20240714 APPRECIATION FOR THE GOSPEL WE HAVE RECEIVED
14 July 2024, Sunday, 15th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Amos 7:12-15 |
'Go, shepherd, and prophesy to my people Israel'
Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, said to Amos, ‘Go away, seer;’ get back to the land of Judah; earn your bread there, do your prophesying there. We want no more prophesying in Bethel; this is the royal sanctuary, the national temple.’ ‘I was no prophet, neither did I belong to any of the brotherhoods of prophets,’ Amos replied to Amaziah ‘I was a shepherd, and looked after sycamores: but it was the Lord who took me from herding the flock, and the Lord who said, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 84(85):9-14 |
Let us see, O Lord, your mercy, and give us your saving help.
I will hear what the Lord God has to say,
a voice that speaks of peace,
peace for his people.
His help is near for those who fear him
and his glory will dwell in our land.
Let us see, O Lord, your mercy, and give us your saving help.
Mercy and faithfulness have met;
justice and peace have embraced.
Faithfulness shall spring from the earth
and justice look down from heaven.
Let us see, O Lord, your mercy, and give us your saving help.
The Lord will make us prosper
and our earth shall yield its fruit.
Justice shall march before him
and peace shall follow his steps.
Let us see, O Lord, your mercy, and give us your saving help.
Second reading |
Ephesians 1:3-14 |
God chose us in Christ before the world was made
Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ.
Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ,
to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence,
determining that we should become his adopted sons, through Jesus Christ
for his own kind purposes,
to make us praise the glory of his grace,
his free gift to us in the Beloved,
in whom, through his blood, we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins.
Such is the richness of the grace
which he has showered on us
in all wisdom and insight.
He has let us know the mystery of his purpose,
the hidden plan he so kindly made in Christ from the beginning
to act upon when the times had run their course to the end:
that he would bring everything together under Christ, as head,
everything in the heavens and everything on earth.
And it is in him that we were claimed as God’s own,
chosen from the beginning,
under the predetermined plan of the one who guides all things
as he decides by his own will;
chosen to be,
for his greater glory,
the people who would put their hopes in Christ before he came.
Now you too, in him,
have heard the message of the truth and the good news of your salvation,
and have believed it;
and you too have been stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit of the Promise,
the pledge of our inheritance
which brings freedom for those whom God has taken for his own, to make his glory praised.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Jn6:63,68 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Or: | 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!
Gospel | Mark 6:7-13 |
'Take nothing with you'
Jesus made a tour round the villages, teaching. Then he summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs giving them authority over the unclean spirits. And he instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses. They were to wear sandals but, he added, ‘Do not take a spare tunic.’ And he said to them, ‘If you enter a house anywhere, stay there until you leave the district. And if any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen to you, as you walk away shake off the dust from under your feet as a sign to them.’ So they set off to preach repentance; and they cast out many devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.
APPRECIATION FOR THE GOSPEL WE HAVE RECEIVED
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [AMOS 7:12-15; EPHESIANS 1:3-14; MARK 6:7-13]
Like the apostles, we are all sent to proclaim the Good News. By virtue of our baptism, we who have received the Holy Spirit are called to exercise the charisms given to us to announce the Gospel according to our state in life. We are called to give our best in the jobs we hold or in the work we do. Some are called to heal the sick, do works of charity, and encourage those who are forlorn and disillusioned in life. Others are called to proclaim the Gospel explicitly by calling people to repentance. All are called to eradicate evil from this world by speaking the truth and seeking justice for the vulnerable, the innocent, and those oppressed by the rich and powerful. We are called to cast out devils as we have been given authority over unclean spirits.
Denouncing falsehood is the most difficult among the tasks we are called to do. Calling people to repentance is often met with rebuff and retaliation because they do not want to know the truth. People today are educated and have their own minds. They believe that they are always right. They do not believe in God, nor the scriptures as the Word of God. Anything they do not agree with, they reject, protecting their selfish interests through a cancel culture. Good people are afraid to do or say the right thing for fear that they would be victimised and ridiculed. Even though they are in the majority, good people are often silent doers of what is right and true.
Whether we will proclaim the Gospel in and out of season, even when we are rejected, depends on how convinced we are about the Gospel we have received. If we do not take our obligation to spread the Gospel seriously, to defend the faith and speak the truth in society, it is perhaps because we do not really appreciate the gospel we have received. We do not understand the teachings of Christ and so do not appreciate the Good News Christ has brought to us. Most of all, we do not feel blessed or privileged to be among those who have received the Good News, the revelation of God’s plan for us. Our faith is nominal, without conviction, excitement, or gratitude.
Saint Paul in his letter to the Ephesians reminds us how blessed we are to have been chosen in Christ for holiness. He wrote, “Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ. Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ, to be holy and spotless.” Holiness is but to reflect the glory of God and His grace in us.
Most of all, we are called “to live through love in his presence, determining that we should become his adopted sons, through Jesus Christ, for his own kind purposes, to make us praise the glory of his grace, his fee gift to us in the Beloved, in whom, through his blood, we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins.” Indeed, in Christ Jesus, we received our dignity as sons and daughters of God because we have received forgiveness through His death on the cross and given the freedom of being able to serve and love God freely and our fellowmen. This is such a great calling in life for us all. We no longer live for ourselves but for God and for others. And we can do so only because we live through the love of the Holy Spirit given to us in our hearts.
Secondly, St Paul says we are blessed because we know the divine plan of God for humanity. Many people live in today’s world without knowing their origin and destination. They cannot explain their purpose on earth. They go through life seeking happiness through pleasure, enjoyment, food and drink, success, adventure, and good friendship. It is all about themselves. Those who find that such pursuits cannot quench their spiritual thirst give themselves to humanitarian services. Some even seek spiritual experiences.
So what is the mystery of God’s plan for humankind? “Such is the richness of the grace which he has showered on us in all wisdom and insight. He has let us know the mystery of his purpose, the hidden plan he so kindly made in Christ from the beginning to act upon when the times had run their course to the end: that he would bring everything together under Christ, as head, everything in the heavens and everything on earth.” Christ therefore reveals to us that “He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.“
Furthermore, we are “stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit of the Promise, the pledge of our inheritance which brings freedom for those whom God has taken for his own, to make his glory praised.” Indeed, such is our calling and destiny in life. Already now, we have a foretaste of this glory that is to come when we live out our sonship and daughtership in Christ by serving Him and His people in humility and charity. When we allow His Spirit to work in us, we see how His power is at work in us, enabling us to do much more than we can imagine. In Christ, we can heal the sick, reach out to the poor, strengthen the weak, console those who are sad, and inspire people to repent of their sins.
Hence, today, if we truly believe the message of the Good News and the hope in store for us, we would not keep the Good News to ourselves. We would want our loved ones, our friends and indeed, the entire humanity to receive this good news of freedom, life and love. This mission is urgent and that was why He instructed His disciples to travel light and “to take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses. They were to wear sandals but, he added, ‘Do not take a spare tunic.'”
At the same time, we are called to rely on Christ and the Holy Spirit alone and not ourselves. It will not be our work but the work of God in us if we are to show forth as the glory of God. We only have to make ourselves available to Him.
This mission must not be accomplished alone but always with our fellow brothers and sisters. Often, we lack courage in proclaiming the Good News. That is why the Lord sends us out in pairs. So too, we must collaborate with each other for one common mission, which is to bring the gospel to all nations. There can be no competition, jealousy, parochial-mindedness but always completing each other. Indeed, when we travel together, we can travel far to all nations and all peoples. This is why we need to have a faith community to support us in our faith journey and also in our mission. We cannot travel alone and we must accomplish the mission with the support of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Finally, whether we are successful or not, as in the case of the Prophet Amos who was not successful in converting the people, we must surrender our plans and mission to the Lord. It is He who will bring about the realization of His plans. It is not for us to take it into our own hands. God took him from herding the flock and commanded him to prophesy to the people of Israel. But the priests and prophets of the Northern Kingdom did not welcome Amos because he revealed their hypocrisy, their injustice in dealing with the poor, cheating in business and not caring for the weak, the widows and the orphans.
But like Amos, we must continue to announce the Good News in and out of season. The Lord advised His disciples, “If you enter a house anywhere, stay there until you leave the district. And if any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen to you, as you walk away shake off the dust from under your feet as a sign to them.” In other words, we do not need to impose the Good News on our hearers. So long as we have done our part to offer them peace and the joy of the Good News, our conscience should be clear. The rest is up to the individual to response to the grace of God. On our part, we continue to proclaim the gospel to those who wish to receive it. “So they set off to preach repentance; and they cast out many devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.” This is what we must do as well. Let us go about doing good, helping others, and where and when it is possible, to also share the Good News about Jesus Christ and the gift of salvation.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment