20150112 OBEDIENCE IN FAITH AS THE WORTHY RESPONSE TO THE WORD OF
GOD
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Hebrews 1:1-6 ©
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At various times in
the past and in various different ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the
prophets; but in our own time, the last days, he has spoken to us through his
Son, the Son that he has appointed to inherit everything and through whom he
made everything there is. He is the radiant light of God’s glory and the
perfect copy of his nature, sustaining the universe by his powerful command;
and now that he has destroyed the defilement of sin, he has gone to take his
place in heaven at the right hand of divine Majesty. So he is now as far above
the angels as the title which he has inherited is higher than their own name.
God has
never said to any angel: You are my Son, today I have become your father;
or: I will be a father to him and he a son to me. Again, when he brings
the First-born into the world, he says: Let all the angels of God worship
him.
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Psalm
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Psalm
96:1-2,6-7,9 ©
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All you angels,
worship the Lord.
The Lord is king, let
earth rejoice,
the many
coastlands be glad.
His
throne is justice and right.
All you angels,
worship the Lord.
The skies proclaim
his justice;
all
peoples see his glory.
All you
spirits, worship him.
All you angels,
worship the Lord.
For you indeed are
the Lord
most high
above all the earth,
exalted
far above all spirits.
All you angels,
worship the Lord.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Ac16:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O
Lord,
to accept the words
of your Son.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Mk1:15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The kingdom of God is
close at hand:
repent and believe
the Good News.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 1:14-20 ©
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After John had been
arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the Good News from God.
‘The time has come’ he said ‘and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent,
and believe the Good News.’
As he was
walking along by the Sea of Galilee he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting
a net in the lake – for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them,
‘Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.’ And at once they left
their nets and followed him.
Going on
a little further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they too
were in their boat, mending their nets. He called them at once and, leaving
their father Zebedee in the boat with the men he employed, they went after him.
OBEDIENCE
IN FAITH AS THE WORTHY RESPONSE TO THE WORD OF GOD
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: HEB 1:1-6; MARK 1:14-20
We
celebrated the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord yesterday. In this
Feast, Jesus’ divine Sonship was affirmed not only for our sakes, but for His.
The Father affirmed Jesus in His Sonship and at the same time, His mission as
well. Being the Son of the Father implies that He is called to reflect
the Father’s love and compassion; and fulfil His dream for humanity.
Accordingly, the Letter to the Hebrews reads, “He is the radiant light of God’s
glory and the perfect copy of his nature, sustaining the universe by his
powerful command.”
But
more than just a reflection of the glory of God, He is the Word of God in
person. Again the author of Hebrews wrote, “At various times in the
past and in various different ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the
prophets; but in our own time, the last days, he has spoken to us through his
Son, the Son that he has appointed to inherit everything and through whom he
made everything there is.” As the Word of God in person, He is the fulfillment
of all the prophets who were sent before Him. Jesus is the eschatological
prophet and beyond Him, there is no further revelation since in the person of
Jesus, and by His life, passion, death and resurrection, He is the revelation
of God par excellence. Jesus is not only the revealer but the revealed as
well.
Most of all, by His
paschal mystery, He has overcome sin. The author of Hebrews writes, “Now that he has destroyed
the defilement of sin, he has gone to take his place in heaven at the right
hand of divine Majesty.” For this reason, He is exalted above all
creation. In winning victory over the Evil One, He is now raised on
high. “So he is now as far above the angels as the title he has inherited
is higher than their own name. God has never said to any angel: You are
my Son, today I have become your father; or: I will be a father to him and he a
son to me. Again, when he brings the First-born into the world, he says:
Let all the angels of God worship him.” Jesus is truly the Son of
God as verified by His death and resurrection.
In the light of this
great revelation, what are we called upon to do? We are called to worship
Him. Indeed,
we cannot but be filled with awe at the wisdom of God’s plan; that God chose to
reveal Himself in Christ and show us His love and mercy in the life and death
of His only Son. The most worthy, immediate and spontaneous response is
that of praise and worship. This is what the responsorial psalm is
inviting us to do. “All you angels, worship the Lord. The Lord is king,
let earth rejoice, the many coastlands be glad. His throne is justice and
right. The skies proclaim his justice; all peoples see his glory. All you
spirits, worship him. For you indeed are the Lord most high above all the
earth, exalted far above all spirits.” Truly, when one is filled with awe
at the wonders and mystery of God, the heart is called to worship and praise
Him.
But a true response is not
simply wonder and praise – it must also lead to obedience. If we
truly believe that Jesus is the Word of God in person, the fullness of God’s
revelation, then this must lead to obedience. Christ who is the
Word of the Father requires total surrender on our part. This is what the
gospel said about the response of the early disciples of Jesus. We read
that in two incidents, His disciples responded immediately to His call.
“As he was walking along by the Sea of Galilee he saw Simon and his brother
Andrew casting a net in the lake – for they were fisherman. And Jesus
said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.’ And at
once they left their nets and followed him.” And then, “Going on a little
further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they too were in
their boat, mending their nets. He called them at once and, leaving their
father Zebedee in the boat with the men he employed, they went after him.”
What is the theological
significance of these two events of Simon and Andrew, James and John’s
immediate responses in following Jesus without hesitation? Simon and Andrew left their
nets at once and followed Jesus. So too James and John left their father
at once when Jesus called them. Such a response is unimaginable! No
one in the right frame of mind would follow someone upon a mere call.
That would be totally irresponsible and foolish. We can be sure that if
we were them, we would not be so stupid to give up our well-paid jobs or a
trade that we are so familiar with for someone we hardly know. Did
Simon and Andrew understand what Jesus meant when He said to them, “Follow me
and I will make you into fishers of men”? They did not even know their
job description when they followed Jesus. In the same vein, which
children would leave their parents behind to follow a stranger? That
would again be irresponsible and more than that, unfilial. If you were
the father of James and John, you would be so terribly hurt and angry.
Most likely, you would think your sons have been charmed or hypnotized.
We must not be so naïve to
interpret this text literally as if the call of the disciples took place
exactly the way it was portrayed! The theological intent of the
evangelist is to underscore that the person who called the disciples was not
just any man but the Word of the Father, the Son of God. And because
the person who is calling is not merely a man but God Himself, our response to
Him must be total, complete, immediate and unconditional. No man
should give to another person such faith. Only with God, the faith that
is required of us is an absolute “Yes” and without conditions. This was
the case of Mary when the Lord called her and the prophets. Her response
like the rest was simply, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Let what you
said be done accordingly to your word.” (Lk 1:38)
When God calls, we are
required to give Him total allegiance. St Paul speaks of the obedience in faith in his letter to
the Romans: “Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and
apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that
comes from faith.” (Rom 1:5) He ended his letter by reiterating the
necessity of obedience to the Word of God when he wrote, “Now to him who is
able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now
revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the
eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him — to the only wise
God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.” (Rom 16:25-27)
Ironically, although
many of us are supposedly baptized in Christ, few give Him total obedience in
faith. How many are Christ’s disciples not just in name but in
fact? The sad reality is that today, many are baptized in Christ and even
consider themselves as disciples of Jesus, but they do not render Him worship
and much less, live a life that is worthy of their calling. Many are
simply nominal Catholics. They do not give glory to God in worship or in
their way of life. They live lives of contradictions. Their bad
examples have brought disrepute to the Church and ultimately to Christ.
Indeed, our Holy Fathers, from the late Pope John Paul II to our current Holy
Father Pope Francis, are very aware of the need to help our Catholics
rediscover and re-appropriate their faith in Christ. This is what the New
Evangelization is all about; namely, to help those who are already baptized
come to a personal encounter with the Lord so that they in turn can be like the
disciples, and become “fishers of men” to all those who have not known Him yet.
What, then, is
preventing you from leaving everything to follow Jesus? We have not understood and believed in
the Good News. This is what the evangelist tells us. “There he
proclaimed the Good News from God. ‘The time has come’ he said ‘and the
kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good
News.’” To be evangelized in the fullest sense of the term is to believe
in the Good News. What is this Good News if not that Jesus is the Word of
God, the revelation of the Father’s unconditional love and mercy for us?
To believe in the Good
News is to accept that God loves us and has forgiven us. It means to believe that we are
saved not on account of what we have done, but simply because of God’s mercy
and love. The letter of St Paul to Titus puts it this way, “At one time
we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of
passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one
another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved
us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He
saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he
poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having
been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal
life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so
that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing
what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.” (Titus
3:3-8)
So what is needed from
us is simply to believe this Good News. The repentance that is required of us in the first
stage of salvation is simply to believe that we are loved unconditionally and
are forgiven in Christ. This is what Jesus preached in the Gospel by
exhorting us to “Repent and believe!” In other words, the first
repentance is not from sin but from unbelief. If we truly believe
that God loves us as He loves His only Son, then we regain our dignity and once
again, become adopted sons and daughters of God. Flowing from this
conviction, we are then able to live a life worthy of our status as God’s
children. So what is required from us is our complete and total response
to Jesus’ call to faith in Him.
What, then, is
preventing us from believing? It is the lack of trust in Jesus. This lack of faith
springs from the fear of letting go of our security in the form of wealth,
career and attachment to people in our lives. Many of us are not able to
find peace in our hearts because we are not able to let go of our fears and our
attachments. We think that peace and security is found in wealth and
status and our career. Most of all, we cling to people in our lives, especially
relationships that are stifling, crippling and overly dependent. Instead
of placing our security on things, positions and people, we are called to place
our security only in Christ. Only God deserves our total allegiance and
trust. No other thing or person should take this place of God in our
lives. Otherwise, we fall into idolatry. The worship of things and
people, making them more important than our devotion to God is idolatry. Like
the disciples, if we want to find meaning in life and true security today, we
must be ready to let go of our worldly securities completely and follow
Jesus. Will we take the same risk like the apostles who let go of
everything, their nets and their loved ones to follow Jesus to become fishers
of man?
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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