20170628
LEAVING BEHIND A LEGACY
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Red.
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First reading
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Genesis 15:1-12,17-18 ©
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It happened that the word of the Lord was spoken to Abram in a
vision, ‘Have no fear, Abram, I am your shield; your reward will be very
great.’
‘My Lord,’
Abram replied ‘what do you intend to give me? I go childless...’ Then Abram
said, ‘See, you have given me no descendants; some man of my household will be
my heir.’ And then this word of the Lord was spoken to him, ‘He shall not be
your heir; your heir shall be of your own flesh and blood.’ Then taking him
outside he said, ‘Look up to heaven and count the stars if you can. Such will
be your descendants’ he told him. Abram put his faith in the Lord, who counted
this as making him justified.
‘I am the
Lord’ he said to him ‘who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldaeans to make you
heir to this land.’ ‘My Lord,’ Abram replied ‘how am I to know that I shall
inherit it?’ He said to him, ‘Get me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old
goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove and a young pigeon.’ He brought him
all these, cut them in half and put half on one side and half facing it on the
other; but the birds he did not cut in half. Birds of prey came down on the
carcases but Abram drove them off.
Now as the
sun was setting Abram fell into a deep sleep, and terror seized him. When the
sun had set and darkness had fallen, there appeared a smoking furnace and a
firebrand that went between the halves. That day the Lord made a Covenant with
Abram in these terms:
‘To your descendants I give this land,
from the wadi of Egypt to the Great River,
the river Euphrates.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 104(105):1-4,6-9 ©
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The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or
Alleluia!
Give thanks to the Lord, tell his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
O sing to him, sing his praise;
tell all his wonderful works!
The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or
Alleluia!
Be proud of his holy name,
let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice.
Consider the Lord and his strength;
constantly seek his face.
The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or
Alleluia!
O children of Abraham, his servant,
O sons of the Jacob he chose.
He, the Lord, is our God:
his judgements prevail in all the earth.
The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or
Alleluia!
He remembers his covenant for ever,
his promise for a thousand generations,
the covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath he swore to Isaac.
The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps118:18
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Open my eyes, O Lord, that I may consider
the wonders of your law.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Jn15:4,5
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Make your home in me, as I make mine in you,
says the Lord;
whoever remains in me bears fruit in plenty.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 7:15-20 ©
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Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Beware of false prophets who come to
you disguised as sheep but underneath are ravenous wolves. You will be able to
tell them by their fruits. Can people pick grapes from thorns, or figs from
thistles? In the same way, a sound tree produces good fruit but a rotten tree
bad fruit. A sound tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a rotten tree bear good
fruit. Any tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown on the
fire. I repeat, you will be able to tell them by their fruits.’
LEAVING BEHIND A LEGACY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Gn 15:1-12, 17-18; Ps 105:1-4,6-9; Mt 7:15-20
]
In the first
reading, the Lord spoke to Abram, “Have no fear, Abram, I am your shield; your
reward will be very great.” What was the fear of Abram?
The greatest fear of any man or woman is that one might live his or her life in
vain! The truth is that we have only one life. A successful life is
determined not by how successful we are in terms of achievements and material
wealth but in how we impact the lives of our family members and fellow human
beings. When Abram was called by God to leave his familiar homeland to go
to the land of Canaan, an uncharted territory, he went in faith because the
Lord said to him, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and
make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those
who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the
families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Gn 12:2f)
It was this dream of being a blessing to the nations that he set out of Ur of
the Chaldaeans.
This fear is
specifically heightened because he and Sarah were childless. It was not wealth and
fame that Abraham was seeking as he was doing very well and he was rich.
How could he pass on the legacy to the next generation? Abram said to the
Lord, “My Lord, what do you intend to give me? I go childless… See, you have
given me no descendants; some man of my household will be my heir.” Although
Abram had a most loyal servant (cf Gn 24),
yet, it would not be complete unless he passed on the inheritance, what he
treasured most, to one of his own descendants. Otherwise, it was
the custom of his time that his wealth would be given to the chief servant of
the house. So the fear of not being able to continue the family line was
what bothered Abram. But it was more than just his family line but the
values of hospitality and love for God that Abram wanted to pass on to the next
generation. If God were to make his family a great nation, obviously he
would need an heir.
Every parent
would want to leave what is most precious to him to his own flesh and blood. For many, it is the
business enterprise painfully set up and nurtured over many years.
For others, they hope that their children would be successful in their
careers. Yet, all these are secondary! They will not be happy
people just because they have a great career, much wealth and fame. It is
short sightedness that makes parents think that they have done a great job if
they have given a good education to their children or that they are now working
as professionals or making lots of money. Have they asked themselves if
their children are happy, satisfied and living in harmony and peace with their
family and siblings? Are they contributive to society, generous and
reaching out to others? If they have not but live only for themselves,
then the parents have failed because they have only given them a luxurious life
but not a good life filled with joy and love.
What parents
should desire to leave behind to their children is reducible to two things;
love and faith. With love and faith, their children will always be
successful wherever they are. When they have love, they will live out
their lives meaningfully and purposefully for the good of their fellow human
beings. When they have faith in God, they will live humbly before God,
knowing that all things come from Him and that their destination is with God at
the end of time. They are pilgrims along the way to the eternal home with
God in heaven.
How can we
pass on this love to our children if not the love which husband and wife have
for each other? The greatest teacher in life is not one who teaches but who
inspires; not by what he or she says only but what he or she does.
Indeed, the only reason why couples have children is so that they can pour out
the love they have for each other to their children. No longer are
children meant to be our financial or emotional security. Rather, we want
to impart to them the love that made possible the union between husband and
wife, giving flesh and blood to a child. Every child has meaning only
when it is born out of love between husband and wife. A child is
not a toy or a dog that we buy from the market to play with. A child
needs the security and protective love of his or her parents. From them,
they learn how to love. This is the best gift parents can leave to their
children, the gift of love which they have received from each other.
This, too,
was the case of our Father as well. He wanted to impart to us the love He
has for His Son in the same spirit. Jesus came to show us the love of His Father so that we can
partake of His love. That, too, was the legacy that Jesus wanted to leave
behind just before His passion. In His last testament, He prayed, “As
you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that
the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have
given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are
one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one,
so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as
you have loved me.” (Jn 17:21-23)
But equally
important is that parents must leave to their children the gift of faith. In the first reading, we
read of how Abram was a man of deep faith in God. “Abram put his faith in
the Lord, who counted this as making him justified.” It was in faith that
he left his homeland even though he was doing very well where he was. But
God had greater plans for him. He was then already 75 years old, the age
of retirement. It was as if God was giving him a new beginning by calling
him out of Ur at this age. And even though he was childless, he
continued to trust in God’s divine providence. He took the Word of God
seriously when God promised Him, “your heir shall be of your own flesh and
blood. Look up to heaven and count the stars if you can. Such will be
your descendants.” The responsorial psalm declares that God is a faithful
God and one who is true to His word and the covenant He established with
Abraham and humanity. “O children of Abraham, his servant, O sons of the Jacob
he chose. He, the Lord, is our God: his judgements prevail in all the
earth. He remembers his covenant for ever, his promise for a thousand
generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.”
This is the
failure of many parents. They think that giving their children a good
education can see them through in life. The truth is life is unpredictable.
There are many things in life which we cannot handle and are beyond us.
There will be suffering, disappointments and pains. Without a deep faith
in God’s love for us, we would find it difficult to carry on. Relying on
ourselves alone will not bring us far. We need faith in God to see
us through in life, when we meet with trials, especially illnesses.
Imparting faith is more than just faith in God’s providence but in the values
of the gospel as well. Values such as love, faith, trust, kindness,
generosity, compassion, forgiveness, hospitality and integrity are what make a
person happy in himself or herself.
Our faith in
Christ determines how we live out our lives. This is what our Lord said
in the gospel. “Beware of false prophets who come to you disguised as
sheep but underneath are ravenous wolves. You will be able to tell them by
their fruits. A sound tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a rotten tree bear good
fruit.” How do we determine whether we have faith or not? It
is not a matter of saying nice words but our way of acting. A man
of faith in God is not made clear by his teaching or words but by his life of
love and compassion for others. We must be mentors to others by our
lives.
Consequently,
we must ask ourselves whether we are false prophets in sheep’s clothing. We have been given
many blessings from God. All of us who are parents, teachers, Church
leaders, or any other kind of leader, must ask what we want to impart to those
under our charge. Do we want them to be loving and God fearing people who
live lives of faith and love? Or do we simply want them to be successful
in worldly terms?
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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