20170925
RECOVERING OUR ZEAL AND STRENGTHENING OUR
CATHOLIC ROOTS
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Ezra 1:1-6 ©
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In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfil the word of
the Lord that was spoken through Jeremiah, the Lord roused the spirit of Cyrus
king of Persia to issue a proclamation and to have it publicly displayed
throughout his kingdom: ‘Thus speaks Cyrus king of Persia, “The Lord, the God
of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; he has ordered me to
build him a Temple in Jerusalem, in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all
his people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah to
build the Temple of the Lord, the God of Israel – he is the God who is in
Jerusalem. And let each survivor, wherever he lives, be helped by the people of
that place with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, as well as voluntary
offerings for the Temple of God which is in Jerusalem.”’
Then the
heads of families of Judah and of Benjamin, the priests and the Levites, in
fact all whose spirit had been roused by God, prepared to go and rebuild the
Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem; and all their neighbours gave them every
assistance with silver, gold, goods, cattle, quantities of costly gifts and
with voluntary offerings of every kind.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 125(126) ©
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What marvels the Lord worked for us.
When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage,
it seemed like a dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
on our lips there were songs.
What marvels the Lord worked for us.
The heathens themselves said: ‘What marvels
the Lord worked for them!’
What marvels the Lord worked for us!
Indeed we were glad.
What marvels the Lord worked for us.
Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage
as streams in dry land.
Those who are sowing in tears
will sing when they reap.
What marvels the Lord worked for us.
They go out, they go out, full of tears,
carrying seed for the sowing:
they come back, they come back, full of song,
carrying their sheaves.
What marvels the Lord worked for us.
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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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Mt5:16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Your light must shine in the sight of men,
so that, seeing your good works,
they may give the praise to your Father in heaven.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 8:16-18 ©
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Jesus said to the crowds:
‘No one
lights a lamp to cover it with a bowl or to put it under a bed. No, he puts it
on a lamp-stand so that people may see the light when they come in. For nothing
is hidden but it will be made clear, nothing secret but it will be known and
brought to light. So take care how you hear; for anyone who has will be given
more; from anyone who has not, even what he thinks he has will be taken away.’
RECOVERING OUR ZEAL AND STRENGTHENING OUR CATHOLIC ROOTS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Ezr 1:1-16; Ps 126; Lk 8:16-18 ]
When we begin
a new project, we are all fired up with zeal. We want to do great things
and transform life. But when the project is prolonged, the zeal will
eventually die down. The fire is gradually extinguished. People become
disheartened and give up hope of realizing the project. This is also true
for those who assume office. When they are new, they are full of
dynamism. They are passionate and excited. They want to do things
and try out new things. But after some time, we see them losing their
passion, excitement and zeal. They become jaded because of opposition and
rejection.
Indeed, this
was the case of the Israelites who were in captivity in Babylon. The kingdom of Israel
was gradually destroyed by inept and corrupt Kings and religious leaders.
The Northern Kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians in 722 BC and many of the
ten tribes of Israel were deported. Then in 587 BC, the kingdom of Judah
was finally destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The Temple was
destroyed and the city was burnt to the ground. The elite citizens were
deported to Babylon. Only a remnant stayed behind. Many of
them, during the exile in Babylon, were forlorn and devastated. With the
destruction of both kingdoms, Israel as a kingdom ceased to exist. Hence,
those from the South, namely from Judah, were called Jews.
But then came
the good news of liberation. In fulfillment of the prophecy of Jeremiah that
the Jews would remain in captivity for 70 years (cf Jer 25:11; 29:10),
King Cyrus, a pagan king who was more liberal in treating his captives, decreed
that the Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the city,
particularly to restore the Temple of Jerusalem. “The Lord, the God of heaven,
has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; he has ordered me to build him a
Temple in Jerusalem, in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all his
people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah to
build the Temple of the Lord, the God of Israel – he is the God who is in
Jerusalem. And let each survivor, wherever he lives, be helped by the
people of that place with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, as well as
voluntary offerings for the Temple of God which is in Jerusalem.” They
were even promised assistance by the King and he generously returned all the
conquered treasures of the Temple back to the Jews.
With God,
nothing is impossible. God is faithful to His promises. As the responsorial psalm
says, “When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage, it seemed like a dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter, on our lips there were songs.
The heathens themselves said: ‘What marvels the Lord worked for them!’
What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad. Deliver
us, O Lord, from our bondage as streams in dry land. Those who are sowing
in tears will sing when they reap.” God could work through Cyrus to
have the exiled Jews return to their homeland. God even prompted Cyrus to
be generous in offering gifts, money, protection and returning the temple
treasures taken during the captivity.
However, the
truth remains that not all were keen to return to Israel or to Jerusalem. We must take note of
the time when the Northern Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrians who
had the inhabitants deported to Assyria in 722 BC. Then it was the turn
of Babylon to overrun the city of Jerusalem, the Southern Kingdom of Judah in
586 BC. We can appreciate that more than 250 years had passed since
the Northern Kingdom, which comprised of the ten tribes of Israel, and the
people would have got on with their lives, resettled and married among the
peoples they lived with. They were so dispersed and scattered that they
lost their heritage. This explains why the Jews in Judah despised the
Samaritans in the north because they were no longer pure Israelites.
Accordingly, they did not support the vision of rebuilding the Temple.
Even among
the Jews, 70 years was a long time. Many of them who were born in Babylon
would never have seen Jerusalem. Other than what their parents and grandparents told them of
their memories, dreams and hopes of their forefathers, many during this period
would not have had any real attachment to Jerusalem. Furthermore, those
who were already settled down in Babylon had moved on in their lives as
migrants. Many of them were employed. Daniel himself was recruited
into the service of the king. He enjoyed special privileges and was
highly regarded in the kingdom. Other prominent Jews included Mordecai and Queen
Esther. There were many others who were doing well in their
businesses. Many had accumulated much wealth, land and status over the
years.
Why should
they start all over again, and give up everything that they had built? Their families were well
integrated in Babylon, and so with roots already deeply grounded, not many were
willing to leave to rebuild the city from scratch. The journey back to
Jerusalem was difficult and would take more than four months. Travelling
was extremely dangerous because the people around them were hostile and the
terrain was rough. So we should not be surprised that more chose to stay
back. They did not mind supporting their kinsmen but they were not ready
to move back. “All their neighbours gave them every assistance with
silver, gold, goods cattle, quantities of costly gifts and with voluntary
offerings of every kind.” But they were not willing to exchange
their security and wealth for the tremendous sacrifices they had to make to
rebuild Jerusalem.
However, we
read that those who went back notably came from the tribes of Judah and
Benjamin, from the Southern Kingdom. “The heads of families of Judah and of Benjamin, the
priests and the Levites, in fact all whose spirit had been roused by God,
prepared to go and rebuild the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem.” They
were those whose hearts God moved to repentance and to yearn for their return
to their homeland. God planted the desire in them to rebuild the Temple
of Jerusalem and be reunited as a people. It was by God’s grace alone
that their attitudes and faith changed from being indifferent to that of
renewal. The seventy years in exile had humbled the Jews and they
learnt their lesson. They did not allow their comfort and material
security to prevent them from doing what the Lord wanted of them.
What lessons
can we draw from this captivity? The gospel delineates the factors for
the loss of zeal and passion. In the gospel, Jesus said, “So take
care how you hear; for anyone who has will be given more; from anyone who has
not, even what he thinks he has will be taken away.” It remains true that how
well connected we are with our faith, tradition and our community will
influence our loyalty, devotion and dedication. When we are not one
with our community in sharing the same faith, customs, joys and sorrows, we
will lose our affinity with them. Indeed, many Catholics have lost their
faith because they are not connected with the Catholic community. They do
not read the Word of God, discover their faith and share the Word of God with
their Catholic friends. Many just attend mass on Sundays in an
individualistic manner, without having any real relationship with fellow
Catholics. They do not participate in the activities of the Church.
Naturally, without any spiritual or community bond among Catholics, when the
storms of life come, they are not ready. They are swept away by the tides
of life. Indeed, the little knowledge they learnt in Catechism classes or
RCIA are forgotten.
The second reason
for the loss of zeal is because Catholics do not witness to their faith. “No one lights a lamp
to cover it with a bowl or to put it under the bed. No, he puts it on a
lamp stand so that people may see the light when they come in. For
nothing is hidden but it will be made clear, nothing secret but it will be
known and bought to light.” The only way to grow our faith is to share it
with others. The more we speak about our faith, the more we begin
to be conscious of what we believe in and why we believe so that we can make
sense for ourselves before we share with others. Witnessing to the
gospel through a life of love and service, and sharing about Jesus with our
loved ones and friends will be the way in which we bring the light of Christ to
others. In the process of evangelizing others, we also evangelize
ourselves.
So,
therefore, if we want to renew the zeal in our lives for God, for the Church or
for our people, we need to be connected with them. We need to be connected
firstly with God and then our people. Sharing their joys, their pains and
aspirations would reignite our zeal to make this world a better place to live
in so that all can be happy together in the Lord. Let us listen to the
Lord through the sharing of the gospel and let us celebrate together in life
and in service. These are the two sure ways of renewing our faith and
strengthening our Catholic roots.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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