20210614 CREDENTIALS OF SERVANTS OF GOD
14 June, 2021, Monday, 11th Week, Ordinary Time
First reading |
2 Corinthians 6:1-10 © |
How we prove that we are God's servants
As his fellow workers, we beg you once again not to neglect the grace of God that you have received. For he says: At the favourable time, I have listened to you; on the day of salvation I came to your help. Well, now is the favourable time; this is the day of salvation.
We do nothing that people might object to, so as not to bring discredit on our function as God’s servants. Instead, we prove we are servants of God by great fortitude in times of suffering: in times of hardship and distress; when we are flogged, or sent to prison, or mobbed; labouring, sleepless, starving. We prove we are God’s servants by our purity, knowledge, patience and kindness; by a spirit of holiness, by a love free from affectation; by the word of truth and by the power of God; by being armed with the weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left, prepared for honour or disgrace, for blame or praise; taken for impostors while we are genuine; obscure yet famous; said to be dying and here are we alive; rumoured to be executed before we are sentenced; thought most miserable and yet we are always rejoicing; taken for paupers though we make others rich, for people having nothing though we have everything.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 97(98):1-4 © |
The Lord has made known his salvation.
Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.
The Lord has made known his salvation.
The Lord has made known his salvation;
has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.
The Lord has made known his salvation.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.
The Lord has made known his salvation.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn14:23 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him.
Alleluia!
Or: | Ps118:105 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is a lamp for my steps
and a light for my path.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 5:38-42 © |
Offer the wicked man no resistance
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You have learnt how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But I say this to you: offer the wicked man no resistance. On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well; if a man takes you to law and would have your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone orders you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to anyone who asks, and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away.’
CREDENTIALS OF SERVANTS OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [2 Cor 6:1-10; Ps 98:1-4; Mt 5:38-42 ]
Writing to the Corinthians, St Paul said, “As God’s fellow workers we beg you once again not to neglect the grace of God that you have received.” St Paul saw himself as one of the fellow workers of God. He came to the people as a servant of God. This must be the fundamental attitude of anyone serving God full-time, or as volunteers. Indeed, regardless of whatever position we hold in Church or society, we must always remember that we are only servants. Jesus reminded His apostles when they were competing for honour and position, “whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Mt 20:26-28) As the Lord said “So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!'” (Lk 17:10) Although it is also true that every Christian is a servant of God, all of us are called to be the ambassadors of Christ, to represent Him and His Church by our works, words and deeds. Our work is to call people to be reconciled with God.
As servants of God, we do not answer to ourselves. We are accountable to our master, our Lord Jesus Christ and His Church. Often, we fail to realize that when we sin or hurt others by our words and actions, we are not just discrediting ourselves but we discredit Christ and His Church. Whatever we do or say will have a positive or negative impact on our listeners, audience and those that we encounter each day. Either we show them the mercy and love of Christ or we make them skeptical of our faith in Christ. More so, if the person holds an important position in the Church, be he or she a priest, religious or a lay worker, or even a volunteer. Indeed, many have left the Church because they have experienced rejection, humiliation and discrimination by the Church, especially by her leaders. For this reason, St Paul was very mindful of how as God’s servants should act. “We do nothing that people might object to, so as not to bring discredit on our function as God’s servants.”
So what would be the credentials of a true servant of God? Firstly, a worthy and true servant of God needs to have fortitude in suffering, which is one of the seven theological gifts of the Holy Spirit. St Paul wrote, “we prove we are servants of God by great fortitude in times of suffering: in times of hardship and distress; when we are flogged, or sent to prison, or mobbed; labouring, sleepless, starving.” The trials of a servant of God come firstly from within. A servant of God, especially if he or she is a servant-leader, will have to bear the crosses of life. These sufferings come from within. He or she will have to bear with the struggles of daily life, health, finance, personal relationships, family and work. As a servant leader, we will be overwhelmed with demands, unreasonable requests, the daunting task of keeping the members of the organization working together, and the anxieties of looking after the leaders, the finance and the growth of the organization.
But as a servant-leader, we will have to face the oppositions that come from without when we seek to proclaim the gospel. St Paul recounted his humiliations and rejections. He was flogged, imprisoned a few times and mobbed when the Jews were jealous of him. Those who rejected his message would cause him problems and had him arrested or banished from the city. So too when we proclaim the gospel today, we face all kinds of criticism, slander and attacks by those who are not happy with the message because they feel threatened by us when we challenge their values in life. More so in this age of social media; they can be merciless, harsh, nasty using every means to defame and put us down.
Finally, the servant leader is always “labouring, sleepless, starving.” When we are servants of God, we are always laboring for our co-workers and the people under our charge. We are always called upon to help, to be available, to give talks, to minister, to counsel, to mediate. All these can be extremely stressful because we need time and sometimes we feel so helpless and inadequate to meet the needs and demands of our people. Some issues dealing with conflicts and the future of the Church cause us many sleepless nights. Often leaders, just like the apostles and our Lord, have not much time to eat or to rest. (Mk 6:31-34)
Secondly, over and above fortitude in suffering, a servant leader has to develop ethical virtues in leading the people of God. “We prove we are God’s servants by our purity, knowledge, patience and kindness; by a spirit of holiness, by a love free from affection.” Holiness of life is expected of God’s servants because God is holy. This holiness is manifested in living a life of purity of mind, speech and body. His mind needs to be positive and he cannot afford to have evil thoughts of others, like taking revenge or being vindictive. He must always seek to heal, to reconcile and to mediate God’s grace and mercy to others. Indeed, this was what the Lord taught in today’s gospel. “You have learnt how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But I say this to you: offer the wicked man no resistance. On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well.” This is why, patience and kindness are needed if we are to feel with our enemies and the difficult people around us.
Holiness of life is also seen in sincere and genuine love, not with ulterior motives. A servant seeks to serve and to serve selflessly and humbly. We cannot have selfish motives by taking advantage of the people we serve in order to gain something from our service, especially monetary gains or even to use them for our pleasure and entertainment. Discrimination and favoritism creep in simply because we serve with selfish motives. This is what the Lord said in the gospel, “And if anyone orders you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to anyone who asks, and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away.” We must go out of our way to help and assist without any gain. We must risk that those we serve may be ungrateful to us. This is true even when we give because the person will not pay us back. This is what the Lord meant when He said, “If a man takes you to law and would have your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.” Love without conditions and without reservations.
Thirdly, we cannot be servants of God unless we carry with us our spiritual armory. What are these spiritual weapons if not “the word of truth and by the power of God; by being armed with the weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left.” Indeed, we need to be grounded in the truth by being familiar with the scriptures and rely on the power of God. Unless we live a righteous life and a life of faith in God, we will lose credibility and also courage in the face of trials and challenges. A soldier that is unarmed and untrained will suffer casualty in no time. He would be useless, and worse still, be a captive of his enemies. This is why servant leaders must be armed with prayer, the Word of God and always be filled with the Holy Spirit, fighting along with the other servants of God.
What would be the acid test that we are ready to be leaders? When we no longer fear suffering or death, blame or praise except that we give glory to God in all that we do with a clear conscience. This was the case of St Paul when he said, we must be “prepared for honour or disgrace, for blame or praise; taken for impostors while we are genuine; obscure yet famous; said to be dying and here are we alive; rumoured to be executed before we are sentenced; thought most miserable and yet we are always rejoicing; taken for paupers though we make others rich, for people having nothing though we have everything.” When we are well grounded in the Lord, we no longer seek the praises of men or worried about what they say about us or accept us, so long as God accepts us.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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