7 January, Tuesday – Another Day In Paradise

Tuesday after Epiphany Sunday

1 Jn 4:7-10
Mk 6:34-44

Anyone who fails to love can never have known God, because God is love.

As I read through today’s mass readings, the first reading caught my attention because it was about Love. Yet again, Love is featuring in one of my allocated reflections. I think maybe it might just be some kind of central theme in our faith. A few evenings ago, I heard Phil Collins’ Another Day In Paradise and I remembered my English Literature teacher playing this song for us in class and having us analyse the lyrics. As I thought about the line “it’s just another day for you and me in paradise”, it occurred to me that it could have 2 meanings. One, a sarcastic reference to a loveless world of sadness and depression as paradise. Two, it may be paradise for the privileged ones (you and me), but it is certainly not paradise for others. The next evening, during our family prayer, we read the verse from Luke 23:42-43, where Jesus promised the good thief that he would be with him in paradise. The third meaning of that line struck me then — it was always about getting to paradise through Love.

No Love, No Paradise

God is Love, as scripture tells us. Without God, there is no Love; and those who do not know God will not know his Love. There are people who find it impossible to believe in a God of Love because they have never known love and have never been shown love their whole lives. This is the harsh reality about the world we live in. True Love looks to be in short supply, while every other thing masquerading as Love abounds — desire, selfishness, addiction, control.  

True love should be unconditional. True love seeks the good of the other. True love compels you to make sacrifices for another. True love does not take the easy way out and does not sweep wrongdoing under the rug for the sake of maintaining peace. True love is not controlling and is not uncontrolled. Love does not brag or show off — things done without love are merely calls for attention and personal glory.

As disordered love runs rampant, people suffer. Love for money and other riches not only leads one down a dangerous path led by vice, it can also harm many other people along the way. Addiction, when one loves a thing way too much to be good for them, can maim and kill. Selfishness dressed up as love can leave one emptied out inside, as there is no True Love entering the heart.  

If we look around and see how fraught with despair the modern world is, we have to recognise that one cause of dystopia is a severe lack of Love. With such a lack of Love, how is anyone able to still see the face of God?

Paradise on Earth

For the ones blessed enough to enjoy life on earth, how aware are we of the ones who are not enjoying it? The older I get, the more I come to know the various ways other people are suffering, and some of the stories can be horrifying — abject poverty, disease, abuse, war. And sometimes things, while not exceedingly terrible, happen right at our doorstep. How do we respond with Love in such situations?  

It is the norm for us to simply go about our business everyday without much thought or concern for anyone or anything else. After all, we are not busybodies. But sometimes, someone else encounters a small annoyance. They’ve lost their way, or they dropped a bag of groceries, or they need help getting a taxi, or they’ve fallen and hurt themselves. Do we just walk by and speed up and act busy? Or do we take some time out to show them the way or walk them to their destination, to help pick up their belongings, to hail a Grab for them, to help wash and dress a minor wound or call an ambulance?  

If we know of someone who is in a bit of trouble — maybe they have lost their job and are in some financial difficulty, perhaps they have been taken ill, perhaps there has been a bereavement in the family. How do we respond with Love? We could ignore them and not be nosy about their situations. Or we could offer our help, drop off some food, offer to watch a child, try to ease their burden a little.  

For the major things that happen at home and around the world, it is much harder to help. Sometimes, the only thing we can do is to make donations to relief efforts and pray for an end to the suffering. 

Everyone wants to enjoy a little paradise here on earth. If we have the bandwidth to brighten up someone’s day or ease someone’s burden, why not? To make it more accessible, we can start with those near and dear to us. Start with loving ourselves as God loves us, then love our family and friends.

You will be with me in Paradise

It was always about loving our neighbour. If God is Love, he has shown us how to love. Jesus is the example of loving completely and unconditionally. We are all capable of this sort of love if we choose to do so. And the reason why we should want to do so is to ensure that we make it to paradise.  

How often and how seriously do we contemplate our own deaths? Specifically, whether or not we are ready to meet or maker? Do we think we will have time to get our spiritual affairs in order before we go? What happens if death comes without warning? Will we be prepared and ready?  

I do not mean to alarm anyone, but I am, after all, writing this during Advent, which is a season of preparation for the second coming of Christ. Being prepared should be at the top of everyone’s minds at all times. The best way to get ready, is to start to love. Make it a point to pick the loving option and not the knee-jerk option. Pick the option that builds the other person up instead of tearing them down. Choose true, unselfish love.  

Know God and know his Love. Show his Love to others so that they may know God too.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Felicia Zou)

Prayer: Dear Lord, we pray that we can let your Love shine through us so that it touches everyone.  We pray that more people will know your Love.

Thanksgiving: Dear Lord, we thank You for Your unending love and patience for us.