20211203 DUTY OR PRIVILEGE
03 December, 2021, Friday, St Francis Xavier
First reading |
1 Corinthians 9:16-19,22-23 © |
I should be punished if I did not preach the Gospel
I do not boast of preaching the gospel, since it is a duty which has been laid on me; I should be punished if I did not preach it! If I had chosen this work myself, I might have been paid for it, but as I have not, it is a responsibility which has been put into my hands. Do you know what my reward is? It is this: in my preaching, to be able to offer the Good News free, and not insist on the rights which the gospel gives me.
So though I am not a slave of any man I have made myself the slave of everyone so as to win as many as I could. For the weak I made myself weak: I made myself all things to all men in order to save some at any cost; and I still do this, for the sake of the gospel, to have a share in its blessings.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 116(117):1-2 © |
Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News.
or
Alleluia!
O praise the Lord, all you nations,
acclaim him all you peoples!
Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News.
or
Alleluia!
Strong is his love for us;
he is faithful for ever.
Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | Mt28:19,20 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Go, make disciples of all the nations.
I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 16:15-20 © |
Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News
Jesus showed himself to the Eleven and said to them:
‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned. These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.’
And so the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven: there at the right hand of God he took his place, while they, going out, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it.
DUTY OR PRIVILEGE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23; Ps 117: 1-2; Mk 16:15-20]
Today, we celebrate the Feast of St Francis Xavier, the patron of missions. He came to the Far East, namely, India, Malacca, China and Japan to bring the gospel to those who did not know Christ. He was tireless in undertaking these missionary journeys, assimilating the cultures of the people, learning their language and teaching them the gospel. This explains the context of today’s selected scripture texts, to remember him and his missionary endeavours so that we too can be inspired to share his zeal for the spread of the gospel. What is the secret to his zeal and courage to leave everything to bring the gospel to all, especially to the poor, spiritually or materially?
For most of us, we are diffident or even indifferent when it comes to the proclamation of the gospel. We lack the courage or even conviction to share our faith with others. We see faith as a private matter and therefore we would be intruding into people’s privacy if we share our faith with them. The fact is that we fail to realize that many in the world are seeking for truth and the meaning of life, for hope, joy and love. As St Paul wrote to the Romans, “But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'” (Rom 10:14f)
For others, they think that the proclamation of the gospel is a privilege reserved for some. There is some truth in this thinking in that unless we have been called by the Lord, we cannot share in His mission. St Paul certainly was a privileged person, and a unique apostle as well, because unlike the other Twelve apostles he was called specially by the Lord on his way to Damascus to arrest the Christian Jews. Encountering the Risen Lord and blinded by the bright light, he heard the Lord speaking to him and received the call to be an apostle to the Gentiles. It was a radical encounter with the Lord. It changed his entire life and direction. For us too, we cannot say that we do not have a share in this privilege of encountering the Lord. By virtue of our baptism, we are indeed privileged. Of course, some of us come into the faith because we were born into a Catholic family. Others met good Catholic friends or colleagues and were introduced to the faith. For others, they studied in Catholic schools or were helped by Catholic humanitarian organizations. Finally, there are those who came to the faith because they were inspired by God to look for Him in the Catholic Church as they were searching for something more.
But the greater the privilege, the greater the duty. St Paul, because of his special and unique encounter with the Risen Lord, was chosen by Christ. The Lord told Ananias, “Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” (Acts 9:15f) This was true also for the Twelve apostles and the disciples who travelled with our Lord in His ministry, witnessed His cruel death and experienced the indescribable joy of seeing the Risen Lord. Perhaps for us who are less privileged in encountering the Lord deeply, we feel less responsible for the proclamation of the Good News. The truth remains as St John wrote, “We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life – this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us – we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.” (1 Jn 1-4) Unless we have seen, we cannot witness.
For this reason, St Paul spoke of the proclamation of the gospel as a duty. “I do not boast of preaching the gospel, since it is a duty which has been laid on me; I should be punished if I did not preach it! If I had chosen this work myself, I might have been paid for it, but as I have not, it is a responsibility which has been put into my hands.” It is a duty that comes from the privilege. That is the truth of life. This is what the Lord has taught us in the gospel. “That slave who knew what his master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.” (Lk 12:47f)
This is why each one of us must search ourselves with regard to the blessings that God has given to us. As St Paul wrote, “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.” (1 Cor 12:27-31)
What is this greater and more excellent way? It is the gift of love. (1 Cor 13) It does not matter whether we are apostles or prophets, but we are all called to witness to Christ through the blessings and gifts He has given to us for the service of love, which is ultimately the proclamation of the Good News, whether in words or in deeds. This explains why St Paul considered the proclamation of the Good News as a duty imposed on him since the Lord gave him the command to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, and hence he was happy to offer the gospel for free. His greatest joy was to bring people to encounter the Lord and find faith in Him. He said, “Do you know what my reward is? It is this: in my preaching, to be able to offer the Good News free, and not insist on the rights which the gospel gives me.”
And not only that, the proclamation of the gospel for St Paul was not a matter of proselytization or conversion; rather, it was simply to share the Good News according to the situation but always in a loving and sensitive manner. He wrote, “To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law.” (1 Cor 9:20f) Being intimately immersed in the culture, aspirations and values of those whom he proclaimed the gospel was a fundamental principle in proclaiming the gospel. He did not adopt the cultures of the people wholesale, but what was good, he retained and what was inadequate, he completed. The Jews believed that obedience to the Laws could save them and as a consequence went to the extreme of insisting that everyone followed the Law, even if without love. On the other hand, the Greeks did not believe in the laws, they advocated freedom, the license to do anything. So Paul completed the Jews by telling them that it is not the Law that can save them but love. On the other hand, to the Greeks, he did not advocate free love without law because freedom is exercised in the context of the law of love.
So it is the law of love that should rule us in our response to the blessings or privileges we have received from the Lord. Whatever privileges we have are given because of a task the Lord has appointed us to do, whether for our family, society, country or faith community. Let us show our gratitude as St Paul did for the privileges he received by using his entire life for the proclamation of the Good News. The command to “Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation” remains the obligation of all. How? It depends on the gifts we have received. “While they, going out, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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