20251116 BEARING WITNESS TODAY FOR TOMORROW
16 November 2025, Sunday, 33rd Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Malachi 3:19-20 |
For you the sun of righteousness will shine out
The day is coming now, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and the evil-doers will be like stubble. The day that is coming is going to burn them up, says the Lord of Hosts, leaving them neither root nor stalk. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will shine out with healing in its rays.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 97(98):5-9 |
The Lord comes to rule the peoples with fairness.
Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp
with the sound of music.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
acclaim the King, the Lord.
The Lord comes to rule the peoples with fairness.
Let the sea and all within it, thunder;
the world, and all its peoples.
Let the rivers clap their hands
and the hills ring out their joy
at the presence of the Lord.
The Lord comes to rule the peoples with fairness.
For the Lord comes,
he comes to rule the earth.
He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with fairness.
The Lord comes to rule the peoples with fairness.
Second reading |
2 Thessalonians 3:7-12 |
Do not let anyone have food if he refuses to work
You know how you are supposed to imitate us: now we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we ever have our meals at anyone’s table without paying for them; no, we worked night and day, slaving and straining, so as not to be a burden on any of you. This was not because we had no right to be, but in order to make ourselves an example for you to follow.
We gave you a rule when we were with you: do not let anyone have any food if he refuses to do any work. Now we hear that there are some of you who are living in idleness, doing no work themselves but interfering with everyone else’s. In the Lord Jesus Christ, we order and call on people of this kind to go on quietly working and earning the food that they eat.
Gospel Acclamation | Lk21:36 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake, praying at all times
for the strength to stand with confidence
before the Son of Man.
Alleluia!
Or: | Lk21:28 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stand erect, hold your heads high,
because your liberation is near at hand.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 21:5-19 |
The destruction of the Temple foretold
When some were talking about the Temple, remarking how it was adorned with fine stonework and votive offerings, Jesus said, ‘All these things you are staring at now – the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.’ And they put to him this question: ‘Master,’ they said ‘when will this happen, then, and what sign will there be that this is about to take place?’
‘Take care not to be deceived,’ he said ‘because many will come using my name and saying, “I am he” and, “The time is near at hand.” Refuse to join them. And when you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened, for this is something that must happen but the end is not so soon.’ Then he said to them, ‘Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes and plagues and famines here and there; there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.
‘But before all this happens, men will seize you and persecute you; they will hand you over to the synagogues and to imprisonment, and bring you before kings and governors because of my name – and that will be your opportunity to bear witness. Keep this carefully in mind: you are not to prepare your defence, because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relations and friends; and some of you will be put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name, but not a hair of your head will be lost. Your endurance will win you your lives.’
BEARING WITNESS TODAY FOR TOMORROW
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [MALACHI 3:19-20; PS 98:5-9; 2 TH 3:7-12; LK 21:5-19]
In our days, it is quite difficult to get people excited or anxious about the Day of the Lord. This is perhaps because we are affluent and our lifespan is longer. We do not feel the miseries experienced by those in war-torn or poverty-stricken countries, whose life on earth is one long misery. For us, life is relatively comfortable, and so we hardly think of the life to come. We want to prolong our life on earth for as long as possible. We are more occupied with living this life than thinking about the next, which still feels quite distant. In any case, most of us are living busy lives on this earth, and so our thoughts are not on the nearness of death or life after death.
This is very unlike the people during the time of the Prophet Malachi or the early Christians in Thessalonica. The Prophet Malachi, in the first reading, warned the people in very frightening terms: “The day is coming now, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and the evil-doers will be like stubble. The day that is coming is going to burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, leaving them neither root nor stalk. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will shine out with healing in its rays.” Although this seems to be a negative message for the evildoers, in truth, it was a message of hope for the faithful Israelites. It promised that a future light would shine in the midst of Israel’s darkness as they suffered injustices, with the wicked flourishing while the faithful floundered. The prophet assured the people that God would be victorious and redeem them from their woes.
So the prophet responded to the question of the suffering of the faithful by assuring them that the day of judgment was coming. But His coming would be like a furnace, because He would purify and cleanse; the evil and the arrogant would burn like straw. The proud, the self-sufficient, and those who lived independently of God — having little to do with Him would be humbled. This is precisely God’s warning for all of us who live our lives without reference to Him. This is our problem as well: many of us think we still have a long time to return to God. We think we can delay serving Him or postpone repentance. We imagine that we do not need God in our lives now, but the time may come without warning.
In contrast, the Thessalonians, sensing the nearness of God’s kingdom, did not work fervently for it. Instead, they went to the extreme opposite and lost interest in this life. They stopped working under the pretext that since the Kingdom of God was coming soon, there was no point in working any longer, only in waiting for His return. Therefore, they were reprimanded by Paul: “Now we hear that there are some of you who are living in idleness, doing no work themselves but interfering with everyone else’s. In the Lord Jesus Christ, we order and call on people of this kind to go on quietly working and earning the food that they eat.”
What does this mean for us as believers today? On one hand, we must not live as if we are going to remain on this earth forever. The Day of the Lord will come sooner or later, if not before, then at the end of our earthly sojourn. We should be longing for that day because it is the day of redemption and fulfilment. It should not be viewed negatively as a day of punishment, unless we are living in sin. Rather, the Day of the Lord is a day of salvation. Unfortunately, the world is not looking forward to it, not even believers, because we have lost the joy of encountering the Lord. We are more attracted to the world than to God. We are like the people in the time of the Prophet Malachi, who were more concerned with themselves than with God. They were nominal believers practising their faith half-heartedly and, like many of us, gave only leftover time to God, if any. God certainly was not a priority in their lives, and this is true for many of us today.
Perhaps our faith and relationship with Christ are not as intense as in the early Church. It is therefore our duty to prepare our people to welcome the Lord, especially those who are indifferent to God and His coming. The first thing we need to do is to remind them not to depend excessively on their wealth, status, and health, as if these are permanently theirs. When we grow old, we are reduced to a second childhood, dependent on others for everything. We begin to lose our friends, our capacity to eat and enjoy good food, and our ability to travel. Indeed, we cannot bring anything to the next life when we die. For this reason, Jesus told the Jews, who took great pride in their temple, that it would one day be destroyed. They were more shocked and scandalised that the Temple, with all its “fine stonework and votive offerings,” would be destroyed than they were concerned about their own conversion. With anxiety, they asked, “Master, when will this happen, then, and what sign will there be that this is about to take place?”
The second thing we need to do is to help people recognise God’s action and His signs in the world today. However, it is not the signs they should seek, but God’s kingdom. Of course, the signs pointing to God’s ultimate judgment — wars, famines, diseases, and earthquakes are present. But these catastrophes would only come upon those who reject His saving message and His call to conversion of heart. Unless we submit ourselves to the Lordship of Christ, we will also suffer the consequences of being destroyed by our selfishness. The real enemy of love and truth is Satan, who uses fear and hatred to make us feel threatened by our perceived enemies. But if we accept God’s word in Christ, hostility, anger, revenge, and intolerance can be overcome by love.
Thirdly, we must encourage our people to persevere in their struggle to be faithful to the Gospel. When sufferings and trials come, we should not succumb to the enemy. On the contrary, the Lord said, “But before all this happens, men will seize you and persecute you; they will hand you over to the synagogues and to imprisonment, and bring you before kings and governors because of my name, and that will be your opportunity to bear witness.” We should use these moments to witness to Christ by our lives, not only by our words. Instead of idling away, taking our faith for granted, or falling away because of temptations and trials, we should work all the harder — just as St Paul asked of us to live the Kingdom life of love, truth, and service wherever we are. St Paul wrote, “You know how you are supposed to imitate us: we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we ever eat anyone’s food without paying for it; no, we worked night and day, slaving and straining, so as not to be a burden on any of you. This was not because we had no right to be, but in order to make ourselves an example for you to follow.”
Fourthly, we must hold on to the assurance that God is with us and that we are not alone. As the Lord assured us: “Keep this carefully in mind: you are not to prepare your defence, because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict.” The Lord will give us strength and courage when challenges come. As Moses told his people, “Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still” (Ex 14:13-14; Dt 1:30). St Paul says, “With the strength of His power and the armour of God, we will be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Eph 6:10ff).
Indeed, we take consolation in the Lord’s assurance that our endurance to the end will win us our lives even if we are betrayed by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and even if some of us are put to death. We may be hated by all on account of His name, but not a hair on our head will be lost. Endurance is more than human effort and perseverance; it is the gift of the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to remain strong under trials, temptations, and persecutions. When we endure with hope, faith, and love, we overcome every obstacle and see God’s salvation in our lives, inheriting eternal life and happiness. Let us therefore live fully as Christians according to the gospel, so that we may already have a foretaste of the life to come.
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.
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