20220910 BEARING FRUITS IN CHRISTIAN LIFE
10 September, 2022, Saturday, 23rd Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
1 Corinthians 10:14-22 © |
We are a single body because we all share the one bread
My dear brothers, you must keep clear of idolatry. I say to you as sensible people: judge for yourselves what I am saying. The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ, and the bread that we break is a communion with the body of Christ. The fact that there is only one loaf means that, though there are many of us, we form a single body because we all have a share in this one loaf. Look at the other Israel, the race, where those who eat the sacrifices are in communion with the altar.
Does this mean that the food sacrificed to idols has a real value, or that the idol itself is real? Not at all. It simply means that the sacrifices that they offer they sacrifice to demons who are not God. I have no desire to see you in communion with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot take your share at the table of the Lord and at the table of demons. Do we want to make the Lord angry; are we stronger than he is?
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 115(116):12-13,17-18 © |
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make to you, O Lord.
How can I repay the Lord
for his goodness to me?
The cup of salvation I will raise;
I will call on the Lord’s name.
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make to you, O Lord.
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;
I will call on the Lord’s name.
My vows to the Lord I will fulfil
before all his people.
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make to you, O Lord.
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: | Jn14:23 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 6:43-49 © |
Whoever hears me builds his house on a rock
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘There is no sound tree that produces rotten fruit, nor again a rotten tree that produces sound fruit. For every tree can be told by its own fruit: people do not pick figs from thorns, nor gather grapes from brambles. A good man draws what is good from the store of goodness in his heart; a bad man draws what is bad from the store of badness. For a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart.
‘Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord” and not do what I say?
‘Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and acts on them – I will show you what he is like. He is like the man who when he built his house dug, and dug deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man who built his house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!’
BEARING FRUITS IN CHRISTIAN LIFE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 COR 10:14-22; LUKE 6:43-49]
Today, the Lord invites us to examine the depth of our Christian life. He said, “There is no sound tree that produces rotten fruit, nor again a rotten tree that produces sound fruit. For every tree can be told by its own fruit: people do not pick figs from thorns, nor gather grapes from brambles.” What kind of Catholic are you? Are you a nominal Catholic, that is, just in name but never go to church or read the bible or even pray? Many are lukewarm Catholics, attending church services when they feel like it or when they are in trouble. Otherwise, faith is the lowest in their list of priorities. Those who are regular church goers are mostly maintenance Catholics. They attend services regularly and support some activities but they do not have a real relationship with Christ. Then there are the supposedly active Catholics. They might seem to be very active in church, involving themselves in many activities but hardly have any time to grow in their faith and spiritual life because they are busy serving.
Who then is an authentic Catholic? The answer is right before us. We need not look far but at the way we live our lives and especially our relationship with Christ and with our brothers and sisters. If we are living an authentic life of Christian discipleship, we will bear the fruits. In today’s corporate world, they measure success by the key productivity indicators. It is not enough to say that we are growing in faith unless it is measurable.
If we are living an authentic Christian life, it must be seen in the depth of our relationship with Christ, whether He is the centre of our life in all that we do or say. Unless He is our priority and the basis of our decisions in life, we cannot claim that we are disciples of Christ. A true disciple of Christ would arrange his or her program, needs, values and life around Christ who is the measure of all that we do. Is Jesus the rock on which we build our lives, the way we raise our children, the values that we uphold in our workplace and in our relationship with our fellowmen?
An authentic Christian life is also manifested in a life of virtues. “A good man draws what is good from the store of goodness in his heart; a bad man draws what is bad from the store of badness. For a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart.” We know that we are growing in faith when we grow in compassion and forgiveness. “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do what I say?” Unless we are living out the life of the gospel, regardless of the fact that we are baptized in Christ, we will not earn salvation either in this life or in the next. At the end of the day, we must judge our Christian life not in what we say but the way we live. Unless the fruits of the Spirit are manifested in the way we conduct ourselves in our relationship with others, we cannot assume that we are growing spiritually in the Lord. (cf Gal 5:22)
An authentic Catholic is always missionary-minded and wanting to spread the message of Christ to all those who do not yet know Him. If Christ means so much to us and makes a difference in our lives, we surely would like all to know Him and love. We cannot imagine that someone who is so in love with Jesus and is grateful for how Jesus has given Him meaning, purpose and fullness of life would not want to share Jesus as a gift to others so that they too can live joyful and happy lives. This is what the psalmist says, “How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me? The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name. A thanksgiving sacrifice I make; I will call on the Lord’s name. My vows to the Lord I will fulfil before all his people.” If we want to repay the Lord’s love for us, His death on the cross, then our whole life must be one of thanksgiving by fulfilling the promises we made to the Lord at our baptism.
How, then, can we be Catholics that bear fruits for Christ? Firstly, the gospel tells us that we must be rooted in the Word of God. “Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and acts on them – I will show you what he is like. He is like the man who when he built his house dug, and dug deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man who built his house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!” Without a deep love for the Word of God, we cannot make progress in our spiritual life. Many of us can be attending daily Mass and yet make no progress in our spiritual life because we do not spend time in personal reflection and meditation on the Word of God. As a result, we remain blind to our sins and our imperfections, and lack the humility to grow in grace.
Secondly, St Paul tells us of the need to be rooted in the Eucharist which is the summit of our faith and our spiritual sustenance. “The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ, and the bread that we break is a communion with the body of Christ.” So in the Eucharist, we stay close to the Lord so that we can live out His passion, death and resurrection in our own lives. Without drawing nourishment from Christ and being inspired by His love for us in the Eucharist, we cannot find constant inspiration to continue loving, especially those who are so difficult to love. Only Christ’s love can help us to forgive again and again especially our loved ones who take advantage of us, constantly lie to us and accuse us of things that are not true. Offering thanks to God for His love for us will keep us grateful and generous to others. The psalmist says, “How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me? The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name. A thanksgiving sacrifice I make; I will call on the Lord’s name. My vows to the Lord I will fulfil before all his people.” Hence, we must avoid being in communion with the Evil One by receiving the Lord daily in the Eucharist. To make the Lord the centre of our life means that we will not allow the Evil One to take control of us. St Paul says, “I have no desire to see you in communion with demons. You cannot take your share at the table of the Lord and at the table of demons. Do we want to make the Lord angry; are we stronger than he is?”
Thirdly, we also must remain in fellowship with the Body of Christ. Many Catholics live their faith alone without remaining in fellowship with other Catholics. We cannot grow in our faith alone. We need the support of each other in faith especially in our journey. That is why celebrating the Eucharist together make us not only one with Christ but with each other. “The fact that there is only one loaf means that, though there are many of us, we form a single body because we all share in this one loaf.” If we want to grow in their faith, we need to form faith-sharing groups to help and support each other. At the end of the day, God’s love is never in the abstract. He comes to help us and show us His love through His brothers and sisters. Catholics who do not share their faith with each other can never grow in faith. Faith is never a private thing but it is our common experience of God. Finding a trusted and supportive cell group to share our faith regularly is the key to remaining in union with Christ and His body.
If we observe these guidelines, then our faith can be said to be built on rock. We can be sure that when trials come our way, we will remain strong in our faith and nothing can shake us. As St Paul remarks, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:37f)
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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