20211027 BEING SHUT OUT
27 October, 2021, Wednesday, 30th Week,
First reading | Romans 8:26-30 © |
The Spirit himself expresses our plea in a way that could never be put into words
The Spirit comes to help us in our weakness. For when we cannot choose words in order to pray properly, the Spirit himself expresses our plea in a way that could never be put into words, and God who knows everything in our hearts knows perfectly well what he means, and that the pleas of the saints expressed by the Spirit are according to the mind of God.
We know that by turning everything to their good God co-operates with all those who love him, with all those that he has called according to his purpose. They are the ones he chose specially long ago and intended to become true images of his Son, so that his Son might be the eldest of many brothers. He called those he intended for this; those he called he justified, and with those he justified he shared his glory.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 12(13):4-6 © |
Lord, I trust in your mercy.
Look at me, answer me, Lord my God!
Give light to my eyes lest I fall asleep in death,
lest my enemy say: ‘I have overcome him’;
lest my foes rejoice to see my fall.
Lord, I trust in your mercy.
As for me, I trust in your merciful love.
Let my heart rejoice in your saving help.
Let me sing to the Lord for his goodness to me,
singing psalms to the name of the Lord, the Most High.
Lord, I trust in your mercy.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn14:6 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;
No one can come to the Father except through me.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.2Th2:14 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Through the Good News God called us
to share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 13:22-30 © |
The last shall be first and the first last
Through towns and villages Jesus went teaching, making his way to Jerusalem. Someone said to him, ‘Sir, will there be only a few saved?’ He said to them, ‘Try your best to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed.
‘Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself knocking on the door, saying, “Lord, open to us” but he will answer, “I do not know where you come from.” Then you will find yourself saying, “We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets” but he will reply, “I do not know where you come from. Away from me, all you wicked men!”
‘Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves turned outside. And men from east and west, from north and south, will come to take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.
‘Yes, there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.’
Ordinary Time
BEING SHUT OUT
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ROM 8:26-30; LK 13:22-30]
How often in life have we been shut out – from a restaurant, a concert, an event or even from our hostel because we were late? Being shut out is always a regret on our part that we did not exercise more discipline to be on time or to come early. But sometimes, it is not just being shut out from an event, it is being shut out from a relationship. How often have we felt shut out from conversations at work-places and even in our homes or organizations? They do not include us in their company and we feel unwanted. Worse still, some shut us out of their lives deliberately. We do not exist even before them and they have nothing to do with us. This happens sadly even at home, between spouses and siblings.
Sometimes, we also feel shut out from God. We feel that God does not care or listen to our prayers. This is particularly so when we are going through hard times. When we are sick, out of work, financially stressed, have difficult colleagues, family quarrels, it is not so easy to pray. Often, we do not hear anything from the Lord or sometimes, help does not even seem near. This is why some give up praying to God and give up on God completely, preferring to take things into their own hands or look for alternative gods and deities, or even Satanism and spirits to get what they want. When that happens, we will eventually shut out God from our lives. Jesus in the gospel warns us what it is like to be shut out by God. In truth, God never shuts us out, but it is we who shut Him out.
What causes us to shut out God, and consequently be shut out by Him? We think that entry to the Kingdom of God is automaticsimply because we belong to a particular ethnic group of chosen people, like the Jews or members of an organization like the Church, or a civilization like those from Western Europe. The truth is that we can be baptized into a church or belong to a Catholic family and a Catholic community, but we take the benefits for granted. We do not grow in our faith in Christ but simply live on the faith of our parents and forefathers. We have done nothing to preserve or grow our faith. We hardly study our faith, read the scriptures or pray except when we need God. Jesus said, “Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves turned outside.” Indeed, it is a great tragedy that those who have been favoured with the grace of God, given all the opportunities to succeed in life, to grow in their faith but squandered away the grace given to them. Often, we do not value what we have or treasure what is ours till these are taken away.
Secondly, we are warned that superficial exposure to the Lord is not sufficient to satisfy the demands for entry into the kingdom. The Lord said, “Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself knocking on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us’ but he will answer, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will find yourself saying, ‘We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets’ but he will reply, ‘I do not know where you come from. Away from me, all you wicked men!'” Indeed, what is needed is more than just a superficial relationship with the Lord, like some of the social friends we have. We eat, drink and laugh but we do not share the real struggles in our life. Such a shallow relationship of fine-weather friends will not see us through in our life. To enter the kingdom, a fundamental requirement is that we know Jesus personally. Just attending Mass, reading the scriptures without attention, hearing a homily without listening, praying with our lips but not with our hearts, such practices will not bring us any closer to the Lord. It is all for show. So what is critical is not just a nominal presence to the Lord, but that our minds and hearts are with Him. To be with Jesus, means to abide in Him and to live in Him, finding our strength in Him, drawing life from Him and from His body, the Church.
Otherwise, as the Lord warned us, “And men from east and west, from north and south, will come to take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. ‘Yes, there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.'” Indeed, those whom we think are sinners, condemned, hopeless and outside the ambit of salvation, these would be the very ones who would have a place in the kingdom. This is because many of them paid a price to search for God. I have known many converts who risked their relationship with their loved ones, especially their parents, to accept Christ and be baptized. Some were even ostracized by their family and community when they became Catholics. But because they were willing to grow in their faith and in intimacy with the Lord, they are firm in their faith. God has no favourites, as St Peter remarked when the Holy Spirit descended upon Cornelius and his household, “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” (Acts 10:34f)
Indeed, entry into the kingdom requires us to struggle. The path to the kingdom, as the Lord reminds us, is through the narrow door. He said, “Try your best to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed.” It will require effort and sincerity on our part even though faith and salvation are a gift from the Lord. The word “try” means the need to strive. This striving can be so intense that sometimes the soul and the spirit are in agony. This is an important reminder that we must never take our faith for granted. We risk losing our faith when we think that just because we have already made our commitment to the Lord at our baptism, or confirmation, or even ordination, our relationship with God is secure. We have not yet arrived at our destination but we are still on the way. Christian life is a never-ending process in arriving at the kingdom. So long as we are on this earth, we must keep running the race until we attain the glory of the kingdom.
This is why we must decide for or against Jesus. He is the Gate. We must enter through Him. But this is a narrow gate because it is by the way of the cross. When “large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.” (Lk 14:26f,33) We must count the cost of discipleship and be ready to pay the price.
Yet, we must not think that salvation is purely one’s effort because it is also the grace of God. St Paul assures us, “We know that by turning everything to their good God co-operates with all those who love him, with all those that he has called according to his purpose. They are the ones he chose specially long ago and intended to become true images of his Son, so that his Son might be the eldest of many brothers. He called those he intended for this; those he called he justified, and with those he justified he shared his glory.” God has called us and we are to cooperate with His grace as much as we can. God does not judge us by our achievements but by our sincerity in trying to do His will and following Him in discipleship. We might fail or fall short but God will even use our mistakes and sins for our growth and purification. We must not be discouraged when things do not work out or when we experience set-backs in life. God will bring good out of them.
On our part, we just need to surrender our fears to the Lord in faith. Indeed, because we do not know how to pray as we ought simply because we cannot foresee the future, we often pray with a limited vision of what we see to be for our good, and what we pray for may not necessarily be in our favour in the long run, and even harmful for us. Like children, we ask God our Father for things that could hurt us and God, taking the place of our parents, would decline our requests. Hence, in such moments, let the Spirit pray in us. St Paul says, “The Spirit comes to help us in our weakness. For when we cannot choose words in order to pray properly, the Spirit himself expresses our plea in a way that could never be put into words, and God who knows everything in our hearts knows perfectly well what he means, and that the pleas of the saints expressed by the Spirit are according to the mind of God.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment