Wednesday, 8 July 2015

THE CHURCH’S MISSION BEGINS FROM WITHIN TO WITHOUT

20150708 THE CHURCH’S MISSION BEGINS FROM WITHIN TO WITHOUT
Readings at Mass

First reading
Genesis 41:55-57,42:5-7,17-24 ©
When the whole country of Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread. But Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, ‘Go to Joseph and do what he tells you.’ There was famine all over the world. Then Joseph opened all the granaries and sold grain to the Egyptians. The famine grew worse in the land of Egypt. People came to Egypt from all over the world to buy grain from Joseph, for the famine had grown severe throughout the world.
  Israel’s sons with others making the same journey went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan. It was Joseph, as the man in authority over the country, who sold the grain to all comers. So Joseph’s brothers went and bowed down before him, their faces touching the ground. When Joseph saw his brothers he recognised them. But he did not make himself known to them, and he spoke harshly to them. Then he kept them all in custody for three days.
  On the third day Joseph said to them, ‘Do this and you shall keep your lives, for I am a man who fears God. If you are honest men let one of your brothers be kept in the place of your detention; as for you, go and take grain to relieve the famine of your families. You shall bring me your youngest brother; this way your words will be proved true, and you will not have to die!’ This they did. They said to one another, ‘Truly we are being called to account for our brother. We saw his misery of soul when he begged our mercy, but we did not listen to him and now this misery has come home to us.’ Reuben answered them, ‘Did I not tell you not to wrong the boy? But you did not listen, and now we are brought to account for his blood.’ They did not know that Joseph understood, because there was an interpreter between them. He left them and wept.

Psalm
Psalm 32:2-3,10-11,18-19 ©
May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
Give thanks to the Lord upon the harp,
  with a ten-stringed lute sing him songs.
O sing him a song that is new,
  play loudly, with all your skill.
May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
He frustrates the designs of the nations,
  he defeats the plans of the peoples.
His own designs shall stand for ever,
  the plans of his heart from age to age.
May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
The Lord looks on those who revere him,
  on those who hope in his love,
to rescue their souls from death,
  to keep them alive in famine.
May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.

Gospel Acclamation
James1:18
Alleluia, alleluia!
By his own choice the Father made us his children
by the message of the truth,
so that we should be a sort of first-fruits
of all that he created.
Alleluia!
Or
Mk1:15
Alleluia, alleluia!
The kingdom of God is close at hand:
repent and believe the Good News.
Alleluia!

Gospel
Matthew 10:1-7 ©
Jesus summoned his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to cast them out and to cure all kinds of diseases and sickness.
  These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, the one who was to betray him. These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows:
  ‘Do not turn your steps to pagan territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town; go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.’


THE CHURCH’S MISSION BEGINS FROM WITHIN TO WITHOUT

SCRIPTURE READINGS: GN41:55-57; 42:5-7. 17-24; PS 32:2-3, 10-11, 18-19; MT 10:1-7
“These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows: ‘Do not turn your steps to pagan territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town; go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.  And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.'”   Why did Jesus restrict the mission to His own people?  Indeed, some scholars question whether Jesus intended that the gospel be spread beyond Palestine.  How was it then that the disciples did not observe this command of Jesus?  This was also an issue in the early Church regarding the admission of the Gentiles. We read in the Acts of the Apostles, the early Church was struggling as to how they should deal with gentile converts and on the other hand, the rejection of the Jews to the gospel.
Obviously, Jesus was not against reaching out to non-Jews.  The case in point is the Syro-Phoenician woman who asked Jesus to heal her daughter.  Although Jesus initially rejected her request, yet, because of her faith and persuasive argument that even the house dogs can have the left overs from the table, He relented and healed her daughter.  Of course we have other examples of Jesus reaching out to the pagans.  He healed the centurion’s Servant and also performed miracles at the Decapolis region.  Also, at the end of the gospel, which was written in the light of the resurrection and reflecting the practice of the early Church, all the evangelists recorded Jesus commissioning the Twelve to preach the gospel to all nations and to baptize them in the name of the Holy Trinity.  St Mark even spoke of the signs that accompanied the preaching, which was written as a post resurrection narrative. This commissioning came only after they encountered the Risen Christ and had received the Holy Spirit, the love and power of God in person.   So it is clear that in the mind of the early Church the gospel is be proclaimed to all of creation, not just to the Jews, but it presupposes a Christ-encounter.
How, then, do we understand Jesus’ command, as it seems that the disciples were acting contrary to Jesus’ instructions? The context and intention of Jesus commanding them not to go out of Palestine was because in the plan of God, the Good News was meant to be given to the Jews first, as the chosen people of God, and from them to the world.  Hence, before sending them out to the world, Jesus wanted to evangelize His own people.  This principle still holds even for the Church today.  Before evangelizing the world we must first begin by evangelizing ourselves.  This is why the Year of Faith was proclaimed in the context of the synod on the New Evangelization. Unless Catholics are first evangelized, they cannot proclaim Christ to the world.
What does it mean to re-evangelize our people? How is this mission to be carried out? The gospel says, “And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.”  How is this done?   By proclaiming the Kingdom of God, not in words but in actions.  Proclamation of the gospel is not primarily the teaching of doctrines but to give people a personal encounter with Christ in a concrete way.  The Good News is more than words but primarily works.  The disciples were instructed to heal the sick and cast out unclean spirits.
Yesterday, we read in the gospel how Jesus went about healing the sick, casting out evil spirits and feeding the hungry besides teaching them.  The Good News is basically the love and compassion of God made real today.  Regardless, teaching without accompanying actions will not suffice.  That is why St Francis of Assisi told his disciples to preach the gospel and, only if necessary, use words. People encounter God in their daily lives in events like the psalmist who prays “May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you. The Lord looks on those who revere him, on those who hope in his love, to rescue their souls from death, to keep them alive in famine.”
Above all, what is even more important is the work of reconciliation in the proclamation of the Good News, reconciling men with each other and with God.  The gospel at the end of the day is the gospel of reconciliation.   This is what St Paul wrote as well.  More than anything we need to reconcile man with God so that man is reconciled within himself, leading to his reconciliation with his fellowmen.  All miracles seek to express and lead men to this reconciliation.  Similarly, Joseph in the first reading shows God’s love by forgiving and reconciling with his brothers.
Does it mean that the mission to the world is not necessary?  Of course not!  Once we are evangelized, we will desire to share the Good News with the whole world.  Only because Joseph received God’s blessings could he share his blessings with the pagans. Once we have received God’s love, we can then reach out to others in love.  In conclusion, we are called to renew, to re-appropriate and to rediscover our faith so that we encounter His love, which in turn will propel us to proclaim His love to the world.  In the work of the New Evangelization, the priority is to renew the faith of our Catholics.


Written by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved



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