20141029 FIDELITY TO OUR VOCATION REQUIRES GROWTH IN DISCIPLESHIP
IN THE LORD
First
reading Ephesians 6:1-9 ©
Children,
be obedient to your parents in the Lord – that is your duty. The commandment
that has a promise attached to it is: Honour your father and mother, and the
promise is: and you will prosper and have a long life in the land. And parents,
never drive your children to resentment but in bringing them up correct them
and guide them as the Lord does.
Slaves, be obedient to the men who are called
your masters in this world, with deep respect and sincere loyalty, as you are
obedient to Christ: not only when you are under their eye, as if you had only
to please men, but because you are slaves of Christ and wholeheartedly do the
will of God. Work hard and willingly, but do it for the sake of the Lord and
not for the sake of men. You can be sure that everyone, whether a slave or a
free man, will be properly rewarded by the Lord for whatever work he has done
well. And those of you who are employers, treat your slaves in the same spirit;
do without threats, remembering that they and you have the same Master in
heaven and he is not impressed by one person more than by another.
Psalm Psalm 144:10-14 ©
The
Lord is faithful in all his words.
All
your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,
and your friends shall repeat their blessing.
They
shall speak of the glory of your reign
and declare your might, O God,
to
make known to men your mighty deeds
and the glorious splendour of your reign.
The
Lord is faithful in all his words.
Yours
is an everlasting kingdom;
your rule lasts from age to age.
The
Lord is faithful in all his words.
The
Lord is faithful in all his words
and loving in all his deeds.
The
Lord supports all who fall
and raises all who are bowed down.
The
Lord is faithful in all his words.
Gospel
Acclamation Jn14:6
Alleluia,
alleluia!
I
am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;
No
one can come to the Father except through me.
Alleluia!
Or cf.2Th2:14
Alleluia,
alleluia!
Through
the Good News God called us
to
share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Alleluia!
Gospel Luke 13:22-30 ©
Through
towns and villages Jesus went teaching, making his way to Jerusalem. Someone
said to him, ‘Sir, will there be only a few saved?’ He said to them, ‘Try your
best to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter
and will not succeed.
‘Once the master of the house has got up and
locked the door, you may find yourself knocking on the door, saying, “Lord,
open to us” but he will answer, “I do not know where you come from.” Then you
will find yourself saying, “We once ate and drank in your company; you taught
in our streets” but he will reply, “I do not know where you come from. Away
from me, all you wicked men!”
‘Then there will be weeping and grinding of
teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the
kingdom of God, and yourselves turned outside. And men from east and west, from
north and south, will come to take their places at the feast in the kingdom of
God.
‘Yes, there are those now last who will be
first, and those now first who will be last.’
FIDELITY
TO OUR VOCATION REQUIRES GROWTH IN DISCIPLESHIP IN THE LORD
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: EPH 6:1-9; LK 13:22-30
The
scripture readings invite us to be faithful to our vocation in life.
St Paul in the first reading reminds the Ephesians that regardless of whatever
vocation and state of life they are in, they must remain faithful.
Children must therefore obey and respect their parents, since they are their
guardians; parents must love their children and treat them with compassion and
understanding; servants must serve faithfully whoever is in charge of them, and
employers must treat servants with dignity and respect.
This call
to faithfulness is rooted in God’s fidelity to us. This is proclaimed
in the responsorial psalm when the psalmist calls us all to praise God for His
mercy and love. Indeed, as the psalmist says, “the Lord is faithful in
all His words and holy in all His works.” His works glorify the
goodness of God and His compassion for us shows that He is truly the King of
all creation.
How
then can we be faithful to our calling in life? We need to grow in
discipleship. What does this entail? To be a disciple means to
be disciplined. Hence, Jesus’ warning to enter the narrow door is
timely. He said, “Try your best to enter by the narrow door, because, I
tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed.” Jesus was not
interested in theoretical and speculative questions as to how many would be
saved. It is more important to know how one can be saved.
Of
course in speaking about the narrow door, we remember too that Jesus not
only called Himself the Shepherd but also the Gate, the door. So the
door which Jesus is referring to is Himself, since He is the gate. In
John 10:9 He said, “I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be
saved.” This door He had in mind was the way of the passion, death
and resurrection. Through the cross and the resurrection, He makes it
possible for us to find the way to heaven and His Father’s house.
Faithful
disciples of Christ must follow Him by struggling to enter this Door.
If not, Jesus warns us in today’s gospel, “there will be weeping and grinding
of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the
kingdom of God, and yourselves turned outside. And men from east and
west, from north and south, will come to take their places at the feast in the
kingdom of God.” There is also a warning from Jesus when He said, “Yes,
there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be
last.” Baptism and membership in the Church alone does not guarantee our
salvation, unless we walk the same path of Jesus in doing the will of the
Father and fulfill the vocation that God has given to us in life.
Thus,
when Jesus advised us to strive to enter the narrow door, it implies the
need to struggle to grow in fidelity to our identity as Christians as well as
to our vocation in life. Although in principle we are children of God,
like the Jews, yet unless we live out our identity concretely in our roles, we
will not be able to find ourselves, nor find God. The Evil One is always
tempting us to rebel and be unfaithful to who we are and what we are called to
do.
Thus,
to enter the kingdom of God, we must fight against the temptations of the
flesh, so that we might not fall into the traps of the Evil one and sin against
God by not doing His will through negligence, laziness, indifference and
compromise. We must always be on guard since we do not know the
time the Master would be coming.
For
this reason, we must exercise discipline and not become lax in our spiritual
and personal life. If the Church insists on obedience and discipline in
following the doctrines, and especially in our prayer life, including works of
mortifications and penance, it is because we need to strengthen ourselves for
the battle against Satan and all his temptations. Discipline is necessary
because the flesh is weak, even if the spirit is willing. Without
exercising discipline in the way we practice our faith and in the way we live,
we can easily lose focus and direction. So discipline is essential to
fend off the devil’s temptations, especially in moments of weakness.
Hence,
anyone who is serious about his spiritual life and growth in discipleship
would understand the importance not just of obedience to the laws of the
Church but more especially self discipline. External obedience and
discipline are only tools to bring about interior change and conversion of
heart. Thus, it behooves us not to disregard the significance of
self-discipline that is required of us. Whether it is faithfulness in
prayer and spiritual exercises, or ongoing formation, or our duties at work or
family life, we must be faithful and responsible. Although some matters
might seem trivial, yet disobedience or failure to be faithful to our
responsibilities can be signs of rebellion and pride in our hearts. Fact
is, if we are not faithful in small things, we cannot be faithful in big
things. Like the Jews, Jesus warns us not to rely on our office, position
and natural claims but that we must prove the worthiness of our calling by the
works that we do and the lives that we lead.
However,
this exercise of discipline must be inspired and motivated by Christ.
This is what the first reading is reminding us about. Paul was not trying
to resolve family or working relationships. What is important is that
everything is done from the perspective of Christ. “Work hard and
willingly, but do it for the sake of the Lord and not for the sake of
men.” Christian discipline is not motivated by self effort or personal
gain, but for the love of Christ. Christian discipline is not discipline
resulting from personal efforts. Rather, it is the consequence of the
grace we have received through Christ.
Christian discipline in
the final analysis simply means that everything must be done in the Lord, for
the Lord, and with the Lord. When St Paul urged the different groups of
individuals, whether children, parents or slaves to be responsible to their
state of life, he always included the Lord as the basis for acting thus.
To do everything in the Lord means sharing His mind and heart in the way He
obeyed and served the Father. To do everything for the Lord means to do
everything for His greater glory and for love of Him.
Finally, to do everything
with the Lord means to rely on grace, and working in union with Him. Yes,
the good news is that we do not struggle or work alone. God is with us and His
grace is sufficient! All we need is to trust Him and cooperate with His grace
at work in our lives. Otherwise, self-discipline can either make us proud
and self-righteous or disheartened by our failures. To be able to walk
the life of Christ in itself is His grace.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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