20151105 THE INCOMPARABLE JOY OF SAVING SOULS
Readings at Mass
First reading
|
Romans 14:7-12 ©
|
The life and death of
each of us has its influence on others; if we live, we live for the Lord; and
if we die, we die for the Lord, so that alive or dead we belong to the Lord.
This explains why Christ both died and came to life, it was so that he might be
Lord both of the dead and of the living. This is also why you should never pass
judgement on a brother or treat him with contempt, as some of you have done. We
shall all have to stand before the judgement seat of God; as scripture says: By
my life – it is the Lord who speaks – every knee shall bend before
me, and every tongue shall praise God. It is to God, therefore, that each
of us must give an account of himself.
Psalm
|
Psalm
26:1,4,13-14 ©
|
I am sure I shall
see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
The Lord is my light
and my help;
whom
shall I fear?
The Lord is the
stronghold of my life;
before
whom shall I shrink?
I am sure I shall
see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
There is one thing I
ask of the Lord,
for this
I long,
to live in the house
of the Lord,
all the
days of my life,
to savour the
sweetness of the Lord,
to behold
his temple.
I am sure I shall
see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
I am sure I shall see
the Lord’s goodness
in the
land of the living.
Hope in him, hold
firm and take heart.
Hope in
the Lord!
I am sure I shall
see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
Gospel
Acclamation
|
cf.Ps129:5
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
My soul is waiting
for the Lord,
I count on his word.
Alleluia!
Or
|
Mt11:28
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Come to me, all you
who labour and are overburdened,
and I will give you
rest, says the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel
|
Luke 15:1-10 ©
|
The tax collectors
and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to
say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said
‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he spoke this parable to them:
‘What man
among you with a hundred sheep, losing one, would not leave the ninety-nine in
the wilderness and go after the missing one till he found it? And when he found
it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders and then, when he got home,
call together his friends and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,” he would say “I
have found my sheep that was lost.” In the same way, I tell you, there will be
more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine
virtuous men who have no need of repentance.
‘Or
again, what woman with ten drachmas would not, if she lost one, light a lamp
and sweep out the house and search thoroughly till she found it? And then, when
she had found it, call together her friends and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,”
she would say “I have found the drachma I lost.” In the same way, I tell you,
there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.’
THE
INCOMPARABLE JOY OF SAVING SOULS
|
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: ROM 14:7-12;
PS 26:1, 4, 13-14; LK 15:1-10
What is
your attitude towards those who have left the Church, sinners and those who do
not know Christ?
Many so
called good and pious Catholics would condemn them. This was the
situation during the time of St Paul as we read in the first reading today,
where there was tension between the so called very strict Christians who would
have nothing to do with food that was offered to idols and those more liberated
Christians who felt that idols did not exist and hence they were at liberty to
eat anything, since God had declared all food clean.
St Paul
warns us about being too radical in cutting off sinners or condemning those who
have not arrived at our level of faith. This has often been the tendency
of self-righteous believers who are no different from the religious leaders
during the time of Christ and St Paul. The immediate reaction is to
excommunicate such ‘bad’ Catholics for bringing disrepute to our Catholic
Faith. We think it is better to do without them; after all, they are a
nuisance and difficult to live with.
This
approach is one of protectionism. We are like the religious leaders who
did not want to be contaminated by other sinners. They wanted to maintain
their ritual purity. They sought to save their own souls but were not
bothered with those who were lost in sin. We too want to live in an
idyllic world, in the purity of the new kingdom. We are afraid that if they are
allowed into the Church, we would be scandalized and our faith would be
compromised. So we abandon the wounded who have left the Church and let them
be. We make no attempt to bring them back. Out of sight, out of
mind! This explains why the Jewish leaders were scandalized that Jesus would
eat and drink with sinners, and even welcome them! They complained, “This
man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
But by
so doing, we will miss out the greater joy of the gospel, which is to share in
the joy of those who have found Christ, meaning and purpose in life. We
deceive ourselves into thinking that we can remain as a happy and loving
community without them. But how could we when we know that our
loved ones and friends are lost in the desert of life? Indeed, it gives
us much joy to be with our loved ones, but there is no greater joy than knowing
that we have brought back the lost and wounded sheep, those who were walking in
the valley of darkness.
The
attitude of Jesus towards sinners was just to the contrary. As St Luke
would tell us later, “the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the
lost.” In the mind of Jesus, He came for one purpose, which was to
save the lost, but more than that, to seek out the lost! How wonderful is
the love and mercy of God! He was not simply contented to grant mercy to
sinners who came to Him for forgiveness. On the contrary, He was always
out there looking for sinners, searching for the lost sheep, the lost coin, the
lost son, in Luke chapter 15. He did not wait for the lost sheep to
appear before Him, asking for mercy and to be readmitted to the Church or be
accepted in the kingdom of God. Nay, Jesus did not stay in His office but
went out to the streets, to the prostitutes, the wounded, the marginalized,
those whom society condemns and write off. He was proactive.
Why did
Jesus act in this manner? Simply because Jesus has the heart of God in
Him! What is the heart of God? It is the heart of unconditional,
faithful and forgiving love and mercy. In the eyes of God, every single
soul is important to Him, regardless. Every life is precious to God,
whether of an unborn baby, a child with disadvantages, the sick and elderly or
a sinner. God sees all as unique individuals who need love and
understanding. Hence, He feels much for them when they suffer, through no
fault of their own, or the consequence of their own follies.
More
than that, He does not pass judgement or condemn. We never heard Jesus
condemning sinners. Even with the adulterous woman, He remained neutral
and simply, with gentleness and compassion, reminded her not to sin
anymore. Jesus only reserved the harshest words for the hypocrites,
because their hearts were hardened. This was the same advice given
by St Paul with regard to sinners in the community. He wrote, “This is
also why you should never pass judgement on a brother or treat him with
contempt, as some of you have done. It is to God, therefore, that each of
us must give an account of himself.” So let us not judge the hearts of
people. Each one has to give an account before the Lord. Only He
knows our intentions, the full circumstances, our efforts, our sorrows and our
ignorance. He takes into account all these factors and not just the deed
itself.
Most of
us have different levels of understanding and judgment of moral issues.
So we cannot truly judge people who are not living the external demands of the
gospel and the teachings of the Church. On the other hand, it does not
mean that we do not proclaim the truth and the values of the gospel. The
Church cannot compromise on the Bible’s teachings on the inalienable sacredness
of life, the indissolubility of marriage, homosexuality, honesty, etc.
Morality must be taught without diluting the truths of the Word of God.
But it is another thing to pass judgement on others when they fail to live up
to the standards of the gospel truth. They must follow their
conscience. We need to pray for them and for ourselves, that we will be
enlightened in the truth so that conversion and repentance can come from the
heart.
Indeed,
when we act in this manner, out of mercy and compassion, reaching out to the
lost, wounded, confused and when we are able to touch their hearts and minds
and bring them back to Christ, we too will experience a joy great beyond
comparison to the man who found his lost sheep, or the woman who found her
coin. To find the lost sheep is a great joy because it is the joy of
knowing that that person is safe and sound. For the woman, that lost coin
was part of her wedding dowry, and to lose it was not just a financial loss but
a sentimental loss. It is like losing your wedding ring, regardless of
how expensive it is, or not.
It is
not to say that the rest who are well and safe are unimportant, but rather that
all are important to us. No parent could be happy even if all their other
children are doing well except for one black sheep in the family. It
pains the hearts of parents to know that one of their sons or daughters is a
wayward child and doing things to hurt himself or herself. Those who are
already “saved”, we are of course happy and relieved. But if the one who
is lost returns to the fold of the family, there will be great rejoicing
because the joy of reunion is experienced by the whole family. There is
also the joy of numbers, for joy is doubled when shared. This is what St
Paul also wrote, “The life and death of each of us has its influence on others;
if we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord, so that
alive or dead we belong to the Lord.” We all have a great influence on each
other, for better or for worse, in happiness and in sadness.
So let
us not miss out the joy of the New Evangelization, of reaching out to sinners,
to Catholics who have left the Church because they have been wounded and
misled; and those who are walking in the valley of darkness seeking for
life. Let us lead them to the Lord, for as the psalmist says, “I am sure
I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. The Lord is my
light and my help; whom shall I fear?”
Do not
miss out the joy of saving souls. St James says, “If anyone among you
wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that
whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from
death and will cover a multitude of sins.” (Jms 5:19f) Indeed, the only way
to protect your faith is to share it and witness it. In my life as a
priest, it is when I minister to others and see the change in their lives, or
when I preach a homily, knowing that I have enlightened and given hope to
someone, that I experience the joy that comes from such a sacrifice. You
too must not keep the faith to just within your own circle of friends, ministry
members and community. Reach out and search for the lost sheep! He
is waiting to come home! Lead him back to “the land of the living”!
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
©
All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment