20200930 CONCEPT OF MISSION AND MINISTRY
30 September, 2021, Thursday, 26th Week, Ordinary Time
First reading | Nehemiah 8:1-12 © |
All the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law
When the seventh month came, all the people gathered as one man on the square before the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses which the Lord had prescribed for Israel. Accordingly Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, consisting of men, women, and children old enough to understand. This was the first day of the seventh month. On the square before the Water Gate, in the presence of the men and women, and children old enough to understand, he read from the book from early morning till noon; all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.
Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden dais erected for the purpose. In full view of all the people – since he stood higher than all the people – Ezra opened the book; and when he opened it all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people raised their hands and answered, ‘Amen! Amen!’ Then they bowed down and, face to the ground, prostrated themselves before the Lord. And Ezra read from the Law of God, translating and giving the sense, so that the people understood what was read.
Then Nehemiah – His Excellency – and Ezra, priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people, said to all the people, ‘This day is sacred to the Lord your God. Do not be mournful, do not weep.’ For the people were all in tears as they listened to the words of the Law.
He then said, ‘Go, eat the fat, drink the sweet wine, and send a portion to the man who has nothing prepared ready. For this day is sacred to our Lord. Do not be sad: the joy of the Lord is your stronghold.’ And the Levites calmed all the people, saying, ‘Be at ease; this is a sacred day. Do not be sad.’ And all the people went off to eat and drink and give shares away and begin to enjoy themselves since they had understood the meaning of what had been proclaimed to them.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 18(19):8-11 © |
The precepts of the Lord gladden the heart.
The law of the Lord is perfect,
it revives the soul.
The rule of the Lord is to be trusted,
it gives wisdom to the simple.
The precepts of the Lord gladden the heart.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
they gladden the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear,
it gives light to the eyes.
The precepts of the Lord gladden the heart.
The fear of the Lord is holy,
abiding for ever.
The decrees of the Lord are truth
and all of them just.
The precepts of the Lord gladden the heart.
They are more to be desired than gold,
than the purest of gold
and sweeter are they than honey,
than honey from the comb.
The precepts of the Lord gladden the heart.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt4:4 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mk1:15 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The kingdom of God is close at hand:
repent and believe the Good News.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 10:1-12 © |
Your peace will rest on that man
The Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself was to visit. He said to them, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest. Start off now, but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. Whatever house you go into, let your first words be, “Peace to this house!” And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is set before you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, “The kingdom of God is very near to you.” But whenever you enter a town and they do not make you welcome, go out into its streets and say, “We wipe off the very dust of your town that clings to our feet, and leave it with you. Yet be sure of this: the kingdom of God is very near.” I tell you, on that day it will not go as hard with Sodom as with that town.’
CONCEPT OF MISSION AND MINISTRY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [NEHEMIAH 8:1-12; PSALM 19:8-11; LK 10:1-12 ]
The scripture readings today provide us with fundamental guidelines on what mission and ministry entail. In the first place, mission and ministry are not limited to the Twelve apostles or to those who are in the Ordained ministry. Very often, because the Catholic Church tends to focus too narrowly on the dispensation of the sacraments, we tend to be very focused on the clergy and the liturgy. Whilst certainly, the Eucharist is the summit of Catholic worship, ministry and mission go beyond merely the celebration of the sacraments. Indeed, even before the sacraments can be celebrated, we need to convoke the assembly as what Ezra did with his people. This is where proclamation and mission precede worship and ministry. In this context, we can appreciate why Jesus sent out a larger group to proclaim the gospel, seventy-two disciples.
The mission of the Church is the responsibility and task of all disciples. At the end of the gospel, Jesus instructed His disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” (Mt 28:19f) As Jesus told His disciples, “The harvest is rich but the labourers are few.” All of us are called to represent Jesus and make Him known and loved. This was why beyond the Twelve, “the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself was to visit.” Like John the Baptist, we are called to be messengers of the Good News, to prepare the hearts of people to receive Christ. Each of us has been blessed with different gifts to proclaim the gospel. (Rom 12:3-8; 1 Cor 12; Eph 4:1-16)
The basic mission of the Church is the proclamation of the Good News, instruction and healing. Proclamation consists of the announcement of the Good News, of peace and healing. The Lord said, “whatever house you go into, let your first words be, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, ‘The kingdom of God is very near to you.'” In other words, the Gospel is truly the Good News about God’s love and His desire to bring us comfort, healing, liberation, forgiveness, reconciliation and joy. For us, as Christians, the Good News message is captured in the announcement of the Kergyma, the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord. In Jesus, we find our salvation through the forgiveness and reconciliation brought about by His death on the cross and His resurrection.
But proclamation must be accompanied by works of mercy and healing, and prayers. Unlike the Twelve who were given an explicit directive to proclaim the kingdom of God (Lk 9:2), the Seventy-two were asked to offer peace and healing. Proclamation without tangible signs of the Good News remains merely words without action. Clearly, in the beginning of the Church, such tangible signs were important accompaniment to their preaching. The longer ending of Mark’s gospel speaks of these signs. “These signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues, they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mk 16:17f) These were the signs performed by the apostles and St Paul in the primitive Church when they proclaimed the gospel. Quite often, a healing or a miracle was done, and then followed by directing them to the Lord who is the healer. So too today, we cannot proclaim the gospel merely by indoctrinating people but they need to experience the concrete signs of unconditional love, compassion, forgiveness and healing in our Catholic community. Truly, many who have left our Church did so because of the scandals and lack of charity displayed by our clergy, religious and Church leaders and ministry members. Few left because of disagreement in doctrines.
Proclamation and Healing therefore sums up the basic proclamation of the gospel. The mission is completed but ministry has begun. This is the real work of the Church. It is great to have itinerant preachers to renew the faith of our Catholics or to go out to the field to proclaim Christ to those who do not yet know them. We have great preachers at some of our big rallies we hold and hearts and minds have been opened as a result of such dynamic preaching and enthusiastic worship rallies. We can also hold Christ-Encounter retreats, Conversion Retreats, etc, but after the first enthusiasm, the most difficult process is the follow up. This is where most of us fail, not because we do not want to follow up with them, but because we only relied on the preachers or the Twelve, so to speak.
The reality is that we do not have passionate and well-formed disciples to mentor new disciples for Christ. Most of the time after a retreat, a seminar or even RCIA course, we tend to leave these newly born babies in the faith to swim by themselves as we are busy conducting a new retreat or another batch of RCIA participants. In no time, these newly-baptized or born-again Catholics will lose their initial fervour, slacken and go back to their old way of life. Newly baptized or returning Catholics need the Seventy-Two to mentor them and initiate them to a community that could support them in their ongoing spiritual growth. All the highs of a religious experience will not last for very long.
This is where we are called to learn from Ezra and Nehemiah. “Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, consisting of men, women, and children old enough to understand. On the square before the Water Gate, he read from the book from early morning till noon; all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law. Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people raised their hands and answered, ‘Amen! Amen!’; then they bowed down and, face to the ground, prostrated themselves before the Lord.” This is proclamation and worship. This is what we do at every Eucharistic celebration or any Christian service. The proclamation of the Word of God is always followed by worship. After hearing the Word of God, we conclude by praising God and worshipping Him.
However, what is proclaimed to all is not always understood by the assembly, especially when the assembly comprises of people with different capacity of comprehension, different age and background. This was why the Levites and Ezra followed up the proclamation by teaching. “The Levites explained the Law to the people while the people remained standing. And Ezra read from the Law of God, translating and giving the sense, so that the people understood what was read.” This is a necessary process of helping individuals to make sense of the Word of God, to apply to their lives and be touched by the Word of God deeply in their hearts. For this reason, we need to form more of our Catholics to be part of the Seventy-Two to continue the work that the clergy and religious had begun.
The measure of our success is indicated in the consequent conversion of our members, seen in their healing and liberation, and most of all, the desire to reach out and share their new-found joy. Ezra and Nehemiah told the people, “This day is sacred to the Lord your God. Do not be mournful, do not weep.’ For the people were all in tears as they listened to the words of the Law. He then said, ‘Go, eat the fat, drink the sweet wine, and send a portion to the man who has nothing prepared ready. For this day is sacred to our Lord. Do not be sad.’ And all the people went off to eat and drink and give shares away begin to enjoy themselves since they had understood the meaning of what had been proclaimed to them.” The people were brought to tears, their hearts were cut to the quick, they felt forgiven of their sins after being exposed by the Word of God, and they found hope in God’s mercy.
As a consequence, they resolved to share the joy of peace, freedom and liberation with others. Mission and ministry are always the manifestation of those touched by the Lord. This is the clearest sign that we have received the Good News ourselves. When we have nothing to proclaim, when we have no desire to share with others, it simply means we have no good news, no joy, nothing good to proclaim to others.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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