Before the Bubble Bursts

4th Sunday of Ordinary Time (A)

Readings: Zephaniah 2:3, 3:12-13; Psalm 145 (146):6-10; 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; Matthew 5:1-12a

Picture: By on Mayer Tawfik Unsplash

Uh-oh, we’re in trouble, something’s come along and it’s burst our bubble… Does anyone recall these words from a song released in the 1990s? Performed by a group named Shampoo, the song is about some teenagers, who’ve been out partying all night, and are now making their way home. Dreading the music they will have to face from their parents… The party was great, yeah, we were really thrilled. And when we get in, we’re gonna get killed… That’s the thing about bubbles. They can be great fun, while they last. But they don’t last. They’re insubstantial, fragile. Eventually the party ends, and we all have to go home.

Also, don’t some bubbles have a dark side? Financial bubbles, for example, are built on an illusion. Something that isn’t real. And when the bubble bursts, chaos ensues. Such as when a property bubble went bust in the US in the late 2000s, and contributed to the global financial crisis of 2008. And not just financial bubbles. Isn’t there something illusory about social bubbles too? As some experts have pointed out, in apparently meritocratic societies like ours, elites tend to think that they fully deserve their own success. While those who fail, deserve their failure. They just haven’t worked hard enough. But this is an illusion. What elites tend too easily to forget are all the fortuitous circumstances and structural advantages that have facilitated their own success. And, in their forgetfulness, they end up living in a bubble that’s not just illusory, but also insular. They lose touch with, and compassion for, those less successful.

Nor are bubbles only financial or social. They can also be spiritual as well. Isn’t this what we find in our scriptures today? In the first reading, the prophet Zephaniah speaks about the approach of an event of global significance. Something he calls the day of the anger of the Lord. It’s not clear exactly what he’s referring to. What is clear is that, on this day, God’s power will be made manifest, to the detriment of all who trust only in worldly things. All who rely only on their own efforts. All who operate under the illusion that they alone are the masters of their own destiny. God is going to burst their bubble. Sweep them away. Leaving behind the humble and lowly. Those who place their trust in God. Those who keep the Law of the Lord. Those who do good, and speak what is true. To prepare for this terrible day, Zephaniah calls not just the people of Israel, but all… the humble of the earth to seek the Lord. To obey his commands. To seek integrity and humility…

Similarly, we may recall that, in the gospel we heard last Sunday, Jesus began his public ministry by calling people to prepare for an event of global significance. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. The Reign of God is making itself felt in the world. And what will it be like when the kingdom arrives in its fullness? Isn’t this what Jesus is setting out today? The poor in spirit––those who recognise their utter need for God––will possess the kingdom. The gentle of heart––those who recoil from violence of every kind––will inherit the earth. The mournful––those who weep over the injustice they see around them––will be consoled. And so on… And it’s important for us to allow ourselves to be surprised and unsettled by just how incredible all this sounds. How contrary to the way our world is usually structured, and how our lives are typically organised. For like Zephaniah in the first reading, Jesus is proclaiming the bursting of a bubble. The eventual sweeping away of everything that’s built on the insubstantial, the illusory, and the insular.

But what to do if I myself am living in a bubble? If I happen to be more rich than poor in spirit, more violent than gentle of heart, more apathetic or, worse still, more arrogant and entitled than mournful? How to repent? Perhaps I might find what St Paul says in the second reading helpful. That it was to shame the wise that God chose what is foolish by human reckoning… to shame what is strong that he chose what is weak by human reckoning… And doesn’t God do this especially through the Cross of Christ? For if this is true, then perhaps what I can do, as an aid to repentance, is to keep gazing intently upon the Cross, and allow myself to be shamed by what I see. Not just the Cross I encounter here at Mass. But also the crosses that await me out in the world, in those who suffer, those who have no bubble to insulate them from the harsh realities of life.

Which brings to mind Oxfam’s recently released annual report on global inequality. According to which, the world’s 12 richest billionaires (just the top 12) (now) have more wealth than the poorest half of humanity, or more than four billion people. Also, in a recent interview, former diplomat and law professor, Tommy Koh, saw fit to highlight the fact that, here in affluent Singapore, more than a hundred thousand seniors currently live alone in poverty. Unable to afford even a single hot meal a day. How can we accept this situation? He asks. Or, if we may rephrase the professor’s question, shouldn’t this make us feel ashamed?

Uh-oh, we’re in trouble, something’s come along and it’s burst our bubble… Sisters and brothers, from a spiritual point of view, it may actually be a blessing when certain bubbles burst. What can we do to help one another prepare for that event today?