20191022
PROSPECTIVE
DISCIPLESHIP
22 OCTOBER,
2019, Tuesday, 29th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Romans 5:12,15,17-21 ©
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Sin entered the world through one man, and
through sin death, and thus death has spread through the whole human race
because everyone has sinned; but the gift itself considerably outweighed the
fall. If it is certain that through one man’s fall so many died, it is even
more certain that divine grace, coming through the one man, Jesus Christ, came
to so many as an abundant free gift. If it is certain that death reigned over
everyone as the consequence of one man’s fall, it is even more certain that one
man, Jesus Christ, will cause everyone to reign in life who receives the free
gift that he does not deserve, of being made righteous. Again, as one man’s
fall brought condemnation on everyone, so the good act of one man brings
everyone life and makes them justified. As by one man’s disobedience many were
made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous. When law
came, it was to multiply the opportunities of failing, but however great the
number of sins committed, grace was even greater; and so, just as sin reigned
wherever there was death, so grace will reign to bring eternal life thanks to
the righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 39(40):7-10,17 ©
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Here I am, Lord! I come
to do your will.
You do not ask for sacrifice and
offerings,
but an open ear.
You do not ask for holocaust and victim.
Instead, here am I.
Here I am, Lord! I come
to do your will.
In the scroll of the book it stands
written
that I should do your will.
My God, I delight in your law
in the depth of my heart.
Here I am, Lord! I come
to do your will.
Your justice I have proclaimed
in the great assembly.
My lips I have not sealed;
you know it, O Lord.
Here I am, Lord! I come
to do your will.
O let there be rejoicing and gladness
for all who seek you.
Let them ever say: ‘The Lord is great’,
who love your saving help.
Here I am, Lord! I come
to do your will.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Lk8:15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are those who,
with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves
and yield a harvest through their
perseverance.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Lk21:36
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake, praying at all times
for the strength to stand with confidence
before the Son of Man.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 12:36-38 ©
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Jesus said to his disciples:
‘See
that you are dressed for action and have your lamps lit. Be like men waiting
for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as
soon as he comes and knocks. Happy those servants whom the master finds awake
when he comes. I tell you solemnly, he will put on an apron, sit them down at
table and wait on them. It may be in the second watch he comes, or in the
third, but happy those servants if he finds them ready.’
PROSPECTIVE
DISCIPLESHIP
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Rom 5:12.15.17-21; Ps 40:7-10, 17; Lk 12:35-38 ]
The world is falling
into the brink of despair.
This is because of sin. Relativism has caused the world to lose the sense
of what is right and wrong. Individualism has caused humanity to be
inward-looking, selfish and self-centered. Materialism has made man
forget that he has a soul and a spirit. Secularism has removed humanity
from the Sacred and the reality of God in our lives. The ultimate
manifestation of sin, as St Paul says, is death. “Sin entered the world
through one man, and through sin death, and thus death has spread through the
whole human race because everyone has sinned.”
Indeed, we see that
these trends have led humanity into promoting a culture of death. With no hope for the future, man
lives only for himself and not for others as there is no future beyond their
life on earth. So, one can do evil, cheat and manipulate others so long
as we do not get caught. Our actions have only consequences for this
life. When there is no life beyond this earthly life, man regards his
life as of little value. On one hand, it seems that the world is
promoting the dignity of man when in actual fact, it is but the promotion of
individualism and lawless exercise of freedom. In truth, without
acknowledgement of God and the human soul, man has lost all his dignity because
he is no longer seen as the “image” of God, and not sharing in the life and
love of God. The consequence is the destruction of life, beginning with
conception, the embryos, the unborn baby or even a newly born baby and now the
promotion of euthanasia. This also explains why the modern person has no
qualms about committing suicide when life gets tough because they think it is
the end of all suffering and of life. There are no eternal consequences
for their actions.
But the scripture warns
us about the eternal consequences of our actions for the future, not just ours
but the future of humanity at large; not just on this earth but life
hereafter. This
is what the doctrine of Original Sin, implicit in today’s first reading, is
teaching us. “If it is certain that death reigned over everyone as the
consequence of one man’s fall, it is even more certain that one man, Jesus
Christ, will cause everyone to reign in life who receives the free gift that he
does not deserve, of being made righteous. Again, as one man’s fall
brought condemnation on everyone, so the good act of one man brings everyone
life and makes them justified.” The sin of Adam has caused us all to sin
and through sin death in all its forms, affective, spiritual and physical
death. This happens simply because as descendants of Adam, we share in
the wounded nature of our first parents. Because of their sin, they had
forfeited the gifts that pertain to the Original Justice, which are infused
knowledge, control of the will, freedom from pain and death. In its place,
we live in ignorance, disorientation of the will, pain and the fear of death.
But there is hope as
well. The sin of Adam has caused the rest of us to be deprived of the
gifts that belong to Original Justice.
But Christ, who is the Second Adam, and far greater than Adam the first man,
has saved us from our sins and restored us to a right relationship with
God. “Again, as one man’s fall brought condemnation on everyone, so the
good act of one man brings everyone life and makes them justified. As by
one man’s obedience many will be made righteous. But however great the
number of sins committed, grace was even greater; and so, just as sin reigned
wherever there was death, so grace will reign to bring eternal life, thanks to
the righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Indeed, in
Jesus, God is reminding us that not all is hopeless. Even if the negative
trends in this world seem to be inexorably heading towards the destruction, not
just of humanity but of the planet earth, the Word of God gives us hope.
In Christ, we have a certain hope that God will save us all from the clutches
of the Evil One. He will triumph at the end of the day because His grace
is greater and more powerful than our sins.
But this also means that
we must be alert and ready to welcome Christ into our lives. Jesus said to His disciples, “See
that you are dressed for action and have your lamps lit. Be like men
waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the
door as soon as he comes and knocks.” As disciples of Christ, we must
live in a prospective perspective. This is to say, that we must live with
the prospect of Christ’s coming here and now and finally hereafter.
Living in the now with an eye on the future is how we live our lives responsibly
and fully. Because we are certain of the future, we are fully cognizant
that what we say and do now will have an impact on tomorrow, whether on
ourselves or the future of society. Most of all, we are aware of the
eternal consequences of our actions today in view of the fact that our souls
live on in God and does not cease with biological death.
Indeed, those who have
no future to live for, will also not be motivated to live for the present. Life is aimless, meaningless and
boring in spite of the many activities they are involved in. There is no
real and clear direction for what they are doing and why they are doing and
what eternal outcomes we intend to achieve. If our actions have no
eternal consequences for ourselves and for humanity, what is the reason for us
to work so hard, make sacrifices for others and for the nation? Thus,
those who claim to live only for the present are those who will live their
lives irresponsibly, caring only for their comfort and enjoyment, without any
respect for others, any care for the rest of humanity, the future of creation.
The doctrine of Original
Sin not only makes us aware that we are a fallen humanity, inclined to sin and
selfishness because of fear, insecurity and ignorance, but that we are in
solidarity in sin.
Our words and examples affect each other inevitably. So we must bear in
mind that not only are we sucked into a culture but we are changing
cultures. The unfortunate thing in the world today is that because of
mass media and social media, the culture in the world is no longer dictated by
our parents but by the masses. Our children imbibe all the worldly values
from the internet and social media. So much so, there is such a great gap
between the different generations in society today, from the Baby Boomers, Gen
X, Y or Millennials to Gen Z. The culture that our Gen Z is formed
in sadly is a culture of death! It is leading them to annihilation.
The warning of St Paul in the first reading is real and timely.
So what must we do? We
need to do all we can with God’s grace to arrest the negative trends of the
culture that is promoted by an atheistic and secular world. Jesus said “See that you are dressed for
action and have your lamps lit.” What does it mean to be dressed for
action and have our lamps lit? It means that we are ready for
action. In those days, they wore long flowing robes which were cumbersome
for easy movement. So, they had to tuck in their robes under their
sash. So, we too must remove all the hindrances that prevent us from
welcoming Christ and the gospel into our lives. We must keep
ourselves available to the Lord in prayer, in spiritual formation and in union
with the Church, the saved community of the Lord.
Secondly, we need to
light up our lamps not just for our sake but so that we can light up the lives
of others. We are called to
be like the Lord who acted like a servant when He came back from the banquet to
serve His servants as He did at the Last Supper. Jesus had taught His
disciples that true leadership is always humble service like that of a
slave. We must be servants of truth and love by our teaching and by
our lives of compassion. Only when we serve humbly, as a witness to what
is true and good for society, can we hope to transform society and its culture.
There is no separation between the mundane and the sacred.
What, then, is our
response? With
the psalmist, we say, “Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will. You
do not ask for sacrifice and offerings, but an open ear. You do not ask for
holocaust and victim. Instead, here am I. In the scroll of
the book it stands written that I should do your will. My God, I delight in
your law in the depth of my heart.” Do we say “Yes” to the Lord, or do we
resign ourselves to what is happening in the world and give up, which is what
Satan wants us to do. He wants us to feel hopeless. If we feel that
way, let us always remember, as St Paul assures us, “where sin increased, grace
increased all the more.” (Rom 5:20 NIV)
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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