20221021 OUR CHRISTIAN VOCATION
21 October, 2022, Friday, 29th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Ephesians 4:1-6 © |
One Body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God
I, the prisoner in the Lord, implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation. Bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience. Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within all.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 23(24):1-6 © |
Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,
the world and all its peoples.
It is he who set it on the seas;
on the waters he made it firm.
Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who shall stand in his holy place?
The man with clean hands and pure heart,
who desires not worthless things.
Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
He shall receive blessings from the Lord
and reward from the God who saves him.
Such are the men who seek him,
seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps94:8 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt11:25 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 12:54-59 © |
Do you not know how to interpret these times?
Jesus said to the crowds: ‘When you see a cloud looming up in the west you say at once that rain is coming, and so it does. And when the wind is from the south you say it will be hot, and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the face of the earth and the sky. How is it you do not know how to interpret these times?
‘Why not judge for yourselves what is right? For example: when you go to court with your opponent, try to settle with him on the way, or he may drag you before the judge and the judge hand you over to the bailiff and the bailiff have you thrown into prison. I tell you, you will not get out till you have paid the very last penny.’
OUR CHRISTIAN VOCATION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [EPHESIANS 4:1-6; LUKE 12:54-59]
When we speak of a vocation, we are speaking of a call that is outside of us. It is a transcendent call of God. As human beings, we all have a common vocation, which is to arrive at our ultimate goal, which is to be with God. St Paul says, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.” (Phil 3:20f)
However, many of us have forgotten our ultimate calling. This is the great tragedy. We live as if there is only this life on earth, and after that we are no more. The way we live our live is dependent on our goal. If we think that this is the only life there is, then of course we seek to grab all that we can to make ourselves happy, enjoy all the pleasures of life, care only for ourselves and live an individualistic and materialistic life. If there is no life after death, why should we bother to make this world a better place; why should we make sacrifices for the generations after us; why should we do good; why should we even want to protect this creation when we will not be around to see it destroyed, and finally, why would we live for the future when life is so short?
Indeed, the warning of Jesus about the reality of the future of the kingdom is clear. He said to the people, “When you see a cloud looming up in the west you say at once that rain is coming, and so it does. In addition, when the wind is from the south you say it will be hot, and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the face of the earth and the sky. How is it you do not know how to interpret these times?” Indeed, if we are truly intelligent people, with modern science and technology, the Lord is asking us how it is that we do not consider the outcome of our life on this earth. How can we not consider our future destiny?
The reality of the final judgment before God is certain. This is what the Lord said to the people, “Why not judge for yourselves what is right? For example: when you go to court with your opponent, try to settle with him on the way, or he may drag you before the judge and the judge hand you over to the bailiff and the bailiff have you thrown into prison. I tell you, you will not get out till you have paid the very last penny.” We too are on our way to the judgment seat of God. That is why St Paul wrote, “We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. We will all stand before the judgment seat of God.” (Rom 14:7-10) There is no escapism from death or judgement. We must not be deceived by the world that we live forever or that everything ends at death.
It is therefore important that we keep in view our final destiny, our ultimate vocation, if we are to reach the end prepared. Until then, the Lord is giving us time to repent and to re-orientate our life in case it is too late by the time we reach the judgment seat of God. How, then, can we prepare ourselves for the ultimate goal of life? The psalmist says, “Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? The man with clean hands and pure heart, who desires not worthless things. He shall receive blessings from the Lord and reward from the God who saves him. Such are the men who seek him, seek the face of the God of Jacob.” In the beatitudes, the Lord taught us, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Mt 5:7-9) To see the face of God requires purity of heart, mercy, and love.
To keep us focused, St Paul in the first reading reminds us of our vocation. Firstly, he spoke of a transcendent call, the common hope of all. He said, “There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within all.” Our hope in life is to be with God who is the Father of us all. Regardless whether we are Christians or otherwise, we share the same calling to be with God who is “over all, through all and within all.” This is what the Lord taught when He said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” (Mt 5:44f) Speaking of the end, St Paul also wrote, “When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all.” (1 Cor 15:28)
This hope in being one with God our Father implies our communion with the Son and the Holy Spirit. “There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” We come into communion with the Father only through the Son sharing in His Spirit. To arrive at the Father’s house, we must come through Jesus who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. (cf Jn 14:6) “If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (Jn 14:7) For us as Christians we are privileged to come to know the Father through the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ. To Philip, the Lord said, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” (Jn 14:9f)
However, this hope is not just a dream but it is already in us because the Spirit of Jesus lives in us as a pledge of what is to come. St Paul said, “Hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Rom 5:5) To the Ephesians, he wrote, “In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.” (Eph 1:13f) And to the Corinthians, St Paul underscores this reality when he assured them, “But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, by putting his seal on us and giving us his Spirit in our hearts as a first installment.” (2 Cor 1:21f)
Indeed, those of us who live in His Spirit already experience as a foretaste the joy, love, unity and freedom of the Kingdom of God that is to come. “By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Gal 5:22) Truly, St Paul said, “The kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The one who thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and has human approval. Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” (Rom 14:17-19)
This is why St Paul urges us all in the first reading to “bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience. Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together.” The truth is that we are all in different stages of growth in Christian life and in the realization of our common vocation, just as in any family, there are some who are weaker than others, some more difficult to love or to fit into the family. This is true in the Christian community as well. We must seek to build communion with each other through dialogue, collaboration, giving in to one another for the greater good of all and for the unity of the Church. As a community, we will have differences, different views and perspectives, strengths and weaknesses. So it is necessary that we learn to humbly accommodate each other, find a position that is moderate so that all can find acceptance in the Church, regardless which level of spiritual growth the person is in. We need to be patient, accommodating and understanding.
Indeed, let us bear in mind the exhortation St Paul gave to the Philippians. “If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 2:1-5) If we learn humility and put our egoism and self-centeredness aside, we can then share the joy of being with each other, supporting each other in our journey to the Father when we will all be one in Him through Christ in the Holy Spirit.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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