20180814
CONVERTING THE UNCHURCHED AND THE MARGINALIZED
14 AUGUST, 2018, Tuesday, 19th Week,
Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Red.
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First reading
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Ezekiel 2:8-3:4 ©
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He gave me the scroll to eat and it was as sweet as honey
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I, Ezekiel, heard a voice speaking. It said, ‘You, son of man,
listen to the words I say; do not be a rebel like that rebellious set. Open
your mouth and eat what I am about to give you.’ I looked. A hand was there,
stretching out to me and holding a scroll. He unrolled it in front of me; it
was written on back and front; on it was written ‘lamentations, wailings,
moanings.’ He said, ‘Son of man, eat what is given to you; eat this scroll,
then go and speak to the House of Israel.’ I opened my mouth; he gave me the
scroll to eat and said, ‘Son of man, feed and be satisfied by the scroll I am
giving you.’ I ate it, and it tasted sweet as honey.
Then he
said, ‘Son of man, go to the House of Israel and tell them what I have said.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 118(119):14,24,72,103,111,131 ©
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Your promise is sweet to my taste, O Lord.
I rejoiced to do your will
as though all riches were mine.
Your will is my delight;
your statutes are my counsellors.
Your promise is sweet to my taste, O Lord.
The law from your mouth means more to me
than silver and gold.
Your promise is sweeter to my taste
than honey in the mouth.
Your promise is sweet to my taste, O Lord.
Your will is my heritage for ever,
the joy of my heart.
I open my mouth and I sigh
as I yearn for your commands.
Your promise is sweet to my taste, O Lord.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Mt11:25
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Mt11:29
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Shoulder my yoke and learn from me,
says the Lord,
for I am gentle and humble in heart.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 18:1-5,10,12-14 ©
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Anyone who welcomes a little child in my name welcomes me
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The disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Who is the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven?’ So he called a little child to him and set the child in
front of them. Then he said, ‘I tell you solemnly, unless you change and become
like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. And so, the
one who makes himself as little as this little child is the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven.
‘Anyone who
welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.
‘See that
you never despise any of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in
heaven are continually in the presence of my Father in heaven.
‘Tell me.
Suppose a man has a hundred sheep and one of them strays; will he not leave the
ninety-nine on the hillside and go in search of the stray? I tell you solemnly,
if he finds it, it gives him more joy than do the ninety-nine that did not
stray at all. Similarly, it is never the will of your Father in heaven that one
of these little ones should be lost.’
CONVERTING THE UNCHURCHED AND THE MARGINALIZED
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ EZEKIEL 2:8–3:4: MATTHEW 18:1-5, 10, 12-14]
In the
gospel, Jesus made it clear that greatness does not lie in rank, position or
power in the world. So when “the disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Who is the
greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ So he called a little child to him and set
the child in front of them. Then he said, ‘I tell you solemnly, unless you
change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of
heaven. And so, the one who makes himself as little as this little child is the
greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’’ In other words, our greatest dignity
lies in the fact that we are all children of God. By virtue of our
baptism, we are all children of God and born into His kingdom. In God’s
eyes, we are all equal before Him. We are all His children whom He
loves. To enter into the Kingdom, that is, to have the heart of
God, we must see ourselves as His children whom He loves.
If we see
ourselves as His children, we will not only love the Father but all those whom
He loves as well. “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born
of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. By this we know
that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.”
(1 Jn 5:1f)
This is what Jesus meant as well when He referred to Himself as the Good
Shepherd. “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know
me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my
life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I
must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one
flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay
down my life in order to take it up again.” (Jn 10:14-17)
Jesus was willing to give up His life for the sheep because He was one with the
Father in love with His sheep. This is the meaning of knowing the
Father. To know the Father is to know the heart of the Father, to love
those whom He loves.
The
implication therefore is that we should not despise any of these little ones. In other words, for
Christians we must share the same mind of God to consider everyone as important
to God, especially the littles ones, that is, the poor, the marginalized, the
unreached, the abandoned, the strayed, the unchurched, those who do not believe
in Him or know Him. Jesus said, “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this
in my name welcomes me. See that you never despise any of these little ones,
for I tell you that their angels in heaven are continually in the presence of
my Father in heaven.” Indeed, God watches over them continually as well,
and seeks to bring them into His family.
Consequently,
today, the gospel invites us to be like the Good Shepherd who seeks the lost
sheep.
The parable of the lost sheep reveals the heart of God. Just like the
shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine on the hillside and goes in search of the
stray, we too must search for the lost sheep. We must be concerned about
those Catholics who have strayed because they are lost, wounded or have fallen
into temptation. They are equally important to us. The irony is
that on one hand we are concerned about evangelizing others, bringing non-Catholics
to come to know the Lord. Although we have done something in the area of
conversion, about 1000 converts a year, have we considered that the numbers we
bring in each year falls short of the many Catholics who have left the Church
or become nominal Catholics after baptism, or in the case of young people,
after confirmation. Although many might still be Catholic, they have
stopped attending church services or frequenting the church.
The truth is
that about two-thirds of Catholics are in this state. Our last survey in 2016
could only account for about 133,688 (35.8%) of the total Catholic population
in Singapore, ie those who took part in the parish survey, suggesting that the
rest did not attend church. In-depth interviews revealed that those who
belong to the ‘unaccounted’ Catholics, numbering 239,547 (64.2%), do not attend
mass regularly. Many do not identify themselves with the Church and hence
do not come for mass frequently or did not take part in the survey. It is
clear that they have lost their Catholic identity because of their
disillusionment with the Church, coupled with the influence of the secular
world. The values of the world and its pursuits are their preoccupations
and God has become only the last resort when they are at their wits’ end.
Many find themselves unable to accept the Church’s teachings on divorce,
same-sex union and other ethical and moral doctrines. They are not able
to reconcile their faith with their lifestyle.
Indeed, many
who are burdened with their struggles have no one to turn to for spiritual and
moral support. Many have no Catholic friends that they could confide in or
seek a listening ear. They do not feel loved by the Church or the
understanding of the community. Instead, they feel marginalized and even
alienated by their fellow Catholics because they have failed to live up to the
ideals of the gospel. This does not mean that all have given up on God or
on the Church, but because they feel rejected, hurt or wounded by Church
leaders and members, they continue their relationship with God through personal
prayer. Their heart is to return to the Church, but they lack courage and
a gracious and welcoming community.
Above all,
because of their lack of contact with the Church and seduced by the world,
their personal relationship with God suffers. Their prayer and spiritual life is
weakened. They lack a real personal relationship with God. When
they pray or read the bible, they feel spiritually dry because their sins
hinder them from opening themselves up to God or allowing the Spirit of God to
touch them. Their hearts are hardened by the trials and tragedies of life
or by pride and arrogance. God is far from them. Although in
their quiet moments they feel emptiness in their heart and desire to return to God
and to the Church, they lack the motivation or the strength to do so.
It is such
people that the scripture readings invite us to reach out to. Like
Ezekiel, we are called to reach out to our own people who have strayed away
from the faith. The Lord says, “You, son of man, listen to the words I say;
do not be a rebel like that rebellious set.” God is sending us on a
mission like Ezekiel to a rebellious house, to Catholics who have rejected the
teachings of the Lord and insist on living according to their own perception of
life. The real problem in reaching out to such people is often not so
much the language of communication but a stubborn and arrogant heart, as the
Lord told Ezekiel. Regardless of their resistance to the truth, as prophets,
we are to warn them in and out of season. (cf 2 Tim 4:2)
We should never give up hope on them.
How can we
become true prophets that call such people to conversion? The prophet
must first be identified with the Word. The Lord said, “Open your mouth
and eat what I am about to give you. Son of man, eat what is given to
you; eat this scroll, then go and speak to the House of Israel.” We are
called to eat the scroll of the Lord so that we too can be filled with His
passion for the suffering of His people who have strayed from His love and His
ambit of protection. Unless we eat the scroll, that is, the Word of God,
we cannot be identified with the heart and mercy of God for those who have lost
their faith and their way.
Secondly, we
must be ready to accept rejection initially when the Word is proclaimed. “He unrolled it in
front of me; it was written on back and front; on it was written ‘lamentations,
wailings, moanings.’ Then he said, ‘Son of man, go to the House of Israel
and tell them what I have said.’” Like Ezekiel, the word we proclaim
involves judgement and punishments. We are to remind them that God is
still with them even when they are going through trials and sufferings.
Just like the Israelites who were in exile, God wanted Ezekiel to let the
people know that He was still with them, even though for the time being, His
presence was manifested through the punishment they suffered because of the
exile. But this was only temporary as the intention was to bring them
back to Him. So too, in reaching out to those Catholics who are wounded
or have strayed, we must let them know that in their pains and experience of
alienation, He is with them. Through their sufferings, we hope that they
would be purified and come back to their senses, like the Prodigal Son and
return to the Father’s House.
With the
heart of the Good Shepherd, let us not be indifferent to the many Catholics who
have lost their faith. We should never think that our churches are full already
and whether they turn up for services or not, they do not matter to us.
God does not think this way. “Similarly, it is never the will of your
Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.” Every
sheep is important to the Father, just as every child is important to the
parents. Like the Good Shepherd, we need to seek every one of our lost
sheep even as we continue to announce the gospel to those who have yet to come
to know Him. So the work of evangelization must include ad intra and ad
extra missions, re-evangelizing the lapsed and nominal Catholics and bringing
new sheep into the fold.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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