20220925 BUILDING THE FUTURE WITH MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES
25 September, 2022, Sunday, 26th Week in Ordinary Time (Migrant Sunday)
First reading | Amos 6:1,4-7 © |
Woe to those who live in luxury
The almighty Lord says this:
Woe to those ensconced so snugly in Zion
and to those who feel so safe on the mountain of Samaria,
those famous men of this first of nations
to whom the House of Israel goes as client.
Lying on ivory beds
and sprawling on their divans,
they dine on lambs from the flock,
and stall-fattened veal;
they bawl to the sound of the harp,
they invent new instruments of music like David,
they drink wine by the bowlful,
and use the finest oil for anointing themselves,
but about the ruin of Joseph they do not care at all.
That is why they will be the first to be exiled;
the sprawlers’ revelry is over.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 145(146):7-10 © |
My soul, give praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
It is the Lord who keeps faith for ever,
who is just to those who are oppressed.
It is he who gives bread to the hungry,
the Lord, who sets prisoners free.
My soul, give praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind,
who raises up those who are bowed down.
It is the Lord who loves the just,
the Lord, who protects the stranger.
My soul, give praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord upholds the widow and orphan
but thwarts the path of the wicked.
The Lord will reign for ever,
Zion’s God, from age to age.
My soul, give praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Second reading |
1 Timothy 6:11-16 © |
Do all that you have been told, until the Appearing of the Lord
As a man dedicated to God, you must aim to be saintly and religious, filled with faith and love, patient and gentle. Fight the good fight of the faith and win for yourself the eternal life to which you were called when you made your profession and spoke up for the truth in front of many witnesses. Now, before God the source of all life and before Christ, who spoke up as a witness for the truth in front of Pontius Pilate, I put to you the duty of doing all that you have been told, with no faults or failures, until the Appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who at the due time will be revealed
by God, the blessed and only Ruler of all,
the King of kings and the Lord of lords,
who alone is immortal,
whose home is in inaccessible light,
whom no man has seen and no man is able to see:
to him be honour and everlasting power. Amen.
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: | 2Co8:9 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus Christ was rich,
but he became poor for your sake,
to make you rich out of his poverty.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 16:19-31 © |
Dives and Lazarus
Jesus said to the Pharisees: ‘There was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and feast magnificently every day. And at his gate there lay a poor man called Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to fill himself with the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even came and licked his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried.
‘In his torment in Hades he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off with Lazarus in his bosom. So he cried out, “Father Abraham, pity me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.” “My son,” Abraham replied “remember that during your life good things came your way, just as bad things came the way of Lazarus. Now he is being comforted here while you are in agony. But that is not all: between us and you a great gulf has been fixed, to stop anyone, if he wanted to, crossing from our side to yours, and to stop any crossing from your side to ours.”
‘The rich man replied, “Father, I beg you then to send Lazarus to my father’s house, since I have five brothers, to give them warning so that they do not come to this place of torment too.” “They have Moses and the prophets,” said Abraham “let them listen to them.” “Ah no, father Abraham,” said the rich man “but if someone comes to them from the dead, they will repent.” Then Abraham said to him, “If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead.”’
BUILDING THE FUTURE WITH MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Amos 6:1,4-7; Ps 146:6-10; 1 Tim 6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31]
Today, we celebrate Migrant Sunday. The theme proposed by the Holy Father for our reflection is “building the future with migrants and refugees.” What is the future of this world? St Peter wrote, “we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” (2 Pt 3:13) What is righteousness if not justice and a fairer share of the wealth of creation for all so that all human beings can live a comfortable life. A new creation and a new earth would entail that we all live in peace with each other, support each other and prosper together.
Unfortunately, the world is very selfish and inward-looking. This is true, firstly as individuals. Today, there is too much stress on individualism and materialism. This is brought out clearly in today’s scripture readings. In the gospel, we have the parable of the rich man. Objectively, he had done nothing wrong. He was rich. He lived a lavish life. He used “to dress in purple and fine linen and feast magnificently every day.” Isn’t this the mentality that many of us have? We do not steal. We do not rob. We do not kill. We are just enjoying the wealth that we have inherited or worked for. We think that just because we have not done anything wrong, we are justified.
This is also the same phenomenon on the international level. At one point in our history until recently, we thought the world was moving towards globalization because of mass media and mass communication, sharing of technology, multi-lateral trade agreements and networking. In spite of some downsides to globalization, we were then helping all nations to grow, expand and benefit from world trade and exchanges. Of course, with globalization, there was also mass migration as well. Those from poorer countries or war-torn countries began to move out in search of better opportunities in other parts of the world. This resulted in a situation where migrants and refugees were seen as threats to the progress of the host country because they took away job opportunities. It also meant that resources had to be shared. Furthermore, the diverse cultures and religions that migrants and refugees brought with them challenged the system’s ability to absorb the influx.
As a consequence, from globalization, which brought about progress and prosperity to many nations, the world is regressing to a very narrow form of nationalism. Each country wants to protect itself and be self-reliant. There is a lack of trust, openness and sharing of wealth, technology and skills with other countries. Today, each country wants to be great again, which means that other countries must necessarily become lesser. Such an attitude would worsen the economic, political, social and technological conditions in the world. Every country for itself.
Yet, the truth remains that we are interconnected. The planet does not belong to us, or even to another nation. When the world speaks of ecology and protecting the planet, they fail to realize that we all share a common home and that is why we cannot protect the planet unless we work together. The ecological situation is the sign that every human person and every one in every country must care for each other, support each other, if we want to save humanity and the world. So we cannot live as if we are not responsible for the well-being of others, beyond our homes, our community or our country. The Covid-19 pandemic is another sign from God that we are so interconnected. We cannot save ourselves unless we protect the entire humanity from this pandemic. What happens to others will affect us because no man is an island. We all must be rich together, enjoy the planet together or suffer together. If there are wars and division, it is simply because the rich are too rich, the powerful too powerful, so much so they become a threat to others. The poor eventually will revolt and stand up for their rights, and refuse to be oppressed and marginalized.
This precisely was the indictment against the people of Israel. The Lord said, “Woe to those ensconced so snugly in Zion and to those who feel so safe on the mountain of Samaria. Lying on ivory beds and sprawling on their divans, they dine on lambs from the flock, and stall-fattened veal; they bawl to the sound of the harp, they invent new instruments of music like David, they drink wine by the bowlful, and use the finest oil for anointing themselves, but about the ruin of Joseph they do not care at all.” The rich and the powerful in the Northern Kingdom of Israel were blind to the suffering, injustice and oppression of their fellowmen. The house was collapsing, but they were too blind to what was happening because they were self-centred.
God’s indictment of Israel and the rich man was a punitive judgment. Israel would suffer the consequences in this life, for as the Lord said, “they will be the first to be exiled; the sprawlers revelry is over.” If countries and nations are inward looking and only care about themselves and enriching their own citizens whilst turning a blind eye to the sufferings of others in the world, eventually there will be only ruthless competition, alienation, isolation, distrust and wars. The economy of the world will decline and everyone will suffer in the long term. Such protectionist policy will eventually make everyone worse off, and progress will be hindered.
So too in the case of the rich man. He might enjoy life here on earth but we are told that after his life on earth, he spent the rest of his days in Hades, suffering the torment of hell, loneliness and isolation from others. He had a lavish life on earth but now he cried out, “Father Abraham, pity me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.” Abraham replied, “My son, remember that during your life good things came your way, just as bad things came the way of Lazarus. Now he is being comforted here while you are in agony. But that is not all: between us and you a great gulf has been fixed, to stop anyone, if he wanted to, crossing from our side to yours, and to stop any crossing from your side to ours.” Indeed, he was cut off from life.
In view of what we have said, then it is our responsibility as individuals and as a nation to welcome migrants and refugees. Of course, there are challenges that authorities would have to consider in ensuring that the influx of migrants and refugees are at a comfortable pace so that it will not lead to a situation of greater unemployment, social crimes and racial or religious conflicts. But what is necessary for all is to look at migrants and refugees not as a problem but as assets to the nation. Indeed, we must never think that if migrants and refugees enter our nation, we will be poorer or be deprived of our work or necessities of life. They are not invaders but collaborators.
On the contrary, migrants bring with them skills, knowledge and the richness of their cultures and religions which will benefit everyone. They have much to contribute to our society. Migrants are often more hardworking because they are starting their lives from scratch. They are more willing to work and sacrifice themselves and not take everything for granted. The danger of those in the host country is that we might have an entitlement mentality. Just like many countries in the world, instead of seeing that the success of other countries will also make their countries successful, they seek to curb their growth and technological advancement. The truth is that as we grow together, we become successful together and we prosper together. This is the fundamental truth in life.
Hence, today, let us spread the message of inclusivity. We must seek to build a new kingdom on earth, one that is harmonious, compassionate, caring and loving. We must seek to remove every form of discrimination, inequality and injustice in the world. We must inspire our people to be more generous in sharing their wealth, resources and knowledge with others. We must pay special attention to displaced persons, vulnerable people and victims of trafficking. Indeed, as we welcome them with open arms, we will unleash the potentials in them. Together, we will make our country even more prosperous, and where everyone has a place in our community. Indeed, we have witnessed how they have contributed to our country in the areas of construction, technology, healthcare, hospitality, and even as domestic workers. Without them, we will be worse off.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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