20261020 BECOMING CITIZENS AND MEMBERS OF GOD’S HOUSEHOLD
20 October 2026, Tuesday, 29th Week in Ordinary Time
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!
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.’
BECOMING CITIZENS AND MEMBERS OF GOD’S HOUSEHOLD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Ephesians 2:12-22; Luke 12:35-38]
St. Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, wrote: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all” (Eph 4:4-6). Indeed, it has always been God’s plan that all of humanity be one. In His plan, it was never His desire to see humanity divided into nations and communities fighting with each other. God is the Father of all, as St. Paul wrote; He is the Creator, the Father, and the origin of life. We are all His children, as St. John reminds us: “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is” (1 Jn 3:1-2).
This is why Christ came to earth: to reconcile us all into one family. It is true that Israel was chosen in the plan of God to be His people.However, they were not chosen merely for themselves. God said to the exiles in Babylon: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (Isa 49:6). God gave them the Law through Moses to keep the people intact and faithful to the Covenant so they could serve as an example of unity for all other nations. Moses told the people: “You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!’ For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to him? And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?” (Dt 4:6-8).
Unfortunately, in trying to protect the Israelites from being contaminated by pagan influences around them, non-Israelites–and later non-Jews–came to be considered unclean and to be avoided at all costs. Israel became an exclusive nation, adopting a complex of superiority simply because they were God’s chosen people. They developed custom and oral law to help their people observe the commandments meticulously, but this came at the expense of alienating the rest of the world. St. Paul alluded to this when he wrote: “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” (cf. Eph 2:12). Before the coming of Christ, non-Jews were condemned as people living without hope. The Law, which was originally intended to protect the Jewish faith and help the people live out the covenantal law perfectly, inadvertently became a source of division with the rest of humanity.
It is within this context that Christ came to reconcile us all as one family through His death on the cross. By shedding His blood and dying for us, Jesus brought about the forgiveness of our sins and reconciled us with God. Reconciled in God, we are also reconciled as one people.
First, this reconciliation comes about because salvation is no longer attained through the observance of the Mosaic Law, but through faith in Him: “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” (cf. Eph 2:13-15). We are saved and reconciled because Christ is our peace and reconciler. We are saved by His unconditional love and forgiveness, not by our own merits or good works. This is the Good News!
Second, Christ, through His death and resurrection, makes us all into one body through the Holy Spirit poured into our hearts at Pentecost (cf. Rom 5:5). “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” (cf. Eph 2:15-16). Christ eliminates the separation between Jew and Gentile by uniting all of us in Himself. Paul links this unity with baptism: “For all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:27-28). In Christ, we are all adopted sons and daughters of God.
St. Peter came to understand this truth when he visited Cornelius, a centurion who had been instructed by God to invite him. Peter said to Cornelius and his household: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ–he is Lord of all” (Acts 10:34-36). Scripture then tells us: “While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, ‘Can anyone withhold the water for baptising these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ And he ordered them to be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 10:44-48).
As a consequence, we find true peace within and among ourselves–that Messianic peace proclaimed by the Risen Lord which belongs to the end of history and grants us the fullness of salvation: “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” (cf. Eph 2:17-18). The proof that Gentiles and Jews are co-recipients of this Messianic peace is that we are all given access to the Father through the same Spirit of God. We are truly sons and daughters of God. This should define our dignity and greatness–not our social, racial, or national status. What greater dignity is there than to be known and loved as God’s children and to have access to Him as our Father?
Consequently, we are all now citizens of God’s kingdom and members of God’s family: “So you are no longer aliens or foreign visitors: you are citizens like all the saints, and part of God’s household” (cf. Eph 2:19). To be citizens of heaven means that God is our Lord and He rules over our lives. No earthly citizenship can compare to our citizenship in heaven. Foreigners often feel vulnerable in a host country; but for us, we are citizens of God’s kingdom–a kingdom that has no end. Our values are the Gospel values taught by our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount, especially the Beatitudes.
We are also members of God’s household, with God as our Father. Being part of His family implies responsibility, because each member has a role to play in bringing glory to the Father. Jesus warns us: “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” (cf. Lk 12:35-37). We must be responsible servants in God’s household, taking care of one another.
Finally, we are living stones in God’s temple: “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” (cf. Eph 2:20-22). Our foundation is God’s Word, and the apostles and prophets are teachers of the faith. Fidelity to God’s Word and the apostolic teaching guarantees our union with Jesus, who is the ultimate cornerstone of our faith and life. Unity and growth in our spiritual lives and in our community are founded on Christ, the cornerstone of God’s Temple.
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 Reserve
No comments:
Post a Comment