20180922
EVADING THE ISSUE
22 SEPTEMBER,
2018, Saturday, 24th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
|
First reading
|
|
1 Corinthians
15:35-37,42-49 ©
|
|
The resurrected body is heavenly by
nature
|
Someone may ask, ‘How are dead people
raised, and what sort of body do they have when they come back?’ They are
stupid questions. Whatever you sow in the ground has to die before it is given
new life and the thing that you sow is not what is going to come; you sow a
bare grain, say of wheat or something like that, It is the same with the
resurrection of the dead: the thing that is sown is perishable but what is
raised is imperishable; the thing that is sown is contemptible but what is
raised is glorious; the thing that is sown is weak but what is raised is
powerful; when it is sown it embodies the soul, when it is raised it embodies
the spirit.
If
the soul has its own embodiment, so does the spirit have its own embodiment.
The first man, Adam, as scripture says, became a living soul; but
the last Adam has become a life-giving spirit. That is, first the one with the
soul, not the spirit, and after that, the one with the spirit. The first man,
being from the earth, is earthly by nature; the second man is from heaven. As
this earthly man was, so are we on earth; and as the heavenly man is, so are we
in heaven. And we, who have been modelled on the earthly man, will be modelled
on the heavenly man.
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
|
Psalm 55(56):10-14 ©
|
I shall walk in the
presence of God in the light of the living.
My foes will be put to flight
on the day that I call to you.
This I know, that God is on my side.
I shall walk in the
presence of God in the light of the living.
In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord whose word I
praise,
in God I trust; I shall not fear;
what can mortal man do to me?
I shall walk in the
presence of God in the light of the living.
I am bound by the vows I have made you.
O God, I will offer you praise
for you have rescued my soul from death,
you kept my feet from
stumbling
that I may walk in the presence of God
and enjoy the light of the living.
I shall walk in the
presence of God in the light of the living.
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
Ps118:18
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Open my eyes, O Lord, that I may consider
the wonders of your law.
Alleluia!
|
Or:
|
cf.Lk8:15
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are those who,
with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves
and yield a harvest through their
perseverance.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
Luke 8:4-15 ©
|
|
The parable of the sower
|
With a large crowd gathering and people
from every town finding their way to him, Jesus used this parable:
‘A
sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell on the edge of the path
and was trampled on; and the birds of the air ate it up. Some seed fell on
rock, and when it came up it withered away, having no moisture. Some seed fell
amongst thorns and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some seed fell
into rich soil and grew and produced its crop a hundredfold.’ Saying this he
cried, ‘Listen, anyone who has ears to hear!’
His
disciples asked him what this parable might mean, and he said, ‘The mysteries
of the kingdom of God are revealed to you; for the rest there are only
parables, so that
they may see but not perceive,
listen but not understand.
‘This, then, is what the parable means:
the seed is the word of God. Those on the edge of the path are people who have
heard it, and then the devil comes and carries away the word from their hearts
in case they should believe and be saved. Those on the rock are people who,
when they first hear it, welcome the word with joy. But these have no root;
they believe for a while, and in time of trial they give up. As for the part
that fell into thorns, this is people who have heard, but as they go on their
way they are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life and do not
reach maturity. As for the part in the rich soil, this is people with a noble
and generous heart who have heard the word and take it to themselves and yield
a harvest through their perseverance.’
EVADING THE ISSUE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 CORINTHIANS 15, 35-37, 42-49; LUKE 8:4-15 ]
In the first reading,
some people were asking St Paul, “How are dead people raised, and what sort of
body do they have when they come back?” St Paul’s answer was clear. “They are
stupid questions. Whatever you sow in the ground has to die before it is given
new life and the thing that you sow is not what is going to come; you sow a
bare grain, say of wheat or something like that. It is the same with the
resurrection of the dead: the thing that is sown is contemptible but what is
raised is glorious; the thing that is sown is weak but what is raised is
powerful; when it is sown it embodies the soul, when it is raised it embodies
the spirit.”
St Paul considers such
questions stupid because the answer is obvious. The resurrected body is
not exactly the same as our body on earth. We will not have the same features, the same
body or the same face as when we were on earth. It is the transformation
of a seed into a seedling, and then to a full-grown tree. There is
continuity between the seed and the tree, yet both are almost
indistinguishable. So too, the resurrected body has some connection with
this earthly body. However, because the Spirit transfigures it, we will
be so transformed like that of the Risen Lord. This explains why not all
the disciples could see the Risen Lord and those who saw Him took some time to
recognize His presence.
What remains of the
person then, beyond some continuity of the body, is his or her personality, his
state of mind, his virtues or vices. Vatican II speaks about the future of
creation. “We
do not know the time for the consummation of the earth and of humanity, nor do
we know how all things will be transformed. As deformed by sin, the shape of
this world will pass away; but we are taught that God is preparing a new
dwelling place and a new earth where justice will abide, and whose blessedness
will answer and surpass all the longings for peace which spring up in the human
heart. Then, with death overcome, the sons of God will be raised up in Christ,
and what was sown in weakness and corruption will be invested with
incorruptibility. Enduring with charity and its fruits, all that creation which
God made on man’s account will be unchained from the bondage of vanity. For
after we have obeyed the Lord, and in His Spirit nurtured on earth the values
of human dignity, brotherhood and freedom, and indeed all the good fruits of
our nature and enterprise, we will find them again, but freed of stain,
burnished and transfigured, when Christ hands over to the Father: ‘a kingdom
eternal and universal, a kingdom of truth and life, of holiness and grace, of
justice, love and peace.’ On this earth that Kingdom is already present in
mystery. When the Lord returns it will be brought into full flower.”
(Gaudium et spes, 39)
So the real question to
ask is not what the nature of the body will look like but what kind of spirit
will we have when the body embodies the spirit? Happiness in life is not whether we are
tall or short, fat or thin, but whether the interior mind and soul of the
person is at peace, full of love, bearing the fruits of the Spirit which are
“love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Gal 5:22f) Heaven and hell are not so
much places, unless it is the body of the person. Heaven designates a
state of life with God, hell designates a person who is closed to others and
lives for himself and in himself, alienated from others, a person who
excommunicates everyone else from his or her life. Incidentally, not only
are the good raised to life on the last day, but the evil as well, “those who
have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to
the resurrection of condemnation.” (Jn 5:29) In other words, will the
resurrected embody those who are life-giving spirits or those who are only
concerned with themselves? Are we just contented to be like Adam, a
living soul, or be like the last Adam, a life-giving spirit?
If so, we must now be
transformed in our hearts and in our minds. We must not fall into the same mistake of the
crowd who did not allow the Word of God to take root in their lives.
Jesus said, “The mysteries of the kingdom of God are revealed to you; for the
rest there are only parables, so that they may see but not perceive, listen but
not understand.” The religious leaders particularly, rejected the message
of Jesus because of pride and fear of losing their status quo. The common
people could not understand the message of Jesus because they were preoccupied
with their own views of how a Messiah should be. Some were waiting for a
political Messiah.
We must therefore be
receptive to the Word of God. Only then, can we follow the psalmist and
walk in the presence of God in the light of the living. “In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not fear; what can
mortal man do to me? I am bound by the vows I have made you. O God, I will
offer you praise for you have rescued my soul from death, you kept my feet from
stumbling that I may walk in the presence of God and enjoy the light of the
living.” To walk in the light of the Lord requires that the Word of God
take flesh in us as Jesus took flesh in His incarnation. Indeed, we must
put on Christ.
St Paul wrote to the
Colossians giving his instructions. “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe
yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear
with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each
other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above
all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect
harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed
you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with
gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.” Col 3:15f)
So what we need to
examine is how responsive we have been to the Word of God that has been
graciously given to us in Christ Jesus. What kind of ground are we? Are we like the pathway that heard
the Word of God but allowed the devil to come and take it away because we did
not pay attention? How often has the Word of God come to us through the
scriptures, our friends, personal and societal events in life, but we were deaf
to the message and warnings from God! Or perhaps, we are like the rock
that fails to deepen the Word of God which we have received. Many of us
attend retreats and talks but do not bother to follow up. We do not
deepen the relationship with the Lord that was initiated during the retreat or
seminar. Many new converts too, after RCIA, stopped forming themselves in
the faith. Just like any relationship, faith in God, if not strengthened,
will eventually become sterile and die. Then again, most of us are like
the thorns. Having received the Word of God with joy and enthusiasm, and
even made resolution to have time for prayer, faith sharing and community
involvement, lose our zeal and commitment because of other distractions, from
career, relationships, financial worries, materialism, temptations of the flesh
and the world. So many of us, because of work commitments, including
those in ministries, put projects and ministry before our relationship with
God, and end up frustrated, tired and burnt out.
How blessed are those
who are truly receptive to the Word of God! For beyond mere welcoming the Word,
they discipline themselves in deepening their understanding of the Word of God
and applying it in their lives. These seeds fell on rich soil, producing
crop a hundredfold. “This is people with a noble and generous heart who
have heard the word and take it to themselves and yield a harvest through their
perseverance.” Indeed, let us not receive the Word of God in
vain. St Paul said, “As we work together with him, we urge you also
not to accept the grace of God in vain. See, now is the acceptable time;
see, now is the day of salvation!” (2 Cor 6:1f) So let us model ourselves
after Christ, the heavenly man who leads us to fullness of life. As we
die in Him, we shall rise in Him.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment