20181015
TAKING OUR PRIVILEGES
FOR GRANTED
5 OCTOBER, 2018,
Monday, 28th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
White.
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First reading
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Galatians
4:22-24,26-27,31-5:1 ©
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Christ freed us: do not submit again to
slavery
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The Law says, if you remember, that
Abraham had two sons, one by the slave-girl, and one by his free-born wife. The
child of the slave-girl was born in the ordinary way; the child of the free
woman was born as the result of a promise. This can be regarded as an allegory:
the women stand for the two covenants. The first who comes from Mount Sinai,
and whose children are slaves, is Hagar – The Jerusalem above, however, is
free and is our mother, since scripture says: Shout for joy, you barren
women who bore no children! Break into shouts of joy and gladness, you who were
never in labour. For there are more sons of the forsaken one than sons of the
wedded wife. So, my brothers, we are the children, not of the
slave-girl, but of the free-born wife.
When
Christ freed us, he meant us to remain free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not
submit again to the yoke of slavery.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 112(113):1-7 ©
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May the name of the Lord
be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed
both now and for evermore!
May the name of the Lord
be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
From the rising of the sun to its setting
praised be the name of the
Lord!
High above all nations is the Lord,
above the heavens his glory.
May the name of the Lord
be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
Who is like the Lord, our God,
who has risen on high to his
throne
yet stoops from the heights to look down,
to look down upon heaven and
earth?
From the dust he lifts up the lowly,
from the dungheap he raises
the poor
May the name of the Lord
be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps118:88
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Because of your love give me life,
and I will do your will.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Ps94:8
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 11:29-32 ©
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As Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,
so will the Son of Man be a sign
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The crowds got even bigger, and Jesus
addressed them:
‘This
is a wicked generation; it is asking for a sign. The only sign it will be given
is the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will
the Son of Man be to this generation. On Judgement day the Queen of the South
will rise up with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came
from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is
something greater than Solomon here. On Judgement day the men of Nineveh will
stand up with this generation and condemn it, because when Jonah preached they
repented; and there is something greater than Jonah here.’
TAKING OUR PRIVILEGES FOR GRANTED
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ GAL 4:22-24, 26-27, 31-5:1; LK 11:29-32 ]
The first reading from the letter of St
Paul to the Galatians is basically concerned with the observance of the
Jewish laws and the new-found freedom for Christians in Christ.
Paul was disturbed that some Jewish converts were imposing their Jewish customs
and traditions on the newly-converted in Galatia. There were two
polarised groups, those who insisted on a slavish observance of the laws and
those who felt that they had been liberated by the laws and thus could do
whatever they liked, disregarding the laws completely.
This message was highlighted last Saturday
when the gospel from Luke reminded us that this new relationship with
God is rooted not so much in our physical relationship with a race
or even blood ties, but in our spiritual relationship with Him.
Once again the freedom from the laws is
reiterated in today’s reading when St Paul gives the allegory between the child
of the slave-girl, Hagar, and that of Sarah, the free-born wife of
Abraham. St Paul insists that Christians “are the children, not of the
slave-girl, but of the free-born wife. When Christ freed us, He meant us
to remain free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the
yoke of slavery.”
At the other extreme end were some
Christians who were simply relying on their privilege of being set free by
Christ. Like the Jews, they claimed their salvation simply on the basis
of their being the chosen people of God, or the adopted sons and daughters of
Christ. Whilst salvation is certainly not through good works, yet
the danger is that we can abuse our privilege as God’s Chosen people by not
living in accordance with our identity as His chosen people. Accordingly,
when the woman praised the mother of Jesus, the response of Jesus was that if
His mother were blessed it was because she was the one who heard the Word of
God and put it into practice. In a similar vein, Luke would later record
Jesus declaring that anyone who does the will of God is His relative.
Thus, we must be careful that as
Christians we do not behave like the Jews during the time of
Jesus. They were so caught up by their privilege
of being the chosen race and their traditions that they
were closed to the revelation of God in Jesus. Jesus
reprimanded them for being so blind to the signs of the times. They were
looking for signs but Jesus pointed out that the Sign from God was right before
them and yet they were still living in darkness. They were unappreciative
of Jesus.
In contrast, the pagans, as in
the case of the Ninevites and the Queen from the South, were more
receptive to the Word of God. Even though Jonah did not care for the
Ninevites very much, yet his preaching brought them to repentance.
Similarly, the Queen of Sheba would travel from afar just to listen to the
wisdom of King Solomon. Of course Prophet Jonah cannot be compared to
Jesus, the eschatological prophet, the Word of God in person. Neither
could the wisdom of Solomon, although renowned, be compared to the wisdom of
Jesus. What would have happened if they knew Jesus in person as the Word
of God?
What about us baptized Catholics? We
too, like the Jews, have received privileges. We are privileged
to be the chosen people of God in the new covenant. We have the signs
that help us to confess in Christ as the Son of God. We have seen the
power of the Risen Lord, the sign that Jonah gave. We have access to the
wisdom of the Holy Spirit given to us and the Church. We have witnessed
again and again the works of the Holy Spirit in our midst. Although
gentiles and sinners, we are now called to share in the divine sonship of
Christ, enjoying all His privileges. The Church also provides us the
opportunities to deepen our spiritual life through study, retreats and prayers.
In a nutshell, we have been given
all that we need to deepen our relationship and love for the Lord so that we
can live a Christ-like life. But have we? Are we converted and
transformed to be more like Jesus? Many of us, especially church workers
and volunteers, have taken our privileges for granted. Many people would
envy the kind of religious knowledge we have. Instead of using our
talents and spiritual experiences for the humble service of the people of God,
we use them to exert our authority and control over others. When we use
our spiritual gifts and powers to seek control over others’ lives, we have
abused what we have been given. All gifts that
have been received must be used to empower people for love and free
people from slavery to their sins. By behaving in
the contrary, in the words of St Paul, we have returned to our
former state of slavery. We are not acting as mature and free people.
This is particularly applicable to
leaders in the Church, whether priests, religious or laity. We too
have been privileged to serve in key positions in the Church. Many of us
have had our experience of encountering God in our lives. One of
the greatest obstacles for Church leaders to deepening our spiritual life is
pride. We are so used to ministering to those under our charge
that we find it hard to humble ourselves to be ministered by others, especially
when we perceive people to look up to us for spiritual guidance. We are
so used to counseling and teaching people so much so that it is too painful to
admit that we too need counseling, ministering and to be taught
ourselves. Indeed, it seems beyond our dignity to have others telling us
that we do not know about God or something about the Holy Spirit, or some
Church doctrines and religious experiences. Hence, when we have
been leaders for too long, allowing others to minister to us can be quite
humiliating and the feeling too painful to acknowledge. This explains why
the religious leaders during the time of Jesus could not accept Him as the
Messiah. They were too proud to give Jesus the recognition simply because
of jealousy and envy.
If we are in that
situation of complacency or pride in
receiving help from others, alas, the words of Jesus would surely apply
to us, as well as His warning that, “On judgement day the men of Nineveh
will stand up with this generation and condemn it, because when Jonah preached
they repented; and there is something greater than Jonah here.” Yes, more
than those who are not Christians, we will be judged more heavily before God on
Judgment Day. God will bring us to account for abusing our office, our
position and all the gifts he has given to us. For those who have been
given more, more will be demanded of them. The guilt and punishment will
certainly be more severe than others because we have been given all that is
necessary for our spiritual growth. Others can claim ignorance but we
cannot.
Hence, it behooves us to take the
warning of Jesus seriously so that we will be faithful to our
calling. Let us heed the exhortation of St Paul, “Stand firm, therefore,
and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” Indeed, let not the
grace of God given to us be in vain.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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