Monday, 25 July 2016

SHEPHERDS AFTER THE HEART OF CHRIST MUST HAVE A DEEP ASSIMILATION OF THE WORD OF GOD

20160723 SHEPHERDS AFTER THE HEART OF CHRIST MUST HAVE A DEEP ASSIMILATION OF THE WORD OF GOD

Jer 3:14-17
14 "Come back, disloyal children, Yahweh declares, for I alone am your Master, and I will take you, one from a town, two from a family, and bring you to Zion.
15 I shall give you shepherds after my own heart, who will pasture you wisely and discreetly.
16 Then, when you have increased and grown numerous in the country, Yahweh declares, no one will ever again say: The ark of the covenant of Yahweh! It will not enter their minds, they will not remember it or miss it, nor will another one be made.
17 When that time comes, Jerusalem will be called: The Throne of Yahweh, and all the nations will converge on her, on Yahweh's name, on Jerusalem, and will no longer follow their own stubborn and wicked inclinations.

Matthew 13 : 18-23
8 'So pay attention to the parable of the sower.
19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom without understanding, the Evil One comes and carries off what was sown in his heart: this is the seed sown on the edge of the path.
20 The seed sown on patches of rock is someone who hears the word and welcomes it at once with joy.
21 But such a person has no root deep down and does not last; should some trial come, or some persecution on account of the word, at once he falls away.
22 The seed sown in thorns is someone who hears the word, but the worry of the world and the lure of riches choke the word and so it produces nothing.
23 And the seed sown in rich soil is someone who hears the word and understands it; this is the one who yields a harvest and produces now a hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty.'

SHEPHERDS AFTER THE HEART OF CHRIST MUST HAVE A DEEP ASSIMILATION OF THE WORD OF GOD

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ JER 3:14-17; MT 13:18-23  ]
We are called to be shepherds after the heart of Christ.  But how can we be Good Shepherds of our own souls and that of others under our care when we ourselves are facing the temptations of the World, the weakness of the Flesh and the onslaught of the Devil?  In today’s parable of the sower, we are reminded of such threats that come our way.
Firstly, we have to fight against the temptations that come from the World.  Like the Israelites during the time of Jeremiah who were tempted to embrace false gods and idolatry, we are tempted to the worship of self, living an immoral and self-centered life, all of which are tantamount to committing adultery against the Lord.  This is the man who allows “the worries of this world and the lure of riches” to lead him away from being focused on the Lord.
Secondly, we have to contend with the weakness of our Flesh.  Besides our basic material and physical needs, we all seek bodily comforts. We seek pleasure and fun.  Most, if not all of us, are fearful of pain and suffering. We lack fortitude and perseverance, succumbing easily to the trials of life.  Yes, we might receive with joy the gospel, but fall away quickly when under the slightest persecution.
Thirdly, there is also the subtle and obvious work of the Devil.  We must not think that this spiritual warfare is fought only against our self; there are also unseen forces and spiritual powers to contend with. Jesus Himself warned us that the Evil One often comes to hinder us from making any real spiritual progress. Sometimes he is relentless in discouraging or distracting those who decide to return to the Lord.  When we come closer to the Lord, he would find all means to make us give up as quickly as we have returned.
In the light of these challenges, what must we do?  This is where we need to acquire the heart of Christ.  What is this heart of Christ if not His mind?  We can only have the heart of God if we know Him.  Jeremiah says, “I will give you shepherds after my own heart, and these shall feed you on knowledge and discretion.”  It is through His Word that we can come to know the heart of Christ.  Pope John Paul II in his apostolic letter, Novo Millennio Ineunte invites us to contemplate on the face of Christ in the scriptures, especially in the Gospel.
It behooves us as shepherds after the heart of Christ to be diligent in deepening our understanding of God’s Word, as the gospel reminds us.  Jeremiah prophesied a day when Israel would have shepherds who understand deeply the Word of God and live according to it.   All of us in our own way have a responsibility to those under our care.  If we are to properly guide them to the pastures of life, we ourselves must know the heart of God through His Word.  When we know God’s heart, we will know how to shepherd His people.
Indeed, as the gospel assures us, our ability to overcome the struggles of life, the sins of the world and the temptations of the Evil One, is dependent on our receptivity to the Word of God.  The deeper our understanding of the Word, the more convicted we will be in seeking to live the life of Christ because we see the truths about God and the mystery of His salvation and divine plan for us. All faith begins with this foundation in God who is the trustworthy one.  Secondly, the deeper the Word of God takes root in our hearts, the firmer will our hearts be fixed on the values of the gospel, even during times of trial and persecution.  For when we build our house on rock, we can withstand the storms of life on account of the inspiration and encouragement we receive from God Himself.  Thirdly, when we are enlightened by the Wisdom and Truth of the Word of God, we will be more focused on the true essentials of life, those values and things that are not transient but everlasting and truly fulfilling.
Consequently, we must think afresh how we are building our lives on the Word of God.  Are we contented with our knowledge of scripture?  Are we satisfied with the way we pray the scriptures?  We must avoid superficiality in the way we read and pray the scriptures as it will affect our relationship with Christ.  One of the best ways to pray the scriptures is to use the ancient patristic method of Lectio Divina.  For those who are disposed to fantasy prayer, the Ignatian method of contemplating the life of Jesus is certainly a great tool to use in entering the mind and heart of Christ and at the same time, getting in touch with ourselves.  Of course, it is true that we are ultimately dependent on the grace of God to understand scripture and bear fruit in our lives, but this fact does not dispense us from having to cooperate with His grace.
Today, we take comfort that God wants to set us free from our sins.  He has sent us Jesus, the Word of God made flesh.  He comes to us today not in the Ark of the Covenant, as in the days of old, but He comes to us in the Eucharist where He takes flesh.  But like the Israelites, we must go beyond a simple superstitious practice of worshipping the Eucharist as they did with the Ark.  True worship of the Eucharist must be done in the context of the Word of God, as detached, we will have the sign but not the meaning.  This is how the prophecy of Jeremiah, that “No one will ever say again: Where is the ark of the covenant of the Lord? There will be no thought of it, no memory of it, no regret for it, no making of another” is being fulfilled in our days, for the ark which had earlier symbolized God’s presence would no longer be needed since He is here in His Word and in the Sacrament. As the responsorial psalm says, we will have God as our shepherd to guide us.
And we can be certain that ultimately the grace of God will triumph as the parable of the sower tells us.  “And the one who received the seed in rich soil is the man who hears the word and understands it; he is the one who yields a harvest and produces now a hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty.”  We are the remnant as prophesied by Jeremiah that would bring our people and ourselves back to the Promised Land.  This will be realized when we become shepherds after the Heart of God because His Word lives in us and continues to work in and through us in the power of the Spirit.

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



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