthy and the blameworthy, the shallow pleasures and profound joys, the passing gratifications and the lasting contentment.

3. In the light of today's readings, this wisdom is to discern between the worldly gain and the loss of one's own soul, to choose to be conformed to God and not to the world. That is why we are faced with the straight question from Jesus: "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world but forfeit his soul?" Or, the urge from Paul to conform oneself to God and to His holy will and pleasure.

4.  But, how to have such wisdom? How to obtain it? It comes only from loving God passionately and clinging to him intensely and following him assiduously, come what may. For many, Wisdom is an intellectual capacity or a mental calibre. But it is not. It is a renewed mode of being, it is a transformed way of living, it is putting on God's own perspective and walking judiciously God's way.

5. As seen in Jeremiah in the first reading, this is that fire of the heart which sets the whole person on fire to work for God and his holy ways in spite of all the adversities and afflictions. In the words of Jesus, this wise mode of living implies to discard all the false self, to renounce all self-interests, to shoulder the cross of virtue and suffering patiently, and to walk in his footsteps courageously and joyfully.

6. Life changes when choices change. Choices change to be qualitative when the criteria for choices change from the earth-bound to heaven-bound, from the material to the spiritual and integral. In other words, our perspectives, our horizons, our realms of thinking, judging, deciding and doing must change. This will be a shift from mere human capacity to the sagacity from God, from intelligence to transparency to God' Spirit, from competence to obedience to God's will.

7. It is a contrast living: to detach from the self in contrast to a world which is inseparably clung to it; to carry the cross, to bear pain and suffering for God and good, in contrast to a world that tries to run away and shuns any discomfort and inconvenience; further, it is to follow the Lord in his footsteps steadily and loyally in contrast to a world that stumbles and wavers in walking the Lord's way.

8. When will God's light dawn on the human spirit that is so much darkened by the shades of self? When will wisdom and discernment become the guiding criteria in the place of intelligence and knowledge? When will people realise that it is foolishness to gain the whole world but forfeit one's soul? When will people understand that the more they are conformed to the world, they are only deformed, but they will be transformed when they are conformed to the Lord?

Direction: Man claims to be so bright and brilliant making right judgment and choice. But is it not a folly to settle for a lesser gain at the cost of higher losses?