20170226 THE CHURCH AS THE CHANNEL OF GOD’S GRACE AND A BEACON OF
HOPE
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Isaiah 49:14-15 ©
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Zion was saying, ‘The
Lord has abandoned me,
the Lord has
forgotten me.’
Does a woman forget
her baby at the breast,
or fail to cherish
the son of her womb?
Yet even if these
forget,
I will never forget
you.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
61(62):2-3,6-9 ©
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In God alone is my
soul at rest.
In God alone is my
soul at rest;
my help
comes from him.
He alone is my rock,
my stronghold,
my
fortress: I stand firm.
In God alone is my
soul at rest.
In God alone be at
rest, my soul;
for my
hope comes from him.
He alone is my rock,
my stronghold,
my
fortress: I stand firm.
In God alone is my
soul at rest.
In God is my safety
and glory,
the rock
of my strength.
Take refuge in God,
all you people.
Trust him
at all times.
Pour out
your hearts before him.
In God alone is my
soul at rest.
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Second reading
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1 Corinthians
4:1-5 ©
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People must think of
us as Christ’s servants, stewards entrusted with the mysteries of God. What is
expected of stewards is that each one should be found worthy of his trust. Not
that it makes the slightest difference to me whether you, or indeed any human
tribunal, find me worthy or not. I will not even pass judgement on myself.
True, my conscience does not reproach me at all, but that does not prove that I
am acquitted: the Lord alone is my judge. There must be no passing of premature
judgement. Leave that until the Lord comes; he will light up all that is hidden
in the dark and reveal the secret intentions of men’s hearts. Then will be the
time for each one to have whatever praise he deserves, from God.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Jn17:17
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O
Lord:
consecrate us in the
truth.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Heb4:12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is
something alive and active:
it can judge secret
emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 6:24-34 ©
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Jesus said to his
disciples: ‘No one can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the
first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with
scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.
‘That
is why I am telling you not to worry about your life and what you are to eat,
nor about your body and how you are to clothe it. Surely life means more than
food, and the body more than clothing! Look at the birds in the sky. They do
not sow or reap or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are
you not worth much more than they are? Can any of you, for all his worrying,
add one single cubit to his span of life? And why worry about clothing? Think
of the flowers growing in the fields; they never have to work or spin; yet I
assure you that not even Solomon in all his regalia was robed like one of
these. Now if that is how God clothes the grass in the field which is there
today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after
you, you men of little faith? So do not worry; do not say, “What are we to eat?
What are we to drink? How are we to be clothed?” It is the pagans who set their
hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. Set
your hearts on his kingdom first, and on his righteousness, and all these other
things will be given you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will
take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.’
THE
CHURCH AS THE CHANNEL OF GOD’S GRACE AND A BEACON OF HOPE
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ Is 49:14-15; Ps 61(62):2-3,6-9; 1 Cor 4:1-5; Mt 6:24-34 ]
Zion
said, “The Lord has abandoned me, the Lord has forgotten me.” We can
identify with the Israelites who were in exile. They lost their Temple,
their land and their kingdom. They were captives in Babylon. They
knew they were being punished for their sins, the consequence of their folly in
not listening to the Word of God through the prophets. In their suffering
and yearning for their homeland, they could not help feeling that God had
abandoned them to their enemies.
Many of us feel that way
too when we are down and out. When we are sick, especially if it is a
long drawn illness or even a terminal illness, our first reaction is that God
could be punishing us for sins that we have committed. We begin to blame
ourselves. From self-blame, we end up being angry with God and becoming
resentful of Him. But it could be other misfortunes or the storms
of life that we are going through. We could be disappointed with our
results in our studies. Some may be in financial difficulties and without
job. Others may be undergoing difficult relationships in marriage or in
family life or at work. Some may be in deep bereavement and cannot accept
that God has taken their loved ones away. In all these struggles we
wonder where God is.
The logic is always
this: if God loves us and He cares for us, why is He not hearing our
prayers? If God cannot hear our prayers and have no mercy and compassion
for us, why should we bother about Him? Indeed, this feeling is made more
pronounced because of secularization, when faith and religion are taken out of
public life. In the olden days, faith and life and politics were
one. Kings were champions of the faith. But in our days,
because of a secularistic climate, religion is now relegated to a private
matter that is practiced at home or in a Church or a sacred place. When
God is hardly spoken and felt, the sense of God’s presence and love gradually
fades from our lives completely.
When faith and life are
dichotomized, faith eventually becomes redundant. This precisely is
what is happening among young people today. Many cannot connect with the
faith they receive. Many cannot make sense of their faith. The
bible is hardly read and even when read, it is not read with faith but like any
other book. Most of all, they see the irony and hypocrisy of their family
members, the Church at large where preaching and professing faith in Christ
contradict how their elders and parents are living their faith. Many
non-Catholics are scandalized at the un-Christian conduct of our Catholics in
the office, doing what the world does – engaging in office politics, manipulating,
shouting and being unreasonable with colleagues and ruthlessly competiting to
get to the top. Instead of being witnesses, we have become counter-witnesses.
But the Word of God tells
us the contrary. The God we worship is a compassionate, forgiving and loving
God. The prophet assured his fellow citizens that God had never abandoned
them. The Lord said, “Does a woman forget her baby at the breast, or fail
to cherish the son of her womb? Yet even if these forget, I will never forget
you.” These are very powerful and poignant words to describe the
compassion and love of God. His love is likened to a mother’s love for
her child. It is unthinkable for a mother to abandon her child.
Most mothers in the event of a divorce or separation would seek full custody of
their children. The child is part of the mother’s life and identity. She cannot
be separated from the child that she carried in her womb for nine months.
So to even think of a mother abandoning her own flesh is unimaginable.
Indeed, the mother would do anything for her child, even give up her own life,
all her resources and money just to help her child. God says the prophet loves
us like a mother loves her child. His love is faithful and tender.
Jesus in the gospel again
assures us that God not only looks after His creation but all of us. He
invites us to reflect on the divine providence at work in nature, how God takes
care of the birds in the sky and the flowers growing in the fields.
Indeed, when we look at nature, the plants, the animals, the landscape, the
sky, etc, we cannot but marvel at the beauty of creation. For millions of
years, the Lord has taken care of them. Thus, we should trust in God’s
divine providence instead of worrying and lamenting. Jesus said, “Now if
that is how God clothes the grass in the field which is there today and thrown
into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after you, you men of
little faith?”
In the light of God’s
assurance of His love and care for us, how should we live our lives? The
Lord says, “So do not worry; do not say, ‘What are we to eat? What are we to
drink? How are we to be clothed?’ It is the pagans who set their hearts on all
these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all.” We are
called to live our lives in total trust in divine providence.
Surrendering our life to the Lord is how we should live our lives. God
has a reason for everything. Even in suffering and death, God will bring
good out of such events. God is in control over everything. Nothing
is outside the ambit of God’s love. This is what the psalmist says, “In
God alone be at rest, my soul; for my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock,
my stronghold, my fortress: I stand firm. In God is my safety and glory, the
rock of my strength. Take refuge in God, all you people. Trust him at all
times. Pour out your hearts before him.”
Trusting in God does not
mean we do nothing. It requires us to seek the Lord above all
things. Jesus made it clear, “Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and
on his righteousness, and all these other things will be given you as
well.” Seeking the Lord is to have the desire to love the Lord and
embrace all that the Lord has taught us about the kingdom, as elaborated in the
Sermon on the Mount and exemplified in the way He gave Himself completely to
the service of humanity, even at the cost of His own life. Only when we
live out the kingdom values that He has taught and lived out Himself, can we
enter into the fullness of life.
Indeed,
He also made it clear that “No one can be the slave of two masters: he will
either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and
the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.”
This means that the purpose of life cannot be working for mammon, which stands
for power, glory, wealth and pleasures. The purpose of wealth, position
and power is for the service of God. They are means, not the ends
themselves. If we serve the world, we end up being inward-looking and
self-centered. We become a prisoner and slave of this world. But if we
serve God and His people without conditions and with total dedication, we will
find fullness of life, love and true freedom.
Consequently, St Paul urges
us to be good stewards. “People must think of us as Christ’s servants,
stewards entrusted with the mysteries of God. What is expected of stewards is
that each one should be found worthy of his trust.” We are all
stewards of God’s grace and blessings. What the Lord has given to us is
never meant for ourselves alone. We take what we need for ourselves and
our family, but the rest are meant for us to bless the Church, the People of
God, the community and society. As stewards of God’s grace and
blessings, we must use all we have for His greater glory. When the Lord
comes, we will “be held accountable at the end of our lives as St Paul reminds
us of how we use our gifts.”
He will
light up all that is hidden in the dark and reveal the secret intentions of
men’s hearts. Then will be the time for each one to have whatever praise he
deserves from God.
Indeed, as Church, we are
called to be the channels of God’s grace and mercy to those who are suffering
in all forms. We are called to be the channel of His love through our
words and actions. Like St Paul and all the prophets, we must be the
beacon of Christ to bring light to those in darkness, hope to those who are in
despair, love to those who are unlovable, joy to those in sorrow. In this
way, we become life-givers.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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