20140713
ACCEPT THE WORD OF GOD
AS IT REALLY IS
Reading 1, Isaiah 55:10-11
10 For, as the rain and the snow come down from the sky
and do not return before having watered the earth, fertilising it and making it
germinate to provide seed for the sower and food to eat,
11 so it is with the word that goes from my mouth: it will not return
to me unfulfilled or before having carried out my good pleasure
and having achieved what it was sent to do.
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 65:10, 11, 12-13, 14
10 you water its furrows abundantly, level its ridges,
soften it with showers and bless its shoots.
11 You crown the year with your generosity, richness seeps
from your tracks,
13 the meadows are covered with flocks, the valleys
clothed with wheat; they shout and sing for joy.
Gospel, Matthew 13:1-23
2 but such large crowds gathered round him that he got
into a boat and sat there. The people all stood on the shore,
3 and he told them many things in parables. He said,
'Listen, a sower went out to sow.
4 As he sowed, some seeds fell on the edge of the path,
and the birds came and ate them up.
5 Others fell on patches of rock where they found little
soil and sprang up at once, because there was no depth of earth;
6 but as soon as the sun came up they were scorched and,
not having any roots, they withered away.
7 Others fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and
choked them.
8 Others fell on rich soil and produced their crop, some a
hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
9 Anyone who has ears should listen!'
10 Then the disciples went up to him and asked, 'Why do
you talk to them in parables?'
11 In answer, he said, 'Because to you is granted to
understand the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven, but to them it is not
granted.
12 Anyone who has will be given
more and will have more
than enough; but anyone who has not will be deprived
even of what he has.
13 The reason I talk to
them in parables is that
they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding.
14 So in their case what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah is being fulfilled: Listen and listen,
but never understand! Look and look, but never perceive!
15 This people's heart has grown coarse, their ears
dulled, they have shut their eyes tight to avoid using their eyes to see, their
ears to hear, their heart to understand, changing their ways and being healed
by me.
16 'But blessed are your eyes because they see, your ears
because they hear!
17 In truth I tell
you, many prophets and upright people longed to see what you see, and never saw
it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.
18 'So pay attention to the parable of the sower.
19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom without
understanding, the Evil One comes
and carries off what was sown in his heart: this is the seed sown on the edge
of the path.
20 The seed sown on patches of rock is someone who hears
the word and welcomes it at once with joy.
21 But such a person has no
root deep down and does not last; should some trial come, or some persecution on
account of the word, at once he falls away.
22 The seed sown in thorns is someone who hears the word,
but the worry of the world and the lure of riches choke the word and so it
produces nothing.
23 And the seed sown in rich soil is someone who hears the
word and understands it; this is the one who yields a harvest and produces now
a hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty.'
Reading 2, Romans 8:18-23
18 In my estimation, all that we suffer in the present time is nothing
in comparison with the glory which is
destined to be disclosed for us,
20 It was not for its own purposes that creation had
frustration imposed on it, but for the purposes of him who imposed it-
21 with the intention that
the whole creation itself
might be freed from its slavery to corruption and brought into the same
glorious freedom as the children of God.
22 We are well aware that the whole creation, until this
time, has been groaning in labour pains.
23 And not only that: we too, who have the first-fruits of
the Spirit, even we are groaning inside ourselves, waiting with eagerness for
our bodies to be set free.
ACCEPT
THE WORD OF GOD AS IT REALLY IS
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: ISA 55:10-11; ROM 8:18-23; MT 13:1-23
http://www.universalis.com/20140713/mass.htm
We live in a world of
relativism. The
internet abounds with many different opinions and every issue of life, be it
religion, morality, ethics, politics, economics or entertainment. Who
then has the truth? If we cannot be too sure what is the truth, how can
we ever live our lives with conviction and find unity without common
values? What is the basis of unity in society today? What is it built
on? Is it on false or half-truths and superficial compromises? If
that were the case, then unity is very fragile.
Furthermore, if love is
based on personal preferences and an individualistic approach to life, how can
it be considered love when true love is focused on the other and the
greater good of the community and the future of humanity? How can
it be called love when we do not care about the generations to come? The
needs and desires of the self must give way to the needs of others. In
other words, when love is not based on truth, love is false. It is
selfishness masked as love. All true love must be fruitful, life-giving,
self-emptying and other-centered. Hence, love must be rooted in
truth. In a world of relativism, rooted in individualism and the self
above the community’s needs, we can never find lasting peace in society.
Indeed, as St Paul says, all
creation is groaning. “The whole creation is eagerly waiting for God
to reveal his sons. It was not for any fault on the part of creation that it
was made unable to attain its purpose, it was made so by God.” Because we
are created in the image and likeness of God, we are constituted with intellect
and will. The intellect seeks for truth and the will orientates itself to
the good which is love for the truth. This explains why every human
being seeks love and meaning. To seek for meaning is to seek for truth.
What is this truth? Is it love? We all want love to be true and not a
pretense. We do not want to live for the wrong reasons. We want to
live for a meaning that is beyond us. This meaning is found when we love
beyond ourselves. Until we attain the fullness of truth and love, we
continue to groan on this earth, waiting for liberation “of being freed, like
us, from its slavery to decadence, to enjoy the same freedom and glory as the
children of God.”
Thus, the crucial
question is, where is truth to be found? Is truth found and decided
by the individual as if truth is merely a subjective matter? Or is truth
an objective matter that transcends individual preferences? The teaching
of the church is clear. Truth and love is only found in God. Only
the absolute can be truth. God, who is the absolute, is Truth.
Christ is the Word of God made flesh. He is in His very self, truth and love
incarnated. Jesus, who is the revelation of God, is also the
revealed. He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. The gospel
which is Jesus Christ is the entirety of the Good News. This gospel is
transmitted in words and deeds. This gospel is transmitted through Sacred
Scripture, the written Word of God and Sacred Tradition, the oral transmission
of the Good News through worship, liturgy, and doctrines and her way of life
and customs, all that transmits the living Gospel, the person of Jesus Christ.
To ensure that the Word
of God is transmitted accurately, the magisterium, that is, the teaching
authority of the church
is empowered by Christ to interpret the Word of God authoritatively.
Christ chose His successors, the apostles, and gave them the key to the
kingdom of God. Jesus told His disciples, “… the mysteries of the kingdom
of heaven are revealed to you, but they are not revealed to them.” Jesus
further added, “But happy are your eyes because they see, your ears because
they hear!” Thus, in order to ensure that the Word of God is interpreted
corrected and according to how Christians, that is the Church, the Body of
Christ, understands it, this authoritative interpretation is given to the
magisterium, the body of bishops teaching in union with the Holy Father.
In doing so, the
magisterium is not above the Word of God but only as its servant to ensure a
correct interpretation of the text. Only the magisterium can therefore define the truth of
revelation as given in scripture and tradition. So together with
the scripture, the written word of God and sacred tradition, the living word of
God guided by the magisterium, the Church, guides the People of God in the
truth. For this reason, St Paul reminds us that the church is the pillar
and bulwark of truth. If we are seeking the truth today, St Paul
says we must take the Word of God as it really is and not man’s words.
Only then will the Word can bear fruit in our lives, as Isaiah
prophesied. “As the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do
not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to
provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes from
my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and
succeeding in what it was sent to do.”
For those who believe in
the Word of God, we already have the first fruits, a foretaste of how this life
is like. “From the
beginning till now the entire creation, as we know, has been groaning in one
great act of giving birth; and not only creation, but all of us who possess the
first-fruits of the Spirit, we too groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies to
be set free.” We know that the Word of God is true, not simply by
assenting but we see the fruits of the Spirit, of “love, joy, peace,
forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have
crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Gal 5:22-24)
So the real trouble with
the world today is not where the truth is but whether we accept the Word of
God. Unless we have faith in the word of God, reason alone is not
sufficient. As Isaiah says, the thoughts of God are higher than us. That
is why they hear and hear but do not understand because of pride and
stubbornness.
But even for us
Christians who believe in the Word of God, we must examine how we hear the Word
of God, how receptive we are. This is the warning of today’s gospel reading on the parable of
the sower. “For anyone who has will be given more, and he will have more
than enough; but from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
What is the depth of our receptivity? Our docility to the Word of God is
dependent on our mind and heart. What kind of soil are we for the Word of
God to take root in us? Which level are we at?
Firstly, there are those
who lack understanding.
“When anyone hears the word of the kingdom without understanding, the evil one
comes and carries off what was sown in his heart: this is the man who received
the seed on the edge of the path.” If we are those who do not understand
the Word of God, then we must seriously go for formation in scriptures,
doctrines and our spiritual life. Without understanding, we cannot
appreciate our faith and live our faith convincingly and fully. We read
all sorts of things but we do not read about our faith and the
scriptures. Instead of consulting the Word of God to find out the
truth, we listen to the opinions of the world.
Secondly, there are
those who never deepen their faith and spiritual life, especially those just
baptized or had a conversion experience. “The one who received
it on patches of rock is the man who hears the word and welcomes it at once
with joy. But he has no root in him, he does not last; let some trial come, or
some persecution on account of the word, and he falls away at once.” Many
although born again never lived to adulthood. They die at
childbirth. Once having been graced by a God or a Christ-experience
or a conversion experience, we must follow up by ongoing formation and healing.
The third category of
Christians is those who are distracted by the temptations of the world because
they do not have a spiritual life. They hardly pray and meditate on the Word of God.
They do not belong to the Christian community. Jesus likens them to be
“the one who received the seed in thorns is the man who hears the word, but the
worries of this world and the lure of riches choke the word and so he produces
nothing.” They live in fear and anxiety because they do not know the
Lord’s love for them and His divine providence. They chased after the
worldly pursuits when what they need is true love of God and man.
Finally, there are those
who are docile to the Word of God and make the effort to deepen their
understanding through study, prayer and contemplation. “And the one who received the
seed in rich soil is the man who hears the word and understands it; he is the
one who yields a harvest and produces now a hundredfold, now sixty, now
thirty.” Such people will find fullness of life, here on earth and in
heaven.
Of course at the end of
the day, it is grace, as the gospel tells us. “Others fell on rich soil and produced their crop,
some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” The responsorial psalm confirms
this, “You care for the earth, give it water, you fill it with riches. Your
river in heaven brims over to provide its grain.” But we need to
cooperate with the grace of God. The water still needs the earth for the
grain to bear fruit. We have a responsibility to cooperate with the grace
of faith that we have received, otherwise, we will eventually allow Satan to
take the Word from us; and we lose our direction and focus in life, resulting
in a life that is without love and truth, meaning and hope.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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