20181018
STAYING FOCUSED UNDER
TRIAL
18 OCTOBER,
2018, Thursday, St Luke, Evangelist
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Red.
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First reading
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2 Timothy 4:10-17 ©
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Only Luke is with me
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Demas has deserted me for love of this
life and gone to Thessalonika, Crescens has gone to Galatia and Titus to
Dalmatia; only Luke is with me. Get Mark to come and bring him with you; I find
him a useful helper in my work. I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus. When you come,
bring the cloak I left with Carpus in Troas, and the scrolls, especially the
parchment ones. Alexander the coppersmith has done me a lot of harm; the Lord
will repay him for what he has done. Be on your guard against him yourself,
because he has been bitterly contesting everything that we say.
The
first time I had to present my defence, there was not a single witness to
support me. Every one of them deserted me – may they not be held
accountable for it. But the Lord stood by me and gave me power, so that through
me the whole message might be proclaimed for all the pagans to hear; and so I
was rescued from the lion’s mouth.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm
144(145):10-13a,17-18 ©
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Your friends, O Lord,
make known the glorious splendour of your reign.
All your creatures shall thank you, O
Lord,
and your friends shall repeat
their blessing.
They shall speak of the glory of your
reign
and declare your might, O God.
Your friends, O Lord,
make known the glorious splendour of your reign.
They make known to men your mighty deeds
and the glorious splendour of
your reign.
Yours is an everlasting kingdom;
your rule lasts from age to
age.
Your friends, O Lord,
make known the glorious splendour of your reign.
The Lord is just in all his ways
and loving in all his deeds.
He is close to all who call him,
who call on him from their
hearts.
Your friends, O Lord,
make known the glorious splendour of your reign.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Jn15:16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I chose you from the world
to go out and bear fruit,
fruit that will last,
says the Lord.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 10:1-9 ©
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Your peace will rest on that man
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The Lord appointed seventy-two others and
sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself
was to visit. He said to them, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few,
so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest. Start off now,
but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no
haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. Whatever house you go into,
let your first words be, “Peace to this house!” And if a man of peace lives there,
your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. Stay in
the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer
deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. Whenever you go into a
town where they make you welcome, eat what is set before you. Cure those in it
who are sick, and say, “The kingdom of God is very near to you.”’
STAYING FOCUSED UNDER TRIAL
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 2 TIMOTHY 4:10-17; LUKE 10:1-4 ]
“The Lord appointed seventy-two others and
sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself
was to visit.” But the Lord did not simply send them
out without informing them of the challenges they would face in their mission.
Jesus never hid from His disciples the trials and sufferings of the
apostolate. He always spoke plainly to them about what it takes to be a
disciple. Earlier on, in the Beatitudes, He said to them, “Blessed are
you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you
on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for
surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to
the prophets.” (Lk 6:22f) Then, after
the appointment of the Twelve and Peter’s declaration about Jesus, He said, “If
any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their
cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose
it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.” (Lk 9:23f)
In sending out the 72
disciples, Jesus also warned them accordingly of the dangers ahead of
them. Right from the outset, He said, “Start off now, but remember, I am
sending you out like lambs among wolves.” Indeed, even with the good intentions of
sharing the Good News, saving souls, healing hearts and empowering people,
there will always be those who will oppose us because of jealousy, perceived
threats to their vested interests, ego and pride. Indeed, Paul
wrote, “Alexander the coppersmith has done me a lot of harm; the Lord will
repay him for what he has done. Be on your guard against him yourself; because
he has been bitterly contesting everything that we say.”
Sometimes, we are
abandoned in our mission.
Paul was disappointed by some of his collaborators when they left him in the
lurch halfway in the mission, as Mark did initially. But in a more
disappointing case, he said, “Demas has deserted me for love of this life and
gone to Thessalonika.” Paul felt the sense of abandonment when he wrote,
“Crescens has gone to Galatia and Titus to Dalmatia; only Luke is with
me.” St Paul spoke of his many betrayals by those whom he worked
with. This is not surprising, even Jesus was betrayed by His apostles,
some because of fear and others because of selfish reasons. What is worse is
when we need their help most and they are not there to stand up for us.
This was what Paul felt when he wrote, “The first time I had to present my
defences, there was not a single witness to support me. Every one of them
deserted me.'”
Regardless, we should
not allow such trials to distract us from our mission. We must remain focused on our
mission. This was what the Lord advised the disciples. “Salute
no one on the road.” In other words, do not be easily distracted and
tempted by the world, be it glory or pleasure or even suffering. For this
reason, we should “stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have
to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house.
Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is set before
you.” We should remain contented with what we have.
We must keep in mind our
mission of proclaiming the Good News to the poor, materially and spiritually poor.
Our task is to bring the gospel of peace. Jesus reminds us, “Whatever house you go into,
let your first words be, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if a man of peace lives
there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to
you.” We must be mediators of peace and be peacemakers. This peace
comes about when we help people to be reconciled with God and with each other
through forgiveness.
Most of all, we must be
those who come to heal the wounded, the sick and the troubled. Jesus asked of us, “Cure those in
it who are sick, and say, ‘The kingdom of God is very near to you.'”
Unless, we heal the broken hearted, it would be difficult for them to believe
that God is near. This was what the Lord took upon Himself when He
started His ministry. The manifesto was from Isaiah 61. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon
me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; he
has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the
captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to
proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Isa 61:1f; Lk 4:18f)
Indeed, being
peacemakers and healers of wounds are ways we “make known the glorious splendor
of your reign” as the psalmist prayed. “All your creatures shall thank you, O
Lord, and your friends shall repeat their blessing. They shall speak of
the glory of your reign and declare your might, O God. They make known to
men your mighty deeds and the glorious splendor of your reign. Yours is
an everlasting kingdom; your rule lasts from age to age.” The Kingdom
of God is the reign of God’s love and mercy seen in the restoration of creation
through the establishment of peace, justice and equality.
However, the call to
proclaim the gospel is not for the weak and faint-hearted but the strong. A weak faith cannot sustain us in the
apostolate. This is the challenge for many Catholics, especially those
who are not well-formed in the faith and are not undergoing on-going formation
spiritually and doctrinally but involved in Church ministry, particularly those
who have just completed their RCIA or those who have just been renewed and
returned to the Church. In the face of trials, misunderstanding or opposition,
they become disillusioned and disheartened. Instead of being strengthened
in the faith through service in the apostolate, they become bitter and
resentful. They fail to realize that even whilst serving in the Church,
there will be fellow Catholics and not just non-believers who will attack them
and thwart their good deeds and intentions. Instead of persevering, they
give up not just on the Church but on God as well.
If we are to be like St
Paul, we need to learn to depend on the Lord. The psalmist assures us, “The Lord is just in
all his ways and loving in all his deeds. He is close to all who call
him, who call on him from their hearts.” We cannot depend on our own
strength and efforts alone. Rather, we must call out to God as Jesus did,
going to the mountain and desert to pray in the early hours of the
morning. Without intimacy with the Lord and basking in His love and
enlightened by His Word, we cannot find the courage and inspiration to continue
the mission. Only then can we remain focused and transcend our enemies.
Like St Paul, we too must commend everything to the Lord as Christ Himself did
when He prayed for His enemies on the cross. So too St Paul made excuses
for his enemies, for those who were weak, instead of holding grudges in his
heart. He wrote, “May they not be held accountable for it.”
That is why the Lord
told the disciples, “Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals.” This is to remind them that the mission is
not the work of human hands but the work of God. The Lord works through and in
us. This motif is repeated in the bible in many different ways.
When David fought with Goliath, he said, “that all the earth may know that
there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know
that the Lord saves not with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and
he will give you into our hand.” (1 Sm 17:46f) Total reliance and
dependence on Him alone is the cause of our victory. This was what St
Paul felt when he wrote, “But the Lord stood by me and gave me power, so that
through me the whole message might be proclaimed for all the pagans to hear.”
The Lord will never leave us completely alone. The Lord encourages
us that as far as possible, we should proclaim the gospel, never alone but with
our brothers and sisters. We must bear in mind that the Lord “sen(t) them
out in pairs” to strengthen them in their mission. Mission must be
accomplished in communion with the Lord and His Church. In this way, our
mission would be fruitful.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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