Scripture Reflection 05 October 2014, 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time GRATITUDE MUST BE EXPRESSED IN THANKSGIVING AND SERVICE SCRIPTURE READINGS: : ISAIAH 5:1-7; PHILIPPIANS 4:6-9; MATTHEW 21:33-43 universalis/20141005/mass.htm The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel. Even though Israel was nobody, God was merciful and generous towards them. They were a motley crowd and slaves of the Egyptians. Yet God “brought a vine out of Egypt; to plant it you drove out the nations. It stretched out its branches to the sea, to the Great River it stretched out its shoots.” Indeed, even when the Israelites had been repeatedly unfaithful to the Covenantal promises, He sent them His prophets to call them to repentance. He is full of mercy and compassion. God is untiring in calling us to repentance. As if it were not enough, He gave us His only Son. Hence, the Lord lamented, “And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, I ask you to judge between my vineyard and me. What could I have done for my vineyard that I have not done? I expected it to yield grapes. Why did it yield sour grapes instead?” We too are the vineyard of the Lord. God has chosen us in spite of our unworthiness to be His choicest vineyard. He has blessed us in so many ways. He has been generous to us. We have been delivered from our sins and freed from our bondages. We feel reconciled and renewed. We have been healed of our brokenness. Some of us have been healed of illnesses that we thought was impossible to overcome. He has been kind and generous to us. He has forgiven us again and again for our infidelities. So what is our response to His love and mercy? Have our lives changed? Has our faith increased? Has our love for Him and our fellowmen deepened? Indeed, today, the scripture readings warn us of the consequences of the failure to respond to His grace and mercy. There is a danger that we might transform the costly grace of God’s mercy and forgiveness in the death of His Son to that of cheap grace. By failing to undertake changes in our faith and life, we would be no better than the Israelites. This was the indictment of the Lord. We can feel with the Lord in His pain and grief over the infidelities of His children. We can imagine the disappointment of God at our lack of cooperation with His grace. As the prophet said, “He expected it to yield grapes, but sour grapes were all that it gave.” And, instead of treating God’s only Son with respect, they killed Him instead. Those of us who are parents and teachers will know how to feel with God when we see our children or students not appreciating the sacrifices we have made for them and their ingratitude. As parents and guardians, we only want the best for our children because we love them. But when they throw the grace of God to the winds, we cannot but feel sad for them. With this regret and sadness, there is also a warning of the consequences of our irresponsibility and negligence. If we do not appreciate and value what has been given, we will suffer the consequences of our sins. This is what the Lord said to Israel, “Very well, I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge for it to be grazed on, and knock down its wall for it to be trampled on. I will lay it waste, unpruned, undug; overgrown by the briar and the thorn. I will command the clouds to rain no rain on it.” And indeed, this was what happened to Israel. Their nation was destroyed by the Assyrians and Babylonians. We will suffer the consequences of our sins and ingratitude as the Israelites did when they were sent into exile. The leaders were punished for failing to exercise their office properly. Only in the exile did they begin to realize their mistakes, albeit too late. This was the same warning given by the Lord in the gospel. We will be stripped of all our blessings. “ He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him when the season arrives.’” We are blessed by God so that we can bless others with the blessings we have received. God’s blessings are never for us only. If we do not use our blessings for the good of others and for the glory of God, we will only condemn ourselves. How do we show our gratitude for the gift of salvation in Christ? Christ has shown us the way to life and love. He has healed us and blessed us. Genuine gratitude for His mercy must be seen in praise and thanksgiving. What is the best way to give thanks and praise to God if not to go and tell of the great things that the Lord has done for you. What does this mean? How can this be done? Firstly, we need to give testimony to the Lord. We need to testify to others what He has done for us. Evangelization is not about proselytism or indoctrination. It is simply a sharing of what the Lord has done for us. This is what is most needed in our times. With secularization and the absence of the Sacred, it is critical that we need to let others know that the God we worship is a living and loving God. If the world has lost faith in God and become insensitive to His presence, it is because religions have been so institutionalized that they lack creativity and dynamism. More often than not, it is reduced to a set of laws, doctrines and rituals. The inter- personal relationship is lost and so is the presence of God. It is therefore vital that those of us who have experienced a God who is so near to us in our hearts, in our minds and in our daily life must render testimony to His love, power and mercy. That is why the Church has never been short of miracles especially of healing. From the time of Christ to the early Church, the gospel was never proclaimed in mere words but with miracles, which are called signs of wonder and power. We read in the New Testament how the apostles continued the healing ministry of Jesus, testifying to His resurrection and Lordship. Many were converted on account of the healing works of the apostles in the name of the Lord. Even after the ceasing of the charismatic gifts in the early Church because of heresies, the Church continued to exercise the charismatic gifts in the hermits and in the founders of monasteries and convents. Today, we have come full circle again, for the charismatic gifts are not the privilege of the few or even the religious but they belong to the People of God, priests, religious and laity. Thus, it is important that we must never stop sharing with others what the Lord has done for us in our lives. The greatest joy we can give to the Lord is to let others know about His love and mercy. This is because He loves us all and wants as many people to come to Him as possible. Isn’t this the case with the Novena to Our Lady? It draws many people because of the letters of petitions and thanksgiving. Our Lady wants all people to know the love of her Son and to come to Him for salvation. Secondly, giving testimony to Christ is more than mere words and testimonies. What is even more important is the change of lifestyle. What is the use of claiming that we have visions of our Lord and our Lady or that He has healed us of this and that ailment, when there is no radical change in our conduct? In the case of Peter and the apostles, especially St Paul, we could see the radical conversion in their lives, from one of self-centeredness and fear of suffering to one of selfless service and only fear of God. So the best testimony of what God has done for us is the transformation that has taken place in our minds and hearts. This is the best and most effective testimony. This was how St Paul gave testimony to God. He would often speak of his previous life which was one of merits and pride based on self-righteousness and folly. But now he only lived from Christ and is totally dependent on the grace of God. Salvation is no longer his doing but purely cooperation with the grace and mercy of God. Thirdly, we must be people of faith and thanksgiving. If God has given us all that we need and protected us all these years and has shown His mighty arm at work in our lives, it would not be right that we continue to doubt His love and divine providence again and again. Rather, we must in faith continue to believe in His wisdom and in His divine plan for us. Our joy is to do the will of God and embrace His will even at times when we do not understand His ways and His thoughts. Finally, we must make Jesus the cornerstone of our lives. In all that we do, our lives must now be rooted in the Lord, especially in the celebration of the Eucharist and reconciliation and contemplation on the Word of God. It is this daily nurturing on the Word of God in prayer and the reception of the Eucharist that we can grow in faith. In this way, we can put on the mind of Christ in all that we do. We must be positive people and live a virtuous life of love and purity. We are expected to live a life of justice and charity because as the prophet said, the Lord “expected justice, but found bloodshed, integrity, but only a cry of distress.” Let us be exemplary in our Christian life and set good examples to others. We must be people of praise in words and in deeds. Let our positive lifestyles, and love be a source of edification for others to desire to come to know the Lord. Let us repent of our complacent lifestyles and sinful ways and turn back to the Lord. With the psalmist, we pray, “God of hosts, turn again, we implore, look down from heaven and see. Visit this vine and protect it, the vine your right hand has planted. And we shall never forsake you again; give us life that we may call upon your name. God of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.” In this way, we can live fruitful for ourselves and others. WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV WILLIAM GOH ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 10:48:13 +0000
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