20160621 THE WITNESS OF A CHRISTIAN LIFE
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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2 Kings
19:9-11,14-21,31-36 ©
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Sennacherib, King of
the Assyrians, sent messengers to Hezekiah saying, ‘Tell this to Hezekiah king
of Judah, “Do not let your God on whom you are relying deceive you, when he
says: Jerusalem shall not fall into the power of the king of Assyria. You have
learnt by now what the kings of Assyria have done to every country, putting
them all under the ban. Are you likely to be spared?’
Hezekiah
took the letter from the hands of the messenger and read it; he then went up to
the Temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. Hezekiah said this
prayer in the presence of the Lord, ‘O Lord of Hosts, God of Israel, enthroned
on the cherubs, you alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth, you have
made heaven and earth.
‘Give ear, Lord, and
listen.
Open your eyes, Lord,
and see.
Hear the words of
Sennacherib
who has sent to
insult the living God.
‘It is true, O Lord,
that the kings of Assyria have exterminated all the nations, they have thrown
their gods on the fire, for these were not gods but the work of men’s hands,
wood and stone, and hence they have destroyed them. But now, O Lord our God,
save us from his hand, I pray you, and let all the kingdoms of the earth know
that you alone are God, the Lord.’
Then
Isaiah son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah. ‘The Lord, the God of Israel,’ he said,
‘says this, “I have heard the prayer you have addressed to me about Sennacherib
king of Assyria.” Here is the oracle that the Lord has pronounced against him:
‘“She despises you,
she scorns you,
the virgin, daughter
of Zion;
she tosses her head
behind you,
the daughter of
Jerusalem.”
‘This, then, is what
the Lord says about the king of Assyria:
‘“He will not enter
this city,
he will let fly no
arrow against it,
confront it with no
shield,
throw up no earthwork
against it.
By the road that he
came on he will return;
he shall not enter
this city. It is the Lord who speaks.
I will protect this
city and save it
for my own sake and
for the sake of my servant David.”’
That same night the
angel of the Lord went out and struck down a hundred and eighty-five thousand
men in the Assyrian camp. Sennacherib struck camp and left; he returned home
and stayed in Nineveh.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
47:2-4,10-11 ©
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God upholds his
city for ever.
The Lord is great and
worthy to be praised
in the
city of our God.
His holy mountain
rises in beauty,
the joy
of all the earth.
God upholds his
city for ever.
Mount Zion, true pole
of the earth,
the Great
King’s city!
God, in the midst of
its citadels,
has shown
himself its stronghold.
God upholds his
city for ever.
O God, we ponder your
love
within
your temple.
Your praise, O God,
like your name
reaches
the ends of the earth.
God upholds his
city for ever.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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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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Or
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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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Gospel
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Matthew
7:6,12-14 ©
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Jesus said to his
disciples, ‘Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls in
front of pigs, or they may trample them and then turn on you and tear you to
pieces.
‘So
always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of
the Law and the Prophets.
‘Enter
by the narrow gate, since the road that leads to perdition is wide and
spacious, and many take it; but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads
to life, and only a few find it.’
THE
WITNESS OF A CHRISTIAN LIFE
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ 2 Kg 19:9-11,
14-21, 31-36; Ps 47:2-4,10-11; Matt 7:6.12-14 ]
“Do not
give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls in front of pigs.”
It is a fact of life that there are some people who would not be receptive to
what we have to say and what we would like to share with them. There
could be many reasons why they are not receptive. They could be arrogant
and proud, like Sennacherib, King of the Assyrians in the first reading.
He thought too highly of himself, of his strength and might. With disdain
and scorn, he said, “Do not let your God on whom you are relying deceive you,
when he says: Jerusalem shall not fall into the power of the king of Assyria.
You have learnt by now what the kings of Assyria have done to every country,
putting them all under the ban. Are you likely to be spared?” For others,
like the religious leaders of Israel, it could be due to fear, prejudice and
blindness. For yet others, it could simply be due to ignorance and the
lack of capacity to understand.
Does it mean then that
Jesus is telling us to ignore them and let them go to their own
perdition? Certainly not! What Jesus is telling us is the reality
of the situation. In our goodwill to spread the Good News, to help people
to walk the way of truth and lead them back to God, we will at times be met
with rebuff, opposition and even persecution. Indeed, Jesus said, “they
may trample them and then turn on you and tear you to pieces.” So
we should not be surprised. If words cannot reach out to them because the
intellect is weak and the mind is shallow, then we need to devise other means
of proclaiming the Good News. Otherwise, whatever we say would simply be
a waste of time because nothing is absorbed by them.
What, then, is a more
effective way of transmitting the Good News? St Francis of Assisi
reminded his disciples to preach the gospel, but he qualified it by saying,
“only if necessary, use words!” Indeed, the best argument for the Good
News is not what we say but how we live out our Christian life. Those
whose minds are closed, we can at least find a way to their hearts. And
the way to the hearts of people is always through a living witness of Christian
life. When it comes to life and love, everyone can
understand. No one can argue over it, unlike over words and
doctrines. Silent witnessing in such a situation would be the most effective,
a life of faith expressed in love, hope and compassion for others.
That is why Jesus invites
us to be proactive in charity and compassion. He said, “So always treat
others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and
the Prophets.” In most religions and philosophy of life, we are taught
“Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.” This
philosophy of life is inward looking and negative. We are called not to
hurt others so that we will not get hurt. This is basic human relationship
which itself is good because at least we do not hurt our fellowmen. If
every man were to practice this principle then there would be less evil and sin
in the world. However, we can end up like the rich man in the gospel in
his attitude towards Lazarus, the poor man. We can be oblivious to the
sufferings of others. We might not do evil but this is insufficient.
We are called to do good,
not just avoid evil. Hence, Jesus exhorts us to go beyond the negative
form of the Golden Rule of life. We must be proactive in love and works
of compassion. We must put ourselves in their shoes and if we could
identify with them in their suffering or pain or poverty, then we would know
what they need and how they want to be helped. In this way, we will do
for them what we hope others will do for us if we were in their shoes.
“Do to others what we would like others to do for us” must therefore be
proactive. If all of us compete in serving, caring and looking after each
other, this will be a happy world.
To identify ourselves with
others in their suffering and privation, we need humility. King Hezekiah
in the first reading demonstrated his humility before God. Although he
was King, he recognized the Lordship of God. He did not supplant His position.
He knew his finiteness and limitations. In the face of a possible
onslaught by the Assyrians, he went down on his knees to pray to God for divine
intervention and assistance. Truly, those who do not know their place in
life will get hurt one day. The haughty and proud people will suffer a
fall that they will not be able to take it. This is the strategy of the
Evil One. He tempts us to self-conceit and smugness so that when we fall
one day, the fall will be so hard that it breaks us completely because of shame
and shock.
But for those of us who are
conscious of our inadequacy and limitations in life, we turn to God in
prayer. We must not ever think that people are converted to the Lord
because of our ingenious presentation of the gospel through preaching, teaching,
music and drama. This would be too egoistical of us. Rather,
docility and reception of what we say is not dependent on the speaker or the
listener, it depends on the Holy Spirit who opens the hearts of our
listeners. Unless the Holy Spirit opens their minds and hearts, they
would not be ready to receive our message, regardless how well it is
communicated. We are only the voice of the Word of God, Christ our
Teacher, but it is the inner teacher, the Holy Spirit that opens the hearts of
our listeners. So, if we want to spread the Good News, we must pray for
our listeners and audience. If we want to do all things well for the
Lord, we must rely on the power of intercession and not just on human
eloquence, preaching and programs. It is prayer and fasting that make the
program fruitful. To take credit when people are touched by our words is
to think that we are responsible for the conversion of others and not God
Himself.
So today, we are asked to
take the narrow path in the proclamation of the Good News. “Enter by the
narrow gate, since the road that leads to perdition is wide and spacious, and
many take it; but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and
only a few find it.” We need to follow the narrow gate which is that of Jesus.
It calls for self-discipline. It calls for discipleship! We are to
follow Jesus in humble service and compassion for others, especially those who
are sick and those without proper food, accommodation and medical care.
This is the narrow road that leads to life because if we follow the gospel and
take the Word of our Lord seriously, then we will find our life more peaceful
and joyful.
Unfortunately, many are not
ready to enter by the narrow gate. We all want quick results and
short-cuts. There are certain things that take time to develop.
There are some forms of spirituality that promise us that we can reach the
mystical stage of prayer without having the need to go through the ascetical
and purgative stages of our prayer life. So what they offer is a pseudo-psychological
peace, not the peace that comes from Christ who is the Way, the Truth and the
Life. Hence, we are called to enter the narrow gate, which means that we
are willing to suffer, learn and grow. Discipleship requires perseverance
and commitment. If we take the path of growing in discipleship through
prayer, meditation and the study of the Word of God and then serving the poor
and offering our service to the Church, the community or the nation, we will
find life.
Indeed, the Lord will be on
our side as He promised Hezekiah that the Lord would fight the battle for
him. And indeed as prophesied, the King of Assyria did not enter the
city. We read of the power of divine intervention, for on “that same
night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down a hundred and eighty-five
thousand men in the Assyrian camp. Sennacherib struck camp and left; he
returned home and stayed in Nineveh.” So let us trust in the Lord and
pray to Him like Hezekiah, not just in times of crisis but every day. We
pray especially for the conversion of hearts, the conversion of our children
and our spouse who have given up on God, the Church and on themselves. If
a prophet is not accepted in his own country, and words cannot be used to
proclaim the truth of God’s love, let our lives be a testimony of His love.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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