PROCLAIMING AND OFFERING THE GOOD NEWS IN FREEDOM

20161018 PROCLAIMING AND OFFERING THE GOOD NEWS IN FREEDOM

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Red.

First reading

2 Timothy 4:10-17 ©

Demas has deserted me for love of this life and gone to Thessalonika, Crescens has gone to Galatia and Titus to Dalmatia; only Luke is with me. Get Mark to come and bring him with you; I find him a useful helper in my work. I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak I left with Carpus in Troas, and the scrolls, especially the parchment ones. Alexander the coppersmith has done me a lot of harm; the Lord will repay him for what he has done. Be on your guard against him yourself, because he has been bitterly contesting everything that we say.

  The first time I had to present my defence, there was not a single witness to support me. Every one of them deserted me – may they not be held accountable for it. But the Lord stood by me and gave me power, so that through me the whole message might be proclaimed for all the pagans to hear; and so I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 144:10-13,17-18 ©

Your friends, O Lord, make known the glorious splendour of your reign.

All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,

  and your friends shall repeat their blessing.

They shall speak of the glory of your reign

  and declare your might, O God.

Your friends, O Lord, make known the glorious splendour of your reign.

They make known to men your mighty deeds

  and the glorious splendour of your reign.

Yours is an everlasting kingdom;

  your rule lasts from age to age.

Your friends, O Lord, make known the glorious splendour of your reign.

The Lord is just in all his ways

  and loving in all his deeds.

He is close to all who call him,

  who call on him from their hearts.

Your friends, O Lord, make known the glorious splendour of your reign.

Gospel Acclamation

cf.Jn15:16

Alleluia, alleluia!

I chose you from the world

to go out and bear fruit,

fruit that will last,

says the Lord.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Luke 10:1-9 ©

The Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself was to visit. He said to them, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest. Start off now, but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. Whatever house you go into, let your first words be, “Peace to this house!” And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is set before you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, “The kingdom of God is very near to you.”’

PROCLAIMING AND OFFERING THE GOOD NEWS IN FREEDOM

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [  2 TIM 4:9-17; LK 10:1-9 ]

Today we celebrate the Feast of St Luke, an apostle of the Good News.  We know that Luke is the writer of one of the gospels and the Acts of the Apostles and also a companion of St Paul in his missionary journeys.  Like him too, we are called to be messengers of the Good News.  Indeed, many of us take this commission of Jesus seriously for as the gospel appeals to us, “The harvest is rich but the workers are few.”  Yes, today there are many people in the world who are awaiting the Good News, many are lost and have no meaning in life and many are still searching for direction; thus the urgency of bringing the Good News to them.  This was why the disciples of Jesus were told to “greet no one along the way” in case they forget or neglect their mission while making friends and having fellowship.

Yet, although many of us are carrying out this command of Jesus, the irony is that the supposedly Good News which we are called to bring to non-believers has become Bad News to them.  How could this have happened?  This is due to our wrong attitude and approach to evangelization.  For some, getting people to accept the Good News must be done at all cost, even to the extent of compelling them to accept it.  This is true, especially if they are their loved ones since they would like them very much to share in their faith.  As if this is not bad enough, some of us even go to the extent of belittling and ridiculing the religious beliefs of others.

Of course when we attack other people’s beliefs, they become even more resentful of us and become closed to whatever we want to say.  Instead of seeing us as people of the Good News, we are now perceived as people of the Bad News.   This in turn makes us annoyed with them due to their intransigence and their lack of response.  But when we are transformed from loving people to angry people, this surely contradicts what the gospel tells us about the need to remain at peace even if others reject the peace we bring.  Yes, Jesus said that “On entering any house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’  If there is a peaceable man there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will come back to you.”

Hence, it is important that we ask ourselves, why are we angry with those who do not accept the Good News we are offering them?  If we are angry with those who reject the Good News we bring, is it because we are angry that they are rejecting the message or because they are rejecting us?  Let me give you an analogy in life.  Some of us get very angry with those who reject our gifts.  Now, if we are angry that our friends have rejected our gifts, isn’t it because we need them to receive the gifts so that we might feel happy for ourselves, that we are good and caring people?  For many of us, when our gifts are rejected, it is tantamount to a personal rejection.  They also deprive us of the joy of giving, and perhaps our need to feel superior and useful and good.

Consequently, we must be honest enough to admit that if others reject our gifts or the Good News we bring, it is not because we care about them, but we care about ourselves more than them.  It is because our ego and pride is hurt that we become angry.  If not why should we be angry?  Why should we get irritated if a person does not want the gifts we give them, especially when he sincerely does not need them?  We should be too happy to take back the gifts and pass them to those who need them. There is no need to be angry.  That is why Jesus tells us if others reject our peace, then it comes back to us.  If we are truly happy for the person, would we not only want what is best and can make him happy, rather than making ourselves happy?

Perhaps, others feel angry because they feel guilty.  They think that they are responsible if their loved ones are not converted.  They think that conversion is the result of their efforts rather than the work of God.  Thus, guilt makes them angry and resentful of others.  The truth is that ultimately, conversion is the action of the Holy Spirit and not ours.

Jesus in the gospel asks us to be patient and to give freedom to our recipients.  This is very clear when He told His disciples not to impose their message of peace on others.  St Paul himself in the first reading precisely adopted such an attitude when he wrote of how his fellow associate, Demas, had left him for the world.  Furthermore, when he had to stand on trial alone because everyone deserted him, he prayed that nothing would be held against them.  Such also was the attitude of Jesus when He was hanging on the cross, for He said: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing.”  Indeed, if people reject our offer of the Good News, it is simply because they are ignorant.  They do not see the Good News as really good for them.  Hence, instead of getting angry with them, we should show even more empathy and understanding.

So, the question is, how can one be so open to such a way of relating with people who are not interested in the Good News?  The key lies in the Spirit of poverty.  This is the deeper meaning of what Jesus wants to tell us in the gospel when He told His disciples not to carry a walking staff, a travelling bag or to wear sandals.  He was not simply speaking about material detachments.  This is of course included.  But more importantly, He was speaking of the emotional, psychological baggages that we carry with us in our proclamation of the Good News.  These baggages are our deep insecurities, our need for attention, for acceptance, for power and control over others.   Yes, the baggages we carry in the secular world are normally transformed into the religious sphere when we become so-called religious people.  The same old pursuits continue but only in a subtle way, in a new form, namely, that of spiritual power, greed and superiority.

How then can we learn to let go of all these baggages?  We can let go completely, even those whom we desire to convert, only when we ourselves have experienced the unconditional love of God in our lives.  Once we have experienced the love of Jesus, we will find so much happiness in it, that our happiness will no longer be dependent on people; and surely not on whether they accept the Good News or not, or whether they are converted to the Lord.  Of course, we will be happy for them if they really find the Lord in their lives.  This is our wish for them.  But note that does not mean our happiness is dependent on them.  We must be interiorly happy and then this happiness increases when they too share in our happiness.

For if we are truly happy Christians then our happiness must not be dependent on others’ happiness nor on their conversion.  If not, it seems that the conversion of others is not for their own sake but for ours.  If not, it seems that we convert them to make ourselves happy and not for their happiness.  Once we are aware that real happiness must come from our own sufficiency in the Lord, like Paul himself who said:  “the Lord stood by my side and gave me strength”, then we can avoid falling into a false messianic zeal – a zeal that springs from our own needs rather than for the well-being of others.

Yes, a true messenger of the Good News is one who has emptied himself of his ego and his impulsive desire to convert others.  The paradox is that when he is emptied of this desire to convert others, he can then share the Good News in a non-threatening way, a sharing that is based on true compassion, love and respect for the other person.  In that way, when the messenger of the Good News becomes the Good News in person, we can be sure that the message would then be more readily given an audience.  In the final analysis, we should simply do our part and leave the rest to the Holy Spirit.  What is necessary besides trying to bring them to Christ is that such attempts must be accompanied by fervent intercessory prayer for them and backed up by mortifications and penance.

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