20151118 TAKING RISKS FOR THE KINGDOM
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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2 Maccabees
7:1,20-31 ©
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There were seven
brothers who were arrested with their mother. The king tried to force them to
taste pig’s flesh, which the Law forbids, by torturing them with whips and
scourges. But the mother was especially admirable and worthy of honourable
remembrance, for she watched the death of seven sons in the course of a single
day, and endured it resolutely because of her hopes in the Lord. Indeed she encouraged
each of them in the language of their ancestors; filled with noble conviction,
she reinforced her womanly argument with manly courage, saying to them, ‘I do
not know how you appeared in my womb; it was not I who endowed you with breath
and life, I had not the shaping of your every part. It is the creator of the
world, ordaining the process of man’s birth and presiding over the origin of
all things, who in his mercy will most surely give you back both breath and
life, seeing that you now despise your own existence for the sake of his laws.’
Antiochus
thought he was being ridiculed, suspecting insult in the tone of her voice; and
as the youngest was still alive he appealed to him not with mere words but with
promises on oath to make him both rich and happy if he would abandon the
traditions of his ancestors; he would make him his Friend and entrust him with
public office. The young man took no notice at all, and so the king then
appealed to the mother, urging her to advise the youth to save his life. After
a great deal of urging on his part she agreed to try persuasion on her son.
Bending over him, she fooled the cruel tyrant with these words, uttered in the
language of their ancestors, ‘My son, have pity on me; I carried you nine
months in my womb and suckled you three years, fed you and reared you to the
age you are now (and cherished you). I implore you, my child, observe heaven
and earth, consider all that is in them, and acknowledge that God made them out
of what did not exist, and that mankind comes into being in the same way. Do
not fear this executioner, but prove yourself worthy of your brothers, and make
death welcome, so that in the day of mercy I may receive you back in your
brothers’ company.’
She had
scarcely ended when the young man said, ‘What are you all waiting for? I will
not comply with the king’s ordinance; I obey the ordinance of the Law given to
our ancestors through Moses. As for you, sir, who have contrived every kind of
evil against the Hebrews, you will certainly not escape the hands of God.’
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Psalm
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Psalm
16:1,5-6,8,15 ©
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I shall be filled,
when I awake, with the sight of your glory, O Lord.
Lord, hear a cause
that is just,
pay heed
to my cry.
Turn your ear to my
prayer:
no deceit
is on my lips.
I shall be filled,
when I awake, with the sight of your glory, O Lord.
I kept my
feet firmly in your paths;
there was
no faltering in my steps.
I am here and I call,
you will hear me, O God.
Turn your
ear to me; hear my words.
I shall be filled,
when I awake, with the sight of your glory, O Lord.
Guard me as the apple
of your eye.
Hide me
in the shadow of your wings
As for me, in my
justice I shall see your face
and be
filled, when I awake, with the sight of your glory.
I shall be filled,
when I awake, with the sight of your glory, O Lord.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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1Jn2:5
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Whenever anyone obeys
what Christ has said,
God’s love comes to
perfection in him.
Alleluia!
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Or
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cf.Jn15:16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I chose you from the
world
to go out and bear
fruit,
fruit that will last,
says the Lord.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 19:11-28 ©
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While the people were
listening, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and
they imagined that the kingdom of God was going to show itself then and there.
Accordingly he said, ‘A man of noble birth went to a distant country to be appointed
king and afterwards return. He summoned ten of his servants and gave them ten
pounds. “Do business with these” he told them “until I get back.” But his
compatriots detested him and sent a delegation to follow him with this message,
“We do not want this man to be our king.”
‘Now on
his return, having received his appointment as king, he sent for those servants
to whom he had given the money, to find out what profit each had made. The
first came in and said, “Sir, your one pound has brought in ten.” “Well done,
my good servant!” he replied “Since you have proved yourself faithful in a very
small thing, you shall have the government of ten cities.” Then came the second
and said, “Sir, your one pound has made five.” To this one also he said, “And
you shall be in charge of five cities.” Next came the other and said, “Sir,
here is your pound. I put it away safely in a piece of linen because I was
afraid of you; for you are an exacting man: you pick up what you have not put
down and reap what you have not sown.” “You wicked servant!” he said “Out of
your own mouth I condemn you. So you knew I was an exacting man, picking up
what I have not put down and reaping what I have not sown? Then why did you not
put my money in the bank? On my return I could have drawn it out with
interest.” And he said to those standing by, “Take the pound from him and give
it to the man who has ten pounds.” And they said to him, “But, sir, he has ten
pounds . . .” “I tell you, to everyone who has will be given more; but from the
man who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
‘“But as
for my enemies who did not want me for their king, bring them here and execute
them in my presence.”’
When
he had said this he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
TAKING
RISKS FOR THE KINGDOM
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SCRIPTURE
READINGS: MC 7:1,
20-31; LK 19: 11-28
Like
the listeners in today’s gospel, we are all hoping for the coming of the
kingdom of God in our lives. Yet, the fact is that just by listening, one
cannot enter the kingdom of God. To enter into the kingdom requires that
we take risks in our lives. This is the message of today’s gospel.
The
parable of the talents is not so much about doing our best and utilizing all
the talents that God has given us. Note that the point of the parable is
not how many talents we have in life and therefore we are required to produce
correspondingly. In fact, the gospel makes it clear that all the ten
servants were given the same amount of talents. For this reason, the
original message of the parable cannot be a question of employing our talents
to the fullest; although it became interpreted as such in the Sitz im leben
(Situation in the life) of the Church.
We too
are given the same talent. But what is this same talent that all of us
are given? It is simply the possibility of entering into the experience
of the kingdom of God. This indeed is the original Sitz im leben of Jesus
in this parable. Jesus was challenging His listeners who were still
non-committal to the kingdom values and the kingdom life that Jesus was offering
them. They were mere listeners and passive observers. But the
kingdom of God cannot be experienced in this manner. To illustrate the
importance of a commitment to the kingdom in real life experience, the story of
the talents was told.
The
question is whether we are willing to take the risk of opening ourselves to God
in our lives. The fact is that many of us are just like the servant who
kept the talent hidden. The servant actually is a reference
to the Pharisees and scribes who tried to conserve the Torah and in so doing
killed the Spirit of the law, and preserved the letter of the law
instead. They were people who were traditionalists, refusing to admit
changes and to see life from different perspectives and adapt the eternal
principles to the new situation. The reason why they could not accept
Jesus is that in accepting His message, it would mean a whole new way of
living, which the Pharisees were not too willing to exchange for the security
they found in their current life-styles. They were not ready to allow
Jesus to be their king, to allow Him to rule their lives. They were
protective of their own lives and their interests.
But
that is the irony of life; in being protective of their own lives, they
actually destroyed themselves. In trying to find life in their security
in the old laws and their rules and regulations, they had prevented themselves
from growing. They had, in other words, stifled their spirit and thus the
Spirit of God. That is why the man with the hidden talent had his talent
taken away from him. What is static will eventually fossilize and
disintegrate. This is very true in life in every aspect, whether secular
or religious.
Thus,
when we do not use money for investment, not only does the money not grow but
in fact decreases in value due to inflation. Similarly, many
religious institutions are afraid of change. They are not responding to
the needs of today’s world. Instead they want to hang on to established
traditions and customs. Yet, by hanging on to outdated rules and
policies, they hinder their institution or organization from
growing. To grow we need to take risks like Jesus. We are
invited to be like Jesus by being courageous and willing to make a difference
in the lives of our peoples. For Jesus, it meant having to break some of
the established traditions and rules that drove sinners further away from
God. He took the risk of even making Himself ritually unclean by reaching
out to them and those who were sick. Today, more than ever, Pope Francis
is asking the Church to take risks in reaching out especially to sinners and
not allow old customs to restrict us from proclaiming the gospel to the whole
world.
Yes,
true life is always a gamble. That is the way and nature of
life. To find life, we must always take risks. The fewer
risks we take in life, the more remote would be the chances of us experiencing
the kingdom of God in its fullness. Of course, many of us would prefer to
be comfortably settled down in our routine and the life-style that we are used
to. But to settle down to the routine of life is simply to exist but not
to live, because then, we act like robots every day, waking up, dragging
ourselves to work, bringing the kids from school, etc. without any enthusiasm
or joy. Of course, in such a life, there are no risks involved, no
inconvenience. But at the same time, we cannot say that there is really
life.
Yes, in
order to experience the joy of the kingdom, we need to take risks in
life. Our Lord’s life is the very proof and demonstration of this truth
of life. Jesus was a man who took risks. Knowing that He was going
to meet trouble in Jerusalem, He did not shirk from carrying out His
mission. He took the risk of going to Jerusalem, knowing that His life
was at stake. But because He risked His life even to the extent of dying
on the cross, in that total surrender, He experienced the kingdom in its
fullness and brought about that kingdom for us as well. But this kingdom
is still not subjectively ours yet, unless we too take the same risks in exposing
ourselves to the kingdom that is being offered to us in various ways. We
are invited to take the risk of wasting time with God; the risk of trying new
things in formation; the risk of loving; the risk of introducing new changes,
the risk of adventure – most of all, the risk of giving up our lives for what
we believe is the way to the fullness of life – by emptying ourselves totally
for God and for service to our fellowmen.
When we
do that, we will find life to be much more meaningful. With every new
experience learnt, we enrich ourselves. Gaining experiences is always
cumulative in the sense that with each new experience, we enrich our past
experiences and see them in deeper and more wholesome perspectives. That
is why Jesus tells us that He who has more will indeed be given
more. Yes, the axiom of life stands: no venture, no gain.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
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