20150930
ACCEPTING THE INVITATION TO BE KINGDOM BUILDERS
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Nehemiah 2:1-8 ©
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In the month of
Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, the wine being my concern, I
took up the wine and offered it to the king. Now I had never been downcast
before. So the king said, ‘Why is your face so sad? You are not sick, surely?
This must be a sadness of the heart.’ A great fear came over me and I said to
the king, ‘May the king live for ever! How could my face be other than sad when
the city where the tombs of my ancestors are lies in ruins, and its gates have
been burnt down?’ ‘What’ the king asked ‘is your request?’ I called on the God
of heaven and made this reply to the king, ‘If it pleases the king, and if you
are satisfied with your servant, give me leave to go to Judah, to the city of
my ancestors’ tombs, and rebuild it.’ The king, with the queen sitting there
beside him, said, ‘How long will your journey take, and when will you return?’
So I named a date that seemed acceptable to the king and he gave me leave to
go. I spoke to the king once more, ‘If it please the king, could letters be
given me for the governors of Transeuphrates to allow me to pass through to
Judah? And also a letter for Asaph, keeper of the king’s park, to supply me
with timber for the gates of the citadel of the Temple, for the city walls and
for the house I am to occupy?’ This the king granted me, for the kindly favour
of my God was with me.
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Psalm
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Psalm 136:1-6 ©
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O let my tongue
cleave to my mouth if I remember you not!
By the rivers of
Babylon
there we
sat and wept,
remembering
Zion;
on the poplars that
grew there
we hung
up our harps.
O let my tongue
cleave to my mouth if I remember you not!
For it was there that
they asked us,
our
captors, for songs,
our
oppressors, for joy.
‘Sing to us,’ they
said,
‘one of
Zion’s songs.’
O let my tongue
cleave to my mouth if I remember you not!
O how could we sing
the song
of the Lord
on alien
soil?
If I forget you,
Jerusalem,
let my
right hand wither!
O let my tongue
cleave to my mouth if I remember you not!
O let my tongue
cleave to
my mouth
if I
remember you not,
if I prize not
Jerusalem
above all
my joys!
O let my tongue
cleave to my mouth if I remember you not!
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Ps118:105
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is a lamp
for my steps
and a light for my
path.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Ph3:8-9
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I have accepted the
loss of everything
and I look on
everything as so much rubbish
if only I can have
Christ
and be given a place
in him.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 9:57-62 ©
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As Jesus and his
disciples travelled along they met a man on the road who said to him, ‘I will
follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus answered, ‘Foxes have holes and the birds of
the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’
Another
to whom he said, ‘Follow me’, replied, ‘Let me go and bury my father first.’
But he answered, ‘Leave the dead to bury their dead; your duty is to go and
spread the news of the kingdom of God.’
Another
said, ‘I will follow you, sir, but first let me go and say goodbye to my people
at home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Once the hand is laid on the plough, no one who
looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’
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ACCEPTING THE INVITATION TO BE KINGDOM BUILDERS
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SCRIPTURE
READINGS: NEH 2:1-8;
LK 9:57-62
Like
Nehemiah, we are all called to rebuild the house of the Lord, or in the words
of Jesus, we are called to be His disciples of the Kingdom. The call to
build the House of God is urgent, whether it was during the time of the prophet
Nehemiah, or that of His disciples today. Indeed, we read of the pathetic
condition of the Temple. The walls were in ruins, leading to frequent attacks
from invaders. The great prophecies of Ezekiel, Second Isaiah and
Zechariah about the restoration of the Temple and Jerusalem were fast becoming
pure illusion. Jesus too, faced great challenges in proclaiming the Kingdom of
God, and was very much aware of the challenges of missionary work, being an
itinerant preacher Himself.
The
Church today is not much different. In fact, we are under the onslaught,
not so much from armies with weapons, but from enemies who are equally hostile
to the Church, particularly secularists who oppose the teachings and values of
the gospel. From within, we experience the weaknesses of both the religious
leaders and members that have resulted in scandals and failures. Living
in an individualistic culture that is also materialistic and secularist, it is
difficult to preserve one’s faith in the world. All these attacks from
within and without have made the Church lose credibility in the proclamation of
the gospel. Thus, the call to rebuild the Church by having faithful and
committed disciples is even more urgent than ever. But what is required
for the disciples or the would-be disciples of Jesus to live the Kingdom
life? Three kinds of responses are identified today as being incompatible
in realizing the Kingdom in our lives.
Firstly,
the response to discipleship cannot be a mere emotional response. That
was what happened to the man who wanted to follow Jesus. He told Jesus,
“I will follow you wherever you go.” But Jesus restrained him saying, “Foxes
have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere
to lay his head.” In other words, discipleship is not for the weak and for
those who are not ready to make sacrifices. This is a clear warning for
those who have converted to the Faith, or joined priestly or religious life
because of some spiritual euphoria that they have experienced. Whilst
such religious experiences can be the beginning of a conversion experience or a
call, yet we need time to sort out the demands of discipleship. For the
fact is that emotions and feelings do not last; only commitment lasts.
Feelings come and go. No one is high in love always, but what is left are
the daily struggles that come from living out our commitment to God and to His
people. Consequently, such people easily get disillusioned and
discouraged when they are confronted with the harsh realities of Christian
living and their own inner struggles. Discipleship cannot be dependent on some
feelings of love but a real commitment to live the truth in love and to love in
truth. All other motives will not carry us very far.
Secondly,
in the face of the offer of the Kingdom, either because of other distractions
or because of the exacting demands that come from the acceptance of the gospel,
many of us would want to postpone our commitment. Like the second man in
the gospel, we seek to delay our response to the invitation, saying, “let me
bury my father first.” To bury one’s father means to wait until we
have fulfilled all our filial duties, which might take years. Of course,
the commandment requires that we honour our parents. However, to allow human
beings to obstruct us from answering the call of God is but another form of
idolatry.
We
must, therefore, in the mind of Jesus, learn to rely not on human calculation
but rest on heroic faith in the Lord. We must make a decision to live the
life of the Kingdom, the kingdom of love and service. Conversion to the
Kingdom life and a life of discipleship is not to be postponed indefinitely but
requires an immediate decision. This is true with regard to our desire to
change our lives. We pay lip service, consoling ourselves that we will
one day live an authentic Christian life. But in reality we keep
procrastinating, whether it is a question of deepening our prayer life or
living a life of integrity. Unless we make the decision to change now, to
be happy now, to live now, then we will never find the Kingdom. The
Kingdom of God is already here; not a future event that is yet to come.
As for the future, things will somehow look after themselves. We need to
trust in providence. Right now, we need only to surrender our lives in
trust and faith.
The
third inadequate response that we can give to Jesus is that of a divided
commitment. Like the man who wanted to follow Jesus, but on condition
that he be allowed to take leave of his people at home first. He said, “I
will follow you, sir, but first let me go and say good-bye to my people at
home.” This person has the intention to follow Jesus but his heart is
torn between giving himself to the work of the Kingdom and to his loved
ones. He has a problem of attachment. He cannot let go entirely.
And among all our attachments in life, which include things, glory, power,
fame, viewpoints, the greatest attachment is to people whom we love. It
takes tremendous sacrifice to give up the people whom we love so much because
that relationship prevents us from living a life of purity and truth.
This is particularly true when it comes to giving up an irregular relationship
and physical intimacy with a person whom we love so much. Indeed, there
are many who want to serve the Lord and yet unable to let go of such improper
relationships because whilst loving Jesus, they also desire human love and
affection. Quite often, our past will prevent us from being fully open to the
love of God that is coming to us in the present. The tragedy of
attachment is that our hearts become un-free for other things in life, and most
of all, for the love and service of God and His people.
Attachments
prevent a person from being open to others and whatever is coming into his
life. That is why Jesus makes it clear that the man who puts his hand on
the plough and looks back is not fit to live in the kingdom of God. When
attachments rule our hearts, we are not free for God’s offer of life and
love. It is a situation or ‘either or’. There is no question of
having our attachments and the joy of the Kingdom at the same time. Our
commitment to the Kingdom must be a single-minded commitment, which is possible
only in total detachment. Only then can we live in the Kingdom, which is
to live for the moment now, totally and fully. But having recognized this
truth, it is not easy. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is
weak. The sacrifice of giving up human love for God’s love is perhaps the
greatest of all sacrifices, especially if the person whom you are giving up is
the dearest love and gem in your life.
Yes,
the invitation to live the Kingdom life is urgent. And not only urgent,
it requires our total commitment. Anything less will not do. To
delay a minute longer would simply mean to delay our happiness a minute
longer. But the moment we decide to live in the present and give our
whole heart to the present, then we will begin to live the Kingdom which is a
kingdom of love, joy and peace. Living in our past and in the future
cannot ever bring about happiness. Living in our attachments simply means
that God’s love cannot rule our lives. To be His disciples simply means that we
live the Kingdom life of love and service in total trust in the Father.
So how
can we muster the strength to do what we have to do and make a decisive
decision now? We must ask for the grace to love God and His people more
than we love ourselves. Truly, to follow the Lord and work in His kingdom
demands a magnanimous heart like Jesus who emptied Himself of the glory of His
divinity to become one of us to serve us unto death. Unless we have a
higher love, we will not be able to give up a lower form of love. The
decision to give up our own happiness for the greater good of others demands
total selflessness and self-denial. Only a deep love for God can enable
us to sacrifice our own personal needs and interests for the sake of His
people.
In our
dilemma to answer the call of God to give up ourselves for His sake and the
people God loves, we can only rely on grace alone. Human effort and human
will alone, will break our hearts and can even lead to repression of our human
needs for affection and love. This will only make us un-loveable and even
bitter against God because we made a reluctant sacrifice. So what else
can we do except to learn from Nehemiah, to surrender our emotions to the Lord
in humble and earnest prayer? Let us ask God for the grace to see the
urgency and the great joy of the Kingdom, and be convinced that we can have it
now. Let us plead for a foretaste of the joy and freedom of serving Him
and His people so that we will not become discouraged in the face of sacrifices
and trials ahead of us. Finally, we pray for the grace to say, “Thy will
be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
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