20171107
BUILDING A LIFE OF COMMUNION
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Romans 12:5-16 ©
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All of us, in union with Christ, form one body, and as parts of it
we belong to each other. Our gifts differ according to the grace given us. If
your gift is prophecy, then use it as your faith suggests; if administration,
then use it for administration; if teaching, then use it for teaching. Let the
preachers deliver sermons, the almsgivers give freely, the officials be
diligent, and those who do works of mercy do them cheerfully.
Do not let
your love be a pretence, but sincerely prefer good to evil. Love each other as
much as brothers should, and have a profound respect for each other. Work for
the Lord with untiring effort and with great earnestness of spirit. If you have
hope, this will make you cheerful. Do not give up if trials come; and keep on
praying. If any of the saints are in need you must share with them; and you
should make hospitality your special care.
Bless those
who persecute you: never curse them, bless them. Rejoice with those who rejoice
and be sad with those in sorrow. Treat everyone with equal kindness; never be
condescending but make real friends with the poor. Do not allow yourself to
become self-satisfied.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 130(131) ©
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Keep my soul in peace before you, O Lord.
O Lord, my heart is not proud
nor haughty my eyes.
I have not gone after things too great
nor marvels beyond me.
Keep my soul in peace before you, O Lord.
Truly I have set my soul
in silence and peace.
A weaned child on its mother’s breast,
even so is my soul.
Keep my soul in peace before you, O Lord.
O Israel, hope in the Lord
both now and forever.
Keep my soul in peace before you, O Lord.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Ep1:17,18
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Alleluia, alleluia!
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our mind,
so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Mt11:28
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 14:15-24 ©
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One of those gathered round the table said to Jesus, ‘Happy the
man who will be at the feast in the kingdom of God!’ But he said to him, ‘There
was a man who gave a great banquet, and he invited a large number of people.
When the time for the banquet came, he sent his servant to say to those who had
been invited, “Come along: everything is ready now.” But all alike started to
make excuses. The first said, “I have bought a piece of land and must go and
see it. Please accept my apologies.” Another said, “I have bought five yoke of
oxen and am on my way to try them out. Please accept my apologies.” Yet another
said, “I have just got married and so am unable to come.”
‘The servant
returned and reported this to his master. Then the householder, in a rage, said
to his servant, “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and
bring in here the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.” “Sir” said the
servant “your orders have been carried out and there is still room.” Then the
master said to his servant, “Go to the open roads and the hedgerows and force
people to come in to make sure my house is full; because, I tell you, not one
of those who were invited shall have a taste of my banquet.”’
BUILDING A LIFE OF COMMUNION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Rom 12:5-16; Ps 131:1-3; Lk 14:15-24 ]
In the
gospel, Jesus spoke about this banquet to whom the master invites us all. In biblical terms, the
banquet is a symbol of heaven. When we think of a banquet, we think of
good food, wine, music, dancing, joy, fun and most of all, good company.
Indeed, a meal eaten alone is never as satisfying as when we eat with others,
especially our loved ones. So to be invited to the banquet of God is to
enjoy a life of love and fellowship. This is what heaven is all
about.
And the Good
News is that the banquet is extended not only to Jews, as they wrongly thought,
but to all gentiles. This is the point of the parable in the gospel. The
Lord invited the Jews; they were the first guests, but unfortunately they
repeatedly rejected His invitation. As such, the invitation was issued to
us directly. Jesus wanted as many as possible, even non-Jews, to share in
His life, love and joy. He said, “Go out quickly into the streets and
alleys of the town and bring in here the poor, the crippled, the blind and the
lame.” And when the master heard that there was still some room left, he
ordered his servants to “Go to the open roads and the hedgerows.” This is
the generosity of God. His banquet excludes no one.
But we got
our priorities all wrong. The first man put all his efforts into his
business. He
excused himself saying, “I have bought a piece of land and must go and see
it. Please accept my apologies.” Indeed, it is not wrong to be
dedicated to our business because we need to ensure that the business
grows. But to be so focused on our business and to forget the larger and
more important interest, which is relationship with God and with others, is to
forget the purpose of doing business. Life is more than doing well
in business and making money. It is to use our business to do good and to
provide jobs for our workers and for the betterment of our
countrymen. Unless our business is creating opportunities to help
our families to grow from strength to strength, then all the money we make will
be in vain. Many are so taken up by their career and making money
that they forget the true purpose of why they do it, which is to build
communion with our loved ones at home, our friends and most of all, with God.
Secondly, we
can be so taken up by new things that come our way that we do not have time for
God and for others. Another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen and am on my
way to try them out. Please accept my apologies.” Indeed, we live
in a world of consumerism. We always have new gadgets to work on,
the latest mobile phone, the latest TV set, the new car we just
bought. So we are so engrossed in our newfound hobby that we
misplace our responsibilities in life, towards God, our family and our
friends. Some modern gadgets, instead of bringing us closer to one
another, are being used and manipulated by us to distance ourselves from others
or even to commit crimes.
Thirdly, we
may have the right priorities but the order wrong, because we put God as the
last in love.
The third man said, “I have just got married and so am unable to come.”
Getting married and being with our loved ones is indeed a blessed thing.
There is nothing wrong with making time for our loved ones and our
families. But the claims of family life and friendship with others
cannot overtake the claim from God for our attention. Because we fail to
include God in our relationships, we lose focus and end up either abusing them
or worshipping them. As a result, we become manipulative and
possessive. We have no freedom in love and we do not allow others to love
us freely. Instead, we threaten, intimidate and use authority to force people
to submit to us. Without Jesus as the centre of our lives and our
relationships, such love cannot last.
St Paul gives
us the motivation to build up communion among ourselves for the glory of God
and for our salvation. He said, “All of us, in union with Christ, form one body,
and as parts of it we belong to each other.” Clearly, the basis for
communion among us is because we are the body of Christ, with Him as our
head. We are interdependent for our happiness. No one is
independent and no relationship is fully dependent. A healthy
relationship can exist only when we are independent because we are conscious
that we are lovable by ourselves and we are dependent because we know that we
are called to rely on each other. That is why, to become members of the
body of Christ is to live in inter-dependence so that we will not make use of
each other, but together work to become more the presence of Christ in the
world through our mutual love and support for each other.
This explains
why Pope St John Paul II always advocated the principle of communion in
mission.
But he made it clear that our communion must begin with Christ, first and
foremost. “It is an essential demand of life in Christ that whoever
enters into communion with the Lord is expected to bear fruit: ‘He who abides
in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit’ (Jn 15:5). So
true is this that the person who does not bear fruit does not remain in
communion: ‘Each branch of mine that bears no fruit [my Father] takes away’ (Jn 15:2).
Communion with Jesus, which gives rise to the communion of Christians among
themselves, is the indispensable condition for bearing fruit; and communion
with others, which is the gift of Christ and his Spirit, is the most
magnificent fruit that the branches can give. In this sense, communion and
mission are inseparably connected. They interpenetrate and mutually imply each
other, so that ‘communion represents both the source and fruit of mission: communion
gives rise to mission and mission is accomplished in communion’”.
(Ecclesia in Asia, No 24)
How do we
build communion among ourselves? Firstly, our gifts must be for the
service of the community. St Paul said, “Our gifts differ according to the grace given
us. If your gift is prophecy, then use it as your faith suggests; if
administration, then use it for administration; if teaching, then use it for
teaching. Let the preachers deliver sermons, the almsgivers give freely,
the officials be diligent, and those who do works of mercy do them
cheerfully.” Every gift is given to us by God for a purpose.
Besides using the gifts of God for ourselves, we must exercise them for the
greater good of the community without any selfish and self-centered
motive. We use them for the glory of God. “Whatever your task, put
yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your masters, since you
know that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you
serve the Lord Christ.” (Col 3:23f)
Secondly, we
must choose good over evil. “Do not let your love be a pretence, but sincerely prefer
good to evil. Love each other as much as brothers should, and have a profound
respect for each other.” Indeed, we must not overcome evil with
evil because we inherit a double curse. “Bless those who persecute
you: never curse them, bless them. Rejoice with those who rejoice and be sad
with those in sorrow. Treat everyone with equal kindness; never be
condescending but make real friends with the poor.” Only by
blessing others, do we inherit a double portion in return. We must do
this genuinely so that we can identify with our fellowmen. Every one of
us is called to observe the Golden rule, which according to Jesus is, “In
everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law
and the prophets.” (Mt 7:12)
Finally, in
all things, work for the glory of God, with fortitude and perseverance. “Work for the Lord
with untiring effort and with great earnestness of spirit. If you have
hope, this will make you cheerful. Do not give up if trials come; and
keep on praying. If any of the saints are in need you must share with
them; and you should make hospitality your special care.” We know that
dealing with people is always the greatest challenge in life. But we must
persevere and never give up on each other. So long as there is life, there
is hope. And so long as our hope is founded in Christ, we will have a
foretaste of heaven on earth when we share His love and peace and joy with
everyone else around us. By building bridges, communion, sharing of
life, love and faith, we will make this place a better place to live in.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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