20170220 INSPIRING OTHERS IN FAITH
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Ecclesiasticus
1:1-10 ©
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All wisdom is from
the Lord,
and it is
his own for ever.
The sand of the sea
and the raindrops,
and the
days of eternity, who can assess them?
The height of the sky
and the breadth of the earth,
and the
depth of the abyss, who can probe them?
Before all other
things wisdom was created,
shrewd
understanding is everlasting.
For whom has the root
of wisdom ever been uncovered?
Her
resourceful ways, who knows them?
One only is wise,
terrible indeed,
seated on
his throne, the Lord.
He himself has created
her, looked on her and assessed her,
and
poured her out on all his works
to be with all
mankind as his gift,
and he
conveyed her to those who love him.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
92(93):1-2,5 ©
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The Lord is king,
with majesty enrobed.
The Lord is king,
with majesty enrobed;
the Lord
has robed himself with might,
he has
girded himself with power.
The Lord is king,
with majesty enrobed.
The world you made
firm, not to be moved;
your
throne has stood firm from of old.
From all
eternity, O Lord, you are.
The Lord is king,
with majesty enrobed.
Truly your decrees
are to be trusted.
Holiness
is fitting to your house,
O Lord,
until the end of time.
The Lord is king,
with majesty enrobed.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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1P1:25
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of the Lord
remains for ever:
What is this word?
It is the Good News
that has been brought to you.
Alleluia!
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Or
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cf.2Tim1:10
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Our Saviour Jesus
Christ abolished death
and he has proclaimed
life through the Good News.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 9:14-29 ©
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When
Jesus, with Peter, James and John came down from the mountain and rejoined the
disciples, they saw a large crowd round them and some scribes arguing with
them. The moment they saw him the whole crowd were struck with amazement and
ran to greet him. ‘What are you arguing about with them?’ he asked. A man
answered him from the crowd, ‘Master, I have brought my son to you; there is a
spirit of dumbness in him, and when it takes hold of him it throws him to the
ground, and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and goes rigid. And I
asked your disciples to cast it out and they were unable to.’ ‘You faithless
generation’ he said to them in reply. ‘How much longer must I be with you? How
much longer must I put up with you? Bring him to me.’ They brought the boy to
him, and as soon as the spirit saw Jesus it threw the boy into convulsions, and
he fell to the ground and lay writhing there, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked
the father, ‘How long has this been happening to him?’ ‘From childhood,’ he
replied ‘and it has often thrown him into the fire and into the water, in order
to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us.’ ‘If
you can?’ retorted Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for anyone who has faith.’
Immediately the father of the boy cried out, ‘I do have faith. Help the little
faith I have!’ And when Jesus saw how many people were pressing round him, he
rebuked the unclean spirit. ‘Deaf and dumb spirit,’ he said ‘I command you:
come out of him and never enter him again.’ Then throwing the boy into violent
convulsions it came out shouting, and the boy lay there so like a corpse that
most of them said, ‘He is dead.’ But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him
up, and he was able to stand. When he had gone indoors his disciples asked him
privately, ‘Why were we unable to cast it out?’ ‘This is the kind’ he answered
‘that can only be driven out by prayer.’
INSPIRING
OTHERS IN FAITH
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ Ecclesiasticus 1:1-10; Ps 92(93):1-2,5; Mk 9:14-29 ]
“The
father of the boy cried out, ‘I do have faith. Help the little faith I
have!’” This cry of the father is the cry of everyone. We too feel like
him. We have some faith in God but for most of us our faith is
weak. Certainly, we do not even have faith in God to heal us when we are
sick, much less a faith that could move mountains! In
times of trial, we give up faith in God. We prefer to rely on ourselves,
our ingenuity, science and technology to solve our problems. God is
always the last resort when all things fail and there is no further
recourse. But deep down in us all, we do want to increase in faith.
But we are weak.
How, then, can we grow in
faith? Firstly, by contemplating on the magnificent creation of
God. In the first reading from the book of Ecclesiasticus, the wisdom of
God is praised through pondering on the wonders of God’s creation. When the
author considered “the sand of the sea and the raindrops, and the days of
eternity, who can assess them? The height of the sky and the breadth of
the earth, and the depth of the abyss, who can probe them?” No one
could do all these but God the creator who alone is all wise. “He himself
has created her, looked on her and assessed her, and poured her out on all his
works to be with all mankind as his gift, and he conveyed her to those who love
him.”
If God is the creator of
all, then following Jesus we can trust in His divine providence. “Look at
the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet
your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And
can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why
do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow;
they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon
in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God
so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown
into the oven, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith?” (Mt 6:26-30)
If we do not trust Him, who
else can we trust when “before all other things wisdom was created, shrewd
understanding is everlasting. For whom has the root of wisdom ever been
uncovered? Her resourceful ways, who knows them?” So the conclusion
of Sirach and the psalmist is this, that God is our King, Lord of heaven and
earth. “One only is wise, terrible indeed, seated on his throne, the
Lord.” To Him we submit ourselves. “The Lord is king, with majesty
enrobed; the Lord has robed himself with might, he has girded himself with
power. The world you made firm, not to be moved; your throne has stood
firm from of old. From all eternity, O Lord, you are. Truly your decrees
are to be trusted. Holiness is fitting to your house, O Lord, until the
end of time.”
Secondly, to grow in faith,
we need the faith of others to inspire us. Obviously, the child under
possession could not exercise his faith. Likewise, the father of the
child was so desperate that he had lost almost all faith except the little he
had left. The disciples were supposed to be channels of God’s grace.
They were supposed to help the little faith of the father of the child.
Instead, they made him lose the little faith he had. He asked his
“disciples to cast it out and they were unable to.” The reply of Jesus
was swift. In frustration, He remarked, “You faithless
generation. How much longer do I have to be with you? How much
longer do I have to put up with you? Bring him to me.” Jesus
was clearly disappointed that even His own disciples lacked the faith to
deliver the boy from the Evil One. They must have tried to exorcise the boy but
their lack of faith was clearly manifested so much so the Devil was not afraid
of them. Like many people who pray without faith, the devil knows that
they are weak in faith. He would not bother about them because their
prayers would not work.
Jesus was truly a man who
could inspire faith. Even the sight of Him was enough to move people to
faith. In today’s gospel, we read that “the moment they saw him the whole
crowd were struck with amazement and ran to greet him.” We also read
elsewhere, “After the people of that place recognized him, they sent word
throughout the region and brought all who were sick to him and
begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who
touched it were healed.” (Mt 14:36) Even
at His death, the centurion remarked, “Truly this man was God’s Son!” (Mt 27:54) He was seen as
the visitation of God. After raising the widow’s son at Nain, we read
that “a sense of awe swept over all of them, and they glorified God saying, “a
great prophet has appeared among us. God has visited His people.” (Lk 7:16)
All of us too are called to
inspire people in faith. Parents have a responsibility to inspire faith
in their children. It is not enough to teach them about God or bring them
to church and catechism classes. More importantly, they must inspire them
by their lives of faith, devotion and love for God. It is not what they
say but what they do. This is of course true for all, whether we are
priests, religious, teachers, elders or seniors. We are called to inspire
faith in the lives of those people under our charge or are living or working
with us. Can we say that through our lives, people are inspired to find
faith in Christ as well? The sad reality is that often we put people off
and become a scandal to their faith because of our arrogance, insensitivity,
discrimination or sinful and worldly lifestyles. Many have left the church
because they encountered bad witnessing by Catholics who are rude and selfish.
How, then, can we be the
light of faith to others so that they can be inspired to grow in their
faith? If faith is lacking in us, it is because, as Jesus said,
“This is the kind, that can only be driven out by prayer.” What is needed is
more than just doing things in the name of Jesus or for Jesus. We need to
share the mind and heart of Jesus so that we can pray and act with faith in God
like He did. It was just after the Transfiguration experience when this
incident happened. The people noticed the transformation in Jesus and
that explained why they were struck with amazement upon seeing Him. It
was in the intimacy with His Father, that the Lord, was transformed.
Filled with the Father’s love and assurance of His presence, He could
confidently come down from the mountain filled with renewed power and strength
to deal with the challenges ahead of Him, particularly the imminent passion in
Jerusalem. We, too, if we want to be sure that we can manage the trials
and challenges of life at home, at work or in ministry, then we need to pray as
much as we work. Only prayer can strengthen our personal faith in Christ,
without which, the work we do will be hollow and not transform anyone. We
will end up quarreling and debating with each other as many church groups do
because the members hardly pray together and as individuals. This was
what happened at the scene. “They saw a large crowd around them and some
scribes arguing with them.” When there is no faith, we can only argue and
prove each other wrong. But if we believe in the power of prayer, then
prayer changes us and changes the way we relate with others. With faith,
nothing is impossible. When the man told the Lord, “But if you can do
anything, have pity on us and help us.” Jesus retorted, “If you can?
Everything is possible for anyone who has faith.”
So let us increase in our
faith through prayer in our relationship with the Lord, through contemplation
of His works in our lives and in creation; and through the inspiring faith of
our brothers and sisters. It is therefore important that we support each other
in faith using the various means and opportunities available to us. Not only by
praying individually, but we must also come together to worship as a community
of faith; and coming together in smaller groups to share the Word of God and
how the Lord is working in our daily life. Through such fellowship, our
faith will grow from strength to strength. If we walk alone in our faith,
we will surely lose it one day because no one can grow in faith by
himself. We need the church and the faith of our brothers and sisters to
support us.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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