20260817 THE PERFECTION OF LIFE IS THE PERFECTION OF LOVE
17 August 2026, Monday, 20th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Ezekiel 24:15-24 |
The Lord will profane his sanctuary
The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows, ‘Son of man, I am about to deprive you suddenly of the delight of your eyes. But you are not to lament, not to weep, not to let your tears run down. Groan in silence, do not go into mourning for the dead, knot your turban round your head, put your sandals on your feet, do not cover your beard, do not eat common bread.’ I told this to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening, and the next morning I did as I had been ordered.
The people then said to me, ‘Are you not going to explain what meaning these actions have for us?’
I replied, ‘The word of the Lord has been addressed to me as follows, “Say to the House of Israel: The Lord says this. I am about to profane my sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the delight of your eyes, the passion of your souls. Those of your sons and daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword. And you are to do as I have done; you must not cover your beards or eat common bread; you must keep your turbans on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you must not lament or weep. You shall waste away owing to your sins and groan among yourselves. Ezekiel is to be a sign for you. You are to do just as he has done. And when this happens, you will learn that I am the Lord.”’
Responsorial Psalm |
Deuteronomy 32:18-21 |
You forget the God who fathered you.
You forget the Rock who begot you,
unmindful now of the God who fathered you.
The Lord has seen this, and in his anger
cast off his sons and his daughters.
You forget the God who fathered you.
‘I shall hide my face from them,’ he says
‘and see what becomes of them.
For they are a deceitful brood,
children with no loyalty in them.
You forget the God who fathered you.
‘They have roused me to jealousy with what is no god,
they have angered me with their beings of nothing;
I, then, will rouse them to jealousy with what is no people,
I will anger them with an empty-headed nation.’
You forget the God who fathered you.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:34 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Train me, Lord, to observe your law,
to keep it with my heart.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 19:16-22 |
If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own
There was a man who came to Jesus and asked, ‘Master, what good deed must I do to possess eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you ask me about what is good? There is one alone who is good. But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.’ He said, ‘Which?’ ‘These:’ Jesus replied ‘You must not kill. You must not commit adultery. You must not bring false witness. Honour your father and mother,and: you must love your neighbour as yourself.’ The young man said to him, ‘I have kept all these. What more do I need to do?’ Jesus said, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ But when the young man heard these words he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.
THE PERFECTION OF LIFE IS THE PERFECTION OF LOVE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [EZEKIEL 24:15-24; MATTHEW 19:16-22]
“Master, what good deed must I do to possess eternal life?” Most of us are like this young man, concerned primarily with eternal life. We are anxious about whether we will go to heaven, purgatory, or worse, hell. Most of us would be quite content just to get to heaven. Yet, many of us fail to realise that there are degrees in heaven, just as there are degrees in love and relationships. “Heaven” is not a univocal term–it has different depths. This becomes clear if we translate heaven as love: heaven is a state of being in love with God, our brothers and sisters, and ourselves.
The happiness of heaven, or eternal life, is measured by the depth of one’s relationship with God and our fellowmen. The deeper and more intense the love, the greater the happiness. Just as the joy of love and relationships is measured in degrees and intensity, heaven can be understood from the same perspective. This does not mean that those in heaven will feel incomplete or sad, because heaven is ultimate fulfilment–seeing God face to face. All who are in heaven will be complete and full, but not all will have the same capacity to love. Even in this life, although we all love, some can love more deeply, fully, and unconditionally than others. Those who love more deeply experience a greater joy.
So, when the man asked Jesus what he needed to do to possess eternal life, the Lord told him, “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” In other words, we can enter into the life of God if we do what is right and good. God, who is truth and goodness itself, expects those who wish to share in His life to reflect His truth and goodness. Specifically, this entails being just and fair to our brothers and sisters. Jesus cited the commandments regarding love of neighbour from the Decalogue: “You must not kill. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not bring false witness. Honour your father and mother, and: you must love your neighbour as yourself.” Thus, being just to our fellowmen and doing no harm gives us a clear conscience and permits us to share in the life of God.
Conversely, those who live a sinful life cannot expect to share in God’s life. One cannot choose light and darkness at the same time; we choose either light or darkness, life or death. God is pure light and love. Hence, the Israelites in the time of the prophet Ezekiel were warned that they would be sent into exile because they failed to observe the laws of the Covenant. God said to them, “I am about to profane my sanctuary, the pride of your souls. Those of your sons and daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword. You shall waste away owing to your sins and groan among yourselves. And when this happens, you will learn that I am the Lord.” When we live in sin, we cannot expect to share the life of God. Those who cannot love therefore cannot share in God’s life. As the psalmist says, “I shall hide my face from them.”
Why, then, did the young man still feel inadequate? Following the commandments should have given him fullness of life, yet it did not. He said to Jesus, “I have kept all these. What more do I need to do?” The truth is that even though he had fulfilled all that the Law required, he still felt incomplete. He had done no wrong to anyone and had fulfilled his obligations–at least the demands of justice. But happiness requires more than just living a fair life; it requires living a life of love and service. Fulfilling the precepts of justice only gives us a clear conscience, but proactive love, manifested in humble service to God and humanity, gives us a fuller life.
To live a perfect life entails giving everything to the poor and following Jesus. This explains why the Lord said to the young man, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” This invitation to go beyond the minimum demands of the law requires two things: giving everything to the poor and following Him. This is the way to perfect our lives and truly share in the life of God, because Christ Himself gave up everything–including His divinity–to share in our humanity. He became one of us and one with us. Though He was rich, He became poor for our sake, choosing to be poor with us in every way except sin. He identified with us in our struggles, suffering, and pain.
So, if we want to live the perfect life of love, we must give everything to the poor. The more we give, the more we become like God. Indeed, those of us who are able to give already understand the joy of helping others. The joy of seeing the poor fed and supported is something money cannot buy. The poor restore our sense of meaning, purpose, and humanity. They soften our hearts, especially for those of us who have grown hardened due to the harsh competition, suffering, and betrayals of life. What fulfils us and opens our hearts is our capacity to love, making our lives richer and more meaningful. Throughout history, many have given everything to the poor. A modern example is Saint Teresa of Kolkata, who emptied herself and gave all she had to the poor, living among them and identifying completely with them.
However, giving up everything for the poor is not easy; it is a special charism. Many priests, religious, and laypeople attempt to enter this state of life, yet even for those in priestly and religious life who have given their lives to the Church, our standard of living is often far more comfortable than that of lower-income earners. The explanation given to me by some religious who live comfortably, if not luxuriously, is that the vow of poverty simply means “nothing is my own,” and not necessarily “I must live simply.” That is why I say this gift is not given to everyone. Not many of us can live simply or be content with a hard life devoid of comfort. Especially for affluent and pampered Singaporeans, we struggle with the heat, poor hygiene, and lack of cleanliness because we are so accustomed to comfort. Even religious houses are often cleaner, better equipped, and nicer than our one or two-room apartments. Sometimes I feel embarrassed that we preach so much about poverty, simplicity, and giving when our own lives are so comfortable.
Yet, perfection of life is not attained solely by giving away material wealth. That is only the physical aspect; we are also called to give our whole selves to the Lord by following Him. This is why Jesus told the young man that after giving away his wealth, he must follow Him–living with Jesus, walking with Jesus, and breathing with Jesus in all that he did and said. Only when we put on Christ and embody His humility, love, compassion, and lowliness can we partake fully in the life of God. Giving away our wealth is a symbolic expression of our desire to place all our trust in God’s providence and live simply, as He did. It is a total detachment from worldly things so that we can be completely attached to Him. Anyone who surrenders their life entirely to Christ, meditates on the Word of God day and night, and imitates Him in freedom and joy will find life tremendously rich and liberating. This is the possession of eternal life in its fullness–a life in God, grounded in love and truth. Alas, like the young man who heard these words, many go away sad because they have great wealth. How many of us have the grace and generosity to give up everything and follow Jesus? Very few!
Thus, while all may be saved and enter the Kingdom, not all can share deeply in the fullness of life with God unless He empowers us. It remains a gift of grace that requires our cooperation. This means that we should not live superficially or become complacent in our spiritual lives, thinking we have done enough or are holy enough. Instead, we must daily deepen our love for the Lord and grow in holiness so that our hearts expand to receive God’s life more deeply and intensely. The greater the death, the greater the resurrection; the greater the self-emptying, the greater the God-filling.
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.
