04-11-2012, 09:22 AM
11 April, 2012, Wednesday within Octave of Easter
FATE OR DESTINY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: ACTS 3:1-10; LK 24:13-35
We all experience failures and disappointments in life. Some of these events are very difficult to accept, especially when it is the death of a loved one, a terminal illness we discover, a failure in life or when our marriage breaks down. Indeed, if only we understand the meaning of these events, at least it would not be so difficult to accept. Understanding the meaning of our suffering might not take the pain away, but at least it makes the pain bearable because we see that suffering has a positive outcome, even if not for ourselves, at least for others. Meaningless suffering is what we revolt against, not so much the suffering itself. In the face of meaningless suffering, we conclude that it is fated, that God or nature who is blind to our happiness, made it so.
That is why it is easy to identify ourselves with the disciples at Emmaus. They too had great hopes that Jesus would be the One who would them free. But with His death, all their hopes were dashed. Understandably, they were downcast and totally discouraged. After all, they gave up so much to follow Jesus. And just as they thought Jesus would be staging a revolt and restore Israel to its former glory, all their aspirations vanished into thin air. They just could not understand how such a good man, a great preacher, teacher of wisdom and a miracle worker, a man of compassion and of God, a maverick of a kind, could end up in such a tragic, disgraceful and innocent death.
And sadness and disappointment can lead us to further depression. The truth is that when a person is depressed, it is very difficult for him/her to see beyond his/her problem, or to see the silver lining in the clouds. Most of us tend to wallow in self-pity at our misfortunes. It is indeed very difficult and emotionally trying to talk to a depressed person as that person in his or her misery cannot think logically. The fears, the sadness and the anxiety just overwhelm them and no logic can make them come to their senses. We should of course not blame such people. It is not that they do not want to get out of the woods, but that they simply are too weak to do so as their will is broken.
Is there a way out? The gospel tells us that we can transcend our sufferings if only we look for the Risen Lord in our lives. Like the disciples who could not recognize the Risen Lord because of their fears, sadness and anger, we too cannot see the bright side of our struggles and problems because we are more often than not overwhelmed by them. But if we have encountered the Risen Lord, then we will realize that in Him our lives are not fated but that we are destined. It is His death and resurrection that show us the real difference between fate and destiny. We can say that Jesus was in a certain sense fated to die; not that He had to die, but by standing up for His convictions He was fated to die. Of course, if He had retracted His words, He would not have had to die. In this sense, we must say that Jesus was not fated to die but that He chose His destiny. He purposely chose to go up to Jerusalem to complete His mission even at the cost of His life. He said it clearly in the gospel, “The Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me; I lay it down of my own free will, and as it is in my power to lay it down, so it is in my power to take it up again, and this is the command I have been given by my Father.” (Jn 10:17f) He knew that His death would not be the end.
Hence, can we can be certain of our destiny if we see the Risen Christ. But where can we see the Risen Christ today if not in the Eucharist, for it is in the Eucharistic celebration that the scriptures are explained to us. The Word of God, when read and listened with faith, helps us to understand our life problems in the context of the plan of God. In other words, by listening to the Word, we will be given the light to appreciate the mysteries of life. Just as Jesus helped the disciples to understand the providential plan of God by going through the scriptures with them; we too, as we reflect on the scriptures, will begin to see our failures in a global perspective. “Then he said to them, ‘You foolish men! So slow to believe the full message of the prophets! Was it not ordained that the Christ should suffer and so enter into his glory?’ Then, starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages throughout the scriptures that were about himself.” Once we recognise the meaning of such unpleasant events in our lives, we will be able to accept them just as the disciples at Emmaus did.
We must realize that everything in this life is permitted by God. In His providential plan, He allows us to make mistakes, for through our mistakes we learn to grow in maturity and in the truth. As the letter of Hebrews tells us, “Although he was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering, but having been made perfect, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation.” (Heb 5:9) This is further reiterated by St Paul who wrote, “We know that by turning everything to their good, God cooperates with all those who love him, with all those he has called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28) So we must never be discouraged when our human plans do not go the way we think they should. God has a greater plan for us.
However, many of us who are downcast like the disciples cannot look up to God in faith and trust. Even after explanation by a great preacher on the Word of God, and even if we could understand, yet it might still not be sufficient enough to open our eyes to see the full significance of the events in our lives. This is because our understanding can still be blocked by our hurts and pains. For a full recognition of the value of our sufferings, we need also to remove these barriers so that we can recognize the love of God for us. In a very symbolic and real way, the disciples’ eyes were awakened because they were reminded of Jesus’ total love for them in the breaking of bread. The Eucharist also reminded them of the unconditional forgiveness of sins brought about by His death on the cross. Such realization and experience of God’s love for them surely helped them experience not merely the Risen Lord but their own resurrection as well. Indeed, only such an experience of love which was also a healing event, gave them an illumination of the events that they were going through. Such an illumination is surely the grace of God.
But it is only possible, provided we do not block God from illuminating us in our lives. Consequently, it is important for us as wounded healers to help others to look beyond their problems by giving them a listening ear. Our task is to help those who are suffering and in depression by giving them an experience of God’s love. In their pain, most feel alone and do not feel understood or loved. So the first step towards opening the eyes of such people to the love of God in Christ is to let them see in us the love of God incarnate by our compassion, genuine concern and understanding of what they are going through. Through our love and compassion, they will eventually begin to open their eyes to the marvels and wisdom of God, because their eyes will begin to see hope in and through us.
Yes, it was only when their hurts were healed that the disciples could recognize the Risen Lord. It was only after encountering the love of the Rise Lord that they could also understand the plan of God in their lives. The joy that filled their hearts came about because they knew that their failures and disappointments were not meaningless but all within the loving providence of God’s plan. It was a cause of great joy for them.
In the same way, too, we are invited to see our problems in life in the light of the Risen Lord. This means to situate our life problems in the perspective of the passion, death and resurrection so that we can have the right perspective to our problems. By living His paschal mystery, we will gain strength in trials and live with the confidence and hope that goodness will triumph in the end. Yes, like the man at the beautiful gate at the temple, we will be able to jump for joy because success and failure, joy and sorrow will not affect us very much since our happiness is not dependent on silver and gold. Rather, our happiness comes from the certainty of our destiny which comes from faith in the name of Jesus Christ.
Just as Sts Peter and John gave the crippled man hope and freedom from his fate, so too we must give others hope. To give hope to others is to give them Jesus. Indeed, as the apostles said, “’I have neither silver nor gold, but I will give you what I have: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk!’” This means that in the final analysis, we can never take away the pains of a person who has gone through tragedy in life. No amount of counseling can take away that person’s pain, but bringing them to Jesus and giving them Jesus is a sure way of giving them hope. For in Christ, they will come to appreciate that their suffering is but a part of a greater dimension of giving birth to new life and most of all, that their lives will end in happiness with Him, even if not on this earth, it will be so in the next life. With Jesus, everything is possible and so we need not give up hope but continue to trust in Jesus.
Let me conclude with a little story: When a woman complained to a master that her life is fated, the master told her that our life is never fated. But the woman retorted, “I did not choose to be a woman.” The master replied: “to be born a woman is fate; but what we make of ourselves is destiny.”
FATE OR DESTINY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: ACTS 3:1-10; LK 24:13-35
We all experience failures and disappointments in life. Some of these events are very difficult to accept, especially when it is the death of a loved one, a terminal illness we discover, a failure in life or when our marriage breaks down. Indeed, if only we understand the meaning of these events, at least it would not be so difficult to accept. Understanding the meaning of our suffering might not take the pain away, but at least it makes the pain bearable because we see that suffering has a positive outcome, even if not for ourselves, at least for others. Meaningless suffering is what we revolt against, not so much the suffering itself. In the face of meaningless suffering, we conclude that it is fated, that God or nature who is blind to our happiness, made it so.
That is why it is easy to identify ourselves with the disciples at Emmaus. They too had great hopes that Jesus would be the One who would them free. But with His death, all their hopes were dashed. Understandably, they were downcast and totally discouraged. After all, they gave up so much to follow Jesus. And just as they thought Jesus would be staging a revolt and restore Israel to its former glory, all their aspirations vanished into thin air. They just could not understand how such a good man, a great preacher, teacher of wisdom and a miracle worker, a man of compassion and of God, a maverick of a kind, could end up in such a tragic, disgraceful and innocent death.
And sadness and disappointment can lead us to further depression. The truth is that when a person is depressed, it is very difficult for him/her to see beyond his/her problem, or to see the silver lining in the clouds. Most of us tend to wallow in self-pity at our misfortunes. It is indeed very difficult and emotionally trying to talk to a depressed person as that person in his or her misery cannot think logically. The fears, the sadness and the anxiety just overwhelm them and no logic can make them come to their senses. We should of course not blame such people. It is not that they do not want to get out of the woods, but that they simply are too weak to do so as their will is broken.
Is there a way out? The gospel tells us that we can transcend our sufferings if only we look for the Risen Lord in our lives. Like the disciples who could not recognize the Risen Lord because of their fears, sadness and anger, we too cannot see the bright side of our struggles and problems because we are more often than not overwhelmed by them. But if we have encountered the Risen Lord, then we will realize that in Him our lives are not fated but that we are destined. It is His death and resurrection that show us the real difference between fate and destiny. We can say that Jesus was in a certain sense fated to die; not that He had to die, but by standing up for His convictions He was fated to die. Of course, if He had retracted His words, He would not have had to die. In this sense, we must say that Jesus was not fated to die but that He chose His destiny. He purposely chose to go up to Jerusalem to complete His mission even at the cost of His life. He said it clearly in the gospel, “The Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me; I lay it down of my own free will, and as it is in my power to lay it down, so it is in my power to take it up again, and this is the command I have been given by my Father.” (Jn 10:17f) He knew that His death would not be the end.
Hence, can we can be certain of our destiny if we see the Risen Christ. But where can we see the Risen Christ today if not in the Eucharist, for it is in the Eucharistic celebration that the scriptures are explained to us. The Word of God, when read and listened with faith, helps us to understand our life problems in the context of the plan of God. In other words, by listening to the Word, we will be given the light to appreciate the mysteries of life. Just as Jesus helped the disciples to understand the providential plan of God by going through the scriptures with them; we too, as we reflect on the scriptures, will begin to see our failures in a global perspective. “Then he said to them, ‘You foolish men! So slow to believe the full message of the prophets! Was it not ordained that the Christ should suffer and so enter into his glory?’ Then, starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages throughout the scriptures that were about himself.” Once we recognise the meaning of such unpleasant events in our lives, we will be able to accept them just as the disciples at Emmaus did.
We must realize that everything in this life is permitted by God. In His providential plan, He allows us to make mistakes, for through our mistakes we learn to grow in maturity and in the truth. As the letter of Hebrews tells us, “Although he was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering, but having been made perfect, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation.” (Heb 5:9) This is further reiterated by St Paul who wrote, “We know that by turning everything to their good, God cooperates with all those who love him, with all those he has called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28) So we must never be discouraged when our human plans do not go the way we think they should. God has a greater plan for us.
However, many of us who are downcast like the disciples cannot look up to God in faith and trust. Even after explanation by a great preacher on the Word of God, and even if we could understand, yet it might still not be sufficient enough to open our eyes to see the full significance of the events in our lives. This is because our understanding can still be blocked by our hurts and pains. For a full recognition of the value of our sufferings, we need also to remove these barriers so that we can recognize the love of God for us. In a very symbolic and real way, the disciples’ eyes were awakened because they were reminded of Jesus’ total love for them in the breaking of bread. The Eucharist also reminded them of the unconditional forgiveness of sins brought about by His death on the cross. Such realization and experience of God’s love for them surely helped them experience not merely the Risen Lord but their own resurrection as well. Indeed, only such an experience of love which was also a healing event, gave them an illumination of the events that they were going through. Such an illumination is surely the grace of God.
But it is only possible, provided we do not block God from illuminating us in our lives. Consequently, it is important for us as wounded healers to help others to look beyond their problems by giving them a listening ear. Our task is to help those who are suffering and in depression by giving them an experience of God’s love. In their pain, most feel alone and do not feel understood or loved. So the first step towards opening the eyes of such people to the love of God in Christ is to let them see in us the love of God incarnate by our compassion, genuine concern and understanding of what they are going through. Through our love and compassion, they will eventually begin to open their eyes to the marvels and wisdom of God, because their eyes will begin to see hope in and through us.
Yes, it was only when their hurts were healed that the disciples could recognize the Risen Lord. It was only after encountering the love of the Rise Lord that they could also understand the plan of God in their lives. The joy that filled their hearts came about because they knew that their failures and disappointments were not meaningless but all within the loving providence of God’s plan. It was a cause of great joy for them.
In the same way, too, we are invited to see our problems in life in the light of the Risen Lord. This means to situate our life problems in the perspective of the passion, death and resurrection so that we can have the right perspective to our problems. By living His paschal mystery, we will gain strength in trials and live with the confidence and hope that goodness will triumph in the end. Yes, like the man at the beautiful gate at the temple, we will be able to jump for joy because success and failure, joy and sorrow will not affect us very much since our happiness is not dependent on silver and gold. Rather, our happiness comes from the certainty of our destiny which comes from faith in the name of Jesus Christ.
Just as Sts Peter and John gave the crippled man hope and freedom from his fate, so too we must give others hope. To give hope to others is to give them Jesus. Indeed, as the apostles said, “’I have neither silver nor gold, but I will give you what I have: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk!’” This means that in the final analysis, we can never take away the pains of a person who has gone through tragedy in life. No amount of counseling can take away that person’s pain, but bringing them to Jesus and giving them Jesus is a sure way of giving them hope. For in Christ, they will come to appreciate that their suffering is but a part of a greater dimension of giving birth to new life and most of all, that their lives will end in happiness with Him, even if not on this earth, it will be so in the next life. With Jesus, everything is possible and so we need not give up hope but continue to trust in Jesus.
Let me conclude with a little story: When a woman complained to a master that her life is fated, the master told her that our life is never fated. But the woman retorted, “I did not choose to be a woman.” The master replied: “to be born a woman is fate; but what we make of ourselves is destiny.”