20261005 BEING RELIGIOUS BUT NOT LOVING
05 October 2026, Monday, 27th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Galatians 1:6-12 |
The Good News I preached is not a human message but from Jesus Christ
I am astonished at the promptness with which you have turned away from the one who called you and have decided to follow a different version of the Good News. Not that there can be more than one Good News; it is merely that some troublemakers among you want to change the Good News of Christ; and let me warn you that if anyone preaches a version of the Good News different from the one we have already preached to you, whether it be ourselves or an angel from heaven, he is to be condemned. I am only repeating what we told you before: if anyone preaches a version of the Good News different from the one you have already heard, he is to be condemned. So now whom am I trying to please – man, or God? Would you say it is men’s approval I am looking for? If I still wanted that, I should not be what I am – a servant of Christ.
The fact is, brothers, and I want you to realise this, the Good News I preached is not a human message that I was given by men, it is something I learnt only through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 110(111):1-2,7-10 |
The Lord keeps his covenant ever in mind.
or
Alleluia!
I will thank the Lord with all my heart
in the meeting of the just and their assembly.
Great are the works of the Lord,
to be pondered by all who love them.
The Lord keeps his covenant ever in mind.
or
Alleluia!
His works are justice and truth,
his precepts are all of them sure,
standing firm for ever and ever;
they are made in uprightness and truth.
The Lord keeps his covenant ever in mind.
or
Alleluia!
He has sent deliverance to his people
and established his covenant for ever.
Holy his name, to be feared.
His praise shall last for ever!
The Lord keeps his covenant ever in mind.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Jn6:63,68 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 10:25-37 |
The good Samaritan
There was a lawyer who, to disconcert Jesus, stood up and said to him, ‘Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? What do you read there?’ He replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.’ ‘You have answered right,’ said Jesus ‘do this and life is yours.’
But the man was anxious to justify himself and said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was once on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of brigands; they took all he had, beat him and then made off, leaving him half dead. Now a priest happened to be travelling down the same road, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite who came to the place saw him, and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan traveller who came upon him was moved with compassion when he saw him. He went up and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He then lifted him on to his own mount, carried him to the inn and looked after him. Next day, he took out two denarii and handed them to the innkeeper. “Look after him,” he said “and on my way back I will make good any extra expense you have.” Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the brigands‘ hands?’ ‘The one who took pity on him’ he replied. Jesus said to him, ‘Go, and do the same yourself.’
BEING RELIGIOUS BUT NOT LOVING
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [GALATIANS 1:6-12; LUKE 10:25-37]
In the First Reading, St. Paul wrote to the Galatians because certain Judaizers sought to impose the law of circumcision, along with accompanying Jewish laws and customs, on Greek converts to Christianity. In their view, although Christianity completes Judaism, observing the Mosaic and dietary laws remained necessary for salvation. In other words, despite being saved by Christ, converts still had to become Jews to be included among the chosen People of God and inherit eternal life. Salvation, in their framework, came through obedience to the law.
Yet the truth is that we are never able to fulfil the law perfectly. Laws can identify what sin is, but they lack the power to make us obey. Governments, religions, and institutions can pass laws, yet members will inevitably break them or find loopholes to circumvent them. Beyond teaching us right from wrong, the law ultimately drives us to an experience of helplessness so that we reach a point of surrendering to grace. Since none of us can make ourselves perfect under the law, we can only rely on the grace and mercy of God.
This is the core thrust of St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians. He wrote, “I am astonished at the promptness with which you have turned away from the one who called you and have decided to follow a different version of the Good News.” Some Jewish Christians had unsettled the minds of Gentile believers by demanding submission to Jewish laws for salvation. Such a stance contradicts the fundamental truth that Christ is our Saviour and that we are saved by His love and mercy, revealed in His passion, death, and resurrection. Jesus saved us all without conditions and died for us all. We are saved when we submit in faith to Jesus as our Saviour and accept His forgiveness and love.
Unfortunately, we often forget that salvation comes purely through faith in Christ Jesus, who has already paid the price for our sins. Our role is simply to receive this forgiveness in faith and gratitude. Yet we often feel we must earn our salvation. Although Catholic teaching has never claimed that we are saved by good works alone–emphasising instead that we are saved by faith in Christ–many Catholics still conduct themselves as if they can earn God’s grace through performance. This was precisely the mindset of the lawyer who tried to test our Lord when he asked, “Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” His focus was entirely on what he must do.
In Luke’s account, Jesus turned the question back to him: “What is written in the Law? What do you read there?” The lawyer clearly knew the text. He summarised the law in a single response, combining Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.” Indeed, the lawyer was not far from the kingdom of God because he understood that eternal life is rooted in the love of God and neighbour. As Catholics, we know this answer too. Eternal life is ours when we love God with our whole heart and soul, and love our neighbour as ourselves. Yet, like the scribe, we are often anxious to justify ourselves. Knowing the answer is one thing; living it is another. Jesus made this clear: “You have answered right; do this and life is yours.” True religion is not merely right doctrine, but right practice. As St. Paul reminds us, it is “faith working through love” (Gal 5:6).
We must be careful not to fall into the same trap as the religious leaders of Jesus’ time: being religious, yet lacking love. On the surface, this sounds like a contradiction. We expect religious people to be loving, caring, humble, and reverent toward God, showing respect and compassion for others. In short, a holy person loves God and neighbour. However, this falls apart when we legalise our relationship with God and others. Instead of genuinely loving, we become preoccupied with whether rules are kept so we can justify ourselves before God and prove we deserve eternal life. We become calculative, like the scribe who tried to evade the burden of love by shifting into abstract theological debate: “And who is my neighbour?” Rather than offering an intellectual answer, Jesus responded with a parable.
Through the example of the priest and the Levite, Jesus demonstrated how someone can be religious, observing every command, and yet completely miss its spirit. We read that “a priest happened to be traveling down the same road, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. In the same way, a Levite who came to the place saw him, and passed by on the other side.” Both men were careful to observe ritual purity laws. Had they touched what might be a corpse, they would be rendered unclean for Temple worship. To protect their religious standing, they “passed by on the other side.”
We fall into the same trap when we separate religious duties from heartfelt love for God and neighbour. We can attend services, serve in ministries, sing in the choir, distribute communion reverently, observe every rule of the Church, and contribute generously to charity–and still fail to truly love. Consider the story of the widow’s mite. Observing her two small copper coins, the Lord remarked, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on” (Lk 21:3-4). She gave her whole heart to God, not out of legal obligation, but out of complete devotion.
God asks us to love from the heart; only a loving heart is saved. This compassionate heart is embodied by the Good Samaritan.Samaritans were looked down upon by Jews due to their mixed lineage following the Assyrian conquest of the Northern Kingdom. Yet it was this perceived enemy who came to the victim’s aid: “A Samaritan traveller who came upon him was moved with compassion. He went up and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He then lifted him onto his own mount, carried him to the inn, and looked after him.” He went far beyond basic duty, paying the innkeeper and promising to reimburse any extra expenses on his return. This is genuine love–a love for others that transcends race, language, religion, and social status.
Love of neighbour is the most concrete proof that we love God; it is the ultimate litmus test. As St. John writes, “Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also” (1 Jn 4:20-21). Naturally, our capacity to love in this way flows from God’s prior love for us. Without receiving His unconditional grace, we cannot love others as He does. Tellingly, the scribe could not even bring himself to utter the word “Samaritan” when asked who proved to be the neighbour–he could only reply, “The one who took pity on him.”
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.
