20160530 CHRISTIAN GROWTH IN GRACE/RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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2 Peter 1:2-7 ©
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May you have more and
more grace and peace as you come to know our Lord more and more.
By his
divine power, he has given us all the things that we need for life and for true
devotion, bringing us to know God himself, who has called us by his own glory
and goodness. In making these gifts, he has given us the guarantee of something
very great and wonderful to come: through them you will be able to share the
divine nature and to escape corruption in a world that is sunk in vice. But to
attain this, you will have to do your utmost yourselves, adding goodness to the
faith that you have, understanding to your goodness, self-control to your
understanding, patience to your self-control, true devotion to your patience,
kindness towards your fellow men to your devotion, and, to this kindness, love.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
90:1-2,14-16 ©
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My God, in you I
trust.
He who dwells in the
shelter of the Most High
and
abides in the shade of the Almighty
says to the Lord: ‘My
refuge,
my
stronghold, my God in whom I trust!’
My God, in you I
trust.
His love he set on
me, so I will rescue him;
protect
him for he knows my name.
When he calls I shall
answer: ‘I am with you.’
My God, in you I
trust.
I will save him in
distress and give him glory.
With
length of life I will content him;
I shall
let him see my saving power.
My God, in you I
trust.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Col3:16a,17
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Let the message of
Christ, in all its richness,
find a home with you;
through him give
thanks to God the Father.
Alleluia!
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Or
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cf.Rv1:5
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Alleluia, alleluia!
You, O Christ, are
the faithful witness,
the First-born from
the dead;
you have loved us and
have washed away our sins with your blood.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 12:1-12 ©
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Jesus went on to
speak to the chief priests, the scribes and the elders in parables: ‘A man
planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug out a trough for the winepress and
built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When the time
came, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them his share of the
produce from the vineyard. But they seized the man, thrashed him and sent him
away empty-handed. Next he sent another servant to them; him they beat about
the head and treated shamefully. And he sent another and him they killed; then
a number of others, and they thrashed some and killed the rest. He had still
someone left: his beloved son. He sent him to them last of all. “They will
respect my son” he said. But those tenants said to each other, “This is the
heir. Come on, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.” So they
seized him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. Now what will the
owner of the vineyard do? He will come and make an end of the tenants and give
the vineyard to others. Have you not read this text of scripture:
It was the stone
rejected by the builders
that became the
keystone.
This was the Lord’s
doing
and it is wonderful to
see?
And
they would have liked to arrest him, because they realised that the parable was
aimed at them, but they were afraid of the crowds. So they left him alone and
went away.
CHRISTIAN
GROWTH IN GRACE/RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ 2 PT 1:2-7; PS
90; MK 11:1-12 ]
We all have our life
struggles each day. No one is exempted from the ups and downs of life and
all its battles. We have so much to accomplish each day, be it in the
family, at work or in society. But who do we rely on to withstand the
trials and challenges of life? What is it that will keep us focused on seeking
the right things in life? The truth is that sometimes, the misery and
suffering of life could be due to our folly and misdirected goals in
life.
In other words, what is the
cornerstone of all that we live and work for? In the gospel, apparently,
the religious leaders were seeking themselves and not God. They were
proud and arrogant. Instead of putting God at the center of their lives,
they put themselves instead. They were overcome by greed. With
greed, it led to killing. When it comes to self-interests and greed, we
would do anything to destroy others. This is the sad reality. So
what is the foundation of your life?
Our foundation, as the
scripture readings suggest, must be in Christ alone. He is our
cornerstone often rejected by us. Instead of looking to Him for direction,
encouragement, inspiration and hope, we look towards the world. Indeed,
whenever you are faced with a problem or a dilemma, where do you look for
answers and direction? Many Catholics pay lip service to Christ.
Whilst they claim that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, that He is
their teacher and exemplar, yet they imitate the celebrities in the
world. Their model and mentor is not Jesus Christ but some entertainment
star or political leader. They are less excited about meeting Jesus than
seeing their favourite movie stars. No wonder, many of our Catholics do
not live out their lives as disciples of Jesus Christ. They are
counter-witnesses to the gospel. Their values and thinking are that of
the world; not of Christ. They cannot say with the psalmist “you are
justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.” (Ps 51:4
)
)
How then can we grow in
grace and peace whilst living in this world? St Peter tells us that we
come to find true peace and grace as we “come to know our Lord more and more.”
The more we know Him, the more we imitate Him in thought and deed, the
more we will find peace and joy as well. For in Christ, we find our
cornerstone, our refuge, strength, consolation and light. Christ is
our Light and in Him, we know how we should live our lives wisely and in total
freedom from the clutches and snares of the Evil One; and the temptations of
the world.
In Christ, our cornerstone,
we partake of the divine nature of God. Only Christ, who is both divine
and human, can enable us to share in the divine nature of God without being
God. Through sharing in the life of Christ, as adopted sons and daughters
of God, we become heirs with Him. “It is that very Spirit bearing
witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children,
then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ – if, in fact, we suffer
with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” (Rom 8:16f
) Such is the goodness of God that if we follow His Son,
we share in His divine nature. “In making these gifts, he has given us
the guarantee of something very great and wonderful to come: through them
you will be able to share the divine nature and to escape corruption in a world
that is sunk in vice.”
) Such is the goodness of God that if we follow His Son,
we share in His divine nature. “In making these gifts, he has given us
the guarantee of something very great and wonderful to come: through them
you will be able to share the divine nature and to escape corruption in a world
that is sunk in vice.”
Most of all, the capacity
to become sons and daughters of God is not simply through human effort
alone. Rather, God will empower us to live out our sonship and
daughtership. St Peter wrote, “By his divine power, he has given us all
the things that we need for life and for true devotion, bringing us to know God
himself, who has called us by his own glory and goodness.” Through the
Holy Spirit, Christ gives us all the gifts so that we can arrive at the full
maturity of Christ. St Paul mentions this in his letter to the
Ephesians. “The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some
prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints
for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of
us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to
maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer
be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by
people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming.” (Eph 4:11-14
)
)
Consequently, let us turn
to our Lord who leads us in the way to salvation. Let us keep our eyes on
Him. “Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he
suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal
salvation for all who obey him.” (Heb 5:8f
) This means coming to Him for direction and
inspiration. St Peter wrote, “By his divine power, he has given us all
the things that we need for life and for true devotion, bringing us to know God
himself, who has called us by his own glory and goodness.”
) This means coming to Him for direction and
inspiration. St Peter wrote, “By his divine power, he has given us all
the things that we need for life and for true devotion, bringing us to know God
himself, who has called us by his own glory and goodness.”
What are these gifts given
to us? Besides the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we have the gift of the Sacraments.
These are means by which we grow in grace and love. Frequent celebration
of the Eucharist will lead us to a deeper immersion in the passion, death and
resurrection of our Lord. Regular celebration of the sacrament of
reconciliation will bring us deep inner healing and free us from guilt and
fear. Daily meditation on the Word of God will give us strength and
inspiration. St Paul exhorts us, “All scripture is inspired by God and
is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in
righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient,
equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3:16f
)
)
Finally, we have the
Church, the body of Christ, the community guided by the appointed leaders of
the Church to lead us in love and grow in grace. Catholics need not walk
alone in this journey of spiritual growth. We must walk with fellow
Catholics, sharing their faith with each other, helping each other in our
difficulties, struggles and loneliness, meeting regularly to inspire each
other. In this way, we will grow in grace and Christian maturity.
Even when we fail, we know that we have a community to turn to for support and
understanding.
Of course, at the same
time, we need to cooperate with the grace given to us. St Peter wrote,
“But to attain this, you will have to do your utmost yourselves, adding
goodness, self-control to your understanding, patience to your self-control,
true devotion to your patience, kindness towards your fellowmen to your
devotion, and, to this kindness, love.” The gifts of the Spirit given to
us are ours only when we exercise them properly for the good of others.
They are not for ourselves but for the service of others and especially devotion
towards our fellowmen. Christian growth means growth in virtues
each day. If our lives are no different, if our attitudes towards people,
especially our enemies, are no different from that of the world’s; if our
values are no different from that of the world’s, then even though we might
call ourselves Catholics, we are just nominal Catholics. Such Catholics
are as good as baptized pagans and they cannot find peace, grace and
life. There is nothing wrong with the gospel or with the teachings of the
Church, but they are just not walking the way of truth and love.
So with
the psalmist, let us put all our trust in God alone. He said, “In you, my
God, I place my trust. He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High and abides
in the shade of the Almighty says to the Lord: My refuge, my stronghold, my God
in whom I trust. When he calls I shall answer: I am with you.” So
let us not be foolish and destroy the cornerstone of our lives by seeking false
gods and the substitutes of this world for the living God. All that we
are, all that we have belong to Him. They are not ours but gifts from
Him. Never should we think like the tenants in the gospel that we own
these gifts. God is the landowner and the Shepherd of us all.
We are His tenants, stewards and servants of the gospel.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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