20250901 OVERCOMING DISILLUSIONMENT IN MINISTRY
01 September 2025, Monday, 22nd Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 |
Do not grieve about those who have died in Jesus
We want you to be quite certain, brothers, about those who have died, to make sure that you do not grieve about them, like the other people who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus: God will bring them with him. We can tell you this from the Lord’s own teaching, that any of us who are left alive until the Lord’s coming will not have any advantage over those who have died. At the trumpet of God, the voice of the archangel will call out the command and the Lord himself will come down from heaven; those who have died in Christ will be the first to rise, and then those of us who are still alive will be taken up in the clouds, together with them; to meet the Lord in the air. So we shall stay with the Lord for ever. With such thoughts as these you should comfort one another.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 95(96):1,3-5,11-13 |
The Lord comes to rule the earth.
O sing a new song to the Lord,
sing to the Lord all the earth.
Tell among the nations his glory
and his wonders among all the peoples.
The Lord comes to rule the earth.
The Lord is great and worthy of praise,
to be feared above all gods;
the gods of the heathens are naught.
It was the Lord who made the heavens,
The Lord comes to rule the earth.
Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad,
let the sea and all within it thunder praise,
let the land and all it bears rejoice,
all the trees of the wood shout for joy
at the presence of the Lord for he comes,
he comes to rule the earth.
The Lord comes to rule the earth.
With justice he will rule the world,
he will judge the peoples with his truth.
The Lord comes to rule the earth.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn8:12 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light of life.
Alleluia!
Or: | Lk4:18 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 4:16-30 |
'This text is being fulfilled today, even as you listen'
Jesus came to Nazara, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day as he usually did. He stood up to read and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll he found the place where it is written:
The spirit of the Lord has been given to me,
for he has anointed me.
He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives
and to the blind new sight,
to set the downtrodden free,
to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour.
He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. And all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to speak to them, ‘This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.’ And he won the approval of all, and they were astonished by the gracious words that came from his lips. They said, ‘This is Joseph’s son, surely?’
But he replied, ‘No doubt you will quote me the saying, “Physician, heal yourself” and tell me, “We have heard all that happened in Capernaum, do the same here in your own countryside.”’
And he went on, ‘I tell you solemnly, no prophet is ever accepted in his own country.
‘There were many widows in Israel, I can assure you, in Elijah’s day, when heaven remained shut for three years and six months and a great famine raged throughout the land, but Elijah was not sent to any one of these: he was sent to a widow at Zarephath, a Sidonian town. And in the prophet Elisha’s time there were many lepers in Israel, but none of these was cured, except the Syrian, Naaman.’
When they heard this everyone in the synagogue was enraged. They sprang to their feet and hustled him out of the town; and they took him up to the brow of the hill their town was built on, intending to throw him down the cliff, but he slipped through the crowd and walked away.
OVERCOMING DISILLUSIONMENT IN MINISTRY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 Th 4:13-18; Ps 96:1,3-5,11-13; Lk 4:16-30]
Many of us work hard to improve our organization – this includes those in church ministry. However, we can easily become disheartened when we see so many weaknesses, flaws, and imperfections, both in individuals and in the systems of the communities and organizations we serve. Repeated attempts to rectify the situation often end in failure. So much so that many of us give up hope for change. We resign ourselves to the reality and remain indifferent to the call for action and transformation. Many have become jaded and sceptical of any new programs or change.
Indeed, many church leaders – clerical, religious, and lay – have expressed to me their disappointments, disillusionment, and discouragement in trying to help the Church and community improve. It feels like a losing battle. One day we try to build, and things seem to start well. The next, everything collapses. One priest described the Church like a motorcycle we try to start each morning–the engine dies as soon as it starts. We try again, but it never seems to take off. This is the situation of the Church today. We run retreats and programs one after another. People feel uplifted and excited immediately after the event, but the enthusiasm quickly fades, and they return to their complacent way of life. So, what is the use of spending so much time, energy, and resources for nothing?
Even Jesus in His time, must have felt that way too. In today’s Gospel, we read that Jesus “went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day as he usually did.” Jesus was a faithful Jew, and as such, He would pray in the synagogue like other Jews. We can be sure there were many things He was not happy with–whether it was the state of the synagogue, the attitude and conduct of religious leaders, or doctrinal and moral issues. Yet, Jesus never stopped going to the synagogue simply because He disagreed with them or because change did not happen according to His preferences.
The case in point was His visit to Nazareth. It is important to situate the context of His remarks to the congregation to understand the sudden shift from admiration to hostility in the crowd. What caused the sudden change in the hearts of His listeners? When Jesus quoted from Isaiah 61, the prophet was writing to the Israelites in exiles. They had lost their land, temple and kingdom. So in proclaiming the year of Jubilee, Jesus was saying that the hope for restoration would take place, when there would be peace and freedom. But the fact remained that the Jews were still under the occupation of the Romans. They were still captives of their enemies. So, when Jesus declared, “This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen,” the evangelist remarked, “He won the approval of them all, and they were astonished by the gracious words that came from His lips.”
But Jesus did not simply give hope to His people. He also boldly pointed out to them the cause of their misery and bondage – spiritual bondage. They lacked faith in God and were not living out the covenantal life. They were further angered by His remark that God’s love extended to the Gentiles as well. They had always believed themselves to be God’s only chosen people. The idea that God would favour the Gentiles–whom they despised and considered inferior–was unthinkable. Jesus’ praise for Gentiles incited their fury.
Indeed, the hard truth is that a prophet is seldom accepted in his own country. This was Jesus’ experience. His own people rejected Him. They saw Him merely as Joseph’s son, the carpenter. They were unreceptive. This remains true in many of our communities today. We often do not recognize the prophets among us. So, when we offer gentle, constructive criticism to improve the community, we are often not just rejected or silenced but persecuted. Consequently, many simply withdraw, resign, or leave the Church entirely.
Yet, like Jesus, we are called to take rejection and failure in a stride. When the people were enraged and tried to throw Jesus off the cliff, we read, “He slipped through the crowd and walked away.” At the end of the day, victory belongs to the Lord. Conversion is the work of the Holy Spirit. We are called to be instruments. The outcome belongs to God. What is required of us is to do our part in His plan. Like Jesus, if we are rejected, we move on to where we can still contribute. We need not force ourselves on those who are not ready. Jesus did not insist they accept Him. With compassion for their lack of faith, He simply moved on to another village where His message could be heard.
St Paul in today’s first reading invites us to have hope. The death and resurrection of our Lord is the basis of Christian hope. His words apply to us as we grieve–not only for the biologically dead but also for the spiritually dead: “We want you to be quite certain, brothers, about those who have died, to make sure that you do not grieve about them like the other people who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus: God will bring them with Him.” If God could raise Jesus from the dead, surely, He can also raise those who are spiritually dead.
The crux of our disillusionment is not simply because things are not working out – it’s that our failures hurt our ego and expose our helplessness. We are not in control. Underlying our resentment and anger is our pride. Like the Pharisees and the people Jesus’ time, we cannot bear to be reproached for our lack of faith. When others don’t take our opinions seriously or follow our lead, we feel humiliated. Pride seeks to control situations and people. Humility, however, means letting God be in control. This is what the psalmist encourages us to do when he prays: “Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad, let the sea and all within it thunder praise, let the land and all it bears rejoice, all the trees of the wood shout for joy at the presence of the Lord, for He comes, He comes to rule the earth. With justice He will rule the world, He will judge the peoples with His truth.”
Like Jesus, we need to learn to let go and trust in His wisdom and power. He was neither angry nor resentful. Rather He felt sorry for them because they were hurting themselves by rejecting His message of freedom and peace. We too must allow God to take control. We must trust Him that He knows what is best. Life may be unpredictable, but everything is under His providence. Looking back, we can often see how God has been at work in our lives. Surely, our parents must have worried when we were young if we would ever be able to take care of ourselves. But we’ve survived – not only through our own efforts, but by God’s grace. By letting go, we can find peace and joy, even in failure. Our task is simply to do what we are called to do. Our responsibility is to cooperate with God’s grace. Success is not our burden to bear–it is the Lord’s work. As long as we have done our part and remained faithful to our responsibilities, we can sleep in peace and be free from anxiety. Our conscience is clear if we know we have done our best. The rest we entrust to God. He will see through the plans He has inspired in us. Detachment–even from our own plans–is a sign of humility and trust in God.
Today, we are called to persevere like the Lord. Jesus never gave up and continued to proclaim the Gospel even when rejected – even to the point of death. We remember the words of St Paul to the young Bishop Timothy, “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching.” (2 Tim 4:1-2) St Paul gave himself as an example of one who walked the talk when he shared, “As for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry. For I am already on the point of being sacrificed, the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim 4:5-7)
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
