20230220 INSPIRING OTHERS IN FAITH
20 February 2023 Monday, 7th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Ecclesiasticus 1:1-10 © |
Before all other things, wisdom was created
All wisdom is from the Lord,
and it is his own for ever.
The sand of the sea and the raindrops,
and the days of eternity, who can assess them?
The height of the sky and the breadth of the earth,
and the depth of the abyss, who can probe them?
Before all other things wisdom was created,
shrewd understanding is everlasting.
For whom has the root of wisdom ever been uncovered?
Her resourceful ways, who knows them?
One only is wise, terrible indeed,
seated on his throne, the Lord.
He himself has created her, looked on her and assessed her,
and poured her out on all his works
to be with all mankind as his gift,
and he conveyed her to those who love him.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 92(93):1-2,5 © |
The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed.
The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed;
the Lord has robed himself with might,
he has girded himself with power.
The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed.
The world you made firm, not to be moved;
your throne has stood firm from of old.
From all eternity, O Lord, you are.
The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed.
Truly your decrees are to be trusted.
Holiness is fitting to your house,
O Lord, until the end of time.
The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed.
Gospel Acclamation | 1P1:25 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of the Lord remains for ever:
What is this word?
It is the Good News that has been brought to you.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.2Tim1:10 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death
and he has proclaimed life through the Good News.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 9:14-29 © |
Help the little faith I have!
When Jesus, with Peter, James and John came down from the mountain and rejoined the disciples, they saw a large crowd round them and some scribes arguing with them. The moment they saw him the whole crowd were struck with amazement and ran to greet him. ‘What are you arguing about with them?’ he asked. A man answered him from the crowd, ‘Master, I have brought my son to you; there is a spirit of dumbness in him, and when it takes hold of him it throws him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and goes rigid. And I asked your disciples to cast it out and they were unable to.’ ‘You faithless generation’ he said to them in reply. ‘How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him to me.’ They brought the boy to him, and as soon as the spirit saw Jesus it threw the boy into convulsions, and he fell to the ground and lay writhing there, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the father, ‘How long has this been happening to him?’ ‘From childhood,’ he replied ‘and it has often thrown him into the fire and into the water, in order to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us.’ ‘If you can?’ retorted Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for anyone who has faith.’ Immediately the father of the boy cried out, ‘I do have faith. Help the little faith I have!’ And when Jesus saw how many people were pressing round him, he rebuked the unclean spirit. ‘Deaf and dumb spirit,’ he said ‘I command you: come out of him and never enter him again.’ Then throwing the boy into violent convulsions it came out shouting, and the boy lay there so like a corpse that most of them said, ‘He is dead.’ But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him up, and he was able to stand. When he had gone indoors his disciples asked him privately, ‘Why were we unable to cast it out?’ ‘This is the kind’ he answered ‘that can only be driven out by prayer.’
INSPIRING OTHERS IN FAITH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Ecclesiasticus 1:1-10; Ps 93:1-2,5; Mk 9:14-29]
“The father of the boy cried out, ‘I do have faith. Help the little faith I have!'” This cry of the father is the cry of everyone. We too feel like him. We have some faith in God but for most of us our faith is weak. Certainly, we do not even have faith in God to heal us when we are sick, much less a faith that could move mountains! In times of trial, we give up faith in God. We prefer to rely on ourselves, our ingenuity, science and technology to solve our problems. God is always the last resort when all things fail and there is no further recourse. But deep down in us all, we do want to increase in faith. But we are weak.
How, then, can we grow in faith? Firstly, by contemplating on the magnificent creation of God. In the first reading from the book of Ecclesiasticus, the wisdom of God is praised through pondering on the wonders of God’s creation. When the author considered “the sand of the sea and the raindrops, and the days of eternity, who can assess them? The height of the sky and the breadth of the earth, and the depth of the abyss, who can probe them?” No one could do all these but God the creator who alone is all wise. “He himself has created her, looked on her and assessed her, and poured her out on all his works to be with all mankind as his gift, and he conveyed her to those who love him.”
If God is the creator of all, then following Jesus we can trust in His divine providence. “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith?” (Mt 6:26-30)
If we do not trust Him, who else can we trust when “before all other things wisdom was created, shrewd understanding is everlasting. For whom has the root of wisdom ever been uncovered? Her resourceful ways, who knows them?” So the conclusion of Sirach and the psalmist is this, that God is our King, Lord of heaven and earth. “One only is wise, terrible indeed, seated on his throne, the Lord.” To Him we submit ourselves. “The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed; the Lord has robed himself with might, he has girded himself with power. The world you made firm, not to be moved; your throne has stood firm from of old. From all eternity, O Lord, you are. Truly your decrees are to be trusted. Holiness is fitting to your house, O Lord, until the end of time.”
Secondly, to grow in faith, we need the faith of others to inspire us. Obviously, the child under possession could not exercise his faith. Likewise, the father of the child was so desperate that he had lost almost all faith except the little he had left. The disciples were supposed to be channels of God’s grace. They were supposed to help the little faith of the father of the child. Instead, they made him lose the little faith he had. He asked his “disciples to cast it out and they were unable to.” The reply of Jesus was swift. In frustration, He remarked, “You faithless generation. How much longer do I have to be with you? How much longer do I have to put up with you? Bring him to me.” Jesus was clearly disappointed that even His own disciples lacked the faith to deliver the boy from the Evil One. They must have tried to exorcise the boy but their lack of faith was clearly manifested so much so the Devil was not afraid of them. Like many people who pray without faith, the devil knows that they are weak in faith. He would not bother about them because their prayers would not work.
Jesus was truly a man who could inspire faith. Even the sight of Him was enough to move people to faith. In today’s gospel, we read that “the moment they saw him the whole crowd were struck with amazement and ran to greet him.” We also read elsewhere, “After the people of that place recognized him, they sent word throughout the region and brought all who were sick to him and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.” (Mt 14:36) Even at His death, the centurion remarked, “Truly this man was God’s Son!” (Mt 27:54) He was seen as the visitation of God. After raising the widow’s son at Nain, we read that “a sense of awe swept over all of them, and they glorified God saying, “a great prophet has appeared among us. God has visited His people.” (Lk 7:16)
All of us too are called to inspire people in faith. Parents have a responsibility to inspire faith in their children. It is not enough to teach them about God or bring them to church and catechism classes. More importantly, they must inspire them by their lives of faith, devotion and love for God. It is not what they say but what they do. This is of course true for all, whether we are priests, religious, teachers, elders or seniors. We are called to inspire faith in the lives of those people under our charge or are living or working with us. Can we say that through our lives, people are inspired to find faith in Christ as well? The sad reality is that often we put people off and become a scandal to their faith because of our arrogance, insensitivity, discrimination or sinful and worldly lifestyles. Many have left the church because they encountered bad witnessing by Catholics who are rude and selfish.
How, then, can we be the light of faith to others so that they can be inspired to grow in their faith? If faith is lacking in us, it is because, as Jesus said, “This is the kind, that can only be driven out by prayer.” What is needed is more than just doing things in the name of Jesus or for Jesus. We need to share the mind and heart of Jesus so that we can pray and act with faith in God like He did. It was just after the Transfiguration experience when this incident happened. The people noticed the transformation in Jesus and that explained why they were struck with amazement upon seeing Him. It was in the intimacy with His Father that the Lord was transformed. Filled with the Father’s love and assurance of His presence, He could confidently come down from the mountain filled with renewed power and strength to deal with the challenges ahead of Him, particularly the imminent passion in Jerusalem. We, too, if we want to be sure that we can manage the trials and challenges of life at home, at work or in ministry, then we need to pray as much as we work. Only prayer can strengthen our personal faith in Christ, without which, the work we do will be hollow and not transform anyone. We will end up quarrelling and debating with each other as many church groups do because the members hardly pray together and as individuals. This was what happened at the scene. “They saw a large crowd around them and some scribes arguing with them.” When there is no faith, we can only argue and prove each other wrong. But if we believe in the power of prayer, then prayer changes us and changes the way we relate with others. With faith, nothing is impossible. When the man told the Lord, “But if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us.” Jesus retorted, “If you can? Everything is possible for anyone who has faith.”
So let us increase in our faith through prayer in our relationship with the Lord, through contemplation of His works in our lives and in creation; and through the inspiring faith of our brothers and sisters. It is therefore important that we support each other in faith using the various means and opportunities available to us. Not only by praying individually, but we must also come together to worship as a community of faith; and coming together in smaller groups to share the Word of God and how the Lord is working in our daily life. Through such fellowship, our faith will grow from strength to strength. If we walk alone in our faith, we will surely lose it one day because no one can grow in faith by himself. We need the Church and the faith of our brothers and sisters to support us.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment