20170907
DO ALL THINGS THROUGH HIS OWN GLORIOUS POWER
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
|
First reading
|
|
Colossians 1:9-14 ©
|
Ever since the day we heard about you, we have never failed to
pray for you, and what we ask God is that through perfect wisdom and spiritual
understanding you should reach the fullest knowledge of his will. So you will
be able to lead the kind of life which the Lord expects of you, a life
acceptable to him in all its aspects; showing the results in all the good
actions you do and increasing your knowledge of God. You will have in you the
strength, based on his own glorious power, never to give in, but to bear
anything joyfully, thanking the Father who has made it possible for you to join
the saints and with them to inherit the light.
Because that
is what he has done: he has taken us out of the power of darkness and created a
place for us in the kingdom of the Son that he loves, and in him, we gain our
freedom, the forgiveness of our sins.
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
|
Psalm 97(98):2-6 ©
|
The Lord has made known his salvation.
The Lord has made known his salvation;
has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.
The Lord has made known his salvation.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.
The Lord has made known his salvation.
Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp
with the sound of music.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
acclaim the King, the Lord.
The Lord has made known his salvation.
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
cf.2Thess2:14
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Through the Good News God called us
to share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Alleluia!
|
Or
|
Mt4:19
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Follow me, says the Lord,
and I will make you into fishers of men.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
Luke 5:1-11 ©
|
|
They left everything and followed him
|
Jesus was standing one day by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the
crowd pressing round him listening to the word of God, when he caught sight of
two boats close to the bank. The fishermen had gone out of them and were
washing their nets. He got into one of the boats – it was Simon’s –
and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught
the crowds from the boat.
When he had
finished speaking he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and pay out your
nets for a catch.’ ‘Master,’ Simon replied, ‘we worked hard all night long and
caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.’ And when they had
done this they netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear,
so they signalled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them;
when these came, they filled the two boats to sinking point.
When Simon
Peter saw this he fell at the knees of Jesus saying, ‘Leave me, Lord; I am a
sinful man.’ For he and all his companions were completely overcome by the catch
they had made; so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were Simon’s
partners. But Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you
will catch.’ Then, bringing their boats back to land, they left everything and
followed him.
DO ALL THINGS THROUGH HIS OWN GLORIOUS POWER
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Col 1:9-14; Ps 98:2-6; Lk 5:1-11
]
Many of us are
like St Peter in the gospel. We too say to the Lord, “Master, we worked hard
all night long and caught nothing.” Indeed, this is how many of
us feel. Many of us work so hard to get our academic degrees, be
successful in our projects and in our career, yet at the end of the day, we
find all these to be meaningless. What is the use of working so hard only
to come to realize we have toiled in vain? As the book of Ecclesiastes
would says, “all is vanity.” Indeed, we thought that when
we have everything, that is, power, glory, honour and wealth, we will be happy,
but as it turns out, these are all illusions. They did not make us
happy or fulfilled in life. No wonder, they are called idols as these are
nothingness.
However, some of
us are truly working for God and for His people. We too invest much of
our time doing the work of God, helping the Church and our community, and being
involved in the service of the poor and other social involvements.
Moreover, we do all these things over and above our own work and family
time. Yet, in spite of so much energy, time and resources
invested into it, we experience only opposition, failure, disappointment and
frustration.
In such a
situation, we are called to turn to the Lord. The cause of our
failures and disillusionment in life is because we rely on our own wisdom and
on our own strength. St Paul wrote to the Christians, “You will have in
you the strength, based on his own glorious power, never to give in, but to
bear anything joyfully.” Indeed, we cannot rely on ourselves to achieve
the true and lasting goals of life that can bring us true happiness.
Without Christ, we are bound to fail, and even when we are successful in
worldly terms, the achievements at the end of the day will be meaninglessness.
What, then,
does it mean to rely on the glorious power of God?
The
precondition for turning to the Lord is the sense of inadequacy and
helplessness.
So long as we can depend on ourselves, the Lord will not intervene. Only in
our desperation will the Lord act in our lives so that we know that He is the
Lord. Otherwise, it would not be possible to declare, “All the ends of the
earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.” This was the case of St Peter. Initially, he
depended on his skills and past experiences. He was so sure of himself
that he was reluctant to put down the nets. As a professional fisherman,
the last thing he needed was the advice of a carpenter. But the Lord
wanted to surprise him so that he could witness the power and wisdom of God.
Once this
condition is met, we need to have faith in Him. This faith is manifested in
obedience. Obedience is but the expression of faith. When Jesus
told Peter to “Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch”, in
obedience, he did. Faith is therefore the way to draw strength from
the Lord. Faith in Christ enables us to do all things. It was
Peter’s faith that made him surrender to the Lord’s command. Against all
doubt, he told the Lord, “but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.”
Secondly, we
need to have love. We can only trust in God’s power provided we have
experienced His love. This was the case of St Peter. After the
miracle, he was overwhelmed by his sinfulness and God’s mercy. He must
have been so embarrassed by the miracle because the Lord exposed his pride,
self-confidence in his own skills and lack of faith in God’s power.
Yet, in spite of his doubts and reluctance, the Lord showed Him mercy.
Similarly, St
Paul told the Christians the same thing. “Because that is what he has done: he
has taken us out of the power of darkness and created a place for us in the
kingdom of the Son that he loves, and in him, we gain our freedom, the
forgiveness of our sins.” The consciousness of what He has done for us,
liberating us from bondage and enlightening us in our blindness itself is a
great joy. Only when we come to realize how much God has loved us
and shown us His mercy, will we then be able to trust in His love for us.
Thirdly, to
rely on God’s glorious power is to have a certain hope of our calling in life. St Paul wrote, “You
will have in you the strength, based on his own glorious power, never to give
in, but to bear anything joyfully, thanking the Father who has made it possible
for you to join the saints and with them to inherit the light.”
Indeed, when we know our true calling in life, we will realize that it is more
than just making a living, increasing our earthly wealth and power, or living
for ourselves or even our loved ones. When we come to realize that we are
called to live for God and one day to be united with Christ and all the saints,
sharing in His eternal light, then this great hope installed for us will give
us impetus in our struggles and in the sacrifices we put in. We can give
all of ourselves because we know that the hope we have for ourselves and
humanity will not be in vain. As the psalmist says, “The Lord has made
known his salvation; has shown his justice to the nations. He has remembered
his truth and love for the house of Israel.”
Consequently, we
need to strengthen our faith, hope and love in God if we are to find strength
in whatever we do. We need to work for the right motives and for
the right goals in life. This calls for prayerful discernment in
whatever we do. It is for this reason that we need to pray as St Paul wrote,
“Ever since the day we heard about you, we have never failed to pray for you,
and what we ask God is that through perfect wisdom and spiritual understanding
you should reach the fullest knowledge of his will.”
We need to
seek perfect wisdom and understanding of His will for us. Without knowing
His will, we will do many things but find no peace and joy. Seeking the
will of God is necessary for us to find His will so that we can give our whole
heart and soul to whatever He has called us to do. This explains why some
are not happy in life because they did not respond to the call of God.
They did not follow the vocation that the Lord has given to them. But if
we are clear that this is what the Lord is asking of us, and if we give
ourselves wholeheartedly to His plan, we will find happiness. Indeed,
when St Peter, James and John heard the call of Jesus who said to them, “Do not
be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch”, “they left everything and
followed him.” This is the second level of obedience. Having
responded to the first obedience of faith when the Lord asked him to lower the
net, and encountering His overwhelming mercy, St Peter in the second act of
obedience was now ready to leave his career, wealth and security to follow
Jesus in catching men for the kingdom. Because they allowed the Lord to
work in and through them, they became great apostles for Christ.
But where is
His will to be found if not in the Word of God? If Peter and his
companions could eventually in faith respond to Jesus in paying down the nets
and then following Him, it was because they had been listening to Jesus who was
preaching. Together with the crowd, they were listening to what the Lord
was saying. We too who seek His will and His wisdom must turn to the
scriptures. We need to pray and meditate on the scriptures so that the
Lord can direct us in our ways. Without a prayerful reading of the Word
of God, we would only listen to ourselves. So conviction of our calling
and of His will requires us to spend time in prayer and meditation on the
scriptures. In the Word of God, we find strength, wisdom, inspiration and
light. St Paul wrote to young Bishop Timothy, “All scripture is inspired
by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for
training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped
for every good work.” (2 Tim 3:16f)
Let us continue
to seek the Lord for His guidance and His will. This was what the Lord said to
the Israelites in exile through the prophet Jeremiah, “I know the plans I have
in mind for you – it is the Lord who speaks – plans for peace, not
disaster, reserving a future full of hope for you. Then when you call to me,
and come to plead with me, I will listen to you. When you seek me you shall
find me, when you seek me with all your heart; I will let you find me – it
is the Lord who speaks.” (Jer 29:11-13) Seek the Lord, rely on His
strength, pray for His wisdom, know His will and act according to it. This is
what it means to act from His own glorious power because we are one
with the Lord in mind, heart and soul. St Paul says, in this way, “you
will be able to lead the kind of life which the Lord expects of you, a life
acceptable to him in all its aspects; showing the results in all the good
actions you do and increasing your knowledge of God.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment