20191019
FEAR
GOD AND STAND UP FOR JESUS IN FAITH
19 OCTOBER,
2019, Saturday, 28th Week, Ordinary Time
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First reading
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Romans 4:13,16-18 ©
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The promise of inheriting the world was
not made to Abraham and his descendants on account of any law but on account of
the righteousness which consists in faith. That is why what fulfils the promise
depends on faith, so that it may be a free gift and be available to all of
Abraham’s descendants, not only those who belong to the Law but also those who
belong to the faith of Abraham who is the father of all of us. As scripture
says: I have made you the ancestor of many nations – Abraham
is our father in the eyes of God, in whom he put his faith, and who brings the
dead to life and calls into being what does not exist.
Though it seemed Abraham’s
hope could not be fulfilled, he hoped and he believed, and through doing so he
did become the father of many nations exactly as he had been
promised: Your descendants will be as many as the stars.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm
104(105):6-9,42-43 ©
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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!
For he remembered his holy word,
which he gave to Abraham his
servant.
So he brought out his people with joy,
his chosen ones with shouts of
rejoicing.
The Lord remembers his
covenant for ever.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel Acclamation
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1S3:9,Jn6:68
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Speak, Lord, your servant is listening:
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Jn15:26,27
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The Spirit of truth will be my witness;
and you too will be my witnesses.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 12:8-12 ©
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Jesus said to his disciples:
‘I
tell you, if anyone openly declares himself for me in the presence of men, the
Son of Man will declare himself for him in the presence of the angels. But the
man who disowns me in the presence of men will be disowned in the presence of
God’s angels.
‘Everyone
who says a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but he who blasphemes
against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
‘When
they take you before synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry
about how to defend yourselves or what to say, because when the time comes, the
Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say.’
FEAR GOD AND
STAND UP FOR JESUS IN FAITH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Rom 4:13.16-18; Ps 105:6-9, 42-43; Lk 12:8-12]
Until the 19th Century,
atheism was considered a crime in many countries and atheists were
discriminated in most countries. It
was only in 1993 that the United Nations in Article 18 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights removed all discrimination against those who do not
profess any belief or religion. Until then, it was considered
socially commendable if a politician or anyone in public office or in the
corporate world expressed his or her faith in public and even in official
speeches. With the advent of the Enlightenment Period and the Industrial
Revolution, atheism became more and more the acceptable norm for society.
In fact, very few public officials, celebrities or corporate leaders would dare
to express their faith in public, especially in their speeches. Today,
when one does it, their listeners will feel uncomfortable on one hand, or those
who have faith, secretly admire them for their courage to profess their faith
in public. Indeed, the novelty today is when asked about your faith is to
say that you are an agnostic, an atheist, a humanist or the most popular
expression, a free thinker, for to profess that one has faith in God, we are
deemed to be superstitious, naïve and infantile in our thinking.
Indeed, many Catholics
are diffident in proclaiming and expressing their faith in Christ in public
because of social, political and economic pressure. If our friends, colleagues, and
business partners know that we are Catholic, they might not do business with us
or be our friends because they think we are dogmatic and narrow-minded in
morality. So for the sake of business and friendship, we keep the faith
to ourselves. At any rate, we succumb to social pressure because no
one nowadays is willing to bring faith into public discourse.
Otherwise, there might be political pressure either by fundamentalists of
another religion that dominates the country or by atheistic and secularistic
governments. Professing your faith publicly could lose you votes
for election to the government and discrimination from getting promoted in
political office, and most of all, economic pressure from those whom we are
working for. Many multi-national companies are driven not just by
economic power but a desire to expand their ideologies like same-sex union on
those countries dependent on them for economic help. So, if we do not
subscribe to their ideological slant, we will not be able to get their business
and their financial assistance. Indeed, we are afraid to lose our popularity.
Jesus too was very popular with the people. “Meanwhile, when the crowd gathered
by the thousands, so that they trampled on one another, he began to speak first
to his disciples.” But He knew that eventually, because He speaks the truth,
He would be rejected, despised and condemned by His own fellowmen.
It is within this
context that the gospel message sends us a strong reminder of what it takes to
be a disciple of Christ.
Jesus said to His disciples, “I tell you, if anyone openly declares himself for
me in the presence of men, the Son of Man will declare himself for him in the
presence of God’s angels. But the man who disowns me in the presence of
men will be disowned in the presence of God’s angels.” Catholics
are afraid to stand up for Jesus and for their faith. They like to hide
their faith from society and from the world. They might go to Mass every
Sunday but faith is kept within the Church and their homes. They would
not talk about Jesus or share with others what Jesus meant for them in their
lives or have done for them. Because they do not talk about their faith,
they eventually forget about their faith and about God in their daily
life. When we do not talk or think about a person, eventually as the
proverb says, “Out of sight, out of mind.” Indeed, the failure to stand
up for Jesus, to witness to His love is the reason why the faith of our
Catholic is weak, individualistic and a privatized faith. The world wants
to silence us from speaking so that eventually, not only will the world forget
about Christ, but even we ourselves will gradually lose the sense of His
presence.
The temptation for many
Catholics is to live a double life, like the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus condemns our
hypocrisy. Earlier on, Jesus warned His disciples, “Beware of the
yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy.” (Lk 12:1) We call ourselves Catholics but
only in the dark. In private life, we pray to Jesus, attend mass but in public,
we adopt the pagan values of the world. We subscribe to the amorality or
the world with respect to abortion, euthanasia; a culture of fake love,
divorce, same sex union, pornography and promiscuity. Our lives are no
different from those without faith in God. Our values are not
life-giving, a true expression of love and compassion. When we try to
live double lives, we will, as the Lord warns us, be exposed eventually!
“Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will
not become known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be
heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be
proclaimed from the housetops.” (Lk 12:2f)
Worst still are those
Catholics who persistently reject the prompting of the Holy Spirit to live a
righteous life.
Jesus warns us, “Everyone who says a word against the Son of Man will be
forgiven, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be
forgiven.” Whilst the denial against Jesus because of fear or cowardice
could be forgiven, the sin against the Holy Spirit, that is the refusal to obey
His word even though we know that the Holy Spirit has spoken and what is taught
in the Word of God and by the Church is true, will not. Those of us who
seek to silence our conscience and deafen to the voice of God, are rejecting
the goodness of the Holy Spirit. Such people will face self-condemnation
when they appear before Christ and His angels.
Indeed, instead of
fearing the world, we are called to fear God instead! “I tell you, my friends, do not
fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. But I
will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to
cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!” (Lk 12:4f) The world can at most cause us
to suffer on this earth. But this life is short compared to
eternity. Have we thought of what will happen to us after death?
Will we be able to face God when we have denied Him in public on earth?
Will we be able to face God when we blatantly disobeyed His commandments in
life? It is true that we might have to suffer persecution in the world for
our faith but our place in heaven is secure.
Like Abraham in the
first reading, we are called to have faith in God, to trust Him. St Paul wrote, “The promise of
inheriting the world was not made to Abraham and his descendants on account of
any law but on account of the righteousness which consists in faith. That
is why what fulfils the promise depends on faith, so that it may be a free gift
and be available to all of Abraham’s descendants, not only those who belong to
the Law but also those who belong to the faith of Abraham who is the father of
all of us.” (Rom 4:13, 16) Faith requires our response in
freedom. We are free to respond in faith or not. Having faith in
Jesus is what will please God. Having faith in anyone for that matter
makes the person who is trusted feel loved and appreciated. When we lack
faith in people, they cannot grow or realize their potential because we lack
confidence in them. When we show our confidence in them, they become more
confident of themselves. In the case of our relationship with God, He
does not need us to help Him to be confident of Himself but He wants us to be confident
of ourselves.
When we have faith in
Him, we will have the courage to do what we are called to do. This was how the Lord assured the
disciples, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is
forgotten in God’s sight. But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do
not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Lk 12:6f) Again, He assured them, “When
they take you before synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry
about how to defend yourselves or what to say, because when the time comes, the
Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say.” (Lk 12:11f) Indeed, Jesus will supply us
the wisdom and strength to remain firm in our testimony for Him if we surrender
in faith. That was what happened to the apostles when they were put on
trial. (Acts 4:1-22; 6:8-10) St Peter and the apostles and St
Stephen defended their faith in Christ courageously before the Sanhedrin
because the Holy Spirit filled them with wisdom and courage. Indeed, as
the psalmist says, “He remembers his covenant for ever, his promise for a
thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to
Isaac. For he remembered his holy word, which he gave to Abraham his
servant. So he brought out his people with joy, his chosen ones with shouts of
rejoicing.”
Let us therefore in
faith, stand up for Jesus, not just for our sake but for our children’s
children‘s future and
the future of humanity. Even though the world has become so
secularized and our children seem to have lost the gospel values of life, let
us continue to labour in love and in hope like Abraham, without giving up in
the face of daunting challenges. We must follow Abraham’s faith.
“Though it seemed Abraham’s hope could not be fulfilled, he hoped and he
believed, and through doing so he did become the father of many nations exactly
as he had been promised: Your descendants will be as many as the stars.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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