20170716
THE GRACE OF GOD GUARANTEES THE FUTURE OF
HUMANITY AND THE COSMOS
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Isaiah 55:10-11 ©
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Thus says the Lord: ‘As the rain and the snow come down from the
heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and
giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the
word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out
my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 64(65):10-14 ©
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Some seed fell into rich soil and produced its
crop.
You care for the earth, give it water,
you fill it with riches.
Your river in heaven brims over
to provide its grain.
Some seed fell into rich soil and produced its
crop.
And thus you provide for the earth;
you drench its furrows;
you level it, soften it with showers;
you bless its growth.
Some seed fell into rich soil and produced its
crop.
You crown the year with your goodness.
Abundance flows in your steps,
in the pastures of the wilderness it flows.
Some seed fell into rich soil and produced its
crop.
The hills are girded with joy,
the meadows covered with flocks,
the valleys are decked with wheat.
They shout for joy, yes, they sing.
Some seed fell into rich soil and produced its
crop.
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Second reading
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Romans 8:18-23 ©
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I think that what we suffer in this life can never be compared to
the glory, as yet unrevealed, which is waiting for us. The whole creation is
eagerly waiting for God to reveal his sons. It was not for any fault on the
part of creation that it was made unable to attain its purpose, it was made so
by God; but creation still retains the hope of being freed, like us, from its
slavery to decadence, to enjoy the same freedom and glory as the children of
God. From the beginning till now the entire creation, as we know, has been
groaning in one great act of giving birth; and not only creation, but all of us
who possess the first-fruits of the Spirit, we too groan inwardly as we wait
for our bodies to be set free.
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Gospel Acclamation
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1S3:9,Jn6:68
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Speak, Lord, your servant is listening:
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The seed is the word of God, Christ the sower;
whoever finds this seed will remain for ever.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 13:1-23 ©
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A
sower went out to sow
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Jesus left the house and sat by the lakeside, but such large
crowds gathered round him that he got into a boat and sat there. The people all
stood on the beach, and he told them many things in parables.
He said,
‘Imagine a sower going out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell on the edge of
the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on patches of rock
where they found little soil and sprang up straight away, because there was no
depth of earth; but as soon as the sun came up they were scorched and, not
having any roots, they withered away. Others fell among thorns, and the thorns
grew up and choked them. Others fell on rich soil and produced their crop, some
a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Listen, anyone who has ears!’
Then the
disciples went up to him and asked, ‘Why do you talk to them in parables?’
‘Because’ he replied, ‘the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are revealed to
you, but they are not revealed to them. For anyone who has will be given more,
and he will have more than enough; but from anyone who has not, even what he
has will be taken away. The reason I talk to them in parables is that they look
without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding. So in their case
this prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled:
You will listen and listen again, but not understand,
see and see again, but not perceive.
For the heart of this nation has grown coarse,
their ears are dull of hearing, and they have shut their eyes,
for fear they should see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their heart,
and be converted
and be healed by me.
‘But happy are your eyes because they see, your ears because they
hear! I tell you solemnly, many prophets and holy men longed to see what you
see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.
‘You,
therefore, are to hear the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of
the kingdom without understanding, the evil one comes and carries off what was
sown in his heart: this is the man who received the seed on the edge of the
path. The one who received it on patches of rock is the man who hears the word
and welcomes it at once with joy. But he has no root in him, he does not last;
let some trial come, or some persecution on account of the word, and he falls
away at once. The one who received the seed in thorns is the man who hears the
word, but the worries of this world and the lure of riches choke the word and
so he produces nothing. And the one who received the seed in rich soil is the
man who hears the word and understands it; he is the one who yields a harvest
and produces now a hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty.’
THE GRACE OF GOD GUARANTEES THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY AND THE
COSMOS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ISA 55:10-11; ROM 8:18-23; MT 13:1-23
]
When we look
at this world and our own lives, we cannot but share the same sentiments with
St Paul that
“from the beginning till now the entire creation … has been groaning in one
great act of giving birth … and we too groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies
to be set free.” Indeed, when we look at this world, we cannot but
experience the tension in this life. On one hand, the outlook of the
world appears to be so pessimistic. On the other hand, again and
again we are told that there is hope.
But then we
are now faced with the scandal of the reality of the situation. If the Word is truly
effective, if Christ is truly our liberator and can restore us to the full
“freedom and glory as the children of God”, then why is it that the world seems
to be more or less the same? Why is it that in spite of the fact that
Christianity has been in the world for 2000 years, more than two thirds of the
world do not believe in Him? Why is it that in spite of our boasting of
how the Good News has been at work in the world, there is still so much human
atrocities committed in today’s supposedly civilized and graced world?
These
dilemmas which we are facing are not new. Indeed, the gospel and the
second reading reflect the same tensions the early Church experienced as well. Today’s parable
in the gospel expresses such a situation. The disciples must have experienced
great difficulty and disappointment as to why their master, whom they regarded
as the greatest teacher and prophet they had ever known, was not accepted by
His own people. On the contrary, He was accused of blasphemy and sorcery.
Very few had faith in Him and passed Him off as a mad teacher. During the time
of the evangelist, the early Christians had to grapple with the rejection of
Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophets by their fellow Jews. The early
Church was persecuted because of the proclamation of the Word. Many
suffered persecution from the Jews and the Romans. They too would have
asked, “Could Christ and his Church withstand the threats from the
world?”
So like them,
we need to find not only hope and encouragement in our struggles with the
apparent success and failure in our Christian living and evangelization, but we
need to understand how the grace of God works in our world. Precisely, to those
of us who feel that the world seems to be getting worse, or feel hopeless that
still many have not accepted Christ, or fall into despair that even for those
many who did accept Christ, their lives have not changed and they are still
living sinful lives, then the parable of the Seed and the Sower is addressed to
us. For in truth, this parable was originally told by Jesus to give
encouragement to His faint-hearted disciples. It was necessary for Jesus to
assure them that the power of evil and the enemies of the kingdom of God cannot
overwhelm the power and grace of God at work in the world. To perceive
this truth, we must reflect on the operation of the mystery of grace in this
world.
Firstly, we
must concede that the power of evil is strong. We cannot take the
influence of evil in the world lightly. Indeed, every farmer knows that
in some parts of his farm, his hard work and efforts would be wasted. He
is realistic enough to realize that not every seed he plants would germinate
and bear fruit. He has to contend with the birds, the rocks, the thorns
and all the natural climatic conditions like drought, floods, storms and even
earthquakes and typhoons. All these are his enemies. If that is so
for the farmer, so it is for us as Christians.
We must learn
to accept the fact that there is sin and evil in the world. We must accept with
humility that much of our life and work would be wasted due to sin and
ignorance and pride. Quite often, because of our sins, we hurt ourselves.
At times, others suffer as a consequence of our mistakes and stupidities.
So we must not be discouraged because people reject the gospel and the message
of Christ. Nor must we be surprised that good people are killed in the
process of working for God and for the service of others because they are
perceived as a nuisance to those in power. Nor should we feel hopeless
simply because our loved ones, especially our spouse or children, are living
sinful and godless lives, rejecting all our attempts to bring them back to
God. When there is the presence of sin and scandals in the Church, like
priests and bishops falling into temptation, then we know that evil is powerful
and a potent force in the world.
Secondly,
today’s scripture readings want to assure us that even though evil is powerful,
it is not evil that reigns but God. God is stronger than evil and He will not fail to rule over
the whole of creation. In the mystery of God’s plan, God allows evil to
be present in the world. But evil will not destroy His divine plan for
humankind. That creation would be set free is a foregone
conclusion. Yes, the success of God’s work is guaranteed and thus there
is no reason to be downhearted or despondent in the face of evil. What is
our basis for this hope?
Again the
parable of the Sower tells us that in spite of all the obstacles the farmer
encounters, he reaped a rich harvest, “some a hundredfold, some sixty, some
thirty.”
So the word of God as prophesied by Isaiah is effective. Just as God
assured the Babylonian exiles that His Word would be redemptive, so too we
Christians are assured that God’s plan for the world will be realized no matter
what the force of evil might be in the world. So our liberation is near
and certain. So real is our liberation that St Paul urges us that our
hope should be founded on the fact that “all of us who possess the first fruits
of the Spirit” should “groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies to be set
free.”
In other
words, when we look at our lives and our situation, we must admit that in the
battle between evil and goodness, God will win. We who have given
ourselves to Jesus and His kingdom message totally will understand the power of
His resurrection already working in our lives. Those of us who have
surrendered our lives to Jesus can testify the marvelous miracles He worked in
us. Indeed, although we have heard of so much evil in the world, we have
heard even more testimonies of good news happening in the lives of
people. Again and again, we hear how God has worked miraculously in our
lives; healing us physically, emotionally and spiritually; reconciling and uniting
us in love and giving us hope and freedom.
Hence, it is
clear that we must proclaim that His kingdom stands and grows forever. Jesus Christ who has
risen from the dead, our first-fruit, should give us the assurance that He now
reigns forever over His Church and that the power of His Spirit will continue
to guide the Church and us to His kingdom. We can trust that God who has
already done so much by raising Jesus from the dead will save us and finish the
work of Christ in establishing the kingdom of God. Thus, even if we feel
that our work seems to be wasted; that our enemies would not listen to us; that
others cannot grasp the truth which we share with them, that some continue to
be beguiled by prosperity and overwhelmed by the cares of the world, discouraged
by difficulties, our work will bear fruit. Despite the ups and downs, all
the hazards and losses, all the frustrations and failures, God’s rule advances
and His harvest exceeds all expectations. It is simply unimaginable.
The Good News
of today’s liturgy is that when we accept these two truths of the temporal
power of evil and the absolute power of grace, we are saved from despair. For despair
comes to us when we do not recognize the reality of the presence of evil and
thus become surprised when it comes. This happens quite often for those
who are involved in the Church. They become scandalized at the sins of
church members. They think that the Church is already a community of
saints rather than that we are a community of sinners striving to become a
community of saints. We are a pilgrim Church and we are not yet
canonized. Sin permeates throughout humankind. The truth is that
such realities should not be surprising. After all, even Jesus Himself
had to suffer not only persecutions and misunderstandings, even from His own
family members, but death as well.
Despair also
results when we forget that God cannot be defeated. But God has come to
earth in Jesus and continues to rule over mankind in a new way in the Spirit
since Pentecost. He is in charge of the world and its destiny is within
His control. In Jesus, especially in His victory over death, evil has not the
last word, nor hatred, but love and grace. For this reason we can say
with St Paul, “what we suffer in this life can never be compared to the glory,
as yet unrevealed, which is waiting for us.” So like the exiled
Israelites in Babylonia, we can be confident that the Word of God will reap the
harvest of life as He promised. His power is even more certain than the
natural cycles of life.
So as we look
at ourselves, we have the same choice to make. We can choose to fall into
despair or surrender ourselves in faith to the awesome mysterious ways of God
working in the world. Yes, we can be pessimistic towards life by looking only at
our sins and the sins of the world. Surely we all have in our own ways
wasted the opportunities of love, of life and of growth that God has given to
us. But a mature Christian is more realistic. He is very much
aware of his sinfulness and he acknowledges it. Yet, he would not be
tempted to despair. He continues to hope in the grace of God and rely
only on His love, trusting that God is merciful and His grace will triumph in
the end. Yes, a mature Christian has confidence that in spite of the
presence of evil, God continues to be at work, slowly but surely, hidden at
times but never absent in our lives and not just in creation. So faith
requires us to trust in His strength and in His love.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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