20200117
RELIANCE
ON THE COMMUNITY FOR FAITH
17 January,
2020, Friday, 1st Week in Ordinary Time
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First reading
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1 Samuel 8:4-7,10-22 ©
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The people of Israel demand a king
All the elders of
Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. ‘Look,’ they said to him
‘you are old, and your sons do not follow your ways. So give us a king to rule
over us, like the other nations.’ It displeased Samuel that they should say,
‘Let us have a king to rule us’, so he prayed to the Lord. But the Lord said to
Samuel, ‘Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for it is
not you they have rejected; they have rejected me from ruling over them.’
All
that the Lord had said Samuel repeated to the people who were asking him for a
king. He said, ‘These will be the rights of the king who is to reign over you.
He will take your sons and assign them to his chariotry and cavalry, and they
will run in front of his chariot. He will use them as leaders of a thousand and
leaders of fifty; he will make them plough his ploughland and harvest his
harvest and make his weapons of war and the gear for his chariots. He will also
take your daughters as perfumers, cooks and bakers. He will take the best of
your fields, of your vineyards and olive groves and give them to his officials.
He will tithe your crops and vineyards to provide for his eunuchs and his
officials. He will take the best of your manservants and maidservants, of your
cattle and your donkeys, and make them work for him. He will tithe your flocks,
and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry
out on account of the king you have chosen for yourselves, but on that day God
will not answer you.’
The
people refused to listen to the words of Samuel. They said, ‘No! We want a
king, so that we in our turn can be like the other nations; our king shall rule
us and be our leader and fight our battles.’ Samuel listened to all that the
people had to say and repeated it in the ears of the Lord. The Lord then said
to Samuel, ‘Obey their voice and give them a king.’
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 88(89):16-19 ©
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I
will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
Happy
the people who acclaim such a king,
who
walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,
who
find their joy every day in your name,
who
make your justice the source of their bliss.
I
will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
For
you, O Lord, are the glory of their strength;
by
your favour it is that our might is exalted;
for
our ruler is in the keeping of the Lord;
our
king in the keeping of the Holy One of Israel.
I
will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Ep1:17,18
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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!
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Or:
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Lk7:16
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
A
great prophet has appeared among us;
God
has visited his people.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 2:1-12 ©
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The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins
When Jesus
returned to Capernaum, word went round that he was back; and so many people
collected that there was no room left, even in front of the door. He was
preaching the word to them when some people came bringing him a paralytic
carried by four men, but as the crowd made it impossible to get the man to him,
they stripped the roof over the place where Jesus was; and when they had made
an opening, they lowered the stretcher on which the paralytic lay. Seeing their
faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, ‘My child, your sins are forgiven.’ Now
some scribes were sitting there, and they thought to themselves, ‘How can this
man talk like that? He is blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but God?’ Jesus,
inwardly aware that this was what they were thinking, said to them, ‘Why do you
have these thoughts in your hearts? Which of these is easier: to say to the
paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven” or to say, “Get up, pick up your stretcher
and walk”? But to prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to
forgive sins,’ – he turned to the paralytic – ‘I order you: get up,
pick up your stretcher, and go off home.’ And the man got up, picked up his
stretcher at once and walked out in front of everyone, so that they were all
astounded and praised God saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this.’
RELIANCE ON THE
COMMUNITY FOR FAITH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 SM 8:4-7. 10-22; Ps 89:16-19; Mk 2:1-12 ]
Like the paralytic in
today’s gospel, we are paralyzed in different ways. We are paralyzed by the diarrhea of views
and opinions we read in the internet. Most are contrasting views, one in
favour and the other against. So much so we end up confused and
unsettled. This is particularly true of views concerning fundamental
questions of life, sexuality, marriage and bio-ethical issues, such as
abortion, IVF and euthanasia. This is the reason why in the face of so
many diverse and contradictory views, most of us fall into relativism and
subjectivism. We just take whichever view we feel comfortable with, not
knowing whether it is true or not. This is called pragmatism.
Truth is no longer the question since no one seems to have the truth.
The situation in the
world today is but the consequence of the rejection of the rule of God and His
laws. This
was the same mistake the Israelites made when they entered into the Promised
Land. Instead of submitting to the Kingship of Yahweh who ruled the
people through His Judges, the people asked for a king so that they could be
like the rest of the nations. Instead of seeking the Word of God and
following His laws, they chose to follow laws enacted by political and military
leaders. Such a situation happened because both their religious leaders
and political leaders were no longer in touch with God. They no longer heard
the Word of God. We are told that the sons of Samuel, just like Eli’s
sons, did not walk the way of truth and disobeyed the Word of God. They
forgot that God was their Lord and Father. They forgot that they were the
chosen people of God, making them different from the rest of the nations.
Instead of appreciating their uniqueness, they wanted to be like the other
nations.
We are in the same
situation. The world no longer recognizes God as the Lawgiver and the
Creator. We
prefer to choose leaders that can give us economic prosperity. But we are
not concerned whether our leaders will help us to walk in truth and love.
Today, our political and corporate leaders are chosen only for their ability to
protect the nation, make it grow in prosperity and keep the people united in
peace. But they are not concerned with morality and what is the right
thing to do. Most are concerned about what is the popular thing to
do. Democracy today means being elected to do the will of the
people. Leaders are no longer leading but are being led by the masses and
popular opinions. In rejecting the authority of God and His rule, society
today is much divided; the peoples are more confused than ever, and the state
of morality is reduced to amorality.
Indeed, the consequences
of rejecting the rule of God, as Samuel warned the people, would be a nation
led astray. They would be manipulated, made use of and fall into slavery. “He said, ‘These will be the rights
of the king who is to reign over you. He will take your sons and assign them
to his chariot and cavalry, and they will run in front of his chariot. He
will use them as leaders of a thousand and leaders of fifty; he will make them
plough his plough land and harvest his harvest and make his weapons of war and
the gear for his chariots. He will also take your daughters as perfumers,
cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields, of your vineyards
and olive groves and give them to his officials. He will tithe your crops
and vineyards to provide for his eunuchs and his officials. He will take
the best of your manservants and maidservants, of your cattle and your donkeys,
and make them work for him. He will tithe your flocks, and you yourselves
will become his slaves.” Isn’t this the case today when political leaders
and even religious leaders who are corrupt rule the people for their own vested
interests, feeding themselves, making use of their position to rise in power,
enrich themselves and live a luxurious life, honored and served by their
cronies? In some countries, there is oppression and persecution against
those who speak the truth and those who believe in God. These are
the consequences of a godless nation.
But we are also like
them, because we are rebellious and stubborn. Despite the warning of
Samuel of the consequences of rejecting the rule of God, they still insisted to
have a king. “The
people refused to listen to the words of Samuel. They said, ‘No! We
want a king, so that we in our turn can be like the other nations; our king
shall rule us and be our leader and fight our battles.’ Samuel listened
to all that the people had to say and repeated it in the ears of the
Lord. The Lord then said to Samuel, ‘Obey their voice and give them a
king.'” God who loves us so much respects our freedom. But when we
disobey Him and choose to have things our own way, then we must be ready to
bear the consequences of our ignorance not just for ourselves but for our
children’s children.
Today, the gospel
reminds us of the importance of growing our faith in a community. We all
must belong to a faith community. The paralyzed man himself did not have
faith in Christ.
But it was because of his friends that he was ready to take the risk of surrendering
himself to the Lord. He could have balked at the suggestion of his
friends to find a cure from Jesus. When a man is sick, he does not want
to be troubled unnecessarily. They do not like crowds and they
prefer to suffer quietly with privacy. Least of all, he would not have
liked the crowd to see him in that pitiable state. Instead of rejecting
the offer and withdrawing into his own world, he took the courage to accept the
invitation.
Indeed, in the gospel,
we are told that Jesus healed the paralytic on account of the faith of his
friends. We read
that when Jesus was preaching, he saw “some people came bringing him a
paralytic carried by four men, but as the crowd made it impossible to get the
man to him, they stripped the roof over the place where Jesus was; and when
they had made an opening, they lowered the stretcher on which the paralytic
lay.” Notably, upon “seeing their faith, Jesus said to the
paralytic, ‘My child, your sins are forgiven.'” It was the friends’ faith
that made Jesus heal the paralytic. He did not want to disappoint his
friends who were full of faith in the Lord. Jesus wanted to support them
in their faith and vindicate their faith in Him.
Of course, as in the
first reading, people no longer believe that God could give His divine
authority to men to exercise on His behalf. Today our people have lost
faith not just in political and corporate leaders, but even in religious
leaders. In fact, people have no faith in anyone, no trust in
anyone except themselves. Jesus proved the scribes wrong for
doubting in God’s authority given to men. So He said to the paralytic, “I
order you: get up, pick up your stretcher, and go off home.”
Indeed, “the man got up, picked up his stretcher at once and walked out in
front of everyone, so that they were all astounded and praised God saying, ‘We
have never seen anything like this.” Jesus showed forth His divine
authority to forgive sins. The fact that he could walk was the litmus
test that God had the divine power to forgive sins since he was restored to
fullness of health, symbolizing that he was no longer paralyzed by his sins.
Today, when we are
journeying in faith, we too need support along the way. We cannot be alone in our faith. We
need companions in faith. We are not always strong in our faith. At
times, our faith gets dimmer because of neglect, complacency in spiritual life,
work and stress; suffering and disappointments. Today’s gospel story and
the first reading warn us that if we do not belong to a community of faith, we
will be led into confusion. We get disheartened with God and with
life. But if we have friends around us to share with us their faith in
God, give us encouragement and show us the love and mercy of God, we will find
strength and hope to continue to walk in faith and hope.
So, like the psalmist,
together with our brothers and sisters, we must sing for ever of His love.
We must journey as the
People of God under His rule and under His Word, which is wisdom and
truth. Indeed, “Happy the people who acclaim such a king, who walk, O
Lord, in the light of your face, who find their joy every day in your name, who
make your justice the source of their bliss. For you, O Lord, are the
glory of their strength; for our ruler is in the keeping of the Lord; our king
in the keeping of the Holy One of Israel.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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