20241022 FINDING PEACE IN CHRIST
First reading |
Ephesians 2:12-22 |
In Christ you are no longer aliens, but citizens like us
Do not forget that you had no Christ and were excluded from membership of Israel, aliens with no part in the covenants with their Promise; you were immersed in this world, without hope and without God. But now in Christ Jesus, you that used to be so far apart from us have been brought very close, by the blood of Christ. For he is the peace between us, and has made the two into one and broken down the barrier which used to keep them apart, actually destroying in his own person the hostility caused by the rules and decrees of the Law. This was to create one single New Man in himself out of the two of them and by restoring peace through the cross, to unite them both in a single Body and reconcile them with God: in his own person he killed the hostility. Later he came to bring the good news of peace, peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near at hand. Through him, both of us have in the one Spirit our way to come to the Father.
So you are no longer aliens or foreign visitors: you are citizens like all the saints, and part of God’s household. You are part of a building that has the apostles and prophets for its foundations, and Christ Jesus himself for its main cornerstone. As every structure is aligned on him, all grow into one holy temple in the Lord; and you too, in him, are being built into a house where God lives, in the Spirit.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 84(85):9-14 |
The Lord speaks peace to his people.
I will hear what the Lord God has to say,
a voice that speaks of peace.
His help is near for those who fear him
and his glory will dwell in our land.
The Lord speaks peace to his people.
Mercy and faithfulness have met;
justice and peace have embraced.
Faithfulness shall spring from the earth
and justice look down from heaven.
The Lord speaks peace to his people.
The Lord will make us prosper
and our earth shall yield its fruit.
Justice shall march before him
and peace shall follow his steps.
The Lord speaks peace to his people.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Lk8:15 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are those who,
with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves
and yield a harvest through their perseverance.
Alleluia!
Or: | Lk21:36 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake, praying at all times
for the strength to stand with confidence
before the Son of Man.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 12:35-38 |
Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘See that you are dressed for action and have your lamps lit. Be like men waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks. Happy those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. I tell you solemnly, he will put on an apron, sit them down at table and wait on them. It may be in the second watch he comes, or in the third, but happy those servants if he finds them ready.’
22 October 2024, Tuesday, 29th Week in Ordinary Time
FINDING PEACE IN CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [EPH 2:12-22; LK 12:35-38]
Peace is what we are all seeking in our hearts. But the heart cannot find peace when there is no peace at home, at work, in society and most of all, within oneself. Whether dead or alive we want peace. So when a person dies, we say, “May he rest in peace!” What we experience instead is division, beginning with ourselves and then the rest of society. All division, as the Book of Genesis tells us, begins with the inner man being divided.
So to find peace, man must first find himself. He must know his identity and his purpose in life. Without a clear purpose and direction, he cannot find meaning in what he is doing. He does not even know what he is living for except to eat, sleep, enjoy and work. This is almost tantamount to an animal life. Many of us do not take control of our lives. We are just drifting through life, pushed along by the world. We follow whatever trends that are set by the world, pursuing what the world considers desirable, and become slaves to consumerism.
From without, we seek to belong, to be loved and accepted. But society is alienating. There is racial, political and religious discrimination. Of course, we are also distinguished by our status and position in society. Man is appreciated and recognized only for what he or she can produce, or for belonging to a particular social or religious class.
The beauty of the Good News that Jesus has come to bring is first and foremost to give us a purpose and meaning. St Paul told the Gentile converts, “you were immersed in this world, without hope and without God. But now in Christ Jesus, you that used to be so far apart from us have been brought very close, by the blood of Christ.” Christ who revealed Himself to us, also revealed to us our identity as His brothers and sisters, and that we are all children of the heavenly Father. By so doing, He gave us our identity and calling. Knowing that we belong to God gives us the hope that we will find our meaning and rest in Him.
Most of all, what Christ has done is to reconcile us as a family. No one is excluded from God’s family. He said, “Do not forget that you had no Christ and were excluded from membership of Israel, aliens with no part in the covenants with their Promise … So you are no longer aliens or foreign visitors: you are citizens like all the saints, and part of God’s household.” This realization of our unity in Christ and our union with God gives us back our identity and our goal in life. Many in the world today live aimless lives, searching for their identity and purpose, because they feel alienated in this world. This alienation is seen in the way we destroy ecology, showing no respect for creation and creatures of God. We use creation and even fellow human beings to satisfy our own physical needs and pleasure.
True restoration is found only when we destroy the hostility, the lack of love in us. Hence, St Paul wrote, “For he is the peace between us, and had made the two into one and broken down the barrier which used to keep them apart, actually destroying in his own person the hostility caused by the rules and decrees of the Law. This was to create one single New Man in himself out of the two of them and by restoring peace through the cross, to unite them both in a single Body and reconcile them with God. In his own person he killed the hostility.” The way to peace and unity is the way of forgiveness, compassion and love for others. Like Jesus, through His death, He restored our enmity with God. Through unconditional love and mercy, man is reconciled with God. In the same way, we can be reconciled with our fellowmen through a life of forgiveness, compassion and love.
Indeed, as the psalmist rightly says of God, “Mercy and faithfulness have met; justice and peace have embraced. Faithfulness shall spring from the earth and justice look down from heaven.” Jesus is our Peace and our reconciliation. We must welcome Him into our lives. There is no peace because Christ is not in our lives. We need to found our lives in Christ. This is true especially of any family or community that wants to live in unity. As individuals and as a family, we must cultivate a love for God. We need to come together to pray and worship the Lord and at times even spend time together before the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament in common adoration.
St Paul reminds us that the foundation of our faith must rest in Christ and in His Church. He wrote, “You are part of a building that has the apostles and prophets for its foundations, and Christ Jesus himself for its main corner stone. As every structure is aligned on him, all grow into one holy temple in the Lord; and you too, in him, are being built into a house where God lives, in the Spirit.” We cannot grow in faith, in love and in unity unless our faith is founded on the faith given to us by the apostles and their successors. Most of all, our faith must be rooted in our personal relationship with the Lord since He is our cornerstone. In the face of a weakening faith among Catholics, both on the doctrinal and personal dimension, the Holy Father inaugurated the Year of Faith so that Catholics will once again recover the heritage of the Catholic Faith, one that is rooted in the apostolic succession, in scripture and tradition and guided by the magisterium. Unless we ourselves are strengthened and renewed in our faith in the Lord, we cannot undertake the work of the New Evangelization.
The Lord desires to come into our lives and share His love with us in the Eucharist. He wants to dine with us. Most of all, He wants to welcome us into the Heavenly banquet at the end of time. For this reason, the gospel calls us to be vigilant and alert to His coming. “See that you are dressed for action and have your lamps lit. Be like men waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks.” Are we prepared for His coming? The most regrettable word in a man’s life is to regret. It is said that the most dangerous word that destroys men is the word, “tomorrow.” Because he lives thinking that he still has a tomorrow on earth, he starts to procrastinate. To postpone what must be done today will be the sorrows of tomorrow.
Hence, we must be responsible whilst waiting for the Lord by renewing our faith and relationship with Him. We must rediscover God’s love for us in a new way. We do not simply wait for the end of time or at our deathbed to welcome the Lord. The call to vigilance is also a call to His daily coming to our lives when we love the unlovable, affirm someone and give encouragement, offer a listening and sympathetic ear to those in distress or take the initiative to reconcile with those whom we have hurt. Indeed, Jesus assures those who are receptive and ready to welcome the master, “Happy those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. I tell you solemnly, he will put on an apron, sit them down at table and wait on them. It may be in the second watch he comes, or in the third, but happy are those servants if he finds them ready.”
Through each other, we can mediate God’s grace, love and forgiveness to each other. We are empowered by Christ to be His channel of grace. Therefore, wherever we are, let us seek to build bridges and unity in life by being His instrument of grace to each other. We must bring joy, not sorrow, to everyone we meet. We must bring hope, not discouragement, to those who speak to us. Through us who are in Christ, others can experience the powerful amazing presence of God in their lives. This is what being a family is all about, being loved, accepted and encouraged. When we live a life of communion, we become the Temple of God where the light of Christ shines for all to see, and a beacon of hope to all those in the world who are still searching for Christ, truth and love.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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