20190923
REBUILDING
OUR SHATTERED DREAM
23 SEPTEMBER,
2019, Monday, 25th Week, Ordinary Time
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First reading
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Ezra 1:1-6 ©
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In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia,
to fulfil the word of the Lord that was spoken through Jeremiah, the Lord
roused the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to issue a proclamation and to have
it publicly displayed throughout his kingdom: ‘Thus speaks Cyrus king of
Persia, “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the
earth; he has ordered me to build him a Temple in Jerusalem, in Judah. Whoever
there is among you of all his people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to
Jerusalem in Judah to build the Temple of the Lord, the God of Israel – he
is the God who is in Jerusalem. And let each survivor, wherever he lives, be
helped by the people of that place with silver and gold, with goods and cattle,
as well as voluntary offerings for the Temple of God which is in Jerusalem.”’
Then the heads of families of
Judah and of Benjamin, the priests and the Levites, in fact all whose spirit
had been roused by God, prepared to go and rebuild the Temple of the Lord in
Jerusalem; and all their neighbours gave them every assistance with silver,
gold, goods, cattle, quantities of costly gifts and with voluntary offerings of
every kind.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 125(126) ©
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What marvels the Lord
worked for us.
When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage,
it seemed like a dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
on our lips there were songs.
What marvels the Lord
worked for us.
The heathens themselves said: ‘What
marvels
the Lord worked for them!’
What marvels the Lord worked for us!
Indeed we were glad.
What marvels the Lord
worked for us.
Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage
as streams in dry land.
Those who are sowing in tears
will sing when they reap.
What marvels the Lord
worked for us.
They go out, they go out, full of tears,
carrying seed for the sowing:
they come back, they come back, full of
song,
carrying their sheaves.
What marvels the Lord
worked for us.
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Gospel Acclamation
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James1:18
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Alleluia, alleluia!
By his own choice the Father made us his
children
by the message of the truth,
so that we should be a sort of
first-fruits
of all that he created.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Mt5:16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Your light must shine in the sight of men,
so that, seeing your good works,
they may give the praise to your Father in
heaven.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 8:16-18 ©
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Jesus said to the crowds:
‘No
one lights a lamp to cover it with a bowl or to put it under a bed. No, he puts
it on a lamp-stand so that people may see the light when they come in. For
nothing is hidden but it will be made clear, nothing secret but it will be
known and brought to light. So take care how you hear; for anyone who has will
be given more; from anyone who has not, even what he thinks he has will be
taken away.’
REBUILDING OUR
SHATTERED DREAM
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Ezra 1:1-16; Ps 126; Lk 8:16-18 ]
For more than 2000
years, the Roman Catholic Church has been in the forefront of the spread of the
gospel. We have more than
1.2 billion members who profess themselves as Roman Catholics. Thousands
of missionaries left their homeland and families in Europe and went to the New
World, the Far East and Africa to spread the gospel. Not only did they
proclaim Christ to the world but they also concretized the love of Christ in
charitable, humanitarian and social services. The charitable
organizations of the Church are many, serving all regardless of race, language
and religion. In Singapore alone, we have more than 52 affiliate members
belonging to Caritas and Charis, our Church’s social arms. We have
more than 36 Catholic Schools, besides pre-schools, hospital and nursing
homes. However, this phenomenon is not only present in Singapore but in
many parts of the world where Catholics have put the gospel they heard into practice. So
what must be done?
But in recent years we
have seen the full-blown complacency and corruption of the Church, especially
in the Church’s hierarchy,
the scandals caused and trust and credibility eroded. It has led many
Catholics to become disillusioned with the Church and not a few have left as
they lost confidence in the institution of the Church and her leaders.
Faith is shaken, zeal for the mission is weakened, membership diminished.
To be fair, the situation is not just caused by the hierarchy but we are living
in a society that has degenerated over the years because secularism is promoted
as the new religion. Our priests come from society. By the
time they enter the seminary, they have already been contaminated by the amoral
values of the world. Relativism has caused all moral values to be
devalued. Materialism has caused a vacuum in the hearts of our people who
are seeking something deeper and lasting. Due to consumerism and
the influence of society, this inner voice calling them to God is
anaesthetized. The restless hearts of people seeking for God is replaced
with materialism and a hedonistic outlook of life.
Yet, in the midst of the
doom and gloom, there is a silver lining for the Church. The scandals and weaknesses of the
Church serve as a wake-up call to all, both the hierarchy and the laity, that
something has to be done to restore the Church to its glory as the Church of
Christ, the light shining in the world and the moral spokesman for
humanity. Indeed, there is no better time to purify the Church
because of the urgency in view of the current climate of corruption and
complacency within the Church on one hand, and on the other, the growing
secularism and relativism in the world.
Indeed, we are in a
similar situation as the Jews during the time King Cyrus of Persia. The king, a god-fearing man, was
inspired by God to allow the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their
temple. “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of
the earth; he has ordered me to build him a Temple in Jerusalem, in
Judah. Whoever there is among you of all his people, may his God be with
him! Let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah to build the Temple of the Lord,
the God of Israel – he is the God who is in Jerusalem.” Today, this is
also the call of the Church as well. We need to rebuild the image of the
Catholic Church. Instead of one that is portrayed for their pedophilia
offences, we must project a Church of compassion, forgiveness, faith and hope.
Just as Cyrus, a pagan king who encouraged the people to go back to their
homeland to rebuild what they had lost, especially the Temple of Jerusalem, we,
too, must make use of this so-called dark period of the Church as a time of
purification and strengthening of faith. We must use this opportunity to
re-define ourselves and move forward so that we can regain trust, confidence
and truly become the Sacrament of love and unity in the world.
Indeed, the Lord
reminded us in today’s gospel, “No one lights a lamp to cover it with a bowl or
to put it under the bed.
No, he puts it on a lamp stand so that people may see the light when they come
in.” We are called to be light and salt of the world. “You
are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its
saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and
trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill
cannot be hid.” (Mt 5:13f)
One of the reasons why
we are in this situation is simply because the few good people in the Church
and in the world are silent whilst those who propagate selfish, self-centered,
relativistic and even immoral activities speak so loudly that their voice is
heard so oftenthrough
the media, social, digital and print, television, movies and entertainment
programs. So much so, what was then not accepted is now believed to be
the norm of society. In the olden days, divorce was frowned upon,
abortion was rejected, adultery was seen as a crime, and homosexuality was seen
as a hideous sin and offence. Over time, because of desensitization of
our conscience when these are presented as something acceptable since others
are all doing it, it has become the norm for society.
The silent minority who
take comfort in their false security have come to realize that being silent in
the face of evil will cause them and their children to lose the gospel values. The reality remains that if we do
not influence the world with the gospel values, then the secularistic and
pragmatic agenda of the world will win our people over, especially the young
because they are exposed more to the social and digital media than to the
gospel and our influence. Jesus warned us, “for anyone who has will be
given more; from anyone who has not, even what he thinks he has will be taken
away.”
Indeed, if we do not
evangelize the world then the world will secularize us. There is no
middle path. By not speaking
the truth, we will allow falsehood to overwhelm us. Of course, the simple
reason is that we are afraid to speak the truth for fear of losing our
security, popularity and adulation by the world. Our heart is
not with Jesus. Religion is just another social advertisement to the
world of how good and holy we are. It is a means to acceptance,
popularity, promotion and social status. However, we are not deeply
convicted about the truths of the gospel. We have no real love for the
Lord. Like the apostles before the resurrection, we follow Jesus for all
the wrong reasons. We pay lip service to Him. Like Peter and the
rest of the apostles, we profess we are ready to die for Jesus but in the face
of persecution and opposition, we remain silent. This is the sadness of
the Catholic Church. We have more than a billion Catholics but how many
are well grounded in their faith? How many will stand up for Jesus and
the gospel? Nay, they put their career, their pleasure, their privileges
and their popularity before their commitment to the Lord.
So what must be done? We
need to return to the gospel and the teachings of the Church. We need to renew
our personal relationship with the Lord, spending time in personal prayer,
reflection, worship and intimacy with Him. Jesus said, “So take care how you hear; for
anyone who has will be given more; from anyone who has not, even what he thinks
he has will be taken away.” We must go back to the Word of God.
“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.” (2 Tim 3:16f) Let us build our lives on
Christ and the gospel. “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. And everyone who hears
these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who
built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds
blew and beat against that house, and it fell–and great was its
fall!” (Mt 7:24-27) Jesus
warned us in the gospel, “For nothing is hidden but it will be made clear,
nothing secret but it will be known and bought to light.” What is our
choice?
We must take
action! We must offer our services and resources to rebuild the Church. This is the time when the laity
must assume greater leadership when Church leaders have failed in their
duty. The clergy must be humble enough to trust and allow our laity to
help in the governance of the Church so that there will be greater
transparency. Every Catholic has a duty to help the Church to reform and
pressure the clergy to reform themselves if they are complacent.
Indeed, that was what the King told the people, “And let each
survivor, wherever he lives, be helped by the people of that place with silver
and gold, with goods and cattle, as well as voluntary offerings for the Temple
of God which is in Jerusalem.” And the people cooperated, “the
heads of families of Judah and of Benjamin, the priests and the Levites, in
fact all whose spirit had been roused by God, prepared to go and rebuild the
Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem: and all their neighbours gave them every
assistance with silver, gold, goods cattle, quantities of costly gifts and with
voluntary offerings of every kind.” Each one of us, both clergy and
laity, must truly ask ourselves whether we are part of the renewal movement to
rebuild the Church and reclaim our dream before the Church falls to ruins.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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