20210921 EVANGELIZING IN THE MARKET PLACE
21 September, 2021, Tuesday, St Matthew, Apostle, Evangelist
First reading |
Ephesians 4:1-7,11-13 © |
We are all to come to unity, fully mature in the knowledge of the Son of God
I, the prisoner in the Lord, implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation. Bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience. Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within all.
Each one of us, however, has been given his own share of grace, given as Christ allotted it. To some, his gift was that they should be apostles; to some, prophets; to some, evangelists; to some, pastors and teachers; so that the saints together make a unity in the work of service, building up the body of Christ. In this way we are all to come to unity in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God, until we become the perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 18(19):2-5 © |
Their word goes forth through all the earth.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God,
and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.
Day unto day takes up the story
and night unto night makes known the message.
Their word goes forth through all the earth.
No speech, no word, no voice is heard
yet their span extends through all the earth,
their words to the utmost bounds of the world.
Their word goes forth through all the earth.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Te Deum |
Alleluia, alleluia!
We praise you, O God,
we acknowledge you to be the Lord.
The glorious company of the apostles praise you, O Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 9:9-13 © |
It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick
As Jesus was walking on, he saw a man named Matthew sitting by the customs house, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.
While he was at dinner in the house it happened that a number of tax collectors and sinners came to sit at the table with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ When he heard this he replied, ‘It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. Go and learn the meaning of the words: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice. And indeed I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.’
EVANGELIZING IN THE MARKET PLACE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13; Ps 19:2-5; Matthew 9:9-13 ]
All of us are called to be apostles of Christ, that is, to be His ambassadors to the world. We are called to be apostles of mercy. This is the Good News that the world most need to hear and experience. Ironically, we are living in a world without morality and values, yet the world is most judgmental towards those whom they disagree with and condemn without mercy the mistakes and weaknesses of those who have broken the laws or infringed the norms of society.
It is to such a world that we are called to live out our Christian vocation. St Paul wrote in the first reading, “I, the prisoner in the Lord, implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation.” We all have different talents in life and different vocations. St Paul made it clear, “Each one of us, however, has been given his own share of grace, given as Christ allotted it. And to some, his gift was that they should be apostles; to some, prophets; to some, evangelists; some, pastors and teachers; so that the saints together make a unit in the work of service, building up the body of Christ.” Regardless of our specific vocation in life, the one and only common vocation is the call to be apostles of mercy.
This is because God has called us out of mercy. It is not because of our merits that we are what we are today. We are chosen for an office or a job or blessed with certain talents not because we deserve it but because God in His mercy chose us. This is seen clearly in the case of the call of St Matthew. He was a tax-collector, a publican, a sinner, ostracized by his own people for working for the Romans or for Herod. He was a sinner because like all other tax-collectors he over-taxed the people to earn a greater commission. St Matthew was rich but his life was empty. Like Zacchaeus, deep in his heart he was looking for something more. He was looking for genuine relationship, love and joy. So Jesus saw through the eyes of St Matthew. He called him that day to be with Him. “And he got up and followed him.”
Why would Jesus call Matthew, a tax-collector, to be His disciple? Jesus knew that this was the only way He could be friends with the other tax-collectors. It would be very difficult for people to break into this group of ostracized people without introduction. They would be suspicious of Him and reject Him. Jesus knew that the best evangelizer is always people of their own kind. Birds of the same feather flock together. He needed Matthew to introduce Him to his friends in the trade. And that was what St Matthew did. He invited his colleagues to join him for dinner with Jesus. So we read, “While he was at dinner in the house it happened that a number of tax collectors and sinners came to sit at the table with Jesus and his disciples.”
St Matthew became an apostle first and foremost to people who were in the same trade as himself. He must have spoken much about Jesus to them, his conversion story and the new life and new vocation the Lord had given to him. Money used to be the only ambition in his life. Money and wealth were the only things that preoccupied him. But even though he had more than he needed, his life was empty. He was not happy. He was spiritually poor. His life was reduced to making more and more money, enjoying himself and living for himself. But the Lord had introduced him to a fuller life, a life of freedom and joy by reaching out to others and giving them hope just as Jesus called Him out of mercy. When we receive mercy and new meaning in life, we cannot keep to ourselves but desire to share with others.
Following our Lord and St Matthew, this is what we are called to do in the work of evangelization. We must go to where the people are. This is what Pope Francis said, “the Church is a field hospital that takes in the weakest people, the infirm.” Evangelization requires us to smell our sheep and be with them in their journey of life. This was why Jesus did not simply preach in the Synagogue or at the Temple but He went to the people in their homes, at the seashore, in the fields, on the mount and the plains, wherever they were. Jesus did not have an office from which to operate His mission, nor did He direct others to do His bidding. He personally went out to teach, to heal and exorcise. We too must do the same.
Whilst the priority in evangelization is the physically and materially poor, the gospel is not just addressed to these people, even though they are given a preferential option. The poor today are not just those who are displaced, in war-torn countries, in need of financial assistance, and the sick, or those mentally and physically challenged, but the rich and powerful as well. They are poor in love, poor in meaning and poor in true friendship. Although they appear to be self-sufficient and have all they need, and seem to enjoy fame and following, with people waiting on them hand and foot, yet all these things cannot give them meaning and fulfilment. They may be good for a while, but after that, these become a burden because indulging in the worldly things of life reduce our humanity, making us less human and sometimes less humane as well, because we can no longer feel with people, or able to enjoy the simple things of life. Most of all, their soul is empty for God is far from them. That is why they fear death the most, as it is the end of everything and there is nothing they can bring with them in death.
So it is equally important that the gospel be addressed to not just the poor, people of lower status, but it must also be addressed to the affluent, those highly educated, the rich and the powerful, those holding positions in society, in government and in the community. We must bring the gospel to them and help them to be touched by the Lord. Unfortunately, most of us are diffident to talk to them because we feel we are nobody or that we have nothing to offer them since they have all that they want. We imagine that they are not interested in the Good News. Yet, deep in their hearts, they are waiting for the Lord to speak to them, or someone to lead them to Christ.
Who, then, would be the best apostles to the professionals, the rich and the influential if not those who belong to the same societal circles? Just as St Matthew reached out to the tax-collectors of his day, the fisherman to the fishermen, so too the best and most effective apostles to these people would be those of their own kind. The best apostle to the architects would be an architect who has come to find the Lord. So too, a doctor, a surgeon, an accountant, a lawyer, a politician, a businessman or an engineer. When these people are touched by the Lord and they go back to their circle of friends and people with the same talents and professions, they would be more willing to listen to them rather than to someone else whom they deem not of their standing, or qualified enough to speak to them, or worse still, a priest, because they feel he is out to convert them.
Consequently, whilst we seek to bring the gospel to everyone, beginning with the poor and ordinary people, we must not just remain there. We must be courageous to bring the gospel to those in higher society so that they can be our apostles to bring in their friends. This is the reason why we have the Catholic business network and Catholic Guilds like Medical Guild, Architects Guild, Nurses Guild, etc so that by giving each other support in their faith, they will in turn be able to witness in the marketplace, the love and mercy of God. Most of all, when they are touched and are converted, they will be able to employ their expertise to serve the community and the people of God. The different gifts and professional training and experience of different groups of people when brought together to serve God and His people will make us all truly the Body of Christ. “In this way we are all to come to unity in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God, until we become the perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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