20181025
SETTING THE GOSPEL ON
FIRE
25 OCTOBER,
2018, Thursday, 29th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Ephesians 3:14-21 ©
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A prayer that faithful may know the love
of Christ
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This is what I pray, kneeling before the
Father, from whom every family, whether spiritual or natural, takes its name:
Out
of his infinite glory, may he give you the power through his Spirit for your
hidden self to grow strong, so that Christ may live in your hearts through
faith, and then, planted in love and built on love, you will with all the
saints have strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the height and the
depth; until, knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond all knowledge, you
are filled with the utter fullness of God.
Glory
be to him whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or
imagine; glory be to him from generation to generation in the Church and in
Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm
32(33):1-2,4-5,11-12,18-19 ©
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The Lord fills the earth
with his love.
Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just;
for praise is fitting for
loyal hearts.
Give thanks to the Lord upon the harp,
with a ten-stringed lute sing
him songs.
The Lord fills the earth
with his love.
For the word of the Lord is faithful
and all his works to be
trusted.
The Lord loves justice and right
and fills the earth with his
love.
The Lord fills the earth
with his love.
His own designs shall stand for ever,
the plans of his heart from
age to age.
They are happy, whose God is the Lord,
the people he has chosen as
his own.
The Lord fills the earth
with his love.
The Lord looks on those who revere him,
on those who hope in his love,
to rescue their souls from death,
to keep them alive in famine.
The Lord fills the earth
with his love.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jn8:12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the world, says the
Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light
of life.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Ph3:8-9
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I have accepted the loss of everything
and I look on everything as so much
rubbish
if only I can have Christ
and be given a place in him.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 12:49-53 ©
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How I wish it were blazing already!
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Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I have come
to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already! There is a
baptism I must still receive, and how great is my distress till it is over!
‘Do
you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather
division. For from now on a household of five will be divided: three against
two and two against three; the father divided against the son, son against
father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against
daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’
SETTING THE GOSPEL ON FIRE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Ephesians 3:14-21; Luke 12:49-53 ]
Jesus said to His
disciples: “I have come to bring fire to the earth and how I wish it were
blazing already!”This
is another of Jesus’ mission statements. From these words, we get a
glimpse of Jesus’ passion for His ministry. He had a big dream for
humanity. Jesus was a man who was passionate in bringing the love of God
to all of humanity. He wanted to fire up the world with a deep love
for God and for all. He wanted to build the kingdom of God, justice,
truth, equality tampered with compassion and forgiveness. He wanted to
give us the joy, peace and love of the Holy Spirit.
But it had to come at a
price because fire indicates judgement, purification and passion. The fire that Jesus brought was
meant to purify the world of sin and hypocrisy. The gospel that He preached
was meant to purify Judaism of its hypocritical observance of the laws.
The poor were marginalized and the sinners were ostracized whilst the religious
institutions, comprising the priestly class, the scribes and Pharisees, were
making use of their positions to acquire wealth and power. As a result,
the love of God could no longer be felt among the people. Worship was
reduced to legalism. To bring the fire back again meant that Jesus had to
revive the faith and the love of the people once again for God and for each
other.
But He felt that in
spite of His preaching and miracles, things were not changing quickly enough. The Jewish hierarchy, instead of
being receptive to His call for a change of heart, became increasingly hostile
towards Him. The apostles were still shallow and motivated by worldly
pursuits. They still did not understand God’s love and mercy. He
knew the gospel would bring division and suffering for His disciples because
the truth of the gospel would unsettle those who were self-centered and
compromise their interests. “Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace
on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on a
household of five will be divided: three against two and two against
three; the father divided against the son, son against father, mother against
daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law,
daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
This was a real
reflection of the early Church, when Christians were persecuted, misunderstood,
slandered and
the Christian Faith was considered an outlawed religion. It was dangerous to be
a Christian then. This is still happening today in a more covert manner
using the tools of secularism, relativism, consumerism and terrorism.
With Christ, we need to make a choice whether to be for Him or against
Him. There is no neutrality with regard to our position with Jesus.
Jesus said, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather
with me scatters. Therefore, I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin
and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Whoever
speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks
against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age
to come.” (Mt 12:30-32)
How, then, was He to
find disciples when the challenges were many before them? Who would be
interested in being part of their group? Indeed, He forewarned James and John about
the cup they had to drink. He did not mince His words or deceive them
into believing that they would have an easy life on earth. On the
contrary, they were told in advance of the martyrdom that awaited them.
Jesus Himself knew that He would follow the destiny of all the prophets before
Him. He was psychologically ready for the Messianic trials ahead of Him.
So He said, “There is a baptism I must still receive, and how great is my
distress till it is over!” (Lk 12:50)
He knew His death was
necessary to bring about the change and conversion of hearts. Hence, He began to shift His preaching
ministry from Galilee to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, the place of His
passion and glory. He was ready to face head on the oppositions
that came from the religious authorities. It would be His death, the
final signature of His love for humanity, that would convict us of His Father’s
love and mercy.
Only love can transform
lives and change hearts.
No amount of intellectual arguments can change the hearts of people until they
encounter the love of God in a tangible way. This is why St Paul said,
“This is what I pray, kneeling before the Father, from whom every family,
whether spiritual or natural, takes its name.” Only when we grasp the
Father’s unconditional love for us all can we trust in Him. Few people
who lose faith in God do so because of doctrines, but many lose their faith
because the doctrines do not come alive in their lives. To them, the
proclamation of God’s love and mercy is contradicted by human suffering, unjust
and innocent suffering and hopelessness. It does not make sense for
them to believe in a God who appears to be indifferent to our pains, and who
cannot help us overcome our trials in life.
For this reason, we need
to remind ourselves of God’s love in Christ’s passion, death and resurrection. “Out of his infinite glory, may he
give you the power through his Spirit for your hidden self to grow strong, so
that Christ may live in your hearts through faith, and then, planted in love
and built on love.” Faith in Jesus and His love for us even when we are
suffering will help us to overcome the challenges of life. That is why St
Paul speaks of the necessity of grasping the “breadth and the length, the
height and the depth; until, knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond all
knowledge, you are filled with the utter fullness of God.” Mystics have
come to know the depths of God’s love. Once we are assured of God’s love,
we will be able to overcome all trials. “No, in all these things we are more
than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that
neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor
the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in
all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in
Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:37-39)
Most of all, it is faith
in His resurrection and the foretaste of the heavenly life in the Holy Spirit
that will empower us to face the sufferings of each day with fortitude, hope
and confidence. “Glory
be to him whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or
imagine; glory be to him from generation to generation in the Church and in
Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.” With the resurrection
of Christ, and the giving of the Holy Spirit, the Church continues to perform
miracles in the name of Jesus. The works of healing and restoration
continues even today. We have seen lives changed, touched and moved
because they encountered the power of the Risen Lord in the Holy Spirit.
Once they encounter Him in a radical way, and experience His love in their
hearts, they will be able to face the trials of the apostolate with
perseverance and with love.
Truly, as the psalmist
says, “They are happy, whose God is the Lord, the people he has chosen as his
own. The Lord looks on
those who revere him, on those who hope in his love, to rescue their souls
from death, to keep them alive in famine.” What we need therefore is the
Holy Spirit, the fire that Jesus spoke about, blazing in our lives, filling us
with His love and His corresponding gifts to enable us to bring the gospel to
all of humanity. “And these signs will accompany those who believe:
In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new
tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they
drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands
on sick people, and they will get well.” (Mk 16:17f) So let us walk in the Spirit
and pray for an indwelling of the Holy Spirit so that, knowing the depths of
His love, we can be empowered like the apostles to go out to proclaim the
gospel with boldness. St Paul says, “My message and my preaching were not
with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s
power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s
power.” (1 Cor 2:4f)
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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