20250214 ALL ARE WELCOME
14 February 2025, Friday, Dedication of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd
Isaiah 56:1
1 Thus says the Lord:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my deliverance be revealed.
6 “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
and to be his servants,
every one who keeps the sabbath, and does not profane it,
and holds fast my covenant—
7 these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.
Psalm 84:3–5
3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at thy altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in thy house,
ever singing thy praise! [Selah]
5 Blessed are the men whose strength is in thee,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.r
10 For a day in thy courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
he bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does the Lord withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
Ephesians 2:19–22
19 So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Luke 19:1–10
1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And there was a man named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector, and rich. 3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the crowd, because he was small of stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he made haste and came down, and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it they all murmured, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost.”
ALL ARE WELCOME
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [IS 56:1,6-7; PS 84:3-5,10-11; EPH 2:19-22; LK 19:1-10]
We are celebrating the Dedication of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd. What does it mean for us as the people of God in the archdiocese of Singapore? How can we truly be good shepherds like our Lord? From the outset, it is clear that it is the desire of God to bring all men and women into His Kingdom. Who are these people that the Lord invites to the Kingdom? The first reading from the prophet Isaiah speaks of a God who is inclusive of everyone. In the past, only the Israelites were seen as members of the People of God, and all foreigners were excluded. After the exile, the invitation to belong to the People of God was also open to foreigners. They even extended the invitation to those who were eunuchs, previously condemned in the Mosaic Laws. However, for those “who keep my sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant” the Lord will give them a house and they would not be cut off. (cf Isa 56:3-5) These verses were omitted in today’s reading.
This inclusivity and the desire to gather the outcasts was fulfilled perfectly in the time of Jesus and the early Church. Jesus Himself reached out to the Centurion by healing his servant, and to the Syrophoenician woman who sought His help to deliver her daughter from the oppression of the evil one. Jesus did not exclude non-Jews from the Kingdom of God. Indeed, we see how the non-Jews had greater faith in Jesus. When Jesus heard the confession of faith by the centurion, He was amazed and said, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Mt 8:10-12) In John’s gospel, the evangelist remarked, “He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.” (Jn 1:11-13) In the New Testament, salvation is through faith in Jesus. Spiritual authenticity does not merely belong to a race or even a church, but for those who accept Jesus in their hearts.
We are also reminded of what the Lord said with respect to seeking out whoever was lost or excluded from the Kingdom. Every one of us is important to the Lord. In the gospel, we find Jesus seeking out sinners. Jesus reached out to tax-collectors and sinners who were drawn to listen to Him. So much so, “the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.'” (Lk 15:1f) In one of His parables, He said, “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (Lk 15:4,5,7)
In the gospel, we have the conversion story of Zacchaeus. He was a great sinner and ostracized by his own community for collecting taxes for the Romans. What was even more abhorrent was that tax-collectors often cheated and extorted their own people by collecting more tax than was required to enrich themselves. The gospel noted that “he was one of the senior tax collectors and a wealthy man.” Although wealthy, he was a lonely man as his fellow Jews despised him. He was not at peace with himself and with his ill-gotten gains. When he heard that Jesus was passing by, his heart cried out inside him to seek the presence of Jesus. Knowing that he would be turned away by the people, and being short, he took the courage to climb up a sycamore tree just to have a glimpse of Jesus. But Jesus gave him more than a glimpse. He noticed him and invited Himself to Zacchaeus’ house saying, “Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today.”
However, it is one thing to be inclusive and another thing to allow sinners to remain in their sins. Jesus was inclusive of all men and women, including tax-collectors, prostitutes and sinners, but He was also adamant that unconditional acceptance of them must be matched with unconditional repentance of heart and a change of life. To the adulterous woman, the Lord said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, sir.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.” (Jn 8:10f) To the man who was healed of his sight and similarly, after healing the paralyzed man at the Pool of Bethsaida in Jerusalem, He warned him, “See, you have been made well! Do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.” (Jn 5:14)
So it must be made clear that whilst welcome is extended to all, it does not mean that the Church or gospel must change her teachings to suit their preferences and lifestyles; rather, they must change their lifestyles to suit the gospel. St Paul in his letter to the Romans exhorted the Christians saying, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Rom 12:1f)
What are these conditions? The first mark of a redeemed community is living a life of justice and observance of the covenant,especially the Sabbath Law. “Thus, says the Lord: Have a care for justice, act with integrity, for soon my salvation will come and my integrity be manifest.” Acting justly once we come to know the Lord is a sign of true conversion of heart. This was the case of Zacchaeus. When they all saw what was happening, they said, “He has gone to stay at a sinner’s house.” “But Zacchaeus stood his ground and said to the Lord, ‘Look, sir, I am going to give half my property to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody I will pay him back four times the amount.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek out and save what was lost.'” Indeed, acceptance of Jesus calls for a change of lifestyle, a life of justice and charity. So long as they were living a life of justice and charity towards their neighbours, they would be accepted by the Lord.
The second mark of a redeemed community is that they become a house of prayer. What matters for Jesus is that His Church first and foremost be a House of Prayer. The prophet Isaiah says, “I will make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their holocausts and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.” When we pray sincerely and worship the Lord in spirit and in truth, we too are accepted by the Lord. To the Samaritan woman, the Lord said, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (Jn 4:23f) The prophet Isaiah said, “Foreigners who have attached themselves to the Lord to serve him and to love his name and be his servants – all who observe the sabbath, not profaning it, and cling to my covenant – these I will bring to my holy mountain.”
Thirdly, members of the redeemed community must remain united with the Church. St Paul wrote, “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.” Our life and our faith must be one with the Church founded by our Lord and with the apostles as its foundations. We must cling to Jesus as our cornerstone. We must also belong to the Body of Christ and be inserted into the Christian community.
In this way, we will no longer be “aliens or foreign visitors: you are citizens like all the saints, and part of God’s household.” Then we will feel at home in the house of God. Truly, we can then pray with the psalmist, “How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts. My soul is longing and yearning, is yearning for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my soul ring out their joy to God, the living God. They are happy, who dwell in your house, for ever singing your praise.”
Today, as we celebrate the Feast day of the Mother Church, the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, all the more, we are all called to be Good Shepherds like our Lord, to reach out to everyone, regardless of who they are, young or old, Singaporean or foreigners, all races, those who are holy and those who are struggling in their sins. Being located at the heart of the city, our parishioners come from all other parishes, beyond our Catholic community and all over the world as well. Let us make this Cathedral truly a place where all feel welcomed, loved and accepted as part of this community, especially visitors and foreigners. On our part, let us never despise others who are trying to change their lives and behaviour. We must exercise patience, understanding, forgiveness and tolerance. It is when we practise charity and have a welcoming spirit that we too can truly say that Christ is our Good Shepherd and we who serve at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd are truly His ambassadors to all.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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