20141014 FAITH THAT MAKES ITS POWER FELT THROUGH LOVE

20141014 FAITH THAT MAKES ITS POWER FELT THROUGH LOVE   

First reading Galatians 5:1-6 ©

When Christ freed us, he meant us to remain free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. It is I, Paul, who tell you this: if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all. With all solemnity I repeat my warning: Everyone who accepts circumcision is obliged to keep the whole Law. But if you do look to the Law to make you justified, then you have separated yourselves from Christ, and have fallen from grace. Christians are told by the Spirit to look to faith for those rewards that righteousness hopes for, since in Christ Jesus whether you are circumcised or not makes no difference – what matters is faith that makes its power felt through love.

Psalm

Psalm 118:41,43-45,47-48 ©

Lord, let your love come upon me.

Lord, let your love come upon me,

  the saving help of your promise.

Do not take the word of truth from my mouth

  for I trust in your decrees.

Lord, let your love come upon me.

I shall always keep your law

  for ever and ever.

I shall walk in the path of freedom

  for I seek your precepts.

Lord, let your love come upon me.

Your commands have been my delight;

  these I have loved.

I will worship your commands and love them

  and ponder your statutes.

Lord, let your love come upon me.

Gospel Acclamation           Ps118:135

Alleluia, alleluia!

Let your face shine on your servant,

and teach me your decrees.

Alleluia!

Or        Heb4:12

Alleluia, alleluia!

The word of God is something alive and active:

it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.

Alleluia!

Gospel           Luke 11:37-41 ©

Jesus had just finished speaking when a Pharisee invited him to dine at his house. He went in and sat down at the table. The Pharisee saw this and was surprised that he had not first washed before the meal. But the Lord said to him, ‘Oh, you Pharisees! You clean the outside of cup and plate, while inside yourselves you are filled with extortion and wickedness. Fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside too? Instead, give alms from what you have and then indeed everything will be clean for you.’

FAITH THAT MAKES ITS POWER FELT THROUGH LOVE   

SCRIPTURE READINGS: GAL 5:1-6; LK 11:37-41
http://www.universalis.com/20141014/mass.htm

In our Christian life and service, “Do we have a shepherd’s heart?”  Are we serving because we have experienced Christ’s love and therefore desire to reach out to all?

The primary polemics with Protestants is the doctrine of Justification.  Simply put, the issue is whether justification is by faith alone or by good works.  For more than 500 years, this most fundamental doctrine of salvation has separated Catholics and Protestants with repercussion on the other Christian doctrines as well.  The way we understand justification will impact the way we see God, Christ, man and the operation of grace and freedom.

To say that it is justification by faith alone leads to abuses.  It results in complacency and a worldly life since one can claim faith in Christ to be saved, even when living a sinful life. It reduces the costly grace of Christ to cheap grace.  It is a religion without morality, grace without obligations.  Such a path has destroyed many Christians as they profess faith in Christ but without living the life of the gospel.

On the other hand, justification by good works and obedience to the Law makes the necessity of Christ’s saving work redundant.  If salvation is won by merit and doing good works, then Christ is not necessary.  That being the case, Christ is no longer the saviour of the world.   At most, Jesus is seen as another great founder of a religion; an exemplar of how to be faithful to the Law.  That being the case, we save ourselves.

It is within this context that we read both scripture readings today.  Both St Paul and Jesus were adamant that the Law cannot save us.   It can only make us both proud and self-righteous or crippled by our incapacity to observe the Law.   Hence, justification is by faith in God’s unconditional love and mercy in Christ.  It is therefore through grace alone, given as a free gift, and not by one’s doing.  We cannot earn the love and mercy of God.  Precisely, because it is freely given and not on our merit that we are struck by the amazing grace of God.   This does not mean that good works are not important.  They are the fruits of this love which we have experienced, otherwise our faith in Christ is under suspect.

Hence St Paul says, “in Christ Jesus whether you are circumcised or not makes no difference – what matters is faith that makes its power felt through love.”   So, too Jesus says the same thing when He reprimanded the religious leaders, “Oh, you Pharisees! You clean the outside of cup and plate, while inside yourselves you are filled with extortion and wickedness.  Fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside too? Instead, give alms from what you have and then indeed everything will be clean for you.”

So what pushes one to good works is this realization of God’s gracious love for us in Christ.  As St Paul would say, he was coerced into dying for others because of Christ’s death for him.   This is what we pray at the opening prayer as well.  “May your grace, O Lord, we pray, at all times go before us and follow after and make us always determined to carry out good works.”  Grace must accompany us all the way, before and after.  Nothing is possible without God’s grace.

What does it mean for all of us in our spiritual life?  What is it that motivates us to observe the law and to do good?  Conversely, why is it that we are so indifferent to the proclamation of the gospel and are living an irresponsible and self-centered life?  At the root of it all is whether we are motivated by the love of God for us or by the love of self, which is to serve our pride and ego or by living a life of self-indulgence.

If we are motivated by God’s love, we will do everything freely and passionately.  If it is for love of self, we will carry out our tasks without joy.  It becomes a burden as it is done reluctantly and motivated by not so noble intentions.

Hence, the starting point of faith and even more so of apostolic calling and vocation must spring from our experience of God’s gracious love for us.  Otherwise it becomes an ambition through human effort.

I am sure we who are serving the Lord in the ministry, do so because we have experienced His love in various degrees. Unfortunately, we have forgotten the origin of our calling.  That love for Christ is lost as a result of a lack of prayer life and intimacy with the Lord.  What is left now is simply to carry out our duty and obligation.  It is like those in married life.  When they got married in the first place, it was because they were deeply in love.  However, after marriage, they take each other for granted.  Eventually, the feeling of love for each other dies out and what is life is merely the obligation of married life.  This was the same situation with the Galatians.  That was why Paul reproached them, “When Christ freed us, he meant us to remain free.  Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.”

In the final analysis, we must ask ourselves in our Christian life and service, “Do we have a shepherd’s heart?”  Are we serving because we have experienced Christ’s love and therefore desire to reach out to all, especially the marginalized and wounded sheep of God, or are we concerned about success and achievements?  To recover our fervor in serving the Lord, let us pray with the psalmist, “Lord, let your love come upon me.”   Unless His love is upon us and “the saving help of your promise,” we cannot always keep His law and walk in the path of freedom.

WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED