20141113 FINDING THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN HUMAN LOWLINESS
First
reading Philemon 1:7-20 ©
I
am so delighted, and comforted, to know of your love; they tell me, brother,
how you have put new heart into the saints.
Now, although in Christ I can have no
diffidence about telling you to do whatever is your duty, I am appealing to
your love instead, reminding you that this is Paul writing, an old man now and,
what is more, still a prisoner of Christ Jesus. I am appealing to you for a child
of mine, whose father I became while wearing these chains: I mean Onesimus. He
was of no use to you before, but he will be useful to you now, as he has been
to me. I am sending him back to you, and with him – I could say – a part of my
own self. I should have liked to keep him with me; he could have been a
substitute for you, to help me while I am in the chains that the Good News has
brought me. However, I did not want to do anything without your consent; it
would have been forcing your act of kindness, which should be spontaneous. I
know you have been deprived of Onesimus for a time, but it was only so that you
could have him back for ever, not as a slave any more, but something much
better than a slave, a dear brother; especially dear to me, but how much more
to you, as a blood-brother as well as a brother in the Lord. So if all that we
have in common means anything to you, welcome him as you would me; but if he
has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, then let me pay for it. I am
writing this in my own handwriting: I, Paul, shall pay it back – I will not add
any mention of your own debt to me, which is yourself. Well then, brother, I am
counting on you, in the Lord; put new heart into me, in Christ.
Psalm Psalm 145:7-10 ©
He
is happy who is helped by Jacob’s God.
or
Alleluia!
It
is the Lord who keeps faith for ever,
who is just to those who are oppressed.
It
is he who gives bread to the hungry,
the Lord, who sets prisoners free.
He
is happy who is helped by Jacob’s God.
or
Alleluia!
It
is the Lord who gives sight to the blind,
who raises up those who are bowed down,
the
Lord, who protects the stranger
and upholds the widow and orphan.
He
is happy who is helped by Jacob’s God.
or
Alleluia!
It
is the Lord who loves the just
but thwarts the path of the wicked.
The
Lord will reign for ever,
Zion’s God, from age to age.
He
is happy who is helped by Jacob’s God.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel
Acclamation 1P1:25
Alleluia,
alleluia!
The
word of the Lord remains for ever:
What
is this word?
It
is the Good News that has been brought to you.
Alleluia!
Or Jn15:5
Alleluia,
alleluia!
I
am the vine,
you
are the branches.
Whoever
remains in me, with me in him,
bears
fruit in plenty,
says
the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel Luke 17:20-25 ©
Asked
by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was to come, Jesus gave them this
answer, ‘The coming of the kingdom of God does not admit of observation and
there will be no one to say, “Look here! Look there!” For, you must know, the
kingdom of God is among you.’
He said to the disciples, ‘A time will come
when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man and will not see
it. They will say to you, “Look there!” or, “Look here!” Make no move; do not
set off in pursuit; for as the lightning flashing from one part of heaven
lights up the other, so will be the Son of Man when his day comes. But first he
must suffer grievously and be rejected by this generation.’
FINDING
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN HUMAN LOWLINESS
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: PHILEMON 7:20; LK 17:20-25
We all
know very well that the Kingdom of God is the central message of Jesus.
All of us are seeking for the Kingdom of God. In contemporary parlance we
are seeking for the presence of God in our lives which brings with it peace,
joy and happiness. For some of us, the Kingdom can come only
sometime in the future. And so we are contented with merely hoping that
one day it will come. But the Kingdom of God that Jesus speaks about is
not some event that would happen in the future. Christ told the people
that the Kingdom of God is already functioning. It was among
them. He was among them and that was the beginning.
But how
is the Kingdom already functioning? For many of us, just like the
Jews in today’s gospel, the presence of God is only felt in spectacular events
and ways. Like them, some of us are hoping for some supernatural
phenomena, e.g. miracles, healings and visions and apparitions. Some of
us seek for the God experience in some esoteric religious experiences, getting
involved in all kinds of religious programs. But these experiences are rare and
at times even dubious. Furthermore, it seems to imply that the Kingdom of
God is not always present in our midst when Christ has already assured us that
it is already here.
Where else can we find
the Kingdom?
Another way in which we experience the Kingdom is when we experience love and
care and justice. Yes, whenever we experience the fruits of the Spirit,
we experience the love of God. But then again such experiences of love
and peace are not always present. Sometimes, we meet a lot of difficult
people in our lives; we have misunderstandings, distrusts, backbiting
etc. When that happens it is difficult to believe that the Kingdom of God
is present and in our midst.
There is still the third
way of experiencing the Kingdom of God. It is through the way of
suffering; the way of sin. Very often we think that the Kingdom ceases to
be operative when sin is present. But I do not think so and I do not
think Jesus feels that way. In fact He is even more convinced that the
full operative power of the Kingdom is manifested only in the apparent victory
of evil and sin in the world. In prophesying about His own rejection, He
is telling us that it is precisely when He is rejected and when He suffers much
that the Kingdom of unconditional love is clearly demonstrated.
Indeed, let us never forget
that the Kingdom is very much operative in our lives especially when we live
in a sinful community. Of course, we must never forget that we are
sinners living among sinners, not saints among sinners. But it is
precisely because we are fellow sinners that we must help each other to grow,
to purify and convert ourselves through our selfishness. It is through
our innocent sufferings, or even sufferings that we deserve, since we have
brought them upon ourselves, that our love becomes purified, that our faith is
strengthened.
For this reason, Paul can
say in Romans 5:20, that “where sin increased, grace increased all the
more”. And in the process, we will find much conversions taking place,
albeit often in painful ways. But the experience of conversion, like that
of the runaway slave in Paul’s letter to Philemon in which he appealed to
Philemon to accept him back as a brother in faith, shows the efficacy of God’s
Kingdom operating in our lives.
In conclusion, let us pray
for the gift of faith so that we can see the Kingdom of God as happening at
every moment in our lives, whether through some spectacular events,
positive or negative experiences or just simply routine activities. In
fact, most of the time the Kingdom is showing itself in ordinary events; as
ordinary as the humanity of Jesus that people often miss it. Yes,
it is when we learn to appreciate all these events in our lives that we will
cease to wait for an inauguration day in order to live the Kingdom. There
is nothing to wait for; there is no reason to delay, for the Kingdom of God, as
Jesus said, is already in our midst.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No comments:
Post a Comment