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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