20160204 THE FORGOTTEN MESSAGE OF REPENTANCE
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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1 Kings
2:1-4,10-12 ©
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As David’s life drew
to its close he laid this charge on his son Solomon, ‘I am going the way of all
the earth. Be strong and show yourself a man. Observe the injunctions of the
Lord your God, following his ways and keeping his laws, his commandments, his
customs and his decrees, as it stands written in the Law of Moses, that so you
may be successful in all you do and undertake, so that the Lord may fulfil the
promise he made me, “If your sons are careful how they behave, and walk loyally
before me with all their heart and soul, you shall never lack for a man on the
throne of Israel.”’
So David
slept with his ancestors and was buried in the Citadel of David. David’s reign
over Israel lasted forty years: he reigned in Hebron for seven years, and in
Jerusalem for thirty-three.
Solomon
was seated upon the throne of David, and his sovereignty was securely
established.
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Canticle
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1 Chronicles
29:10-12 ©
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May you be blessed, O
Lord,
the God
of Israel our ancestor,
for ever
and for ever!
Yours, O Lord, is the
greatness, the power,
splendour,
length of days, glory.
Yours is the
sovereignty, O Lord;
you are
exalted over all, supreme.
Riches and honour go
before you,
you are
ruler of all,
in your
hand lie strength and power;
in your
hand it is to give greatness and strength to all.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Jn15:15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I call you friends,
says the Lord,
because I have made
known to you
everything I have
learnt from my Father.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Mk1:15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The kingdom of God is
close at hand:
repent and believe
the Good News.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 6:7-13 ©
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Jesus
summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs giving them authority
over the unclean spirits. And he instructed them to take nothing for the
journey except a staff – no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their
purses. They were to wear sandals but, he added, ‘Do not take a spare tunic.’
And he said to them, ‘If you enter a house anywhere, stay there until you leave
the district. And if any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen
to you, as you walk away shake off the dust from under your feet as a sign to
them.’ So they set off to preach repentance; and they cast out many devils, and
anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.
THE
FORGOTTEN MESSAGE OF REPENTANCE
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: 1Kgs 2:1-4.
10-12; 1Chr 29:10-12;
Mk 6:7-13
We are
in the midst of the celebration of the Jubilee Year of Mercy. Pope
Francis can be said to be the Pope of Mercy. Among all the Popes that
we know, no pope has spoken so often, repeatedly and extensively on the mercy
of God and the call to live out the gospel of mercy toward others, especially
those who are poor materially, affectively and spiritually.
Understandably his message resonates with the whole world, within and without
the Church, because more than anything else, we are living in a harsh,
individualistic, materialistic and meritocratic society. No mercy is
given to those who make mistakes in life. No mercy is given to those who
are not capable of giving to society. No mercy is given to the weak, the
vulnerable, the disadvantaged, the elderly and those who are sick and
dying. Indeed, this is what the gospel invites us to do. We read
that Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them “authority over the unclean
spirits”, and “they cast out many devils, and anointed many sick people with
oil and cured them.”
However,
many often forget that Pope Francis’ call to mercy presumes the call to
repentance and conversion.
In his encyclical, Evangelii Gaudium, “The Second Vatican Council presented
ecclesial conversion as openness to a constant self-renewal born of fidelity to
Jesus Christ: ‘Every renewal of the Church essentially consists in an increase
of fidelity to her own calling. There are ecclesial structures which can
hamper efforts at evangelization, yet even good structures are only helpful
when there is a life constantly driving, sustaining and assessing them. Without
new life and an authentic evangelical spirit, without the Church’s “fidelity
to her own calling”, any new structure will soon prove ineffective.” (EG
26)
Indeed,
there is a great danger that we can reduce the gospel of mercy to cheap grace. This is to say that we overemphasize
the mercy that comes from the grace of God, a mercy that does not require
repentance. It must be underscored that in the gospel, Jesus specifically
instructed His disciples to “preach repentance” and then to exorcise and to
heal. We must not deceive ourselves like the Christians in the Middle
Ages when the doctrine of Justification by faith alone was preached. Many
thought that it was only sufficient to believe that Christ forgives their sins
and yet they continued to live a sinful way of life, contrary to the
gospel. The words of St James should remind us, “Faith without good works
is dead!” (Jms 2:20) By claiming that we believe in God’s mercy and
forgiveness without changing our lives accordingly shows that we have not received
His mercy. If we did, then we will be so grateful for His mercy and
unconditional love for us that, like St Paul impelled by the love of Christ, we
go forth to give up our lives for Him and for His people. “For if we are
beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.
For the love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one has died
for all; therefore all have died. (2 Cor 5:13f)
St
Paul warns us too not to be deceived when he told in Galatians about walking in
the Spirit. “Do
not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also
reap. For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption; but
he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” (Gal 6:7f) And in his
letter to the Corinthians, he says: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will
not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor
idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor
drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.” (2 Cor 6:9) In a
nutshell, we cannot say that we want to receive God’s mercy and love but have
no intention to change our life.
So
what does it mean to accept the message of repentance? It means first and
foremost to make room for Jesus. We must practice the gift of hospitality
to welcome Jesus into our lives. In the gospel, Jesus told His disciples, “If you enter a
house anywhere, stay there until you leave the district.” In ancient days, it
was not just a custom but an obligation to welcome guests into their homes.
They are expected to provide hospitality to travelers. So too, we must
welcome Jesus into our lives and make space for Him. If we do not, then
as Jesus told His disciples, “if any place does not welcome you and people
refuse to listen to you, as you walk away shake of the dust from under your
feet as a sign to them.” In other words, Jesus is telling them that if
the Gentiles refused to accept the message, have nothing to do with them.
There is no need to impose our message on such people. We leave
graciously and humbly. So too the Lord does not impose His love and mercy
on us. He wants us to welcome Him.
How
do we welcome the Lord? We welcome Him by accepting His message, the Word
of God. St Paul
tells the Thessalonians to accept the Word of God as it really is. More
than just acceptance of the Word of God, it is the call to repentance from a
sinful way of life. Positively, it means to listen and obey the Word so
that we can find life. King David gave his son, Solomon, a lesson on how
to be a great king. He said, “Observe the injunctions of the Lord your
God, following his ways and keeping his laws, his commandments, his customs and
his decrees, as it stands written in the Law of Moses, that so you may be
successful in all you do and undertake.’” Without a love for the Word of
God, without contemplation on His word, we cannot grow in wisdom and
understanding. Neither will we be able to walk in truth and love.
The success of an apostle is dependent on whether he is infused with the Word
of God to enlighten, inspire and guide him.
We
welcome the Lord too by accepting His messengers in our lives. God sends us people to speak His
word to us. We must listen humbly and attentively to His Word. He
sends people to help us along the way. This explains why Jesus sent out
His disciples in pairs because they are meant to help each other along the
way. He knew that the journey was long, difficult, challenging and could
be very discouraging, especially when they faced opposition. So it is
good to be humble and not depend only on ourselves but to accept the people
that God sends to help us. In the same vein, He instructed His disciples
to carry nothing with them so that they can experience His love and mercy
through the people who welcomed them.
The second
act of repentance is to rely totally on Him. When Jesus instructed the disciples to “take
nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no haversack, no coppers for
their purses” and to “wear sandals” and “not take a spare tunic”, it was in order
that the disciples would not depend on themselves and their own strength.
Otherwise, they may become egoistic and the gospel, as St Paul says, would no
longer be the power of God but simply the wisdom of man. The evangelical
counsel of poverty precisely is to remind all of us that we need to depend
totally on the Lord rather than just our efforts in getting things done.
The gospel is not a project but a message!
Dependence
on the Lord is also a call to detachment. So long as we are attached to this world, we cannot
find true freedom to receive the full gospel, much less to proclaim it.
Living a life of simplicity and trust in God’s providence, appreciating the
small things in life without any attachment to them will give us the joy of
living in the power of the Lord. If priests and religious are asked to
observe the counsel of poverty, it is in order that we can be set free for the
joy of the gospel.
Reliance
on the primacy of grace however does not mean that we do nothing. We are called to cooperate with the
grace of God. We read that the apostles “anointed many sick people with
oil and cured them.” Hence, using ordinary means, like oil in those days,
we too should use ordinary things and avenues; all that the Lord provides,
including our talents, resources and manpower, for the service of His
kingdom. But using these alone is not sufficient to accomplish the work
of God. Just as ordinary oil, with the grace of God, took on special
effects and healed those who were anointed with it, so too, we must use these
ordinary means in co-operation with the grace of God in order to carry out our
Mission.
When
King David told his son, “Be strong and show yourself a man”, he implied that we
can be truly a man and truly strong when we rely on the power and grace of God;
not on our own strength. The Lord is summoning us, as He summoned the
disciples, to go out and preach the message of repentance besides doing works
of mercy. Both repentance and works of mercy go together. The
primary work of mercy, in truth, is the message of repentance because sin and
selfishness are the cause of our misery. The secondary work of mercy is
seen in the works of healing and liberation. Once the cause is removed,
then the reception of God’s healing grace becomes effective. Otherwise,
no real healing and liberation can take place in a person under the bondage of
sin, addictions and selfishness.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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