A NEW BEGINNING WITH A NEW FAMILY THROUGH DISCIPLESHIP

20160719 A NEW BEGINNING WITH A NEW FAMILY THROUGH DISCIPLESHIP

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading

Micah 7:14-15,18-20 ©

With shepherd’s crook, O Lord, lead your people to pasture,

the flock that is your heritage,

living confined in a forest

with meadow land all around.

Let them pasture in Bashan and Gilead

as in the days of old.

As in the days when you came out of Egypt

grant us to see wonders.

What god can compare with you: taking fault away,

pardoning crime,

not cherishing anger for ever

but delighting in showing mercy?

Once more have pity on us,

tread down our faults,

to the bottom of the sea

throw all our sins.

Grant Jacob your faithfulness,

and Abraham your mercy,

as you swore to our fathers

from the days of long ago.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 84:2-8 ©

Let us see, O Lord, your mercy.

O Lord, you once favoured your land

  and revived the fortunes of Jacob,

you forgave the guilt of your people

  and covered all their sins.

You averted all your rage,

  you calmed the heat of your anger.

Let us see, O Lord, your mercy.

Revive us now, God, our helper!

  Put an end to your grievance against us.

Will you be angry with us for ever,

  will your anger never cease?

Let us see, O Lord, your mercy.

Will you not restore again our life

  that your people may rejoice in you?

Let us see, O Lord, your mercy

  and give us your saving help.

Let us see, O Lord, your mercy.

Gospel Acclamation

1Jn2:5

Alleluia, alleluia!

Whenever anyone obeys what Christ has said,

God’s love comes to perfection in him.

Alleluia!

Or

Jn14:23

Alleluia, alleluia!

If anyone loves me he will keep my word,

and my Father will love him,

and we shall come to him.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 12:46-50 ©

Jesus was speaking to the crowds when his mother and his brothers appeared; they were standing outside and were anxious to have a word with him. But to the man who told him this Jesus replied, ‘Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?’ And stretching out his hand towards his disciples he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.’

A NEW BEGINNING WITH A NEW FAMILY THROUGH DISCIPLESHIP

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ MIC 7:14-15. 18-20; PS 84:2-8; MT 12:46-50  ]

In life, we always hope for a new beginning.  We have made our fair share of mistakes in life.  We do not want to continue to live the wretched life that we have got ourselves into.  Like the Israelites in exile, we want to return to those good old days when our lives were much better.  This was what they said, “As in the days when you came out of Egypt grant us to see wonders.”  Many of us live in nostalgia.  We wish we could go back to those days when we were carefree, playful and life was much easier.  But now, with failed relationships, failed businesses or trying times in our job, we are discouraged.

Today, we find encouragement from the scriptures because our God is a faithful Lord.  He is true to His Covenant.  This was the experience of the Israelites when they prayed, “Grant Jacob your faithfulness, and Abraham your mercy, as you swore to our fathers from the days of long ago.”   They trusted in the Lord’s faithfulness.  The Lord does not hold our sins against us.  But He is ever ready to forgive us our past as long as we are ready to turn to a new life.  He is full of mercy and compassion for all our failings.  Indeed, as the prophet remarked, “What god can compare with you: taking fault away, pardoning crime, not cherishing anger forever but delighting in showing mercy? Once more have pity on us, tread down our faults, and to the bottom of the sea throw all our sins.”

But this hope for renewal should not just be a return to past glory.  God wants to give us a new and glorious beginning.   Restoration is not going back to where we were, regardless how great and glorious it might be.  Rather than simply speaking about restoration, the scriptures speak of a New Heaven and a New Earth.  We must move forward, not backward.  We must think big and have a vision beyond what we have experienced.  Unless we dare to dream big, no great things can be accomplished.  We are as big and happy as our dreams.

So what is this newness that the scriptures speak about if not the New Family of God?   Jesus precisely has come to start the New Family of God.  Unlike in the Old Testament, the family of God was based on race.  The Israelites and the Jews considered themselves as the Chosen People of God.  They felt that they were the Privileged Ones of God and therefore entitled to all the rights of the People of God.  But membership was determined by race, not by faith.  This was the real problem of the Israelites.  As a consequence, they abused their privileged position as God’s chosen people. They claimed membership without living out the Covenant in their own lives.

So what is the new family of God based on?  It is not founded on race but on discipleship.  This is the intent of Jesus when His mother and His brothers came to see Him, most likely, to bring Him home because of what they heard.  They thought He was out of His mind.  But the response of Jesus was swift.  He said, “’Who is my mother?  Who are my brothers?’  And stretching out his hand towards his disciples he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers.  Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.’”  Clearly, for Jesus, He wanted to go beyond biological kinship, whether of family or of race to spiritual kinship.   Who are those who are members of His family?  Not those outside the circle of disciples but those within the circle of disciples.  Anyone who is a disciple of the Lord is His brother, sister and mother.  So what is more important than merely being a member of the chosen race?  It is following Jesus and living the life of discipleship and doing the will of God.  A true disciple of our Lord is one who imitates Jesus in doing the will of His Father, obeying His commandments and carrying out His word. Hence, the new membership is based on baptism and being a member of the body of Christ.

This new family of God became a reality at the death of the Lord on the cross.  In the gospel of St John, Mary, the Mother of Jesus, at the Wedding in Cana told the servants to “do whatever He tells you.”  She instructed the servants how to be disciples of the Lord by obeying the word of the Lord and submitting to His authority.  So the servants did what the Lord asked of them to fill the six jars with water meant for ablutions.  But it was only at His death, when the Hour of His glorification had arrived, that the Lord realized the promise of the spiritual motherhood of Mary anticipated at Cana in Galilee.  There He gave Mary, the woman, to be the Mother of the beloved disciple who represented the Church.  By giving Mary to the Church, she truly became the mother of all disciples represented by the beloved disciple.  Thus, in truth, Jesus became our brother because Mary has become our mother.  From that hour, she exercised her spiritual motherhood for the Church.

Thus, the declaration of Jesus became a reality when He said, “Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.”  Who did the will of God if not Mary at the Annunciation, at the Wedding at Cana and at the foot of the cross? The whole life of Mary was dedicated to the will of God.  So much so, when someone praised the biological motherhood of Mary, Jesus immediately corrected the praise by directing it to the spiritual motherhood of Mary.  “While he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!’ But he said, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!’”  (Lk 11:27f)  Obedience to the Word of God is paramount in determining true discipleship. (Jn 15:4)  We are known as disciples of the Lord only if we do His will.

Indeed, as Christians we must be more and more united with Christ so that we become more and more brothers and sisters with each other.  To the extent that we are in union with Christ, to that extent we are in union with the Body of Christ.  Only those who are united in Christ will share His common love for the Father and His people.  We are gathered together by faith in Christ, not by sociological concerns.  It is our common love for Christ that unites us together.  If we find the Christian community divided, then clearly the members do not love Christ but themselves.  We will not want to divide Christ or hurt Him to see His family divided.  In the same way, parents like to see their children united and not at odds with each other.  The greatest joy we can give to our parents is to let them know that their children not only care for them but that they care for each other and look after each other as a family.  We cannot say we love Christ if we do not care for our brothers and sisters.

Secondly, we need to strengthen our bonds together by forging more common experiences, especially religious and social experiences.  It is only when we share a common faith experience, a religious encounter through some spiritual programs, for example, LISS or RCIA, etc that we are able to identify with each other.  Without common religious experiences, we will end up divided because of theological conflicts and differences.  Whether we admit it or not, it is not ideology that unites us but common experiences in life.  What gels a couple is not when they share thoughts and ideas but when they share their common experiences in life, their joys, sorrows and struggles.  The reason why the Church is divided is because we do not have common experiences.  We are the product of our experiences.  So, depending on where we come from, we share a common identity and bonding.  This explains the different religious traditions within a particular religion and among religions.  Even with Catholicism, there are various kinds of spiritualities, but regardless of our affinity, we all share a common faith and love for Christ and His Church, including devotion to our Blessed Mother.  What matters in the final analysis is that, like Mary, we do the will of God.

So let us, as Catholics, see ourselves as the New Family of God and the Body of Christ.  We must renew our love for the Church and our union with each other.  We need to be on guard against parochialism when we divide the Church through protectionism, competition, jealousy, comparison and self-promotion.  There is only one Family of God, the family of our Lord, all doing His will and united in living out our lives as disciples of Christ in faith, love and hope.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved