20141129 REALIZING THE VISION BY KEEPING THE VISION ALIVE
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Apocalypse
22:1-7 ©
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The angel showed me,
John, the river of life, rising from the throne of God and of the Lamb and
flowing crystal-clear down the middle of the city street. On either side of the
river were the trees of life, which bear twelve crops of fruit in a year, one
in each month, and the leaves of which are the cure for the pagans.
The ban
will be lifted. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in its place in the
city; his servants will worship him, they will see him face to face, and his
name will be written on their foreheads. It will never be night again and they
will not need lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will be shining on
them. They will reign for ever and ever.
The angel
said to me, ‘All that you have written is sure and will come true: the Lord God
who gives the spirit to the prophets has sent his angel to reveal to his
servants what is soon to take place. Very soon now, I shall be with you again.’
Happy are those who treasure the prophetic message of this book.
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Psalm
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Psalm 94:1-7 ©
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Marana tha! Come,
Lord Jesus!
Come, ring out our
joy to the Lord;
hail the
rock who saves us.
Let us come before
him, giving thanks,
with
songs let us hail the Lord.
Marana tha! Come,
Lord Jesus!
A mighty God is the
Lord,
a great
king above all gods.
In his hand are the
depths of the earth;
the
heights of the mountains are his.
To him belongs the
sea, for he made it
and the
dry land shaped by his hands.
Marana tha! Come,
Lord Jesus!
Come in; let us bow
and bend low;
let us
kneel before the God who made us:
for he is our God and
we
the
people who belong to his pasture,
the flock
that is led by his hand.
Marana tha! Come,
Lord Jesus!
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Mt24:42,44
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake and stand
ready,
because you do not
know the hour
when the Son of Man
is coming.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Lk21:36
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake, praying
at all times
for the strength to
stand with confidence
before the Son of
Man.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 21:34-36 ©
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Jesus said to his
disciples: ‘Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened with debauchery
and drunkenness and the cares of life, and that day will be sprung on you
suddenly, like a trap. For it will come down on every living man on the face of
the earth. Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive all
that is going to happen, and to stand with confidence before the Son of Man.’
REALIZING
THE VISION BY KEEPING THE VISION ALIVE
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: APC 22:1-7; LK 21:34-36
Today is the last day of
the liturgical year.
Rightly so, the scripture readings are taken from the last book, namely the
Book of Revelation and the last public discourse of Jesus before He entered
into Jerusalem, the place of His passion and glory. Both scripture
texts complement each other.
In the first reading, we
have the text taken from the Book of Revelation that gives us a preview of
the outcome of the end. The vision portrayed by St John gives us a
paradisiacal picture of a wonderful end. He gives us a vision of eternal
life in heaven with God where the themes of light and life are brought
out. Heaven is a state of bliss, where there is abundant life symbolized
by the “river of life rising from the throne of God and of the Lamb and flowing
crystal-clear down the middle of the city street.” Wherever the life of
God flows, it bears fruits and healing for all. Most of all, there
will no longer be darkness for “it will never be night again and they will not
need lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will be shining on
them.” Furthermore, “they will see him face to face, and his name
will be written on their foreheads. They will reign for ever and
ever.” It is therefore a life of perfect fulfillment in God.
Now that we have been given
a preview of the end, it behooves us to work towards this vision presented
to us. To speak of the end implies that we have arrived at our vision
so that what started out as a vision is now a reality. Otherwise, one
cannot truly say that one has arrived at the end. We must therefore
translate a vision and a dream to reality. It is true that God will
realize His kingdom. The outcome is certain as the angel says, “All that you
have written is sure and will come true: the Lord God who gives the spirit to
the prophets has sent his angel to reveal to his servants what is soon to take
place. “ Although the outcome is certain, how it will come about is still
left to the interaction between grace and human cooperation. Without a
doubt, this vision will not come just by itself without our cooperation.
Hence, this definite
outcome of the life that is to come as prophesied in the Book of Revelation is
complemented by the gospel which gives a somber note that arriving at the
end would not be easy because the journey is long and arduous. Along
the way many would get distracted and give up. We can lose focus because
of distractions from the world and the anxieties of our hearts. Jesus
warns us, who are often tempted by sin especially of the flesh, that our
“hearts will be coarsened with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of
life.” Yes, there is always the temptation to give up in the face
of trials along this journey to eternal life. One can grow weary and
tired and lose one’s passion and enthusiasm. Even the vision can be lost in the
midst of our daily life struggles and mundane preoccupations.
Isn’t this the case of
many organizations? If
you were to study the vision and mission statements of many organizations, we
cannot but be impressed by the high ideals and dreams they espouse for their
members and for those whom they are called to serve. But quite often, after
spending so much time deliberating on their mission and vision, they end up
just as statements without serious systematic implementation of what they
started. Sometimes, the reality is so far from the vision that members
and outsiders become skeptical. As no one seriously owns the vision, it
becomes a hypocritical and ludicrous aspiration.
Worse still, when the
leader himself or herself, who is supposed to be the guardian of the vision and
mission of the organization, is equally distracted and lost in the many other responsibilities or
demands that are made on him or her. As a consequence, the leader loses
his or her sense of direction. Yes, it is so easy even for leaders to
lose their focus and the dream that inspired them to lead an organization when
they get caught in the trappings of glory, power, materialism and
ambition. If the leader himself is no longer enthusiastic and
passionate about the vision of the organization, the energy of the members
would dissipate as well for they too will follow the leader in expending their
energy on everything that comes their way, but not able to synthesize and
integrate all their activities as means to realize the vision of the
organization.
This could also be
applicable to individuals of good will as well. Many of us as individuals join an
organization, a ministry or even respond to the call for priestly and religious
vocations. We have great hopes of bringing the gospel of Christ to
all, spreading the Word of God, reaching out to the poor, the sick, the lonely
and the troubled. We are so passionate and enthusiastic in wanting to
give our life, time and energy to transmit the gospel of Christ. Yet,
many of us have become jaded along the way. We have lost that passion,
that ideal and hope. Instead, some of us either have become indifferent
or even cynical, yet not willing to opt out as we do not know where else to go.
For this reason, it is
important that we must go back to our vision once again. It is
said, “Where there is no vision, the people perish!” Without a clear
understanding and conviction of our vision, we cannot speak of mission, of the
reason for our existence or the existence of an organization. Every
organization is formed to realize a vision that it sets out to do and to
achieve. Vision therefore is the spirit of any organization and the
energizing principle that motivates everyone to action so that the ultimate
state is realized.
To rediscover our vision, we
must go back to prayer. It is in prayer that the Lord will ignite
that vision in us. Only in prayer can we find clarity as to what the Lord
wills of us once again, and not what we will for Him. It is easy to
mask our insecurity with endless projects and by so doing fall into the hands
of the Evil One who comes under the guise of light to distract us from our
primary mission in life. It is therefore vital that we pay heed to the
exhortation of Jesus to stay awake, “praying at all times for the strength to
survive all that is going to happen, and to stand with confidence before the
Son of Man.” More often than not, the vision is lost because of too much
activities and the lack of relationship with the Lord. When Jesus is
taken out of our mission, we will also lose the vision.
In prayer too, we will
also discover our sinful nature, our selfishness, our impure motives in serving the
Lord. Unless we purify our sinful inclinations, we cannot see
clearly what His vision holds for us. Unless we purify our hearts,
we cannot serve Him with passion and conviction. So to stay awake
is to guard our hearts from the temptations of the world that distracts us from
our mission.
Yes, have you lost your
vision and your passion for the Kingdom? Have you lost your ultimate
calling in life, which is to share in the life of God? Have you been so
caught up by the transient pursuits of this life that you have forgotten the
higher ideals of life which money and pleasure cannot bring, namely, love and
relationship? If you are living a mediocre life right now or just
drifting through in your organization or just sitting in your office and
waiting to hand over your duties, then not only are you destroying yourself but
everyone who is dependent on your leadership! So let us wake up, keep
watch and start praying so that we can be alert to what the Lord is calling us
to do and how the devil is working against our efforts.
Finally, the assurance
of the Lord is that He is with us. He will reign in us. He will
provide us the light. He will shine in us. He will lead the way for
us. That is what the angel said, “Very soon now, I shall be with you
again.” We do not work alone but the Lord works in and through us
so long as we are willing to allow Him to be part of our lives. So
unceasingly, like the early Christians, whilst we await the realization of the
vision of eternal life to be fulfilled; even as we work to realize the dream of
God, we must also pray earnestly as well, crying out “Maranatha, Come Lord
Jesus!”
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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