20170205 PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Isaiah 58:7-10 ©
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Thus says the Lord:
Share your bread with
the hungry,
and shelter the
homeless poor,
clothe the man you
see to be naked
and do not turn from
your own kin.
Then will your light
shine like the dawn
and your wound be
quickly healed over.
Your integrity will go
before you
and the glory of the
Lord behind you.
Cry, and the Lord
will answer;
call, and he will
say, ‘I am here.’
If you do away with
the yoke,
the clenched fist,
the wicked word,
if you give your
bread to the hungry,
and relief to the
oppressed,
your light will rise
in the darkness,
and your shadows
become like noon.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
111(112):4-9 ©
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The good man is a
light in the darkness for the upright.
or
Alleluia!
He is a light in the
darkness for the upright:
he is
generous, merciful and just.
The good man takes
pity and lends,
he
conducts his affairs with honour.
The good man is a
light in the darkness for the upright.
or
Alleluia!
The just man will
never waver:
he will
be remembered for ever.
He has no fear of
evil news;
with a
firm heart he trusts in the Lord.
The good man is a
light in the darkness for the upright.
or
Alleluia!
With a steadfast
heart he will not fear;
open-handed, he gives
to the poor;
his
justice stands firm for ever.
His head
will be raised in glory.
The good man is a
light in the darkness for the upright.
or
Alleluia!
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Second reading
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1 Corinthians
2:1-5 ©
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When I came to you,
brothers, it was not with any show of oratory or philosophy, but simply to tell
you what God had guaranteed. During my stay with you, the only knowledge I
claimed to have was about Jesus, and only about him as the crucified Christ.
Far from relying on any power of my own, I came among you in great ‘fear and
trembling’ and in my speeches and the sermons that I gave, there were none of
the arguments that belong to philosophy; only a demonstration of the power of
the Spirit. And I did this so that your faith should not depend on human
philosophy but on the power of God.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Jn8:12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the
world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me
will have the light of life.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 5:13-16 ©
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Jesus said to his
disciples, ‘You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, what
can make it salty again? It is good for nothing, and can only be thrown out to
be trampled underfoot by men.
‘You
are the light of the world. A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden. No one
lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it
shines for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine in the
sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your
Father in heaven.’
PROCLAIMING
THE GOSPEL IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ IS 58:7-10; 1 COR 2:1-5; MT 5:13-16 ]
When we
look at what is happening in the world today, we cannot but be bewildered at
what is rapidly taking place. We are not only speaking about the
political, economic or technological scene but more importantly the moral and
religious landscape. 300 years ago if you were not a believer, you would
have been put to death. Atheists then hid themselves and could not
proclaim themselves publicly as unbelievers. Today, we have the other
extreme where believers fight shy of professing their faith publicly.
Not long ago, whilst same sex relationship was tolerated, no one could ever
imagine that same sex union could be regarded as marriage or that a family is
constituted of two adults of the same sex and an adopted child. At the same
time, today, many are experiencing the angst of modern living; the anxiety of
making choices and the instability of life. In a very competitive world,
only the fittest can survive. In a relativistic world, nothing is right
or wrong. Society has lost its foundations for coherency and unity.
Traditional values are debunked. A society without moral norms to guide
them or the sense of the sacred makes life meaningless.
How can we allow society to
degenerate to this state where we are living a materialistic life and an amoral
life without lasting values? We cannot just place the blame on society
and technology; we are largely to be blamed as well. They are in darkness
because they have not seen the light. They can be pardoned because of their
ignorance. But we have received the light of Christ, but instead of
transmitting that light which we have, we have hidden it. Indeed, this is
what Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill-top
cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on
the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house.”
Christians are hiding their identity from the world. Christians no longer
evangelize others, which practically means sharing the Good News. The
truth is that if we do not evangelize the world, then the world will secularize
us. By keeping silent, the minority voice becomes the dominant voice of
society. The loss of evangelical zeal and Christian witnessing is the
cause of religious and moral decadence in society. Catholics lack
enthusiasm in sharing their faith with others. Ironically, we call the
gospel, the Good News. If we Catholics really believe in the Good News,
then why is it that we are not sharing this Good News with others so that they
too can experience the Good News for themselves?
This is
because we have become salted. Jesus remarked, “You are the salt of the earth.
But if salt becomes tasteless, what can make it salty again? It is good for
nothing, and can only be thrown out to be trampled underfoot by
men.” Truly, there is no neutrality in life. Either we are
for God or for the world. We cannot serve two masters. When we are
insipid in our faith and love for God, we will gradually lose it.
Anything that is done in a lackluster manner cannot inspire anyone including
oneself. When we are no longer passionate about our faith, it is the
beginning of mediocrity, leading to abandonment.
Truly
if Catholics and Christians were passionate about their faith, and live as true
witnesses of Christ, the world would never have become so secularized to the
extent that it is even hostile to religions, especially the Christian
Faith. Instead, Christianity is losing credibility because the Church is
so divided in the first place. The Church has abandoned the faith of our
Fathers and manipulated the scripture for its own purposes. Instead of
proclaiming the truth of the gospel to the world without fear or favour, we
have compromised the gospel and even diluted the gospel to suit the world’s
greed and desires. Abandoning its high moral ground and doctrines, and
succumbing to the worldly and self-centered values of the world, we have lost
the uniqueness of our faith. In trying to please the world, we have lost
our moral standing. Coupled with the scandals in the Church, whether
financial or sexual, the world looks at Christianity with skepticism and even
resentment.
Today we are called to
offer meaning, hope and stability to the world. We are called to bear the
light of Christ to all of humanity. How can this be done? We need
to proclaim the gospel anew. This is why the Church has been speaking
about the New Evangelization. To engage the world effectively today, we
need to consider the New Evangelization. What is this New
Evangelization? It concerns first and foremost the renewal,
re-appropriation and re-intensification of our faith in Christ. Secondly,
it concerns the way we reach out to the world, Catholics and non-Catholics
alike, using the modern tools of communication and evangelizing all the
different sectors of human activities e.g. economic, media, education,
politics, culture and religion. Unless the Church engages the world, we
cannot regain our place and position of influence. To be the salt and
light of the world requires us to be in the world even if we are not of the
world.
But how can we do this when
we have lost our saltiness and for some, even the light? What is needed above
all is conversion. We all need conversion, a change of heart and a change of
mind. The ultimate and primary conversion is to Christ. This is brought
about by the kerygma, the proclamation of His passion, death and resurrection
which we profess during the proclamation of faith at mass. The real
conversion is not moral conversion but coming into contact with Christ
crucified so that we can experience the mercy and forgiveness of God.
This is the kerygma that St Paul spoke about. St Paul not only encountered
God’s mercy and love but most of all in the resurrection of the Crucified
Christ. He knew God’s power and wisdom. God loves us so much that
He would die in Jesus and by raising Him from the dead in the power of the Spirit,
He demonstrated that nothing is impossible for God. Justification is through
the grace of faith in Christ given to us working through the love of God in
Christ and through Him our love for our fellowmen.
So what
is needed today is for our Catholics to have a personal encounter with the
Crucified Christ in the Spirit. Our faith in Christ cannot simply be an
assent to some doctrines of the Church but a personal relationship with the
Lord and a real encounter with the power of the Risen Christ in our lives,
through our contact with people, the miracles we see, and most of all, the
amazing ways He works in our lives. Only when we recognize the limits of
human reason and human capacity, and relying on the power of the Spirit, in
total surrender, can we truly experience the power of God working in and
through us. The weakness of many of our Catholics is that they do not have this
fundamental and life changing encounter, hence without a real foundation, their
faith remains weak, hindering them from growing in their faith.
But
beyond just the fundamental conversion experience, we need to further grow our
faith through ongoing formation. This is the period of didache. The
parish community must provide the means of ongoing formation. Many are
not giving proper follow up guidance to help those newly baptized strengthen
their faith. It has always been presumed that once baptized, a catholic
can be on his or her own. Worse still, they are immediately inserted into
ministry to serve others when they themselves are still not yet properly formed
in the faith. Far from it, the newly baptized needs the community to
continue journeying with him or her in the faith, introducing the person to the
community, finding him or her a niche, a sense of belonging to a group or movement
where he or she can continue with their journey and ongoing formation.
Unless, we are serious in offering our Catholics ongoing formation beyond
Sunday mass, the faith cannot grow or be renewed. On the part of our
Catholics, if they do not belong to any cell group, organization or
neighbourhood group, their faith is in danger because without formation, they
will eventually stray from the truth.
Of
course, Christian witnessing does not end here. Rather, the stages of
kerygma and didache (teaching) are meant to bring about the stage of diakonia,
of service. Faith must express itself in good works, otherwise it is
dead. The fruits of a living faith are always charity towards the poor
and those in need or suffering. Works of charity is an essential component
of the work of evangelization, otherwise, the Church will be bereft of good
works. Words without works would be empty proclamation of the Good
News. Hence, the prophet urges us, “Share your bread with the hungry, and
shelter the homeless poor, clothe the man you see to be naked and turn not from
your own kin.”
With
the psalmist, we declare, “The good man is a light in the darkness for the
upright.” Indeed, through our faith in Jesus, our sharing of the Good
News, and most of all, our good works, the world will come to know that God is
love in Christ Crucified. As Jesus said, “In the same way your light must
shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the
praise to your Father in heaven.” To live a life of integrity and to
live an integral faith requires a unity of kerygma, didache and diakonia.
This is a holistic faith. Through kerygma, didache and diaconia we become truly
salt and light of the world.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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