Monday, 2 December 2019

YEARNING FOR PEACE

20191202 YEARNING FOR PEACE

02 DECEMBER, 2019, Monday, 1st Week of Advent

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Violet.

First reading

Isaiah 4:2-6 ©

The fruit of the earth shall be the pride and adornment of Israel's survivors

That day, the branch of the Lord

shall be beauty and glory,

and the fruit of the earth

shall be the pride and adornment

of Israel’s survivors.

Those who are left of Zion

and remain of Jerusalem

shall be called holy

and those left in Jerusalem, noted down for survival.

When the Lord has washed away

the filth of the daughter of Zion

and cleansed Jerusalem of the blood shed in her

with the blast of judgement and the blast of destruction,

the Lord will come and rest

on the whole stretch of Mount Zion

and on those who are gathered there,

a cloud by day, and smoke,

and by night the brightness of a flaring fire.

For, over all, the glory of the Lord

will be a canopy and a tent

to give shade by day from the heat,

refuge and shelter from the storm and the rain.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 121(122):1-2,4-5,6-9 ©

I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

I rejoiced when I heard them say:

‘Let us go to God’s house.’

And now our feet are standing

within your gates, O Jerusalem.

I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

It is there that the tribes go up,

the tribes of the Lord.

For Israel’s law it is,

there to praise the Lord’s name.

There were set the thrones of judgement

of the house of David.

I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

For the peace of Jerusalem pray:

‘Peace be to your homes!

May peace reign in your walls,

in your palaces, peace!’

I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

For love of my brethren and friends

I say: ‘Peace upon you!’

For love of the house of the Lord

I will ask for your good.

I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

Gospel Acclamation

cf.Ps79:4

Alleluia, alleluia!

God of hosts, bring us back:

let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 8:5-11 ©

'I am not worthy to have you under my roof: give the word, and my servant will be healed'

When Jesus went into Capernaum a centurion came up and pleaded with him. ‘Sir,’ he said ‘my servant is lying at home paralysed, and in great pain.’ ‘I will come myself and cure him’ said Jesus. The centurion replied, ‘Sir, I am not worthy to have you under my roof; just give the word and my servant will be cured. For I am under authority myself, and have soldiers under me; and I say to one man: Go, and he goes; to another: Come here, and he comes; to my servant: Do this, and he does it.’ When Jesus heard this he was astonished and said to those following him, ‘I tell you solemnly, nowhere in Israel have I found faith like this. And I tell you that many will come from east and west to take their places with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the kingdom of heaven.’

YEARNING FOR PEACE

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ISAIAH 4:2-6; MATTHEW 8:5-11]

As we come to the end of the year, things are slowing down as many will be going on vacation. If one were in Europe, the weather will also influence us to slow down, as it is cold, snowing and raining, the trees are withered, all are clad in warm clothing, and the sun rises late and sets early. Most people would prefer to stay indoors rather than go out in the cold and be wet. Locked in our coziness of our house, the ambience is set for a pensive and reflective mood. Indeed, whenever we can find time to slow down and get away from the hurly burly of the world, we will be able to listen to the longings and deepest desires of our hearts.

Indeed, what matters most in the end? What is it that each and every man is longing for? It is peace. This was what the Israelites also prayed for. The psalmist in the responsorial psalm prayed, “For the peace of Jerusalem pray: ‘Peace be to your homes! May peace reign in your walls, in your palaces, peace!’ For love of my brethren and friends, I say: ‘Peace upon you!” For love of the house of the Lord I will ask for your good.” This, too, was the hope of the Prophet Isaiah when he spoke of the vision that the Lord gave to him. “These will hammer their swords into ploughshares, their spears into sickles. Nation will not lift sword against nation, there will be no more training for war.” This scripture text is inscribed on the plaza in the front of the United Nations’ headquarters in New York. This is what the United Nations is supposed to do, to bring about world peace through dialogue, strengthening of trust and mutual cooperation for the good and prosperity of all.

But finding peace is not easy. We are all tired and exhausted because every day, there is so much fighting, misunderstandings, quarrels, disagreements, competition, politicking and division in our midst, whether in family life, among friends and loved ones, in the work place, or in business. We spend so much time trying to mediate and settle conflicts, problems and divisions. Among nations, there is great distrust of each other, each perceiving the others as threats to their peace and prosperity. All that we see today, trade wars, military wars, territorial disputes, etc is because of a lack of trust, the failure to be inclusive and see each other as brothers and sisters in God’s family.

Indeed, like the servant of the Centurion, we are “lying at home paralysed, and in great pain.” We feel so helpless in the face of a society that is so fragmented. We see demonstrations in many parts of the world. We see our own family divided because of greed, selfishness and self-centeredness. The world is no more a safe place to stay, no matter where we are. Terrorist activities can strike anywhere at any time. Even going to the temple, church or mosque to worship is not safe. So many of us feel like giving up fighting for peace. We are tired and burnt out. Instead of finding the world, our society and families more at peace, there is greater division than at any time in world history. The irony is that secularism is supposed to be the panacea for the world’s problems, especially division. But we know it is a lie. The truth is that there is a vacuum in leadership because the world is without God. Now, everyone claims to be God and he or she has the absolute answer. The modern, scientific and technological savvy man says he knows best. He knows what to do. He does not need anyone or any god to help him.

Indeed, if there is no world peace, it is simply because we do not have the truth or the answers without God. World peace can only come about when as the prophet says, “House of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” There can be no peace and unity when we do not walk in truth and in love. This is what it means to walk in the light. The prophet makes it clear, only God can judge justly. “He will wield authority over the nations and adjudicate between many peoples.” God is our judge, not human beings. All judgements of man are flawed because we are ignorant and we do not have the truth in us. We are biased, subjective, constrained by our lack of knowledge and understanding. Our judgment often is influenced by our fears and insecurity. The world unfortunately is telling us there is no objective truth because the truth cannot be found. We are doom to ignorance!

But we are saying, Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life. (cf Jn 14:6) He is the One who can lead us to salvation. He comes to proclaim to us the truth about God and about life, our identity, calling and destiny. The truth He came to proclaim is encapsulated in the Sermon on the Mount. The teachings of Christ are founded on the fact that we are God’s children, called to share in His life and love. Because we are all God’s children whom He loves, we are called to treat each other with justice, generosity, compassion, unconditional forgiveness, love and tolerance. Jesus always preached about non-violence, no killing not even anger. The truth of life is always in giving ourselves in humble, selfless and unconditional service to God and to our fellowmen. Indeed, Jesus came precisely, “to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” (Lk 4:18f) St Matthew summed up His ministry by saying, “he cast out the spirits with a word, and cured all who were sick. This was to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah, ‘He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.'” (Mt 8:16f)

Jesus did not come just for Christians or Jews but He came for all. In the healing of the Centurion’s servant, Jesus demonstrated His love and mercy regardless of race, language or religion. So long as he had faith in Him. Furthermore, because it was a request not for himself but for the well-being of his servant, the Lord without hesitation agreed to go to his house to heal the servant. The gospel of Christ, therefore, is directed to all in the world, regardless whether the world knows Him directly or indirectly, has full faith in Him or some other faith. This is what the prophet Isaiah envisioned as well. “In the days to come the mountain of the Temple of the Lord shall tower above the mountains and be lifted higher than the hills. All the nations will stream to it, peoples without number will come to it.” The gospel of Christ transcends all religions but it is a message of peace for all. All religions advocate peace and compassion.

But how does Christ come into our lives today if not primarily by the Word of God? When the Lord wanted to go to the Centurion’s house, his reply was “Sir, I am not worthy to have you under my roof; just give the word and my servant will be cured. For I am under authority myself, and have soldiers under me; and I say to one man: Go, and he goes; to another: Come here, and he comes; to my servant: Do this, and he does it.” Christ comes to us through His Word. Like the Centurion, we only need to say to the Lord, “Say your word and your servant will be healed.” Truly only when we come to the Lord in faith and trust, accepting His word in humility, can we walk in the truth. Isaiah exhorts us all, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Temple of the God of Jacob that he may teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths; since the Law will go out from Jerusalem.”

So if we feel like giving up in our pursuit for peace, then we must turn to the Lord for guidance and inspiration. Like the Centurion, we must reach out to like-minded people to help us build peace in the world by promoting justice and compassion. Hence, inter-religious dialogue leading to cooperation in the work of justice and peace would be the way forward to give hope to a world that seeks independence from God, relying on themselves than God’s wisdom, truth and love. “I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.”

Sunday, 1 December 2019

THE DANGER OF COMPLACENCY

20191201 THE DANGER OF COMPLACENCY

01 DECEMBER, 2019, 1st Sunday of Advent

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Violet.

First reading

Isaiah 2:1-5 ©

The Lord gathers all nations together into the eternal peace of God's kingdom

The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

In the days to come

the mountain of the Temple of the Lord

shall tower above the mountains

and be lifted higher than the hills.

All the nations will stream to it,

peoples without number will come to it; and they will say:

‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

to the Temple of the God of Jacob

that he may teach us his ways

so that we may walk in his paths;

since the Law will go out from Zion,

and the oracle of the Lord from Jerusalem.’

He will wield authority over the nations

and adjudicate between many peoples;

these will hammer their swords into ploughshares,

their spears into sickles.

Nation will not lift sword against nation,

there will be no more training for war.

O House of Jacob, come,

let us walk in the light of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 121(122):1-2,4-5,6-9 ©

I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

I rejoiced when I heard them say:

‘Let us go to God’s house.’

And now our feet are standing

within your gates, O Jerusalem.

I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

It is there that the tribes go up,

the tribes of the Lord.

For Israel’s law it is,

there to praise the Lord’s name.

There were set the thrones of judgement

of the house of David.

I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

For the peace of Jerusalem pray:

‘Peace be to your homes!

May peace reign in your walls,

in your palaces, peace!’

I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

For love of my brethren and friends

I say: ‘Peace upon you!’

For love of the house of the Lord

I will ask for your good.

I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

Second reading

Our salvation is near

You know ‘the time’ has come: you must wake up now: our salvation is even nearer than it was when we were converted. The night is almost over, it will be daylight soon – let us give up all the things we prefer to do under cover of the dark; let us arm ourselves and appear in the light. Let us live decently as people do in the daytime: no drunken orgies, no promiscuity or licentiousness, and no wrangling or jealousy. Let your armour be the Lord Jesus Christ.

Gospel Acclamation

Ps84:8

Alleluia, alleluia!

Let us see, O Lord, your mercy

and give us your saving help.

Alleluia!

Gospel

The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘As it was in Noah’s day, so will it be when the Son of Man comes. For in those days before the Flood people were eating, drinking, taking wives, taking husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and they suspected nothing till the Flood came and swept all away. It will be like this when the Son of Man comes. Then of two men in the fields one is taken, one left; of two women at the millstone grinding, one is taken, one left.

‘So stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming. You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what time of the night the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house. Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.’

THE DANGER OF COMPLACENCY

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Is 2:1-5; Ps 122:1-2, 4-5, 6-9; Rom 13:11-14; Matt 24:37-44]

The Catholic Church boasts of being the oldest Christian institution in history and the longest as well. We are rich in traditions and we have a long history that can be traced to the first apostles. That is why we are proud of our apostolic succession as a guarantee of the authenticity of our faith. Yet, after 2000 years of tradition and with many traditions also accumulated over time, the Church as an institution can become too huge to respond to challenges and changes in our history. We want to maintain the long established traditions and practices of the Church even when they no longer speak to the people of this generation.

This, I feel, is what is happening to the Church at large as well. Simply because we are a big Church, ancient and established, many of us take refuge in that the Church will be able to withstand the test of time. We want to glorify our past, the traditions that we have inherited. We are not willing to change and adapt to the times. In fact, there is a group that seeks to go back to the olden days. Perhaps, some who are nostalgic about those days might feel such ancient liturgy inspiring. But in most situations, many are attracted to join other churches because they feel that their message is more relevant and they feel helped and inspired in their life. We can insist on our traditions and our ancient liturgy and doctrines. But people will be drawn towards those that help them to encounter God personally and have their lives touched and drawn closer to the Lord.

Indeed, this is the danger of complacency when an organization has grown so big and established in a place for too long. We can take our ministry for granted and the mission we have carved for ourselves. We can fall into routine as many organizations do. We take for granted where we have arrived and all the glories and achievements of our founders and leaders before us. Instead of adding on to what they have achieved and making further improvements on past achievements, we are contented to rest on our laurels. We have become so proud and arrogant of our organizations that those who are not happy with us are not encouraged to stay. We will not even miss them, so unlike the gospel that asks us to even reach out to the lost sheep. Here, many of our sheep are lost, injured, wounded and abandoned. But we are adamant. They must repent and come back to us and do things our ways. Otherwise, they can leave us. This is the arrogance of an organization that has become too confident and sure of itself.

This was the case of the Romans. St Paul warned them about their complacency. They were converted to the Lord but they were not living the Christian life. Hence, St Paul wrote to them, “You know ‘the time’ has come: you must wake up now: our salvation is even nearer than it was when we were converted.” St Paul urged them not to take their baptism for granted. Just because they were baptized did not mean that they were living enlightened lives. In fact, many of them were living promiscuously, involved in drunken orgies, licentiousness, wrangling and jealousy. Their lives were like that of the pagans. So although baptized, they had not been receptive to the salvation that the Lord had given to them. It is within this context that St Paul urged them saying, “The night is almost over, it will be daylight soon – let us give up all the things we prefer to do under the cover of the dark; let us arm ourselves and appear in the light. Let us live decently as people do in the daytime: Let your armour be the Lord Jesus Christ.” In other words, as baptized Christians we must show ourselves to be who we are in the Lord, living a life that is true to our identity and calling in Christ.

Jesus warned us about doing the same thing again and again. Routine faith is what destroys us. “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘As it was in Noah’s day, so will it be when the Son of Man comes. For in those days before the Flood people were eating, drinking, taking wives, taking husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and they suspected nothing till the Flood came and swept all away. It will be like this when the Son of Man comes. Then of two men in the fields one is taken, one left; of two women at the millstone grinding, one is taken, one left.” Indeed, we are so used to doing the same thing, day in and day out, that we lose our creativity, initiative and adventure. We need to be more conscious of what we do in our faith and in our apostolate and not fall into routine. This is the greatest temptation for us priests and religious because of our set ways, organized schedules and programs. We do not leave room for surprises, initiative and undertaking new things.

We need to be awakened to the signs of the time so that we can be relevant. Sometimes, people want the tradition to be preserved at the expense of connectivity and relevance. We can continue to live in our tradition but who cares! We can say we have the right doctrine, right liturgy but people cannot connect with God. The Protestants lead people to God, give them meaning and purpose and hope. We say, “O their theology is wrong, the prosperity gospel is not of the gospel, their praise and worship is mere sentimentalism and emotionalism”. But for people who are in it, they find these helpful in their lives. What, then, can we say? Our doctrines may be true, but people cannot connect with us or see the truth of what we are proclaiming. If our faith does not serve them, we do not expect them to be interested.

Hence, the message is to stay awake. The Lord urges us, “So stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming. You may be quite sure of this that if the householder had known at what time of the night the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house. Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” It means that we must be relevant to the challenges and the changing trends of our people today. This is what it means to be alert when the master comes. In other words, we must be connected to the struggles of our people in dealing with the current trends in the world, with regard to the redefinition of marriage, family, procreation, abortion, sexuality, etc. How are we responding to these challenges?

In some ways, we are happy that as Church we have done well in many areas, especially in our social and pastoral services. We reach out to those who suffer from domestic violence and exploitation, single mothers, children experiencing challenges in their families as well as from disadvantaged households, persons who are trafficked, migrants, refugees, the development of rural communities and youth at risk. We also reach out to people in need of healing, persons with HIV/AIDS and children from low-income families and indigenous groups. Our educational services include daycare, nursery, kindergarten, primary and secondary, college and university education.

But we cannot take these achievements for granted. We must endeavor to remain connected and relevant. Advent is a season of hope and a new beginning. It is the occasion to revive our dreams as well. How do we do this? Gratitude, the memory of our heart is what will excite us to dream the dream of our fathers. The only way we can remain relevant requires that we must first be grateful for the past. Gratitude presupposes that we remember past events and the blessings we have received. Only true gratitude and remembrance of God’s blessings and love can lead us to thanksgiving. When we thank God for all that we are today, we become grateful to Him and this gratitude is always expressed in wanting to share what the Lord has blessed us with others. Thanksgiving in other words, always leads to action. We thank God for our faith and our Church, traditions and institutions. But we also want to ensure that we are responding to the needs and challenges of the situation in our times, a technological, scientific, secular, individualistic and materialistic world.

So today, like the Israelites, we must go to the Temple of the Lord to reassess our strategy and reclaim the charisms of our founders and find new ways to make them relevant to our people whom we serve. We should not be at a stalemate. Rather, we should be moving forward and be like the man with two and five talents who took risks in investing the money the master entrusted to them, rather than the man with one talent trying to preserve what he inherited instead of making it grow. Indeed, we must “go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Temple of the God of Jacob that he may teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths; since the Law will go out from Zion, and the oracle of the Lord from Jerusalem.” Only then can we walk in the light of the Lord and bring others with us to enter the House of God. “I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’ And now our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.”