20230113 INSPIRING FAITH
13 January 2023 Friday, Week 1 in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Hebrews 4:1-5,11 © |
None of you has come too late for God's promise
Be careful: the promise of reaching the place of rest that God had for the Israelites still holds good, and none of you must think that he has come too late for it. We received the Good News exactly as they did; but hearing the message did them no good because they did not share the faith of those who listened. We, however, who have faith, shall reach a place of rest, as in the text: And so, in anger, I swore that not one would reach the place of rest I had for them. God’s work was undoubtedly all finished at the beginning of the world; as one text says, referring to the seventh day: After all his work God rested on the seventh day. The text we are considering says: They shall not reach the place of rest I had for them. We must therefore do everything we can to reach this place of rest, or some of you might copy this example of disobedience and be lost.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 77(78):3-4,6-8 © |
Never forget the deeds of the Lord.
The things we have heard and understood,
the things our fathers have told us,
these we will not hide from their children
but will tell them to the next generation:
the glories of the Lord and his might
and the marvellous deeds he has done.
Never forget the deeds of the Lord.
They too should arise and tell their sons
that they too should set their hope in God
and never forget God’s deeds
but keep every one of his commands.
Never forget the deeds of the Lord.
So that they might not be like their fathers,
a defiant and rebellious race,
a race whose heart was fickle,
whose spirit was unfaithful to God.
Never forget the deeds of the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Ep1:17,18 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our mind,
so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.
Alleluia!
Or: | Lk7:16 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
A great prophet has appeared among us;
God has visited his people.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 2:1-12 © |
The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins
When Jesus returned to Capernaum, word went round that he was back; and so many people collected that there was no room left, even in front of the door. He was preaching the word to them when some people came bringing him a paralytic carried by four men, but as the crowd made it impossible to get the man to him, they stripped the roof over the place where Jesus was; and when they had made an opening, they lowered the stretcher on which the paralytic lay. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, ‘My child, your sins are forgiven.’ Now some scribes were sitting there, and they thought to themselves, ‘How can this man talk like that? He is blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but God?’ Jesus, inwardly aware that this was what they were thinking, said to them, ‘Why do you have these thoughts in your hearts? Which of these is easier: to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven” or to say, “Get up, pick up your stretcher and walk”? But to prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,’ – he turned to the paralytic – ‘I order you: get up, pick up your stretcher, and go off home.’ And the man got up, picked up his stretcher at once and walked out in front of everyone, so that they were all astounded and praised God saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this.’
INSPIRING FAITH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [HEB 4:1-5,11; PS 78:3-4,6-8; MARK 2:1-12]
The Israelites were blessed to be the chosen People of God. They were a motley crowd of people. They were nobody in society; only slaves in Egypt. But God chose them, delivered them from the slavery in Egypt, with signs and wonders, and led them out of Egypt into the desert and the Promised Land. But right from the start they were ungrateful. They were always complaining and lamenting. Instead of trusting in God, they complained against Moses and even worshipped the golden calf. When they entered the Promised Land, they again fell into infidelity. It is for this reason that the author to the Hebrews warned, “And so, in anger, I swore that not one would reach the place of rest I had for them.” Even though they might have left Egypt and entered the Promised Land, yet ironically, they had no rest, no peace, no joy, no life because they did not live up to their faith.
We too are blessed with our faith and with a good life. We who live in Singapore are so blessed. We have freedom of worship. Our churches are not more than 20 minutes away from where we live. We have services in church daily. If we need the sacraments, we can be assured that they would be available. There are more than enough church organizations and those providing humanitarian services for us to be involved in. For those who wish to grow in their faith, retreats, seminars, courses and formation talks available all over the island. We have access to all kinds of information about the church through social media, digital media and our Catholic News. Over and above all these, the church even offers subsidies for those who want to have a more grounded theological formation at CTIS.
However, there is a danger that we can fall into the same mistake as the Israelites. We take our privileges for granted. We take for granted the easy access to church services, unlike those who live in big countries. Even though formation courses are available, not many are serious about growing in the faith. We do not take the opportunities given to us. That was why the author to the Hebrews warned his readers, “Be careful: the promise of reaching the place of rest God had for the Israelites still holds good, and none of you must think that he has come too late for it. We received the Good News exactly as they did; but hearing the message did them no good because they did not share the faith of those who listened.”
Indeed, we often blame the Church, and of course the priests and the bishop, for being inactive, irrelevant, boring and lacking vibrancy and evangelical zeal. But the Church is constituted of the People of God, of which the clergy is only a part of it. We are the Church. Unless we take ownership of the Church of which we claim to be members of the Body of Christ, the cause of inertia is as much the responsibility of the laity. Each and every one of us must assume our roles in the formation of faith and in the spread of our faith. The letter of Hebrews urges us, “We must therefore do everything we can to reach this place of rest, or some of you might copy this example of disobedience and be lost.”
The Fathers of the Church speak about the three dimensions in the act of faith in God. The first is “credo Deum”, which means to believe that God exists. God is an object of faith. Even the devil believes that God exists, but they do not submit to His authority. That is why intellectual faith is not sufficient. Faith must be a living and personal faith. The fruits must be seen in the transformation of our lives.
This is why we must move from “credo Deum” to the second level of faith, “credo deo”, which means to “believe toward God” or “I believe God.” This means that we trust God completely as our Lord, shepherd and saviour. In other words, we take God for His word. It means that we live out our faith in life, putting into practice what we believe. This is what St Paul calls, “Obedience in faith.” The emphasis is on the subject who believes.
The third level is “credo in Deum”, which literally means “To believe into or unto God.” God is the end and goal of faith. On this level of faith, a person surrenders himself completely to God even in the darkness of one’s life. It goes beyond believing that God exists or believing in His promises. At this level of faith, we place ourselves as Jesus did on the cross saying, “Into your hands I commend my spirit.” This is the height of faith. In other words, God is the ultimate fulfilment in our life. We are driven towards God alone, loving Him with all our heart, soul and strength. This gives us a taste of eternal joy.
Faith therefore must lead to a transformation of life. However, it must also inspire faith in others as well. Our faith must inspire others, like the friends of the paralyzed man. We read in the gospel that Jesus “was preaching the word to them when some people came bringing him a paralytic carried by four men, but as the crowd made it impossible to get the man to him, they stripped the roof over the place where Jesus was; and when they had made an opening, they lowered the stretcher on which the paralytic lay. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, ‘My child, your sins are forgiven.'” Quite often, the people we reach out to might lack faith but when they see our faith, they will be inspired and moved even if they do not entirely agree with our doctrines. Talks and homilies, in spite of the content, even if it were of substance, cannot change lives unless it is preached and taught with conviction. Faith inspires faith in the hearts of others. Imparting faith is not an intellectual dissemination of knowledge.
Indeed, we see what faith can do. It makes people creative. We read that when his friends could not get him to Jesus, they were ingenious enough to think of putting him down the roof. God always finds a solution for us if we are receptive to faith and to His grace. We must not allow our limitations to constrain us. That is why, after healing the man, the Lord said to him, “I order you: get up, pick up your stretcher, and go off home.” And the man got up, picked up his stretcher at once and walked out in front of everyone, so that they were all astounded and praised God saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this.'” It is in our limitations and struggles that we learn best. Indeed, we must take our stretchers and move forward in life, drawing strength from the Lord and from each other.
Faith is inspiring when we show that what we are doing is not due to our human strength but by the power of God. Like the paralyzed men, many of us are paralyzed by our fears and anxieties, just as he was paralyzed by his sins. We are paralyzed by our failures in the past and our future. We should learn from our mistakes and move on rather than to dwell on our failures in life. We rely on the grace of God to accomplish what the Lord has entrusted to us. It is in our weakness that the glory of God is shown. So those who are struggling in their faith can inspire each other through sharing of the small victories won through the grace of God.
Finally, an active faith is one that is evangelistic. Like the four men in the gospel, we must find all ways to reconcile man with God. Like them, we must be creative in reaching out to sinners, lapsed Catholics and those who have left the Church because they were wounded by their own sins and the sins of others. We must never give up on sinners just as the four friends of the paralyzed man did not. When they saw the crowd gathering round Jesus, they could have given up because it would have been very difficult to carry the paralyzed man to the Lord. But because they had compassion for their friend and faith in the Lord, they were resourceful. How much initiative and zeal do we have in seeking to reach out to sinners and lapsed Catholics? Do we give up easily when they do not respond to our invitation? Let us continue to be optimistic by growing our faith and inspiring others along the way.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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