20190817
FORMING
THE YOUNG TO MAKE RIGHT CHOICES
17 AUGUST, 2019,
Saturday, 19th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Joshua 24:14-29 ©
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'The Lord is a holy God, a jealous God'
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Joshua said to all the people, ‘Fear the
Lord and serve him perfectly and sincerely; put away the gods that your
ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if you
will not serve the Lord, choose today whom you wish to serve, whether the gods
that your ancestors served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in
whose land you are now living. As for me and my House, we will serve the Lord.’
The
people answered, ‘We have no intention of deserting the Lord and serving other gods!
Was it not the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors out of the land of
Egypt, the house of slavery, who worked those great wonders before our eyes and
preserved us all along the way we travelled and among all the peoples through
whom we journeyed? What is more, the Lord drove all those peoples out before
us, as well as the Amorites who used to live in this country. We too will serve
the Lord, for he is our God.’
Then
Joshua said to the people, ‘You cannot serve the Lord, because he is a holy
God, he is a jealous God who will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.
If you desert the Lord to follow alien gods he in turn will afflict and destroy
you after the goodness he has shown you.’ The people answered Joshua, ‘No; it
is the Lord we wish to serve.’ Then Joshua said to the people, ‘You are
witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.’ They
answered, ‘We are witnesses.’ ‘Then cast away the alien gods among you and give
your hearts to the Lord the God of Israel!’ The people answered Joshua, ‘It is
the Lord our God we choose to serve; it is his voice that we will obey.’
That
day, Joshua made a covenant for the people; he laid down a statute and
ordinance for them at Shechem. Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law
of God. Then he took a great stone and set it up there, under the oak in the
sanctuary of the Lord, and Joshua said to all the people, ‘See! This stone
shall be a witness against us because it has heard all the words that the Lord
has spoken to us: it shall be a witness against you in case you deny your God.’
Then Joshua sent the people away, and each returned to his own inheritance.
After
these things Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died; he was a hundred
and ten years old.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm
15(16):1-2,5,7-8,11 ©
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You are my inheritance,
O Lord.
Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.
I say to the Lord: ‘You are my
God.’
O Lord, it is you who are my portion and
cup;
it is you yourself who are my
prize.
You are my inheritance,
O Lord.
I will bless the Lord who gives me
counsel,
who even at night directs my
heart.
I keep the Lord ever in my sight:
since he is at my right hand,
I shall stand firm.
You are my inheritance,
O Lord.
You will show me the path of life,
the fullness of joy in your
presence,
at your right hand happiness
for ever.
You are my inheritance,
O Lord.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Col3:16a,17
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Let the message of Christ, in all its
richness,
find a home with you;
through him give thanks to God the Father.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Mt11:25
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 19:13-15 ©
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Do not stop the little children coming
to me
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People brought little children to Jesus,
for him to lay his hands on them and say a prayer. The disciples turned them
away, but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children alone, and do not stop them
coming to me; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’
Then he laid his hands on them and went on his way.
FORMING THE
YOUNG TO MAKE RIGHT CHOICES
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Josh 24:14-29; Ps 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 11; Mt 19:13-15 ]
One of the challenges
facing young people is the ability to make right choices in life. Young people are connected to the
world of information technology. With the deluge of information they find
in the internet and the social media, with so many diverse views about
everything in life, religion, politics, lifestyle and values, they are confused
and paralyzed when it comes to making choices. They no longer know what
is right or wrong. There are no moral principles guiding them in making
choices; only a matter of preference and pragmatism.
Yet, the choices we make
will determine not just our happiness but also our future. When we make the wrong choices, we have to
live with the consequences. Unfortunately, some of these penalties will
have great impact on our direction in life and our future. Some mistakes
we make in life can cause great scars in our lives, because we end up being
rejected by society or we cannot forgive ourselves for the wrongs we have
done. This is what Joshua meant when he warned his people what
would happen to them if they choose the foreign gods. “You cannot serve
the Lord, because he is a holy God, he is a jealous God who will not forgive
your transgressions or your sins. If you desert the Lord to follow alien gods
he in turn will afflict and destroy you after the goodness he has shown
you.” This is but another way of saying that those who make wrong choices
in life will be destroyed by the evil, falsehood and wrongs they have
committed.
Indeed, man’s greatest
gift is freedom.
This is what it means to be created in God’s image and likeness. We are
given the freedom to love and be loved. However, freedom today is wrongly
understood as the freedom to do anything one likes, even acting against oneself
and against the well-being of their fellowmen. When freedom is not
employed to love God and our fellowmen and for our well-being, then what is a
gift becomes the cause of our destruction. That is why it is important to
ask ourselves how we make use of our freedom. What choices do we make in
life? How do we make our choices?
This is particularly
true for our young people. Parents
and adults have a duty to form our young people to make right choices in their
lives. In the gospel, the Lord paid attention to young children because
they are innocent, teachable and humble to learn. Hence, He reprimanded
the disciples from driving away the children. Instead, “Jesus said, ‘Let
the little children alone, and do not stop them coming to me; for it is to such
as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’ Then he laid his hands on
them.” Parents have a grave responsibility to form their children in the
right values so that they know how to make choices on their own when they grow
up.
The task of parents is
not so much to control their children and make them subservient to them. Even if their children were to obey
them out of fear or even respect, they would not grow as individuals unless
they are allowed to learn to make conscientious decisions in life.
Otherwise, what will happen to their children when their parents are no longer
around? So the duty of parents is to help form the conscience of their
children so that they would be free to make the right choices on their own and
exercise their freedom rightly. Unfortunately, most parents do not help
their children to make choices. Instead, they use their authority to compel
their children to do according to their wishes. They put fear into them
by threatening to disown them or cut them off from the family. If
not, some parents abandon their children to the internet and social media to
form the values of their children.
That Jesus paid
attention to children is a reminder for all who are care-givers, educators,
formators and guardians, the grave responsibility of forming our children in
truth and in authentic love. Hence, we must ask the kind of values we impart to our
children. In most instances, sadly, even Catholic parents put Christian
values at the bottom of how choices are made. The truth is that our
Catholic parents, although “Catholic”, have minds and values that are
determined and influenced more by the world than the gospel. Like the
rest of the world, the emphasis they place on their children are good grades
and a prestigious job or career that pays well. Many parents are not
concerned whether their children have strong moral values, filial piety to
their elders and the country, honesty and integrity, generosity with their time
and resources to help the more unfortunate, the suffering and contributing to
the good of humanity. Hence, for many Catholic parents, religion and
faith are the last on the list of values when forming their children in making
choices in life. Some Catholic parents even discourage their children
from being active in church ministries because they might be distracted from
their studies.
Today, Joshua struck at
the heart of all choices that will determine the rest of the choices we make in
life. He
too felt the urgency of helping his people to make the ultimate choice, the
choice that determines all other choices. He challenged the people saying,
“Fear the Lord and serve him perfectly and sincerely; put away the gods that
your ancestors served beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if
you will not serve the Lord, choose today whom you wish to serve, whether the
gods that your ancestors served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites
in whose land you are now living.” They could only serve the God of
Israel or the gods of their ancestors or that of the Amorites.
In choosing the God they
wished to serve, it would determine all their other values and choices in life. To choose God is to make all
our choices subordinated to Him. This is what the psalmist says. “O
Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup; it is you yourself who are my
prize. I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel, who even at night
directs my heart. I keep the Lord ever in my sight; since he is at my
right hand, I shall stand firm. You will show me the path of life, the fullness
of joy in your presence, at your right hand happiness forever.” Choosing
God implies that we will walk in His path and make Him the center of our
life. All our decisions will be made in such a way that we will glorify
Him in all that we do. Our values are guided by the laws that He laid
down for us. The laws are followed simply because they are the expression
of the wisdom of God.
But why should they
choose the God of Israel? Simply because He is the Ultimate, the giver of
life. That
was what the people said, “We have no intention of deserting the Lord and
serving other Gods! Was it not the Lord our God who brought us and our
ancestors out of the land of Egypt, the house of slavery, who worked those
great wonders before our eyes and preserved us all along the way we travelled
and among all the peoples through whom we journeyed? What is more, the Lord
drove all those people out before us, as well as the Amorites who used to live
in this country. We too will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”
So, what is the
difference between worshipping the God of Israel and the alien gods and the
gods of the Amorites? To
choose other gods is to choose the lesser things of life, like power, glory and
material needs. This is the reason why some people pray to
deities and spirits because they seek protection from all harm and evil; or
they want to enrich themselves, their business and their wealth; or to gain
power in business and politics. Pagans pray to their gods only to get
earthly and worldly blessings and favour from them. It is not about
righteous and moral living. True religion, however, promotes right living and
right thinking that is wholesome, honest, loving, caring and
compassionate. Hence, the people in choosing Yahweh also had to declare,
“It is the Lord our God we choose to serve; it is his voice that we
obey.” Obedience to His word and laws is the way to fullness of life and
not just having our temporal favours answered by God.
Today, as parents and
adults, we must lead by example, not just by words, just as Joshua did. He told the people, “As for me in
my House, we serve the Lord.” We too must be witnesses of love and
truth to our people by the way we live our lives. Just as Joshua said to
the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the
Lord, to serve him. ‘Then cast away the alien gods among you and give your
hearts to the Lord the God of Israel!'” We, too, witness best by the
values and choices we make in life, especially our devotion and reverence to
God. In this way, our children, seeing us living happy, loving, joyful
lives, will also be inspired to choose God as the Ultimate Ground of their
happiness in life.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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