20250825 A LIVING FAITH WORKS THROUGH LOVE AND PERSEVERES IN HOPE
25 August 2025, Monday, 21st Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
1 Thessalonians 1:1-5,8-10 |
You broke with idolatry when you were converted to God
From Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, to the Church in Thessalonika which is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; wishing you grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We always mention you in our prayers and thank God for you all, and constantly remember before God our Father how you have shown your faith in action, worked for love and persevered through hope, in our Lord Jesus Christ.
We know, brothers, that God loves you and that you have been chosen, because when we brought the Good News to you, it came to you not only as words, but as power and as the Holy Spirit and as utter conviction. And you observed the sort of life we lived when we were with you, which was for your instruction, since it was from you that the word of the Lord started to spread – and not only throughout Macedonia and Achaia, for the news of your faith in God has spread everywhere. We do not need to tell other people about it: other people tell us how we started the work among you, how you broke with idolatry when you were converted to God and became servants of the real, living God; and how you are now waiting for Jesus, his Son, whom he raised from the dead, to come from heaven to save us from the retribution which is coming.
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 149:1-6,9 |
The Lord takes delight in his people.
or
Alleluia!
Sing a new song to the Lord,
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel rejoice in its Maker,
let Zion’s sons exult in their king.
The Lord takes delight in his people.
or
Alleluia!
Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music with timbrel and harp.
For the Lord takes delight in his people.
He crowns the poor with salvation.
The Lord takes delight in his people.
or
Alleluia!
Let the faithful rejoice in their glory,
shout for joy and take their rest.
Let the praise of God be on their lips:
this honour is for all his faithful.
The Lord takes delight in his people.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | Jn17:17 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O Lord:
consecrate us in the truth.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn10:27 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 23:13-22 |
Alas for you, blind guides!
Jesus said: ‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who shut up the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces, neither going in yourselves nor allowing others to go in who want to.
‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who travel over sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when you have him you make him twice as fit for hell as you are.
‘Alas for you, blind guides! You who say, “If a man swears by the Temple, it has no force; but if a man swears by the gold of the Temple, he is bound.” Fools and blind! For which is of greater worth, the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? Or else, “If a man swears by the altar it has no force; but if a man swears by the offering that is on the altar, he is bound.” You blind men! For which is of greater worth, the offering or the altar that makes the offering sacred? Therefore, when a man swears by the altar he is swearing by that and by everything on it. And when a man swears by the Temple he is swearing by that and by the One who dwells in it. And when a man swears by heaven he is swearing by the throne of God and by the One who is seated there.’
A LIVING FAITH WORKS THROUGH LOVE AND PERSEVERES IN HOPE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 TH 1:1-5, 8-10; PS 149:1-6, 9; MT 23:13-22]
Why are we Christians? Why did you choose to become a disciple of Christ? Is it because you believe that Christ came to give us life abundantly? (cf Jn 14:6; 10:10) This is what we claim and what we profess with our lips. But is it true? The reality is that, for many Christians, deep in their hearts, they find Christianity more of a burden than a joy. For many, faith in Christ is seen more as a set of rituals and laws they must obey in order to be saved or to receive blessings from God. But they have no real relationship with God, other than the prayers they utter with their lips or those they send up in desperation from their hearts.
Indeed, this was the case of the religious leaders whom Jesus reprimanded in the Gospel. Jesus pointedly told the Jewish leaders, “You who shut up the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces, neither going in yourselves nor allowing others to go in who want to.” These same words also apply to us today. We can be great theologians, moralists, liturgists, eloquent preachers and teachers; yet, we may simply be teaching from our head knowledge about God. Some of us have hardly any personal relationship with God or intimacy with Him. All the knowledge we share and teach comes from our study and research, but we lack the personal experience of God’s love in our lives. We, so to speak, have not entered the Kingdom of God ourselves, yet we may present ourselves as leaders showing the way to the Kingdom.
The greater danger of not knowing God personally is transforming the Gospel of grace into legalism or mere intellectual faith. We risk taking away the joy and dynamism of the living Word of God. When religion becomes legalistic, we can work around the laws and explain away those teachings of the Bible that are difficult to accept. This was what the Jews did when it came to their commitment to God. Jesus exposed their hypocrisy in the way they tried to evade fulfilling their oaths. This is how many Catholics regard their religion – it becomes a matter of fulfilling obligations and following laws. Like many other Christians, when faced with laws or precepts, either from the Church or the Scriptures, that are difficult to obey, they either reject or ignore them. Those they find agreeable, they focus on or interpret in ways that suit their preferences. This is particularly true when it comes to the Scripture’s teachings on marriage, divorce, the dignity of the human person, and compassion for the poor. (cf Gal 1:6f)
Thus, we must sincerely ask ourselves at the end of the day whether becoming Catholic has made us happier, freer, more focused people, living fulfilling lives with meaning, purpose and hope. We must ask ourselves what our relationship with God truly is. Do we experience His love in our lives? Are we genuinely happy and grateful to be Catholic Christians? Can we truly say that being Catholic has brought us so much joy, meaning, and purpose in our lives that we would never exchange our faith in God for anything else? If we have not entered the Kingdom of God – experienced the love of the Father, encountered His mercy and forgiveness, and enjoyed His friendship – how can we presume to tell others that we hold the keys to the Kingdom? Not only are we miserable ourselves, but we also make our converts no better than us. We only make them legalistic, judgmental, narrow-minded, intolerant of others, and full of pride like ourselves.
What, then, are the criteria we should use to measure whether we have embraced the true gospel of Jesus Christ? St Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, we “constantly remember before God our Father how you have shown your faith in action, worked for love and persevered through hope, in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Indeed, we know that we have a living faith in Christ when this faith is expressed in love and sustained by hope. Faith, hope and charity – the three theological virtues – go together; never one without the others. If there is true faith, it will be expressed in love, and both faith and love are continually sustained by hope.
What, then, do this faith, love, and hope entail? Our faith in Christ is founded on the love of God. St Paul said, “We know, brothers, that God loves you and that you have been chosen.” We become Catholics only because we have experienced the love of God and His choice of us to be His chosen ones, His brothers and sisters. To know that we are God’s beloved and His chosen ones give us great joy, and we reclaim our dignity as God’s children created in His image and likeness. Without this prior experience and love of God, we cannot be said to His children. Baptism presupposes an experience of being God’s children. That is why, when we are baptized, we say that we are children of God.
Baptism, of course, presupposes faith in the Word of God. It is based on the faith of our Fathers. Paul commended the Thessalonians, saying that this was “because when we brought the Good News to you, it came to you not only as words, but as power and as the Holy Spirit and as utter conviction.” In faith, they believed what was proclaimed to them. Through obedience in faith, the Holy Spirit brought them to utter conviction. And as a consequence, they experienced the power and the truth of what they believed and came to share in the same experience of sonship like the rest of the apostles in the power of the Holy Spirit.
The proof of our faith in Christ is seen in our lives of charity. “We do not need to tell other people about it: other people tell us how we started the work among you.” It is not just mere words but works. Faith in Christ is not something hidden and invisible, but it is always manifested in the lives of believers, in the way they live, think, say, and act. St Paul, writing to the Galatians, says, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love.” (cf Gal 5:6)
Charity is only possible for those who accept Christ and break from idolatry, the worship of self. St Paul praised the Thessalonians, for they broke with idolatry when they were “converted to God and became servants of the real, living God.” Idolatry is the worship of self. This is expressed in the worship of power, glory, wealth, status, and pleasure. Those who worship false idols fall into the same category because the deities are worshipped not out of love but out of fear and manipulation, so that they will be blessed with the wealth and power of this world. It is always about self and one’s desires. It is not truly the worship and love of God. It is the love of self, masked as love of God. This is equally true even for Catholics who are slaves to rituals and laws because they see them as means to buy God’s blessings.
For Christians, we are motivated principally by the love of God for us in Christ Jesus. We do not observe laws and rituals out of fear or selfish motives, but because of love for Him. We are happy to be “servants of the real, living God” because He has first shown us how to love and serve. “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mt 20:28) We serve God by serving our brothers and sisters, just as Christ came to serve us all, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.” (Lk 4:18) It is in service that we find joy, meaning and purpose.
Finally, we need to persevere in hope, knowing how difficult it is to empty ourselves totally in humility in loving and serving people. Some are full of bitterness. Some reject our kindness. Some are opposed to the truth and the Gospel. Yet, we continue to give ourselves generously and indefatigably, proclaiming the message, “whether the time is favourable or unfavourable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching.” (2 Tim 4:2) We can persevere only because of our hope in sharing Christ’s glory. Our eyes are not on this earth but “waiting for Jesus, his Son, whom he raised from the dead, to come from heaven to save us from the retribution which is coming.” “He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.” (Phil 3:21)
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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