20171116
THE COMING OF GOD’S KINGDOM
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
|
First reading
|
Wisdom 7:22-8:1 ©
|
Within Wisdom is a spirit intelligent, holy,
unique, manifold, subtle,
active, incisive, unsullied,
lucid, invulnerable, benevolent, sharp,
irresistible, beneficent, loving to man,
steadfast, dependable, unperturbed,
almighty, all-surveying,
penetrating all intelligent, pure
and most subtle spirits;
for Wisdom is quicker to move than any motion;
she is so pure, she pervades and permeates all things.
She is a breath of the power of God,
pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty;
hence nothing impure can find a way into her.
She is a reflection of the eternal light,
untarnished mirror of God’s active power,
image of his goodness.
Although alone, she can do all;
herself unchanging, she makes all things new.
In each generation she passes into holy souls,
she makes them friends of God and prophets;
for God loves only the man who lives with Wisdom.
She is indeed more splendid than the sun,
she outshines all the constellations;
compared with light, she takes first place,
for light must yield to night,
but over Wisdom evil can never triumph.
She deploys her strength from one end of the earth to the other,
ordering all things for good.
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
|
Psalm 118(119):89-91,130,135,175 ©
|
Your word, O Lord, stands for ever.
Your word, O Lord, for ever
stands firm in the heavens:
your truth lasts from age to age,
like the earth you created.
Your word, O Lord, stands for ever.
By your decree it endures to this day;
for all things serve you.
The unfolding of your word gives light
and teaches the simple.
Your word, O Lord, stands for ever.
Let your face shine on your servant
and teach me your decrees.
Give life to my soul that I may praise you.
Let your decrees give me help.
Your word, O Lord, stands for ever.
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
1P1:25
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of the Lord remains for ever:
What is this word?
It is the Good News that has been brought to you.
Alleluia!
|
Or
|
Jn15:5
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the vine,
you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me, with me in him,
bears fruit in plenty,
says the Lord.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
Luke 17:20-25 ©
|
Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was to come, Jesus
gave them this answer, ‘The coming of the kingdom of God does not admit of
observation and there will be no one to say, “Look here! Look there!” For, you
must know, the kingdom of God is among you.’
He said to
the disciples, ‘A time will come when you will long to see one of the days of
the Son of Man and will not see it. They will say to you, “Look there!” or,
“Look here!” Make no move; do not set off in pursuit; for as the lightning
flashing from one part of heaven lights up the other, so will be the Son of Man
when his day comes. But first he must suffer grievously and be rejected by this
generation.’
THE COMING OF GOD’S KINGDOM
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Wis 7:22 – 8:1; Ps 119:89-91,130,135,175; Lk 17:20-25 ]
Many people
are curious about the Second Coming of Christ. It is the general
expectation that with the Second Coming of Christ, “he will wipe away every
tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be
mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed
away.” (Rev 21:4) This world will come to an end and there will
be “a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had
passed away, and the sea was no more.” (Rev 21:1)
This is the apocalyptic understanding of eschatology, the end time.
It is believed that the reign of evil would be so strong that God would allow
evil to destroy this world so that a new world could come about.
Indeed, there
are people who point to the signs of today’s world. Firstly, on the
ecological level, there is the abuse of creation because of the selfishness of
man. The present humanity uses this world without thinking about
the future generation. Creation is destroyed by wanton deforestation and
pollution. As a result, we are already experiencing global
warming. The temperature has increased by 1 degree centigrade. This
has caused severe impact on the weather and creation. The Poles are
melting, causing sea levels to rise, resulting in flooding. Because the
ozone layer is depleted, heatwaves are causing drought. There is less
food on land and sea. If the global temperature increases by 3 degrees
centigrade, we will be at the tipping point with vegetation disappearing,
rivers drying up, super hurricanes becoming the norm, causing mass
displacements. If the temperature rises by another 5 degrees, it is posited
that there will be mass extinction, with 70% land animals and 90% sea animals
wiped off the face of the earth.
Then again,
some think the world might be coming to an end because of the conflicts in the
world among superpowers. If the world gets caught up in another world war, there
will be mass destruction of lives such that we have never seen before.
The world would be destroyed by the selfishness of man wanting more and more
for themselves. Because of relativism, leading to a loss of moral values,
this world is becoming a more unsafe place to live in. Ultimately, with
society falling into moral decadence, the amorality of the world will lead to
the destruction of the human being.
However,
there are those who hold the prophetic view of eschatology. They believe that this
world would not be destroyed but transformed. It would be transfigured at
the end of time. The New Heaven and the New Earth would come about when
everyone embraces the values of the kingdom of God. In other words, it
would take time for the world to be purified and to grow. This is what
the Lord said, “Make no move; do not set off in pursuit; for as the lightning
flashing from one part of heaven lights up the other, so will the Son of Man
when his day comes. But first he must suffer grievously and be rejected by this
generation.” There will be wars, persecution, sufferings and misery
but all these are necessary preparations for the kingdom of God to mature.
Within this
context, the Pharisees asked the Lord, when the kingdom of God would
come. Regardless of the position we hold on the end time, Jesus is more
concerned about the Kingdom that is already here, even if it is just
budding. Jesus said, “The coming of the kingdom of God does not
admit of observation and there will be no one to say, ‘Look here! Look there!’
For, you must know, the kingdom of God is among you.” Whether this
world would be totally destroyed and a new one will come about, or whether this
world would be gradually transformed into a new heaven and a new earth, is not
as important as the fact that this kingdom is already a reality in our midst,
and it is already growing each day. Instead of worrying about when it would
finally come, we should be concerned about the kingdom now.
When Jesus
said, “the kingdom of God is among you”, He meant that the kingdom is growing
within us.
When we allow the values of the gospel, of justice, peace and love to reign in
our lives, then the kingdom is in our midst and in us. “For the
kingdom of God does not mean food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy
in the Holy Spirit.’ (Rom 14:17) If we live the Beatitudes of the gospel and
the Sermon on the Mount, we live a blessed life because such is the life of the
kingdom. What is necessary for us to have a foretaste of the kingdom of
God is to begin living this life and letting the peace, joy and justice of the
Holy Spirit grow in our hearts. “But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control; against such there is no law. And those who belong to Christ
Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Gal 5:22-24)
Conversely,
St Paul warns us about those who would not enter the kingdom of God. He said, “Do you not
know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be
deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor
homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor
robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Cor 6:9f)
If we allow sin to reign in our hearts, then the kingdom of Satan would reign
in our hearts. So it is a question of whether we are allowing the kingdom
of God to grow in our hearts or the kingdom of Satan.
The Kingdom
therefore means the interior life of the individual. The external aspects
of the kingdom would be determined by how man relates and makes use of the world. If man is spiritually
wise and sound, he would bring about positive effects on the world, whether in
terms of politics, economics, morality or protecting the environment. The
external changes in creation are dependent on the interior life of the human
person. If the interior life is lacking, then man would destroy creation
because of his selfish and shortsighted ways in making use of and developing
creation.
But this
kingdom is not only inside us already, it is also in our midst, which means the
Kingdom is present outside of us. The kingdom is present whenever there is love,
justice and peace. Whenever, we see goodness, truth and love, there the
kingdom of God is present. This is of course present in a most par
excellence manner in the person of Jesus Christ who is the incarnation of the
kingdom of God. He is the embodiment of the kingdom of God in His
words, deeds, life, passion, death and resurrection. His reaching out to
sinners, miracles of healing and exorcisms, compassion for the weak and marginalized
are all signs that the kingdom of God is here in our midst.
Indeed, Jesus
for us is the Wisdom of God in person. He is that Wisdom described for us
in the first reading. Jesus is the kingdom of God because He manifests the presence of
God in His life. The first reading says, “She is a breath of the
power of God, pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; hence nothing impure
can find a way into her. She is a reflection of the eternal light, untarnished
mirror of God’s active power, image of his goodness.” St Paul wrote, “However,
we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages
for our glorification.” (1 Cor 2:7)
“For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ
crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to
those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the
wisdom of God.” (1 Cor 2:22-24)
In Christ, we
are all transformed anew if we come to Him for wisdom and direction.
“Wisdom is a spirit intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, active,
incisive, unsullied, lucid, invulnerable, benevolent, sharp, irresistible,
beneficent, loving to man, steadfast, dependable, unperturbed, almighty,
all-surveying, penetrating all intelligent, pure and most subtle spirits; for
Wisdom is quicker to move than any motion; she is so pure, she pervades and
permeates all things.” If we desire to grow in holiness and purity
and live a life of true wisdom, then we must allow the Word of God to take root
in our hearts so that by living out the Word of God, we can live a life of true
wisdom and purity. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Finally,
Jesus, the Wisdom of God, will make us friends of God when we come to Him. “Although alone, she
can do all; herself unchanging, she makes all things new. In each generation,
she passes into holy souls, she makes them friends of God and prophets; for God
loves only the man who lives with Wisdom.” When we live the life of
the gospel, we will be made new by the Holy Spirit dwelling in us.
Because of Christ’s passion and resurrection, we are united to God in mind and
heart. Only in Him, can we overcome all evil in life. “She is indeed more
splendid that the sun, she outshines all the constellations; compared with
light, she takes first place, for light must yield to night, but over Wisdom
evil can never triumph. She deploys her strength from one end of the earth to
the other, ordering all things for good.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment