20140911 THE MEASURE OF OUR KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

20140911 THE MEASURE OF OUR KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

First reading

1 Corinthians 8:1-7,11-13 ©

Now about food sacrificed to idols. ‘We all have knowledge’; yes, that is so, but knowledge gives self-importance – it is love that makes the building grow. A man may imagine he understands something, but still not understand anything in the way that he ought to. But any man who loves God is known by him. Well then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: we know that idols do not really exist in the world and that there is no god but the One. And even if there were things called gods, either in the sky or on earth – where there certainly seem to be ‘gods’ and ‘lords’ in plenty – still for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things come and for whom we exist; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things come and through whom we exist.

  Some people, however, do not have this knowledge. There are some who have been so long used to idols that they eat this food as though it really had been sacrificed to the idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled by it. In this way your knowledge could become the ruin of someone weak, of a brother for whom Christ died. By sinning in this way against your brothers, and injuring their weak consciences, it would be Christ against whom you sinned. That is why, since food can be the occasion of my brother’s downfall, I shall never eat meat again in case I am the cause of a brother’s downfall.

Psalm

Psalm 138:1-3,13-14,23-24 ©

Lead me, O Lord, in the path of life eternal.

O Lord, you search me and you know me,

  you know my resting and my rising,

  you discern my purpose from afar.

You mark when I walk or lie down,

  all my ways lie open to you.

Lead me, O Lord, in the path of life eternal.

For it was you who created my being,

  knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I thank you for the wonder of my being,

  for the wonders of all your creation.

Lead me, O Lord, in the path of life eternal.

Already you knew my soul,

O search me, God, and know my heart.

  O test me and know my thoughts.

See that I follow not the wrong path

  and lead me in the path of life eternal.

Lead me, O Lord, in the path of life eternal.

Gospel Acclamation           Jm1:21

Alleluia, alleluia!

Accept and submit to the word

which has been planted in you

and can save your souls.

Alleluia!

Or        1Jn4:12

Alleluia, alleluia!

As long as we love one another

God will live in us

and his love will be complete in us.

Alleluia!

Gospel           Luke 6:27-38 ©

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I say this to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To the man who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back from the man who robs you. Treat others as you would like them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks can you expect? For even sinners do that much. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount. Instead, love your enemies and do good, and lend without any hope of return. You will have a great reward, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.

  ‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.’

THE MEASURE OF OUR KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1 COR 8:1-7.11-13; LK 6:27-38
http://www.universalis.com/20140911/mass.htm

The first reading from St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is a timely reminder.  He warns us about the self-deception of knowledge.  He said, “We all have knowledge; yes, that is so, but knowledge gives self-importance – it is love that makes the building grow.  A man may imagine he understands something, but still not understand anything in the way that he ought to.”

Indeed, there is a real temptation to think that we know God.  St Paul gives us the true measure of our knowledge of God.  A true knowledge of God must be seen concretely in a love that “makes the building grow.”  He also underscores this important norm in ascertaining whether we know God or not by saying, “any man who loves God is known by him.”  In other words, holiness must be measured by our love for others and our contribution to the human race, especially the Christian community.   We must live our lives in such a way that God’s love is known in and through us.

But what kind of love is expected of us that would exemplify the love of God?  One thing is clear that when we speak of Christian love, we are not referring merely to that of eros, an intimate and physical love, nor even philia, that of mutual love in friendship.  Such kind of love, as Jesus explains in today’s gospel, is a pagan love and nothing really extraordinary.  He said, “If you love those who love you, what thanks can you expect?  Even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks can you expect?  For even sinners do that much.  And if you lend to those from who you hope to receive, what thanks can you expect?  Even sinners lend to get back the same amount.”

So what kind of love is Christian love?  The same kind of love with which God loves us, which is agape, an unconditional, selfless and disinterested love!   This love is spelt out by Jesus in this way.  He said, “Instead, love your enemies and do good, and lend without any hope of return.  You will have a great reward, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.” Yes, when we love in such a manner without expectations of reward or favours, then we truly reflect the image of the heavenly Father and thus accredited as true sons of the Most High!  Such a love therefore means identification with the heart of the Father.  Jesus exhorts us, “Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate.”  Only then can we be called true sons of God.

Concretely, agape love would entail compassion and love for our enemies.  We must not retaliate like the world does.  Loving those who love us is not yet the kind of love that God is asking of us.  Instead, we must act contrary to what the world would do with respect to their enemies.  We are called to be merciful in our judgment.  We are not to condemn but we must continue to do good even in the face of evil and rejection, never giving up hope on them.  Most of all, we are to forgive them.

But we cannot practice agape love unless we are growing in virtues in our lives.  There can be no mercy and compassion for our enemies unless we first learn to grow in charity.  How can we love our enemies and do good to those who hate us and bless them when they curse us or treat us badly, unless we have a compassionate heart for them?

Secondly, we must grow in humility.  When Jesus said, “to the man who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too”, it presumes that we have that humility to humble ourselves before others and our enemies.  Without humility, how can we take the initiative to reconcile with our enemies and to accept the insults, slanders and criticisms of our enemies without getting hurt or resentful?

Thirdly, we must grow in the virtue of detachment.  In order to let go, we must be detached from ourselves, our needs and our ego.  This invitation to detachment is presumed in Jesus’ demand of us to let go when He said, “to the man who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic.  Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back from the man who robs you.  Only with detachment, can we cultivate a generous heart to others not only generosity with our things and property but our time and our kindness.

Today, we are grateful that we have such an exemplary model in the person of St Paul who demonstrated his knowledge of God by a life of compassion and sensitivity especially to the weak brothers and sisters of his.  In spite of St Paul’s deep knowledge of God, he was never proud and arrogant.  On the contrary, he was full of compassion for others especially those who are weak in their faith and spiritual life.

A case in point is the question of those having a weak conscience.  Recognizing that some of his brothers have weak conscience with regard to eating meat offered to idols and although theologically it was permissible since there is only one God, yet, for the sake of them, he did not because as he said, “by sinning in this way against your brothers, and injuring their weak consciences, it would be Christ against whom you sinned.  That is why, since food can be the occasion of my brother’s downfall, I shall never eat meat again in case I am the cause of my brother’s downfall.”

But how can we ever love in such godly manner?  It is important to take note that this teaching of Jesus is to be read in the context of the life of the kingdom.  It is certainly impossible to love according to what He instructs us unless we have been loved by God in this manner ourselves.  So living out the kingdom life presupposes that we have been given the grace of the kingdom.

This was certainly true in the case of St Paul who himself had a personal encounter with the love of God in the crucified Christ.  Without that encounter, he would not have been able to find the strength to love his enemies.  Thus, the words of St Paul could also be interpreted in this manner, “but any man who loves God is known by him.”  His experience of God’s love is summarized in these words “And even if there were things called gods, either in the sky or on the earth – where there certainly seem to be ‘gods’ and ‘lords’ in plenty – still for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things come and for whom we exist; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things come and through whom we exist.”

However, there is a great temptation to replace knowledge about God with a personal knowledge of God.  It is important that our personal knowledge of God must grow if we are to love the way Jesus asked us to love.  Without deepening our personal relationship with the Lord through prayer, the Eucharist and the Word of God, we will not be able to be filled with the Holy Spirit that empowered Jesus to give Himself to us all, even His enemies on the cross.

But if we cooperate, then we will enjoy the rewards of compassion and generosity, which is to share in the joys of God.  As Jesus promised, “Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.”   Truly, when our heart grows magnanimous like the heart of God, we will find ourselves much happier and liberated.

WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV WILLIAM GOH


ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE
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