20150730 THE CONCLUSION
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Exodus
40:16-21,34-38 ©
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The tabernacle
is set up
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Moses did exactly as
the Lord had directed him. The tabernacle was set up on the first day of the
first month in the second year. Moses erected the tabernacle. He fixed the
sockets for it, put up its frames, put its crossbars in position, set up its
posts. He spread the tent over the tabernacle and on top of this the covering
for the tent, as the Lord had directed Moses. He took the Testimony and placed
it inside the ark. He set the shafts to the ark and placed the throne of mercy
on it. He brought the ark into the tabernacle and put the screening veil in
place; thus he screened the ark of the Lord, as the Lord had directed Moses.
The cloud
covered the Tent of Meeting and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because of the cloud that rested on
it and because of the glory of the Lord that filled the tabernacle.
At every
stage of their journey, whenever the cloud rose from the tabernacle the sons of
Israel would resume their march. If the cloud did not rise, they waited and
would not march until it did. For the cloud of the Lord rested on the
tabernacle by day, and a fire shone within the cloud by night, for all the
House of Israel to see. And so it was for every stage of their journey.
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Psalm
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Psalm
83:3-6,8,11 ©
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How lovely is your
dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.
My soul is longing
and yearning,
is
yearning for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my soul
ring out their joy
to God,
the living God.
How lovely is your
dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.
The sparrow herself
finds a home
and the
swallow a nest for her brood;
she lays her young by
your altars,
Lord of
hosts, my king and my God.
How lovely is your
dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.
They are happy, who
dwell in your house,
for ever
singing your praise.
They walk with
ever-growing strength,
they will
see the God of gods in Zion.
How lovely is your
dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.
One day within your
courts
is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
The threshold of the
house of God
I prefer
to the dwellings of the wicked.
How lovely is your
dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Jn15:15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I call you friends,
says the Lord,
because I have made
known to you
everything I have
learnt from my Father.
Alleluia!
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Or
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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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Gospel
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Matthew 13:47-53
©
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Jesus said to the
crowds, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea that brings
in a haul of all kinds. When it is full, the fishermen haul it ashore; then,
sitting down, they collect the good ones in a basket and throw away those that
are no use. This is how it will be at the end of time: the angels will appear
and separate the wicked from the just to throw them into the blazing furnace
where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.
‘Have you
understood all this?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ And he said to them, ‘Well then, every
scribe who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a householder
who brings out from his storeroom things both new and old.’
THE
CONCLUSION
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SCRIPTURE
READINGS: EX 40:16-21,
34-38; MT 13:47-53
Today’s
scripture readings provide us with two apparently different conclusions.
The first reading from the Book of Exodus concludes with the installation of
the tabernacle. It would henceforth be in this place that God would
specially meet His people. It would be at the Tabernacle that His
presence would be felt strongly. “The cloud covered the Tent of Meeting
and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter
the Tent of Meeting because of the cloud that rested on it and because of the
glory of the Lord that filled the tabernacle.” It would also be the way
the Lord would guide His people for the rest of the journey through the
desert. “At every stage of their journey, whenever the cloud rose from
the tabernacle the sons of Israel would resume their march. If the cloud
did not rise, they waited and would not march until it did.”
In the
gospel too, we have another conclusion to the parables of the Kingdom of
God. In the structure of St Matthew’s gospel, chapter 5-7, we have the
Sermon on the Mount which presents the perfect ideal of the Kingdom of
God. Chapters 8-10 concretize the kingdom of God in the miracles
performed by Jesus, and chapters 11-13 expound on the hidden nature of the
kingdom by means of parables. Appropriately, the end sums up the message
of judgment illustrated in the parable of the dragnet, where the good would
then be separated from the bad. After judgment, those not found worthy of
the kingdom would be cast “into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping
and grinding of teeth.”
At
first glance, perhaps, we do not see the close connection between these two
endings. Yet, both are very much related to the presence and the reign of
God. The presence of God that filled the Tabernacle was a local presence
in a place. The reign of God that Jesus preached in the New Covenant is
not located in a place but in the hearts of all men and women. Whenever
God reigns in our hearts, there God is present. There will be joy and
freedom for those who live under the New Law of the Kingdom, because we have
God ruling our lives. Unlike the Law of the Old Covenant, the New Law as
summed up by the Sermon on the Mount goes beyond the Mosaic Law. It
spells out the true spirit of the laws given to us.
In a
real sense therefore, the kingdom of God is already present in different
degrees in us whenever we open ourselves to the grace of the Kingdom. So
the expectation of the kingdom cannot be relegated to the end of time.
Rather, at every moment of our lives, we are either rejecting the life of the
kingdom or living under the Spirit of the Kingdom. When we see the end of
the kingdom in this perspective then the final judgment is not something to be
feared but to be longed for. If we find ourselves fearful of the judgment
as portrayed in today’s gospel, it is because we tend to interpret the parable
of the final judgment literally, as if we are appearing before God to be
judged, like in a human court, and then after receiving our due sentence, sent
to hell or to heaven. Rather, the parable must be understood as a vehicle
to make us realize that the decision for the fullness of life here and now will
have an impact on our final decision.
From
this perspective, the final judgment is not something to be feared. Rather, the
judgment must be seen as the permanent establishment of the reign of God in our
lives where there will be no more pain or sorrow. With His reign, there
will be peace, joy and love forever. Where could this place be if not in
the heart of God Himself? Heaven, a state of eternal bliss and joy and
love should be where we all hope to arrive. Death is not a punishment but
the passage to new life and the fullness of life.
For
this reason, the psalmist declares, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord,
mighty God! My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the Lord. My heart
and my flesh cry out for the living God. Blessed they who dwell in your house!
Continually they praise you. I had rather one day in your courts than a
thousand elsewhere. I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” We all have had a taste of this
state of heaven, of living in the Tabernacle of God when we come before His
presence in prayer, in intimacy and especially when we receive Him in the most
Holy Eucharist. To dwell in the presence of God gives us a joy and a peace that
no human being can give us.
But the
fact remains that sin and God are incompatible, like light and darkness.
You cannot have God and Satan. If we desire to come to the Lord, we need
to purify ourselves in all sincerity. Of course, we know that perfection
is not something within our will, but it depends on the grace of God.
What is important is that we cooperate with His grace as much as we can.
When we fail, we simply have to turn to our merciful God in the Sacrament of
Reconciliation, trusting in His mercy and coming to realization that our sins
hurt God as much as ourselves and the people around us. So there is no
reason to fear judgment because we know that God’s judgment will be tampered by
mercy and forgiveness. Of course this does not mean that we become
presumptuous of His mercy and continue to sin without a real desire for
repentance. Without a contrite heart, we would then be consciously
rejecting the kingdom of God, which is quite different from one who desires to
live the kingdom life but on account of his weakness and ignorance fall into
sin.
So what
would our conclusion be like? Have you considered your conclusion at the end of
your life? Is it going to be one of liberation, joy and satisfaction,
knowing that you have lived your life to the fullest with a clear conscience
before God and man? Would you be able to say with St Paul, “As for me, I
am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has
come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept
the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that
day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his
appearing.” (2 Tim 4:6-8)
St Paul
could look forward to the fullness of the coming of God’s kingdom only because
he had chosen to be with the Lord every day and every moment of his life.
He was always living in the presence of God, in His dwelling place,
whether he was awake or asleep, at work or at rest, in prayer or with
people. We too can already have a share in this kingdom life to come when
we live in full consciousness of His presence and love in a life of service,
charity, forgiveness and compassion. This is what the Lord is asking of
us.
Just as
God was with His people at every stage of their journey by making His presence
felt in the Tabernacle, signified by a cloud and fire, so too, we must allow
His presence to guide us. At every stage of our life, we must rest and
ponder the direction we are taking, like the people of God during the
Exodus. We read that “if the cloud did not rise, they waited and would
not march until it did. For the cloud of the Lord rested on the
tabernacle by day, and a fire shone within the cloud by night, for all the
House of Israel to see. And so it was for every stage of their journey.”
So too,
Jesus urges us to respond rightly at every moment when He advised us, “Well
then, every scribe who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a
householder who brings out from his storeroom things both new and old.”
We must learn from our mistakes, from our past, whilst working towards the
future. From the storeroom, that is, the past and the present, we must
maximize the lessons from our failures and the good we have done. From the
storeroom of our history and our faith, let us, whilst appreciating and valuing
the past, also be receptive to the new ways the Lord wants to work in our
lives. Forgetting our past will hurt us as much as living in the past,
and forgetting the grace of the present moment coming our way will hinder us
from allowing the future to take its full effect in our lives. By
bringing the past, the present and the future together in Christ, we will
gradually make progress in the life of the kingdom. As the author of
Hebrews tells us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Heb 13:8)
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
©
All Rights Reserved
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