Perfomance-based Rewards

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
31 August 2008


We are God’s people, the sheep of his flock: come, let us worship him, alleluia.

First reading : Jeremiah 20:7 - 9
You have seduced me, the Lord, and I have let myself be seduced;you have overpowered me: you were the stronger.I am a daily laughing-stock,everybody’s butt.Each time I speak the word, I have to howland proclaim: ‘Violence and ruin!’The word of the Lord has meant for meinsult, derision, all day long.I used to say, ‘I will not think about him, I will not speak in his name any more.’Then there seemed to be a fire burning in my heart,imprisoned in my bones. The effort to restrain it wearied me,I could not bear it.

Psalm or canticle: Psalm 62

Second reading: Romans 12:1 - 2
Think of God’s mercy, my brothers, and worship him, I beg you, in a way that is worthy of thinking beings, by offering your living bodies as a holy sacrifice, truly pleasing to God. Do not model yourselves on the behaviour of the world around you, but let your behaviour change, modelled by your new mind. This is the only way to discover the will of God and know what is good, what it is that God wants, what is the perfect thing to do.

Gospel: Matthew 16:21 - 27
From that time Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day. Then, taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him. ‘Heaven preserve you, Lord;’ he said ‘this must not happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.’ Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it. What, then, will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins his life? Or what has a man to offer in exchange for his life? ‘For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and, when he does, he will reward each one according to his behaviour.’

Reflection
By Annabelle Payod-Balla

In our company, we practice meritocracy where everyone gets rewarded based on their job performance. Every year, performance is being measured and the better the performance, the better the salary increase. Non performers would get zero increase.

Jesus tells us in this Sunday’s Gospel that the Son of Man will come in the Glory of His Father with the holy angels, and He will reward each one according to his deeds. What a very inspiring promise from the Lord! There are rewards waiting for all of us and I am sure in an unlimited supply! I believe some of these rewards are given everyday of our life with the greatest of them all given at end of our journey, eternal life. We only have to take up our cross, follow Jesus with gladness in our hearts and trust Him every step of the way. Some of us may say this is easier said than done. And yes, that can be true. For we have to work hard to earn our rewards. And I bet you’ll agree with me that rewards earned from hard work give more satisfaction and a feeling of pure joy knowing that we truly deserve them.

The Second Reading is giving us advise on how we can follow Jesus. We should not allow ourselves to be shaped by the world we live, but rather be transformed through the renewal of our mind. That we should discern the will of God: what is good, what is pleasing, what is perfect. I am glad we have the Holy Spirit to guide us on this and that He is just a whisper away.

Come, let us follow Jesus and be pleasing to God so He will give us merits out of the goodness of His heart.







Father, only You can give us rewards that bring us to the highest level of our being. Our soul thirst for Your gifts. Please keep us strong and happy as we labor for You and Your kingdom. Amen.

Aim not for zero rewards. As God’s children, we deserve more than that!