20181122
FAILING TO SEIZE THE
OPPORTUNITY OF GRACE
22 NOVEMBER,
2018, Thursday, 33rd Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Red.
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First reading
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Apocalypse 5:1-10 ©
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The blood of the Lamb bought men for God
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I, John, saw that in the right hand of the
One sitting on the throne there was a scroll that had writing on back and front
and was sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a powerful angel who called with a
loud voice, ‘Is there anyone worthy to open the scroll and break the seals of
it?’ But there was no one, in heaven or on the earth or under the earth, who
was able to open the scroll and read it. I wept bitterly because there was
nobody fit to open the scroll and read it, but one of the elders said to me, ‘There
is no need to cry: the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has
triumphed, and he will open the scroll and the seven seals of it.’
Then
I saw, standing between the throne with its four animals and the circle of the
elders, a Lamb that seemed to have been sacrificed; it had seven horns, and it
had seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits God has sent out all over the
world. The Lamb came forward to take the scroll from the right hand of the One
sitting on the throne, and when he took it, the four animals prostrated
themselves before him and with them the twenty-four elders; each one of them
was holding a harp and had a golden bowl full of incense made of the prayers of
the saints. They sang a new hymn:
‘You are worthy to take the scroll
and break the seals of it,
because you were sacrificed, and with your
blood
you bought men for God
of every race, language, people and nation
and made them a line of kings and priests,
to serve our God and to rule the world.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 149:1-6,9 ©
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You made us a line of
kings and priests to serve our God.
or
Alleluia!
Sing a new song to the Lord,
his praise in the assembly of
the faithful.
Let Israel rejoice in its Maker,
let Zion’s sons exult in their
king.
You made us a line of
kings and priests to serve our God.
or
Alleluia!
Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music with timbrel
and harp.
For the Lord takes delight in his people.
He crowns the poor with
salvation.
You made us a line of
kings and priests to serve our God.
or
Alleluia!
Let the faithful rejoice in their glory,
shout for joy and take their
rest.
Let the praise of God be on their lips:
this honour is for all his
faithful.
You made us a line of
kings and priests to serve our God.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps118:135
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Let your face shine on your servant,
and teach me your decrees.
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 19:41-44 ©
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Jesus sheds tears over the coming fate
of Jerusalem
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As Jesus drew near Jerusalem and came in
sight of the city he shed tears over it and said, ‘If you in your turn had only
understood on this day the message of peace! But, alas, it is hidden from your
eyes! Yes, a time is coming when your enemies will raise fortifications all
round you, when they will encircle you and hem you in on every side; they will
dash you and the children inside your walls to the ground; they will leave not
one stone standing on another within you – and all because you did not recognise
your opportunity when God offered it!’
FAILING TO SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY OF
GRACE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ REV 5:1-10; LUKE 19:41-44 ]
Today, the gospel speaks
of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. It
would be His final journey and the ultimate invitation to Israel to accept the
message of God. It would be at Jerusalem where He would eventually
establish the Kingdom of God. He had prepared the disciples for this day.
He had been performing miracles, healing and nature miracles to indicate that
God’s reign was here. Most of all, in exorcising evil spirits from those
possessed, He demonstrated the rule of God over Satan and his angels.
Three times, He prophesied about His passion, death and resurrection.
Consequently, His entry
into Jerusalem was filled with allusions to the establishment of the
Kingdom. He
came into Jerusalem on a donkey, a clear reference to how Solomon entered
Jerusalem on a donkey to be crowned. He was welcomed as a King and
liberator. In entering Jerusalem on a donkey, He was deliberately
fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9. “As he was now
drawing near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the
disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty
works that they had seen, saying, ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the
name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!'” (Lk 19:37f)
But amidst the
triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Jesus knew all was not well. “As Jesus drew near Jerusalem and came in
sight of the city he shed tears over it and said, ‘If you in your turn had only
understood on this day the message of peace! But, alas, it is hidden from your
eyes!” He could see what was ahead for the city of Jerusalem. He could
foresee the disasters ahead of the people. He was prophesying about the
destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in AD 70 by the Romans. “Yes, a
time is coming when your enemies will raise fortifications all round you, when
they will encircle you and hem you in on every side; they will dash you and the
children inside your walls to the ground; they will leave not one stone
standing on another within you – and all because you did not recognize your
opportunity when God offered it!” Thousands were killed and many more
were exiled to Egypt.
And all these Jesus
said, “because you did not recognize your opportunity when God offered
it!” They
did not recognize Him as king and the nature of His kingship as one of
peace. In entering Jerusalem on a donkey instead or a horse, it signified
that He came as a king of peace, unlike a military king who would come on a
horse like a warrior. But they had their own preoccupations. The
common people thought He was a prophet because of the miracles He performed.
Others, like the disciples, thought that Jesus was a political king and they
were hoping that they would be rewarded with positions. Of course, there
were those who opposed Him and rejected Him totally as He was a threat to their
status quo. “And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to him,
‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples.’ He answered, ‘I tell you, if these were
silent, the very stones would cry out.'” (Lk 19:39f) Indeed, they could not
tolerate Jesus’ popularity.
But the real intention
of Jesus went beyond politics and earthly power. As He told Pilate, He was called to
be a King but His kingdom was not of this world. (Cf Jn 18:37f) His kingdom was a spiritual
kingdom of peace, love and joy. Most of all, He had come to build us a
royal kingdom where everyone is king. Indeed, He wanted to share the
power of His kingship with us all. As St John exclaimed in his vision,
“You are worthy to take the scroll and break the seals of it, because you were
sacrificed, and with your blood you bought men for God of every race, language,
people and nation and made them a line of kings and priests to serve our God
and to rule the world.” God has great plans for us. He wants
to be king of our hearts so that we can be kings of love and service.
Today, the Lord is
making His last appeal to us, whether we will take Him as king. Unless we make Jesus our king and let Him
rule our lives, we will not be able to exercise the kind of kingship that He
did. Alas, many of us are not aware of the many opportunities of grace in
our lives. God comes to us in so many ways but we also fail to recognize
His visitation. We are deaf to His call and blind to His presence.
God comes to us through the messengers and prophets He sends us. Maybe He
is inviting us to go for a retreat or attend a seminar or join a faith-sharing
group. But we are not willing. We give all kinds of excuses.
Hence, we must ask, what
is it that hinders us from recognizing Him? Is it pride or fear? Like the
religious leaders during the time of Jesus, we are not willing to learn from
others, especially if we were leaders and bosses before. We are too proud
to listen to our juniors because we think we have all the answers. This
is often the case when so-called leaders lack the humility to learn.
Maybe it could be due to our hurts and wounded heart. We are
prejudiced. Even when others have a message for us and what the person
says is true, we are not receptive because it comes from someone who has hurt
us. We take a personal dislike towards him or her, not able to separate
the message from the person. Most of the time, the truth is that we are
not ready for change. We fear change in our lives. We are afraid to
lose our security and our attachments. We prefer to live in the known
than in the unknown.
Let us not fail to take
the opportunities for conversion made available to us. In fact, often God gives us warning
signs for conversion through a missed accident, an illness, a failure, a
scandal or seeing the consequences of others’ failure to repent. But many
of us are blind. We continue to do what we know to be wrong until one day
we get caught. Let us not fool ourselves into believing that we won’t be
discovered. We know it is a matter of time. No one can escape from
the evils we do. Sooner or later, what is hidden will be revealed.
We will have to bear the full weight of the repercussions of our folly.
Then it will be too late.
Let us learn from the
Lord. He was worthy to open the scroll and break the seals because He had
won victory over sin and death.
“There is no need to cry: the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David,
has triumphed, and he will open the scroll and the seven seals of it.”
They sang, “You are worthy to take the scroll and break the seals of it,
because you were sacrificed, and with your blood you bought men for God of
every race, language, people and nation.” Unless we are ready to die with
Christ and submit to the values of the Kingdom which Christ preached, we will
harm ourselves. But if we do, then we will reign with Christ on earth as
in heaven. There will be peace and unity.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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