20191117
FACING
THE CHALLENGES OF OUR TIME
17 NOVEMBER,
2019, Sunday, 33rd Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Malachi 3:19-20 ©
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The day is coming now, burning like a
furnace; and all the arrogant and the evil-doers will be like stubble. The day
that is coming is going to burn them up, says the Lord of Hosts, leaving them
neither root nor stalk. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness
will shine out with healing in its rays.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 97(98):5-9 ©
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The Lord comes to rule
the peoples with fairness.
Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp
with the sound of music.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
acclaim the King, the Lord.
The Lord comes to rule
the peoples with fairness.
Let the sea and all within it, thunder;
the world, and all its
peoples.
Let the rivers clap their hands
and the hills ring out their
joy
at the presence of the Lord.
The Lord comes to rule
the peoples with fairness.
For the Lord comes,
he comes to rule the earth.
He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with fairness.
The Lord comes to rule
the peoples with fairness.
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Second reading
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2 Thessalonians 3:7-12 ©
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You know how you are supposed to imitate
us: now we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we ever have our meals
at anyone’s table without paying for them; no, we worked night and day, slaving
and straining, so as not to be a burden on any of you. This was not because we
had no right to be, but in order to make ourselves an example for you to
follow.
We
gave you a rule when we were with you: do not let anyone have any food if he
refuses to do any work. Now we hear that there are some of you who are living
in idleness, doing no work themselves but interfering with everyone else’s. In
the Lord Jesus Christ, we order and call on people of this kind to go on
quietly working and earning the food that they eat.
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Gospel Acclamation
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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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Or:
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Lk21:28
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Stand erect, hold your heads high,
because your liberation is near at hand.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 21:5-19 ©
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When some were talking about the Temple,
remarking how it was adorned with fine stonework and votive offerings, Jesus
said, ‘All these things you are staring at now – the time will come when
not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.’ And
they put to him this question: ‘Master,’ they said ‘when will this happen,
then, and what sign will there be that this is about to take place?’
‘Take
care not to be deceived,’ he said ‘because many will come using my name and
saying, “I am he” and, “The time is near at hand.” Refuse to join them. And
when you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened, for this is
something that must happen but the end is not so soon.’ Then he said to them,
‘Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be
great earthquakes and plagues and famines here and there; there will be fearful
sights and great signs from heaven.
‘But
before all this happens, men will seize you and persecute you; they will hand
you over to the synagogues and to imprisonment, and bring you before kings and
governors because of my name – and that will be your opportunity to bear
witness. Keep this carefully in mind: you are not to prepare your defence,
because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your
opponents will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by
parents and brothers, relations and friends; and some of you will be put to
death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name, but not a hair of
your head will be lost. Your endurance will win you your lives.’
FACING THE
CHALLENGES OF OUR TIME
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [MALACHI 3:19-20; PS 98:5-9; 2 TH 3:7-12; LK 21:5-19]
In the gospel, the Lord
warns us that all the beautiful edifices we build will be destroyed. We can be sure that the people were
shocked and scandalized then, because it took them forty-six years with the
help of King Herod the Great to rebuild the Temple that was destroyed by the
Babylonians. And yet this Temple, as Jesus prophesied, would once again
be destroyed for good by the Romans in AD 70.
We, too, do not seem to
believe that this will come true in our times. We think this earth will
get better, more beautiful and advanced. We have become so proud of our
achievements, like those people who built the Tower of Babel. We think
that just because we have reached the sky, we can do all things by
ourselves. We have built magnificent buildings. We have the latest
technology for communication, machines and even Artificial Intelligence
Robots. This is what the world is saying. We do not need God.
What we need is technology.
Technology without the
human heart and the human conscience will destroy humanity. Technology can be used for evil, to
destroy our enemies and to conquer the world. This is what is
happening. Today, the world uses science to destroy life, allowing
abortion even at birth, euthanasia, destruction of human embryos. Dark
forces will use robots to control the world because of our selfishness and insecurity.
The wars that Jesus prophesied will no more be fought with mere men power and
weapons, but it would be with robots and machines. In time to come, robots
might even control the world because they will become more intelligent and
perfect than man.
In spite of science and
technology, mass media communication and globalization, the world is becoming a
much more precarious place to live in. More than ever, we live in a less secure
world than before the advent of science and technology. The world is
changing so rapidly both in landscape, ideology, values and in culture.
With relativism, truth
is dependent on the opinion of the majority. We are in danger of allowing
the blind to lead the blind.
Yet, the truth is that culture is determined by those who speak loudest and
have influence over society. In a secularistic society, where religion is
marginalized, values that are promoted are based on popularity rather than on
truth and love. Today, public opinion is the basis for truth. Anyone who
has power over education, the social media and entertainment world will have
the power to influence the minds of our young and our people. Through the
use of media, the world has normalized what were then considered
immoral. The world has been indoctrinating our people over time
that divorce is acceptable, infidelity in relationship is part of modern
society, same-sex union is another option in life, transgender is the way to
unite the world, abortion and euthanasia save humanity unnecessary pain and
suffering, freedom means that we are allowed to do whatever we like, including
taking drugs; freedom of speech means we can say anything we want, including
hate speech and offensive speech.
Without God, there is no
future beyond this life on this earth.
There are no eternal consequences of actions done on this earth.
When people live only for this world, there is no motivation to do good, to
make sacrifices for the future of humanity, to live in truth and love. It
is all about oneself, enjoying life as much as possible and then we disappear
from this world. It is about what we can take out, rather than what we
can give, to the world. This also explains why the rallying call to halt
global warming is falling on deaf ears because, who cares about the future.
There will also be counterfeits
claiming to be the Messiah, giving us life, as seen in the New Age movements
and those that are Satanic in origin.
The Lord cautions us, “Take care not to be deceived, because many will come
using my name and saying, ‘I am he’ and, ‘The time is near at hand.’
Refuse to join them.” Indeed, there are many groups like the
satanic cults that offer power, prosperity, money and fame through the
manipulation of nature and the employment of spirits through occult
activities. Today, the world even glorifies evil in the way we celebrate
Halloween, legalize Satanism as a religion, and normalizing evil.
Indeed, humanity is in
danger of self-destruction because of the selfish and self-centered values that
the world is promoting.
Not only can buildings and humanity be destroyed by weapons of mass destruction
because of violence and wars, the planet will eventually be destroyed by man
because we do not take care of mother earth. Most of all, because of
amorality and a dead conscience, humanity will degenerate and extinguish itself
because of selfishness and hopelessness. Each one is for himself or
herself and not for others or the future of the human race. Indeed, the prophet
Malachi warns us of the eventual judgment of God on humanity. He said,
“The day is coming now, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and the
evil-doers will be like stubble. The day that is coming is going to burn them
up, says the Lord of hosts, leaving them neither root nor stalk.” Let us not
think that this will not affect us and we can escape the disasters ahead of us.
Consequently, in such
challenging times when the world and the Church are going through such turmoil,
within and without, we must stand firm in our faith. The Lord assures us, “But for you who fear
my name, the sun of righteousness will shine out with healing in its rays.”
The psalm says, “For the Lord comes, he comes to rule the earth. He will
rule the world with justice and the peoples with fairness.” That is why
the need to build a vibrant, evangelizing and missionary Church is so urgent,
so that the secular world will not overcome the light of Christ, the truth and
love of God in the world.
Clinging to our faith in
God’s fidelity to us, we should not succumb to the world but remain constant in
our faith in Christ.We
cannot afford to remain indifferent to what is happening in the world and to
the Church. St Paul told the Christians who were irresponsible in their
Christian way of life simply because they thought the Second Coming was near.
St Paul reprimanded the early Christians for being complacent with regard to
living out their Christian Faith responsibly. Rather, we need to be responsible
in our Christian life and witnessing.
However, it will not be
easy because there are more
trials ahead of us. We can already see this in our times when the Church
is under attack, not from without but from within its own hierarchy, clergy and
laity. It is difficult to remain true to our beliefs because we will
be opposed by the world and by enemies and traitors of the faith within the
Church. Hence, Jesus warns us that “before all this happens, men will
seize you and persecute you; they will hand you over to the synagogues and to
imprisonment, and bring you before kings and governors because of my name. You
will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relations and friends; and some
of you will be put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my
name.”
That is why we must
cling to Christ ultimately. Only He can safeguard the Church from all harm and
destruction. Instead of
backing down, the Lord invites us to use such moments to purify our
faith. The Lord encourages us, “that will be your opportunity to bear
witness. Keep this carefully in mind: you are not to prepare your defence,
because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your
opponents will be able to resist or contradict. Not a hair of your head will be
lost. Your endurance will win you your lives.” So we must stay in union
with the Lord, pray, fast and rely on the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit.
As Catholics, we must
inspire each other in faith.
We must stand by each other. No Catholic can stand alone in their
faith. Just as St Paul set the example of working “night and day, slaving
and straining” for the good of his community, we, too, must set an example of
righteous living and faith in Christ. Unless we lead by example in faith
and in love, we will not be able to encourage others to be faithful to the
gospel. We need to have Catholics who know the Lord and love Him enough
to be witnesses to the gospel of truth and love.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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