20191024
SETTING
THE WORLD ABLAZE
24 OCTOBER,
2019, Thursday, 29th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Romans 6:19-23 ©
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If I may use human terms to help your
natural weakness: as once you put your bodies at the service of vice and
immorality, so now you must put them at the service of righteousness for your
sanctification.
When
you were slaves of sin, you felt no obligation to righteousness, and what did
you get from this? Nothing but experiences that now make you blush, since that
sort of behaviour ends in death. Now, however, you have been set free from sin,
you have been made slaves of God, and you get a reward leading to your
sanctification and ending in eternal life. For the wage paid by sin is death;
the present given by God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 1:1-4,6 ©
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Happy the man who has
placed his trust in the Lord.
Happy indeed is the man
who follows not the counsel of
the wicked;
nor lingers in the way of sinners
nor sits in the company of
scorners,
but whose delight is the law of the Lord
and who ponders his law day
and night.
Happy the man who has
placed his trust in the Lord.
He is like a tree that is planted
beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due season
and whose leaves shall never
fade;
and all that he does shall
prosper.
Happy the man who has
placed his trust in the Lord.
Not so are the wicked, not so!
For they like winnowed chaff
shall be driven away by the
wind:
for the Lord guards the way of the just
but the way of the wicked
leads to doom.
Happy the man who has
placed his trust in the Lord.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jn8:12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the world, says the
Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light
of life.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Ph3:8-9
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I have accepted the loss of everything
and I look on everything as so much
rubbish
if only I can have Christ
and be given a place in him.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 12:49-53 ©
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Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I have come
to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already! There is a
baptism I must still receive, and how great is my distress till it is over!
‘Do
you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather
division. For from now on a household of five will be divided: three against
two and two against three; the father divided against the son, son against
father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against
daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’
SETTING THE
WORLD ABLAZE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Rom 6:19-23; Ps 1:1-4,6; Luke 12:49-53 ]
Jesus said to His disciples, “I have
come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already!”
There are two ways to bring fire to the earth and set it ablaze.
The first way to set the
world ablaze is by destruction.
Indeed, this is what is happening in the world. Scientists have warned us the
dangers of global warming because humanity is not treating nature with care and
with respect. The ozone layer is depleted because of deforestation and
energy consumption. Nature, trees, plants, animals, wild life, sea
creatures are destroyed by human beings because of greed, selfishness and
pragmatism. Indeed, environmentalists have warned us that the freak
weather and unpredictable climate changes in the world today are the
consequence of the abuse of nature. We have not respected the ecology of
the planet. But the failure of environmental ecology has to do with the
failure to respect the ecology of the human person.
The body of the human
person is not recognized for its dignity and that men and women are complementary to the
family. The world has redefined the family based on ideological position
rather than an anthropological fact. Indeed, St John Paul II in his
encyclical Centesimus Annus, said, “The first and fundamental structure for a
‘human ecology’ is the family, founded on marriage, in which the mutual gift of
self as husband and wife creates an environment in which children can be born
and grow up” (No. 39). Pope Francis wrote, “The acceptance of our body as
a gift from God is vital for welcoming and accepting the entire world as a gift
from the Father and our common home, whereas thinking that we enjoy absolute
power over our own bodies turns, often subtly, into thinking that we enjoy an
absolute power over creation. Learning to accept your body, to care for it and
to respect its fullest meaning, is an essential element of any genuine human
ecology. Also, valuing one’s own body in its femininity or masculinity is
necessary if I am going to be able to recognize myself in an encounter with
someone who is different” (Laudato si’, 155).
Pope Francis warns, “The
popes have spoken of a human ecology, closely connected
with environmental ecology. We
are living in a time of crisis; we see it in the environment, but above all we
see it in men and women. The human person is in danger; this much is certain.
The human person is in danger today, hence the urgent need for human ecology!
And the peril is grave, because the cause of the problem is not superficial but
deeply rooted. It is not merely a question of economics but of ethics and
anthropology.” (World Environment Day on June 5, 2013) It is the promotion of
secularism, moral relativism, pragmatism and humanism that leads to
self-annihilation due to a loss of eternal meaning in what we do today.
Indeed, as St Paul tells
us in the first reading, “the wage paid by sin is death.” When we no longer respect the ecology of
nature, the ecology of the human person, we are deceived into thinking that our
life ends with this world. This is the greatest lie of the Evil One to
make us believe that there is no world beyond this life. Instead of
using our body to glorify God and be at the service of humanity, we have put
our “bodies at the service of vice and immorality.” What are the
consequences of using our body in such a way? “When you were slaves of
sin, you felt no obligation to righteousness, and what did you get from this?
Nothing but experiences that now make you blush, since that sort of behaviour
ends in death.” Truly, man no longer respects the sacredness of
life. The culture of death is promoted, beginning with abortion, to the
death penalty, suicide and euthanasia. Life today is seen as a commodity
that we can use as we like without any accountability for the future. “We
need to reflect more deeply on the ultimate destination of life, capable of
restoring dignity and meaning to the mystery of its deepest and most sacred
affections. The life of man, enchantingly beautiful and fragile to die, refers
beyond itself: we are infinitely more than what we can do for
ourselves.” (Pope Francis, Pontifical Academy For Life, 2018)
Hence, there is another
way to set the world on fire, which is the way of Jesus. The way of Jesus
is the way of love. Jesus
comes to set the world on fire with love for God and for our fellowmen.
He did this by His offering His body, His life for the service of God and
humanity, even unto death on the cross. His passion and death on the
cross was His way to set humanity on fire for the unconditional love of
God. Most of all, this gift of life is free. This is what St Paul
wrote, “the present given by God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.” It is purely a gift, which is not earned or merited. God
comes to give us life to the fullest by inviting us to share in His life and
love.
How can this free gift
of eternal life be ours? It
depends on how much we have encountered His love. Often, people
wonder why the grace of baptism, which is the acceptance of Christ, has not led
us to overcome temptations and sin. St Paul wrote, “Now, however, you
have been set free from sin, you have been made slaves of God, and you get a
reward leading to your sanctification and ending in eternal life.” If we
encounter His love more radically, then we will respond accordingly to His love
out of gratitude, not out of fear or obligation. This was the response of
St Paul when he wrote, “For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are
convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died
for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for
him who died and was raised for them.” (2 Cor 5:14f) To be filled with the Holy
Spirit is the key because the Spirit is the love of God poured into our
hearts. (cf Rom 5:5)
Having encountered His
love, like St Paul, we must in turn set the world on fire. We are called
to evangelize humanity.
Baptism is more than just a dying to sin but an invitation to live the life of
Christ. “Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that,
just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too
might walk in newness of life. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all;
but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider
yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Rom 6:4, 19f) We should not be like the world
today. Instead of being proactive in arresting and preventing evil from
happening, the world takes retroactive measures by punishing those who do wrong
when they turn a blind eye to the causes of evil that are permitted by society.
Instead of removing the root of evil, we are only concerned about punishing
those who are tempted by the evils that society tolerates. That is why
evangelization is the proactive way to counter evil and falsehood. By
changing society, we change ourselves. By alerting society to what is
true, we are called to live in truth. In evangelizing others, we
evangelize ourselves.
Hence, setting the world
on fire, entails that we purify the world from falsehood. Fire is always a symbol of judgment
and purification in the bible. Precisely, because Jesus came to speak the
truth, the enemies of truth will cause division, beginning in the family.
Jesus said, “Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell
you, but rather division. For from now on a household of five will be divided:
three against two and two against three.” There will be division because
those of us who know Christ, enlightened by the truth, knowing our ultimate
destination in life and called to live our vocation on earth, will find this
world is being set ablaze by the lack of respect for ecology of creation,
nature, environment and the human person. This entails that we be imbued
and be guided by the Word of God. The psalmist says, “Happy indeed is the
man who follows not the counsel of the wicked; nor lingers in the way of
sinners nor sits in the company of scorners, but whose delight is the law of
the Lord and who ponders his law day and night. He is like a tree that is
planted beside the flowing waters, that yields its fruit in due season and
whose leaves shall never fade; and all that he does shall prosper.”
Only the Word of God and His unconditional love and mercy can set us free to
set the world on fire with the love and justice of God.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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