20191014
RENDERING
THE OBEDIENCE OF FAITH
14 OCTOBER,
2019, Monday, 28th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Romans 1:1-7 ©
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From Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus who
has been called to be an apostle, and specially chosen to preach the Good News
that God promised long ago through his prophets in the scriptures.
This
news is about the Son of God who, according to the human nature he took was a
descendant of David: it is about Jesus Christ our Lord who, in the order of the
spirit, the spirit of holiness that was in him, was proclaimed Son of God in
all his power through his resurrection from the dead. Through him we received
grace and our apostolic mission to preach the obedience of faith to all pagan
nations in honour of his name. You are one of these nations, and by his call
belong to Jesus Christ. To you all, then, who are God’s beloved in Rome, called
to be saints, may God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ send grace and
peace.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 97(98):1-4 ©
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The Lord has made known
his salvation.
Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.
The Lord has made known
his salvation.
The Lord has made known his salvation;
has shown his justice to the
nations.
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.
The Lord has made known
his salvation.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.
The Lord has made known
his salvation.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps118:88
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Because of your love give me life,
and I will do your will.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Ps94:8
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 11:29-32 ©
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The crowds got even bigger, and Jesus
addressed them:
‘This
is a wicked generation; it is asking for a sign. The only sign it will be given
is the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will
the Son of Man be to this generation. On Judgement day the Queen of the South
will rise up with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came
from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is
something greater than Solomon here. On Judgement day the men of Nineveh will
stand up with this generation and condemn it, because when Jonah preached they
repented; and there is something greater than Jonah here.’
RENDERING THE
OBEDIENCE OF FAITH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Rom 1:1-7; Ps 98:1-4; Lk 11:29-32 ]
In the responsorial
psalm, the psalmist sang for joy because “The Lord has made known his
salvation.” Can we identify
with the psalmist the need for salvation and that He has indeed made known His
salvation? If these two presuppositions are not met, then we can
appreciate why the world today cannot accept the gospel as revealed by
God. The modern man does not think he needs salvation. He thinks he
can save himself by his own strength and ingenuity. He does not
need help from any divine intervention because for him, there is no spiritual
world. He is just made of matter and unto dust he returns.
But even if we realize
our limitations and know that there is a power beyond us, which we call God,
then we need to feel that we are saved before we can proclaim with conviction
that the Lord has made known His salvation. Israel knew her limitations. Enemies
all around her threatened her existence. Thus, she had to trust and rely
on the Lord. If the psalmist could sing this song of praise, it is
because he encountered God’s salvation in His saving work. “Sing a new
song to the Lord for he has worked wonders. His right hand and his holy
arm have brought salvation. The Lord has made known his salvation; has
shown his justice to the nations. He has remembered his truth and love for the
house of Israel.”
The Good News is that
this salvation promised to Israel and to the nations reached its climax in the
person of Jesus Christ. St
Paul called himself, “a servant of Christ Jesus who has been called to be an
apostle, and specially chosen to preach the Good News that God promised long
ago through his prophets in the scriptures.” What is this Good News
that is now fulfilled? It is about Jesus Christ. But what
signs do we have to justify that Christ is the revelation of God and therefore
our salvation?
Jesus is firstly the Son
of God who assumed our humanity.
God is not contented just to send us prophets to save us but He came to us in
the flesh. As St Paul said, “This news is about the Son of God who,
according to the human nature he took, was a descendant of David.” The
Incarnation remains one of the most important doctrines of the Christian
Faith. Beyond all imagination, God chose to be born of a virgin in the
person of Mary. He took upon Himself our human flesh, became one of us
and with us, except that He is without sin. “For we do not have a high
priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in
every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let
us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive
mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:15f)
Secondly, we know that
Jesus is the revealer and the revealed because He is the Word of God in person. St John wrote, “In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the
beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without
him not one thing came into being. And the Word became flesh and lived among
us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of
grace and truth. (Jn 1:1-3, 14) This was the sign that Jesus gave to
His contemporaries when He spoke of the Queen of the South who went all the way
to hear the wisdom of Solomon. “On judgement day the Queen of the South
will rise up with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came
from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is
something greater than Solomon here.” Jesus as the Word of God gives
light to the world. “Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No
one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the
Father’s heart, who has made him known.” (Jn 1:17f)
Thirdly, Jesus did not
simply preach the Word of God. He demonstrated by His works of mercy, healing
and exorcism. When
Jesus was on earth, He was filled with the Spirit of the Lord. St Peter
recounted, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power;
how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil,
for God was with him.” (Acts 10:38) After Jesus raised the Widow’s son
at Nain back to life, “fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying,
‘A great prophet has risen among us!’ and ‘God has looked favorably on his
people!’ This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the
surrounding country.” (Lk 7:16f)
Fourthly, His divinity was seen through His
humanity, especially in His death and resurrection. About Jesus,
St Paul said, “who, in the order of the spirit of holiness that was in him, was
proclaimed Son of God in all his power through his resurrection from the
dead.” The apostles’ faith was rooted in the resurrection of
Christ. Peter said, “We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea
and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God
raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the
people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank
with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the
people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living
and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who
believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:39b-43)
St Paul who was graced
with this revelation had been commissioned to share this Good News to all of
humanity. Writing to the
Ephesians, he said, “In former generations this mystery was not made known
to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by
the Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the
same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the
gospel.” (Eph 3:5f) This
great privilege is given to all because we are God’s beloved and chosen for
Christ. He said, “You are one of these nations, and by his call belong to
Jesus Christ. To you all, men, who are God’s beloved in Rome, called to
be saints, may God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ send grace and peace.”
We are God’s beloved and chosen to be saints in Him by belonging to Christ so
that we too may share His peace and grace. What a wonderful calling
in life! To become like God and sharing in His peace, love and grace is
what salvation is all about. We are called to belong to Jesus Christ and
to be members of His body, the Church.
In the light of this
revelation, what is required of us is the obedience of faith. If God has revealed Himself in
Christ, we must surrender our lives to Him in faith. Like St Peter, we
too must confess in faith, “‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living
God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah!
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in
heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my
church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” (Mt 16:16-18) Again in John, St Peter
answered the Lord when He asked him, “Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter
answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We
have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” (Jn 6:67-69) It means to confess
with the apostles, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other
name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
Faith is more than an
assent to the fact that Christ is the Son of God and our Savior; it means a corresponding way of
life. This call entails that we live a life worthy of our
calling. (cf Eph 4:1) This is
what the obedience of faith requires of us. It must be seen in the way we
die to our sins and profess Him as our Lord not just on our lips but in our way
of life. Obedience in faith means walking the way of the Lord, taking up
our cross and following after Him. It means being receptive to His saving
grace and seeing Him present in our daily life. We must allow the good
news to take effect in our lives. If we were to allow Christ’s salvation
to happen to us, we must allow the Good News to penetrate and permeate every
area of our life. Like the Ninevites and the Queen of Sheba, we are
called to repent and turn to Him as our Saviour.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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