20150312 LENT AN INVITATION TO BE INTEGRATED INTO THE FAMILY OF
GOD
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Jeremiah 7:23-28
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These were my orders:
Listen to my voice, then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Follow
right to the end the way that I mark out for you, and you will prosper. But
they did not listen, they did not pay attention; they followed the dictates of
their own evil hearts, refused to face me, and turned their backs on me. From
the day your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until today, day after day
I have persistently sent you all my servants the prophets.
But they
have not listened to me, have not paid attention; they have grown stubborn and
behaved worse than their ancestors. You may say all these words to them: they
will not listen to you; you may call them: they will not answer. So tell them
this, “Here is the nation that will not listen to the voice of the Lord its God
nor take correction. Sincerity is no more, it has vanished from their mouths.”
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Psalm
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Psalm 94:1-2,6-9
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O that today you
would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
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.
O that today you
would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
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.
O that today you
would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
O that today you
would listen to his voice!
‘Harden
not your hearts as at Meribah,
as on
that day at Massah in the desert
when your fathers put
me to the test;
when they
tried me, though they saw my work.’
O that today you
would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Ezk18:31
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Praise to you, O
Christ, king of eternal glory!
Shake off all your
sins – it is the Lord who speaks –
and make yourselves a
new heart and a new spirit.
Praise to you, O
Christ, king of eternal glory!
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Or
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Joel2:12-13
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Praise to you, O
Christ, king of eternal glory!
Now, now – it is
the Lord who speaks –
come back to me with
all your heart,
for I am all
tenderness and compassion.
Praise to you, O
Christ, king of eternal glory!
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Gospel
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Luke 11:14-23 ©
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Jesus was casting out
a devil and it was dumb; but when the devil had gone out the dumb man spoke,
and the people were amazed. But some of them said, ‘It is through Beelzebul,
the prince of devils, that he casts out devils.’ Others asked him, as a test, for
a sign from heaven; but, knowing what they were thinking, he said to them,
‘Every kingdom divided against itself is heading for ruin, and a household
divided against itself collapses. So too with Satan: if he is divided against
himself, how can his kingdom stand? – Since you assert that it is through
Beelzebul that I cast out devils. Now if it is through Beelzebul that I cast
out devils, through whom do your own experts cast them out? Let them be your
judges then. But if it is through the finger of God that I cast out devils,
then know that the kingdom of God has overtaken you. So long as a strong man
fully armed guards his own palace, his goods are undisturbed; but when someone
stronger than he is attacks and defeats him, the stronger man takes away all the
weapons he relied on and shares out his spoil.
‘He
who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters.’
LENT
AN INVITATION TO BE INTEGRATED INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: JER 7:23-28; LK11:14-23
Lent is
a time of preparation for Catechumens to be baptized on Easter so that they can
be welcomed into the family of God. To be baptized is to be
incorporated into the body of Christ, the family of God. For those of
us who are already baptized, we are called to renew our baptismal vows and for
those who have left the Church or cut themselves from Christ and His Church
because of sin, they are invited to be reconciled with the family of God.
Indeed, today, the liturgy renews the call for a greater integration into the
household of God. In the first reading, through the prophet, Jeremiah,
God reiterates His wish that we be His people. “Listen to my voice, then
I will be your God and you shall be my people.”
He wants us to be part
of His household, as implied in today’s gospel. Jesus warns us “Every kingdom
divided against itself is heading for ruin, and a household divided against
itself collapses.” So it is necessary for us to be one in unity and love
with the members of the Household of God we belong to by virtue of our
baptism. For in that household of God, we will find peace and joy.
Indeed, this is the promise of God that those who belong to Him will prosper
and find life. In the household of God, there will be peace and self-integration.
There will be no war, no division and no separation.
However, if we were to
belong to God’s family, it presumes that we are in relationship with Him in
an intimate manner. If we were to belong to the family of God it
means that we share in the vision and life of God. Four times in the
first reading, the prophet exhorted the people to listen to the voice of God.
We cannot be one in mind and heart if we do not hear the same voice of
God. So long as we choose to hear our own voices instead, we will
only choose our way and as a consequence, hurt the family of God. This
was what God said to the Israelites through Jeremiah. “Follow right to
the end the way that I mark out for you, and you will prosper. But they
did not listen, they did not pay attention; they followed the dictates of their
own evil hearts, refused to face me, and turned their backs on me.”
The consequences are
frightening when we turn away from God. By refusing to follow the
voice of God, we destroy ourselves. We are blinded by the way we look
at others and the situation. We judge others and look at life from the
spectacles of a wounded, broken and selfish heart. This was the way some
of the contemporaries, especially the religious leaders, reacted to Jesus’
casting out a devil from a dumb man. Instead of being in awe at the power
of God over evil like the others, some accused Jesus saying, “It is through
Beelzebul, the prince of devils that he casts out devils.” How could they
be so blind and illogical to even dare to accuse Jesus of being in cahoots with
the devil?
Clearly, whenever we see
division, we know that the devil is at work. This is one of the signs of detecting the devil at
work in our midst. He uses those who are wounded emotionally,
psychologically and even physically, to gain access over our human spirit as in
the case of the dumb man. It is true that not all sins originate from the
work of the devil. It comes first and foremost from a heart that is proud
and disobedient, as in the case of Adam. It comes from a heart that does
not want to submit to God’s word. “You may say all these words to them:
they will not listen to you; you may call them: they will not answer. So
tell them this, ‘Here is the nation that will not listen to the voice of the
Lord its God nor take correction.’” Sin comes from disobedience, which is
the abuse of freedom. But once we allow sin to take root in us, it will
bring about our alienation from others and not only from God.
If there is so much
division in society, it is because there is no peace in our heart. Division in society always
begins with the individual. Society in itself is not evil but it is evil
and selfish people that perpetuate sins in society. Hence, we become
divided like the household of Satan. We live divisive lives and being divided,
Jesus warned us that we would not last. And so it is in family and
society at large. Today, families and societies are breaking apart.
Estranged relationships between spouses, children and parents, among siblings,
are so common in society today. We feel unloved even at home and so some
are so desperate in seeking love elsewhere. There is so much resentment,
anger and even hatred in our hearts against those who have hurt us. This
leads to despair and broken relationships.
What people do not know is
that a time will come when they lose total control over their anger, hatred
and addictions to the things of the world and the sins of the flesh. They
eventually find themselves unable to break away from their sin of pride,
envy, anger, sloth, gluttony, avarice and lust. When such a situation is
reached, not even counselling can restrain and heal the person. This is
because a broken and wounded human spirit is always the fertile ground for the
evil spirit to manipulate and control, as in the case of the dumb man.
Evil spirits tend to mask themselves under human spirits so that their work
cannot be detected. They appear as evil forces working behind the scenes
and instigating men to fight, quarrel and destroy each other. Satan knows
very well that the best way to destroy is to divide and conquer. So when
there are lots of fighting and quarrelling within the family or in our Church
organizations then, perhaps, it could be an indication not just of human pride
and sin but that we are being used as an agent of Satan to carry out his plan
of bringing about division in society.
That is the reason why when
we are not ready to change our lives, we will find all kinds of excuses to
justify our refusal to repent. In itself this is bad enough, but to
accuse good people with noble intentions of doing something evil is not just to
succumb to evil; it is a conspiracy with evil. We become their agents and
not just their victims. As the prophet rightly puts it, “You may say all
these words to them: they will not listen to you; you may call them: they will
not answer. So tell them this, ‘Here is the nation that will not listen
to the voice of the Lord its God nor take correction. Sincerity is no
more, it has vanished from their mouths.”
But the good news is
that Jesus is our strongman! In such cases, only the “finger of God” can overcome the
spiritual interference of Satan. We cannot fight against Him but Jesus
can. He assures us, “But if it is through the finger of God that I cast
out devils, then know that the kingdom of God has overtaken you. So long
as a strong man fully armed guards his own palace, his goods are undisturbed;
but when someone stronger than he is attacks and defeats him, the stronger man
takes away all the weapons he relied on and shares out his spoil.” When
division sets in your house, then we must depend on Jesus who, as the
strongman, can heal all resentment, hatred and unforgiveness. When we find
ourselves unable to break free from our bondage to our anger, pride and hatred,
we need not give up but come to Jesus who wants to set us free as He did with
the dumb man.
But there is one
condition. “He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not
gather with me scatters.” It is clear on our own we will not be able
to stand up against the Evil One. But with Jesus, we can do
anything. However, we must be ready to gather with Jesus. We need
to have faith in Jesus. Faith is to believe that He is the power of God
and through Him, God is establishing His reign on earth and in our lives.
The people during the time of Jeremiah lacked faith in God and thus did not
listen to His voice. The contemporaries of Jesus did not have the faith that
Jesus was exorcising through the power of God. The failure to recognize that
Jesus is our Savour would mean that “the kingdom of God has overtaken”
us. Instead of turning to Jesus, we turn to the world and our fellowmen
for deliverance when they themselves are equally under the bondage of sin and
ignorance.
Hence, today, the liturgy
exhorts us to have faith in God through Jesus. He is the strong
man and stronger than Satan and his kingdom. Faith in Jesus is the sure
guarantee that we would be protected from self-destruction. Because He
casts out Satan through the power of God, He, too, is the guarantee of our
place in the kingdom. But we need to renew our relationship with Him
through prayer, listening to His voice in the Word of God, gathering together
often with the Body of Christ in worship at the Eucharist and in Christian
fellowship. By integrating more and more with the family of God, we do
not have to face the temptations of the Evil One alone, but with Christ and our
fellow brothers and sisters, we can overcome the world, with all its
temptations, trials and sins.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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