20190626
GOD
IS OUR SHIELD AGAINST THE DECEPTION OF THE WORLD
26 JUNE, 2019,
Wednesday, 12th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Genesis 15:1-12,17-18 ©
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Count the stars: such shall be your
descendants
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It happened that the word of the Lord was
spoken to Abram in a vision, ‘Have no fear, Abram, I am your shield; your
reward will be very great.’
‘My
Lord,’ Abram replied ‘what do you intend to give me? I go childless...’ Then
Abram said, ‘See, you have given me no descendants; some man of my household
will be my heir.’ And then this word of the Lord was spoken to him, ‘He shall
not be your heir; your heir shall be of your own flesh and blood.’ Then taking
him outside he said, ‘Look up to heaven and count the stars if you can. Such
will be your descendants’ he told him. Abram put his faith in the Lord, who
counted this as making him justified.
‘I
am the Lord’ he said to him ‘who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldaeans to
make you heir to this land.’ ‘My Lord,’ Abram replied ‘how am I to know that I
shall inherit it?’ He said to him, ‘Get me a three-year-old heifer, a
three-year-old goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove and a young pigeon.’ He
brought him all these, cut them in half and put half on one side and half
facing it on the other; but the birds he did not cut in half. Birds of prey
came down on the carcases but Abram drove them off.
Now
as the sun was setting Abram fell into a deep sleep, and terror seized him.
When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, there appeared a smoking furnace
and a firebrand that went between the halves. That day the Lord made a Covenant
with Abram in these terms:
‘To your descendants I give this land,
from the wadi of Egypt to the Great River,
the river Euphrates.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 104(105):1-4,6-9 ©
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The Lord remembers his
covenant for ever.
or
Alleluia!
Give thanks to the Lord, tell his name,
make known his deeds among the
peoples.
O sing to him, sing his praise;
tell all his wonderful works!
The Lord remembers his
covenant for ever.
or
Alleluia!
Be proud of his holy name,
let the hearts that seek the
Lord rejoice.
Consider the Lord and his strength;
constantly seek his face.
The Lord remembers his
covenant for ever.
or
Alleluia!
O children of Abraham, his servant,
O sons of the Jacob he chose.
He, the Lord, is our God:
his judgements prevail in all
the earth.
The Lord remembers his
covenant for ever.
or
Alleluia!
He remembers his covenant for ever,
his promise for a thousand
generations,
the covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath he swore to Isaac.
The Lord remembers his
covenant for ever.
or
Alleluia!
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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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Jn15:4,5
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Make your home in me, as I make mine in
you,
says the Lord;
whoever remains in me bears fruit in
plenty.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 7:15-20 ©
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You will be able to tell them by their
fruits
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Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Beware of
false prophets who come to you disguised as sheep but underneath are ravenous
wolves. You will be able to tell them by their fruits. Can people pick grapes
from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, a sound tree produces good
fruit but a rotten tree bad fruit. A sound tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a
rotten tree bear good fruit. Any tree that does not produce good fruit is cut
down and thrown on the fire. I repeat, you will be able to tell them by their fruits.’
GOD IS OUR
SHIELD AGAINST THE DECEPTION OF THE WORLD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Gen 15:1-12, 17-18; Ps 105:1-4, 6-9; Mt 7:15-20 ]
Life is like the journey
that Abram took from Ur of the Chaldeans to Canaan, the Promised Land. This journey is fraught with temptations,
opposition and challenges. Our enemies could be physical enemies or they could
be spiritual. They can come from without, but more insidiously from
within. Indeed, it is the enemy from within that we must be more alert to
than those from without. This is what the Lord warns us about, “Beware of
false prophets who come to you disguised as sheep but underneath are ravenous
wolves.”
Indeed, there are many
false prophets in the world today, and even within our churches, many leaders
seek to give us illusory peace and unity. They seek to compromise the truths of the
gospel by focusing on the rewards but not the crosses; the privileges but not
the discipline; life without death. Some Christian leaders promise their
members prosperity in this life at the expense of eternal life in the
next. Some speak so easily of God’s forgiveness but not accompanied by
repentance. Many receive Holy Communion every Sunday but their lives are
not in communion with Christ and the Body of Christ. Some Christian
leaders dilute the cost of discipleship and the truth of the gospel in order to
appeal to more people. This was what the false prophets did during the
period of the Kings. They gave the people false security, hope and
confidence.
How do we deal with such
false prophets? In the gospel, Jesus gives us the guiding
principle. “You will be able to tell them by their fruits. Can people pick grapes from thorns,
or figs from thistles? In the same way, a sound tree produces good fruit but a
rotten tree bad fruit. A sound tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a rotten tree
bear good fruit. Any tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and
thrown on the fire. I repeat, you will be able to tell them by their
fruits.” This rule seems to be very simple and clear, but discernment of
the fruits is not always that simple. More often than not, false prophets
promise fruits that are pleasant to our eyes, such as prosperity, forgiveness
and God’s blessings without our need to walk the commandments of the
Lord. At times, they pick and choose those texts of the bible that suit
their message and ignore other texts that speak of sacrifice, purification and
fidelity to God’s Word.
So we need to look at
the fruits of the prophet’s life first. There are many false prophets who preach and
teach eloquently. However, they live double lives that are hypocritical.
They are selfish, dishonest, vindictive and concerned more about enriching
themselves and enjoying the luxuries of life than being at the service of their
fellowmen. To know whether someone is a true prophet, we just have to
examine his lifestyle, his attitudes toward his fellowmen, his generosity and
his approach to people, especially in times of suffering and opposition.
A true prophet lives out what he preaches and what he says. Most of all,
he manifests the life and virtues of Christ in himself, living a life of
simplicity and humility.
Next, we must look at
the fruits of his preaching. Do his preaching and teaching truly help
people to live with hope in the truth? Is he misleading people into false and
illusory peace and happiness? Indeed, the ideologies of the world give
people false hope, love and joy. Secularism promises to bring
true freedom and peace in the world. Can we honestly look at the world
today and say that secularism is the answer to world peace and the fulfillment
of humanity? On the contrary, man feels empty and loses purpose in
life. There is no meaning to live because there is no hope beyond this
sad and fragile world. Secularism has driven people to despair and, if at
all, hope only for this world. So for all the hard work we give to
society and the world, it will come to naught. That being the case, why
should people continue to sacrifice themselves for a society that is
unappreciative?
Relativism promises true
freedom for every human person.
It teaches that truth is ultimately subjective and changes with the
situation. There is no ground for truth anymore. We are living
always in changing times. Since what is right can be wrong, the next
generation and vice versa, it is dangerous to hold on to anything
absolutely. They are just good for its time. Such people are always
exposed to the changing values of society so that they have nothing to guide them
to live and walk in the fullness of truth and love.
The world promises us
freedom, but what we find in the world today is a greater form of slavery. Democracy has set us free from the
control of other people but we have lost control of ourselves. We are
slaves to the sin of the flesh, to lust, to greed, to pleasure and
gluttony. We are not able to control and manage our anger since
society tells us to express them openly, which we do through the social media,
saying what we feel in our hearts without restraint or fear that our words
might hurt others. The freedom of the world is an abused form of
freedom. It is a new form of slavery.
The world may have
become more advanced in technology. Living conditions have
improved. More people are living in luxury. Yet, can we truly say that the
richest and most affluent countries are happiest? Are we happier than
those who are poor, or those who have just enough for themselves? Rich
people might have plenty, but they have become slaves to comfort so that they
can no longer take suffering in life or appreciate the blessings of creation
and nature. They have become inward-looking and less in touch with the
sufferings of humanity, thereby living a more impoverished life stripped of
their humanness.
Hence, we need to turn
to God for He is our shield.
“The word of the Lord was spoken to Abram in a vision, ‘Have no fear, Abram, I
am your shield; your reward will be very great.'” God is the One who can
protect us from the snares of the flesh and Evil One and the false deception of
the world. Indeed, only God can shield us from the deception of the world
and the Evil One. St Paul exhorted the Christians, “Finally, be strong in
the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God,
so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For
our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers,
against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness,
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Eph 6:10-12)
What is needed from us
is to trust in God and obey Him as Abram did. When the Lord called Abram to
migrate to Canaan, a place far away, Abram obeyed in faith. It took
him much courage to begin a new life, having already reached the age of
75. Furthermore, he was already well established in life as he had
accumulated much wealth. He could just have stayed put rather than
begin a new adventure into the unknown. But Abram believed
in the fidelity of God to His promises sealed in the covenant He made with
Abram. As the psalmist says, “He remembers his covenant forever, his
promise for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath
he swore to Isaac.” Indeed, God was faithful to Abram in His promise of
land and descendants. ”Look up to heaven and count the stars if you can.
Such will be your descendants’ he told him. Abram put his faith in the Lord,
who counted this as making him justified. To your descendants I give this land,
from the wadi of Egypt to the Great River, the river Euphrates.”
We, too, in our journey
of life must walk closely with the Lord, following His teachings and His
commandments even if we do not agree or understand so that we can walk in truth
and in love. Let us nurture
ourselves with the Word of God as St Paul exhorts us, “All scripture is
inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and
for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be
proficient, equipped for every good work.” The Lord urges us to build our
foundation on Him. “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on
them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell,
the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not
fall, because it had been founded on rock.” (Mt 7:24f)
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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