20181004
THE NEARNESS OF THE
KINGDOM OF GOD
04 OCTOBER,
2018, Thursday, 26th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
White.
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First reading
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Job 19:21-27 ©
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My Avenger lives and will set me close
to him when I awake
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Job said:
Pity me, pity me, you, my friends,
for the hand of God has struck
me.
Why do you hound me down like God,
will you never have enough of
my flesh?
Ah, would that these words of mine were
written down,
inscribed on some monument
with iron chisel and engraving tool,
cut into the rock for ever.
This I know: that my Avenger lives,
and he, the Last, will take
his stand on earth.
After my awaking, he will set me close to
him,
and from my flesh I shall look
on God.
He whom I shall see will take my part:
these eyes will gaze on him
and find him not aloof.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 26(27):7-9,13-14 ©
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I am sure I shall see
the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
O Lord, hear my voice when I call;
have mercy and answer.
Of you my heart has spoken:
‘Seek his face.’
I am sure I shall see
the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek;
hide not your face.
Dismiss not your servant in anger;
you have been my help.
I am sure I shall see
the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.
Hope in the Lord!
I am sure I shall see
the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Mt4:4
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the
mouth of God.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Mk1:15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The kingdom of God is close at hand:
repent and believe the Good News.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 10:1-12 ©
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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.” But whenever
you enter a town and they do not make you welcome, go out into its streets and
say, “We wipe off the very dust of your town that clings to our feet, and leave
it with you. Yet be sure of this: the kingdom of God is very near.” I tell you,
on that day it will not go as hard with Sodom as with that town.’
THE NEARNESS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ JOB 19:21-27; LK 10:1-12 ]
Very often, we hear people in their
struggles to grow in their spiritual life remark that growing in spiritual life
is very difficult, implying that it is impossible to experience the life of the
kingdom of God on this earth. If that were so, then today’s gospel
message will make no sense at all. For twice in today’s gospel, Jesus
tells us that the Kingdom is very near.
The question we need to
ask is, how near is ‘very near’? I
believe that very near means that the Kingdom is already here. That is to
say, it is within our reach. The fact is that these words were spoken to the
disciples two thousand years ago, and we are still saying that it is ‘very
near’ today. Surely two thousand years cannot be said to be very
near! Thus, to say that the kingdom of God is ‘very near’, it must mean
that it is already here, at hand, within our reach. It therefore
does not simply mean it is imminent, but that it is already here. Indeed,
the kingdom of God is already so near to us that we can easily overlook it,
just like the way our eyes often overlook our nose.
The next question we
need to ask then is, how do we know that the kingdom of God is here already? The gospel gives us the
answer. The Kingdom is already here for those who live a life of
detachment. For this reason, Jesus sent His disciples out to preach
the Good News, adopting a life-style of detachment. He told them, “Do not
carry a walking staff or travelling bad, wear no sandals”, etc. In a
nutshell, the disciples of Jesus had to learn to be detached from things,
people and places. Only a detached man can live in true freedom; and only
real freedom can lead one to experience the kingdom of God. Truly, the
Kingdom man is one who understands the futility of the strivings and pursuits
of life. A detached man will see the uselessness and vanity of earthly
pursuits for power, recognition, popularity. He sees the stupidity of
clinging to things and people and places.
The kingdom of God is
also here for those who live a spirit of contentment. In telling His disciples to be grateful
and appreciative of whatever was offered to them when they entered a house,
Jesus was telling them to be contented. Man is miserable because he lives
a life of discontent. He is unhappy with himself. He wants to be
somebody else. He is unhappy with his situation; he wants to be in
another place. He is discontented with his lot; he wants to have
something else, etc.
Truly, a discontented man is an
unhappy man. The point is that if we are not happy where we are now,
we can hardly be happy anywhere else. If we are not happy with who we
are, we cannot be happy with anybody nor with anyone else. One cannot
expect to experience the presence of the kingdom when one is choosy and always
comparing. Contentment is the key to interior peace within ourselves.
A contented person is non-egoistic nor grasping. He is already happy
within himself. Therefore, he does not choose nor discriminate. He
takes whatever is given to him. He is totally open to God and His
providence.
To live a detached and
contented life is simply to live in the present. It is within this context that we
can understand why Jesus insisted that His disciples must not hoard and be
prepared for any contingency. This is because Jesus wanted His disciples
to live entirely for the moment and for the present. But one can live
entirely for the present only when one has nothing to hang on to in life except
life itself. So long as one lives in anxiety about the future, one cannot
experience the kingdom of God. When the mind hankers for the future, one
cannot but miss the presence of the kingdom of God.
When a person is
detached and contented, he becomes very free. Contentment brings real freedom to oneself.
Only when a person is truly contented with himself, can he stop hankering for
popularity, acceptance and recognition. A contented person is one
who is simply himself. He goes about doing his work, helping others
without any expectations. By living this kind of life, he sets others
free as well. Indeed, such a person does not impose even his goodness and
his good news on others. He is so free that he allows others to be free as
well.
Yes, the kingdom of God can only
be for those who experience true freedom in his own life. Once he
experiences that freedom, he will no longer judge and discriminate. How
can a man be truly happy when he continues to judge others? A mind that
is always judging cannot be at rest and therefore be at peace. Thus,
Jesus in the gospel told His disciples that when they go out to preach the Good
News, and if the message is rejected, they should simply leave the place.
There is no need to compel people to accept and believe what we say. A
man who cannot allow others freedom suggests that he is simply an insecure
man. Such a man finds no peace, and therefore lives outside the kingdom.
However, in order to live such a
detached and contented life without discrimination, we must adopt a
foundational attitude of trust and confidence in God’s providence. We
must learn to trust in God and surrender our lives to Him as Job did in the
first reading, even in our darkest moments. Like Job, we need to trust
that God will stand by us and that all things will work out for our own good.
It is this trust in God, in His love for us, that can deliver us from our
insecurities, from living in the future, and from the compulsion of wanting to
be accepted and loved and recognized by others.
A great man came to see a Zen master for
enlightenment. And the master told him these simple things. And the
man replied, “But all that you said, even a five-year old child knows about
it.” The master replied, “It is true that even a five-year old child
knows about it; but not even an eighty-old man has done it.” In other
words, to know the way to the Kingdom does not equate with being in the
Kingdom. We must begin to live it.
That is why I say that the Kingdom is very
near in the sense that it takes a moment of decision to allow the
Kingdom into our lives. The moment we decide to live a life of
detachment, contentment, freedom and trust in God, the Kingdom is immediately
available to us. Hence, Jesus told His disciples that whichever house
they entered, to say, “Peace upon this house”. If this peace is accepted,
then that household would find peace. If not, the person would not find
peace at all. Consequently, entry to God’s kingdom is as near as a
moment of decision. That is why it is at hand, within our reach. It
is so near – any moment when we decide to live the way of the Kingdom, the
Kingdom becomes ours.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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