20141012 LIVING A HEAVENLY LIFE ON EARTH AND HEREAFTER PRESUPPOSES
WE PUT ON THE WEDDING GARMENT
First
reading Isaiah 25:6-10 ©
On
this mountain,
the
Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoples
a
banquet of rich food.
On
this mountain he will remove
the
mourning veil covering all peoples,
and
the shroud enwrapping all nations,
he
will destroy Death for ever.
The
Lord will wipe away
the
tears from every cheek;
he
will take away his people’s shame
everywhere
on earth,
for
the Lord has said so.
That
day, it will be said: See, this is our God
in
whom we hoped for salvation;
the
Lord is the one in whom we hoped.
We
exult and we rejoice
that
he has saved us.
Psalm Psalm 22:1-6 ©
In
the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.
The
Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh
and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.
Near
restful waters he leads me,
to revive my drooping spirit.
In
the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.
He
guides me along the right path;
he is true to his name.
If
I should walk in the valley of darkness
no evil would I fear.
You
are there with your crook and your staff;
with these you give me comfort.
In
the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.
You
have prepared a banquet for me
in the sight of my foes.
My
head you have anointed with oil;
my cup is overflowing.
In
the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.
Surely
goodness and kindness shall follow me
all the days of my life.
In
the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for ever and ever.
In
the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.
Second
reading
Philippians
4:12-14,19-20 ©
I
know how to be poor and I know how to be rich too. I have been through my
initiation and now I am ready for anything anywhere: full stomach or empty
stomach, poverty or plenty. There is nothing I cannot master with the help of
the One who gives me strength. All the same, it was good of you to share with
me in my hardships. In return my God will fulfil all your needs, in Christ
Jesus, as lavishly as only God can. Glory to God, our Father, for ever and
ever. Amen.
Gospel
Acclamation Jn1:14,12
Alleluia,
alleluia!
The
Word was made flesh and lived among us:
to
all who did accept him
he
gave power to become children of God.
Alleluia!
Or cf.Ep1:17,18
Alleluia,
alleluia!
May
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten
the eyes of our mind,
so
that we can see what hope his call holds for us.
Alleluia!
EITHER:
Gospel Matthew 22:1-14 ©
Jesus
said to the chief priests and elders of the people, ‘The kingdom of heaven may
be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son’s wedding. He sent his
servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. Next he
sent some more servants. “Tell those who have been invited” he said “that I
have my banquet all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been
slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding.” But they were not
interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest
seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. The king was furious. He
despatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town. Then he
said to his servants, “The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited
proved to be unworthy, go to the crossroads in the town and invite everyone you
can find to the wedding.” So these servants went out on to the roads and
collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the
wedding hall was filled with guests. When the king came in to look at the guests
he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment, and said to him, “How
did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?” And the man was
silent. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot and throw
him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” For
many are called, but few are chosen.’
LIVING
A HEAVENLY LIFE ON EARTH AND HEREAFTER PRESUPPOSES WE PUT ON THE WEDDING
GARMENT
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: ISA 25:6-10; PHIL 4:12-14, 19-20; MT 22:1-14
http://www.universalis.com/20141012/mass.htm
Are you interested in
heaven? Do you hope to go to heaven? Many people are not
interested in heaven because they are more concerned with finding heaven in
this life here and now. Prophet Isaiah describes heaven with the
imagery of a banquet where there is love, unity and joy, which comes from
fellowship and sharing. There is both a sharing of food and life.
The banquet imagery also speaks of satisfaction and abundance. So it is a
state of happiness and fulfillment.
But heaven is not simply
a state of fulfillment; it is also a state of transcendence. Such a
state gives us that tranquility and peace which the world cannot give.
When Paul wrote the letter to the Philippians, he was writing from
prison. Yet he exhibited much joy, happiness and peace even whilst he was
awaiting his sentence. He was certainly not a broken and despondent
man. On the contrary, he had attained a state of equanimity where he had
conquered all fears in his life.
Yes, Paul had transcended
the vicissitudes of life. He was one with God and already living the life
of God. When we are no longer slaves to our passions and the circumstances
of life; when bad things cannot overwhelm us or destroy our peace of mind;
when we learn to take everything in stride, living a centered life; when we
find joy and happiness, then we know that we are living heaven on earth.
This presupposes detachment but not a cold detachment that is tantamount to
indifference so much so that we have no feelings for people and for
others. On the contrary, Paul was a man of intense feelings, compassion
and love. He lived a life of holy indifference.
Besides a transcendent
life, heaven is contentment. Paul was a contented man because he
was full of appreciation for whatever he received. He did not take things
for granted. He did not believe that anyone owed him a living. He was
grateful to those who shared in his hardships. Even when he preached the
gospel, we know that he tried to sustain himself by working for his food.
Appreciation certainly is a sign of a happy, responsible, humble and contented
person. Only a grateful man is a happy and caring.
Without appreciation a
person is always grasping, demanding and restless. He is always discontented with
life, full of envy, greed and jealousy. Such is person cannot be said to
be in heaven but in hell.
Heaven is also where we
live a life of liberation, freedom from fear, selfishness, anxiety, especially
the fear of death. It is to be at peace in the hands of God. It is
as St Paul speaks of his personal faith in God. He trusted in God who
provides for everything. This faith is expressed thus, “There is nothing
I cannot master with the help of the One who gives me strength.” And “in
return my God will fulfill all your needs … lavishly as only God can.”
Yes, this is truly heaven because it is a life lived in total union with God
in security and peace. Besides being at peace with God, Heaven, for
St Paul, simply means to be at peace with oneself and with others.
Heaven happens when there is mutual sharing not only of money and food, but
even supporting each other in our trials as Christians.
How then can we get to
heaven?
The Good News is that all of us are invited to heaven, both the bad and the
good. We all have been given the Wedding garment at our baptism.
Baptism is the gateway to heaven. Hence, the second part of the parable
refers to those who have accepted Christ in baptism.
The crux of our baptism is
that we must ensure that the garment given to us at baptism remains a
wedding garment and not a rag or mourning clothes. We must not think
that the man who was without a garment could not afford a wedding
garment. On the contrary, the Jewish tradition then was that all those
who were invited to a wedding feast were provided with a wedding garment.
But the man was callous, indifferent and arrogant and did not bother to wear
it. Like him, although many of us are baptized in Christ,at least in name
and in principle, we do not live out the life of Christ. To put on the wedding
garment is to put on the mind and heart of Christ.
Quite often, we forget that
we are Christians because we do not put on our wedding garment every day of our
lives. We are indifferent with regard to our relationship with the
Lord. We are ignorant of our faith. We are careless with regard to
the way we conduct ourselves in life and in our relationship with others.
We are deaf to the Word of God. Instead of putting on the wedding
garment, we put on the rags of the world. We spend more time imbibing the
values of the world. For this reason, we have no joy in our lives since
we do not surrender our lives to him.
Indeed, the parable warns
us that we must not deceive ourselves into thinking that because we are
baptized, we are assured of a place in heaven. Nay, baptism is only a
passport but not a guarantee unless we live out our life in Christ and fulfill
our baptismal vows. If not our punishment would be even greater because
knowing what we should do but don’t do makes us fully culpable for our
neglect. We too would have to be thrown out and suffer the
consequences of our carelessness and indifference towards the gift of life that
God has given us in baptism.
The next question is how
can we be certain that this heaven, which have spoken about is already a
reality and not a dream? We are certain of the promise of heaven only
because we experience heaven as a foretaste in the Eucharist. Indeed, the
Eucharist as a meal is already a foretaste of heaven. Indeed, in the
responsorial psalm we pray, “You have prepared a banquet for me in the sight of
my foes.” To participate in this banquet is to live in the Lord’s house
when we experience His goodness and kindness all the days of our lives.
Why is the Eucharist as
the banquet of the Lord the most appropriate way to experience heaven? Simply, because the Eucharist is
a meal and gathering of love, unity and sharing. In the Eucharist, Jesus
comes to give Himself to us in the bread and wine, which is His body and
blood. He comes to share with us His life and His wisdom when we listen
to the liturgy of the Word. This reinforces our union with Him, both in
mind and in heart. Sharing in His life, we find peace in our hearts and
freedom from all anxiety and fears.
At the same time, sharing
a common vision with Him, we, as Christians, also share with each other the
love and joy we have in common. Like the Lord who gives Himself to us
in the Eucharist, we are invited to join Him in His death and
resurrection. Dying to our own selfish interests and needs, we learn to
give ourselves to each other. This was the case of the Philippians who
supported Paul, and Paul in turn encouraged them in their faith. So the
Eucharist certainly unites us more intensely with each other, sharing all that
we have, our material, emotional and spiritual needs. This mutual sharing
of love and faith strengthens us all in Christ. In this way, we are already
having a foretaste of heaven, since heaven is a place of love, joy, sharing and
unity.
Again, because we do not
put on our wedding garment when we come for the Eucharist, many of us do not
experience the joy of the Lord, since at the Eucharistic celebration, many
of us are ill prepared. We are late for Mass; we are inattentive and even
when we come to receive the Eucharist, we forget what we are doing and whom we
are receiving. And after the Mass, we do not try to live out the
Eucharist in love and fellowship. As a result, we do not find the
Eucharist empowering and life-giving. Unless we truly celebrate the
Eucharist both in the liturgy and in our lives with devotion and truth, we will
not experience heaven on earth. But if we do, then we know that together
with each other in Christ, we no longer have to fear even when we “walk in the
valley of darkness” because we know that Christ and His body the Church will
guide us along the right path and will be there to give us comfort. Jesus
will refresh us with His comforting love and wisdom.
When that happens, we can
indeed say that in the heavenly Jerusalem, which is the holy mountain spoken by
Isaiah, that “he will remove the mourning veil covering all peoples … he will
destroy Death forever.” Yes, he “will wipe away the tears from every cheek.”
On this day we can say indeed, “See, this is our God in whom we hoped for
salvation; the Lord is the one in whom we hoped. We exult and we rejoice
that he has saved us.” But all these presuppose that we put on our
wedding garment!
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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