20191108
FORESIGHT
IN THE FACE OF CRISIS
08 NOVEMBER,
2019, Friday, 31st Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Romans 15:14-21 ©
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My brothers, I am quite certain that you
are full of good intentions, perfectly well instructed and able to advise each
other. The reason why I have written to you, and put some things rather
strongly, is to refresh your memories, since God has given me this special
position. He has appointed me as a priest of Jesus Christ, and I am to carry
out my priestly duty by bringing the Good News from God to the pagans, and so
make them acceptable as an offering, made holy by the Holy Spirit.
I
think I have some reason to be proud of what I, in union with Christ Jesus,
have been able to do for God. What I am presuming to speak of, of course, is
only what Christ himself has done to win the allegiance of the pagans, using
what I have said and done by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of
the Holy Spirit. Thus all the way along, from Jerusalem to Illyricum, I have
preached Christ’s Good News to the utmost of my capacity. I have always,
however, made it an unbroken rule never to preach where Christ’s name has already
been heard. The reason for that was that I had no wish to build on other men’s
foundations; on the contrary, my chief concern has been to fulfil the text: Those
who have never been told about him will see him, and those who have never heard
about him will understand.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 97(98):1-4 ©
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The Lord has shown his
salvation to the nations.
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 shown his
salvation to the nations.
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 shown his
salvation to the nations.
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 shown his
salvation to the nations.
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Gospel Acclamation
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2Co5:19
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Alleluia, alleluia!
God in Christ was reconciling the world to
himself,
and he has entrusted to us the news that
they are reconciled.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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1Jn2:5
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Whenever anyone obeys what Christ has
said,
God’s love comes to perfection in him.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 16:1-8 ©
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Jesus said to his disciples:
‘There
was a rich man and he had a steward denounced to him for being wasteful with
his property. He called for the man and said, “What is this I hear about you?
Draw me up an account of your stewardship because you are not to be my steward
any longer.” Then the steward said to himself, “Now that my master is taking
the stewardship from me, what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong enough. Go
begging? I should be too ashamed. Ah, I know what I will do to make sure that
when I am dismissed from office there will be some to welcome me into their
homes.”
Then
he called his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, “How much do
you owe my master?” “One hundred measures of oil” was the reply. The steward
said, “Here, take your bond; sit down straight away and write fifty.” To
another he said, “And you, sir, how much do you owe?” “One hundred measures of
wheat” was the reply. The steward said, “Here, take your bond and write
eighty.”
‘The
master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the children of
this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children
of light.’
FORESIGHT IN THE
FACE OF CRISIS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Rom 15:14-21; Ps 98:1-4; Lk 16:1-8 ]
In life, it is
inevitable that we encounter crisis.
Tragedy awaits us: failure in studies, projects or business; betrayal in
relationships, especially in marriage and among friends; retrenchment in our
jobs; discovery that we are suffering from a terminal illness; loved ones
committing suicide or die in accidents. Indeed, none of us is exempted
from such crises in life. When there is a crisis, we are forced to take
action. The question is whether we will be ready to meet our crisis when
the time comes. Most of all, the ultimate crisis is when we are dying and
about to meet the Lord. Are we prepared?
This was the case of the
steward in today’s gospel parable.
“There was a rich man and he had a steward who denounced to him for being
wasteful with his property. He called for the man and said, ‘What is this
I hear about you? Draw me up an account of your stewardship because you are not
to be my steward any longer.'” The steward was spendthrift and
irresponsible in handing his master’s estate. When the master found out,
he decided to dismiss him. We, too, will be called into account in this
life and most of all, hereafter before God when we die. Will we be ready
to meet Him?
Indeed, we are in the
month of November, which is dedicated to All Souls. We are called to remember the
Saints in heaven and those who are still in purgatory. We, too, will one
day join them. One day we will go to the crematorium. There will be
a service, prayers and eulogy. After that everyone will return home
except one. The person is you! We must not deceive ourselves into
thinking that we will live forever on this earth. The Church wants us to
think about death so that we will be more realistic as how we want to live our
life on this earth. If we are deceived into thinking that death is the
end of everything, then we live life recklessly because life has no meaning or
purpose or finality. But if we believe in life after death, that our life
is more than just on this world alone, then we must ask ourselves how we are
preparing to enter into this life.
There was a great
king. He had kept a fool in his court to entertain him. The king would often laugh at the
fool for doing foolish things. One day, he gave the fool a staff.
He said, “Keep this staff and give it to a bigger fool than yourself when you
find it.” Many years later, the king was at his deathbed. His
family members, court officials, ministers and servants all gathered round his
bed. The king said, “I have called you all to bid farewell to you.
I am about to leave you to a distant place. It will be a long journey and
I will not return.” Then the fool asked the King, “Your Majesty, before you
leave, I have a question for you. In the past, whenever you went to a
distant place, you would always send messengers and soldiers ahead of you to
make preparations for your journey. So what preparations did Your Majesty
make for this long journey you are undertaking?” The king turned to him
in sadness and regret. He said, “Alas, I did not make any
preparations!” The fool then said, “Oh, then please take this staff you
gave me because I have found a bigger fool than myself.” Indeed, as the
Lord remarked, “What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose
or forfeit themselves?” (Lk 9:25)
Hence, we must be
prepared, have foresight and prudence when we meet our judgement. This was what the steward did in
preparation for his dismissal. He sought to make friends and gain favour
with the debtors by reducing their debts owed to the master. In this way,
he hoped that by making them his friends, they would welcome him to their homes.
“The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the
children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are
the children of light.” Indeed, recognizing the outcome, he immediately
took action to save himself.
In a certain way, it was
in the face of a crisis that he came to value the essentials of life. Until then, he was carried away by
his pursuit of pleasure and wealth. He was dishonest, acquiring money and
things. But when faced with the prospect of being dismissed and reduced
to poverty, he began to feel with his debtors who were in want. He began
to identify with them in their need. Most of all, he began to value
friends and relationship as critical for his well-being.
How true for us as
well. Many of us are unprepared for our future, especially death. We think that death is far away and
it would never come. We continue to live our sinful lives, a life of
debauchery, licentiousness, drunkenness and promiscuity, hoping that we will
never be caught for adultery, for drunk-driving, cheating and betrayal.
The truth is that what we reap will be what we sow. St Paul warns us, “Do
not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you
sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow
to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.” (Gal 6:7f) Only in the face of
death, especially when we are stricken with a terminal illness, will we then
begin to value life and time with our loved ones. Only when we have been
stripped of our wealth and position in life, can we learn to appreciate the
simple things of life and being ordinary in life.
That is why the best way
to live our life fully on this earth is to measure our life here in view of the
final outcome of our life, which is death, judgment, heaven and hell. These are the last four things in
the teachings of the Church. We will meet death and we will be
judged. After judgement, we will either be in heaven or in hell. Of
course, for those not yet fully purified but love God, albeit not completely,
will be purified in purgatory. Regardless, knowing the outcome of the
future should make us decide how we want to live our life today. Do we want
to share the fullness of life with God in heaven or total emptiness and hatred
with the Devil in hell?
If heaven is what we
choose, then we had better start living our life fully, honestly and
fruitfully. God
has blessed us with many gifts. We are all stewards of God’s grace,
whether in terms of talent, wealth, resources, relationships, health and
time. Do we take all these gifts for granted and squander them away or
use them merely for our selfish needs? Or do we use them well for the
good of others, for the service of humanity, the Church, especially the
poor? Have we been good stewards as parents to our children? Have
we spent quality time in cultivating a deep personal relationship with our
spouse, children and loved ones? Have we witnessed to Jesus the faith we
have received?
Today, we have the
example of St Paul. He was focused on the mission that the Lord had
entrusted to him.
He never took his call for granted but always with gratitude. Hence, he
wrote, “God has given me this special position. He has appointed me as a
priest of Jesus Christ, and I am to carry out my priestly duty by bringing the
Good News from God to the pagans, and so make them acceptable as an offering,
made holy by the Holy Spirit.” Conscious of this gift, St Paul spared no
effort in making himself a true priest of our Lord. “Thus, all the way along,
from Jerusalem to Illyricum, I have preached Christ’s Good News to the utmost
of my capacity.”
Using all that the Lord
had blessed him with, and working with His grace, he had “some reason to be
proud of what I, in union
with Christ Jesus, have been able to do for God.” Indeed, Christ helped
him, “to win the allegiance of the pagans, using what I have said and done by
the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Most of all,
knowing his unique calling to be the apostle to the Gentiles, he wrote, “I have
always, however, made it an unbroken rule never to preach where Christ’s name
has already been heard. The reason for that was that I had no wish to
build on other men’s foundations; on the contrary, my chief concern has been to
fulfil the text: Those who have never been told about him will see him, and
those who have never heard about him will understand.”
So let us be astute not
just in managing our worldly affairs. We must also be shrewd in making
preparations for our future life. We must live responsibly, as fully as we can, using
all that the Lord has given to us, for our integral development as persons,
intellectually, affectively and spiritually; and helping others to attain
integrity as well. In this way, we will always be living life to the
fullest on this earth and ever ready and happy to welcome the fullness of life
with God after our sojourn on this earth.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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