20170929
INTERMEDIARIES OF GOD
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
EITHER:
|
First
reading
|
|
Daniel 7:9-10,13-14 ©
|
As I watched:
Thrones were set in place
and one of great age took his seat.
His robe was white as snow,
the hair of his head as pure as wool.
His throne was a blaze of flames,
its wheels were a burning fire.
A stream of fire poured out,
issuing from his presence.
A thousand thousand waited on him,
ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
A court was held
and the books were opened.
And I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven,
one like a son of man.
He came to the one of great age
and was led into his presence.
On him was conferred sovereignty,
glory and kingship,
and men of all peoples, nations and languages became his servants.
His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty
which shall never pass away,
nor will his empire ever be destroyed.
OR:
|
Alternative
First reading
|
|
Apocalypse 12:7-12 ©
|
Now war broke out in heaven, when Michael with his angels attacked
the dragon. The dragon fought back with his angels, but they were defeated and
driven out of heaven. The great dragon, the primeval serpent, known as the
devil or Satan, who had deceived all the world, was hurled down to the earth
and his angels were hurled down with him. Then I heard a voice shout from
heaven, ‘Victory and power and empire for ever have been won by our God, and
all authority for his Christ, now that the persecutor, who accused our brothers
day and night before our God, has been brought down. They have triumphed over
him by the blood of the Lamb and by the witness of their martyrdom, because
even in the face of death they would not cling to life. Let the heavens rejoice
and all who live there.’
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
|
Psalm 137(138):1-5 ©
|
In the presence of the angels I will bless you,
O Lord.
I thank you, Lord, with all my heart:
you have heard the words of my mouth.
In the presence of the angels I will bless you.
I will adore before your holy temple.
In the presence of the angels I will bless you,
O Lord.
I thank you for your faithfulness and love,
which excel all we ever knew of you.
On the day I called, you answered;
you increased the strength of my soul.
In the presence of the angels I will bless you,
O Lord.
All earth’s kings shall thank you
when they hear the words of your mouth.
They shall sing of the Lord’s ways:
‘How great is the glory of the Lord!’
In the presence of the angels I will bless you,
O Lord.
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
Ps102:21
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Give thanks to the Lord, all his hosts,
his servants who do his will.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
John 1:47-51 ©
|
When Jesus saw Nathanael coming he said of him, ‘There is an
Israelite who deserves the name, incapable of deceit.’ ‘How do you know me?’
said Nathanael. ‘Before Philip came to call you,’ said Jesus ‘I saw you under
the fig tree.’ Nathanael answered, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the
King of Israel.’ Jesus replied, ‘You believe that just because I said: I saw
you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.’ And then he
added ‘I tell you most solemnly, you will see heaven laid open and, above the
Son of Man, the angels of God ascending and descending.’
INTERMEDIARIES OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [DAN 7:9-10,13-14 (OR REV 12:7-12); JN 1:47-51 ]
We are living
in an empirical world where nothing is real unless it can be seen and touched
and felt. This is a world of matter. Human beings are reduced to
merely matter like all other creatures and creation. In a world of
secularization where the new gods are science and technology, the spiritual
world does not exist. Belief in angels and devils and spirits are
relegated to primitive superstitions. For this reason, few public
officials or celebrities would dare to say that they believe in the spirit
world. The denial of the spirits also leads to a denial of our identity
as well. Since doing flows from being, man, who considers himself
merely as a creature like the rest of the animal kingdom, acts and behaves like
animals, since the meaning of life is reduced to enjoyment, eating, drinking
and seeking sensual and earthly pleasures.
For this reason,
the feast of the Archangels is important for Catholics to be reminded
once again of their identity and role in life. It is therefore
necessary from the outset to clarify the nature and office of the angels.
The word
“angel” is a Greek word “angelos”, meaning messenger. It designates
therefore a function or role, rather than nature. Angels are therefore
seen in scriptures primarily as the messengers of God. God is
transcendent in the Old Testament, so much so that the people feared Him and it
was believed that no man could see Him and live. Being the King of the
universe, He has His angels to serve Him and to carry out His will.
Intermediaries are therefore needed to be a bridge to God. This accounts
for the countless apparitions and appearances of angels in the Old Testament
and at the beginning of the early Church. This intermediary role of the
angels is captured in today’s gospel when Jesus said to Nathanael, “I tell you
most solemnly, you will see heaven laid open and, above the Son of Man, the
angels of God ascending and descending.” Conversely, after Christ, we
hear less of angels and spirits because Christ already is our mediator between
God and us.
With regard
to the nature of angels, they are described as spiritual beings created by God
with an intellect and will, just like us, except that they are without a body. They have a free
will and they have extraordinary knowledge but it is not omniscient.
Since they do not have a body, they can do things that human beings,
constrained by the body, cannot do. Therefore, angels, being pure
spirits, cannot be reducible to a force but they are personal beings like our
souls. We can communicate with them. But they remain
creatures. They are not gods. Because of this personal nature, they
can also think and reject God. As they are pure intellect, their decision
for or against God is done with full consent, and therefore irrevocable.
Those who did so are called devils.
In the light
of what has been said, we must therefore understand our nature before we can
speak of our role on this earth. As human beings, we know that we are not merely matter,
because we can think, choose, love and exercise our freedom. Although
bounded by matter on this earth, our minds can transcend matter and time.
We are embodied spirits. Only upon death is our soul released from
the constraints of the body. However, we are created in such a way that
we have a spirit and also a body. We are privileged to enjoy the
pleasures of creation like the rest of the animal kingdom. That is why
some of us behave worse than animals when it comes to sensual pleasures.
We have no control over our appetites and desires. But because of our
rational being, we can be like the spirits who enjoy intimacy with God.
This is the greatness of man. He is called to communion with God and with
his or her fellowmen. Thus, God is compassionate and forgiving
towards us because we are ignorant and weak in so many ways due to our wounded
nature, unlike the devils.
Flowing from
our nature, we must ask about our roles on earth. The feast of the
Archangels reminds us of three specific and major roles we must play like the
archangels, namely, our battle against the kingdom of darkness, announcing the
Good News and that of healing.
St Michael,
whose name means “who is like God” is called to be the Defender. St Michael fought with the
dragon, the devil and his angels. Like St Michael we are called to fight
against the snares of the Evil One as we read in the book of Revelation.
(Rev 12:7-8)
The battle against the kingdom of darkness is as real today as it was during
the time of Christ. Only through the power and death of our Lord can we
overcome the power of the Evil One. Like St Michael we must strive for
holiness so that we too can be like God. This is our way to fight against the
evils of society. Most of all, we are called to defend the Church just as
St Michael did by safeguarding the Church of Christ, the People of God.
We must not allow Satan, as some do, to manipulate us to become traitors to the
Church. Many Catholics by their counter witnessing and their lack of love
drive people further away from God instead of bringing them to Him.
Instead, we must be alert to the temptations of the Evil One.
St Gabriel
means “God is the Mighty One.” He is the messenger of the Good News. He
was God’s messenger to Daniel, interpreting his visions. He announced to
Zechariah the birth of a child, and to Mary that she has chosen to be the
mother of the Saviour. We too are called to be messengers of hope.
Like St Gabriel who gave Mary the courage to persevere, we too must assist
those who are walking in darkness by giving them hope. We are called to
be heralds of the Good News. We too must give strength to others who are
weak in their spiritual journey.
Finally, from
St Raphael, we are called to be healers. His name means “God Heals.” Just
as he accompanied Tobias on his journey as a healer, we too must not just
announce the Good News. We need to be healers through our empathy,
forgiveness, kindness and generosity. Like St Raphael, we are called to
deliver our people from oppression, fear and all illnesses.
But we cannot
be like God, or be strong enough to announce the Good News to a hostile world,
or be healers when we are so broken ourselves unless we, like the angels, also
ascend to God before we descend to earth. In other words, as messengers, we need
to be connected with God at all times. As His servants, we must report to
God daily to receive His instructions before we go on our battles.
Without receiving His orders and empowered by Him, we cannot be effective
commanders or great messengers and powerful healers. Like the angels we
are reminded to sing praises and bring the prayers of our people to the Lord in
His court. With the psalmist we must pray daily, “I thank you, Lord, with
all my heart: you have heard the words of my mouth. In the presence of
the angels I will bless you. I will adore before your holy temple. I thank
you for your faithfulness and love, which excel all we ever knew of you.
On the day I called, you answered; you increased the strength of my soul.”
In this way,
we become the intermediaries of God to the world. Like the priest who is
called to be the bridge and the mediator between God and man, so too is the
work of every person. May our lives reflect the glory and the goodness of
God! This is what the psalmist says, “All earth’s kings shall thank you when
they hear the words of your mouth. They shall sing of the Lord’s ways: ‘How
great is the glory of the Lord!’”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment