20220610 RENEWED AND EMPOWERED FOR MISSION
10 June, 2022, Friday, 10th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
1 Kings 19:9,11-16 © |
The Lord was not in the wind, or the earthquake, or the fire
When Elijah reached Horeb, the mountain of God, he went into the cave and spent the night in it. Then he was told, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.’ Then the Lord himself went by. There came a mighty wind, so strong it tore the mountains and shattered the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there came the sound of a gentle breeze. And when Elijah heard this, he covered his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then a voice came to him, which said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He replied, ‘I am filled with jealous zeal for the Lord of Hosts, because the sons of Israel have deserted you, broken down your altars and put your prophets to the sword. I am the only one left and they want to kill me.’
‘Go,’ the Lord said, ‘go back by the same way to the wilderness of Damascus. You are to go and anoint Hazael as king of Aram. You are to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king of Israel, and to anoint Elisha son of Shaphat, of Abel Meholah, as prophet to succeed you.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 26(27):7-9,13-14 © |
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek.
O Lord, hear my voice when I call;
have mercy and answer.
Of you my heart has spoken:
‘Seek his face.’
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek.
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek;
hide not your face.
Dismiss not your servant in anger;
you have been my help.
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek.
I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.
Hope in the Lord!
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn10:27 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
Or: | Ph2:15-16 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
You will shine in the world like bright stars
because you are offering it the word of life.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 5:27-32 © |
If your right eye should cause you to sin, tear it out
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You have learnt how it was said: You must not commit adultery. But I say this to you: if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye should cause you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body thrown into hell. And if your right hand should cause you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body go to hell.
‘It has also been said: Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a writ of dismissal. But I say this to you: everyone who divorces his wife, except for the case of fornication, makes her an adulteress; and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.’
RENEWED AND EMPOWERED FOR MISSION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 Kings 19:9.11-16; PS 27:7-9,13-14; Matt 5:27-32]
Elijah is considered the greatest prophet of the Old Testament, just as Moses is considered the Lawgiver. Both Elijah and Moses appeared beside Jesus in the Transfiguration because Jesus is the fulfilment of the Prophets and the Law. Elijah was a prophet who sought to restore the pristine faith of Israel in the Northern Kingdom. The kings from the Northern Kingdom for political reasons started their own sanctuaries and priesthood to prevent the people from going down to Jerusalem to worship. But worst of all, they imported the religion of the Canaanites and adulterated their faith. Queen Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab, brought into Israel the worship of Baal, the god of fertility. The people began to believe that Baal would bring good weather for their crops, and the God of Israel was abandoned as they thought He was only a Trek-God that was useful to them when they were still nomads.
Elijah was zealous for the God of Israel. He was totally committed to God and sought to purify Israel from idolatrous worship. He had just accomplished a successful contest with the prophets of Baal, showing to them who the real God was by having the holocaust set on fire not by human hands. After the killing of the false prophets, Queen Jezebel was furious and sent assassins to go after Elijah to kill him for what he did to her prophets of Baal. Elijah was fearful for his life and fled into the wilderness. He was tired, exhausted by the heat and hungry. He felt like a failure and wished he were dead. But he was also angry with God for not protecting him after all that he had done for the name of the Lord. He was feeling miserable and resentful that his efforts came to nothing. But God sent His angel to strengthen him by providing him some baked bread and a jar of water. “So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he travelled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night.” (1 Kgs 19:1-7)
We too can identify with Elijah, especially for those of us who are active in Church ministry or passionate about our faith. Most of us want the Church to grow and the gospel to spread to all of humanity. We want to protect the gospel values which have kept us well over the ages. We seek to preserve our faith, our tradition and our worship, which is under threat today because of the changing trends in society, whether with respect to doctrines, morality or belief in God. We are living in a very relativistic, individualistic, materialistic and permissive culture. Some of us feel the need to go back to basics, the roots of our faith, just as Elijah did. Some of us feel that we need to change the Church’s doctrines and position on moral issues to keep up with the changing circumstances. Some feel that approaches towards worship, rituals, catechesis and the work of evangelization must keep up with the times and the sentiments of our people. Indeed, even within the church, we are very much divided and confused as to exactly what is right and acceptable.
As a consequence, with strong opposition from without, confusion and division from within, lack of direction from the hierarchy and conflicting views among religious leaders, we are tired, disillusioned, discouraged and feel helpless in the face of radical changes taking place which we feel we are not in a position to deal with effectively. Like Elijah, we are angry that after giving so much time to the Church and help to our priests and religious, we are abandoned and betrayed. Vice versa, priests and religious also feel frustrated at what is happening. Often, they do not have clear answers as to how to lead the People of God, strengthen their faith and resolve the many issues confronting them, including settling conflicts and disagreement. All of us are hurt and wounded in some ways, just like Elijah. We feel like giving up completely.
This is why the Holy Father is asking us to make a Synodal journey just as Elijah made the journey to Mount Horeb. As the angel said to Elijah, the journey is long and we need strength. We need to go to Mount Horeb to listen anew to the voice of God speaking to us so that we can be renewed, empowered and recharged. We must travel this journey together so that we can find strength and support because this journey is complex, difficult and can be divisive if not properly handled. Our prayer and hope is that by journeying together to Mount Horeb, a place of contemplation and prayer, we would be able to hear the voice of God together. Only then can we rediscover what the Lord wants of us as Church and remain focused on our mission.
Indeed, clearly, the Lord comes to us not in spectacular ways, in miracles and works of wonder, as Elijah thought He would. “There came a mighty wind, so strong it tore the mountains and shattered the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there came the sound of a gentle breeze. And when Elijah heard this he covered his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.” During this journey together, we must listen with our hearts, not just with our minds. We need to attune our discussion in the spirit of prayer. It is not through eloquent speeches or dramatic achievements that we can reignite our love for the Lord. But it is through silent contemplation in prayer together, listening to what the Lord is speaking to us, and through each other.
With the psalmist, we pray, “It is your face, O Lord, that I seek. O Lord, hear my voice when I call; have mercy and answer. Of you my heart has spoken: ‘Seek his face.’ It is your face, O Lord, that I seek; hide not your face. Dismiss not your servant in anger; you have been my help. I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. Hope in him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord!” Indeed, to see the face of God is to recognize His presence at work in our lives, especially in the faces of our brothers and sisters. We must ask for the grace to recognize that as Church we are anointed with the Holy Spirit.
Vatican II in Lumen Gentium teaches, “The entire body of the faithful, anointed as they are by the Holy One, cannot err in matters of belief. They manifest this special property by means of the whole peoples’ supernatural discernment in matters of faith when ‘from the Bishops down to the last of the lay faithful’ they show universal agreement in matters of faith and morals. That discernment in matters of faith is aroused and sustained by the Spirit of truth. It is exercised under the guidance of the sacred teaching authority, in faithful and respectful obedience to which the people of God accepts that which is not just the word of men but truly the word of God. Through it, the people of God adheres unwaveringly to the faith given once and for all to the saints, penetrates it more deeply with right thinking, and applies it more fully in its life.” (Lumen Gentium, 12)
To journey together, we need the prayerful Spirit of openness and docility. That was what the Lord was challenging Elijah. Although he was working for the faith of Israel, his zeal became his weakness. He became presumptuous and arrogant, thinking that he was the only true prophet left in Israel. The Lord began by asking him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I am filled with jealous zeal for the Lord of hosts, because the sons of Israel have deserted you, broken down your altars and put your prophets to the sword. I am the only one left and they want to kill me.” But this was not the case. He was not the only prophet and he did not need to work alone. Earlier on, Obadiah met Elijah and informed him that he had hidden 150 prophets of the Lord in a cave and provided them with bread and water. The point was that Elijah fell to this state of depression thinking that he was left alone to fight the battle. In fact he had other helpers. And so at the end of the conversation, the Lord told Elijah, “Go, go back the same way to the wilderness of Damascus. You are to go and anoint Hazael as king of Aram. You are to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king of Israel, and to anoint Elisha son of Shaphat, of Abel Meholah, as prophet to succeed you.” This mission cannot be accomplished alone but always in communion with the Body of Christ, the Church and with Christ, the Head.
At the end of the journey is a renewal of the call to action. Elijah was sent back to restore the faith of Israel but not alone this time because he would have Elisha who would have a share of his spirit to assist him. This too is our hope. This too is our prayer. That at the end of this journey, we will find renewed courage, new friends and collaborators, working in unity in diversity, respecting each other’s sentiments and challenges to bring the gospel to the whole world. We will find new ways to undertake the challenges facing us. We need to be courageous as we listen to the Lord speaking to us from our hearts. This is what the Lord asks of us as well when He spoke about His mother, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” (Lk 8:21) Mary is our model of contemplation and one who listens deeply to the Word of God and then puts it into practice. What makes us truly brothers and sisters of our Lord is not biological connection but a union of heart and mind.
So let us be courageous and be magnanimous. Let us speak our minds with confidence, but with charity. Let us put aside our fixated views and listen to each other in charity and humility and slow to make judgments. Let us feel with each other and for each other. The oath of fidelity does not mean you cannot say anything against the teachings of the Church. What it means is that your opinion is not infallible and not necessarily always true. At the end of the day, we need to surrender our suggestions and views to the Magisterium as they are the authentic and authoritative teachers of the faith. Let us therefore journey together in faith, in prayer and in unity with each other, so that we can carry this mission in communion with each other. May our Lady intercede for us and guide us in this Synodal journey and process.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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