20200127
FORMING
OUR PEOPLE TO MISSION IN COMMUNION
27 January,
2020, Monday, 3rd Week of Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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2 Samuel 5:1-7,10 ©
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'You shall be shepherd of my people Israel'
All the tribes of
Israel then came to David at Hebron. ‘Look’ they said ‘we are your own flesh
and blood. In days past when Saul was our king, it was you who led Israel in
all their exploits; and the Lord said to you, “You are the man who shall be
shepherd of my people Israel, you shall be the leader of Israel.”’ So all the
elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a pact with
them at Hebron in the presence of the Lord, and they anointed David king of
Israel.
David
was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned for forty years. He
reigned in Hebron over Judah for seven years and six months; then he reigned in
Jerusalem over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years.
David
and his men marched on Jerusalem against the Jebusites living there. These said
to David, ‘You will not get in here. The blind and the lame will hold you off.’
(That is to say: David will never get in here.) But David captured the fortress
of Zion, that is, the Citadel of David.
David
grew greater and greater, and the Lord, the God of Hosts, was with him.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 88(89):20-22,25-26 ©
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My
truth and my love shall be with him.
Of
old you spoke in a vision.
To
your friends the prophets you said:
‘I
have set the crown on a warrior,
I
have exalted one chosen from the people.
My
truth and my love shall be with him.
I
have found David my servant
and
with my holy oil anointed him.
My
hand shall always be with him
and
my arm shall make him strong.
My
truth and my love shall be with him.
My
truth and my love shall be with him;
by
my name his might shall be exalted.
I
will stretch out his hand to the Sea
and
his right hand as far as the River.
My
truth and my love shall be with him.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Ps24:4,5
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
Teach
me your paths, my God,
make
me walk in your truth.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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cf.2Tim1:10
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
Our
Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death
and
he has proclaimed life through the Good News.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 3:22-30 ©
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A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand
The scribes who
had come down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘Beelzebul is in him’ and, ‘It is
through the prince of devils that he casts devils out.’ So he called them to
him and spoke to them in parables, ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom
is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot last. And if a household is
divided against itself, that household can never stand. Now if Satan has
rebelled against himself and is divided, he cannot stand either – it is
the end of him. But no one can make his way into a strong man’s house and
burgle his property unless he has tied up the strong man first. Only then can
he burgle his house.
‘I
tell you solemnly, all men’s sins will be forgiven, and all their blasphemies;
but let anyone blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and he will never have
forgiveness: he is guilty of an eternal sin.’ This was because they were
saying, ‘An unclean spirit is in him.’
FORMING OUR
PEOPLE TO MISSION IN COMMUNION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [2 SM 5:1-7, 10; MK 3:22-30 ]
What is perhaps the most
challenging task of a leader is
not the hard work. It is not the sacrifices. It is not the time and
energy. It is the task of getting everyone to be on the same page, to be
aligned in vision and mission. As bishop my pain is to see that there are
so many people who are yearning to find hope, peace, love and healing from the
Church, and here among ourselves, we are divided, bickering, slandering each
other, wanting to have things our way and only ours, breaking the Church apart,
causing those who are serving to lose morale and to give up on the
Church. Jesus in the gospel made it clear. “If a kingdom is divided
against itself, that kingdom cannot last. And if a household is divided
against itself, that household can never stand.”
Indeed, the strategy of
the Evil One is to sow disunity in the world, among religions and in the
Church. It is because of
disunity among religions that secularism was born, masquerading as the panacea
to all divisions in the world. Yet, the facts show that secularism is the
greatest cause of division, not just religious division but all levels and
forms of division. The championing of relativism, which is the outcome of
secularism, has led to a situation where everyone is contradicting each other on
everything, whether it is with regard to lifestyle, use of technology,
politics, economics, etc. All of us are divided even in fundamental
values with regard to family, marriage, gender and life. So the devil’s
strategy to divide and conquer seems to be working. And we who claim to
be the most intelligent of all animals on this planet have been hoodwinked by
the Evil One.
How does the Devil sow
division? By telling half-truths, just like all those fake news we read
in the internet and social media. They twist and turn the truths of the
gospel to their liking, contradict whatever the Lord said. In the name of
God, in the name of religion and even in the name of Christ, the world is
promoting values that are contrary to what is taught in the scriptures.
They mislead and confuse the world. But more than just misleading and confusing
people, they mobilize celebrities, the powerful, the rich and the famous,
modern technology, internet, and media, to normalize what is abnormal so that
we all are conditioned into accepting something that is against truth and love.
This was how the enemies
of Jesus sought to demolish the good works that Jesus did. They accused Jesus of collaborating
with the Evil Spirits. They said “Beelzebul is in him and it is through
the prince of devils that he casts devils out.” It is significant that
they were not denying the good works that Jesus did. They were not denying the
miracles He performed. But they sought to place doubts in the minds of
the people that Jesus was in league with the evil spirits. Regardless how
farfetched their arguments were, we can be sure that some would have been
swayed by them. Isn’t it true in our times? When influential people
champion same-sex union, transgender, abortion, euthanasia, etc, those who are
not as enlightened will come to believe that since they are intelligent people
and leaders in society and the world, they must know better and therefore they
must be right.
But why do the enemies
of Jesus think in such a manner even when Jesus reasoned with them that “… if Satan has rebelled against
himself and is divided, he cannot stand either – it is the end of him.”
The fact that He could cast out the devil proved not only that He was not in
league with them but that He was stronger than them. “No one can make his
way into a strong man’s house and burgle his property unless he has tied up the
strong man first. Only then can he burgle his house.”
The reason was that
their enemies were simply closed to the truth. They refused to see goodness as
goodness. Instead they sought to attribute and suggest that it is
counterfeit. When people are blind to what is truly good even when they
know it, it means that they are in league with the Evil One. That is why
this sin of blasphemy cannot be forgiven. The Lord warned us, “I tell you
solemnly, all men’s sins will be forgiven, and all their blasphemies: but let
anyone blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and he will never have forgiveness: he
is guilty of an eternal sin.’ This was because they were saying, ‘An unclean
spirit is in him.'” It is not because God does not forgive our
sins. All sins are forgiven when we acknowledge them. When it is a
sin of blasphemy it cannot be forgiven simply because the person does not see
the need to listen and obey the Lord, or to admit that he or she is in the
wrong, that what he or she is doing is evil and immoral. The person’s ego
and selfish desires forbid him or her to surrender to the truth.
So those who have been
overcome by the Evil One, no matter what we say, will be opposed. They will champion half-truths and
perpetuate lies, as the Lord tells us, “You are from your father the devil, and
you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning
and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he
lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of
lies.” (Jn 8:44) Hence, we
can understand how those who speak the truth are not just silenced but their
lives, families, jobs, businesses and livelihood are threatened. The
world has become so evil that those who speak against evil are discriminated,
oppressed and threatened. Indeed, we see this everywhere. There
are all kinds of demonstrations. But they are not just expressing their
views. Rather, they use violence and all kinds of threats to silence
those who oppose them. If Catholic leaders were to uphold the gospel
values on marriage and the dignity of the human person according to the
scriptures, they would be condemned as exclusive, lacking compassion,
judgmental, and out of touch with the world. What is frightening is that
they have are able to employ all the resources to silence the minority voice.
Today, we are called to
be faithful to truth and charity.
God will be faithful to us and His truth and love will stay with us. We
should not fear but remain firm in our faith. This is what the
responsorial psalm is reminding us. “Of old you spoke in a vision.
To your friends the prophets you said: ‘I have set the crown on a
warrior, I have exalted one chosen from the people. I have found
David my servant and with my holy oil anointed him. My hand shall always be
with him and my arm shall make him strong. My truth and my love shall be
with him; by my name his might shall be exalted. I will stretch out his hand to
the Sea and his right hand as far as the River.”
In the meantime, we must
seek to align our own people to unite for a common mission. This was what King David did. But it
took him a long time to unite his people, the two kingdoms of Judah and
Israel. Although some historians have suggested that David was only ten
years old when he was anointed, modern scripture commentators suggest that 15
years of age was more likely. So by the time he became king of Judah, he
was 30 years old. Seven-and-a-half years later, the rest of the tribes of
Israel accepted him as king. So it took him 15 years to be king and
another seven-and-a-half years to unite the kingdom.
Indeed, leadership is a
very difficult task. Trying to unite our people is a great challenge,
much less to unite the world. As leaders we will always be misunderstood.
There are those who, because of pride and self-interests, will seek to go their
own ways instead of following their leader. They think they know
best. No one, including their anointed leader chosen by God, knows
better. Self-appointed leaders are many. So those who have been
chosen by the Lord must learn from David to be patient, to be forgiving towards
their enemies and those who oppose them. We must, with a heart of Christ,
continue to soldier on, doing what we can, and patiently wait for the Lord to
act simply because He is the strong man. Only in Him and with Him, can we
win the battle.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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