20160623 WHAT IS THE FOUNDATION OF YOUR HOUSE?
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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2 Kings 24:8-17 ©
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Jehoiachin was
eighteen years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned for three months
in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta, daughter of Elnathan, from
Jerusalem. He did what is displeasing to the Lord, just as his father had done.
At that
time the troops of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched on Jerusalem, and the
city was besieged. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon himself came to attack the
city while his troops were besieging it. Then Jehoiachin king of Judah
surrendered to the king of Babylon, he, his mother, his officers, his nobles
and his eunuchs, and the king of Babylon took them prisoner. This was in the
eighth year of King Nebuchadnezzar.
The
latter carried off all the treasures of the Temple of the Lord and the
treasures of the royal palace, and broke up all the golden furnishings that
Solomon king of Israel had made for the sanctuary of the Lord, as the Lord had
foretold. He carried off all Jerusalem into exile, all the nobles and all the
notables, ten thousand of these were exiled, with all the blacksmiths and
metalworkers; only the poorest people in the country were left behind. He
deported Jehoiachin to Babylon, as also the king’s mother, his eunuchs and the
nobility of the country; he made them all leave Jerusalem for exile in Babylon.
All the men of distinction, seven thousand of them, the blacksmiths and
metalworkers, one thousand of them, all of them men capable of bearing arms,
were led into exile in Babylon by the king of Babylon.
The king
of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in succession to him, and
changed his name to Zedekiah.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 78:1-5,8-9
©
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Rescue us, O Lord,
for the glory of your name.
O God, the nations
have invaded your land,
they have
profaned your holy temple.
They have made
Jerusalem a heap of ruins.
They have
handed over the bodies of your servants
as food to feed the
birds of heaven
and the
flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.
Rescue us, O Lord,
for the glory of your name.
They have poured out
blood like water in Jerusalem;
no one is
left to bury the dead.
We have become the
taunt of our neighbours,
the
mockery and scorn of those who surround us.
How long, O Lord?
Will you be angry for ever;
how long
will your anger burn like fire?
Rescue us, O Lord,
for the glory of your name.
Do not hold the guilt
of our fathers against us.
Let your
compassion hasten to meet us;
we are
left in the depths of distress.
Rescue us, O Lord,
for the glory of your name.
O God our saviour,
come to our help.
Come for
the sake of the glory of your name.
O Lord our God,
forgive us our sins;
rescue us
for the sake of your name.
Rescue us, O Lord,
for the glory of your name.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Heb4:12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is
something alive and active:
it can judge secret
emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Jn14:23
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Alleluia, alleluia!
If anyone loves me he
will keep my word,
and my Father will
love him,
and we shall come to
him.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 7:21-29 ©
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Jesus said to his
disciples, ‘It is not those who say to me, “Lord, Lord,” who will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven.
When the day comes many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in
your name, cast out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name?” Then
I shall tell them to their faces: I have never known you; away from me, you
evil men!
‘Therefore,
everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a
sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales
blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was
founded on rock. But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not
act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. Rain came
down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell; and what a
fall it had!’
Jesus had
now finished what he wanted to say, and his teaching made a deep impression on
the people because he taught them with authority, and not like their own
scribes.
WHAT IS
THE FOUNDATION OF YOUR HOUSE?
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ 2 KG 24:8-17;
PS 78:1-5, 8-9; MT 7:21-29 ]
“O God,
the nations have invaded your land, they have profaned your holy temple.
They have made Jerusalem a heap of ruins. They have handed over the
bodies of your servants as food to feed the birds of heaven and the flesh of
your faithful to the beasts of the earth. They have poured out blood like water
in Jerusalem; no one is left to bury the dead. We have become the taunt of our
neighbours, the mockery and scorn of those who surround us. How long, O Lord?
Will you be angry forever; how long will your anger burn like fire?” This
was the prayer of the Israelites during those times when their enemies, be they
the Assyrians or the Babylonians attacked them. Of course, we have just
read of the destruction of the Northern Kingdom, Israel. Now, the king of
Babylon has invaded Judah as well. We read that “all the men of
distinction, seven thousand of them, the blacksmiths and metal workers, one
thousand of them, all of them men capable of bearing arms, were led into exile
in Babylon. The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king
in succession to him, and changed his name to Zedekiah.” This was but a
prelude to the end when the kingdom and the temple were totally destroyed.
The reason given for the
fall of Israel and Judah is the same. They failed to observe the Law of
the Lord. “He did what is displeasing to the Lord, just as his father had
done.” Indeed, the House of David was in ruins because the leaders and
the people were not faithful to the Covenant that the Lord established with the
people through Moses. They did not keep the Laws given to them
faithfully. The Laws were meant to be the magna carta, the foundation for
the Kingdom of Israel. If they had observed the Laws faithfully, the
country and the people would have stayed united and strong.
Unfortunately, the country became weak and disunited. What were the
reasons?
Firstly, the leadership was
weak. They were not exemplary leaders unlike Moses, the Judges, the
Prophets and King David. The leaders did not uphold the laws and the
covenant. They were more concerned about themselves, their pleasures and their
interests than that of being shepherds of God looking after His flock.
They were tending to themselves. The exercise of their leadership was to
further their interests, their wealth, their power and their prestige rather
than for the good of the nation. Indeed, when a country or an
organization has weak leaders, this would be the beginning of the
downfall. In every age and in every place, only strong leaders with integrity,
passion, courage, discipline and wisdom will see through the progress of the
nation. Indeed, some countries with vast human and natural resources
remain poor simply because of a weak political and religious leadership where
they are more concerned about what they can get from the people than what they
can give to them.
Secondly, there was a lack
of morality. The people and the leaders did not observe the basic
principles of mutual respect for each other. Instead, they allowed
corruption, injustices, cheating and improper relationships to prevail, leading
to the destruction of family life and moral decadence. When a country or
an organization is not ruled by principles based on justice and equality,
tampered with compassion for the weak and the poor, that organization too will
not last long. Indeed, those apparently progressive nations that are
experiencing economic and technological progress will also one day share the
tragedy of Israel because without a strong moral foundation, when there is a
lack of justice and integrity, the country will collapse. Science,
technology, wealth and power will be used to manipulate the weak and used to
destroy them. The writing is already on the wall, but few nations in the
world are taking heed of the lessons of history.
The third factor is the
lack of spiritual values. A country without a soul cannot function for
long. If we are only concerned about providing material needs and
creating wealth for the nation, we will not go far because no amount of wealth
and luxury can satisfy any person because everyone of us have affective and
spiritual needs. Those countries that seek to make progress without
religions will ultimately produce a nation of unhappy people, materialistic and
individualistic, living for themselves and for this world only without a sense
of sacrifice, generosity and concern for the greater good of the nation.
Such leaders are shortsighted and fail to see that man is not just pure matter,
but because he has a spirit, only spiritual things can satisfy his soul.
Without a connection with God and the Transcendent, his life has no foundation,
no direction and no purpose, here and hereafter.
In contrast, we read that
Jesus provided clear leadership and direction in life. The evangelist
remarked, “Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say, and his teaching made
a deep impression on the people because he taught them with authority, and not
like their own scribes.” Jesus was not simply a talker but He
walked the talk. He taught with authority and left a deep impression on
His hearers, because they heard a man who was passionate and convicted in His
mission and they saw someone whose words were identified with His life and
actions. Indeed, no leader can gain respect from others simply by applying
authority and power or fear.
A true leader must walk the
talk. This is what Jesus is reminding us when He said, “It is not those
who say to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the
person who does the will of my Father in heaven.” The truth is that
we have many priests, preachers, teachers, parents and those in leadership who
are eloquent and even visionary but they are not exemplary in their lives and
conduct. What they say sounds hollow when we see that their words do not
match their actions. One can give verbal and nominal love, but without
action, no amount of words can convince anyone. One must not simply say
the right thing but do the right thing as well.
But it is not a matter of
performance either. There are many leaders that do a lot of things for
the Church and their organizations but they are motivated by shallow and
self-centered motives. In the gospel, Jesus warns us against such
deception because He said, “many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy
in your name, cast out demons in your name, work miracles in your name?’
Then I shall tell them to their faces: I have never known you; away from me,
you evil man!” How true that many of us can be doing Church
ministry and apparently God’s work, but we do not know Jesus or are living
another life secretly that is different from what we say and appear in
public. Unless, we live from our convictions, we are merely
hypocrites and are doing all these apparent good works for recognition and
acceptance.
Secondly, a strong
foundation requires that we are ready to listen to the Lord. The life of
Jesus was one of listening to His Father. He is the Word of the
Father. All that He said and did came from the Father. “Very truly I tell
you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father
doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (Jn 5:19
) “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know
that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things
as the Father taught Me.” (Jn 8:28
) “For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent
me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. I know that his command leads to
eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to
say.” (Jn 12:49f
)
) “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know
that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things
as the Father taught Me.” (Jn 8:28) “For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent
me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. I know that his command leads to
eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to
say.” (Jn 12:49f)
But it is not enough to
listen. It is more important to act on His words and be obedient to His
commands. “Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and
acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock.
Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against the
house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock.” So it is
important to be attentive and obedient to the Word of the Lord.
Indeed,
in the final analysis, doing the will of God is what gives us peace and
happiness in life. There can be no separation between faith and action,
words and deeds. Obedience to the Word of God is what counts at the end
of the day. Indeed, if the Church is lacking dynamism, growth, renewal and
outreach, it is because our leaders and laity are not listening to what the
Lord is asking of them or what the Church is teaching them. When we
do not give ourselves to the Word of God, listening and then doing, we cannot
change lives and grow the Church, country or organization from strength to
strength.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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