20160820 BE GOD’S INSTRUMENTS IN MAKING THE EARTH THE SANCTUARY OF
GOD
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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Ezekiel 43:1-7 ©
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The angel took me to
the gate, the one facing east. I saw the glory of the God of Israel approaching
from the east. A sound came with it, like the sound of the ocean, and the earth
shone with his glory. This vision was like the one I had seen when I had come
for the destruction of the city, and like the one I had seen on the bank of the
river Chebar. Then I prostrated myself.
The glory
of the Lord arrived at the Temple by the east gate. The spirit lifted me up and
brought me into the inner court; I saw the glory of the Lord fill the Temple.
And I heard someone speaking to me from the Temple while the man stood beside
me. The voice said, ‘Son of man, this is the dais of my throne, the step on
which I rest my feet. I shall live here among the sons of Israel for ever.’
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 84:9-14 ©
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The glory of the
Lord will dwell in our land.
I will hear what the
Lord God has to say,
a voice
that speaks of peace,
peace for
his people and his friends.
His help is near for
those who fear him
and his
glory will dwell in our land.
The glory of the
Lord will dwell in our land.
Mercy and
faithfulness have met;
justice
and peace have embraced.
Faithfulness shall
spring from the earth
and
justice look down from heaven.
The glory of the
Lord will dwell in our land.
The Lord will make us
prosper
and our
earth shall yield its fruit.
Justice shall march
before him
and peace
shall follow his steps.
The glory of the
Lord will dwell in our land.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Ps118:36,29
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Bend my heart to your
will, O Lord,
and teach me your
law.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Mt23:9,10
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Alleluia, alleluia!
You have only one
Father,
and he is
in heaven;
you have only one
Teacher,
the
Christ.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 23:1-12 ©
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Addressing the people
and his disciples Jesus said, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair
of Moses. You must therefore do what they tell you and listen to what they say;
but do not be guided by what they do: since they do not practise what they
preach. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but will
they lift a finger to move them? Not they! Everything they do is done to
attract attention, like wearing broader phylacteries and longer tassels, like
wanting to take the place of honour at banquets and the front seats in the
synagogues, being greeted obsequiously in the market squares and having people
call them Rabbi.
‘You,
however, must not allow yourselves to be called Rabbi, since you have only one
master, and you are all brothers. You must call no one on earth your father,
since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor must you allow
yourselves to be called teachers, for you have only one Teacher, the Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant. Anyone who exalts himself will be
humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted.’
BE
GOD’S INSTRUMENTS IN MAKING THE EARTH THE SANCTUARY OF GOD
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [
EZ 43:1-7; PS: 84: 9-14; MT 23:1-12 ]
Ezekiel
was a prophet before and during exile. He saw the disastrous destruction
of the temple by the Babylonians. But he was asked to give hope to the
Israelites in exile. He prophesied the return to Jerusalem and the
restoration of the Temple of Jerusalem. He had a vision of the Temple of
Jerusalem filled with the glory of God where God lived.
However,
the restored temple could not be compared to Solomon’s glorious temple.
This brought them great sadness. Hence, the prophet spoke of a greater
temple which is in the hearts of man. God wants to dwell in our
land. That is the prayer of the responsorial psalm, “The glory of the
Lord will dwell in our land.” The message is that God lives in all. He
will give us a new heart and pour His Spirit in us. But before God can
live in us, we need to repent, like the Israelites in exile. God can only
live in hearts that are ready to accept Him. Only when God is worshipped
can God also dwell in our land.
Today,
the Church as the Body of Christ is the New Temple of God. And as
individuals, because His Spirit lives in us, we are also the Temple of the Holy
Spirit. It is from this perspective that we are called to be the sign and
sacrament of God’s presence in the world, a world that is becoming fragmented
and divisive, godless and valueless, because of secularism. In such a
secularized climate, all the more, priests and Church leaders, lay or
religious, are called to communicate the presence of God to the world.
However,
if the Church lacks power in the work of evangelization today, it is because
many of us priests, religious and lay leaders are lacking in holiness and
apostolic zeal. Indeed, Jesus’ condemnation of the religious leaders of
His day could well apply to us all in different ways. Like them,
consciously or unconsciously, we are not living examples of holiness. We
might be doing “church work”, but more as an activity or a duty, rather than
consciously doing it for the love and glory of God. Quite often, instead
of glorifying God together, we scandalize the world with our inner division and
power play to control and dominate.
We live lives of
contradiction because what we say is not what we do. We teach forgiveness
but we do not want to forgive. We talk about unity and communion, but we
cannot live in communion with each other. We speak of humility but we
want honour, recognition and acknowledgement. We speak of vulnerability,
but we are easily hurt by the remarks of others. We talk about service, but we
are concerned with controlling others and being served.
Indeed,
the words of Jesus to His disciples could well apply to us. “You must therefore
do what they tell you and listen to what they say; but do not be guided by what
they do: since they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy
burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but will they lift a finger to move
them? Not they!” Isn’t this reprimand of Jesus applicable to all of
us, regardless whether we are priests or lay? We all are leaders in our
own fields. We are hard on those under our care who fail in their
duties. We give them the dos and don’ts. Yet we do just the
opposite ourselves. We cannot live up to what we tell others. How sad
indeed when we are reduced to this state, for words without actions lack
power! Yes, Pope Paul VI reminds us that what the world needs is not
teachers but witnesses! If our teaching has not changed lives, it is
because we lack credibility. In a word, the glory of God is not radiating
from our very beings.
For
this reason, we all need a renewal in holiness of life. This is what the
Pope St John Paul II in his apostolic letter Millennio Ineunute, asks of us
all. He wrote that if we are to be ready for the work of evangelization,
then the starting point is to train ourselves in holiness. Holiness is
intrinsic to the ministry and presupposes the ministry. Without holiness, all
that we say will sound hollow and hypocritical. Unless others see that
what we say is working and transforming our lives, why should they even bother
to try?
If we
are lacking in holiness, perhaps the root cause can be traced to
formation. We are not taking our formation in spiritual life
seriously. How many of us, after completing RCIA, are making time for
spiritual formation by attending talks or enrolling in courses? Can one
grow in spiritual life without ongoing formation or spending time to do a
personal retreat? Worse still, many of us do not even make time for
prayer and meditation on the Word of God. Yet we are serving the Church
in different ministries, often holding important and critical positions.
How can our clerical and lay leaders be discerning and be exemplary in
Christian life if they are not filled with the glory of God?
Today, we are called to
turn to Christ who is our true teacher and master. We are not the teacher
but only the servant of Christ. We cannot call ourselves “Father” unless
we show the face of our Heavenly Father in our lives. All that we do must
lead people to Jesus, and through Him, to the Heavenly Father. Without
enrolling in the school of our Lord, learning from Him our sole Teacher, we
cannot be teachers to others, whether at Church, in the offices or to our
children.
We are called to look
towards Him as our exemplar in humility in service. Jesus said, “The
greatest among you must be your servant. Anyone who exalts himself will
be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted.” This is the
only acceptable reason for leadership. We seek to be humble servants for
Christ and His people by being servants of the Gospel both in word and deed, as
the Prophet Ezekiel was in his prophetic words and actions. Thus, it is
necessarily to be purified of our motives. Let us ask for the gift of humility
today so that, aware of our own inadequacies, we will come to the Lord for
inspiration and guidance. We must turn to Christ our teacher and master
in prayer, asking for that grace to grow in holiness, zeal and most of all, in
humility and charity.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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