20191105
RECEIVING
THE GRACE OF GOD IN VAIN
05 NOVEMBER,
2019, Tuesday, 31st Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
|
First reading
|
Romans 12:5-16 ©
|
All of us, in union with Christ, form one
body, and as parts of it we belong to each other. Our gifts differ according to
the grace given us. If your gift is prophecy, then use it as your faith
suggests; if administration, then use it for administration; if teaching, then
use it for teaching. Let the preachers deliver sermons, the almsgivers give
freely, the officials be diligent, and those who do works of mercy do them
cheerfully.
Do
not let your love be a pretence, but sincerely prefer good to evil. Love each
other as much as brothers should, and have a profound respect for each other.
Work for the Lord with untiring effort and with great earnestness of spirit. If
you have hope, this will make you cheerful. Do not give up if trials come; and
keep on praying. If any of the saints are in need you must share with them; and
you should make hospitality your special care.
Bless
those who persecute you: never curse them, bless them. Rejoice with those who
rejoice and be sad with those in sorrow. Treat everyone with equal kindness;
never be condescending but make real friends with the poor. Do not allow
yourself to become self-satisfied.
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
Psalm 130(131) ©
|
Keep my soul in peace
before you, O Lord.
O Lord, my heart is not proud
nor haughty my eyes.
I have not gone after things too great
nor marvels beyond me.
Keep my soul in peace
before you, O Lord.
Truly I have set my soul
in silence and peace.
A weaned child on its mother’s breast,
even so is my soul.
Keep my soul in peace
before you, O Lord.
O Israel, hope in the Lord
both now and forever.
Keep my soul in peace
before you, O Lord.
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
cf.Ep1:17,18
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our mind,
so that we can see what hope his call
holds for us.
Alleluia!
|
Or:
|
Mt11:28
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Come to me, all you who labour and are
overburdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
Luke 14:15-24 ©
|
One of those gathered round the table said
to Jesus, ‘Happy the man who will be at the feast in the kingdom of God!’ But
he said to him, ‘There was a man who gave a great banquet, and he invited a
large number of people. When the time for the banquet came, he sent his servant
to say to those who had been invited, “Come along: everything is ready now.”
But all alike started to make excuses. The first said, “I have bought a piece
of land and must go and see it. Please accept my apologies.” Another said, “I have
bought five yoke of oxen and am on my way to try them out. Please accept my
apologies.” Yet another said, “I have just got married and so am unable to
come.”
‘The
servant returned and reported this to his master. Then the householder, in a
rage, said to his servant, “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the
town and bring in here the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.” “Sir”
said the servant “your orders have been carried out and there is still room.”
Then the master said to his servant, “Go to the open roads and the hedgerows
and force people to come in to make sure my house is full; because, I tell you,
not one of those who were invited shall have a taste of my banquet.”’
RECEIVING THE
GRACE OF GOD IN VAIN
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Rom 12:5-16; Ps 131:1-3; Lk 14:15-24 ]
In the letter to the
Romans, the essence of St Paul’s message is that we are justified by faith
through grace alone.
“Apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by
the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus
Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by
his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus.” (Rom 3:21-24)
Because of this grace, the second theme of Paul’s letter is that we have died
to our sins and now redeemed in Christ to share in His sonship because the
Spirit of God is poured into our hearts and we can now call God, Abba
Father. (Rom 8:14-17)
Following our adoption, St Paul in today’s first reading lists out the
implications of receiving the grace from God by living as members of the Body
of Christ in mutual love, forgiveness and support, using our gifts for the
building up of the Body of Christ.
Indeed, this is what the
Lord in today’s gospel also wants to underscore. The grace of God is
given to all irrespective of our race, status and position in life. Earlier on, when He was invited to a
meal, He made it clear that in the eyes of God, no one can exalt himself unless
God exalts him. Everyone is equal in God’s reckoning. Hence, in
giving a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. (Lk 14:12-14) This theme of the
graciousness of God’s love for us all comes to its climax in today’s gospel
lesson. When someone remarked how “Happy the man who will be at the feast
in the kingdom of God!”, Jesus used this occasion to reiterate that this
happiness to share in God’s kingdom is for all. In the parable that follows,
the householder told his servant when his invitees did not turn up, “Go out
quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor, the
crippled, the blind and the lame.” And when there was still room, the
master said, “Go to the open roads and the hedgerows and force people to come
in to make sure my house is full.”
Indeed, it is clear that
the invitation to share in the joy of the heavenly banquet is extended to
all. God wants us to share in His life and joy because this is what the
banquet symbolizes. Every
meal is an occasion to grow in intimacy, in love and in relationship. It
is a time when we share our joys and sometimes our sorrows. Meals are
occasions to strengthen friendship and mutual understanding. It is also a
time to eat to one’s heart’s content as we share our joys and love with each
other. This is what heaven and the Kingdom of God is all about. It
is the kind of community that St Paul describes in the first reading. The
Christian community is supposedly a foretaste of what it means to live in the
communion of saints.
But this involves our
response. Grace is a gift, but unless we respond by accepting the gift
and the implications of that gift, we have not yet received the grace of
God. This gift first and foremost is given by God to us freely. He is the One who initiates a
relationship with us. He is the giver of the gifts. This explains
why the householder sent out the invitations. In the question of
salvation, it is God who takes the initiative. On our own, we cannot
demand to be saved. On our own strength, we cannot save ourselves.
St Paul says, “We hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works
prescribed by the law.” (Rom 3:28) Writing to the Ephesians, he
said, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own
doing; it is the gift of God — not the result of works, so that no one may
boast.” (Eph 2:8f) And what
is so gracious about God is that He gives to all. He asked, “Is God the
God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles
also, since God is one; and he will justify the circumcised on the ground
of faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.” (Rom 3:29f) Indeed, St Peter
declares, “God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears
him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” (Acts 10:34f)
Hence, the crux of
today’s gospel is how receptive are we to His grace given to us freely? It is
important to take note that Jesus was directing the parable at the Jews and not
the Gentiles. He was addressing
those who had already been chosen. This is prefaced by the fact that in
the parable, the servants were sent out to inform those whom the master had
already invited earlier. In other words, He was asking the Jews, the Chosen
People of God, who had already received the grace of God, whether they were
faithful to their election as God’s people. In the same vein, as we read
today’s parable, Jesus was not speaking to the non-Christians but to us who are
baptized as Christians who are not fully living out the call to discipleship.
So the three examples in
the parable refer to the inadequate response of the Jews and us, Christians, to
the Lord’s invitation. For
all the three responses, there is one thing in common; God is not the first
priority in their lives. Going to heaven is also not their
first priority. They have other earthly and worldly concerns.
Indeed, this is our case as well. How many of us live our lives in view
of the future, the eternal life that is offered to us? Most of us live as
if there is only one life and that life ends at death. We do not have
hope beyond this world. The talk about heaven and eternal life will come
only when we are at our death-bed, gasping for breath, and panicking as to what
will happen to us once we have taken our last breath. Perhaps, then, we
might think of God and the eternal life given to us. This was not so for
the early Christians when St Peter wrote to them, “By his great mercy he has
given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable,
undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected
by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the
last time.” (1 Pt 3:3-5; cf 1 Pt 1:6-9) Even St Paul said, “I press
on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ
Jesus.” (Phil 3:14) The
truth is that if our response is lukewarm or inadequate, it is simply because
we only live for today, for our earthly and sometimes worldly needs. We
do not think far beyond this life until the time comes, albeit sometimes too
late to repent!
What are the excuses
that people normally give? Firstly, we are preoccupied with our business
and work. This
was what the first man said, “I have bought a piece of land and must go and see
it. Please accept my apologies.” Indeed, many of us are so stressed up
with our work and responsibilities that we have hardly any time for God.
We put our career, business and investments before God. The truth is that
we rely more on ourselves and we do not trust God enough to provide for our
needs. So work and business often draw us away from God because we do not
put God in our work! When God is not the center of our lives, we are just
working for ourselves and our kingdom. It is not done out of love and
service to God or to the community.
Secondly, we can put God
out of our lives because of our hobbies and entertainment. This was what the second invitee
said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen and am on my way to try them out.
Please accept my apologies.” Some of us are spending much time on our
toys, our pets, our hobbies, on the mobile phone, internet, chatting away,
entertaining ourselves that we do not have time for God. We have time for
worldly interests but not for spiritual life. We use our time in vain and
are always attracted by new products, novelties, activities and programs
leaving no time to attend to the hunger of our soul and the formation of our
mind. It is not wrong to indulge in activities and entertainment but they must
be done in moderation for the purpose of recreation and relaxation.
Finally, we can put God
out of our lives when we place human relationships before our relationship with
God. This was the
excuse of the last man. He said, “I have just got married and so am unable to
come.” How often have we put our loved ones, our spouse, boyfriend or
girlfriend before God? Between choosing God and our friend, especially in
marriage, we will sacrifice God to enter into a marriage even with someone who
is hostile to the faith. We fail to realize that a marriage cannot work
out unless there is union of mind and heart, and this includes spiritual union
and a common love for God and for our Lord. Otherwise, there will always
be a clash of values and differing priorities and perspectives in the way we
look at money, work and possessions. Indeed, many will start quarrelling
later when their relationship overflows to making decisions that impact their
in-laws and their children. Unless, we put God at the heart of our
relationship, that relationship would be at risk because it is not guided by
God’s word and inspired by His Holy Spirit.
With the psalmist, let
us be humble and put God as the center of our lives. “O Lord, my heart is not proud nor haughty
my eyes. I have not gone after things too great nor marvels beyond me. Truly I
have set my soul in silence and peace. A weaned child on its mother’s breast,
even so is my soul. O Israel, hope in the Lord both now and
forever.” Otherwise, like the Jews in the time of Jesus, the warning of
our Lord would also apply to us, “I tell you, not one of those who were invited
shall have a taste of my banquet.” We who have been called by the Lord in
grace and after receiving baptism, we have failed to cooperate with the grace
we have received. How tragic indeed for one who has been blessed but
received His grace in vain.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment