20220807 HAPPY THE PEOPLE THE LORD HAS CHOSEN AS HIS OWN
07 August, 2022, Sunday, 19th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Wisdom 18:6-9 © |
You made us glorious by calling us to you
That night had been foretold to our ancestors, so that,
once they saw what kind of oaths they had put their trust in,
they would joyfully take courage.
This was the expectation of your people,
the saving of the virtuous and the ruin of their enemies;
for by the same act with which you took vengeance on our foes
you made us glorious by calling us to you.
The devout children of worthy men offered sacrifice in secret
and this divine pact they struck with one accord:
that the saints would share the same blessings and dangers alike;
and forthwith they had begun to chant the hymns of the fathers.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 32(33):1,12,18-20,22 © |
Happy are the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just;
for praise is fitting for loyal hearts.
They are happy, whose God is the Lord,
the people he has chosen as his own.
Happy are the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
The Lord looks on those who revere him,
on those who hope in his love,
to rescue their souls from death,
to keep them alive in famine.
Happy are the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
Our soul is waiting for the Lord.
The Lord is our help and our shield.
May your love be upon us, O Lord,
as we place all our hope in you.
Happy are the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
Second reading |
Hebrews 11:1-2,8-19 © |
Abraham looked forward to a city founded, designed and built by God
Only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of the realities that at present remain unseen. It was for faith that our ancestors were commended.
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed the call to set out for a country that was the inheritance given to him and his descendants, and that he set out without knowing where he was going. By faith he arrived, as a foreigner, in the Promised Land, and lived there as if in a strange country, with Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. They lived there in tents while he looked forward to a city founded, designed and built by God.
It was equally by faith that Sarah, in spite of being past the age, was made able to conceive, because she believed that he who had made the promise would be faithful to it. Because of this, there came from one man, and one who was already as good as dead himself, more descendants than could be counted, as many as the stars of heaven or the grains of sand on the seashore.
All these died in faith, before receiving any of the things that had been promised, but they saw them in the far distance and welcomed them, recognising that they were only strangers and nomads on earth. People who use such terms about themselves make it quite plain that they are in search of their real homeland. They can hardly have meant the country they came from, since they had the opportunity to go back to it; but in fact they were longing for a better homeland, their heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, since he has founded the city for them.
It was by faith that Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He offered to sacrifice his only son even though the promises had been made to him and he had been told: It is through Isaac that your name will be carried on. He was confident that God had the power even to raise the dead; and so, figuratively speaking, he was given back Isaac from the dead.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt11:25 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt24:42 44 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake and stand ready,
because you do not know the hour
when the Son of Man is coming.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 12:32-48 © |
You too must stand ready
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘There is no need to be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom.
‘Sell your possessions and give alms. Get yourselves purses that do not wear out, treasure that will not fail you, in heaven where no thief can reach it and no moth destroy it. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
‘See that you are dressed for action and have your lamps lit. Be like men waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks. Happy those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. I tell you solemnly, he will put on an apron, sit them down at table and wait on them. It may be in the second watch he comes, or in the third, but happy those servants if he finds them ready. You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what hour the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break through the wall of his house. You too must stand ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.’
Peter said, ‘Lord, do you mean this parable for us, or for everyone?’ The Lord replied, ‘What sort of steward, then, is faithful and wise enough for the master to place him over his household to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Happy that servant if his master’s arrival finds him at this employment. I tell you truly, he will place him over everything he owns. But as for the servant who says to himself, “My master is taking his time coming,” and sets about beating the menservants and the maids, and eating and drinking and getting drunk, his master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the unfaithful.
The servant who knows what his master wants, but has not even started to carry out those wishes, will receive very many strokes of the lash. The one who did not know, but deserves to be beaten for what he has done, will receive fewer strokes. When a man has had a great deal given him, a great deal will be demanded of him; when a man has had a great deal given him on trust, even more will be expected of him.’
HAPPY THE PEOPLE THE LORD HAS CHOSEN AS HIS OWN
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Wis 18:6-9; Ps 33; Heb 11:1-2,8-19 (or Heb 11:1-2,8-12); Lk 12:32-48 (or Lk 12:35-40)]
It is indeed a great privilege and honour to be chosen for a public office or a position in an organization. Those of us who are appointed especially for public office are grateful for the trust and honour given to them. In the same vein, when we are promoted to a higher office in an organization, we feel a great sense of achievement, not so much because we are promoted but because it is a recognition of our hard work, commitment and ability. Certainly, the servant in the gospel who was appointed to take charge of his fellow servants also felt honoured that the master would trust him to take care of his household and his other servants.
Unfortunately, the danger is that when we assume high office and power, it can often lead to abuses. Instead of using our office for the common good, for the service of our fellowmen, promoting their interests and wellbeing, we use our office to promote ourselves, indulge in the privileges and enrich our pockets. We forget that we have been chosen to serve the One who has appointed us to the position and those entrusted to our care. This was the case of the servant in today’s gospel. “The servant who says to himself, ‘My master is taking his time coming”, and sets about beating the menservants and the maids, and eating and drinking and getting drunk.” Indeed, the more powerful we are, the more is the temptation to make use of people for our selfish gains and not for the greater good of the people we serve. We see such abuses not just in the political or corporate world but even among clergy and religious.
Abuses of power, office and privileges are a betrayal of the trust given to us. We are unfaithful to the responsibility that comes with the election and the trust. We cause scandals. Of course, not all weaknesses of leaders are deliberate or malicious, but leaders are also weak and are tempted to the same sins as those of their fellowmen. In fact, the devil tempts leaders more than others because this is how he destroys society and humanity. By making the leaders fall into greed, anger, lust, and pride, they will lose their authority. This explains why we always ask people to pray for their leaders. When the leaders fall, the entire community will suffer the consequence.
Hence, those in leadership are called to examine their conduct and commitment to what they have been appointed to. Peter said, “‘Lord, do you mean this parable for us, or for everyone?’ The Lord replied, ‘What sort of steward, then, is faithful and wise enough for the master to place him over his household to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Happy that servant if his master’s arrival finds him at this employment. I tell you truly, he will place him over everything he owns.'” A leader must always be responsible, accountable and faithful to his tasks. He is accountable not just to his fellowmen or to those who appointed him, but he is ultimately faithful to God. A leader therefore cannot be complacent, slothful, self-indulgent but he is called to put himself completely at the service of God, his organization ad his people.
The failure to act responsibly and work diligently will result in punishment either in this life or the next as the Lord warned, “His master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the unfaithful.” Indeed, when leaders abuse their power and office, they will eventually fall and suffer shame, humiliation and condemnation. Even if they are able to escape from punishment in this world, their conscience will condemn them. They will not die in peace knowing that they had abused their position and trust of those who appointed them. They live in guilt and eventually when they die, they would be punished accordingly by their sins.
Indeed, the Lord made it clear that reward and punishment will be meted out according to one’s fidelity to his position in life. The greater the responsibility, the greater the reward or punishment especially when one chooses to sin deliberately knowing that it is wrong. As the Lord said, “The servant who knows what his master wants, but has not even started to carry out those wishes, will receive very many strokes of the lash. The one who did not know but deserves to be beaten for what he has done, will receive fewer strokes. When a man has had a great deal given him, a great deal will be demanded of him; when a man has had a great deal given him on trust, even more will be expected of him.”
In the second reading from the letter to the Hebrews, Abraham is presented as someone who was responsible to his calling in life. He was chosen to be the Father of nations. But it was beyond his imagination how this would be realized. The letter to the Hebrews said, “It was by faith that Abraham obeyed the call to set out for a country that was the inheritance given to him and his descendants, and that he set out without knowing where he was going. By faith he arrived, as a foreigner, in the Promised Land, and lived there as if in a strange country, with Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. They lived there in tents while he looked forward to a city founded, designed and built by God.”
Abraham was childless and so the first thing that was needed was for him to have a child. He trusted that God would give him a child although he did not know how as both he and Sarah were old and beyond childbearing age. Still he clung on to his faith in God that somehow He would provide. True enough, one day, Isaac was born. “It was equally by faith that Sarah, in spite of being past the age, was made able to conceive, because she believed that he who had made the promise would be faithful to it. Because of this, there came from one man, and one who was already as good as dead himself, more descendants than could be counted, as many as the stars of heaven or the grains of sand on the seashore.”
But sometime later, he was again tested for his fidelity. He was asked to sacrifice his only son. “It was by faith that Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He offered to sacrifice his only son even though the promises had been made to him and he had been told: It is through Isaac that your name will be carried on. He was confident that God had the power even to raise the dead; and so, figuratively speaking, he was given back Isaac from the dead.”
Indeed, the capacity to live out our responsibility is dependent firstly on faith. Without a deep faith in God, we will depend on ourselves. Instead of relying on God, we rely on the world. This is how we become proud, distracted and absorbed by the world. So faith is paramount in rendering justice to what the Lord has called us to do and for what we have been tasked. It is not important where we are appointed or what we are called to do. Happiness is not about position or office but serving faithfully according to the position the Lord has entrusted to us. It is not for us to decide where we want to be. Happiness requires us to trust God wherever He assigns us and whatever He calls us to do.
Secondly, the capacity to be faithful to our office and position in life comes when we realize that before we are even appointed for an office, our greatest dignity is not that we have been chosen for an office but as the responsorial psalm says, we have been chosen as His own. It is our awareness that we all belong to God as His sheep and His sons and daughters that should give us cause to feel great and happy. What position we hold in the world cannot be compared to who we are before the eyes of God. We are called to be with Him as His brothers and sisters. Our ultimate joy and happiness is to be included among the saints of God and sharing in the heavenly banquet. We have a foretaste of this banquet whenever we celebrate the Eucharist for as the Lord said, “Happy those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. I tell you solemnly, he will put on an apron, sit them down at table and wait on them. It may be in the second watch he comes, or in the third, but happy those servants if he finds them ready.” Jesus serves us His body and blood at every eucharistic celebration. So our great rejoicing is not that we are given such great honour in the eyes of the world but that we are His chosen ones, His own, His children. This joy cannot be compared to worldly honour.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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