09-04-2013, 10:58 AM
Scripture Reflections
04 September 2013, Wednesday, 22nd Week, Ordinary Time
MUTUAL INTERPLAY BETWEEN MISSIONARY ZEAL AND CATHOLICITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: COL 1:1-8; LUKE 4:38-44
“I must proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God to the other towns too, because that is what I was sent to do.” In His reply to the crowds who wanted to prevent Him from leaving, Jesus showed Himself to be focused in His mission and calling. He refused to succumb to the temptation to build a cozy kingdom for Himself. He knew that His purpose and mission was to proclaim the Good News to all men. He was not tempted by popularity or egoistic sentiments to feel needed. The temptation to remain behind was certainly attractive because He would have enjoyed the adulation of the crowd. But that was not the case. Jesus never forgot what He was sent to do.
Consequently, as Christians, we must avoid falling into the snare of a privatized spirituality. For some of us Christians, there is a danger of our faith becoming restricted to a relationship between God and oneself. This is an individualistic faith. Most people regard God as a dispensing machine where they come to Him only to procure favours. If God does not give His blessings of wealth, success and earthly happiness, they would give up on Him. Others regard Him as a form of escapism from the realties and struggles of life. They think that holiness is measured by how much time one spends before the Blessed Sacrament or reading the Word of God.
Of course, this does not mean that our faith need not be personal. On the contrary, in the gospel, Jesus specifically forbade the devils to reveal His identity because He wanted the people to discover Him for themselves. Faith demands that we have a personal relationship with Jesus. But intimacy with the Lord must not be mistaken for a privatized faith. However, our faith cannot stay on this level. Indeed, a real faith in Jesus will show itself in our lives and in our relationship with others. If we have an authentic relationship with Jesus, then we would be personally transformed in love and service. This was the case of the mother-in-law of Peter. After she was healed, “she immediately got up and began to wait on them.” Faith must lead us to selfless service of our fellow human beings. Any real encounter with Jesus must bring us to reach out to others in need, especially the poor, the sick and the lonely.
But even this is inadequate. True faith must make us missionary minded, the desire to bring Christ to others. We must not rest contented with works of charity because no amount of material needs can satisfy anyone for long or fulfill a person. That is what St Paul wrote of the Christians in Colossians. “It is only recently that you heard of this, when it was announced in the message of the truth. The Good News which has reached you is spreading all over the world and producing the same results as it has among you ever since the day when you heard about God’s grace and understood what this really is.” Similarly, we read in the gospel how those who encountered the healing grace of Jesus brought others to Him so that they, too, can come to know Him personally. The evangelist noted that “at sunset all those who had friends suffering from diseases of one kind or another brought them to him, and laying hands on each he cured them.” This was the same basis for Jesus’ ministry. From His own experience of His Father’s unconditional love, He was impelled to reach out to the people, for He shares a common love of His Father for humanity. Yes, if we have experienced the personal love of Jesus and His healing power, we would want to bring Jesus to others and not just to ourselves. How dangerous it is for those of us in our ministry when we draw people to ourselves, especially because of our eloquence or dynamism and healing charism, instead of bringing them to our Lord and Master.
However our Christian identity and mission does not end here. In bringing others to Jesus, we naturally become a community, sharing a common faith and devotion to Jesus. It is of course important that as Christians we must have fellowship with each other. In the first reading, we read of the unity among the Christians in their faith and concern for each other. St Paul expressed his union with them when he wrote, “we have never failed to remember you in our prayers and to give thanks for you to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ever since we heard about your faith in Christ and the love that you show towards all the saints because of the hope which is stored up for you in heaven. “ We can sense the joy and pride of St Paul when he heard of their growing faith and most of all, the good works they were doing. He was not jealous of them, but affirming of their proactive outreach to each other. He remained in solidarity with them in prayer even though he could not be with them personally.
The temptation for us is that quite often, we become too parochial minded. We are protective of our organization, the parish or the religious institute we belong to, but are indifferent to other Catholics or organizations in the Church. We tend to live in our own nice little world and forget that the community of Christians exists for the sake of the mission and not as an end in itself. By inculcating a “ghetto” spirituality, we become sectarian and divisive. We are even jealous of those groups in the Church that are doing well and attracting new members. Because of jealousy, we denigrate them and even slander the leaders, discrediting their good works. It is so strange that instead of encouraging our fellow Catholics in their ministry, we become the real enemies of the faith, destroying their initiatives and poisoning the minds of those who wish to grow in their faith by joining them.
Such a competitive spirit working against each other is so unlike the way St Paul dealt with the success of the churches. He wrote to the Colossians and expressed his concern, appreciation, love and support for them. He said, “the Good News which has reached you is spreading all over the world and producing the same results as it has among you ever since the day when you heard about God’s grace and understood what this really is”. He was not only missionary-minded but he was one with the universal Church of Christ. As Christians, we are not only to be missionary but we must cultivate a sense of being Church. It is a call to ecclesial mindedness and catholicity. We are called to be one with the Church, not just the parish, but as well the local Church; and not just the diocese but we must also be in solidarity with all the dioceses in the world, especially with our Mother Church in Rome. Feeling with the Church, loving her and praying with her, is what Catholicity is all about. It is not just a matter of sharing the same faith, the same doctrines and the same leadership. But we must be in communion and in solidarity with each other, whether in success or in failure, in joys or in sorrows.
In order that we do not lose our focus, that our mission is a mission to communion which is accomplished in communion, then we must follow our Master who “left the house and made his way to a lonely place” to pray when daylight came. Without being centered and focused, we can lose ourselves in activities and end up championing our own interests and building our kingdom. When we get too comfortable where we are, we become sedentary and lose that missionary zeal. By being concerned for the universal Church, then like Jesus, we must move on and do outreach to as many people as possible so that His kingdom can be established worldwide.
Written by The Most Rev Msgr William Goh
Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
04 September 2013, Wednesday, 22nd Week, Ordinary Time
MUTUAL INTERPLAY BETWEEN MISSIONARY ZEAL AND CATHOLICITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: COL 1:1-8; LUKE 4:38-44
“I must proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God to the other towns too, because that is what I was sent to do.” In His reply to the crowds who wanted to prevent Him from leaving, Jesus showed Himself to be focused in His mission and calling. He refused to succumb to the temptation to build a cozy kingdom for Himself. He knew that His purpose and mission was to proclaim the Good News to all men. He was not tempted by popularity or egoistic sentiments to feel needed. The temptation to remain behind was certainly attractive because He would have enjoyed the adulation of the crowd. But that was not the case. Jesus never forgot what He was sent to do.
Consequently, as Christians, we must avoid falling into the snare of a privatized spirituality. For some of us Christians, there is a danger of our faith becoming restricted to a relationship between God and oneself. This is an individualistic faith. Most people regard God as a dispensing machine where they come to Him only to procure favours. If God does not give His blessings of wealth, success and earthly happiness, they would give up on Him. Others regard Him as a form of escapism from the realties and struggles of life. They think that holiness is measured by how much time one spends before the Blessed Sacrament or reading the Word of God.
Of course, this does not mean that our faith need not be personal. On the contrary, in the gospel, Jesus specifically forbade the devils to reveal His identity because He wanted the people to discover Him for themselves. Faith demands that we have a personal relationship with Jesus. But intimacy with the Lord must not be mistaken for a privatized faith. However, our faith cannot stay on this level. Indeed, a real faith in Jesus will show itself in our lives and in our relationship with others. If we have an authentic relationship with Jesus, then we would be personally transformed in love and service. This was the case of the mother-in-law of Peter. After she was healed, “she immediately got up and began to wait on them.” Faith must lead us to selfless service of our fellow human beings. Any real encounter with Jesus must bring us to reach out to others in need, especially the poor, the sick and the lonely.
But even this is inadequate. True faith must make us missionary minded, the desire to bring Christ to others. We must not rest contented with works of charity because no amount of material needs can satisfy anyone for long or fulfill a person. That is what St Paul wrote of the Christians in Colossians. “It is only recently that you heard of this, when it was announced in the message of the truth. The Good News which has reached you is spreading all over the world and producing the same results as it has among you ever since the day when you heard about God’s grace and understood what this really is.” Similarly, we read in the gospel how those who encountered the healing grace of Jesus brought others to Him so that they, too, can come to know Him personally. The evangelist noted that “at sunset all those who had friends suffering from diseases of one kind or another brought them to him, and laying hands on each he cured them.” This was the same basis for Jesus’ ministry. From His own experience of His Father’s unconditional love, He was impelled to reach out to the people, for He shares a common love of His Father for humanity. Yes, if we have experienced the personal love of Jesus and His healing power, we would want to bring Jesus to others and not just to ourselves. How dangerous it is for those of us in our ministry when we draw people to ourselves, especially because of our eloquence or dynamism and healing charism, instead of bringing them to our Lord and Master.
However our Christian identity and mission does not end here. In bringing others to Jesus, we naturally become a community, sharing a common faith and devotion to Jesus. It is of course important that as Christians we must have fellowship with each other. In the first reading, we read of the unity among the Christians in their faith and concern for each other. St Paul expressed his union with them when he wrote, “we have never failed to remember you in our prayers and to give thanks for you to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ever since we heard about your faith in Christ and the love that you show towards all the saints because of the hope which is stored up for you in heaven. “ We can sense the joy and pride of St Paul when he heard of their growing faith and most of all, the good works they were doing. He was not jealous of them, but affirming of their proactive outreach to each other. He remained in solidarity with them in prayer even though he could not be with them personally.
The temptation for us is that quite often, we become too parochial minded. We are protective of our organization, the parish or the religious institute we belong to, but are indifferent to other Catholics or organizations in the Church. We tend to live in our own nice little world and forget that the community of Christians exists for the sake of the mission and not as an end in itself. By inculcating a “ghetto” spirituality, we become sectarian and divisive. We are even jealous of those groups in the Church that are doing well and attracting new members. Because of jealousy, we denigrate them and even slander the leaders, discrediting their good works. It is so strange that instead of encouraging our fellow Catholics in their ministry, we become the real enemies of the faith, destroying their initiatives and poisoning the minds of those who wish to grow in their faith by joining them.
Such a competitive spirit working against each other is so unlike the way St Paul dealt with the success of the churches. He wrote to the Colossians and expressed his concern, appreciation, love and support for them. He said, “the Good News which has reached you is spreading all over the world and producing the same results as it has among you ever since the day when you heard about God’s grace and understood what this really is”. He was not only missionary-minded but he was one with the universal Church of Christ. As Christians, we are not only to be missionary but we must cultivate a sense of being Church. It is a call to ecclesial mindedness and catholicity. We are called to be one with the Church, not just the parish, but as well the local Church; and not just the diocese but we must also be in solidarity with all the dioceses in the world, especially with our Mother Church in Rome. Feeling with the Church, loving her and praying with her, is what Catholicity is all about. It is not just a matter of sharing the same faith, the same doctrines and the same leadership. But we must be in communion and in solidarity with each other, whether in success or in failure, in joys or in sorrows.
In order that we do not lose our focus, that our mission is a mission to communion which is accomplished in communion, then we must follow our Master who “left the house and made his way to a lonely place” to pray when daylight came. Without being centered and focused, we can lose ourselves in activities and end up championing our own interests and building our kingdom. When we get too comfortable where we are, we become sedentary and lose that missionary zeal. By being concerned for the universal Church, then like Jesus, we must move on and do outreach to as many people as possible so that His kingdom can be established worldwide.
Written by The Most Rev Msgr William Goh
Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved