20210924 GIVING COURAGE TO DESPONDENT COLLABORATORS
24 September, 2021, Friday, 25th Week, Ordinary Time
First reading | Haggai 1:15-2:9 © |
'The new glory of this Temple is to surpass the old'
In the second year of King Darius, on the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the Lord was addressed through the prophet Haggai, as follows, ‘You are to speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, the high commissioner of Judah, to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people. Say this, “Who is there left among you that saw this Temple in its former glory? And how does it look to you now? Does it seem nothing to you? But take courage now, Zerubbabel – it is the Lord who speaks. Courage, High Priest Joshua son of Jehozadak! Courage, all you people of the country! – it is the Lord who speaks. To work! I am with you – it is the Lord of Hosts who speaks – and my spirit remains among you. Do not be afraid! For the Lord of Hosts says this: A little while now, and I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all the nations and the treasures of all the nations shall flow in, and I will fill this Temple with glory, says the Lord of Hosts. Mine is the silver, mine the gold! – it is the Lord of Hosts who speaks. The new glory of this Temple is going to surpass the old, says the Lord of Hosts, and in this place I will give peace – it is the Lord of Hosts who speaks.”’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 42(43):1-4 © |
Hope in God; I will praise him still, my saviour and my God.
Defend me, O God, and plead my cause
against a godless nation.
From deceitful and cunning men
rescue me, O God.
Hope in God; I will praise him still, my saviour and my God.
Since you, O God, are my stronghold,
why have you rejected me?
Why do I go mourning
oppressed by the foe?
Hope in God; I will praise him still, my saviour and my God.
O send forth your light and your truth;
let these be my guide.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
Hope in God; I will praise him still, my saviour and my God.
And I will come to the altar of God,
the God of my joy.
My redeemer, I will thank you on the harp,
O God, my God.
Hope in God; I will praise him still, my saviour and my God.
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: | Mk10:45 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Son of Man came to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 9:18-22 © |
'You are the Christ of God'
One day when Jesus was praying alone in the presence of his disciples he put this question to them, ‘Who do the crowds say I am?’ And they answered, ‘John the Baptist; others Elijah; and others say one of the ancient prophets come back to life.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ It was Peter who spoke up. ‘The Christ of God’ he said. But he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone anything about this.
‘The Son of Man’ he said ‘is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death, and to be raised up on the third day.’
GIVING COURAGE TO DESPONDENT COLLABORATORS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Haggai 1:15-2:9; Ps 43:1-4; Lk 9:18-22 ]
Yesterday, the Prophet Haggai issued the call to rebuild the Temple of the Lord which was in ruins so that once again, the glory of God can shine. But this call was then addressed to the first group of returning exiles who were complacent and apathetic to the rebuilding of the Temple. They were challenged and rebuked by the prophet. However, there is a change of tone to one of encouragement for those who had responded to his call but were getting discouraged because of the many challenges ahead of them. To those who were despondent, the prophet gave them hope. This was what St Paul exhorted Timothy, “I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching.” (2 Tim 4:2)
Firstly, we must take note of the timing of the prophecy. This took place a month after the work had begun on the temple. Not much had taken place as the restoration was a very slow and gradual process. That this prophecy took place on the 21st and the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths was meant to be a slap on the face of the Israelites who were living in panelled houses when they should be living in booths during this festival as dictated by Moses. “You shall live in booths for seven days; all that are citizens in Israel shall live in booths, so that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” (Lev 23:42f) Furthermore, the Temple of Solomon was also dedicated in the seventh month, which only brought back nostalgic feelings of what it was like then. “Who is there left among you that saw this Temple in its former glory? And how does it look to you now? Does it seem nothing to you?”
But being nostalgic of the past can either bring hope or discouragement. When we look at our glorious past, we can either become disheartened or we find strength to rebuild ourselves. If they could do it, we can do it, is one possible attitude. Or as what happened, they saw how little resources they had compared to the time of Solomon and became discouraged. There is also a danger that we will keep looking back to the golden age of the past when we encounter setbacks and failures. The truth is that by always lamenting about the past, we give up hope when we look at our failures and pathetic situation today. So it is important how we direct people to look when considering the achievements of the past.
So when the prophet Haggai asked the people to remember the glorious temple that was built, he sought to remind them how the Temple was built then. It was not by human strength and ingenuity alone but by the power of God. Haggai exhorted the people, “But take courage now, Zerubbabel – it is the Lord who speaks. Courage, High Priest Joshua son of Zehozadak! Courage, all you people of the country! – it is the Lord who speaks.” They will not work alone but it is the Lord who works with them. “To work! I am with you – it is the Lord of hosts who speaks – and my spirit remains among you. Do not be afraid!” Truly, if the work of the first Temple was possible, it was because the Lord worked with them and sent His spirit among them. Recognizing how daunting the task was, Haggai reminded them of God’s presence. Throughout the history of Israel since the days when God spoke to the Patriarchs, it was always the same assurance, “I am with you.” These same words were spoken to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses. This has been God’s constant promise even to the apostles when the Lord commanded them to preach the Good News, and to St Paul in his missionary journeys. Indeed, just as God was faithful to the great figures of the past, so too He is also at work today. He who has begun the good work in us will complete it. (Phil 1:6) So instead of falling into despair when we look at the past, Haggai underscored God’s unchanging fidelity.
Indeed, whether it is the work of rebuilding the Temple or the Church, the People of God is to work under the power of the Spirit. As Zechariah said, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts.” (Zech 4:6) Without the Spirit at work, human efforts will fail. The fact that some had responded meant that the Spirit was indeed working in the hearts of people, even if not all had responded to the call. When we allow the Spirit of God to work in our lives, we can do wonders beyond our imagination. Of course, this does not mean that human cooperation is not necessary. But it will be God who will empower us with His Spirit.
Most of all, God would send them the required provisions and resources to build the Temple. “A little while now, and I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all the nations and the treasures of all the nations shall flow in, and I will fill this Temple with glory, says the Lord of hosts. Mine is the silver, mine the gold! It is the Lord of hosts who speaks. The new glory of this Temple is going to surpass the old, says the Lord of hosts, and in this place I will give peace – it is the Lord of hosts who speaks.” When the project is God’s project, He will supply us the means and make it possible for us to complete His work. We should not be afraid that we lack manpower or resources, for God will pour out His Spirit and call others to help us beyond our expectations.
Hence, we must hold fast to our faith in Him. We must not forget the vision ahead of us. The New Temple of God is where He lives, not just in the Church but in the People of God. We are called to be focused on the rebuilding of the People of God, their faith and their values. In spite of the struggles in our time, when Christianity is under persecution and the Catholic Church is undergoing tremendous challenges from within and from without, we must remain steadfast in clinging to our faith in Jesus Christ who has established Peter as the rock of the Church. In Matthew’s gospel, after St Peter confessed in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God, Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Mt 16:17-19)
Consequently, we need to strengthen our personal faith in Jesus as the Christ of God. Our faith cannot be from hearsay as the Lord told the apostles when they answered, “John the Baptist; others Elijah; and others say one of the ancient prophets come back to life.” “‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ It was Peter that spoke up. ‘The Christ of God’ he said. We need to rediscover Jesus, who He is and what He is for us. It is not even enough to repeat the answer of Peter about Jesus but to understand what faith in Jesus’ identity entails, which is to carry the cross and suffer with Him.
Victory over sin and dealing with the opposition to faith would not be easy. Rebuilding the Church and the People of God, forming our young in the gospel values and reaching out to a secular, educated and relativistic people is never easy. Like Jesus, we must go through suffering. It means hard work and sacrifices, even persecution and martyrdom, but God will see that His plan is accomplished. This explains why Jesus “gave them strict orders not to tell anyone anything about this. ‘The Son of Man’ he said ‘is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death, and to be raised up on the third day.'” But God will be faithful to us as He was with Jesus. We must walk the path of the Lord in taking up our cross after Him. We must be resolute like our Lord in going to Jerusalem to die so that we can share in His glory. (Lk 9:22; Lk 17:25; Lk 24:7) In faith, like the psalmist, we “hope in God; I will praise him still, my saviour and my God. Defend me, O God, and plead my cause against a godless nation. From deceitful and cunning men rescue me.” Jesus always remained focus in His mission even when under opposition and challenges. We too must keep our eyes focused on the Lord and the glory ahead of us as we continue to work and labour in the rebuilding of the House of God.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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