28th Sunday in Ordinary Time [A]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
October 15, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Matthew 22:1-14<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Phil 4:12-14, 19-20<\/p>\n\n\n\n
St. Paul ended his letter to the Philippians by sharing one of his greatest secrets, \u201cI have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content \u2026I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want. (Phil 4:12).\u201d St. Paul is giving away the secret of facing all situations in his life, which leads him to happiness. Then, what is his secret of happiness?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Often, we believe that happiness means that we get what we want. We are happy when we earn a lot of money or material possessions. We would be thrilled if we got the latest smartphone or could buy a brand-new car. We are ecstatic when we succeed in our work, business, or relationship. Those actively engaging in the Church are pleased when we know our ministries and apostolates bear fruits. Yet, this is different from what St. Paul means by happiness. The word he used is \u2018\u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u03ac\u03c1\u03ba\u03b7\u03c2\u2019 (autarkes), and this word means \u2018contented, sufficient.\u2019 Joy is not possessing all we desire but being contented with what we have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moreover, the apostle wrote, \u201cI know how to be abased, and I know how to abound (Phil 4:12).\u201d He reminded us that not only do we have to know how to endure and persevere in times of hardships and trials, but also to navigate our ways in time of abundances. On previous Sundays, I have written about St. Paul\u2019s advice in times of suffering, but St. Paul also had advice for us living in abundance. Certainly, there is nothing wrong with this enjoyment of earthly things and success, but these things also may lead us to greed and pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Greed. Since these earthly possessions provide us comfort and pleasure, they may trap us into inordinate attachment toward these temporary things. We become addicted to the fun they induce and want more and more of it. Then, we turn to be enslaved as we justify all means to achieve these worldly things. We cheat, we steal, and even we manipulate others. St. Paul himself warns us, \u201cThe love of money is the root of evil (1 Tim 6:10).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pride. Abundance may lead to another very dangerous vice, that is pride. As we gain many things through hard work, we begin to think we are solely responsible for these achievements. We think highly of ourselves and look down on others. We forget that what we have are God\u2019s blessings and rely solely on our strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So what is St. Paul\u2019s secret to true happiness? He wrote, \u201cI can do all things in Him who strengthens me. [Phil 4:13]\u201d Yes, the Lord strengthens us to persevere in the time of trials, but we must be \u201cin Christ\u201d also in the time of abundance. What does it mean? Firstly, to be in Christ in a time of abundance means we put humility to recognize that our success and possessions are primarily God\u2019s blessings. This is a remedy against pride. Secondly, to be in Christ in a time of abundance means always considering whether our actions will please Jesus. Will stealing money be pleasing to Jesus? Will excessive spending be pleasing to Jesus? This is a remedy against greed. In short, if we want to be happy, live in Christ, live a holy life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We can do all things, both in times of suffering and abundance, in Him who strengthens us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rome<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time [A]
\nOctober 15, 2023
\nMatthew 22:1-14
\nPhil 4:12-14, 19-20<\/p>\n
St. Paul ended his letter to the Philippians by sharing one of his greatest secrets, \u201cI have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content \u2026I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want. (Phil 4:12).\u201d St. Paul is giving away the secret of facing all situations in his life, which leads him to happiness. Then, what is his secret of happiness?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[57,58,67],"class_list":["post-11966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-renungan","tag-english","tag-sunday-reflection","tag-valentinus-bayuhadi-ruseno"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11966"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11966\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11967,"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11966\/revisions\/11967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}