20171022
GOD’S PLAN FOR HUMANITY REVEALED IN CHRIST
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Isaiah 45:1,4-6 ©
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Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whom he has taken by his right hand
to subdue nations before him
and strip the loins of kings,
to force gateways before him
that their gates be closed no more:
‘It is for the sake of my servant Jacob,
of Israel my chosen one,
that I have called you by your name,
conferring a title though you do not know me.
I am the Lord, unrivalled;
there is no other God besides me.
Though you do not know me, I arm you
that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
that, apart from me, all is nothing.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 95(96):1,3-5,7-10 ©
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Give the Lord glory and power.
O sing a new song to the Lord,
sing to the Lord all the earth.
tell among the nations his glory
and his wonders among all the peoples.
Give the Lord glory and power.
The Lord is great and worthy of praise,
to be feared above all gods;
the gods of the heathens are naught.
It was the Lord who made the heavens,
Give the Lord glory and power.
Give the Lord, you families of peoples,
give the Lord glory and power;
give the Lord the glory of his name.
Bring an offering and enter his courts.
Give the Lord glory and power.
Worship the Lord in his temple.
O earth, tremble before him.
Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’
He will judge the peoples in fairness.
Give the Lord glory and power.
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Second reading
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1 Thessalonians 1:1-5 ©
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From Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, to the Church in Thessalonika
which is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; wishing you grace and
peace.
We always
mention you in our prayers and thank God for you all, and constantly remember
before God our Father how you have shown your faith in action, worked for love
and persevered through hope, in our Lord Jesus Christ.
We know,
brothers, that God loves you and that you have been chosen, because when we
brought the Good News to you, it came to you not only as words, but as power
and as the Holy Spirit and as utter conviction.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jn17:17
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O Lord:
consecrate us in the truth.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Ph2:15-16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
You will shine in the world like bright stars
because you are offering it the word of life.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 22:15-21 ©
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The Pharisees went away to work out between them how to trap Jesus
in what he said. And they sent their disciples to him, together with the
Herodians, to say, ‘Master, we know that you are an honest man and teach the
way of God in an honest way, and that you are not afraid of anyone, because a
man’s rank means nothing to you. Tell us your opinion, then. Is it permissible
to pay taxes to Caesar or not?’ But Jesus was aware of their malice and
replied, ‘You hypocrites! Why do you set this trap for me? Let me see the money
you pay the tax with.’ They handed him a denarius, and he said, ‘Whose head is
this? Whose name?’ ‘Caesar’s’ they replied. He then said to them, ‘Very well,
give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to
God.’
GOD’S PLAN FOR HUMANITY REVEALED IN CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Isa 2:1-5; Ps 67; Eph 3:2-12; Mt 28:16-20 ]
What is
life? Where did I come from? Where did this world come from? What
is my purpose in life? Where do I go after death? Why is there
suffering? These are the fundamental questions of life. Knowing our origin,
identity and purpose in life gives us clear direction as to how we should live
our life purposefully. If doing flows from being, it means that unless we
know who we are, whatever we do will be merely external. It does not come from
our utter conviction. If we do not know the purpose of life, then
we will just drift through life. We will act like an automaton, just
doing what everyone else is doing.
Indeed,
knowing God’s plan for humanity is crucial in our finding real meaning and direction
in life. The Good News is that His plan, which has been kept hidden for
generations, is now revealed to us in Christ. St Paul said, “Through all
the ages, this has been kept hidden in God, the creator of everything.”
But now it has been revealed to the apostles and the prophets.
What is this
mystery that has been revealed? This mystery refers to the hidden plan of
God for all of creation. However this mystery has now been revealed in
Christ. St
Paul wrote, “It was by a revelation that I was given the knowledge of the
mystery, as I have just described it very shortly. If you read my words,
you will have some idea of the depths that I see in the mystery of
Christ.” What is this mystery that St Paul described earlier?
In the first
two chapters of Ephesians, he spoke of the spiritual blessings in Christ. He
said that we have been chosen “in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and blameless before him. He destined us in love to be his sons
through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise
of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” (Eph 1:4-6)
So it is clear that since the creation of the world, we have been chosen, not
just to be holy but to be God’s children in Christ. This is our
identity. This is who we are, God’s children!
Secondly,
this is possible only because “he has made known to us in all wisdom and
insight the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in
Christ as a plan for the fulness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven
and things on earth.” (Eph 1:9f) It was Christ who, by His life, His teachings and
miracles, revealed to us the love and mercy of God for us. Jesus came to
show us the way to the truth and to the fullness of life. (cf Jn 14:6)
In Christ, everyone is reconciled and united in Him. “There is neither
Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor
female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 3:28)
In Christ, all humanity become one in Him.
Thirdly, this
is realized through Christ’s death and resurrection. “In him we have
redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to
the riches of his grace which he lavished upon us.” (Eph 1:7)
In His death and resurrection, Jesus conquered the fear of death which is the
wages of sin as opposed to the free gift of God which is eternal life in
Christ. (cf Rom 6:23) And through His death and resurrection, Jesus
ascended into heaven, poured down His own Spirit upon us, which is for us “the
guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise
of his glory.” (Eph 1:14) Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we can now
live effectively the life of Christ and the life of the Spirit, a life of
holiness and grace, seen in the fruits of “love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Gal 5:22f)
Fourthly,
this is purely the grace of God, not our merits. “But God, who is rich in
mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were
dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you
have been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the
heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the coming ages he might show the
immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by
grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is
the gift of God not because of works, lest any man should boast.” (Eph 2:4-9)
Indeed, such
is the great plan of God which cannot be known unless revealed to us by Christ. The implication and
the Good News is that “it means that pagans now share the same inheritance,
that they are parts of the same body, and that the same promise has been made
to them in Christ Jesus, through the gospel.” This is the fulfilment of
the prophecy of Isaiah when he envisaged the unity of humanity where there will
be no more fighting and division because all of us will worship the same God
who is the Father of us all.
How can this
be a reality unless we, who have received the Good News of the revelation
entrusted to us, announce it to the world? St Paul was conscious of this
responsibility of receiving this revelation from God. He wrote, “You have
probably heard how I have been entrusted by God with the grace he meant for
you.” He understood that the Good News he received was not for himself
but for the whole of humanity. He was only a trustee of the Good
News. He said, “I have been made the servant of that gospel by a gift of
grace from God who gave it to me by his own power. I, who am less than
the least of all saints, have been entrusted with this special grace.”
We too have
the same responsibility to proclaim the revelation that we have received to all
of humanity. That is why a Christian has an obligation towards mission. The Church is
missionary in nature. She exists to announce the Good News to all
peoples. This is what St Paul wrote. “Through all the ages, this has been
kept hidden in God, the creator of everything. Why? So that the
Sovereignties and Powers should learn only now, through the Church, how comprehensive
God’s wisdom really is, exactly according to the plan which he had had from all
eternity in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
How do we
reveal God’s plan in Christ? As Church, the Sacrament of Christ, we are
called firstly to announce the Good News and the revelation given to us.
It begins with a proclamation and an invitation. “Come, let us go up to the
mountain of the Lord, to the Temple of the God of Jacob that he may teach us
his ways so that we may walk in his paths; since the Law will go out from Zion,
and the oracle of the Lord from Jerusalem.” Proclamation of the gospel is
the initial call to accept Christ.
This is then
celebrated in baptism and in the sacraments. He said, “All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations;
baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit.” After proclamation and invitation, a person is baptized in
Christ. He becomes a member of the Body of Christ. He celebrates
his new found identity as a child of God especially in worship and in the
celebration of the sacraments where he becomes more and more incorporated into
the body of Christ. It is through worship and the celebration of the
sacraments that he reinforces his union in Christ and in His Church.
But this
initial invitation to be baptized in Christ must then be followed up with
instruction and catechesis. This is what the Lord instructed His disciples to do.
“Teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And know that I am with you
always; yes, to the end of time.” St Paul also said that his mission was
“not only of proclaiming to the pagans the infinite treasure of Christ but also
of explaining how the mystery is to be dispensed.” And this is the
ongoing process of catechesis and growing in our faith. This must never
stop. It must continue all through life, either in formal lessons or
informal sharing of faith.
The full
maturity of a Christian is manifested when he begins to evangelize. Otherwise, he is not
a true Christian. Of course, even when we begin to evangelize, we remain,
as Pope Francis says in his encyclical, Evangeli Gaudium, ‘missionary
disciples’, “Every Christian is challenged, here and now, to be actively
engaged in evangelization; indeed, anyone who has truly experienced God’s
saving love does not need much time or lengthy training to go out and proclaim
that love. Every Christian is a missionary to the extent that he or she has
encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus: we no longer say that we are
‘disciples; and ‘missionaries’, but rather that we are always ‘missionary
disciples’”. (EG 120)
However, he
added, “Of course, all of us are called to mature in our work as evangelizers.
We want to have better training, a deepening love and a clearer witness to the Gospel. In this sense, we
ought to let others be constantly evangelizing us. But this does not mean that
we should postpone the evangelizing mission; rather, each of us should find
ways to communicate Jesus wherever we are. All of us are called to offer others
an explicit witness to the saving love of the Lord, who despite our
imperfections offers us his closeness, his word and his strength, and gives
meaning to our lives.” (EG 121)
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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