20151205 CATHOLIC PROSPERITY GOSPEL
Readings at Mass
|
First reading
|
|
Isaiah
30:19-21,23-26 ©
|
Thus says the Lord
God, the Holy One of Israel:
People of
Zion, you will live in Jerusalem and weep no more. He will be gracious to you
when he hears your cry; when he hears he will answer. When the Lord has given
you the bread of suffering and the water of distress, he who is your teacher
will hide no longer, and you will see your teacher with your own eyes. Whether
you turn to right or left, your ears will hear these words behind you, ‘This is
the way, follow it.’ He will send rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and
the bread that the ground provides will be rich and nourishing. Your cattle
will graze, that day, in wide pastures. Oxen and donkeys that till the ground
will eat a salted fodder, winnowed with shovel and fork. On every lofty
mountain, on every high hill there will be streams and watercourses, on the day
of the great slaughter when the strongholds fall. Then moonlight will be bright
as sunlight and sunlight itself be seven times brighter – like the light
of seven days in one – on the day the Lord dresses the wound of his people
and heals the bruises his blows have left.
|
Psalm
|
Psalm 146:1-6 ©
|
Happy are all who
hope in the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Praise the Lord for
he is good;
sing to
our God for he is loving:
to him
our praise is due.
The Lord builds up
Jerusalem
and
brings back Israel’s exiles.
Happy are all who
hope in the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
He heals the
broken-hearted,
he binds
up all their wounds.
He fixes the number
of the stars;
he calls
each one by its name.
Happy are all who
hope in the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Our Lord is great and
almighty;
his
wisdom can never be measured.
The Lord raises the
lowly;
he
humbles the wicked to the dust.
Happy are all who
hope in the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
Acclamation
|
Is55:6
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Seek the Lord while
he is still to be found,
call to him while he
is still near.
Alleluia!
|
Or
|
Is33:22
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord is our
judge, the Lord our lawgiver,
the Lord our king and
saviour.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
|
Matthew
9:35-10:1,5,6-8 ©
|
Jesus made a tour
through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming
the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness.
And when
he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and
dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The
harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to
send labourers to his harvest.’
He
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
twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows: ‘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. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers,
cast out devils. You received without charge, give without charge.’
CATHOLIC
PROSPERITY GOSPEL
|
|
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: ISAIAH 30:19-21,23-26; MATTHEW 9:35-10:1,5,6-8
Some
Catholics are confused whether the prosperity gospel as preached by some
Christians is part of the Catholic Teaching and whether it is faithful to the
Word of God. The principle of the prosperity gospel seems to be quite
sound on the surface, namely, the more you give to God, the more you
receive. There seems to be a basis in the gospel when Jesus said, “give,
and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together,
running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the
measure you get back.” (Lk 6:38)
St Paul wrote to the Corinthians expressing the same message, “The point is
this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows
bountifully will also reap bountifully.” (2 Cor 9:6)
Indeed,
in today’s scripture readings, we are encouraged to have hope in the messianic
blessings that God wants to give us as He promised the Israelites. Prophet
Isaiah consoled the people by assuring them that the God of Israel is a
gracious God. “Thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:
People of Zion, you will live in Jerusalem and weep no more. He will be
gracious to you when he hears your cry; when he hears he will answer. When the
Lord has given you the bread of suffering and the water of distress, he who is
your teacher will hide no longer, and you will see your teacher with your own
eyes.” Indeed, God would provide the fodder for the animals, water for
all and the crops.
These
messianic blessings were renewed in the person of our Lord when He came to
earth. We read in the gospel, “Jesus made a tour through all the towns
and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the
kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness.” He came as the
fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah, as a Teacher. He is the way, the
truth and the life. Prophet Isaiah said, “he who is your teacher will
hide no longer, and you will see your teacher with your own eyes. Whether
you turn to right or left, your ears will hear these words behind you, ‘This is
the way, follow it.’” However, Jesus came not just as a teacher or
a preacher only. The preaching and teaching are but a prelude to the miracles
of healing and exorcism. He came as a healer to restore creation
and a fallen and wounded humanity. He was a shepherd to those who
were lost, confused, downtrodden and in despair. St Matthew noted, “And
when he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and
dejected, like sheep without a shepherd.”
All
those who are receptive of our Lord were healed and enlightened. They
were set free from their illnesses, fears, anxiety and slavery to their sins
and addictions. This is what the psalmist says, “Happy are all who hope
in the Lord. He heals the broken-hearted, he binds up all their wounds. He
fixes the number of the stars; he calls each one by its name. Our Lord is great
and almighty; his wisdom can never be measured. The Lord raises the lowly; he
humbles the wicked to the dust.” Today, the Lord still heals us if we are
available to Him for healing. The Lord still shows us the way and
enlightens us in the truth if we are docile to His Word. Indeed, the Lord
comes to us again and again through the Magisterium, the teaching authority of
the Church in the college of bishops, the Word of God preached in the
Eucharistic celebration and catechesis. Most of all, when we spend time
meditating and praying with the Word of God. The Lord comes to us in a
special way through the Sacraments, especially in the Eucharist, where we feel
His closeness and presence; and in the sacrament of reconciliation where we are
healed of our fears, brokenness, guilt and pain. Finally, in the sacrament
of anointing of the sick, the Lord continues His healing works through the
priests.
So it
is clear that the Lord wants to bless us. But we cannot reduce the
blessings of God to material blessings, not even of health and less still of
money, power and status. These worldly things do not necessarily bring us
real happiness and therefore are not real blessings. They are only means
to greater blessings the Lord wants to bestow on us. It is the blessing
of a blessed life of joy, love and peace that the world cannot give. We
only need to look around those of us who have been blessed with material and
worldly blessings. Are they really happy, at peace with themselves, full
of joy and love? Many of us have quite good physical health but we are
not happy, always discontented and full of anger, vindictiveness, greed and
dishonesty. Those of us who are rich have so many worries and fears and,
most of all, temptations. Finally, the powerful and influential are not
so powerful after all, because they are always worried about public perception
and security, and so they have no real freedom to do what they want.
If we
want to enjoy the real blessings of God, then the gospel makes it clear, “You
received without charge, give without charge.” On this basis, Jesus, after
giving the disciples “authority over unclean spirits with power to cast them
out and to cure all kinds of disease and sickness”, sent them out instructing
them as follows: ‘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. Cure the
sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils.” So the
principle is clear, what we have received, we are called to give.
We are never called to give what we do not have. We are only to give what
we have been given! St Paul again said, “Each one must do as he has
made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful
giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that
you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every
good work. As it is written, “He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his
righteousness endures forever.” He who supplies seed to the sower and
bread for food will supply and multiply your resources and increase the harvest
of your righteousness.” (2 Cor 9:7-10) So we
must never forget that if the Lord blesses us, it is in order that we can bless
others even more. So He gives us position, wealth, talents, health, time
and resources, not for our selfish enjoyment and pleasure but so that we have
the capacity to give on His behalf. He does not expect us to give what we
do not have. But having received, to receive more, we need to give out
what we have been given. We must follow Jesus’ example, “For you know the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he
became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” (2 Cor 8:9)
By so
doing, the blessings that we give out to others overflow back to us; and as a
consequence, we become more and more blessed in return. Isn’t this is
what St Paul is saying, “ You will be enriched in every way for
great generosity, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God; for the
rendering of this service not only supplies the wants of the saints but also
overflows in many thanksgivings to God.” (2 Cor 9:11)
Concretely, it means that when we use our resources to share with others, we
receive the righteousness of joy of sharing. When we give to the poor and
help them, whether financially or materially, we receive the joy and
satisfaction of sharing their joy and happiness. When we reach out to
those who are sick and even if we are sick ourselves, we feel much consoled by
them and learn compassion, empathy and mercy. In the process of
visiting and taking care of the sick, we learn to appreciate and not take our
health for granted. In the same vein, when we use our time for teaching
the faith, counselling the troubled and those in distress, guiding the young,
we grow in understanding of our own faith and begin to appreciate the
sufferings of our fellowmen. This again will make us more humane and not
to complain too much about the sufferings we have because there is so much more
sufferings that others have to go through. When we see how well they cope
with their sufferings, we cannot but find inspiration and be edified by
them. In a nutshell, by giving and serving, we receive much more than we
give. The rewards and joys of sharing our gifts and blessings
cannot be compared to any earthly reward.
Indeed,
let us see the big picture and acquire the heart of the Good Shepherd. As
He said, “The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the
harvest to send labourers to his harvest.” If we want to receive
the joy, peace and love of God during the season of Advent and Christmas, then
be a blessing to others. Be channels of His blessings to the poor, the
lonely, the sick, the distressed and those without hope. Give them love,
joy and hope; and in turn you will receive much more than you give out.
This is the true meaning of prosperity gospel! The blessings of
righteousness cannot be compared to any earthly or worldly blessing.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment