20210920 CHANGING PRIORITIES
20 September, 2021, Monday, 25th Week, Ordinary Time
First reading | Ezra 1:1-6 © |
Cyrus king of Persia frees the Jews to return to Jerusalem
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfil the word of the Lord that was spoken through Jeremiah, the Lord roused the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to issue a proclamation and to have it publicly displayed throughout his kingdom: ‘Thus speaks Cyrus king of Persia, “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; he has ordered me to build him a Temple in Jerusalem, in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all his people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah to build the Temple of the Lord, the God of Israel – he is the God who is in Jerusalem. And let each survivor, wherever he lives, be helped by the people of that place with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, as well as voluntary offerings for the Temple of God which is in Jerusalem.”’
Then the heads of families of Judah and of Benjamin, the priests and the Levites, in fact all whose spirit had been roused by God, prepared to go and rebuild the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem; and all their neighbours gave them every assistance with silver, gold, goods, cattle, quantities of costly gifts and with voluntary offerings of every kind.
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 125(126) © |
What marvels the Lord worked for us.
When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage,
it seemed like a dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
on our lips there were songs.
What marvels the Lord worked for us.
The heathens themselves said: ‘What marvels
the Lord worked for them!’
What marvels the Lord worked for us!
Indeed we were glad.
What marvels the Lord worked for us.
Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage
as streams in dry land.
Those who are sowing in tears
will sing when they reap.
What marvels the Lord worked for us.
They go out, they go out, full of tears,
carrying seed for the sowing:
they come back, they come back, full of song,
carrying their sheaves.
What marvels the Lord worked for us.
Gospel Acclamation | James1:18 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
By his own choice the Father made us his children
by the message of the truth,
so that we should be a sort of first-fruits
of all that he created.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt5:16 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your light must shine in the sight of men,
so that, seeing your good works,
they may give the praise to your Father in heaven.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 8:16-18 © |
Anyone who has will be given more
Jesus said to the crowds:
‘No one lights a lamp to cover it with a bowl or to put it under a bed. No, he puts it on a lamp-stand so that people may see the light when they come in. For nothing is hidden but it will be made clear, nothing secret but it will be known and brought to light. So take care how you hear; for anyone who has will be given more; from anyone who has not, even what he thinks he has will be taken away.’
CHANGING PRIORITIES
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Ezra 1:1-16; Ps 126; Lk 8:16-18 ]
Seventy years before the Israelites were exiled in Babylon, the prophet Jeremiah said, “Because you have not obeyed my words, I am going to send for all the tribes of the north, says the Lord, even for King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, my servant. This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.” (Jer 25:8-12) However, “when Babylon’s seventy years are completed will I visit you, and I will fulfil to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” (Jer 29:10f)
Indeed, God had His plans for Israel. The exile was meant to be a time of purification for Israel. It was not an abandonment. “Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.” (Jer 29:12-14) During the time of Ezra, the Cyrus, the Persian King issued an edict for the captives to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple and the country. King Cyrus even aided them by providing them resources and returning the treasures looted from Jerusalem.
But not all were keen to return to their homeland. The Temple was in ruins and to rebuild the Temple and their homes would take time, manpower and resources. Many of them were comfortably settled in Babylon. Jeremiah had encouraged the exiles in Babylon to “build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.” (Jer 29:5f) They also got used to worshipping God without a temple. The new form of religion known as Judaism evolved into a Word worship distinct from a Temple worship. They had their synagogue where the Torah was read, expounded and the people tried to maintain their identity through observance of the Sabbath, circumcision, clean food and rituals to keep themselves uncontaminated by pagans. Hence, those who were comfortably settled down in Babylon and those who had never even seen Jerusalem as they were born in Babylon had no affinity to the place. Those with young families and elderly people were reluctant to take the long and arduous journey home just to find a war-torn ruined city without amenities and proper infrastructure. So there was little reason for them to move back and begin from scratch all over again.
This is true of us today during this pandemic period. With on-line services, many have got used to attending Mass in the comfort of their homes. Some of course, have got used to not even making time for God on Sundays. Even with on-line services, some have lost touch with the Sacraments and with prayer and worship. There is generally a loss of fervour and faith, especially among the young people. At the other end of the spectrum, for those who see this period as a time of privation of the Eucharist and purification, the desire to receive the sacraments has grown stronger. For these people, the pandemic has strengthened their faith and taught them not to take the Eucharist and the sacraments for granted. Indeed, the pandemic is a double-edged sword. It has helped some people to return to God and also made some lazy and indifferent to their hunger for God. Indeed, it is either a case of ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ or ‘out of sight out of mind’. This danger extends beyond the pandemic effects to that of the religious institutions which are crumbling because of complacency and unbelief.
This is the danger of being exiled from God for too long. Priorities change over time. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. For us, we must use such time to reassess our priorities in life and the way in which we are called to rebuild the Temple of God so that the gospel can be truly a saving grace for us and for the world. Being cut off from our community in the Church and our brothers and sisters, or from the celebration of the liturgy and even catechesis and retreats, even though these could be held on-line, we should invite ourselves to rethink how we can encounter God today beyond the traditional means which we had been used to. We need to think how we can better use this time of exile to plan ahead for a post-pandemic era in the work of evangelization and our own spiritual renewal.
Perhaps, like the exiled who had so long been without a Temple, God is preparing us for a day when the Temple would be destroyed and never to be rebuilt again. Even though the Temple was rebuilt in the time of Ezra, it was destroyed again by the Romans in AD 70. Until today, there has been no temple. It could be true for us Catholics as well. We must go beyond the liturgy even though it remains the summit of our faith. It is not enough for us to cling to rituals alone and become ritualistic like the Israelites in the days of old.
Faith and true worship of God must lead to a true rebuilding of the Catholic Community, the living stones of the Temple. This is particularly important for the post-Pandemic era as many of our people have lost touch not just with God but with the body of Christ, the Church. The rebuilding of the Temple of God during the time of Ezra was a physical temple. But for us, we are concerned with building the People of God into the Temple of God where His Spirit lives in us. What is of equal importance is to ensure that we are the living stones growing into a spiritual temple. “In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.” (Eph 2:21f) We need to help our people to grow in holiness, in faith and in love.
We need to rebuild our community and our institutions. We need to grow as Church, as the People of God journeying together in faith. Hence, the synodal process as proposed by the Holy Father, Pope Francis. This must begin with the parish, the diocese and the Universal Church. Unless we renew the stones in our churches, they might not be living or alive. This calls for a renewal of liturgy and spirituality so that we can respond effectively to the needs and yearnings of our faithful today. Many are looking and hungering for God but sometimes do not seem able to find it in our churches and even our liturgy.
In the gospel, the Lord challenges us to be the light for all to see. He said, “No one lights a lamp to cover it with a bowl or to put it under the bed. No, he puts it on a lamp stand so that people may see the light when they come in.” We cannot hide our faith or our Lord from those who are searching for Him. We need to be seen as Catholics and distinguished in our values from worldly people. But before we can do that, we must be ready to recognize our own failures and shortcomings, for the Lord said, “For nothing is hidden but it will be made clear, nothing secret but it will be known and brought to light.” We need to come to terms where we have failed as Catholics and as an institution. Denying and covering up our sins and the imperfections of our institutions will not help us to grow the Church or help others to encounter the Light. To shine out, we must first allow the light to shine in us and enlighten us in truth.
“So take care how you hear; for anyone who has will be given more; from anyone who has not, even what he thinks he has will be taken away.” Once again, we must go back to the scriptures to listen to the Lord. We must listen afresh to what we read so that we will gain new insights to walk the way of truth. The old mindset and fixed ideas about Church and how to evangelize or even to worship, must give way to the Holy Spirit inspiring the Church to adapt to the needs of our people today. If we think we know everything, then we would have closed our minds to what the Lord wants to speak to us. So it is important that when we begin the Synodal process, we must journey as a community of faith as companions along the way.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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