Readings: 2 Corinthians 4: 7-15; Psalm 125 (126): 1-6; Matthew 20: 20-28
Picture: By Raj Rana on Unsplash
My dear friends, what’s the difference between occupying space and making space? Right now, each of us is occupying physical space, here in this church. But what does it feel like to make space?… As an example, if you don’t mind, perhaps we can do a very simple exercise together. When I say go, we’ll gently take a deep breath, hold it for two seconds, and then slowly breathe out. That’s it. Okay? Ready? Go… What just happened? By tightening some muscles around our ribs, we expanded our chest. We made space. As a result, air flowed through our nostrils and into our lungs, filling our blood with oxygen, and our bodies with life. In fact, if we were to stop breathing, we’d all die. Which shows us how important it is to make space. And to do it regularly. It’s nothing less than a matter of life and death.
This contrast between occupying and making space is also what we find in our scriptures today. What is the mother of James and John asking Jesus to do in the gospel? Promise that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your kingdom. Isn’t she doing a very Singaporean thing? She’s choping the best seats for her sons. I don’t know if tissue-paper was already invented back then. But if it was, we can imagine her handing two packets to Jesus as she made her request. And why are the other apostles so angry? Isn’t it because they are also eyeing those same positions? But we shouldn’t be too quick to point fingers or to laugh at them. Aren’t we often like them too?
And notice how the Lord responds. He tells the apostles that their attitude is similar to that of the pagans, whose rulers like to throw their weight around. But Jesus says we Christians must be different. Instead of choping seats, our concern should be serving people. Instead of occupying space for ourselves, we need to make space for others. For this is what Christ does for us. The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Through his Cross and Resurrection, Jesus makes space for us in God’s kingdom. And by asking us to imitate him, the Lord is not placing a heavy burden on our shoulders. By teaching us to make space for God, he’s helping us to enjoy the fullness of life. Like breathing, it’s a matter of life and death.
The first reading shows us what this can look like in practice. Although they face many hardships, St Paul and his friends do not despair. Why? We are only the earthenware jars that hold this treasure. They are able to remain hopeful, amid their many trials, because their focus is not on their own success or failure, but on the Lord. Their concern is not to occupy but to make space. That’s what jars do. They make space for the Lord, and for others. As a result, they are able to see their sufferings as a participation in the sacrifice of Christ. The same sacrifice we are celebrating here at Mass. The sacrifice that brings life to all. So death is at work in us, but life in you… Again, like breathing, it’s a matter of life and death.
Which brings us to the theme for this ninth and final day of our novena to St Anne. Why is wasting time with family not wasted time. Isn’t it because wasting time is a way of making space, not just for family, but also for God? Some of us may remember that, back in 2016, Pope Francis issued a document entitled Amoris Laetitia (AL), or The Joy of Love. And in this document, the Pope reminds us that God doesn’t just live in individual persons, but also in families. According to the Pope, (t)he Lord’s presence dwells in real and concrete families, with all their daily troubles and struggles, joys and hopes (AL 315). It’s very important, of course, that every Catholic family should try to make time to pray and celebrate the Eucharist together regularly (AL, 318). But, beyond that, the Pope tells us that God is present not only when the family prays, but also in the thousands of small but real gestures family members make to express their love for one another (AL, 315). It doesn’t have to be in front of an altar, or in a church. It can also happen at the dining table or in the living room, at a restaurant or in the family car. Wherever we serve or make space for one another, we are serving and making space for God. Married couples shape with different daily gestures a “God-enlightened space in which to experience the hidden presence of the risen Lord” (AL, 317).
And there are many different ways to do this, limited only by our own creativity and generosity, as well as the receptivity of the other. What’s important is that we be present to others, by paying attention to them. As the Pope tells us, (w)e can be fully present to others only by giving fully of ourselves and forgetting all else. Our loved ones merit our complete attention. Jesus is our model in this, for whenever people approached to speak with him, he would meet their gaze, directly and lovingly (cf. Mk 10:21) (AL, 323). But this is not easy for us, since we live in a time of continual distraction. Don’t many of us find it hard even to tear our eyes away from our phones long enough for us to cross a busy street?
Which is why we can’t really make space for one another in the family, unless each of us is also regularly making space in our own hearts for God. And when we do this, when we each make efforts to deepen our relationship with God, it brings our families many spiritual benefits. According to the Pope, (t)he space which each of the spouses makes exclusively for their personal relationship with God not only helps heal the hurts of life in common, but also enables the spouses to find in the love of God the deepest source of meaning in their own lives (AL, 320). For (i)f a family is centred on Christ, he will unify and illumine its entire life. Moments of pain and difficulty will be experienced in union with the Lord’s cross, and his closeness will make it possible to surmount them (AL, 317). In other words, like breathing, it’s a matter of life and death.
My dear friends, if you like, perhaps we can end our reflection this evening by repeating that exercise we did at the start. Except that, this time, when we breathe in, let’s humbly ask God to help us to truly make space for one another and for God. And when we exhale, let’s ask God to remove from us everything that might hinder our efforts. Okay? Ready? Go…
Sisters and brothers, through his Dying and Rising, Jesus has already made a life-giving space for us in God’s kingdom. What shall we do to make space for him, by wasting time with our families more regularly, in the days ahead?
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