201707112
SENT TO THE LOST SHEEP
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Genesis 41:55-57,42:5-7,17-24 ©
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When the whole country of Egypt began to feel the famine, the
people cried out to Pharaoh for bread. But Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, ‘Go
to Joseph and do what he tells you.’ There was famine all over the world. Then
Joseph opened all the granaries and sold grain to the Egyptians. The famine
grew worse in the land of Egypt. People came to Egypt from all over the world
to buy grain from Joseph, for the famine had grown severe throughout the world.
Israel’s
sons with others making the same journey went to buy grain, for there was
famine in the land of Canaan. It was Joseph, as the man in authority over the
country, who sold the grain to all comers. So Joseph’s brothers went and bowed
down before him, their faces touching the ground. When Joseph saw his brothers
he recognised them. But he did not make himself known to them, and he spoke
harshly to them. Then he kept them all in custody for three days.
On the third
day Joseph said to them, ‘Do this and you shall keep your lives, for I am a man
who fears God. If you are honest men let one of your brothers be kept in the
place of your detention; as for you, go and take grain to relieve the famine of
your families. You shall bring me your youngest brother; this way your words
will be proved true, and you will not have to die!’ This they did. They said to
one another, ‘Truly we are being called to account for our brother. We saw his
misery of soul when he begged our mercy, but we did not listen to him and now
this misery has come home to us.’ Reuben answered them, ‘Did I not tell you not
to wrong the boy? But you did not listen, and now we are brought to account for
his blood.’ They did not know that Joseph understood, because there was an
interpreter between them. He left them and wept.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 32(33):2-3,10-11,18-19 ©
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May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place
all our hope in you.
Give thanks to the Lord upon the harp,
with a ten-stringed lute sing him songs.
O sing him a song that is new,
play loudly, with all your skill.
May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place
all our hope in you.
He frustrates the designs of the nations,
he defeats the plans of the peoples.
His own designs shall stand for ever,
the plans of his heart from age to age.
May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place
all our hope in you.
The Lord looks on those who revere him,
on those who hope in his love,
to rescue their souls from death,
to keep them alive in famine.
May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place
all our hope in you.
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Gospel Acclamation
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James1:18
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Alleluia, alleluia!
By his own choice the Father made us his children
by the message of the truth,
so that we should be a sort of first-fruits
of all that he created.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Mk1:15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The kingdom of God is close at hand:
repent and believe the Good News.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 10:1-7 ©
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Jesus summoned his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over
unclean spirits with power to cast them out and to cure all kinds of diseases
and sickness.
These are
the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon who is called Peter, and his
brother Andrew; James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and
Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus,
and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, the one who was to betray
him. These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows:
‘Do not turn
your steps to pagan territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town; go rather
to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the
kingdom of heaven is close at hand.’
SENT TO THE LOST SHEEP
In the gospel
today, the Lord sent out the twelve with the following instruction, “Do not
turn your steps to pagan territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town; go
rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” This specific command
from the Lord seems contrary to our understanding of the Church’s mission to
evangelize the whole world. Why did Jesus tell the apostles
to confine themselves to the lost sheep of Israel rather than to go out of
Palestine to proclaim the Good News to all? Does not the Lord also
care for the Gentiles?
Undoubtedly,
the gospel is for all and not for the Jews. God wants all peoples to be saved.
However, the gospel cannot be proclaimed to the whole world unless some are
chosen for the task. Israel, as the chosen race of God, had been given
this task of spreading the Good News to all nations. Israel had been
blessed by God, not for her sake but for the sake of humanity. For the
same reason, in the first reading, we read of the divine providence and
intervention of God to save Joseph from his enemies. He became the
economic leader of Egypt. The Lord wanted to prepare Joseph for the birth
of Israel when he would invite his family to make their home in Egypt for 400
years. It was in Egypt that the people grew in strength and in number
till it was time for them to move out of Egypt and found their own country and
kingdom.
In the same way
too, what the Church needs today in the work of evangelization is to
look within and not just without. The irony of the Church is that we
are so keen in making new converts to the faith, baptizing and confirming
candidates, forgetting the need for discipleship and mentoring for those who
are already baptized. We should not be surprised therefore if more souls
are lost from within the Church than the number being brought into the
Church. Our nets are broken because the fishes are swimming out whilst we
are too busy catching new fishes. What is critical therefore is to look
within and make use of what we already have for the work of evangelization,
rather than focus on bringing in new admissions into the Church
only. If we cannot retain our members, it shows that we are weak.
Indeed, we
have many lost sheep today. Who are these that could be considered as
lost?
They are those who have left the Church completely because they are
disillusioned with the Church. Some have lost faith completely in God
because God was not felt or experienced. But the majority are nominal Catholics
or seasonal Catholics who come to Church occasionally and in a perfunctory
manner. We have many of these. Indeed, statistics in most churches
show that only around 10% of our church members are active in their faith or in
ministries. And out of these, many are there out of goodwill, but they
lack real formation and depth in their faith.
Hence, the work
of evangelization cannot be fruitful if the majority of our members are
indifferent and laid back Catholics. Not only are they not
witnesses of the gospel but in fact they are counter-witnesses. There is
no neutrality in the faith. By not being a witness, we are telling others
implicitly that there is nothing great about Jesus and that He makes no
difference in our lives. The Church therefore cannot grow so long as we
do not give more focus in forming and strengthening the faith of our existing
Catholics, both intellectually and personally; and also to reach out to those
who have left the faith for various reasons. Many of them have left more
out of emotional than doctrinal reasons. This explains why Jesus told the
disciples to go to the lost sheep of Israel first. As Church, if we
want to be evangelistic and missionary minded, then we must form our Catholics
well and disciple them.
How can this be
done? Firstly, we need to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
anew. Jesus said to the apostles, “and as you go, proclaim that the
kingdom of heaven is close at hand.” How can we proclaim that the
Kingdom is near if not through miracles, healing, liberation and good
deeds? We cannot proclaim the Kingdom by words alone but by
actions. Accordingly, Jesus gave them the authority and power as
well. He did not appoint us as His apostles and ambassadors without also
empowering us to do so. “Jesus summoned his twelve disciples, and gave
them authority over unclean spirits with power to cast them out and to cure all
kinds of diseases and sickness.” If our own Catholics do not experience
the Good News in terms of the power and mercy of God in their own lives, there
is no Good News to proclaim.
Secondly, we
need authority. This authority is more than just being given the power or
the office. This is institutional authority. Whilst important,
institutional authority must be accompanied by personal authority. If our
witnessing is lacking power, it is because we do not speak with authority
either by our words and less by our lives. No one will listen to us if we
are hardly convinced of what we say and, worse still, when we do not walk the
talk. What is needed to transform the world are not preachers or even
teachers but witnesses, people who are so filled with God’s love and mercy by
their words and works.
Thirdly, we
need intense formation. It is significant that the Lord only chose the Twelve to be
with Him for three years. He did not spend all His time with the crowd or
seeking to make His name known in Palestine and beyond. Although He did
reach out to the crowd, He spent more time with His apostles than with
others. The Twelve were always gathered around Him, listening to Him and
watching how He lived, prayed and related with His Father and with
others. There was mentorship and learning from the Lord.
This is the
greatest negligence of the Catholic Church. We do not underscore the importance of
ongoing formation. The only formation we give emphasis to is the
Catechumenate. The truth is that faith is an ongoing process. Not
everything can be learnt or grasped even if we have faithfully gone through the
whole RCIA. Formation of faith in one’s spiritual life, whether personal
or intellectual, never stops because it is ongoing. Even as bishop, I am
still learning, reflecting, praying and studying about our faith.
Catholics must be reminded again and again that ongoing formation in faith,
whether done formally in a classroom setting or informally through the sharing
of the Word with fellow Catholics, is indispensable for a deepening of one’s
faith in Christ.
More than
just formation, we also need good mentors who teach through inspiration and
guidance. Do we have good mentors around to disciple the new comers in the
faith or in our ministry or the young? Again, this is another failure on
our part. Older priests are not mentoring younger priests, parents not
mentoring children, etc. We need to train and form mentors for those who
are still weak in the faith. We need to empower our mentors. The
lack of witnesses and teachers make the rest of the Church weak.
Today, we
must realize that we are called in our own ways to be agents of transformation
in society, beginning with our own family, society and office. Like the apostles, we
are all diverse and different. But it is because of our differences that
we are one in mission, collaborating with each other, according to our charisms
and unique gifts for the service of Christ and His Church. Let us
go back to the lost sheep of Israel, the lost Catholics who have either left
the Church or are ignorant about their faith. These people are our first
priority. Unless we renew our own faith personally and those of our
Catholics, we cannot be the salt and light of the world. Following the
exhortation of Pope Francis, we must begin on the path of interior conversion;
and Pope Emeritus who, during the Year of Faith, invited us to rediscover,
re-appropriate and renew our faith. Like Joseph who sought to help his
brothers to repent of their sins, we too must bring back the lost sheep of our
Church.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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