20241120 LABOURING FOR GOD’S KINGDOM WHILST WAITING FOR ITS FULFILLMENT
First reading |
Apocalypse 4:1-11 |
He was, he is, and he is to come
In my vision, I, John, saw a door open in heaven and heard the same voice speaking to me, the voice like a trumpet, saying, ‘Come up here: I will show you what is to come in the future.’ With that, the Spirit possessed me and I saw a throne standing in heaven, and the One who was sitting on the throne, and the Person sitting there looked like a diamond and a ruby. There was a rainbow encircling the throne, and this looked like an emerald. Round the throne in a circle were twenty-four thrones, and on them I saw twenty-four elders sitting, dressed in white robes with golden crowns on their heads. Flashes of lightning were coming from the throne, and the sound of peals of thunder, and in front of the throne there were seven flaming lamps burning, the seven Spirits of God. Between the throne and myself was a sea that seemed to be made of glass, like crystal. In the centre, grouped round the throne itself, were four animals with many eyes, in front and behind. The first animal was like a lion, the second like a bull, the third animal had a human face, and the fourth animal was like a flying eagle. Each of the four animals had six wings and had eyes all the way round as well as inside; and day and night they never stopped singing:
‘Holy, Holy, Holy
is the Lord God, the Almighty;
he was, he is and he is to come.’
Every time the animals glorified and honoured and gave thanks to the One sitting on the throne, who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders prostrated themselves before him to worship the One who lives for ever and ever, and threw down their crowns in front of the throne, saying, ‘You are our Lord and our God, you are worthy of glory and honour and power, because you made all the universe and it was only by your will that everything was made and exists.’
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 150 |
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty.
or
Alleluia!
Praise God in his holy place,
praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his powerful deeds,
praise his surpassing greatness.
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty.
or
Alleluia!
O praise him with sound of trumpet,
praise him with lute and harp.
Praise him with timbrel and dance,
praise him with strings and pipes.
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty.
or
Alleluia!
O praise him with resounding cymbals,
praise him with clashing of cymbals.
Let everything that lives and that breathes
give praise to the Lord.
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | 1Jn2:5 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Whenever anyone obeys what Christ has said,
God’s love comes to perfection in him.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.Jn15:16 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I chose you from the world
to go out and bear fruit,
fruit that will last,
says the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 19:11-28 |
The parable of the talents
While the people were listening, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and they imagined that the kingdom of God was going to show itself then and there. Accordingly he said, ‘A man of noble birth went to a distant country to be appointed king and afterwards return. He summoned ten of his servants and gave them ten pounds. “Do business with these” he told them “until I get back.” But his compatriots detested him and sent a delegation to follow him with this message, “We do not want this man to be our king.”
‘Now on his return, having received his appointment as king, he sent for those servants to whom he had given the money, to find out what profit each had made. The first came in and said, “Sir, your one pound has brought in ten.” “Well done, my good servant!” he replied “Since you have proved yourself faithful in a very small thing, you shall have the government of ten cities.” Then came the second and said, “Sir, your one pound has made five.” To this one also he said, “And you shall be in charge of five cities.” Next came the other and said, “Sir, here is your pound. I put it away safely in a piece of linen because I was afraid of you; for you are an exacting man: you pick up what you have not put down and reap what you have not sown.” “You wicked servant!” he said “Out of your own mouth I condemn you. So you knew I was an exacting man, picking up what I have not put down and reaping what I have not sown? Then why did you not put my money in the bank? On my return I could have drawn it out with interest.” And he said to those standing by, “Take the pound from him and give it to the man who has ten pounds.” And they said to him, “But, sir, he has ten pounds…”. “I tell you, to everyone who has will be given more; but from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
‘“But as for my enemies who did not want me for their king, bring them here and execute them in my presence.”’
When he had said this he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
20 November 2024, Wednesday, 33rd Week in Ordinary Time
LABOURING FOR GOD’S KINGDOM WHILST WAITING FOR ITS FULFILLMENT
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [REV 4:1-11; LUKE 19:11-28]
The context of today’s gospel is that the people were expecting that “the kingdom of God was going to show itself then and there” as Jesus approached Jerusalem. They thought that Jesus was going to bring about the restoration of the Kingdom of Israel. Of course, there were also other kinds of speculation as to how the Kingdom of God would be established. Rather than speculating on the day of the Lord’s coming, Jesus reminded them that they should instead be focused on preparing themselves for the Day of the Lord by growing the Kingdom of God on earth. As He said in the parable, the time for the return of the King is unknown. Until then, those who truly seek the Kingdom of God must realize that there will be enemies who would be plotting against the King to prevent Him from taking possession of His kingdom.
To appreciate this parable, it would be helpful to know setting of Jesus’ narration of the parable. Firstly, Jesus was drawing from the historical context of His days with respect to the Kingdom of King Herod the Great. Upon his death, his kingdom was divided among his three sons, Herod Antipas, Herod Philip and Herod Archelaus. It was the latter that went to Rome to seek endorsement for his right of inheritance. But his people did not like him and so they sent a group of dissidents to Rome to appeal to the Emperor to deny him of his kingship. “But his compatriots detested him and sent a delegation to follow him with this message, ‘We do not want this man to be our king.” Eventually, the Emperor recognized his inheritance of that part of the kingdom of King Herod the Great, namely Judea, but refused to accord him the title of King.
But Jesus also used this historical context to allude to His mission, which was to establish the kingdom of God. He likened Himself to the King sent to His people, but was rejected by them, especially the religious leaders. They sought to put Him to death. But after His death, the Father raised Jesus from the dead and He is seated at the right hand of the Father. Until His second coming at the end of time when He will pronounce final judgment on those who rejected Him, the Lord entrusted the building of His kingdom to His servants.
However, as the Lord said, none of us have any clue as to when He would come again. Until then, we are to work hard in making the Kingdom of God grow. The kingdom in some ways has been established by Christ’s death and resurrection. But the fullness will only appear at the end of time. But there will be a definite end to history when the world would be consumed and transfigured. The first reading from the book of Revelation gives us a vision of the future. St John was shown the vision of the majesty of God and His omnipotence. The holiness of the kingdom was represented by the symbol of the glass which looks like crystal creating a distance between God and St John. Most of all, He was worshipped as the Creator God of the Universe. “Every time the animals glorified and honoured and gave thanks to the One sitting on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders prostrated themselves before him to worship the One who lives for ever and ever, and threw down their crowns in front of the throne, saying, ‘You are our Lord and our God, you are worthy of glory and honour and power, because you made all the universe and it was only by your will that everything was made and exists.'”
To establish the Kingdom of God therefore simply means to make Him once again the Lord and God of this universe. It is to give Him His rightful place in the world, His sovereignty over all which the world has supplanted because of greed, pride and self-sufficiency. God is the Lord of all creation and humanity and we are all called to bow down in worship and adoration, crying out, “”Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty; he was, he is and he is to come.” With the psalmist, we want to lead the entire humanity to praise and worship Him. “Praise God in his holy place; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his powerful deeds, praise his surpassing greatness. O praise him with resounding cymbals, praise him with clashing of cymbals. Let everything that lives and that breathes give praise to the Lord.”
But this cannot happen unless we as servants of our Lord use all the resources given to us for this purpose of establishing God’s kingdom. The Lord has given us the resources and charisms expressed in the “pound” given to the ten servants. It shows how much God trusts us, and what a privilege it is to be entrusted with the gift of faith to be passed on to others! Of course, there will be opposition and risks in seeking to grow the kingdom of God as there will also be enemies of the kingdom. We must eliminate evil from society, pride, selfishness and ignorance. With untiring zeal, we must be actively involved in the ordinary affairs of the world and transform the world to live under the principles of Christ’s teaching on the Kingdom of God. We must not rest or be irresponsible because we are not just fighting against the untiring zeal of Christ’s enemies but also against “the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Eph 6:12)
Unfortunately, this was what the wicked and lazy servant failed to do. He was given just one pound but instead of taking risks and investing it, he put it away. His excuse was that the master was an exacting man. But the master upon hearing it condemned him. “Out of your own mouth I condemn you. So you knew I was an exacting man, picking up what I have not put down and reaping what I have not sown? Then why did you not put my money in the bank? On my return I could have drawn it out with interest.” The point is that God has given us resources and talents which we must use creatively for the building of God’s kingdom. The master did not tell his servants how to do it but simply left the pound to them to be used in the way they thought best. God trusts and believes in us to do well. This is why our response calls for faithfulness and accountability as we work towards the fulfilment of the kingdom. It is not enough simply to keep safe what the Lord has given to us but we must multiply what we have been given.
We are called to imitate the servants who took the risk of investing the money and reaped ten and five times more from the capital given to them. Indeed, being witnesses of the kingdom requires us to take courage. Risks are necessary because without taking risks, we cannot make large profits, as the servants did. We must be courageous in bringing the gospel to the world, because there are so many enemies who are opposed to it. Remaining silent and inactive is not the way to safeguard the gospel. Unfortunately, this is what is happening in the world today. Many good Catholics remain silent and quiet when their faith, values and conscience are challenged. By remaining quiet, the silent majority has allowed the vocal minority to speak as if they are the main voice of society.
The Lord’s warning is instructive for us. The master said to those standing by, “‘Take the pound from him and give it to the man who has ten pounds.’ And they said to him, ‘but, sir, he has ten pounds…’ ‘I tell you, to everyone who has will be given more; but from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” Indeed, those who use their talents creatively for the service of the Kingdom and His people will grow from strength to strength. They will become better and more experienced in sharing the Good News. Those who have received the faith but have not been sharing it with others, will eventually lose that little faith that they have. It is only by sharing and teaching others our faith that we grow in understanding and conviction of the gospel. We grow best by giving ourselves. In this the Lord leads by example. At the end of the discourse, we read, “When he had said this he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.” Jesus did not delay the coming of God’s kingdom. Instead, He took the risk and went up to Jerusalem to meet His enemies so that the Kingdom of God would be established. Jesus was no coward. He was courageous and focused.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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