20170927 CHRIST THE CENTRE OF OUR LIVES
1 Corinthians 1:26-31Common English Bible (CEB)
26 Look at
your situation when you were called, brothers and sisters! By ordinary human
standards not many were wise, not many were powerful, not many were from the
upper class. 27 But God
chose what the world considers foolish to shame the wise. God chose what the
world considers weak to shame the strong. 28 And God
chose what the world considers low-class and low-life—what is considered to be
nothing—to reduce what is considered to be something to nothing. 29 So no human
being can brag in God’s presence.30 It
is because of God that you are in Christ Jesus. He became wisdom from God for
us. This means that he made us righteous and holy, and he delivered us. 31 This is
consistent with what was written: The one who brags should
brag in the Lord![a]
Psalm 112[a]
1 Praise the Lord.[b]
Blessed are
those who fear the Lord,
who find great delight in his commands.
who find great delight in his commands.
2 Their
children will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in their houses,
and their righteousness endures forever.
4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.
5 Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,
who conduct their affairs with justice.
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in their houses,
and their righteousness endures forever.
4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.
5 Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,
who conduct their affairs with justice.
6 Surely the
righteous will never be shaken;
they will be remembered forever.
7 They will have no fear of bad news;
their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
8 Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;
in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
9 They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor,
their righteousness endures forever;
they will be remembered forever.
7 They will have no fear of bad news;
their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
8 Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;
in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
9 They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor,
their righteousness endures forever;
Matthew 9:35-37New International Version (NIV)
The Workers Are Few
35 Jesus went
through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming
the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw
the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like
sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he
said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.
CHRIST THE CENTRE OF OUR LIVES
“Jesus made a tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in
their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds
of diseases and sickness. And when he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them
because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd.”
There are many people who are in need of a shepherd to look after them, to
nurture them and to strengthen them. Many are lost in the world, seeking
meaning and purpose in life, or are wounded by the trials of life,
especially in relationships. The young are especially vulnerable because they
are overwhelmed by so many different opinions on the internet and social media,
so much so they cannot tell right from wrong. The elderly are abandoned
at home, many suffering illnesses associated with old age. Of course,
there are many who are financially and materially poor and are finding
difficulty in meeting their basic needs in life.
For this reason, the Lord said to His disciples, “The harvest is rich
but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to
his harvest.” All of us in our own ways are called to be labourers in
the vineyard of the Lord. This vineyard could be in our home, in the
office, in church or in society. Wherever we are, there is the
responsibility to cure “all kinds of diseases and sickness.” This
was what St Vincent De Paul wrote, “So our vocation is to go, not just to one
parish, not just to one diocese, but all over the world; and do what? To set
people’s hearts on fire, to do what the Son of God did. He came to set the
world on fire in order to inflame it with His Love.”
To do what Christ did, we must focus on lives centered first and
foremost in the Lord. Before we can serve the poor in
Christ, like St Vincent De Paul, we must put God and Christ as the first place
in our lives. Without being filled with the love for Christ, our service
would be compromised by our unconscious desire for recognition, power and
glory. Truly, there are many who say, “We do everything for the greater
glory of God!” But they would fight for position, squabble over non-essential
matters, divide the community, form cliques and pressure groups to bolster
their position. So although all claim to serve God, yet if they look deep
within themselves, their service is tainted with pride and egotism. At
times, they even make use of the Church and religion to not just promote
themselves but their own selfish interests.
That is why when we celebrate the feast of St Vincent De Paul, we are
called to imitate him by having the right focus in our service.
We are called to follow him by being an evangelizer to the poor in all forms,
to be missionaries of Christ’s love through a life of simplicity, humility,
kindness and charity. St Vincent De Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit
to form a society based on solidarity and charity. He was able to involve
everyone, the rich and the poor, the ordinary and the influential of society to
come together to serve one common mission of witnessing to Christ’s love by
being at the service of the poor and the needy. He founded the
Congregation of the Daughters of Charity to serve the poor. Yet, we must
not think that the strength of his work of charity came from his ingenuity and
ambition.
On the contrary, the strength of his calling to serve the poor came from
his devotion to the Lord. St Vincent was captivated by the
humanity of Jesus. He was greatly inspired by the Lord telling His
people that He was anointed to bring the Father’s love to the poor and to set
them free. He saw Jesus’ compassion for the sick and the needy as portrayed
in today’s gospel. Such an image of Jesus excited St Vincent to give
himself to Jesus and to helping the poor. He associated himself with the
gospel scenes in which Jesus related with the sick and healed them. Thus,
he recommended that in prayer we must come with Jesus before God so that we can
imitate Jesus and have a free exchange with the all loving God in His Father in
the Holy Spirit. Only then, could one discern the will of God and do His
will.
It was because of his sensitivity to the sentiments of our Lord that he
was a great man of discernment. He was able to detect the loving
presence of God when encountering the needy. He imagined that at the
final judgement, the poor would gather around the throne with the Lord Jesus,
testifying to those who were their friends. In serving them, he himself
was brought to the presence of the Lord. He saw Christ in the poor and
the suffering. He knew that in the kingdom of God, the poor bore the
closest semblance to Christ and therefore we must serve them with affection and
intelligence.
St Paul reminds us that we should not simply rely on our intelligence,
our ingenuity, our influence and human wisdom to do the work of God.
On the contrary, “it was to shame the wise that God chose what is foolish by
human reckoning, and to shame what is strong that he chose what is weak by
human reckoning; those whom the world thinks common and contemptible are the
ones that God has chosen – those who are nothing at all to show up those who
are everything.” Otherwise, we become proud, arrogant and
self-sufficient. When we do not feel indebted to God and count ourselves
as beggars who have been graced with God’s love and mercy, we will not be able
to show our gratitude to God by extending what we have received to
others. The temptation for the rich and the powerful is that they are
giving away money to the poor and needy out of condescension or guilt rather
than out of sincere gratitude to God for blessing them with resources.
That is why St Paul makes it clear, that “the human race has nothing to boast
about to God. As scripture says: If anyone wants to boast, let him boast
about the Lord.”
Indeed, our work of evangelization requires that we become true
disciples of the Lord. Pope Francis reminds us
constantly that we are missionary disciples. St Paul said, “but you, God
has made members of Christ Jesus and by God’s doing he has become our wisdom,
and our virtue, and our holiness, and our freedom.” To be focused on
Christ is to become like Christ in wisdom, in virtue, in holiness and freedom.
A true disciple of Christ must come to realize that Christ is the Way,
the Truth and the Life. He is the Wisdom of God in person.
It is in listening to Him, observing Him and following Him that we can walk the
way of truth and love. Jesus is the key to fullness of life. Unless we
contemplate on His life, His words and His passion and resurrection each day,
we cannot feel with Him in His love for His Father and for His people.
For Christians, Christ must also be their virtue and their righteousness.
In Christ, we see how to live a righteous life, that is a life of integrity,
right relationship with God and with our brothers and sisters. It is to
remember that it is God who makes us righteous. We cannot do any good on
our own strength because we are sinners. But with Christ and His grace,
we can do good only because of His power at work in and through us. If our
lives are lived in Him, then we can be like the psalmist who says, “He has no
fear of evil news; with a firm heart he trusts in the Lord. With a steadfast
heart he will not fear; he will see the downfall of his foes.”
Christ is not just the Wisdom and Righteousness of God, but He is also
our Holiness. This is to say, in Christ Jesus, we know
what devotion to God entails and what it means to consecrate our lives to
Him. Jesus was a man who lived totally for God and that was why He could
live totally for us. When we consecrate ourselves totally to God,
like Jesus, which is what a life of holiness is all about, this holiness will
be manifested in our love and devotion to the poor, enabling us to live a life
of justice. As the psalmist says, “Riches and wealth are in his house;
his justice stands firm for ever. His is a light in the darkness for the
upright: he is generous, merciful and just. The good man takes pity and lends,
he conducts his affairs with honour. The just man will never waver: he will be
remembered for ever.”
Indeed, St Vincent had little tolerance with theories of discipleship.
He was concerned with the effects and the practical considerations in helping
the poor effectively. That was why he was insistent on the need to
develop virtues that are necessary for evangelization to happen. We
cannot communicate the gospel if we do not learn how to manage our anger, if we
cannot forgive, if we lack integrity and honesty. Formation of virtues in
Christ is necessary for the work of evangelization. Doing good alone is
not sufficient unless we do it well. Hence, developing good virtues like
discipline, perseverance, humility, empathy and detachment are necessary for
the work of being a good disciple. For St Vincent, Christian discipleship
is not just an intellectual formation but it must be manifested in real life
and in practical service.
Today, if we choose to follow St Vincent De Paul, who followed the Lord,
then we too will share in the joy of living a life of freedom.
To be free for love, free for God and free for others requires that we be free
from ourselves. This freedom is found primarily in our love for the Lord
and from Him flows all our freedom because in Christ, we are set free from
anxiety, fear and low self-esteem. With Christ as our security and
freedom, we can, as St Paul tells us, also touch God when we serve the poor and
the needy. Thus, celebrating the feast of St Vincent De Paul reminds us that we
cannot be truly active in service if we do not balance our action with our
prayer life. Only when we are focused on God first, can we joyfully,
freely and prayerfully bring the Good News to all.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh,
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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