Sunday, 3 January 2016

THE PROCESS OF FAITH IS A GIFT AND A TASK

20160103 THE PROCESS OF FAITH IS A GIFT AND A TASK

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: White.

These readings are for the Vigil Mass on the evening before the feast:

First reading Isaiah 60:1-6 ©
Arise, shine out, Jerusalem, for your light has come,
the glory of the Lord is rising on you,
though night still covers the earth
and darkness the peoples.
Above you the Lord now rises
and above you his glory appears.
The nations come to your light
and kings to your dawning brightness.
Lift up your eyes and look round:
all are assembling and coming towards you,
your sons from far away
and your daughters being tenderly carried.
At this sight you will grow radiant,
your heart throbbing and full;
since the riches of the sea will flow to you,
the wealth of the nations come to you;
camels in throngs will cover you,
and dromedaries of Midian and Ephah;
everyone in Sheba will come,
bringing gold and incense
and singing the praise of the Lord.

Psalm
Psalm 71:1-2,7-8,10-13

Second reading
Ephesians 3:2-3,5-6 ©
You have probably heard how I have been entrusted by God with the grace he meant for you, and that it was by a revelation that I was given the knowledge of the mystery. This mystery that has now been revealed through the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets was unknown to any men in past generations; it means that pagans now share the same inheritance, that they are parts of the same body, and that the same promise has been made to them, in Jesus Christ, through the gospel.

Gospel           Matthew 2:1-12 ©
After Jesus had been born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of King Herod, some wise men came to Jerusalem from the east. ‘Where is the infant king of the Jews?’ they asked. ‘We saw his star as it rose and have come to do him homage.’ When King Herod heard this he was perturbed, and so was the whole of Jerusalem. He called together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, and enquired of them where the Christ was to be born. ‘At Bethlehem in Judaea,’ they told him ‘for this is what the prophet wrote:
And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
you are by no means least among the leaders of Judah,
for out of you will come a leader
who will shepherd my people Israel.’
Then Herod summoned the wise men to see him privately. He asked them the exact date on which the star had appeared, and sent them on to Bethlehem. ‘Go and find out all about the child,’ he said ‘and when you have found him, let me know, so that I too may go and do him homage.’ Having listened to what the king had to say, they set out. And there in front of them was the star they had seen rising; it went forward, and halted over the place where the child was. The sight of the star filled them with delight, and going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and falling to their knees they did him homage. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. But they were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, and returned to their own country by a different way.
THE PROCESS OF FAITH IS A GIFT AND A TASK

SCRIPTURE READINGS: ISA 60:1-6; EPH 3:2-3, 5-6; Mt 2:1-12
Our hearts are restless.  And the reason is because our hearts need to rest on something that gives stability and meaning.  Some call this the Ultimate Ground of Being or the Supreme Being or simply, God.  Whatever name we call it, the inescapable reality is that one can find no peace and security until one finds God who gives meaning, direction and synthesis to our lives.  However, this search for God is fraught with many obstacles as God is Mystery.  For some, they give up the search because of the incomprehensibility of life and especially the sufferings of the world and conclude that there is no God.  Nevertheless, there are still many who believe in God today, even though this faith in God is expressed in different ways.
For us Christians, not only have we been given the faith to believe in God but also the revelation of who God is.  Through God’s grace and revelation, it has been revealed to us through the apostles and the prophets, that Jesus is the revelation of the Father and that believing in Him, we will also share in His life and glory.   Indeed, today the scriptures want us to know that Jesus is the glory of the Father.  Through Jesus, the whole earth will come to know who God really is.
But the thorny question is, how does one come to embrace the faith of the apostles, since we do not have a direct knowledge of Christ?  How can we come to believe in the same way that they believed? Indeed, today’s feast causes us to ponder and reflect how one can grow in faith in Jesus as the Christ, the epiphany of God.  Certainly, we all wish that we have the same or even the deep faith of the apostles.  But the truth is that the depth of our faith varies according to each person.  Some do not even have faith; others have only lukewarm faith, but such faith is not sufficient to bring about a deep encounter with the Mystery of life.  How then can one grow in faith in God as the Incarnation of God so that like the Magi we can really surrender ourselves, our entire life and being in worship and in our daily life?
Firstly, one must realize that faith is primarily a gift from God. It is the way of Paul, the way of grace.  It is possible that one can suddenly be graced from God with a revelation and come to find Him.  Yes, there are some people who have come to experience God through attendance at one prayer meeting or through a miracle of healing or even an apparition.  This is certainly possible.  However, such immediate enlightenment in faith is rare.  Even then, after such an experience, they also need to grow in faith through prayer and study.
For most, however, faith is a gradual growing process.  It demands our co-operation and it comes about through our own personal search for God.  This is the normal way of coming to faith.  It is the way of the Catechumenate.  So for most of us, we begin the journey of faith like that of the Magi.  First, we see the star.  In other words, the beginning of the journey of faith begins with a glimpse of God.  It could be the result of some dissatisfaction in us; a hunger for God; a certain sense of emptiness and a need to be satisfied.  The restlessness in our hearts is the beginning of faith.  It tells us that we need something more to be fulfilled in life and that even earthly things and success somehow cannot fill that emptiness in us.  It was true in the case of the Magi.  They saw the star rising and that led them to the search for the Infant king of the Jews.
This step of searching is what we call the step of inquiry in the RCIA.  It is a period when one asks many questions about life, God and sufferings.  So, we begin the search by inquiring.  Like the Magi, we feel the need to check up.  We must dare to inquire about what is happening within us and outside us.  Quite often, people say that faith is given to some and not to all.  This is not quite correct.  Faith is given to all.  The problem is that many are not attentive enough to the prompting of the Spirit.  Instead of listening to their restlessness and their lack of wholesomeness, many suppress His voice instead by distracting themselves with other things.  Indeed, if we find ourselves seeking for a deeper meaning in life, a more lasting peace and happiness or meaning, then it means that the Spirit is prompting us in our hearts to search for the truth.
Like the Magi, therefore, we must be courageous enough to search.  Of course, the search can be quite daunting.  Where and who to search?  We can be quite sure that these were the same fears that confronted the Magi.  They too did not know where to begin.  But they began anyhow, from the place where they saw the star.  And so they travelled to the East with just the guidance of one star. We too must travel deeper into our interior being so that we can feel and understand the depths of our hearts and ask searching questions about life, death, meaning and happiness. Only then, can we fill it with God’s presence and love.
But how can this be done?  Like the Magi, the search for God must begin with consultation of the religious leaders and competent authorities. So for the Magi, it was only logical of them to consult the political and religious leaders of Israel to help them locate the Infant King of the Jews.  For the inquirers, growing in faith presupposes that we come to learn from Christians or from priests and religious to help them to gain a deeper insight into the faith.  Here again, the problem with many of our Catholics is that they do not seek to grow in understanding of their faith. We only need to ask ourselves, what is the percentage of our Catholics that go for upgrading courses in their faith?
Nevertheless, while religious leaders can help us to grow in faith, ultimately, the encounter with God is a personal event.  Our friends and religious leaders can help us to come to know God, but in the final analysis, one must take the leap of faith in relating with Jesus.  That is why after seeking advice from Herod and his courts, the Magi went again on their way seeking for the Infant King.  This means that no one can give us a personal relationship with Jesus.  It must be our own choice, freewill and desire that make such a relationship possible.  The problem with Herod and with many of us is that we cannot be bothered to make the personal search ourselves.  We want to know God through secondary sources.  If Herod never came to find Christ, it was because he relied only on the words of his advisers but never personally. The fact of life is that we cannot experience for another person.  Without a personal search, one cannot find God.
This is where the journey of faith becomes difficult for many.  In this journey, we cannot but meet with many difficulties.  King Herod was perturbed when confronted with a possible contender to his throne.  He was frightened and fearful.  Already, in his mind, he was scheming to get rid of his future competitor.  In our journey of faith, in listening to the gospels and living in the Christian community, we too will feel disturbed at the kind of life we are living, or others in the Christian community are living; a life that is not faithful to the gospel values.  Quite often, like Herod and his courts, the problems and scandals in the Christian community, including some of the religious leaders, can prevent people from coming to faith.  At other times, we seem more confused than ever about life, as no answer seems to satisfy us.  Whatever it is, today, we are called to be like the Magi who remained undaunted in spite of their difficulties.  Because of their perseverance, their efforts were not in vain.  They came to find Jesus ultimately.   Yes, so long as we have given our best, then we can depend on God’s grace to help us.  Like the Magi, we will soon find the star once again when we come out of our dark tunnel.  The reappearance of the star is a stark reminder to us all not to give up hope but to persevere in the grace of God.
The consequence of finding the star, of finding Christ, is of course one of great delight and joy.  In finding Christ, we will find great joy, for we come to realize the true meaning of life.  That is why the Magi, upon finding Jesus, bowed down in worship, for they had encountered Jesus, the Infant King and God in person.  In presenting the Infant Jesus with all the gifts befitting a king and priest, they expressed their total surrender to one who had revealed to them the real meaning of life.  Indeed, it is true for those of us who have found Christ.  Before, we came to know Christ, we were anxious about our future, about our career, our worldly success and health.  But for those of us who have found Christ and tasted the great joy of love and peace in service and prayer, we regard all such things as unimportant in themselves, unless they can help us to serve others better.
The result is a new and transformed life.  Yes, we are told that the Magi, after worshipping Jesus, returned to their own country by a different way.  We who have come to know Jesus will return home by a different way too.  That is to say, we will see a change of life-style in us.  We will never be the same again. We will have a new life in Christ.  This life is now lived fully, for we have come to realize that real meaning is found only when one is in a deep union with God and our fellow human beings in love and service.
However, the journey of faith continues.  This journey is not confined to inquirers or catechumens only; it is for everyone.  All of us must grow and deepen our faith each day.  There is no graduation in terms of faith.  The graduation can come about only when we die and enjoy the beatific vision of God.  Until then, the life of faith for everyone, including us priests, is a life-long process as God is fathomless and inexhaustible; and life is full of novelties and unpredictability.  But the gift of faith is that the more we come to know God, the more we come to find life, both in this world and the next.  Yes, to the extent we deepen our faith, to that extent, we become more liberated, enlightened and filled with God’s love, life and joy.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved



No comments:

Post a Comment