20181105
BUILDING UNITY IN
CHRIST
05 NOVEMBER,
2018, Monday, 31st Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Philippians 2:1-4 ©
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Be united in your love
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If our life in Christ means anything to
you, if love can persuade at all, or the Spirit that we have in common, or any
tenderness and sympathy, then be united in your convictions and united in your
love, with a common purpose and a common mind. That is the one thing which
would make me completely happy. There must be no competition among you, no
conceit; but everybody is to be self-effacing. Always consider the other person
to be better than yourself, so that nobody thinks of his own interests first
but everybody thinks of other people’s interests instead.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 130(131) ©
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Keep my soul in peace
before you, O Lord.
O Lord, my heart is not proud
nor haughty my eyes.
I have not gone after things too great
nor marvels beyond me.
Keep my soul in peace
before you, O Lord.
Truly I have set my soul
in silence and peace.
A weaned child on its mother’s breast,
even so is my soul.
Keep my soul in peace
before you, O Lord.
O Israel, hope in the Lord
both now and forever.
Keep my soul in peace
before you, O Lord.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps118:18
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Open my eyes, O Lord, that I may consider
the wonders of your law.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Jn8:31-32
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Alleluia, alleluia!
If you make my word your home
you will indeed be my disciples,
and you will learn the truth, says the
Lord.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 14:12-14 ©
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Do not invite those who might be able to
invite you back
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Jesus said to his host, one of the leading
Pharisees, ‘When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not ask your friends,
brothers, relations or rich neighbours, for fear they repay your courtesy by
inviting you in return. No; when you have a party, invite the poor, the
crippled, the lame, the blind; that they cannot pay you back means that you are
fortunate, because repayment will be made to you when the virtuous rise again.’
BUILDING UNITY IN CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Philippians 2:1-4; Luke 14:12-14 ]
The world is very much
divided between the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak, the elite and
the ordinary. This
was never the intention of God. He created a world where we could all
live and support each other as one big family. Indeed, in the eyes of
God, we are all equal before Him. We are all His children, the rich no
less than the poor, the strong no less than the weak. Jesus said,
“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you
may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil
and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” (Mt 5:44f)
In the gospel, Jesus
sought to abolish all class consciousness. He taught that it was not good enough to
invite those people who were of our same social standing or expect that we
would be invited back in future. Rather, the Lord said, “when you give a
lunch or a dinner, do not ask your friends, brothers, relations or rich neighbours,
for fear they repay your courtesy by inviting you in return. No; when you have
a party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; that they cannot
pay you back means that you are fortunate, because repayment will be made to
you when the virtuous rise again.” In the eyes of God, it is the poor,
the hungry and the marginalized that the Lord feels most for, because they are
deprived and stripped of their basic needs in life. This is why the Lord
said, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who
are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Mt 25:40)
Indeed, Christ Himself
taught the disciples what it meant to be a leader. “It will not
be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your
servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your
slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to
give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matt 20:28) A leader is a servant and
not so much a position of honour. Jesus Himself who took the form of a
servant to wash the feet of His disciples just before His passion reminded
them, “You call me Teacher and Lord – and you are right, for that is what I
am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought
to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also
should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not
greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent
them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” (Jn 13:13-17)
St Paul also reiterates
our unity in Christ when
he says, “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves
with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or
free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ
Jesus.” (Gal 3:27f)
Indeed, Christ by His death on the cross has brought us together as one.
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by
the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both
groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility
between us.” (Eph 2:13f)
After Pentecost, the
early Church for a short time tried to relive this kind of community.
They sought to be true to the teaching of Christ. “All who believed were together and had
all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and
distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they
spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their
food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all
the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being
saved.” (Acts 2:44-47)
Indeed, Christ taught us to treat everyone equally, irrespective of social
rank; and more so those who are the weakest members of the community. (cf 1 Cor 12:22-24)
Why is there this
division among us, even amongst Christians? It is because of selfishness
and pride that
man seeks to protect his interests over the others. Even in the Christian
community, we have class consciousness. We want to differentiate
ourselves from the other members of the community. When we do that, we
are not living the gospel values. St James reprimanded the early
Christians for making distinctions and showing favouritism to those who were
richer. He wrote, “My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of
favouritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? Have you not made
distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil
thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God
chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom
that he has promised to those who love him?” (cf Jms 2:1-5)
Indeed, we must be
careful that we do not import the values of the world into our churches. What the Church should boast about is not
that we care for the rich and give special preference to them but rather that
we are known to be lovers of the poor, the suffering and the
marginalized. This is the best form of Christian witnessing, more than
just proclaiming and preaching the gospel of love. This is what the
Lord teaches us in the beatitudes. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they
will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be
filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” (Mt 5:3-7)
St Paul also warned the
early Christians about dividing the Church through pride, leading to
competition.He exhorted them saying,
“There must be no competition among you, no conceit; but everybody is to be
self-effacing. Always consider the other person to be better than yourself, so
that nobody thinks of his own interests first but everybody thinks of other people’s
interests instead.” How often have we witnessed the Church divided among her
members because various church organizations try to prove themselves to be more
important than others, that they can sing better than the others, and that
their roles and functions are greater than the rest. Likewise, within the
Church, we have members seeking recognition, power, control, prominence, and
positions. It is all about themselves and not truly for the glory of God
or for the service of the community.
So the key to overcoming
selfishness and pride that divide the community is through self-emptying and
humility. Jesus
led the way as St Paul wrote in the next chapter of Philippians. Christ
chose to empty Himself of His divinity. As if it were not enough, He emptied
himself, “taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And
being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point
of death – even death on a cross.” (Phil 2:7f) Christ suffered the lowest
form of human rejection by being crucified as a criminal on the cross.
Consequently, St Paul appealed to us all, “If our life in Christ
means anything to you, if love can persuade at all, or the Spirit that we have
in common, or any tenderness and sympathy, then be united in your convictions
and united in your love, with a common purpose and a common mind.”
We all must put on the
mind and heart of Christ in service and in love. We must do it out of
love for Christ.
Instead of putting ourselves above others, we must put others before
self. Instead of competing and become self-conceited, we must learn to be
self-effacing like our Lord. Humility is the mark of Christian
service. With the psalmist, we must recognize our limitations and
constraints. “Keep my soul in peace before you, O Lord. O
Lord, my heart is not proud nor haughty my eyes. I have not gone after things
too great nor marvels beyond me. Truly I have set my soul in silence and peace.
A weaned child on its mother’s breast, even so is my soul.” In this way,
we can say we share the same Spirit of Christ and are united in one common
mission and in love.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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