20201103 DANGER OF PROCRASTINATION
03 November, 2020, Tuesday, 31st Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.
First reading |
Philippians 2:5-11 © |
Christ humbled himself but God raised him high
In your minds you must be the same as Christ Jesus:
His state was divine,
yet he did not cling
to his equality with God
but emptied himself
to assume the condition of a slave,
and became as men are;
and being as all men are,
he was humbler yet,
even to accepting death,
death on a cross.
But God raised him high
and gave him the name
which is above all other names
so that all beings in the heavens,
on earth and in the underworld,
should bend the knee at the name of Jesus
and that every tongue should acclaim
Jesus Christ as Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 21(22):26-32 © |
You are my praise, O Lord, in the great assembly.
My vows I will pay before those who fear the Lord.
The poor shall eat and shall have their fill.
They shall praise the Lord, those who seek him.
May their hearts live for ever and ever!
You are my praise, O Lord, in the great assembly.
All the earth shall remember and return to the Lord,
all families of the nations worship before him;
for the kingdom is the Lord’s, he is ruler of the nations.
They shall worship him, all the mighty of the earth.
You are my praise, O Lord, in the great assembly.
And my soul shall live for him, my children serve him.
They shall tell of the Lord to generations yet to come,
declare his faithfulness to peoples yet unborn:
‘These things the Lord has done.’
You are my praise, O Lord, in the great assembly.
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 © |
'Not one of those who were invited shall have a taste of my banquet'
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.”’
DANGER OF PROCRASTINATION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11; LUKE 14:15-24 ]
On All Souls Day, one of the readings was taken from Isaiah 25:6-9 which speaks of the Messianic banquet that God is inviting us all to. “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.” (Isa 25:6) Our life in heaven is always portrayed as a banquet, not just a banquet but a wedding banquet. The image of a banquet is one of joy, celebration, love and communion among all those who are present. There is intimacy and fellowship with each other and most of all with the Lord. In the bible, God is often presented as the bridegroom and the Church as His spouse, the bride of God. St John was asked to write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” (Rev 19:9)
Indeed, what ultimately matters in life at the end of the day is more than just having food in plenty, living a luxurious life, staying in a big bungalow and driving a posh car or even fame, status or power, but it is a life of love and communion with our loved ones, with our friends and colleagues, community and society. When there is love, mutual understanding, mutual support, we will feel fulfilled and happy in life knowing that we are not alone but in communion with others. Through them and with them, we anticipate the heavenly banquet on this earth, especially in the celebration of the Eucharist which is a foretaste of the heavenly banquet when we are united with the Lord in love and intimacy with the communion of saints. There will be no division, no discrimination but pure love for all.
It was within this context of the Messianic feast that “One of those gathered round the table said to Jesus, ‘Happy the man who will be at the feast in the kingdom of God!'” He was inspired by the Lord’s invitation to this great banquet. The Lord’s message is clear, that this invitation to the Lord’s banquet is extended to all, the Jews first and then all the Gentiles. God desires us all to come to His banquet of love and life. He wants the banquet hall to be full. This is why we must not imagine that there are more people in hell than in heaven! When the Jews rejected the offer, the Lord extended this invitation to all. The master told 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 that 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.” Indeed, it is the great dream of God that His people will be one in communion and love with Him. All of us will be one with God in Christ without distinction and discrimination.
Unfortunately, the tragedy does not lie on the side of God but on the side of man. We postpone our acceptance of the invitation. We might even have good reasons to do so, like the three men in the gospel who were invited for the banquet. They were preoccupied with their responsibilities. The first had to take care of his investment, just like many of us who are struggling to make ends meet. He said, “I have bought a piece of land and must go and see it. Please accept my apologies.” We worry about our financial commitments. Without returns from our investments, we might not have enough money to look after our family, much less the Church and the larger community. So, this appears to be a valid reason. Indeed, there are many Catholics who are busy with their businesses and have no time for God. They are working hard to keep their businesses going and growing so much so God is seldom thought of until they meet with crises or very challenging times. They postpone conversion to the faith or spending time with God, thinking that when the time is ripe, when they have made their millions and life is secure, they would then go back to Church, which might be too late! They have deprived themselves of the foretaste of heaven.
We must realize that money is not an end in itself. We will never have enough money. Earlier on in the parable of the Rich Fool, the Lord had already warned us, “‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.” (Lk 12:20f) Rather, money must be used to promote friendship, love, care and joy for all. Whatever we make, should be for the purpose of serving God and His people, not just for ourselves. So even when we do business, we must use our business to glorify God, to create jobs for His people so that they could support their families. Whatever profits we make from our businesses are not meant for ourselves only but for the people of God.
The second person was preoccupied with his work. He said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen and am on my way to try them out. Please accept my apologies.” Again, this is a valid excuse for not making time for God. We are all so busy with our work because we need to be responsible. We want to be recognized, promoted and be successful. We have a sense of pride and not just because of monetary remuneration. This preoccupation with work is even true for those apparently doing God’s works. Priests, religious and church workers, full time or volunteers can be so involved in preparing and giving talks, conducting seminars, organizing events and attending meetings that they have no time for a personal relationship with the Lord; and no time for their family members and the Christian community.
When we reduce life to one of work without realizing the importance of cultivating personal relationships with those whom we are working with or working for, we have missed the ultimate purpose of work, which is to glorify God by contributing to the good of humanity. Our task is to build a community of love where everyone is able to give themselves meaningfully to the community. Work is not the goal of life but a means whereby we develop ourselves. Working and collaborating with others, we contribute to the common good, which makes us feel wanted, useful and that we all make a difference in the lives of each other. Indeed, we must value our workers first before what they can do for us.
The last man when invited to the banquet said, “I have just got married and so am unable to come.” This man certainly has a good reason. He has just got married and was busy with his new life and perhaps still entertaining his guests for the wedding. There are many who, in the name of family commitments, will not get involved in the Church or the community. Their priority is with the family, which of course is not wrong. However, whilst we must look after our family, cutting ourselves off from the larger community and our commitments to the larger community will do us great harm. No man is an island and no family is complete without being in the family of families. In order to take care of our own family, we must be involved in the larger community so that we can support each other in our family life.
We must never journey alone or love our family so exclusively and therefore selfishly without being open to the larger family of humanity. There are some who look after the family well but their love stays within their family. When we do not reach out, we will become stifled and die. This is true for the organization and for church ministry as well. This is why the Church underscores the importance of mission, without which we will become complacent, inward-looking and exclusive.
Today, we are called to put on the mind of Christ. “In your minds you must be the same as Christ Jesus: His state was divine, yet he did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave, and became as men are; and being as all men are, he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross.” We must empty ourselves for others and be their servant as Jesus did by not clinging to His divine powers when He assumed our humanity so that He could be identified with us. If we want to enter into His heavenly banquet, we must share in Christ’s self-emptying love for His Father and His people. This means that we must be in union with Him, celebrating the Eucharistic banquet regularly, nurturing ourselves with the Word of God and serving our fellowmen.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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