20170727
REMOVING THE OBSTACLES FROM SEEING AND HEARING
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Exodus 19:1-2,9-11,16-20 ©
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Three months after they came out of the land of Egypt, on that day
the sons of Israel came to the wilderness of Sinai. From Rephidim they set out
again; and when they reached the wilderness of Sinai, there in the wilderness
they pitched their camp; there facing the mountain Israel pitched camp.
The Lord
said to Moses, ‘I am coming to you in a dense cloud so that the people may hear
when I speak to you and may trust you always.’ And Moses took the people’s
reply back to the Lord.
The Lord
said to Moses, ‘Go to the people and tell them to prepare themselves today and
tomorrow. Let them wash their clothing and hold themselves in readiness for the
third day, because on the third day the Lord will descend on the mountain of
Sinai in the sight of all the people.’
Now at
daybreak on the third day there were peals of thunder on the mountain and
lightning flashes, a dense cloud, and a loud trumpet blast, and inside the camp
all the people trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God;
and they stood at the bottom of the mountain. The mountain of Sinai was
entirely wrapped in smoke, because the Lord had descended on it in the form of
fire. Like smoke from a furnace the smoke went up, and the whole mountain shook
violently. Louder and louder grew the sound of the trumpet. Moses spoke, and
God answered him with peals of thunder. The Lord came down on the mountain of
Sinai, on the mountain top, and the Lord called Moses to the top of the
mountain; and Moses went up.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Daniel 3:52-56 ©
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You are blest, Lord God of our fathers.
To you glory and praise for evermore.
Blest your glorious holy name.
To you glory and praise for evermore.
You are blest in the temple of your glory.
To you glory and praise for evermore.
You are blest on the throne of your kingdom.
To you glory and praise for evermore.
You are blest who gaze into the depths.
To you glory and praise for evermore.
You are blest in the firmament of heaven.
To you glory and praise for evermore.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps94:8
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Mt11:25
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 13:10-17 ©
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The disciples went up to Jesus 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.’
REMOVING THE OBSTACLES FROM SEEING AND HEARING
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ EX 19:1-2. 9-11. 16-20; DANIEL 3:52-56; MT 13:10-17]
Why do some
have faith and some don’t? The same message is given to all and yet not
all receive it. This was the same question St Paul asked. “But not all have
obeyed the good news; for Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our
message?’ So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes
through the word of Christ. But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they
have; for ‘Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the
ends of the world.’” (Rom 10:16-18) Obviously, therefore faith does not depend
on one’s intellectual capacity to grasp the message. We have as many
great scientists, doctors, and political leaders who believe in God, and as
many who also do not.
So why do
some people believe in God and some do not? Jesus said, “So in their
case the 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.”
Many see and not perceive; hear and do not understand. This is
inevitable. That is why some are converted and more convinced of
something than another. Again, as Jesus underscored, faith is not a
matter of knowledge that comes from hearing or seeing, but understanding of the
heart.
What are the
causes that hinder us from perceiving with the heart? We have grown coarse
because of sin and the temptations of the world. The world
is consumed by consumerism and ruled by materialism. It is about
satisfying the comforts of the human body. The world wants immediate
gratification of comfort and pleasure. It cannot wait. That is why
there are so many products in the world that entice the eyes, the minds and the
body. We want to taste, see and experience all the good things of this
world. When we live like animals, merely attending to the insatiable
needs of our body, we tend to neglect the Spirit. We live the life of an
animal, eat, work, enjoy and sleep, without real meaning and purpose, now and
after death.
We grow
coarse also because of routine, both in our religious practices and in our
daily life. It
is true that daily life is normally a routine but it is different to just go
through the routine and not grow in depth in assimilating the richness of what
we do every day. Take the example of those attending mass daily or
pray the Liturgy of the Hours, Rosary or Divine Mercy chaplet. We
can go through the routine of saying these prayers and yet not really
benefiting from them because it is a routine that we go through. We do
not pause to understand more deeply what we are celebrating or doing each
day. This applies to the other areas of our life as well, be it the
practice of customs, mundane tasks at home or work in the office. Routine
practices when not assimilated and reflected upon become a chore and reduce us
to an automaton.
Thirdly, we
become coarse because of indifference and neglect. Why do we lose taste
for God and for prayer or praying the Word of God? This is because of
neglect. We begin by missing one Sunday mass, or skipping part of the Liturgy
of the Hours and very soon, we will stop going for mass all together and the
other pious practices as well. We do not lose faith overnight. But
indifference sets in when we are no longer connected with God regularly.
So routine practices do have a role in our lives to keep us connected with God
and with the meaning of life. However, as I have said earlier, without
deepening our understanding of what we do, they become meaningless and
gradually we will fall into neglect and indifference because of a lack of
appreciation and understanding. Clearly, whether it is the temptations of
the world, the sin of the flesh, or neglect and indifference or routine and
perfunctory practices, when brought together, lead us to become distant from
God.
What about those
who are dull of hearing? Today, many are dull of hearing because there is
information overload. There is so much information in the Media that we are simply
spoilt for choice and even paralyzed by the plethora of choices. We do
not have time to consume all the information before us. On the other
hand, many of us do not make informed choices on what to read. We
end up reading fake news, sensational news and some are indoctrinated by
radical ideologies. No wonder, in spite of mass communication, today there is a
communication breakdown because there are simply too many emails to read, too
much information to absorb. As a consequence, whether it is on religious
matters or others, people no longer have time to read serious and in-depth
reflections. This explains why Twitter and Instagram have taken over the
other platforms of communication.
The second
reason why we are dull of hearing is because of pride and intellectualization. We think that knowing
God is a matter of logical argument based on empirical science and
experimentation. At times, the study of theology and knowledge of science
can become obstacles to come to know and encounter God. This is not to
say that theology and sciences are not important because they help us to purify
our faith in God so that faith will not become a myth or some superstitious
belief. Faith in God must also be reasonable, that is to say, a human way
to encounter Him. But many of us mistake our knowledge of theology and
sciences as real knowledge when they are means to encounter the Sacred and the
Ultimate of life. When we seek just to defend our clever arguments to win
our case, then Jesus would say to us, “they have shut their eyes for fear they
shall see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart,
and be converted and be healed by me.”
The third
factor that causes us to shut our ears is because of skepticism due to scandals
and impropriety, injustices and mismanagement. This by far is the most
prevalent factor, especially those who have been hurt by religious leaders or
believers. They are bitter with God and with them. They lose
confidence in God and in the institution. All are seen to be hypocrites,
untrustworthy, uncaring, insincere and mercenary. Indeed, many have
left the Church because they have been hurt by the unjust practices of the
Church and organizations and most of all, when they do not agree with the
Church leaders. They feel that the Church does not care except for
herself, her institutions and structures.
Indeed, if we
were to see and hear clearly today, then we must be disposed to seeing and
hearing. Moses told the people to prepare themselves and to consecrate
themselves if they want to hear the voice of God. To consecrate is to set
apart all our preoccupations and our ideas, and be docile to the voice of
God. The Lord told Moses, “Go to the people and tell them to prepare
themselves today and tomorrow. Let them wash their clothing and hold
themselves in readiness for the third day, because on the third day the Lord
will descend on the mountain of Sinai in the sight of all the
people.” But this external purification of oneself must be an
expression of the inner disposition of the purity and openness of one’s mind
and heart and not something purely external.
Only when the
people were prepared, did Moses then lead “the people out of the camp to meet
God; and they stood at the bottom of the mountain.” To stand at the bottom of
the mountain means to be receptive, to be open and to be ready to act when the
Word is spoken to them. This is the kind of disposition needed if we are
to hear the voice of God and perceive His presence and instructions.
When God
comes, He will not come through logic and theories. He comes through an
event.
As the first reading tells us, He manifests Himself in nature, under the signs
of peals of thunder, clouds, smoke and lightning. Indeed, the reality of
God and our conviction of Him will not come from intellectual faith or human
wisdom and philosophy but from an encounter with Him in the mysteries of
life. This was why our Lord taught in parables. “’Because the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are revealed to you, but they are not
revealed to them.’” Parables are not meant to be rationalized or be
explained away. They are meant to enable us to enter into the experience
that the parable is seeking to convey. Only when we can identify with
that experience, can we then relate with God who comes to visit us through the
daily events of life. This is what the Lord said, “The reason I talk to
them in parables is that they look without seeing and listen without hearing or
understanding.” The problem with many people is that they try to
rationalize about God and hence are never able to encounter Him in their daily
life. The understanding that is needed is not of the mind but of the
heart.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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