20251023 MISSION REQUIRES TRAIL BLAZERS WHO ARE COMMITTED TO CHRIST
23 October 2025, Thursday, 29th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Romans 6:19-23 |
Now you are set free from sin, and slaves to God
If I may use human terms to help your natural weakness: as once you put your bodies at the service of vice and immorality, so now you must put them at the service of righteousness for your sanctification.
When you were slaves of sin, you felt no obligation to righteousness, and what did you get from this? Nothing but experiences that now make you blush, since that sort of behaviour ends in death. Now, however, you have been set free from sin, you have been made slaves of God, and you get a reward leading to your sanctification and ending in eternal life. For the wage paid by sin is death; the present given by God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 1:1-4,6 |
Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
Happy indeed is the man
who follows not the counsel of the wicked;
nor lingers in the way of sinners
nor sits in the company of scorners,
but whose delight is the law of the Lord
and who ponders his law day and night.
Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
He is like a tree that is planted
beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due season
and whose leaves shall never fade;
and all that he does shall prosper.
Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
Not so are the wicked, not so!
For they like winnowed chaff
shall be driven away by the wind:
for the Lord guards the way of the just
but the way of the wicked leads to doom.
Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn8:12 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light of life.
Alleluia!
Or: | Ph3:8-9 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I have accepted the loss of everything
and I look on everything as so much rubbish
if only I can have Christ
and be given a place in him.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 12:49-53 |
How I wish it were blazing already!
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already! There is a baptism I must still receive, and how great is my distress till it is over!
‘Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on a household of five will be divided: three against two and two against three; the father divided against the son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’
MISSION REQUIRES TRAIL BLAZERS WHO ARE COMMITTED TO CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Rom 6:19-23; Ps 1:1-4,6; Lk 12:49-53]
In the Gospel, Jesus said, “I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already! There is a baptism I must still receive, and how great is my distress till it is over!” This statement reveals much about Christ’s passion for His Father’s mission. He was completely absorbed in the mission entrusted to Him. What is this mission? In the Synoptic Gospels, it is the proclamation of God’s reign–His love, mercy, and forgiveness. In St. John’s Gospel, He expressed His mission as simply this: “I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them” (Jn 17:4,6,26).
Indeed, fire is a symbol of a passionate love. When we are in love, we are passionate. Love consumes us and motivates us to do things for God and for others. All saints and martyrs are driven by their love for God and for their fellowmen. So too, Jesus, who was loved by His Father, desires to reveal His Father’s love to us all. In His ministry, He was fired up by His love for His Father and for us all. Having been consumed by the Father’s unconditional love for Him, He was sent to include us in their love.
This love is made present today not only through acts of service toward others but, most importantly, through the Holy Spirit, who is the love of the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit leads us into the love of the Trinity, because the Father and the Son dwell in our hearts through Him. As St. Paul wrote, “Hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Rom 5:5).
This explains why, at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples, they were empowered to proclaim the Gospel boldly, accompanied by signs and wonders. The Holy Spirit also convicts the hearts of listeners. After hearing St. Peter’s sermon, “they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what should we do?’ Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’ And that day about three thousand persons were added. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:37f, 41f).
We must never forget that the Church is on a mission. We cannot be content with a “maintenance Church” concerned only with retaining members and preserving routines or status quo. Such a Church seeks popularity, appeasing everyone, and striving to be favoured by society and political powers. A maintenance Church avoids confronting the complacency of its people regarding faith and moral obligations. It remains silent on controversial issues, afraid to take a position even on fundamental teachings of Scripture and Tradition–such as the dignity of every human life, the sanctity of marriage between man and woman, and the truth that we are created male and female in God’s image and likeness. Even when the world attacks these foundations of society, a maintenance Church hesitates to protect the common good in accordance with God’s plan.
When Jesus spoke of fire, He also spoke of a baptism He must undergo. What could this baptism be, if not the call to purify the world of evil and falsehood? Truth and love are the Church’s mission to proclaim. Jesus is the Word of God, the revelation of God’s truth and love. He told Pilate, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice” (Jn 18:37). When Pilate asked, “What is truth?” the answer is clear: truth is love for what is right and just, for what brings life and freedom. Truth is recognising that we are sinners in need of Jesus to show us the Way to the Father, because He is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (Jn 14:6).
The first reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans elaborates on what this baptism entails. He wrote, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? Therefore, we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:3f). Baptism entails putting sin to death in our bodies and offering them “at the service of righteousness” for our sanctification, rather than “at the service of vice and immorality.” St. Paul further exhorts, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Cor 6:19f).
We who are called to share in the life of Christ through baptism, are set free from slavery to sin. We are no longer under the control of sin, selfishness, and pride, or of conduct that leads to death–not just biological death but, more importantly, spiritual death. St. Paul warns us, “The wages of sin is death.” Slavery means having no rights over ourselves. In those days, a slave had no rights whatsoever because he belonged to his master. To be a slave to sin means that sin rules and controls us. This is evident in the fact that many people today have little control over themselves. They are at the mercy of their whims and fancies, their selfish passions, desires, addictions, and temperament. In other words, they are under the rule of the world, the flesh, and Satan. Although they claim to be free, in truth, they are slaves.
True freedom is when we use our will to do good and to live a life of integrity. It is a life of righteousness and holiness — one that is wholesome, life-giving, and loving. St. Paul reminds us, “the present given by God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” To live such a life, he further teaches, “Now, however, you have been set free from sin, you have been made slaves of God, and you get a reward leading to your sanctification and ending in eternal life. “To be slaves of God means that we have been bought by Him and therefore belong to Him. We must now live for God, as St. Paul wrote: “For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.” (2 Cor 5:114f)
Alas, when we are on mission, it also means that the fire which purifies the world of evil and selfishness will be met with resistance.Sharing in the baptism of Christ also means that those who seek to be loved by the world cannot be Christ’s friends. Our allegiance must be to Christ alone–above all things, even above our loved ones. This is what the Lord meant when He spoke of divisions within families. Unless we are totally committed to the person of our Lord, we cannot undertake His mission. The Lord warns us, “Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.” Indeed, a wedge will form between those who choose Christ and the Gospel and those who reject Him. This explains why many of our Catholic communities remain indifferent or, at best, reduce the Church to a mere social or humanitarian organisation. There is a lack of zeal for mission and for proclaiming Christ and His Gospel because we are not fired up with love for Jesus as He was for His Father–and as St. Paul was for Him. When we have weak Christians in our churches, we risk helping the world burn our churches down rather than burn away the evil in society. We must renew our love for the Lord and awaken the Holy Spirit within us if we are to be trailblazers in the world–setting hearts on fire with love for God and for our fellowmen.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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