20160603 COMPASSION AND MERCY AS THE HEART OF THE MINISTRY
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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Ezekiel 34:11-16
©
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The Lord God says
this: I am going to look after my flock myself and keep all of it in view. As a
shepherd keeps all his flock in view when he stands up in the middle of his
scattered sheep, so shall I keep my sheep in view. I shall rescue them from
wherever they have been scattered during the mist and darkness. I shall bring
them out of the countries where they are; I shall gather them together from
foreign countries and bring them back to their own land. I shall pasture them
on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in every inhabited place in the
land. I shall feed them in good pasturage; the high mountains of Israel will be
their grazing ground. There they will rest in good grazing ground; they will
browse in rich pastures on the mountains of Israel. I myself will pasture my
sheep, I myself will show them where to rest–it is the Lord who speaks. I shall
look for the lost one, bring back the stray, bandage the wounded and make the
weak strong. I shall watch over the fat and healthy. I shall be a true shepherd
to them.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 22:1-6 ©
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The Lord is my
shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
The Lord is my
shepherd;
there is
nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are
the pastures
where he
gives me repose.
Near restful waters
he leads me,
to revive
my drooping spirit.
The Lord is my
shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
He guides me along
the right path;
he is
true to his name.
If I should walk in
the valley of darkness
no evil
would I fear.
You are there with
your crook and your staff;
with
these you give me comfort.
The Lord is my
shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
You have prepared a
banquet for me
in the
sight of my foes.
My head you have
anointed with oil;
my cup is
overflowing.
The Lord is my
shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
Surely goodness and
kindness shall follow me
all the
days of my life.
In the Lord’s own
house shall I dwell
for ever
and ever.
The Lord is my
shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
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Second reading
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Romans 5:5-11 ©
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The love of God has
been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us. We were
still helpless when at his appointed moment Christ died for sinful men. It is
not easy to die even for a good man – though of course for someone really
worthy, a man might be prepared to die – but what proves that God loves us
is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Having died to make us
righteous, is it likely that he would now fail to save us from God’s anger?
When we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, we were still enemies;
now that we have been reconciled, surely we may count on being saved by the
life of his Son? Not merely because we have been reconciled but because we are
filled with joyful trust in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we
have already gained our reconciliation.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Mt11:29
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Shoulder my yoke and
learn from me,
for I am gentle and
humble in heart.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Jn10:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the good
shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my own sheep
and my own know me.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 15:3-7 ©
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Jesus spoke this
parable to the scribes and Pharisees:
‘What man
among you with a hundred sheep, losing one, would not leave the ninety-nine in
the wilderness and go after the missing one till he found it? And when he found
it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders and then, when he got home,
call together his friends and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,” he would say “I
have found my sheep that was lost.” In the same way, I tell you, there will be
more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine
virtuous men who have no need of repentance.’
COMPASSION
AND MERCY AS THE HEART OF THE MINISTRY
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ Ez 34:11–16;
Ps 22:1-6; Rom 5:5–11; Luke 15:3 -7 ]
Today’s feast of the Sacred
Heart of Jesus sums up all the feasts we have just celebrated from Christmas to
Easter, Pentecost, Holy Trinity and just last Sunday, the feast of Corpus
Christi. From beginning to end, the consistent single message is that God
loves us. His love is expressed concretely in His mercy, compassion and
forgiveness. Indeed, the Sacred Heart sums up that God is love. He
feels with us and is identified with us. He cares for us deeply and is
concerned not only with all of us but each and everyone one of us, as reflected
in today’s scripture readings. Whether it is the lost sheep, the wounded
ones, the strong, the fat, the weak, the stray, all of us are important to Him.
As shepherds of our own
flock, whether we are priests, parents, teachers and managers, we are called to
assume the role of a good and true shepherd. As delineated in the first
reading, the responsibilities are many. The multiple responsibilities of
a shepherd include fostering unity among those under our charge, guarding them
from all harm and evil, rescuing those who are scattered, lost or fallen into
deep trouble; finding new pastures and food for them, healing those who are
sick and injured; nursing the wounded back to health and giving them a place of
rest and peace.
Indeed, when we consider
the tremendous responsibilities of a shepherd, we cannot but feel much daunted
by the demands. We assume the role with great passion, enthusiasm and
joy. But along the way, we become jaded. The shepherd might want to
lead but the sheep would not follow. They fight not just among themselves
but with the shepherd, causing much division because of protectionism,
selfishness, arrogance and pride. Hence, after many futile attempts to
steer our sheep forward, mediating and reconciling them, urging them to renew
and to recover their zeal for the work entrusted to them, we ourselves lose
steam and passion. We feel like giving up because the challenges are
beyond us. We ourselves are also hurt in the process because of rejection,
slander, disappointments and hostility from our opponents.
When we feel this way, let
us look at the Sacred Heart for inspiration because His heart was pierced by a
lance. He has been rejected many times and hurt even more. This is
the heart of God since the creation of the world. Out of His goodness, He
created us to share in His life and joy. But right from the start, man
rejected His love and invitation. Indeed, the modern forms of rejection are
found in agnosticism, atheism, humanism and relativism. They all want to
find their own way without God. As a result, they fall into the traps of
the Evil One, only to hurt themselves, like the sheep that falls into the
ravine because it wants to go out on its own without the shepherd. Such
is the folly of human beings. Indeed, more than anyone else, God and our Lord
are bleeding for us, just as parents bleed for their children; shepherds for
their sheep. They feel so misunderstood, rejected, unappreciated and
taken for granted. Like Mary, the sword pierces our hearts again and
again by those whom we seek to love and serve.
When we
feel this way, we must recall once again our proper role as shepherd. We
are not CEOs or managers. We are not simply holding an office.
Rather, as shepherds, we are representing the Lord in reaching out to His sheep
that He loves. Whatever we do, we must never forget that we are acting in
His name and speaking the Words of Christ to others and being His hands and
feet to serve His people, especially the poor and sinners. Indeed, the
ordained priesthood is not simply an office but truly a sacrament. By
extension, members of the royal priesthood of the laity are called to be Christ
to others in their words and actions.
Secondly, we need to
recover the beginning and the source of our ministry and calling as
shepherds. Why do we ask for ordination, become religious, get married or
make ourselves available for public office? Isn’t it primarily because we
want to love and to serve the people? Where does this calling come
from if not from compassion? When we see our countrymen suffering,
wounded and hurt; when we see the nation bereft of good leaders; when we see
our Church lacking priests and religious and lay leaders to serve the people,
when we see the poor and the suffering needing help and assistance, we rise up
to the call to serve according to our charisms. So the beginning of
ministry is always love expressed in service ignited by our compassion for
others.
Indeed, the heart of God is
one of compassion. Why did Jesus assume our humanity to become a slave
for us even unto death? What inspired Him in His passion in proclaiming
the Good News? It was because of His compassion for us who are sinners that
Jesus chose to die for us to reveal the depth of His Father’s love and mercy.
St Paul wrote, “We were still helpless when at his appointed moment Christ died
for sinful men. It is not easy to die even for a good man but what proves
that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners.”
Indeed, Jesus as the Good Shepherd did not come only for those who were
receptive of His message but also those who reject Him. He came
principally to die for sinners. Jesus as the Good Shepherd laid
down His life for His sheep.
Consequently,
if the origin of our calling is compassion, then the heart of our ministry
remains always compassion. We cannot run our church, our family and our
office like a business enterprise, concerned only with key performance
indicators (KPIs), productivity, performance and profits. Rather, we are
primarily concerned with people. The welfare, the interests and happiness
of our workers take precedence over work excellence. This is not to say
that we do not need to seek excellence in our work or ministry, but they are
the consequence of forming our people in faith, love and generosity.
Like Jesus, in helping
people to find mercy and reconciliation with God and with others, there is a
special preferential option for the lost sheep, the weak, the wounded and the
lost. In the parable of today’s gospel, Jesus spoke of the joy of finding
the one sheep. He said, “I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in
heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine virtuous men who have no
need of repentance.” We must be careful that as shepherds we are not only
feeding the strong and the healthy who come to support us but we are to take
special care of those who are sick, wounded and abandoned. They cannot do
much for us and are sometimes a nuisance to us because of their demands.
But these are the special sheep that we are called first and foremost to
minister to without neglecting the rest. This precisely is the approach
of Pope Francis in his desire to reach out to the poor and the marginalized.
But we cannot do the work
of compassion unless we are first recipients of compassion ourselves. We
are shepherds but we are also sheep. We must never forget this.
Often, in their pride, priests and leaders in ministry and organizations forget
that they are also sheep. They are so used to being shepherds and leaders,
telling others what to do that they do not know how to listen, how to receive
and obey anymore. They become unaware of their own needs, their
brokenness and shortcomings. They spend so much time working in the
ministry, often lacking time for serious prayer, daily examen and
meditation. When leaders lack self-awareness, like the bad shepherds in
the book of Ezekiel, they destroy the sheep under their care. So a
true recognition of our own brokenness is required. We are only
earthenware jars. Without identification with fellow sinners and our
people, we will lack the capacity for compassion, identification and mercy.
So as shepherds after the
heart of Christ, we must be available to the mercy and compassion of our
Lord. We too need to come to Him for constant healing, encouragement and
strength. This is what the responsorial psalm is asking of us. Only He
can give us the strength and the repose from the anxieties and frustrations of
the ministry and the work we do. Only He can give us inspiration and guide us
in the right path, leading us back when we go astray. Only He can show us the
true meaning of life.
Indeed, only His love can
heal us and give us the strength to carry on loving the loveless; forgiving the
incorrigible, hope against hopelessness; faith even when we are in darkness and
in the valley of tears. We can only cling to this love of God. St
Paul says, “This hope is not deceptive, because the love of God has been poured
into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us.” When His
love is in our heart, then we will be able to be courageous, trusting, loving
and joyful, trusting in the Father’s love and mercy. Indeed, the Lord did
say to us, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens,
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I
am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For
my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Mt 11:28-30
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Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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