20150127 THE CALL TO SERVE THE FAMILY OF JESUS IN OBEDIENCE TO HIS
WILL
Readings at Mass
First reading
|
Hebrews 10:1-10 ©
|
Since the Law has no
more than a reflection of these realities, and no finished picture of
them, it is quite incapable of bringing the worshippers to perfection, with the
same sacrifices repeatedly offered year after year. Otherwise, the offering of
them would have stopped, because the worshippers, when they had been purified
once, would have no awareness of sins. Instead of that, the sins are recalled
year after year in the sacrifices. Bulls’ blood and goats’ blood are useless
for taking away sins, and this is what he said, on coming into the world:
You who wanted no
sacrifice or oblation,
prepared a body
for me.
You took no
pleasure in holocausts or sacrifices for sin;
then I said,
just as I was
commanded in the scroll of the book,
‘God, here I am! I
am coming to obey your will.’
Notice that he says
first: You did not want what the Law lays down as the things to be
offered, that is: the sacrifices, the oblations, the holocausts and the
sacrifices for sin, and you took no pleasure in them; and then he says: Here
I am! I am coming to obey your will. He is abolishing the first sort to
replace it with the second. And this will was for us to be made holy by the
offering of his body made once and for all by Jesus Christ.
Psalm
|
Psalm
39:2,4,7-8,10,11 ©
|
Here I am, Lord! I
come to do your will.
I waited, I waited
for the Lord
and he
stooped down to me;
he heard
my cry.
He put a new song
into my mouth,
praise of
our God.
Here I am, Lord! I
come to do your will.
You do not ask for
sacrifice and offerings,
but an
open ear.
You do not ask for
holocaust and victim.
Instead,
here am I.
Here I am, Lord! I
come to do your will.
Your justice I have
proclaimed
in the
great assembly.
My lips I have not
sealed;
you know
it, O Lord.
Here I am, Lord! I
come to do your will.
I have not hidden
your justice in my heart
but
declared your faithful help.
I have not hidden
your love and your truth
from the
great assembly.
Here I am, Lord! I
come to do your will.
Gospel
Acclamation
|
Ps118:135
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Let your face shine
on your servant,
and teach me your
decrees.
Alleluia!
Or
|
Mt11:25
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you,
Father,
Lord of heaven and
earth,
for revealing the
mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
Gospel
|
Mark 3:31-35 ©
|
The
mother and brothers of Jesus arrived and, standing outside, sent in a message
asking for him. A crowd was sitting round him at the time the message was
passed to him, ‘Your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for
you.’ He replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking round at
those sitting in a circle about him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my
brothers. Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister
and mother.’
THE
CALL TO SERVE THE FAMILY OF JESUS IN OBEDIENCE TO HIS WILL
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: HEB 10:1-10; PSALM 39:2,4,7-8,10,11; MARK 3:31-35
All of us are called to
service in Christ. In
a special way, we are called to serve the family of God which is the whole of
humanity but in a special way, the relatives of Jesus. How can we
serve Jesus best? The truth is that many people want to serve in Church
ministry but they want to choose how they like to serve and not where God wants
them to serve. One wonders whether in the final analysis, the service we
render is really to God or to ourselves.
If we truly wish to
serve the Lord then His true relatives are those who do the will of God. Jesus remarked, “Anyone who does
the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.”
We must desire to do His will in all things and only His will. In
all that we do, we must seek to do the will of God and for His greater
glory. True service is at the service of the other. It would be
dangerous to make use of others whom we serve to satisfy our ego and needs.
Hence, to serve God, we must make ourselves the victim of offering and not make
others our bulls and goats.
The letter of Hebrews says,
“Bulls’ blood and goats’ blood are useless for taking away sins, and this
is what he said, on coming into the world: You who wanted no sacrifice or
oblation, prepared a body for me. You took no pleasure in holocausts or
sacrifices for sin; then I said, just as I was commanded in the scroll of the
book, ‘God, here I am! I am coming to obey your will.’” This is
what it entails, when we make our bodies as a living sacrifice and say
“Lord! I come to do your will.” The letter to Hebrews
says, “And this will was for us to be made holy by the offering of his body
made once and for all by Jesus Christ.”
As such, those who wish
to serve God must discern properly the will of God and put His glory above all
else. We must
consider where the Lord needs us most and not what we think we like to do
best. Indeed, we need to have an open ear to listen to His
calling. The psalmist repeats the same truth. “You do not ask for
sacrifice and offerings, but an open ear. You do not ask for holocaust and
victim. Instead, here am I.” We must search for His will sincerely
in all honesty.
How then do we know the
will of God? Quite
often, we hear people telling us, “The Lord tells me to do this and
that.” How then do we know we are hearing rightly or wrongly? The
truth remains that the voice of God is normally expressed through your
immediate superiors and/or through the community’s discernment.
Consequently, if your decision contradicts that of your legitimate superior,
most likely, it is not the will of God. Of course, the decision of the
superior could be wrong but God who is in charge of the situation, can use that
decision for the ultimate good of the person.
Another way to discern the
will of God is always through the community. If we have a community with
us, especially brothers and sisters who live in deep communion with the Lord
and with each other, then discernment should take place within the community
under the direction of the superior. The community as much as the
superior must listen to the prompting the Spirit gives to each of the member of
the community. The superior, after listening to the community, must then
make a decision in accordance with the will of the Lord. Hence, for such
communal discernment, all members must always live in communion with the Lord
and also in communion with their superior and their community. Outside
the community, the will of God is not found. The will of God is a
communal discernment and that of the superior.
Throughout our ministry,
we will always struggle between doing our will and God’s will. Will you put the will of God
above yours? This will be our greatest temptation because of pride and
rebellion in our hearts. Will you be obedient or will you want things
your way? In most instances, we want to think that we are right and our
superiors are wrong. We insist on having things our own way.
Indeed, even in religious and priestly life, quite often the promise or vow of
obedience is taken but not lived out in reality. It is taken by the candidate
but the bishop and superiors are called to live the vow of obedience to their
members!
Why the lack of
submission to legitimate authority? This is because we lack faith. We are outside the
circle of the family of Jesus. This is the intent of the evangelist when he
noted that Jesus “looking round at those sitting in a circle about him, he
said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of God,
that person is my brother and sister and mother.’” Apparently, His relatives
were outside the circle and hence did not have faith in Jesus as they wanted to
bring Him home suspecting that He was made. Faith in our superiors
demands trust in the power of God. Surrendering our lives into the hands
of our superiors is madness indeed. But that was what Jesus
did. He surrendered His failure into the hands of His Heavenly
Father. Let us put ourselves in the circle of Jesus’ family by
desiring to do God’s holy will and not ours. In His will is our
peace.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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