20221213 LACK OF INTERIOR CONVERSION HINDERS THE LORD FROM COMING
13 December, 2022, Tuesday, 3rd Week of Advent
First reading |
Zephaniah 3:1-2,9-13 © |
All peoples shall invoke the Lord's name and serve him
Trouble is coming to the rebellious, the defiled,
the tyrannical city!
She would never listen to the call,
would never learn the lesson;
she has never trusted in the Lord,
never drawn near to her God.
Yes, I will then give the peoples lips that are clean,
so that all may invoke the name of the Lord
and serve him under the same yoke.
From beyond the banks of the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants
will bring me offerings.
When that day comes
you need feel no shame for all the misdeeds
you have committed against me,
for I will remove your proud boasters
from your midst;
and you will cease to strut
on my holy mountain.
In your midst I will leave
a humble and lowly people,
and those who are left in Israel will seek refuge in the name of the Lord.
They will do no wrong,
will tell no lies;
and the perjured tongue will no longer
be found in their mouths.
But they will be able to graze and rest
with no one to disturb them.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 33(34):2-3,6-7,16,18-19,23 © |
This poor man called; the Lord heard him.
I will bless the Lord at all times,
his praise always on my lips;
in the Lord my soul shall make its boast.
The humble shall hear and be glad.
This poor man called; the Lord heard him.
Look towards him and be radiant;
let your faces not be abashed.
This poor man called, the Lord heard him
and rescued him from all his distress.
This poor man called; the Lord heard him.
The Lord turns his face against the wicked
to destroy their remembrance from the earth.
The just call and the Lord hears
and rescues them in all their distress.
This poor man called; the Lord heard him.
The Lord is close to the broken-hearted;
those whose spirit is crushed he will save.
The Lord ransoms the souls of his servants.
Those who hide in him shall not be condemned.
This poor man called; the Lord heard him.
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Look, the Lord will come to save his people.
Blessed those who are ready to meet him.
Alleluia!
Or: |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Come, Lord! Do not delay.
Forgive the sins of your people.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 21:28-32 © |
Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you
Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people, ‘What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He went and said to the first, “My boy, you go and work in the vineyard today.” He answered, “I will not go,” but afterwards thought better of it and went. The man then went and said the same thing to the second who answered, “Certainly, sir,” but did not go. Which of the two did the father’s will?’ ‘The first’ they said. Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you solemnly, tax collectors and prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you, a pattern of true righteousness, but you did not believe him, and yet the tax collectors and prostitutes did. Even after seeing that, you refused to think better of it and believe in him.’
LACK OF INTERIOR CONVERSION HINDERS THE LORD FROM COMING
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ZEPH 3:1-2,9-13; MATTHEW 21:28-32]
Christmas is coming very soon. Are you excited or looking forward to it? If you are, what is the reason and the cause of your expectant joy? If not, why are you indifferent? Why is it that we are not in a hurry to do the work of the New Evangelization and announce the Good News, like the Angel to our Blessed Mother, and she in turn to Elizabeth and John the Baptist?
This situation is tragic because we look like people who are full of faith and alive, yet in our hearts there is no real joy or peace. The scripture readings today are not directed at unbelievers or repentant sinners. Rather, it is addressed to those who are supposedly believers and good Catholics, clergy, religious and active church members. If we were to read the prophet’s message, we see who are those being targeted. “The rulers she has are roaring lions, her judges are wolves of the wastelands which leave nothing over for the morning, her prophets are braggarts, impostors, her priests have profaned what is holy and violated the Law. (Zephaniah 3:4f) Indeed, the anointed leaders, prophets and priests are being condemned by the prophet.
What was the charge laid against them? They only had external conversion but no interior conversion. They displayed worship of God but they contaminated their worship by importing pagan elements of worship and their gods of Baal as well. Externally, they seem to be doing religious things, like fasting and reading of the Law but their hearts are far from God. In their lives, they live like pagans and have no heart for God and their fellowmen. We, too, can also be so used to doing the external aspects of religion that no real conversion is taking place in our hearts. Priests can celebrate the mass and the sacraments but without preparation and devotion. We can attend mass everyday but our hearts are unmoved. We are saying our prayers, liturgy of the Hours and doing our fasting, and all other religious practices, but we do them in a perfunctory way.
In other words, we are like the Israelites who were the chosen people of God, represented by the second son who said “yes” but did not do the Father’s will. Indeed, we have been chosen by virtue of our baptism. We said “yes” to Jesus but we fail to live the life of Christ, the life of sonship. Empty words and good intentions are not enough! Fine words must be matched by fine actions. This is the tragedy of most people. They say many nice things of love and commitment; they give wonderful advice to others, telling others what to do, how they must forgive, be humble and be generous and be prayerful, but they themselves do not practice them. Indeed, the greatest temptation of church leaders is to lead everyone to God but are not entering the Kingdom themselves. Jesus remarked, “I tell you solemnly, tax collectors and prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you, a pattern of true righteousness, but you did not believe him, and yet the tax collectors and prostitutes did. Even after seeing that, you refused to think better of it and believe in him.”
What is preventing us from doing the Father’s will from the interior conversion of heart? Two main obstacles, namely, complacency and pride! Like the Israelites and the Jewish leaders, when we are the chosen people of God, when we have been long time Catholics, or when we are so active in church ministry, we live a life of complacency without any sense of urgency. We get used to doing things again and again without thinking. We immerse ourselves in projects and activities. Otherwise, we take our faith for granted. On the material level, when we are doing well, or at least OK in life, we take our blessings, our health, our job, our house and, most of all, our loved ones for granted. We go through life as if we do not depend on God. In truth, He is the last in the scale of things that we do. That was the case of the Israelites. Their economy was doing well and they were prosperous. Hence, God was far from their minds and hearts.
Secondly, it is the sin of pride. We think so highly of ourselves that we become self-righteous and despise others. We think we are much holier than others. We are quick to judge others and find fault with them. Instead of watching our own condition, we are like the Jewish leaders, concerned about others. We are good at excusing ourselves when we make mistakes but quick to condemn others and not willing to accept the excuses of others. We cannot tolerate others but we want to be accepted. A proud person cannot be at peace within himself and with others. Let us face the truth about ourselves. The most difficult people to convert are always the priests, religious and active lay workers and ministry members. We always feel we know everything and we are always right. We can preach to others eloquently but we do not even put into action 10% of what we say to others. Small sinners make small saints. The danger is that many of us do not see the need for much change in our lives because we are already such good Catholics. Spiritual pride is the cause of our downfall.
The warning of the Lord is clear to those who are complacent and proud. The prophet said, “Trouble is coming to the rebellious, the defiled, the tyrannical city! She would never listen to the call, would never learn the lesson; she has never trusted in the Lord, never drawn near to her God. I will remove your proud boasters from your midst.” If we want the Lord to be born in our hearts so that we can find peace, joy and love, then we must wake up from our complacency. If we do not change, we will destroy ourselves.
The Lord only comes to those who are poor, that is, those who need God in all ways, spiritually and materially. This was what the Lord said, “In your midst I will leave a humble and lowly people, and those who are left in Israel will seek refuge in the name of the Lord. They will do no wrong, will tell no lies; and the perjured tongue will no longer be found in their mouths. But they will be able to graze and rest with no one to disturb them.” This is reiterated by the psalmist says, “This poor man called; the Lord heard him. I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise always on my lips. The humble shall hear and be glad. This poor man called, the Lord heard him and rescued him from all his distress. The Lord is close to the broken-hearted; those whose spirit is crushed he will save. The Lord ransoms the souls of his servants. Those who hide in him shall not be condemned.”
Indeed, Thomas à Kempis in the “Imitation of Christ” wrote, “If a humble man is humiliated, he is happy enough and at peace, because his support is God and not the world. Do not count yourself as having made progress until you feel yourself inferior to everyone. A peaceable man is of more use than a learned man. If you are a slave to your feelings, you will see good actions as bad, and you will easily believe the worst; a good and peaceful man will see good in everything. Whoever is truly at peace is not plagued by suspicion. Whoever is discontented and disturbed will be blown about by gusts of suspicion: he cannot rest and will not let others rest either.”
Like the first son, let us therefore turn to the Lord in humility and come to recognize our poverty, in love, devotion, patience, kindness, gentleness and generosity. Instead of condemning others, let us humbly turn to the Lord, repent and renew our love for Him, and deepen our relationship with Him in prayer, and most of all, renew our fervour in our spiritual life so that we can experience the joy, peace and love of Christ in our hearts again.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment