20191031
STAYING
FOCUSED IN SPITE OF THE LACK OF RESPONSE
31 OCTOBER,
2019, Thursday, 30th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
|
First reading
|
Romans 8:31-39 ©
|
With God on our side who can be against
us? Since God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up to benefit us all, we
may be certain, after such a gift, that he will not refuse anything he can
give. Could anyone accuse those that God has chosen? When God acquits, could
anyone condemn? Could Christ Jesus? No! He not only died for us – he rose
from the dead, and there at God’s right hand he stands and pleads for us.
Nothing
therefore can come between us and the love of Christ, even if we are troubled
or worried, or being persecuted, or lacking food or clothes, or being
threatened or even attacked. As scripture promised: For your sake we
are being massacred daily, and reckoned as sheep for the slaughter. These
are the trials through which we triumph, by the power of him who loved us.
For
I am certain of this: neither death nor life, no angel, no prince, nothing that
exists, nothing still to come, not any power, or height or depth, nor any
created thing, can ever come between us and the love of God made visible in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
|
Psalm
108(109):21-22,26-27,30-31 ©
|
Save me, O Lord, because
of your love.
For your name’s sake act in my defence;
in the goodness of your love
be my rescuer.
For I am poor and needy
and my heart is pierced within
me.
Save me, O Lord, because
of your love.
Help me, Lord my God;
save me because of your love.
Let them know that is your work,
That this is your doing, O
Lord.
Save me, O Lord, because
of your love.
Loud thanks to the Lord are on my lips.
I will praise him in the midst
of the throng,
for he stands at the poor man’s side
to save him from those who
condemn him.
Save me, O Lord, because
of your love.
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
Ps147:12,15
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
He sends out his word to the earth.
Alleluia!
|
Or:
|
cf.Lk19:38,2:14
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessings on the King who comes,
in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven
and glory in the highest heavens!
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
Luke 13:31-35 ©
|
Some Pharisees came up to Jesus. ‘Go away’
they said. ‘Leave this place, because Herod means to kill you.’ He replied,
‘You may go and give that fox this message: Learn that today and tomorrow I
cast out devils and on the third day attain my end. But for today and tomorrow
and the next day I must go on, since it would not be right for a prophet to die
outside Jerusalem.
‘Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How
often have I longed to gather your children, as a hen gathers her brood under
her wings, and you refused! So be it! Your house will be left to you. Yes, I
promise you, you shall not see me till the time comes when you say:
‘Blessings on him who comes in the name of
the Lord!’
STAYING FOCUSED
IN SPITE OF THE LACK OF RESPONSE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ROm 8:31-39; Ps 109:21-22,26-27,30-31; Lk 13:31-35 ]
The Lord came to save
His people and to invite them to respond to God’s love and mercy for
them. But instead of getting a positive reaction, not only did He receive
indifference but also opposition.
The people, especially the religious leaders, saw Jesus as their enemy because
of the gospel of justice and mercy He proclaimed. He was threatening the
status quo. The political leaders in the person of Herod was getting
nervous when he heard of crowds thronging Jesus. He feared for his
political power, and that the Romans might step in to take control of the
nation.
This, too, is our
experience and sentiments as well. We see our spouse going the wrong direction; whether
in terms of the way he or she is focusing on his or her career at the expense
of his or her health, or even of the marriage and family. But our spouse
is oblivious to the signs of imminent failure and disaster ahead of him or
her. When we try to help, instead of being receptive, he or she becomes
defensive and reactive. He or she even sees us as their opponent instead
of his or her friend. This is also true of our children.
Young people think they know everything and what they want. They are so
sure of their direction and desires in life. Alas when parents seek to
enlighten them on their lifestyle, their studies and their relationship with
their friends, they resent them. They rebel, become hostile and even cut
their parents off from their lives.
So how do we respond to
such rejection of our good intentions to help and to save them from the painful
consequences of their folly? Firstly, we must not deny that we feel sad
and disappointed. This
is because we truly love and care for them. We are hurt not only because
they misunderstood us but because we know that they are taking the slippery road
to perdition. This was how Jesus felt for His people. He cried out,
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets and stone those who are sent
to you! How often have I longed to gather your children, as a hen gathers her
brood under her wings, and you refused!” This is the same way I as bishop
feel for our people too! I have constantly appealed to our Catholics to respond
to God’s love and mercy but often such appeals fall on deaf ears. I have
warned them of the future ahead of us if the Church continues to be in its
maintenance mode, instead of becoming vibrant, evangelizing and
missionary-minded.
But unlike Jesus who
stayed focused in His mission, we often give up on our loved ones, our mission
and ministry. Jesus
was resolute in His mission even when the Pharisees warned Him, “Go away. Leave
this place, because Herod means to kill you.” His response was defiant
and courageous. “You may go and give that fox this message: Learn that
today and tomorrow I cast out devils and on the third day attain my end.
But for today and tomorrow and the next day I must go on, since it would not be
right for a prophet to die outside Jerusalem.” Jesus refused to
submit to threats even against His life because He had a mission to accomplish.
He did not give up simply because there was opposition to His ministry.
He had to be true to Himself, His calling as the eschatological prophet of God
even if that were to end in death like the rest of the prophets. He
refused to fall into discouragement even when the people did not respond to His
message. For Jesus, the mission must go on, irrespective of whether
people respond or not, whether He was accepted or rejected. Jesus knew
that He had to do His best. In the end, well, we need to surrender them
to God. Knowing the destruction ahead of them, Jesus said, “So be it!
Your house will be left to you. Yes, I promise you, you shall not see me till
the time comes when you say: Blessings on him who comes in the name of the
Lord!”
This was the same for St
Paul in the first reading. He, too, faced much rejection, opposition,
within and without in his ministry.
He wrote, “Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus
one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three
times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on
frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my
own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness,
danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters; in toil and
hardship, through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often without
food, cold and naked. And, besides other things, I am under daily
pressure because of my anxiety for all the churches.” (2 Cor 11:24-28)
So what gave the Lord
and St Paul the strength to persevere in their faith and most of all in their
ministry? It was the love of God. “Save me, O Lord, because of your love.
For your name’s sake act in my defence; in the goodness of your love be
my rescuer. For I am poor and needy and my heart is pierced within me. Help me,
Lord my God; save me because of your love. Let them know that is your work,
that this is your doing, O Lord.” Indeed, it was the love of God for them
that enabled them to continue in their ministry. It was the Father’s
unconditional love for Jesus that gave Him the impetus to continue in His
ministry in spite of man’s rejection. It was St Paul’s encounter of God’s
love in Christ that kept him persevering in faith, love and hope. “With
God on our side who can be against us? Since God did not spare his own
Son, but gave him up to benefit us all, we may be certain, after such a gift,
that he will not refuse anything he can give.” Indeed, knowing that God
was with them, gave them the courage and perseverance to continue even in
failure. If God had not given up His only Son, St Paul was certain that
there was nothing the Lord would not give to him because nothing was too small
or too great for God to give us, since He had already given us entirely in
Christ’s death.
Truly, when we know that
God loves us, we have nothing to fear. His love will give us the strength
to continue laboring in His vineyard regardless of the results because we know
God is not just all powerful but all merciful. St Paul wrote, “Could anyone accuse those
that God has chosen? When God acquits, could anyone condemn? Could
Christ Jesus? No! He not only died for us – he rose from the dead, and there at
God’s right hand he stands and pleads for us.” Christ is
interceding for us always. “He is able for all time to save those who
approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for
them.” (Heb 7:25) With
love, there is nothing that can separate us. “For I am certain of this:
neither death nor life, no angel, no prince, nothing that exists, nothing still
to come, not any power, or height or depth, nor any created thing, can ever
come between us and the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our
Lord.” We are also separated from God and our loved ones when we stop
loving them! Otherwise, no matter how difficult our loved ones,
colleagues and friends may be, we will still reach out to them because we love
them. This is true for mothers who always seek the well-being of their
children no matter how rebellious, rude, ungrateful and selfish they are.
Because of love, we know
that the trials we go through will make us stronger, sober, wiser and more
determined than ever.
“Nothing therefore can come between us and the love of Christ, even if we are
troubled or worried, or being persecuted, or lacking food or clothes, or being
threatened or even attacked. As scripture promised: For your sake we are
being massacred daily, and reckoned as sheep for the slaughter. These are
the trials through which we triumph, by the power of him who loved us.”
So we will not give up. We should continue to love them even when they do
not respond to our love.
But we cannot love them
with our love alone as our love is finite and weak. We must love them
with the love of Jesus in our hearts.
We must therefore first open our hearts to His love for us. The more we
contemplate on His love and mercy for us, the more we find strength to love as
He has loved us. This is the secret of faithful love in the face of
rejection. We must find strength in His love. With St Paul, we say, “I
can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Phil 4:13)
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment