20260530 WITNESSING IN THE MARKETPLACE
30 May 2026, Saturday, 8th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Jude 1:17,20-25 |
Use your most holy faith as your foundation
Remember, my dear friends, what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ told you to expect. You must use your most holy faith as your foundation and build on that, praying in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves within the love of God and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to give you eternal life. When there are some who have doubts reassure them; when there are some to be saved from the fire, pull them out; but there are others to whom you must be kind with great caution, keeping your distance even from outside clothing which is contaminated by vice.
Glory be to him who can keep you from falling and bring you safe to his glorious presence, innocent and happy. To God, the only God, who saves us through Jesus Christ our Lord, be the glory, majesty, authority and power, which he had before time began, now and for ever. Amen.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 62(63):2-6 |
For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord, my God.
O God, you are my God, for you I long;
for you my soul is thirsting.
My body pines for you
like a dry, weary land without water.
For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord, my God.
So I gaze on you in the sanctuary
to see your strength and your glory.
For your love is better than life,
my lips will speak your praise.
For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord, my God.
So I will bless you all my life,
in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul shall be filled as with a banquet,
my mouth shall praise you with joy.
For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord, my God.
Gospel Acclamation | 1P1:25 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of the Lord remains for ever:
What is this word?
It is the Good News that has been brought to you.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.Col3:16a,17 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Let the message of Christ, in all its richness,
find a home with you;
through him give thanks to God the Father.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 11:27-33 |
I will not tell you my authority for acting like this
Jesus and his disciples came to Jerusalem, and as Jesus was walking in the Temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, and they said to him, ‘What authority have you for acting like this? Or who gave you authority to do these things?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I will ask you a question, only one; answer me and I will tell you my authority for acting like this. John’s baptism: did it come from heaven, or from man? Answer me that.’ And they argued it out this way among themselves: ‘If we say from heaven, he will say, “Then why did you refuse to believe him?” But dare we say from man?’ – they had the people to fear, for everyone held that John was a real prophet. So their reply to Jesus was, ‘We do not know.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Nor will I tell you my authority for acting like this.’
WITNESSING IN THE MARKETPLACE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Jude 1:17,20-25; Ps 63:2-6; Mk 11:27-33]
In this age of secularisation, the Gospel has to be brought to the marketplace where the people are. We cannot expect people to come to our churches to look for Christ; while few might come out of desperation, the world often seems to be more appealing and attractive. It speaks louder and offers more choices. Our young people are out there, seduced by the world of music, entertainment, arts, pleasure, fun and excitement. They are glued to their mobile devices, always on Instagram, Facebook, and X. If we want to capture them for Jesus, the Church – as Pope Francis says – must go out to the frontlines of the battle where the sick and wounded are. We cannot stay in the comfort of our offices, waiting for them to seek us out for help.
Yet, there is so much danger when we try to bring the Gospel to the marketplace. In a world that is so secularised, we often feel we must become like others to befriend them – and sometimes, unfortunately, we even become one of them. This gradual process of desacralisation has taken place since Vatican II. Priests and religious tend to become more secularised in their dressing and lifestyle; no longer do we strive to be different from the rest of the world. Instead, we sometimes we even adopt the lifestyles we seek to transform. At times, we wonder what it means to be “holy” today, given the original meaning of being holy is to be ‘set apart’ and to be different. The deeper question is: Can the world tell that we are different, not necessarily in dress, but in our values and lifestyle? Perhaps, this is one of the reasons for the fall in the number of priestly and religious vocations: our lives do not seem distinct from those of the laity. This leads people to ask why is there a need to give up so much to be a priest or religious when one can spread the Gospel as a lay person anyway.
At the heart of it all is the loss of urgency in the work of evangelisation. With the doctrine that explicit faith in Christ and baptism are no longer necessary for salvation, many Catholics do not see why we should bother to bring people to Christ, since they can be presumably be saved by and in their own faith traditions. Unlike in the 15th and 16th centuries, when missionaries came from Europe with the conviction of saving souls for Christ, there is this implicit belief among many Catholics today that we should let those who already have a religion remain as they are. As for those without a religion, it is often felt that as long as they live a good life, it is sufficient. Indeed, faith in Christ has weakened so tremendously today that missionary zeal has been largely lost; not just among the laity, but even among priests and religious. Even for those who have joined the priesthood and religious life, some may have done so not out of a passion for spreading the Gospel, but simply because it offers a good, comfortable life, and opportunities to engage in good works now and then.
Surely, most of us would not think that those who are not baptised are condemned to hell, but rather that God, in His own way, would save them. As the Constitution on the Church in the Modern World says, “Pressing upon the Christian to be sure, are the need and the duty to battle against evil through manifold tribulations and even to suffer death. But, linked with the paschal mystery and patterned on the dying Christ, he will hasten forward to resurrection in the strength which comes from hope. All this holds true not only for Christians, but for all men of good will in whose hearts grace works in an unseen way. For, since Christ died for all men, and since the ultimate vocation of man is in fact one, and divine, we ought to believe that the Holy Spirit in a manner known only to God offers to every man the possibility of being associated with this paschal mystery.” (Gaudium et Spes §22) The Constitution on the Church reiterates this teaching when it says, “Those also can attain to salvation who through no fault of their own do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, yet sincerely seek God and moved by grace strive by their deeds to do His will as it is known to them through the dictates of conscience. Nor does Divine Providence deny the helps necessary for salvation to those who, without blame on their part, have not yet arrived at an explicit knowledge of God and with His grace strive to live a good life. Whatever good or truth is found amongst them is looked upon by the Church as a preparation for the Gospel.” (Lumen Gentium §16)
In the light of such challenges, how do we defend the need of spreading the Gospel? How do we continue to witness to Christ in a world that is highly secularised, multicultural and multi-religious? Once again, we need to find the authority for what we are doing. This was the question posed to the Lord in the Gospel when the Jewish religious leaders asked, “What authority have you for acting like this? Or who gave you the authority to do these things?” The truth is that the Jewish leaders were not interested to know the answer; they were simply trying to disprove and discredit Jesus so that their authority would be not eroded in the eyes of the people. They were both envious and intimidated by Jesus, whom they saw as a threat to their status quo and their institution. Instead, Jesus exposed their hypocrisy by countering them with His own question about authority. Indeed, they were not sincere in seeking the truth; they were actually afraid of it.
Similarly, in the work of evangelisation, we need to be clear about our own conviction of Jesus if we want to present Him as the Saviour of the world. Is our faith found in Him alone? As St Jude says, “Glory be to him who can keep you from falling and bring you safe to his glorious presence, innocent and happy. To God, the only God, who saves us through Jesus Christ our Lord, be the glory, majesty, authority and power, which he had before time began, now and forever. Amen.” Otherwise, the situation is precarious when we try to witness to Christ in the world. Instead of changing the world, the world changes us. This was the situation the Christian community was confronted with during the time of St Jude. They were faced with the danger of religious leaders teaching heresies and apostasy, as many drifted away from the faith and turned away from the Lord. This was because of a weak foundation in their faith, as they followed the bad examples and lifestyles of the so-called Christians. Like them, many of our Catholics today are so secularised that they live only for this world. Many Catholic parents are weak in the knowledge of their faith and are poor examples of Christian life – so much so that we should not expect their children and the generations after them to be fervent in their faith, except by the grace and mercy of Christ.
It is for this reason that St Jude gave us guidelines to remain firm in our witness. He wrote, “Remember, my dear friends, what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ told you to expect. You must use your holy faith as your foundation and build on that, praying in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves within the love of God and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to give you eternal life.” As Catholics, we need to strengthen the foundation of our faith through the ongoing study of doctrines and the Sacred Scriptures. Unfortunately, many of us not only do not update ourselves in the teachings of the Church, but we also neglect to read the Word of God regularly or be nourished by the Word of life. When we do not build up our faith, we become potential victims for the Evil One, as the world confuses us and we eventually lose our faith.
Secondly, St Jude urges us to pray in the Holy Spirit. We must never forget the importance of prayer and a personal relationship with the Lord, which is made possible when we pray in the Holy Spirit and live and walk in the Spirit. Like the psalmist, we must thirst for Him, the living water, to quench our spiritual thirst. “So I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory. For your love is better than life, my lips will speak your praise.” Only in the Holy Spirit, can we witness with faith and love.
Thirdly, St Jude reminds us of the hope of the Lord’s return. We do not only live for this world, but for eternal life. This life is short, and in the blink of an eye, we will be no more. So, let us not deceive ourselves into thinking that we will not eventually join our forefathers. Our time will come; and while we must live fully in this life, it is vital to keep our sights on the fullness of life eternal with Jesus Christ forever.
Only when we are rooted in the Truth, filled with the Holy Spirit, and living in the ambience of God’s love are we ready to witness to Christ. We do so by strengthening our fellow Catholics who are weak in their faith; as St Jude says, “when there are some who have doubts, reassure them; when there are some to be saved from the fire, pull them out.” To those outside the faith, we must be watchful that in trying to reach out to them, we do not lose our identity, our values, and faith in Christ. St Jude cautions us: “but there are others to whom you must be kind with great caution, keeping your distance even from outside clothing which is contaminated by vice.” Let us not betray Christ by our conduct, our lives, our words, and our deeds.
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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