MOTIVATED BY A HIGHER CALLING IN LIFE

20190114 MOTIVATED BY A HIGHER CALLING IN LIFE

14 JANUARY, 2019, Monday, 1st Week, Ordinary Time

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading

Hebrews 1:1-6 ©

God has spoken to us through his Son

At various times in the past and in various different ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in our own time, the last days, he has spoken to us through his Son, the Son that he has appointed to inherit everything and through whom he made everything there is. He is the radiant light of God’s glory and the perfect copy of his nature, sustaining the universe by his powerful command; and now that he has destroyed the defilement of sin, he has gone to take his place in heaven at the right hand of divine Majesty. So he is now as far above the angels as the title which he has inherited is higher than their own name.

  God has never said to any angel: You are my Son, today I have become your father;or: I will be a father to him and he a son to me. Again, when he brings the First-Born into the world, he says: Let all the angels of God worship him.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 96(97):1-2,6-7,9 ©

All you angels, worship the Lord.

The Lord is king, let earth rejoice,

  the many coastlands be glad.

  His throne is justice and right.

All you angels, worship the Lord.

The skies proclaim his justice;

  all peoples see his glory.

  All you spirits, worship him.

All you angels, worship the Lord.

For you indeed are the Lord

  most high above all the earth,

  exalted far above all spirits.

All you angels, worship the Lord.

Gospel Acclamation

cf.Ac16:14

Alleluia, alleluia!

Open our heart, O Lord,

to accept the words of your Son.

Alleluia!

Or:

Mk1:15

Alleluia, alleluia!

The kingdom of God is close at hand:

repent and believe the Good News.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Mark 1:14-20 ©

I will make you into fishers of men

After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the Good News from God. ‘The time has come’ he said ‘and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News.’

  As he was walking along by the Sea of Galilee he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net in the lake – for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.’ And at once they left their nets and followed him.

  Going on a little further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they too were in their boat, mending their nets. He called them at once and, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the men he employed, they went after him.

MOTIVATED BY A HIGHER CALLING IN LIFE

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [  HEB 1:1-6; PS 97:1-2, 6-7, 9; MK 1:14-20 ]

Christmas and New Year celebrations are over.  Students are back to school and we are back to work and the daily drudgery and humdrum of life.  As we begin the first weekday of the ordinary liturgical year, the Church wants us to see everything in perspective, lest we live an unreflective and fragmented life.  We need to ask what direction we are taking in life.  What are we living for and what are we supposed to do?  This was the case of the apostles.  Peter and Andrew, like the rest, were just casting nets to catch fish.  So too were James and John.  They were mending their nets.  They were doing mundane things.   They did not have a higher vision and calling. They were just going through life. Like many of us, they were just surviving, not living.  When we do things for the sake of doing, we will not live life to the fullest.  When we just go through the mundane things of life, we cannot live with excitement and passion.

The scripture readings today provide us with a higher calling for each of us.  Yesterday, we just celebrated the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.  Today, the scripture readings provide us with a clearer vision of what our baptismal calling is all about.  At His baptism, Jesus revealed to us the higher calling of life.  He came to show us the way to live our life to the fullest.  He could do it simply because, at His baptism, it was revealed that He was truly God and truly man.

The first reading from the letter to the Hebrews confirms that Christ is the revelation of our calling in life.  This is because He is the revelation of God.  He is greater than the angels.  He is God’s first born Son, that is to say, He holds the highest privilege, rank and honour, just like all first-born.  Indeed, Jesus as the Word of God shows us what life is all about and what our calling is.  This is what the first reading tells us. “At various times in the past and in various different ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in our own time, the last days, he has spoken to us through his Son.”

He is not only truly God but truly man.  For this reason, He wanted to be baptized by John so that He could identify with us in our humanity and most of all, to suffer the pain of sins.  For this reason, immediately after His baptism, He was led to the desert to be tempted by the Evil One.  “And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.  He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.”  (Mk 1:12f)  St Mark inserted this event between the baptism of Jesus and the proclamation of the Good News in order to assert that Jesus could identify with us in our struggles against the Evil One.  But more than just being identified with us, He wanted to show us that it is not impossible to overcome the temptations of the Devil.  Rightly so, the author of Hebrews testified that “he has destroyed the defilement of sin, he has gone to take his place in heaven at the right hand of divine Majesty.”

Vatican II in the Constitution of the Church underscores Jesus as the One who could give us meaning and direction.  “Nevertheless, in the face of the modern development of the world, the number constantly swells of the people who raise the most basic questions or recognize them with a new sharpness: what is man? What is this sense of sorrow, of evil, of death, which continues to exist despite so much progress? What purpose have these victories purchased at so high a cost? What can man offer to society, what can he expect from it? What follows this earthly life?

The Church firmly believes that Christ, who died and was raised up for all, can through His Spirit offer man the light and the strength to measure up to his supreme destiny. Nor has any other name under the heaven been given to man by which it is fitting for him to be saved. She likewise holds that in her most benign Lord and Master can be found the key, the focal point and the goal of man, as well as of all human history. The Church also maintains that beneath all changes there are many realities which do not change and which have their ultimate foundation in Christ, Who is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever. Hence under the light of Christ, the image of the unseen God, the firstborn of every creature, the Council wishes to speak to all men in order to shed light on the mystery of man and to cooperate in finding the solution to the outstanding problems of our time.”  (GS 10) 

Christ continues the work of salvation.  God is not just the creator but He is also our Redeemer.  Through Christ, He created the world and through the same Christ, He will redeem us.   Hence, the author wrote, “He is the radiant light of God’s glory and the perfect copy of his nature, sustaining the universe by his powerful command; and now that he has destroyed the defilement of sin, he has gone to take his place in heaven at the right hand of divine Majesty.  So he is now as far above the angels as the title he has inherited is higher than their own name.”

What, then, is the higher vision and mission of life?  What is His message of salvation? Jesus began His mission by proclaiming the Good News from God.  “‘The time has come’ he said ‘and the kingdom of God is close at hand.  Repent, and believe the Good News.'”  In other words, Jesus wanted us to know that God’s reign of love, mercy and justice is here.  He is the light of the nations and the hope of humanity.  This world is not under the reign of Satan and his angels but He has come to restore creation under the rule of God’s love and mercy.

With the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we too share in His calling and mission.  We are called to share in His mission of proclaiming the Good News.  What does this mean?

Firstly, in all that we do, our focus is on humanity and people; not on work and things.  Peter and Andrew were simply catching fish day in and day out for their livelihood, but they never lived.   Jesus called them to a higher purpose of life, which was to catch men. Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.”   Indeed, whatever we do, especially in our work and jobs, we must not forget the objective of what we are doing.  If we work, it is to contribute to the development of the world and of humanity.  In our work too, we want to earn money to support our family and our loved ones so that they can have a happy life.   In whichever vocation we are in, the end target is not simply getting things done or performing well but to offer the best service to those people whom we are serving.  Ultimately, we are serving God by serving humanity.  So we must not do our work and only see it as work but rather to give a better life to our fellowmen.

Secondly, our mission is to heal and mend lives.  We read that James and John were mending nets in their boats. “He called them at once and, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the men he employed, they went after him.”  Instead of simply mending nets we are called to mend lives, to put lives in order, to forgive and to heal.  This is what our work is all about.  We want to let sinners know that they are forgiven and that Jesus loves them still, so that knowing they are loved by God, they will repent on hearing this Good News that they are loved and forgiven.  Our ministry is one of healing and restoration, whether as parents, bosses or workers.  We must show the mercy and compassion of the face of Christ in the world.  

Realizing that this is our call, what is demanded of us is a decisive response.  Why?  Because it is the Lord who calls!  This explains why the first disciples of Jesus left their work and their nets, that is, their possessions and even their loved ones, in this case, the father, immediately and followed after Jesus.  When the Lord calls, we cannot tarry any longer.  The answer must be a decisive “Yes” like Mary, and it must be immediate.

Of course, this following of Jesus is an ongoing process because it appears that the disciples were called a few times later.   We have other stories of Jesus calling the apostles in different ways.   In other words, following Jesus begins with a decisive response but it is an ongoing process of growing in faith in Jesus.  We need to search and clarify our call daily.  So as we work and live each day, we need to ask how faithful are we to our call to “catch men” and “heal lives” so that they fall in love with God and with us.  Make your vocation and all that you do to bring people to Jesus so that they can live their lives meaningfully and purposefully.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved