20160208 DOMESTICATING THE PRESENCE OF GOD
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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1 Kings
8:1-7,9-13 ©
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Solomon called the
elders of Israel together in Jerusalem to bring the ark of the covenant of the
Lord up from the Citadel of David, which is Zion. All the men of Israel
assembled round King Solomon in the month of Ethanim, at the time of the feast
(that is, the seventh month), and the priests took up the ark and the Tent of
Meeting with all the sacred vessels that were in it. In the presence of the
ark, King Solomon and all Israel sacrificed sheep and oxen, countless,
innumerable. The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its
place, in the Debir of the Temple, that is, in the Holy of Holies, under the
cherubs’ wings. For there where the ark was placed the cherubs spread out their
wings and sheltered the ark and its shafts. There was nothing in the ark except
the two stone tablets Moses had placed in it at Horeb, the tablets of the
covenant which the Lord had made with the Israelites when they came out of the
land of Egypt; they are still there today.
Now when
the priests came out of the sanctuary, the cloud filled the Temple of the Lord,
and because of the cloud the priests could no longer perform their duties: the
glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s Temple.
Then
Solomon said:
‘The Lord has chosen
to dwell in the thick cloud.
Yes, I have built you
a dwelling,
a place for you to
live in for ever.’
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Psalm
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Psalm 131:6-10 ©
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Go up, Lord, to
the place of your rest!
At Ephrata we heard
of the ark;
we found
it in the plains of Yearim.
‘Let us go to the
place of his dwelling;
let us go
to kneel at his footstool.’
Go up, Lord, to
the place of your rest!
Go up, Lord, to the
place of your rest,
you and
the ark of your strength.
Your priests shall be
clothed with holiness;
your
faithful shall ring out their joy.
For the sake of David
your servant
do not
reject your anointed.
Go up, Lord, to
the place of your rest!
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Jn8:12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the
world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me
will have the light of life.
Alleluia!
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Or
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cf.Mt4:23
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus proclaimed the
Good News of the kingdom
and cured all kinds
of sickness among the people.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 6:53-56 ©
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Having
made the crossing, Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret and tied
up. No sooner had they stepped out of the boat than people recognised him, and
started hurrying all through the countryside and brought the sick on stretchers
to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, to village, or town, or
farm, they laid down the sick in the open spaces, begging him to let them touch
even the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched him were cured.
DOMESTICATING
THE PRESENCE OF GOD
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: 1Kgs 8:1-7.9-13;
Ps 131:6-10; Mk 6:53-56
In the
first reading, we read of the completion of the Temple of Jerusalem, the
brainchild of King David but which was left to King Solomon to finish the
task. There was great rejoicing in Israel as “Solomon called the elders
of Israel to together in Jerusalem to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord
up from the Citadel of David, which Zion.” The Ark of the Covenant
had special significance for the people of Israel. The Ark housed the two
tablets containing the Ten Commandments God gave to Moses. It was
important to the Israelites because it represented the presence of God for the people
of Israel.
In
all religions, signs and symbols are always used. Every religion would have their
symbols to signify God’s presence. For Christians, the Bible is
considered the sacred book of God. For Catholics, besides the bible, we
have the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, which is the real presence of
Christ. The tabernacle is to us what the Ark was to the Israelites.
Instead of housing the Two Tablets of the Decalogue, literally, the Ten Words
or Laws, we have Christ who is the Word of God made flesh in the
Eucharist. We too have great devotion to the Eucharist whom we recognize
as the presence of God par excellence.
The
necessity of signs and symbols to represent the presence of God is due to the
fact that we are not pure spirits. We need to see, smell, hear, feel and
touch. The medium of communication is through the human body.
This is the basis for the incarnation. God assumes our humanity so that
through Christ, we can come to know the Father. Jesus is for us the presence
of God in person. This accounts for Jesus’ claim that to see Him is
to see the Father. For this same reason, the Lord instructed His disciples to
heal the sick. “So they set of to preach repentance; and they cast out many
devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.” (Mk 6:13) Such use of
natural objects concurs with the first reading when God made His presence felt
through the clouds, through the things of nature.
However,
there is always the temptation to domesticate God. As in the days of old, symbols and
signs which were meant to mediate the presence of God were often taken as the
ends themselves. When that happens, we fall into superstition. This was
the case of the Israelites. Unfortunately, this is true of some Catholics
as well who are more concerned with sacramentals, rubrics and the externals of
the liturgical celebrations than with the meaning that has been intended.
What we need to emphasize is how we encounter God through the sacramentals,
gestures and actions. We read in the gospel that all those who “touch
even the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched him were
cured.” Would we say that this is pure superstition? The use
of sacramentals like holy water, oil, crucifix are not to be considered as
superstitious practices so long as such elements and objects are connected with
God or with Christ. The power of such sacramentals is not dependent on
the things in themselves but by the promise of Christ through His Church that
He would act through such objects so that people could feel His presence and
love more deeply and tangibly.
Of
course, it would be ideal if we have the faith of the Centurion who said, “Lord, do not trouble
yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore
I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant
be healed.” (Lk 7:7)
But few have this simple faith as Jesus noted.
For
this reason, God, knowing our weakness, was reluctant to have the Temple
built for Him. When David wanted to build the Temple, the Lord
instructed the Prophet Nathan, “Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the
Lord, ‘Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have not lived in a
house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day,
but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved
about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the
tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel,
saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’” Indeed, God is a trek
God, a nomadic God who moves with His people. He does not stay in a place
like human beings. He does not want to be tied down to a particular
location or an object. This God wants to be with His people, journeying
with them in all their activities and life. This is the beginning
of the domestication of God.
So
after 480 years since they left Egypt, a Temple which He did not ask to be
built was constructed for Him. In truth, the Temple was more for the
people than for God. In the New Testament, we find that again, the
Lord wanted to be present in His people, not so much in the Temple. Jesus
told the Samaritan, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will
worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You
worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from
the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers
will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these
to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit
and truth.” (Jn 4:21-24)
St Paul wrote, “What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the
temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will live in them and walk among
them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (2 Cor 6:16)
In
Vatican Council teaching on Sacred Liturgy, the Fathers speak of the different
ways Christ is present in His Church in the liturgy, especially in His
ministers and the People of God. “To accomplish so great a work, Christ is always present
in His Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations. He is present in the
sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the person of His minister, ‘the same now
offering, through the ministry of priests, who formerly offered himself on the
cross’, but especially under the Eucharistic species. By His power He is
present in the sacraments, so that when a man baptizes it is really Christ
Himself who baptizes. He is present in His word, since it is He Himself who
speaks when the holy scriptures are read in the Church. He is present, lastly,
when the Church prays and sings, for He promised: “Where two or three are
gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt 18:20). Christ indeed
always associates the Church with Himself in this great work wherein God is
perfectly glorified and men are sanctified. The Church is His beloved Bride who
calls to her Lord, and through Him offers worship to the Eternal Father.
Rightly, then, the liturgy is considered as an exercise of the priestly office
of Jesus Christ.
In
the liturgy the sanctification of the man is signified by signs perceptible to
the senses, and is effected in a way which corresponds with each of these signs; in the liturgy the whole public
worship is performed by the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, that is, by the Head
and His members. From this it follows that every liturgical celebration,
because it is an action of Christ the priest and of His Body which is the
Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others; no other action of the Church
can equal its efficacy by the same title and to the same degree.”
In
the gospel today, Jesus mediates the presence of God through His works of
healing and compassion for the poor. People “brought the sick on stretchers to wherever they
heard he was. And wherever he went, to village, or town, or farm, they
laid down the sick in the open spaces.” In Jesus, they saw the presence of
God. Christ was the mercy and compassion of God for them. He is the
fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah. He is the visitation of the
Lord. “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel. He has visited His people
and redeemed them.” (Lk 1:68)
We,
too, who worship the Lord in the Temple and receive Him in the sacraments, are
called to do likewise.
We must become what we receive. Having received Christ, we must be Christ
to others in the way we live our lives, the way we speak, the way we serve, the
way we look at others. Only when our lives and our very being also
become the very presence of God’s love and mercy, could we then say that we have
not allowed ourselves to fall into the temptation of domesticating God, but we
have allowed Him to live and dwell in us, making us living stones of His Holy
Temple.
For
those of us who are celebrating the Lunar New Year Festival, as we go about
visiting our friends and loved ones, let us be conscious that we are called to
be God’s visitation as well. We must bring joy to others through our presence, our
gifts, our sharing and most of all, when we share our lives with each
other. May we become great messengers of God’s blessings to everyone we
meet during the Lunar New Year. We must go beyond merely fulfilling our
obligation to visit our elderly to pay respects, but that we are carrying out
the command of our Lord to bring His presence and love to them. Let us
not waste the opportunities to radiate His presence and love during this Lunar
New Year Celebration.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
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