[stephenkhoo]

BAD GUYS WIN AND GOOD GUYS LOSE!
SCRIPTURE READINGS: MAL 3:13-20; LK 11:5-13
http://www.universalis.com/20131010/mass.htm

This world seems rather unfair in many and varied ways. Those of us who try to do good always seem to be the losers. This is particularly felt by Christians in the world. In trying to live out the gospel values, we allow those who live dishonest and unscrupulous lives to take advantage of us. In the parable of the dishonest steward, Jesus concluded, “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.” (Lk 16:8) But if we think such disadvantages only happen in the world, then you would be surprised that even within the Church, many of the worldly pursuits come to play as well. Man’s desire for power, authority, status, recognition and domination also exist within the Church. Church leaders and members too are jealous of each other’s success. Sometimes we fear that others might take over our position, and so there is power-play, manipulation, insincerity, competition, backbiting and parochialism. It is thus not surprising that people become disillusioned with not just the Church but with God as well, when they encounter such ugly attitudes and un-Christian behavior within the Church.

When doing good does not seem to benefit us, we cannot but feel that we have been short-changed. Our natural reaction is to give up. Doing good and living a righteous life is already daunting enough, but when we feel that all our sacrifices and sufferings are in vain, not only do we want to stop doing the right and Christian thing, we might even be tempted to do what the rest of the world does in order to get to the top, that is, by hook or by crook.

This was what the people during the time of the Prophet Malachi were going through. Malachi, the post-exilic prophet, was helping the people to rebuild the city after the second Temple was completed. But faced with hardships, they became lethargic, discouraged and complacent. In trying to rebuild their nation, they experienced very difficult times; drought, famine and poor crops. Instead of turning to God, they turned away from Him. The priests offered low quality food at the altar and there was much intermarriage. Indeed, this was what they said, “’It is useless to serve God; what is the good of keeping his commands or of walking mournfully before the Lord of hosts? Now we have reached the point when we call the arrogant blessed; yes, they prosper, these evildoers; they try God’s patience and yet go free.’ This is what those who fear the Lord used to say to one another.”

If we, too, are calculating our ‘spiritual investment’ in this manner, we are misguided. We would be no better than the unspiritual people who measure everything in terms of self-benefit, personal, material or otherwise. We, too, would have degraded ourselves and sunk low morally. Malachi reminds us not to be short-sighted. We must think of the end and not just the beginning. He warns us of the Day of the Lord that would come eventually. He said, “The day that is coming is going to burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, leaving them neither root nor stalk. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will shine out with healing in its rays.” Yes, there will be judgment at the end. We must not think that this life is going to last forever. On the contrary, life is short but eternity is eternal! So let us in the face of giving up, consider the kind of end that we will arrive at.

Truly, it is the end that counts, not the beginning. In a Peanuts series, we have Lucy who was holding a radio close to her ears, enjoying the music. She turned to Charlie Brown and said to him, “It is important for me to begin the day well by listening to much good.” Charlie replied, “I am not too worried how my day begins. It is how it ends that worries me!” That is precisely what the Prophet is warning us. If we do not repent and amend our ways, then trouble is ahead of us, or rather disaster! The psalmist warns us accordingly, “Not so the wicked, not so; they are like chaff which the wind drives away. For the Lord watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes.”

So let us take a long term view when we assess the value of what we are doing. We must take to heart what the Lord is promising us. “On the day which I am preparing, says the Lord of hosts, they are going to be my own special possession. I will make allowances for them as a man makes allowances for the son who obeys him. Then once again you will see the difference between an upright man and a wicked one, between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve him.” We need to pray for the gift of spiritual wisdom and sight to see beyond the immediate concerns we have. As St Paul tells us, “Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight.” (2 Cor 5:6-7)

In the meantime, we must trust in the justice of God even if we cannot see it happening now. The psalmist assures us: “Blessed are they who hope in the Lord. He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade. Whatever he does, prospers.” God will look after us and He will give us the strength to endure to the end. This is also what Jesus in the gospel assures us when He said, “What father among you would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or hand him a snake instead of a fish? Or hand him a scorpion if he asked for an egg? If you then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” In giving us the Holy Spirit, we will be able to find the strength and the grace to endure and persevere in doing good. The Holy Spirit is precisely given to us for the sake of perseverance. Indeed, the Holy Spirit was given to Jesus, not so much for the success of His ministry but in view of His failure. Hence, it was on the cross that Jesus surrendered the Holy Spirit to the Father, in union with the will of His Father to finish His life on earth in apparent failure on the cross. In the letter to the Hebrews we read, “during the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.” (Heb 5:7)

Yes, we must seek to imitate the persistence and perseverance of the man who needed bread in the middle of the night to give to his friend who came to visit him. To wake a person up in the middle of the night is not only rude, but he was so unrelenting that his neigbour that, as Jesus said, even if he does not “give it him for friendship’s sake, persistence will be enough to make him get up and give his friend all he wants.” Perseverance is a gift of the Holy Spirit. It is already a foretaste of His presence working in us. This is implied in St Paul’s letter to the Romans when he wrote, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” (Rom 5:1-5)

Indeed, persistence and perseverance at the end of the day will polish us from rough stones to diamonds. Through the difficulties we face each day, with our spouse, children, colleagues, superiors and friends, we learn to purify ourselves in love. We will make some mistakes, but through such follies, we learn wisdom and truth. Indeed, when we persevere, we will come out at the end of the day much stronger, more realistic, humble and less judgmental of others. No wonder, Jesus asked us to persevere in prayer, for only when we keep asking, knocking and searching, will we come to realize that perhaps we have mistaken stone for bread, snake for fish and scorpion for egg.

To ask, search and knock entails not just petitionary prayer but meditative, discursive and contemplative prayer. Once again, we turn to the psalmist for assurance when he said, “Blessed the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked, nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, but delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on his law day and night.” Yes, we must be more soul-searching in prayer by searching for God’s will in scriptures. We can be certain and trust that he who hopes in the Lord, as the psalmist declares, will be “like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade, whatever he does, prospers.”