20140812 CULTIVATING THE HEART OF JESUS AND THE ZEAL OF EZEKIEL AS
THE WAY TO FIND FOCUS IN OUR MISSION
Reading 1, Ezekiel 2:8--3:4
8 But you, son of man, are to listen to what I say to you;
do not be a rebel like that rebellious tribe. Open your mouth and eat what I am
about to give you.'
9 When I looked, there was a hand stretch- ing out to me,
holding a scroll.
10 He un- rolled it in front of me; it was written on,
front and back; on it was written 'Lamentations, dirges and cries of grief '.
1 He then said, 'Son of man, eat what you see; eat this
scroll, then go and speak to the House of Israel.'
2 I opened my mouth; he gave me the scroll to eat
3 and then said, 'Son of man, feed on this scroll which I
am giving you and eat your fill.' So I ate it, and it tasted sweet as honey.
4 He then said, 'Son of man, go to the House of Israel and
tell them what I have said.
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111,
131
14 In the way of your instructions lies my joy, a joy
beyond all wealth.
24 Your instructions are my delight, your wishes my
counsellors.
103 How pleasant your promise to my palate, sweeter than
honey in my mouth!
111 Your instructions are my eternal heritage, they are
the joy of my heart.
131 I open wide my mouth, panting eagerly for your
commandments.
Gospel, Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14
1 At this time the
disciples came to Jesus and said,
'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven?'
2 So he called a little child to him whom he set among
them.
3 Then he said, 'In truth I tell
you, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter
the kingdom of Heaven.
4 And so, the one who makes himself as little as this
little child is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven.
5 'Anyone who welcomes one little child like this in my
name welcomes me.
10 'See that you never despise any of these little ones,
for I tell you that their angels in heaven are
continually in the presence of my Father in heaven.
12 'Tell me. Suppose a man has a
hundred sheep and one of them strays; will he not
leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go in search of the stray?
13 In truth I tell
you, if he finds it, it gives him more joy than do the ninety-nine that did not
stray at all.
14 Similarly, it is never the will of your
Father in heaven that one
of these little ones should be lost.
CULTIVATING
THE HEART OF JESUS AND THE ZEAL OF EZEKIEL AS THE WAY TO FIND FOCUS IN OUR
MISSION
Today, we read about the
call of Ezekiel. He had been chosen by God to preach to a rebellious
people, to warn them of the consequences of their actions and the hope of new
life. We too are called to share in the prophetic mission of Ezekiel.
However, if we were to be faithful to the mission that God has given to us, we
must inquire as to what the mission is all about and what it demands of us. For
this, we need to know the heart of God manifested in the heart of Jesus; and
the zeal and commitment of Ezekiel to his prophetic calling.
Indeed, if we find that the
Church is losing its effectiveness in her mission, it is because we have
lost our vision. We have forgotten our basics and fundamental thrust
of the message of the gospel. This is the real scandal that the Church faces in
attempting to make the gospel credible for the world to accept. Not
surprisingly, today’s gospel texts form an inclusion in that they are placed
before and after the teaching on the gravity of causing scandal to the little
ones. So what is the scandal to our mission that Jesus wanted to instruct
us? In order to answer this question, we must once again understand the
message of the kingdom of God.
What is the heart of God?
In the gospel, we are told that it is God’s desire and plan that all of
us enter the kingdom of heaven. God wants us all to share in His joy and
happiness. The gospel message excludes no one, but the priority as taught
by Jesus is directed at those who are materially and spiritually poor.
Even then, there seems to be an order of priority because He spoke of the
materially poor before the spiritually poor. We are called to seek out
the poor, uneducated and outcasts of society. We are called to
champion their rights and fight for their justice because being innocent, weak
and defenseless, they cannot fend for themselves. They are the greatest
in heaven because they live totally on God, relying on His grace and
surrendering their lives totally to Him. The Good News of the Kingdom
first and foremost belongs to them. Indeed, as Jesus said, “Anyone who
welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.” To be
concerned for the anawim is to have the heart of God.
Secondly, in the parable of
the lost sheep, the kingdom of God is given to those who are spiritually
poor. It is addressed to those who are lost in life; those who have
strayed away from truth and from God and are living immoral or unenlightened
lives. Even sinners are important to God. We are called to leave
the ninety-nine behind and go in search for even one lost sinner. Even
the conversion of one sinner brings great joy to the Lord. Hence, it is
clear that our mission is always a call to repentance, conversion and
acceptance of Christ.
Unfortunately, the tragedy
of the Church today is that it has become a Church of the middle class.
The Church is no longer the Church of the poor and not quite the Church for the
poor as well. If we are truly the Church of the poor, how is it that most
of our parishioners belong to the middle class? Even in our Catholic
Schools, we are concerned with being the top schools in Singapore. But
shouldn’t our priority be for the weak and poor students who cannot cope with
the demands of the academic system?
Not only have we failed in
being the Church of the poor, but we are also a Church only for respectable
people, not for sinners. We mix and attend to those who are well,
healthy and respectable. We dissociate ourselves from parishioners who
are of dubious character and lifestyle. We are a Church that caters to
those who are healthy and strong, not those who are weak. But shouldn’t
the lost sheep be our priority rather than simply parishioners who are active
in Church? Of course, they also need pastoral concern. But in
reality, quite often, in ministering to those who are already within the
Church, we do not have much time to reach out to those who have yet come to
know Christ and are still lost in the world. Have we not lost the
witnessing and evangelizing spirit?
When we review the history
of the Church, we find that if the mission of the Church was then so
successful, it was because they lived up to the mission demanded by the
gospel. We know that in the early Church, the first members of the
Church were the simple, uneducated and outcasts of society. Those who
were welcomed to the Church were the masses, the ordinary and most of all,
sinners. The first members of the Church were certainly not learned scribes or
the righteous Pharisees.
How then can we recover
our mission? We
must seek out the example of Ezekiel in today’s first reading. If ever we
want to be true and effective in our mission and ministry, the presupposition
is that we must have a proper disposition, which is complete docility to the
Word of God, like little children. Indeed, this is what Jesus said,
“I tell you solemnly, unless you change and become like little children you
will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” To be like little children is to
be open and be disposed to learn. God told Ezekiel, “Listen to the words
I say; do not be a rebel like the rebellious set.” In other words, we
must be receptive to the Word. But more than just mere receptivity, it
presumes full reception of the Word as well, in all its dimensions. The
danger is that we want to pick and choose just like the people during the time
of Ezekiel. But God told Ezekiel that he has to eat even the Word of God,
which concerns “lamentations, wailings, moaning” and not just nice words of
inspiration.
Secondly, we are called
to understand and assimilate the Word of God. This was what God told
Ezekiel, “Open your mouth and eat what I am about to give you.” Unless we
eat the Word of God, we cannot speak and proclaim the Word of God to
others. Hence, God instructed Ezekiel, “Son of man, eat what is given to
you; eat this scroll, then go and speak to the House of Israel.” Without
a deep understanding of the Word, we cannot truly proclaim it with clarity and
conviction. Assimilation and interiorization of the Word of God therefore
is critical before any proclamation is possible.
Thirdly, the Word must
convict us. Only after being convicted of our falsehood, can we have
the conviction to live the truth as well. Only true understanding and
conviction will allow one to feel as Ezekiel felt, that even if the Word of God
dealt with lamentations and apparent “bad news” it is truly good news
indeed. Ezekiel ate the scroll and found it as “sweet as honey.”
Truly when we understand the real intention of the Word of God and even if the
message is not so pleasing to our ears or the ears of our listeners, we see it
as sweet because the Word, which is truth, is meant to liberate us all for a
life of true joy and love.
Finally, if we were to
proclaim the Word of God as we have received it, no matter how unpleasant
it is, we can only do it with the strength that comes from God.
For this reason, we must be like little children and be trusting of God’s
providence, power and strength. We cannot rely on our strength to
proclaim the Word of God because we will collapse under pressure. Only in
surrender and trust in the Father’s love can we truly become His prophets and
missionaries. Indeed, filled with the heart of Christ which is His love and
compassion; and the conviction of Ezekiel which is justice and truth, we will
proclaim the Word of God in and out of season, without fear or shame because we
know that that is what God wants of us.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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