20140724 OVERCOMING
DISCOURAGEMENT IN OUR PROPHETIC VOCATION
Reading 1, Jeremiah 1:1, 4-10
1 The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests
living at Anathoth in the
territory of Benjamin.
5 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you
came to birth I consecrated you; I appointed you as prophet to the
nations.'
7 But Yahweh replied,
'Do not say, "I am only a child," for you must go to all to whom I
send you and say whatever I command you.
9 Then Yahweh stretched
out his hand and touched my mouth, and Yahweh said to
me: 'There! I have put my words into your mouth.
10 Look, today I have set you over the nations and
kingdoms, to uproot and to knock down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build
and to plant.'
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 71:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 15, 17
1 In you, Yahweh, I take refuge, I shall never be put to
shame.
3 Be a sheltering rock for me, always accessible; you have
determined to save me, for you are my rock, my fortress.
4 My God, rescue me from the clutches of the wicked, from
the grasp of the rogue and the ruthless.
5 For you are my hope, Lord, my trust, Yahweh, since
boyhood.
6 On you I have relied since my birth, since my mother's
womb you have been my portion, the constant theme of my praise.
15 My lips shall proclaim your saving justice, your saving
power all day long.
17 God, you have taught me from boyhood, and I am still
proclaiming your marvels.
Gospel, Matthew 13:1-9
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!'
OVERCOMING
DISCOURAGEMENT IN OUR PROPHETIC VOCATION
Today’s scripture readings
have special significance for all of us. Jeremiah in the first reading faced
real difficulties with regard to his call to be the prophet of God. The
apostles too, were well aware that their proclamation of the Good News was not
always welcomed. In fact, to be a prophet of God or to be an apostle of
Christ is considered by the world as a persona non grata. What are the
challenges for us Christians who try to exercise our prophetic mission in the
world? The readings of today highlight to us two main factors,
namely, diffidence and discouragement.
Firstly, most of us are in
some ways are like Jeremiah who was diffident of his ability to
be the prophet of God. He felt that the task was simply beyond him.
We too in some ways are diffident of our call. Which one of us does not
at times feel unworthy or inadequate in our mission? We feel that we are
poor role models, or do not know enough about the Bible or our faith, and so
are hesitant to talk about our Christian beliefs, or to defend our Christian
values. As a result, we tend to hide the fact that we are Catholics, or shy
away from speaking against the unjust and immoral practices of the world.
Secondly, for those of us
who are engaged in some form of ministry, like Jeremiah we sometimes feel like
giving up because we face discouragement. Prophets, we are all
aware, are never accepted in their own country. This was true of
Jeremiah, the apostles and Jesus. Jeremiah started prophesying before the
exile when the kings of Judah were aligned with Assyria and at the same time
were importing pagan practices into their religion. He spoke out against
such unholy political and religious alliance. He was unpopular because of
his temple sermons. Eventually, he was forced out of the temple and he
had to carry out his prophetic call by having his messages dictated to his
secretary Baruch. Jeremiah certainly must have been disillusioned with
the whole situation.
This is the same message
intended by the parable of the sower in today’s gospel. This parable is
told not only to the crowd but for the apostles as well. The point of
today’s parable is that people will not always accept our message. This
is because some minds are shut. They are at the edge of the path, totally
uninvolved and disinterested. Others simply are too shallow in their
thinking and perception and thus cannot see the deeper truth and reflect deeply
on their lives. Such people too will also miss the message. Then
there are those whose minds are preoccupied with too many things. They
are involved in too many projects and thus do not have time to focus on the
more critical issues. They are more concerned with projects and with
activities; with the externals, but not concerned with the depth of what they
are doing. In the face of such people, we cannot but feel discouraged
that our message is falling on deaf ears.
If we are feeling this way;
if we feel like giving up, then we need to strengthen our mission and zeal.
How? Firstly, by being compassionate. Compassion is
born from our identification with the people and situation that we are
in. Hence, when we are touched by the problems and challenges
before us, we recover our zeal and commitment. Conversely, when we lose
touch with our people and their problems, we also lose our compassion.
Indeed, if Jeremiah had persisted in his calling, it was because he was one
with the misery of his people and out of sincere concern for his people, he
continued to prophesy even when he was misunderstood and rejected. Jesus,
too, was very much with His people. He knew the people were hungry for
God and for the truth. That is why he brought the Good News from the
Synagogue to the ordinary people at the seashore and in the market place.
The choice of using parables as the vehicle of His message illustrates Jesus’
awareness of the lives of His people
But compassion in itself
is not sufficient. We need to have the vision. Compassion without vision is to
have a heart but without eyes. Compassion without vision can sometimes
cause more harm than good. It is important that we have a clear vision of
what we are called to do. Jeremiah was certainly conscious of what
God wanted of him. In the first reading, we are told that he was called
to be the light of the nations; that is, he was called to proclaim Yahweh not
only to his fellow Israelites but to the surrounding pagan countries as
well. And the way to do this was “to tear up and to knock down, to
destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” Yes, the work of
Jeremiah was not just to destroy but to rebuild.
Similarly, we too must be
clear of our vision as Christians. We must be clear of what we are called
to do. To lose sight of our vision is to lose our mission as well.
We must realize, like Jesus, that preaching the Good News does not always
bring about immediate and complete success. Peoples’ concerns are
like the different kinds of soil. But we should never be discouraged
simply because we do not bear much fruit. The truth is that although
not all will receive the Word, we can be certain that some will be inspired by
us and change and convert.
But this compassion and
vision can only come about with personal conviction that God is with us in our
mission. If Jeremiah could respond to God’s call, it was not because
he felt that he was the right man for the job but because of the assurance he
received from God that He would be there to protect him and to put His words in
his mouth. It was this that gave him the courage to speak out even when
he was eventually evicted from the temple. But instead of feeling
despondent, he found new ways to proclaim God’s message. Jeremiah was not a
person who reacted negatively but acted positively to the challenges facing
him. He was never a victim of circumstances but a martyr.
As with Jeremiah so it is
for us. Without this personal relationship and experience of God’s
presence and call in our lives, we cannot remain faithful to our vision. This
is especially so in times of crises when we are unsure of ourselves. For
this reason, today, we need to pray with Jeremiah that we be filled with the
Wisdom and abiding presence of God in our minds and hearts. Until we feel
the presence of God in our entire being, we cannot find the courage and the
will to carry on with our mission. Yes, Jesus is telling us the same
message in the parable of the sower. We should never allow failures
and difficulties in our mission to paralyze us. We must continue to
reach out and surrender the mission into the hands of God. Success is
within the hands of God. Our task is simply to be a faithful
instrument of the Lord.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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