20180628
SAVING OTHERS BUT NOT OURSELVES
8 JUNE, 2018, Thursday, 12th Week,
Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Red.
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First reading
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2 Kings 24:8-17 ©
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The first deportation into captivity in Babylon
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Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he came to the throne, and
he reigned for three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta,
daughter of Elnathan, from Jerusalem. He did what is displeasing to the Lord,
just as his father had done.
At that time
the troops of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched on Jerusalem, and the city
was besieged. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon himself came to attack the city
while his troops were besieging it. Then Jehoiachin king of Judah surrendered
to the king of Babylon, he, his mother, his officers, his nobles and his
eunuchs, and the king of Babylon took them prisoner. This was in the eighth
year of King Nebuchadnezzar.
The latter
carried off all the treasures of the Temple of the Lord and the treasures of
the royal palace, and broke up all the golden furnishings that Solomon king of
Israel had made for the sanctuary of the Lord, as the Lord had foretold. He
carried off all Jerusalem into exile, all the nobles and all the notables, ten
thousand of these were exiled, with all the blacksmiths and metalworkers; only
the poorest people in the country were left behind. He deported Jehoiachin to
Babylon, as also the king’s mother, his eunuchs and the nobility of the
country; he made them all leave Jerusalem for exile in Babylon. All the men of
distinction, seven thousand of them, the blacksmiths and metalworkers, one
thousand of them, all of them men capable of bearing arms, were led into exile
in Babylon by the king of Babylon.
The king of
Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in succession to him, and
changed his name to Zedekiah.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 78(79):1-5,8-9 ©
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Rescue us, O Lord, for the glory of your name.
O God, the nations have invaded your land,
they have profaned your holy temple.
They have made Jerusalem a heap of ruins.
They have handed over the bodies of your servants
as food to feed the birds of heaven
and the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the
earth.
Rescue us, O Lord, for the glory of your name.
They have poured out blood like water in Jerusalem;
no one is left to bury the dead.
We have become the taunt of our neighbours,
the mockery and scorn of those who surround us.
How long, O Lord? Will you be angry for ever;
how long will your anger burn like fire?
Rescue us, O Lord, for the glory of your name.
Do not hold the guilt of our fathers against us.
Let your compassion hasten to meet us;
we are left in the depths of distress.
Rescue us, O Lord, for the glory of your name.
O God our saviour, come to our help.
Come for the sake of the glory of your name.
O Lord our God, forgive us our sins;
rescue us for the sake of your name.
Rescue us, O Lord, for the glory of your name.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Heb4:12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Jn14:23
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Alleluia, alleluia!
If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 7:21-29 ©
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The wise man built his house on a rock
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Jesus said to his disciples: ‘It is not those who say to me,
“Lord, Lord,” who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the
will of my Father in heaven. When the day comes many will say to me, “Lord,
Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, work many
miracles in your name?” Then I shall tell them to their faces: I have never
known you; away from me, you evil men!
‘Therefore,
everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a
sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales
blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was
founded on rock. But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not
act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. Rain came
down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell; and what a
fall it had!’
Jesus had
now finished what he wanted to say, and his teaching made a deep impression on
the people because he taught them with authority, and not like their own
scribes.
SAVING OTHERS BUT NOT OURSELVES
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 2
KINGS 24:8-17; PS 79:1-5,8-9; MT 7:21-29 ]
The world has
come to the stage where leaders are no longer trusted. Unfortunately, the greatest
disappointment is when religious leaders who are supposed to be moral markers
fail in their leadership and in their way of life. Hence there is a
growing distrust in the institutions as they are no longer viewed as protectors
and guardians of the people’s morality and justice.
Is it because
the world’s level of morality is degenerating? Perhaps so, but this might
not be the real picture. Since the beginning of time, in the history of
Israel, there has always been bad and evil leaders. It is true everywhere
in the world and in every sphere of life. That is why it is said that
power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. I suppose the real
reason why we see so many evil and self-centered leaders is because with social
media they are easily exposed for their double dealings, and people today are
also better educated and informed and so are able to tell if the leaders are
following the rules they set for others. In the early days, one could
cover up quite easily one’s evil deeds by using their authority to instill fear
in their subordinates to keep them quiet.
What, then,
do we do when we find leaders who do not walk the talk, or worse still,
deliberately cheat using their office and influence? This is what the Lord said,
“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they
teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice
what they teach.” (Mt 23:2f) If they are teaching the truth, even if they do not
practise what they teach, it is still the Word of God and we must therefore
listen and obey accordingly. We must be focused on the content, not just
the preacher or the teacher. Living out the truth is ultimately for our
good and our salvation. It would be unwise of us to throw the baby out
with the bathwater. We must be discerning and not react to the
imperfections and the sinfulness of our teachers and those in authority. We are
not perfect ourselves and therefore we can afford to be sympathetic and
compassionate with them when they too fall into the temptation of the Evil One.
But the real
problem is, how
do we deal with leaders who are hypocritical and living a double life without usknowing it
until they are exposed? In public, they appear to be earnest preachers,
sincere ministers, good workers, dressed in nice robes, making “their
phylacteries broad and their fringes long” like the scribes and
Pharisees. But in fact, they are simply putting on a show when they are
quietly enriching themselves, living a spendthrift, luxurious and wanton life,
irresponsible and lazy in their work, mixing only with the rich and powerful,
and caring for their own interests.
The irony is
that they seem to be producing the fruits that Jesus said we should look
out for when discerning true leaders, ie, good works, miracles
and healings, attracting great crowds of people, bringing much money to their
projects and growing the Church as well.
But the Lord
warned us immediately after giving us the rule of thumb for discerning good
leaders, that good works alone does not mean that they are good. “It is not those who
say to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person
who does the will of my Father in heaven. When the day comes many will
say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in
your name, work miracles in your name?’ Then I shall tell them to their
faces: I have never known you; away from me, you evil man!” Indeed, good
works alone need not indicate that they are saved or that they are holy men and
women! They could be simply making use of religion to make money, enjoy a
life of luxury, getting attention and fame for themselves, but in truth they
are far from God. “From these come envy, dissension, slander, base
suspicions, and wrangling among those who are depraved in mind
and bereft of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.”
(cf 1 Tim 6:3-5) Sound doctrine is not focused on personal gain
but on the salvation of the souls of others.
This is why
the Bible makes it clear that we are not saved by our merits but purely through
faith in the grace of God that comes from the passion, death and resurrection
of our Lord Jesus Christ. St Paul wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through
faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God -not the result of
works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in
Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of
life.” (Eph 2:9f)
He repeated this in his letter to Titus, “But when the goodness and loving kindness
of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of any works of
righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water
of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit he poured out on us
richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his
grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Tit 3:4-7)
How, then, do
we see the value of their works, since they apparently bring many to
conversion, even if they are imperfect to say the least? The truth is that good works
can be produced either by the Holy Spirit. Even the devil can mimic good works
as well. St John wrote, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test
the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone
out into the world.” (1 Jn 4:1) Even if we do things from the wrong motives, God can
make use of our good works for the conversion of many people. The devil
on the other hand can also hijack our good works by tempting us to sin, as St
Paul warns us. “But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and
are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin
and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in
their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced
themselves with many pains.” (1 Tim 6:9f)
In fact, greater is their punishment, like the evil kings of Israel, for their
misconduct.
St Paul has
this to say about those ministers and missionaries that have selfish intent in
proclaiming the gospel. “Some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry, but others
from goodwill. These proclaim Christ out of love, knowing that I have
been put here for the defense of the gospel; the others proclaim Christ
out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but intending to increase my suffering
in my imprisonment. What does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed
in every way, whether out of false motives or true; and in that I
rejoice.” (Phil 1:15-18) So we should rejoice that even if they serve
imperfectly with impure motives or even deliberately with selfish motives, His
gospel is preached to all who have faith and they are saved not by them but by
Christ.
How, then,
can we avoid being hypocritical leaders who harm not just our own souls but
that of others? Jesus makes it clear that we need to have a personal
relationship with Him. Otherwise, He will say to you, “I have never known you;
away from me, you evil man!” A personal relationship with the Lord is the
key to having greater faith in Him. Out of this faith in Christ, His
grace will be at work in us and through His grace, we will do good works, not
to gain our salvation as such, but to express a life that is under the reign of
Christ and His kingdom. We do good not to earn salvation but to cooperate
with His grace to live a good life, bearing the fruits of the Holy
Spirit. (cf Gal 5:22)
This is what
our Lord is asking of us, to build our House, that is, our lives on Him as the
rock of our salvation. “Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and
acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock.
Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against the
house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock.” When our foundation
is on the love of Christ for us and our personal relationship with Him, then we
will not falter in times of trials and tribulations because we know that Jesus
is with us and will supply all our needs and will strengthen us.
Most of all,
because God is with us, He will make use of us more powerfully for His glory
because of our greater receptivity to His grace than those ministers who are
insincere and living a sinful life. Whilst it is true that God can still make use of
them, the power of His grace is also limited by man’s personal response to His
grace. So when we live holy lives in accordance with the Word of God
founded in our personal relationship with the Lord, our ministry will remain
pure and powerful in the name of the Lord. This is why we read at the end
of the gospel, that “his teaching made a deep impression on the people because
he taught them with authority, and not like their own scribes.” Jesus did
not simply teach but lived out what He taught and did good in the power of the
Holy Spirit.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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