20141028 MISSION FOR COMMUNION IS ROOTED IN PERSONAL HOLINESS AND
COMMUNION WITH THE LORD
First
reading
Ephesians
2:19-22 ©
You
are no longer aliens or foreign visitors: you are citizens like all the saints,
and part of God’s household. You are part of a building that has the apostles
and prophets for its foundations, and Christ Jesus himself for its main
cornerstone. As every structure is aligned on him, all grow into one holy
temple in the Lord; and you too, in him, are being built into a house where God
lives, in the Spirit.
Psalm Psalm 18:2-5 ©
Their
word goes forth through all the earth.
The
heavens proclaim the glory of God,
and the firmament shows forth the work of his
hands.
Day
unto day takes up the story
and night unto night makes known the message.
Their
word goes forth through all the earth.
No
speech, no word, no voice is heard
yet their span extends through all the earth,
their words to the utmost bounds of the
world.
Their
word goes forth through all the earth.
Gospel
Acclamation cf.Te Deum
Alleluia,
alleluia!
We
praise you, O God,
we
acknowledge you to be the Lord.
The
glorious company of the apostles praise you, O Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel Luke 6:12-16 ©
Jesus
went out into the hills to pray; and he spent the whole night in prayer to God.
When day came he summoned his disciples and picked out twelve of them; he
called them ‘apostles’: Simon whom he called Peter, and his brother Andrew;
James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon
called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot who became a traitor.
MISSION
FOR COMMUNION IS ROOTED IN PERSONAL HOLINESS AND COMMUNION WITH THE
LORD
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: EPH 2:19-22; LK 6:12-16
We know
very little about Simon and Jude (also known as Judas or Thaddeus).
Perhaps, for this reason, the scripture texts chosen for today’s feast are
general texts concerning the calling of the apostles and the nature of their
apostolic mission. It is clear from the two readings that the mission
entrusted to the apostles and to us is to bring all men and women into God’s
household. Jesus would call this in the gospel as the proclamation of the
Kingdom of God; Vatican II describes this mission as communion.
It is
clear that Jesus intended that we become a community of saints, as St Paul
reminds us. In His selection of the twelve, He had in mind that His
twelve apostles would represent the leaders of the twelve tribes of
Israel. This would make them the new leaders of the New People of
God. Hence, Christians are people of the New Covenant, called to live
a life of love and communion just like the people of the Old Covenant.
For this reason, we are called to be in the communion of saints. What is
remarkable is that this communion is based on our diversity. The
fact that the apostles came from different backgrounds show that the call to
unity is based not on uniformity but on their distinctiveness. The Church is
universal only because she accommodates people from every race and background.
However,
the mission of communion presupposes that we embark on the mission of
reconciliation. After the selection of the apostles, Jesus
immediately went about healing the sick and teaching them about the Kingdom of
God. Thus, His mission is a ministry of healing and reconciliation.
So for reconciliation to be effective, people must first be touched by the love
of God through the works of healing, followed by the work of teaching.
Touched by love and enlightened in the truth, reconciliation can then be
brought about. For this reason, Jesus went about healing the sick and
liberating them from their slavery to the devils, before enlightening them
about the Kingdom of God. The people would then realize that Jesus is
truly the embodiment of God’s love, both in His words and works.
Without
the ministry of reconciliation and the ministry of healing, of men with men and
men with God, there would be no real communion. Hence, we are firstly
called to reconciliation among ourselves. We must try to reconcile
and accept our differences and our uniqueness so that we can work and live
together, complementing each other.
So, in
order that we can truly be ministers of reconciliation and then communion, we
must build our ministry firstly on the apostles. This is what St Paul
urges us. Our unity is founded on the Apostolic Faith expressed in common
doctrines and common worship. Fellowship in the Christian community is
rooted in our common faith and love for the Lord expressed in our acceptance of
the gospel, the apostolic tradition and a common liturgy.
However,
it is not enough to rely on the Apostolic Faith – we must have a personal
relationship with the Lord. Thus, growth in personal holiness is a
precondition for the mission of reconciliation and communion. Without
being rooted in our love for the Lord and His love for us, it would be
difficult to foster unity among people.
Indeed,
today Jesus gives us an example of what is most essential in our mission.
St Luke portrays Him deep at prayer before the selection of His apostles.
After which, we are told that He ministered to the sick, the possessed and those
in need. Hence, like Jesus who founded His mission in His relationship
with the Father, we must therefore strengthen our spiritual life and holiness
with Christ as our cornerstone. This is how Paul exhorts us; that we be
“built into a house where God lives, in the Spirit.” Only in this way can
we, as a community of Christians “all grow into one holy temple in the
Lord”. Yes, unless we are filled with His Spirit and presence,
we cannot radiate His healing love and grace. Like Jesus, the power
of healing and love will abide in us if we are in deep intimacy with the Father
through Him.
Still,
we know that fulfilling the mission of communion and reconciliation is
difficult. And because it is so daunting, let us ask Saints Simon and
Jude to pray for us within the context of the communion of saints today.
In our mission, let us ask Simon to inspire us with his zeal, that zeal he had
for the mission. Indeed, he was called Simon the Zealot because of his
zeal and enthusiasm before his conversion in overthrowing the Roman
conquerors. But Christ used his zeal for the mission of building the
Kingdom of God and a community of love instead.
At the
same time, if we find ourselves hopeless in trying to build the community of
love or in seeking to reconcile men with men; and men with God, then we must
turn to St Jude whom we know is the patron saint for desperate
situations. Hence, it is appropriate that we ask him to intercede for us
in our endeavour to build communities of love and of saints. With Saints
Simon and Jude, let us entrust our mission to the Lord.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No comments:
Post a Comment