CALLED TO BE APOSTLES OF THE NEW COVENANT

20170120 CALLED TO BE APOSTLES OF THE NEW COVENANT

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading

Hebrews 8:6-13 ©

We have seen that Christ has been given a ministry of a far higher order, and to the same degree it is a better covenant of which he is the mediator, founded on better promises. If that first covenant had been without a fault, there would have been no need for a second one to replace it. And in fact God does find fault with them; he says:

See, the days are coming – it is the Lord who speaks –

when I will establish a new covenant

with the House of Israel and the House of Judah,

but not a covenant like the one I made with their ancestors

on the day I took them by the hand

to bring them out of the land of Egypt.

They abandoned that covenant of mine,

and so I on my side deserted them. It is the Lord who speaks.

No, this is the covenant I will make

with the House of Israel

when those days arrive – it is the Lord who speaks.

I will put my laws into their minds

and write them on their hearts.

Then I will be their God

and they shall be my people.

There will be no further need for neighbour to try to teach neighbour,

or brother to say to brother,

‘Learn to know the Lord.’

No, they will all know me,

the least no less than the greatest,

since I will forgive their iniquities

and never call their sins to mind.

By speaking of a new covenant, he implies that the first one is already old. Now anything old only gets more antiquated until in the end it disappears.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 84(85):8,10-14 ©

Mercy and faithfulness have met.

Let us see, O Lord, your mercy

  and give us your saving help.

His help is near for those who fear him

  and his glory will dwell in our land.

Mercy and faithfulness have met.

Mercy and faithfulness have met;

  justice and peace have embraced.

Faithfulness shall spring from the earth

  and justice look down from heaven.

Mercy and faithfulness have met.

The Lord will make us prosper

  and our earth shall yield its fruit.

Justice shall march before him

  and peace shall follow his steps.

Mercy and faithfulness have met.

Gospel Acclamation

cf.2Th2:14

Alleluia, alleluia!

Through the Good News God called us

to share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Alleluia!

Or

2Co5:19

Alleluia, alleluia!

God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself,

and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Mark 3:13-19 ©

Jesus went up into the hills and summoned those he wanted. So they came to him and he appointed twelve; they were to be his companions and to be sent out to preach, with power to cast out devils. And so he appointed the Twelve: Simon to whom he gave the name Peter, James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom he gave the name Boanerges or ‘Sons of Thunder’; then Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, the man who was to betray him.

CALLED TO BE APOSTLES OF THE NEW COVENANT

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ HEB  8:6-13; MK 3:13-19   ]

In order to understand the significance of today’s first reading on the New Covenant, it is important to appreciate the background of Jeremiah’s prophecy which the author of the letter to the Hebrews cited.  For this we return to the beginning of creation and its fall.

What is the cause of sin and misery?  It is because man has rejected his relationship with God.  He wants to gain his autonomy without being subjected to God.  By negating his fundamental and constitutive relationship with God, he is unable to find himself.  He becomes insecure and fearful of his life.  Apart from God, he becomes selfish and self-preservative. He feels threatened by his own fellowmen. The consequences of this broken relationship are death, sin and alienation.

In response to this failed relationship and the resultant disorder in creation, God, who initiated this relationship, must also be the One to restore it.  He began by calling Abraham to be the father of the Chosen People and the multitude of nations. From Abraham originated the twelve tribes of Israel. After their deliverance from Egypt, they became the Chosen People of God. They were supposed to be the model of God’s people for the rest of humanity, living a life of obedience to the Word of God and in harmony amongst themselves.  Unfortunately, this was not the case.  The kings and the people did not obey God.  Instead, they adopted the pagan practices of their neighbouring countries by worshipping false gods.  Instead of relying on Yahweh, they relied on worldly powers and man-made gods.   This led to their eventual destruction and the fall of the kingdom to Assyria, then Babylon and then Persia.

But why did the Mosaic Covenant established with the People of God fail?  It was not effective because the laws were merely observed externally.  The worship rendered to God was mere rituals, without true expression of a contrite and loyal heart. This was very clear during the time of the prophet Jeremiah, when he condemned the people for worshipping God whilst continuing with their evil deeds.  As the author noted, “See, the days are coming – it is the Lord who speaks – when I will establish a new covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah, but not a covenant like the one I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. They abandoned that covenant of mine, and so I on my side deserted them.”  Indeed, the laws which were written on tablets and on stones could not change the hearts of the people.  They failed to interiorize what they had seen, especially the powers of God and His divine providence and might in delivering them from Egypt and the dangers they encountered whilst wondering in the desert for forty years.  They forgot what their forefathers had gone through.  They failed to see the wisdom of the Laws God gave to them.

Consequently, a better and more effective Covenant was needed.  What is this New Covenant that is required to effect the communion between God and man, since the animal sacrifices did not bring about that result?  Again, the prophet said, “It is the Lord who speaks. No, this is the covenant I will make with the House of Israel when those days arrive – it is the Lord who speaks. I will put my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts. Then I will be their God and they shall be my people.”  This New Covenant, unlike the Old Covenant, will be effective because God will be giving them the Spirit of His Son.  It would not be so much a question of obeying the commandments or a legalistic conformity to some burdensome laws, but rather, it would be in the spirit of love and union with God.  In the death and resurrection of Jesus, we see Jesus giving Himself freely as a sacrificial offering for us out of love for His Father and for us.  And through His resurrection, He gave us all a share in His Spirit as well.

As a consequence too, our sins are forgiven and we are able to respond in love and not out of fear or obligation.  As we contemplate on the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus, especially in His paschal mystery, we cannot but respond with gratitude and joy.  Furthermore, our knowledge of God is no longer from without, but from within our hearts.  It is no longer merely an intellectual assent to God but a personal assent that engages the mind and the will.  Through the Holy Spirit given to us, we grow in intimacy with God whom we know as a friend and most of all, as our Father who counts us worthy to be His children, adopted sons and daughters in Christ.  Indeed, this is what the Lord said through His prophet who wrote, “Then I will be their God and they shall be my people. There will be no further need for neighbour to try to teach neighbour, or brother to say to brother, ‘Learn to know the Lord.’ No, they will all know me, the least no less than the greatest, since I will forgive their iniquities and never call their sins to mind.”

Having received this New Covenant in Christ, we too, like the apostles, are sent out to bring others into the ambit of God’s love.  We read in the gospel about the calling of the Twelve. Those whom Jesus called, noticeably comprised a motley crowd of different characters and temperaments with very diverse theological and political affiliations.  Yet, He chose them “to be his companions and to be sent out to preach, with power to cast out devils.”  Regardless of their background and character, the Lord knew that the love of God and the Holy Spirit will bind them together as a college so that they would work together for the establishment of the kingdom of love on earth.

They were also called to preach and to heal. Both are integral in the proclamation of the gospel.  Preaching must be accompanied by healing and vice versa.  We are called to offer forgiveness to those who have hurt us, and to reconcile hurting parties.  Like the apostles, we too are called to “cast out devils” in a real sense of the word and also by extension, to conquer and eradicate the evils of fear and selfishness in the world through the proclamation of God’s love and mercy, definitively concretized in Jesus, especially in the Paschal Mystery.

In order to continue this work of extending the New Covenant given to us by Christ in the Holy Spirit, we must therefore remember that we are called first and foremost to be His companions before we are sent out.  To go to the hills or the mountains or the desert is an invitation to intimacy with Him.  Otherwise we cannot acquire the Spirit of love and compassion of the New Covenant.  Only when we are immersed in His love and filled with His mercy can we be passionate about sharing what the Lord has done for us with others.  Indeed, in Jesus, we can rejoice with the psalmist, “Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven.”  May we who come to know God’s mercy and truth be set free to live a life of compassion and truth in our relationship with everyone so that all will come to share in the unity of God’s family.

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