20170714 LIVING OUT OUR FAITH IN A SECULAR WORLD
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Genesis 46:1-7,28-30 ©
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Israel left Canaan with his possessions, and reached Beersheba.
There he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. God spoke to Israel
in a vision at night, ‘Jacob, Jacob’, he said. ‘I am here’, he replied. ‘I am
God, the God of your father’, he continued. ‘Do not be afraid of going down to
Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. I myself will go down to Egypt
with you. I myself will bring you back again, and Joseph’s hand shall close
your eyes.’ Then Jacob left Beersheba. Israel’s sons conveyed their father
Jacob, their little children and their wives in the waggons Pharaoh had sent to
fetch him.
Taking their
livestock and all that they had acquired in the land of Canaan, they went to
Egypt, Jacob and all his family with him: his sons and his grandsons, his
daughters and his grand-daughters, in a word, all his children he took with him
to Egypt.
Israel sent
Judah ahead to Joseph, so that the latter might present himself to him in
Goshen. When they arrived in the land of Goshen, Joseph had his chariot made
ready and went up to meet his father Israel in Goshen. As soon as he appeared he
threw his arms round his neck and for a long time wept on his shoulder. Israel
said to Joseph, ‘Now I can die, now that I have seen you again, and seen you
still alive.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 36(37):3-4,18-19,27-28,39-40 ©
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The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
If you trust in the Lord and do good,
then you will live in the land and be secure.
If you find your delight in the Lord,
he will grant your heart’s desire.
The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
He protects the lives of the upright,
their heritage will last for ever.
They shall not be put to shame in evil days,
in time of famine their food shall not fail.
The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Then turn away from evil and do good
and you shall have a home for ever;
for the Lord loves justice
and will never forsake his friends.
The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
The salvation of the just comes from the Lord,
their stronghold in time of distress.
The Lord helps them and delivers them
and saves them: for their refuge is in him.
The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
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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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Jn16:13,14:26
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Alleluia, alleluia!
When the Spirit of truth comes
he will lead you to the complete truth,
and he will remind you of all I have said to you.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 10:16-23 ©
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Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘Remember, I am sending
you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as serpents and yet as harmless
as doves.
‘Beware of
men: they will hand you over to sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues.
You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness
before them and the pagans. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how
to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time
comes; because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father
will be speaking in you. ‘Brother will betray brother to death, and the father
his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death.
You will be hated by all men on account of my name; but the man who stands firm
to the end will be saved. If they persecute you in one town, take refuge in the
next; and if they persecute you in that, take refuge in another. I tell you
solemnly, you will not have gone the round of the towns of Israel before the
Son of Man comes.’
LIVING OUT OUR FAITH IN A SECULAR WORLD
Being an
authentic Christian living in a very secularized world is one of the most
challenging demands of Christian life. As Jesus warned His disciples in the
gospel, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it
hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but
because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore
the world hates you.” (Jn 15:18f)
So we must be ready as Christians and brace ourselves for a collision between
the values of the world and our Christian values. This is
inevitable. Indeed, even our loved ones will misunderstand us. Jesus warned
us that “Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child;
children will rise against their parents and have them put to death.” If
as a Christian we feel there is no tension between the world and our faith, we
are obviously not living out our Christian discipleship. After all, Jesus
said, “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his
master.’” (Jn 15:20)
If our Lord was persecuted, why should we be exempted?
And the
reason Jesus gave is because the values of the gospel are not of this world. “I have given them
thy word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even
as I am not of the world. I do not pray that you should take them out of
the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one. They are not
of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth;
thy word is truth.” (Jn 17:14-17)
Our values come from Christ who is the Word of God in person. He is the
Way, the Truth and the Life. (cf Jn 14:6)
So how do we
remain firm in our faith and yet live in this paradoxical and confused world
with so many divergent voices, ideologies and self-centered interests? In
the gospel, Jesus urged us to be discerning and not be rash. He said, “Remember, I
am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as serpents and yet
as harmless as doves.” Like the wise serpent, we must be tactful and
learn how to strategize. We need to be patient and study the situation
before we seek to deal with the challenges. Jesus advised us, “If they
persecute you in one town, take refuge in the next; and if they persecute you
in that, take refuge in another.” In other words, don’t be a
daredevil. Foolhardiness and hot-headedness will cause more
problems. We must learn how to wait and see how things develop.
But we must
also be gentle as a dove. We do not deal with our opponents by using
harsh words or taking up arms and using violence. St Paul reminds us,
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Rom 12:21)
This was what the Lord taught us “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for
an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, ‘Do not resist one who is
evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other
also.’” (Mt 5:38-f) Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles, so
that in case they speak against you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds
and glorify God on the day of visitation.’ (1 Pt 2:12)
This was said of the Suffering Servant of Isaiah as well. “He will
not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street, a bruised reed he
will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully
bring forth justice.” (Isa 42:2f)
But this does
not mean that we keep quiet on the truth that must be spoken. This is not what
Jesus is saying. He is not asking us to be silent. On the contrary,
He asked us to speak out when the time comes, regardless of who is our
opponent. “Beware of men: they will hand you over to sanhedrins and scourge you
in their synagogues. You will be dragged before governors and kings for
my sake, to bear witness before them and the pagans.” This is the time
when we are called to witness to Christ. St Paul advised us, “Have no
fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord.
Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the
hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence.” (1 Pt 3:15)
It is in truth spoken with charity that will triumph in the end.
After having
spoken and if the truth is not accepted, St Peter said, “But even if you do
suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed.” (1 Pt 3:14) So we should not be
discouraged as Jesus asked us to flee and come back to fight another day.
There are things that cannot be changed overnight. There are opinions and
trends that cannot be transformed in a short while. We must be patient
and leave the change in God’s time. We are not the ones who will change
and transform hearts but it is the work of the Holy Spirit. We just need
to do our part and be His vehicle of truth and mercy. That is why He told
the disciples, “But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or
what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes;
because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be
speaking on you.” Let the Holy Spirit speak to their hearts.
However, it
would be quite wrong to say that the world has nothing but falsehood.
Everyone seeks true happiness, joy, meaning and love in life. The values of the
gospel are universal values. But the means to attain them differ between
religions and ideologies. Some contain more truths than others.
Some are misguided or lived under illusion. So even in our attempts to
enlighten all in the truth, we must be respectful of opinions and views that
differ from ours. Our task is to listen, to engage in dialogue and mutual
understanding. It must not be seen as Christianity versus the
world. Rather, Christianity is for the world because we read “For God so
loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should
not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to
condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” (Jn 3:16f)
So we must
cooperate with the world and stress on what we have in common and accept our
differences in
certain moral positions such as abortion, euthanasia, same-sex union, divorces
and death penalty. We should continue to engage in dialogue. It
does not mean that we need to be silent on these issues but there is a larger
picture of the concrete situations confronting society and the world. We
cannot impose our values on the world. We can only propose. This
takes time and patience. The psalmist says, “Then turn away from evil and
do good and you shall have a home for ever; for the Lord loves justice and will
never forsake his friends.”
Indeed, this
was how Jacob in the first reading dealt with the vicissitudes of life. Faced with famine in
his homeland, he was forced to migrate to Egypt where his son Joseph could
promise them a better life. But he knew that God’s promise would be
fulfilled. He did not forget the promise of God. This was confirmed
in the vision he received from the Lord. “Do not be afraid of going down to
Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. I myself will go down to
Egypt with you. I myself will bring you back again, and Joseph’s hand
shall close your eyes.” God’s plan for the full possession of the
Promised Land and the establishment of the Kingdom would take another 800 years
or more for God’s promises to be realized. But God’s plan would not be
derailed by men.
But Jacob was
also shrewd.
He did not want his people to lose their culture and values. And thus he
asked to be settled at Goshen, in the north-eastern part of Egypt. (cf Gn 46:28-34)
In this way, he had the best of both worlds. He received the generosity
of the Pharaoh and yet keep apart from them because of their prejudice against
shepherds. He was wise enough to make a compromise. He might not
have seen the full realization of God’s promise, but he was contented to see
the small victories, as in seeing his people well looked after by Joseph.
In this way, his people continued to multiply and grow from strength to strength.
So in faith,
we too must live our faith. Not everything can be realized in our times. We only
need to do our part and leave the rest to God to unfold His plans. We
just enjoy whatever anticipated joys or achievements we have in our
times. The best is yet to come. Like Jacob, we must not insist on our
ways. Like him, we must be willing to trust God and wait for the
promise to be fulfilled. This is what the psalmist says, “If you trust in
the Lord and do good, then you will live in the land and be secure. If
you find your delight in the Lord, he will grant your heart’s desire. The
salvation of the just comes from the Lord, their stronghold in time of
distress. The Lord helps them and delivers them and saves them: for their
refuge is in him.” This is the assurance of the Lord Himself, “You will
be hated by all men on account of my name; but the man who stands firm to the
end will be saved.” He will not abandon us. Knowing that He is with
us in this journey should give us the courage to persevere right to the end.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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