20191115
WHY
SOME PEOPLE MISS OUT ON GOD
15 NOVEMBER,
2019, Friday, 32nd Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Wisdom 13:1-9 ©
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Naturally stupid are all men who have not
known God
and who, from the good things that are
seen, have not been able to discover Him-who-is,
or, by studying the works, have failed to
recognise the Artificer.
Fire however, or wind, or the swift air,
the sphere of the stars, impetuous water,
heaven’s lamps,
are what they have held to be the gods who
govern the world.
If, charmed by their beauty, they have
taken things for gods,
let them know how much the Lord of these
excels them,
since the very Author of beauty has
created them.
And if they have been impressed by their
power and energy,
let them deduce from these how much
mightier is he that has formed them,
since through the grandeur and beauty of
the creatures
we may, by analogy, contemplate their
Author.
Small blame, however, attaches to these
men,
for perhaps they only go astray
in their search for God and their
eagerness to find him;
living among his works, they strive to
comprehend them
and fall victim to appearances, seeing so
much beauty.
Even so, they are not to be excused:
if they are capable of acquiring enough
knowledge
to be able to investigate the world,
how have they been so slow to find its
Master?
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 18(19):2-5 ©
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The heavens proclaim the
glory of God.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God,
and the firmament shows forth
the work of his hands.
Day unto day takes up the story
and night unto night makes
known the message.
The heavens proclaim the
glory of God.
No speech, no word, no voice is heard
yet their span extends through
all the earth,
their words to the utmost
bounds of the world.
The heavens proclaim the
glory of God.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Heb4:12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and
active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.
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 17:26-37 ©
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Jesus said to the disciples:
‘As
it was in Noah’s day, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man. People
were eating and drinking, marrying wives and husbands, right up to the day Noah
went into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. It will be the same
as it was in Lot’s day: people were eating and drinking, buying and selling,
planting and building, but the day Lot left Sodom, God rained fire and
brimstone from heaven and it destroyed them all. It will be the same when the
day comes for the Son of Man to be revealed.
‘When
that day comes, anyone on the housetop, with his possessions in the house, must
not come down to collect them, nor must anyone in the fields turn back either.
Remember Lot’s wife. Anyone who tries to preserve his life will lose it; and anyone
who loses it will keep it safe. I tell you, on that night two will be in one
bed: one will be taken, the other left; two women will be grinding corn
together: one will be taken, the other left.’ The disciples interrupted.
‘Where, Lord?’ they asked. He said, ‘Where the body is, there too will the
vultures gather.’
WHY SOME PEOPLE
MISS OUT ON GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Wisdom 13:1-9; Ps 19:2-5; Lk 17:26-37 ]
It is strange that
today, we have the most intelligent, smartest and influential people in the
world who believe in God on one hand, and on the other hand, many also do not
believe in God.
Clearly, faith in God has nothing to do with human intelligence but humility,
docility and openness to God. The scripture readings today seek to
elucidate the different causes for the failure to come to recognize the reality
of God in our lives. All causes point to one primary cause, the sin of
idolatry.
In the first instance,
there is the idolatry of one’s knowledge. The book of Wisdom speaks of those people
who are apparently wise and intelligent, like our scientists and technologists,
who have discovered many things about the things of creation, the universe,
organisms, physics, etc but fail to recognize God who is behind all the marvels
of creation. So, the author concluded, “Naturally stupid are all men who
have not known God and who, from the good things that are seen, have not been
able to discover Him-who-is, or, by studying the works, have failed to
recognize the Artificer. Fire, however, or wind, or the swift air, the sphere
of the stars, impetuous water, heaven’s lamps, are what they have held to be the
gods who govern the world.” St Paul in similar words considers those who
suppress the truth about God as inexcusable. “For what can be known about
God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the
creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though
they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they
are without excuse; for though they knew God, they did not honor him as
God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their
senseless minds were darkened.” (Rom 1:19-21)
In the second instance,
there is the idolatry of nature. We have the extreme position of
pantheism when they confuse the created reality as God itself. So enchanted by the beauty
and marvels of creation, they are filled with awe and wonder. Instead of
seeing the works of creation as coming from God the creator, they fall in love
with the works themselves and turn them into gods, worshiping them as
gods. Indeed, the author of Wisdom says, “If, charmed by their beauty,
they have taken things for gods, let them know how much the Lord of these
excels them, since the very Author of beauty has created them. And if they have
been impressed by their power and energy, let them deduce from these how much
mightier is he that has formed them, since through the grandeur and beauty of
the creatures we may, by analogy, contemplate their Author.” Again, St
Paul had a similar message as well. “Claiming to be wise, they became
fools; and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images
resembling a mortal human being or birds or four-footed animals or
reptiles.” (Rom 1:22f)
Thirdly, the ignorance
of God happens because of the idolatry of possessions. There are those who do not go beyond the
beauty of creation to the creator but are simply caught up by them. They
are so captivated, enthralled and bewitched by the things they see or the
people they know, that they want to possess them for their security.
Those of us who cling to our possessions, our wealth, our house, our car, our
beauty and intelligence live in illusion thinking that they will be with us forever.
We hoard and we do not use them for the service of others. Then there are
those whom we love dearly, be they our spouse, children or friends. We
enjoy their love so much that we are afraid of losing them. We put things,
pleasure, beauty, enjoyment, friendships and our loved ones before God.
As a consequence, we become even more insecure about losing them. We
begin to manipulate and stifle their growth and use. Indeed, “they
exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature
rather than the Creator.” (Rom 1:25)
The truth is that things
of this world cannot last. They are transient and passing. To hold
on to things that are changing is to hold on to an illusion. Wisdom says, “Small blame, however,
attaches to these men, for perhaps they only go astray in their search for God
and their eagerness to find him; living among his works, they strive to
comprehend them and fall victim to appearances, seeing so much beauty.
Even so, they are not to be excused: if they are capable of acquiring enough
knowledge to be able to investigate the world, how have they been so slow to
find its Master?” Jesus in the gospel exhorts us thus, “It is your
Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and
give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing
treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.” (Lk 12:32f)
Unfortunately, many of
us do not go beyond the things of this world, the sacramental of God’s love and
beauty. This could be due to the idolatry of complacency. Many of us are so busy with our
lives, looking after our children and loved ones, working hard to make ends
meet, finding time for entertainment, social life and recreation, and service
to the community that we never pause to ask the ultimate questions of
life. This was what happened to the people during the time of Noah and
Lot. They “were eating and drinking, marrying wives and husbands … buying
and selling, planting and building.” They were just too busy to think of
their future and ask the fundamental questions of our origin, purpose on earth
and our destiny. Unfortunately, as the Lord warns us, because we are
unprepared and alert, we will end up like the people in Noah’s day, “the Flood
came and destroyed them all” or in Lot’s day when “Lot left Sodom, God rained
fire and brimstone from heaven and it destroyed them all.”
Finally, there are those
who cannot see the hand of God at work in their lives because of the idolatry of
nostalgic times. Many
of us allow the past to prevent us from looking at the present and the
future. We keep yearning for the past and the good old times. We bemoan
those days when we had so much time and freedom. But life is always
evolving. Those days were good when we were at that age and
time. Today is even better if only we can also open our eyes to see
the goodness of God. This is why the Lord warns us to let go if we want
to live and move forward in life. He said, “When that day comes, anyone
on the housetop, with his possessions in the house, must not come down to
collect them, nor must anyone in the fields turn back either. Remember Lot’s
wife. Anyone who tries to preserve his life will lose it; and anyone who loses
it will keep it safe.”
The beauty of creation
and things of this earth, including our loved ones and friends, are means by
which God reveals His love for us. We cannot possess them forever because
they are only on loan. When we die, we have to leave them behind.
We cannot take even a strand of our hair into heaven. At any rate, we do
not need them because we have found something and someone even greater and more
beautiful than we have seen on earth, that is, God Himself. When we are
with God, we come to realize that all these earthly things, although good in
themselves, are just for the moment to give us some consolation as we go
through the pilgrimage of life into heaven. This explains why flowers do
not last. God wants to teach us to enjoy the beauty of creation, not to be
fixated on them but to lead us to the author of creation, the author of beauty,
God Himself.
Let us therefore be like
St Ignatius of Loyola and St Francis of Assisi in their appreciation for the
presence and beauty of God in creation and in all things. But let us be
clear. They were not pantheists.
They did not call creation Mother Gaia as in the Greek mythology, where Gaia is
the goddess of Mother Earth. In our support and promotion for ecology and
the protection of the earth, we must not fall into Gaia Worship, the new pagan
religion. Rather, we believe that God is the creator and in His creation,
we see the traces of God. The psalmist sings, “The heavens proclaim the
glory of God, and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands. Day
unto day takes up the story and night unto night makes known the message. No
speech, no word, no voice is heard yet their span extends through all the
earth, their words to the utmost bounds of the world.” In other words, we
do not worship creation per see but see the glory of God in them. With St
Ignatius, the one who sees God will see Him in all things.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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