20160524 FOLLOWING CHRIST DEMANDS OUR COMPLETE ALLEGIANCE
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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1 Peter 1:10-16 ©
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It was this salvation
that the prophets were looking and searching so hard for; their prophecies were
about the grace which was to come to you. The Spirit of Christ which was in
them foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would come after
them, and they tried to find out at what time and in what circumstances all this
was to be expected. It was revealed to them that the news they brought of all
the things which have now been announced to you, by those who preached to you
the Good News through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, was for you and not for
themselves. Even the angels long to catch a glimpse of these things.
Free your
minds, then, of encumbrances; control them, and put your trust in nothing but
the grace that will be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. Do not behave
in the way that you liked to before you learnt the truth; make a habit of
obedience: be holy in all you do, since it is the Holy One who has called you,
and scripture says: Be holy, for I am holy.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 97:1-4 ©
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The Lord has made
known his salvation.
Sing a new song to
the Lord
for he
has worked wonders.
His right hand and
his holy arm
have
brought salvation.
The Lord has made
known his salvation.
The Lord has made
known his salvation;
has shown
his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his
truth and love
for the
house of Israel.
The Lord has made
known his salvation.
All the ends of the
earth have seen
the
salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord,
all the earth,
ring out
your joy.
The Lord has made
known his salvation.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Ph2:15-16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
You will shine in the
world like bright stars
because you are
offering it the word of life.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Mt11:25
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you,
Father,
Lord of heaven and
earth,
for revealing the
mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 10:28-31 ©
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‘What about us?’
Peter asked Jesus. ‘We have left everything and followed you.’ Jesus said, ‘I
tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters,
father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will
not be repaid a hundred times over, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers,
children and land – not without persecutions – now in this present
time and, in the world to come, eternal life.
‘Many who
are first will be last, and the last first.’
FOLLOWING
CHRIST DEMANDS OUR COMPLETE ALLEGIANCE
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ 1 Peter
1:10-16; MK 10:28-31 ]
We have
just completed the Easter season. We have seen Christ as the revelation
of the Father through His passion, death, resurrection and ascension.
Together with the psalmist, we can truly praise God with gratitude that “the
Lord has made known his salvation.” With the celebration of Pentecost, we
can declare that “All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our
God.” At the same time, the liturgy instructs us that at the end of
the last mass at Pentecost, the paschal candle that was burning brightly at the
altar be taken to the baptismal font for use at baptism services.
In its place, the celebrant dismisses us all with the grand and great
“Alleluia” for the last time and, with joy like that of the psalmist, sends us
out to the world to continue the mission of our master. “Sing joyfully to
the Lord, all you lands; break into song; sing praise.”
Now
that we are in the Ordinary Time of the liturgical year, it does not mean that
it is an unimportant or uneventful time. The green vestment for the
liturgy indicates that as Church we must grow into the paschal mystery of
Christ which we have just celebrated, so that we are more and more inserted
into His passion, death and resurrection. This is what growing in
holiness is all about.
Indeed,
the Ordinary Time is a time to grow in holiness, in grace and in faith.
St Peter, citing Leviticus
11:44-45
, wrote, “in all you do, since it is the Holy One who has called
you, and scripture says: Be holy, for I am holy.” Being holy
entails giving up everything for Christ and following Him. To be holy is
to be different and to be set apart. To be holy is to be
extra-ordinary. A Christian is one who is set apart from the world so
that he can be a reflection of Christ living the life of God in the world.
God has called us all to be the light of the world, salt of the earth and to
give hope to all nations. We are called to enlighten, to be
catalysts of change and transformation and to give the world a certain future
by revealing to them their calling and destiny in Christ.
, wrote, “in all you do, since it is the Holy One who has called
you, and scripture says: Be holy, for I am holy.” Being holy
entails giving up everything for Christ and following Him. To be holy is
to be different and to be set apart. To be holy is to be
extra-ordinary. A Christian is one who is set apart from the world so
that he can be a reflection of Christ living the life of God in the world.
God has called us all to be the light of the world, salt of the earth and to
give hope to all nations. We are called to enlighten, to be
catalysts of change and transformation and to give the world a certain future
by revealing to them their calling and destiny in Christ.
Many today are in the same
dilemma of the rich young man in the gospel. We read in yesterday’s
gospel that he went away sad because he was not capable of responding to the
call to leave everything to the poor and follow Christ. It remains a
paradox as to how one can be happy when poor. It was the common
understanding at that time, and even now among Christians who preach the
prosperity gospel, that to be a Christian means to be blessed with riches, not
just spiritual blessings but material wealth and worldly success as well.
So we can imagine that not only was the rich young man not able to accept
Jesus’ invitation but even the apostles were appalled at Jesus’ teaching.
We can see the ignorance of Peter and the apostles when Peter subsequently
tried to seek consolation from the Lord, since it appeared that he and the rest
had given up everything for nothing! One cannot help but hear them saying
to Jesus, “So what is there in it for me?” Life is such that if we do not
get anything, we are not going to give. This is true even for those who
serve in voluntary organizations, whether within Church confines or in the
world.
Yet, if
Jesus demanded this total giving up of oneself to be poor from His disciples,
it is because He Himself became poor for our sake. St Paul told the
Christians in Corinth that “Our Lord Jesus Christ, though he was rich, yet for
your sake, be became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.”
(2 Cor 8:9
) This poverty of Jesus extends beyond material or social
poverty. Instead of self-sufficiency, He was totally dependent on His
Father’s divine providence. He gave up His divine power and became powerless
like us. He allowed Himself to be vulnerable to His enemies, including
His apostles, particularly Judas who betrayed Him, in spite of having shared
His life with them. Jesus was truly poor. His kenosis or
self-emptying is beautifully captured by St Paul in that inspiring ancient hymn
in Philippians “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with
God … but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the
likeness of men …. He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even
death on a cross.” (Phil 2:6-8
)
) This poverty of Jesus extends beyond material or social
poverty. Instead of self-sufficiency, He was totally dependent on His
Father’s divine providence. He gave up His divine power and became powerless
like us. He allowed Himself to be vulnerable to His enemies, including
His apostles, particularly Judas who betrayed Him, in spite of having shared
His life with them. Jesus was truly poor. His kenosis or
self-emptying is beautifully captured by St Paul in that inspiring ancient hymn
in Philippians “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with
God … but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the
likeness of men …. He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even
death on a cross.” (Phil 2:6-8)
To grow in holiness,
especially in the midst of the daily trials of life, whether we are in
financial crisis, in sickness, in failure, in estranged relationships,
particularly between husband and wife, requires that we be poor and totally
surrender our lives to Him. Poverty forces us to recognize our
limitations, humbles us and forces us to face our nothingness and drives us to
our limits so that we can do nothing else but surrender in faith like Jesus on
the cross, “Into your hands, I commend my spirit.” (Lk 23:46
) Of course, this surrender includes the giving up of our
pride, greed, anger and all our root sins. This is what St Peter urges
us, “Free you minds, then, of encumbrances; control them, and put your trust in
nothing but the grace that will be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
) Of course, this surrender includes the giving up of our
pride, greed, anger and all our root sins. This is what St Peter urges
us, “Free you minds, then, of encumbrances; control them, and put your trust in
nothing but the grace that will be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
More so, this poverty is
expressed in our suffering endured for Christ. Following Christ entails
persecution, but these sufferings will purify us and make us become more
identified with Christ’s suffering. Jesus warns us of the persecutions we
will have to endure for following Him when He told the disciples that the
rewards of the Kingdom are theirs but “not without persecutions.” As the
author of the first reading tells us that the sufferings and glory of Christ
have been foretold by the prophets for our sake. He wrote, “It was
revealed to them that the news they brought of all the things which have now
been announced to you, by those who preached to you the Good News through the
Holy Spirit sent from heaven, was for you and not for themselves.” We who
want to share in the glory of Christ ultimately must share in His
passion. The real acid test of faith is not when we are self-sufficient
in material, social or personal security. It is when we are stripped of our
financial independence, our health and our status that our faith is seen in
relying on God alone.
Indeed,
the promise of Jesus was fulfilled when He assured the apostles, saying, “I
tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters,
father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will
not be repaid a hundred times over, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers,
children and land – not without persecutions – now in this present time and, in
the world to come, eternal life”. Did they become rich in this world and
were paid a hundred fold in land, wealth and family? Yes, but in a
spiritual sense when they built the family of God where everyone was a brother
or sister, owning everything and yet nothing belonged to them.
Being freed from the burden of possessions, they possessed everything and
became fully free for the Lord. Being Christians, the missionaries
travelled every land and knew no boundaries that divide humanity. This was what
happened to the apostles and missionaries of Christ. Even today, although
priests and religious have left everything including their families, we are the
richest of people on this earth, because we belong to the biggest family in the
world, when our members call us “Father” or “Brother or Sister”. We might
not have the luxuries of the world but we are never short of food because we
are loved in the family of God. And of course, when we reach heaven, we
are all in all because God is in us and we are in Him through Christ in the
Spirit.
There
is a final warning to those of us who think that becoming a Christian is the
way to climb the social leader or the way to satisfy ourselves with the
material things of this world. In a succinct and pointed way, Jesus in
reminding Peter that “Many who are first will be last, and the last first” is
saying that the estimation of God is different from that of the world.
Peter was approaching from a material and calculative point of view. But
God judges the things of this world differently. What man counts fair is considered
lacking true charity in God’s eyes; and what is of value on this earth is
disdained by God.
In the final analysis, only
the man capable of emptying Himself for the love of God and for the love of man
is truly the rich man. Only the man who is capable of self-sacrifice for
the sake of others is truly living a life in union with Christ.
Otherwise, he deceives himself into thinking that he is holy simply because he
has followed Christ, as was the case of the apostles. To follow Jesus is
to follow Him to His passion so that we can share in His glory. Again, we
are reminded of the words of St Peter earlier on when he wrote, “This is a
great joy to you, even though for a short time yet you must bear all sorts of
trials; so that the worth of your faith, more valuable than gold, which is
perishable even if it has been tested by fire, may be proved – to your praise
and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. You have not seen him, yet you love
him; and still without seeing him you believe in him and so are already filled
with a joy so glorious that it cannot be described; and you are sure of the
goal of your faith, that is, the salvation of your souls. (1 Pt 1:6-9
)
)
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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