20141015 HOLINESS AND MINISTRY REQUIRE A DISCERNING HEART IN THE
SPIRIT
First reading
Galatians 5:18-25 ©
If you are led by the
Spirit, no law can touch you. When self-indulgence is at work the results are
obvious: fornication, gross indecency and sexual irresponsibility; idolatry and
sorcery; feuds and wrangling, jealousy, bad temper and quarrels; disagreements,
factions, envy; drunkenness, orgies and similar things. I warn you now, as I
warned you before: those who behave like this will not inherit the kingdom of
God. What the Spirit brings is very different: love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control. There can be no
law against things like that, of course. You cannot belong to Christ Jesus
unless you crucify all self-indulgent passions and desires.
Since the Spirit is our life, let us be
directed by the Spirit.
Psalm Psalm 1:1-4,6 ©
Anyone who follows you, O
Lord, will have the light of life.
Happy indeed is the man
who follows not the counsel of the wicked;
nor lingers in the way of
sinners
nor sits in the company of scorners,
but whose delight is the law
of the Lord
and who ponders his law day and night.
Anyone who follows you, O
Lord, will have the light of life.
He is like a tree that is planted
beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due
season
and whose leaves shall never fade;
and all that he does shall prosper.
Anyone who follows you, O
Lord, will have the light of life.
Not so are the wicked, not
so!
For they like winnowed chaff
shall be driven away by the wind.
for the Lord guards the way
of the just
but the way of the wicked leads to doom.
Anyone who follows you, O
Lord, will have the light of life.
Gospel Acclamation cf.Ps26:11
Alleluia, alleluia!
Instruct me, Lord, in your
way;
on an even path lead me.
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 Luke 11:42-46 ©
The Lord said to the
Pharisees:
‘Alas for you Pharisees! You who pay your
tithe of mint and rue and all sorts of garden herbs and overlook justice and
the love of God! These you should have practised, without leaving the others
undone. Alas for you Pharisees who like taking the seats of honour in the
synagogues and being greeted obsequiously in the market squares! Alas for you,
because you are like the unmarked tombs that men walk on without knowing it!
A lawyer then spoke up. ‘Master,’ he said
‘when you speak like this you insult us too.’
‘Alas for you lawyers also,’ he replied
‘because you load on men burdens that are unendurable, burdens that you
yourselves do not move a finger to lift.’
HOLINESS
AND MINISTRY REQUIRE A DISCERNING HEART IN THE SPIRIT
Growing in holiness implies sensitivity
to the movements of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Are we sensitive to His promptings in our
daily life? How often do we bring our intentions to the Lord in prayer?
Do we discern what we intend to do, the decisions we intend to take before the
Lord? Or are we more likely to act logically, whether with or without
consultation, or worse still, rashly? Of course it is true that we must
use our reason to consider our decisions, but it is even more important to
listen to what the Lord wants us to do in the depths of our being, for there
are some things that go beyond reason alone.
Indeed, it is because of our lack of
self-awareness that we often are not able to detect the lack of clarity in what
we do and why we do certain things. Our actions might apparently be seen
as praiseworthy, but our motives in performing them are not pure or selfless. This
was precisely why Jesus exposed the ulterior motives of the scribes and
Pharisees when He censured them for “taking the seats of honour in the
synagogues and being greeted obsequiously in the market squares!” They
observed the Law so that they could appear to be “holy”, not before God but
before men and thus earn their praises. Perhaps, consciously they might
not even be aware of their pretences.
Hence, I want to believe that most of the
scribes and Pharisees were sincere people who tried to live up to the laws.
But they were too logical and rationalistic so much so that they could not
believe in the grace of God. They thought that only a strict observance
of the Law could enable one to receive the blessings of God. This belief
is underscored in today’s psalm when the psalmist prayed, “Blessed the man who
follows not the counsel of the wicked nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits
in the company of the insolent but delights in the law of the Lord and
meditates on his law day and night.” This explains why they ended up
being so legalistic and petty in observing all the minute laws.
Jesus lambasted them for their hypocrisy
and their exaggeration of the petty issues of laws, whilst overlooking the
more important matters of justice and the love of God. They knew that
they could not fulfill the Law perfectly but acted as if they did. In
truth, they were more concerned about being greeted, and judging others for
their failings than about their own inability to fulfill the laws that they taught.
Jesus exposed their hypocrisy when He said, “Alas for you lawyers also …
because you load on men burdens that are unendurable, burdens that you
yourselves do not move a finger to lift.” Indeed, they were not humble
enough to concede that the Laws alone could not save them. They
were so blinded by their legalistic motives and fear that they could not see
the truth about themselves. That is why they behaved in an insincere
manner. If Jesus appeared to be harsh in reprimanding them, it was
because Jesus felt the need to awaken their dead conscience.
We too act hypocritically when we
exhort our loved ones or friends or parishioners to grow in holiness or to live
a life of justice, truth and love and fail to realize that what we preach to
others must also be addressed to ourselves as well. We must not ever
think that others are sinners except ourselves. So when they fail in
their Christian life, let us not be too quick to judge and condemn them for we
know that we ourselves quite often are unable to be true to what we teach all
the time. Instead let us be compassionate, forgiving and encouraging,
knowing that without God’s grace and mercy, we cannot find the strength to live
a holy and righteous life. Holiness in the final analysis, is the grace of
God and not simply our human efforts alone.
Indeed, in the judgment of Jesus, more
often than not we are like the scribes “unmarked tombs that men walk on without
knowing it!” In other words, not only are we contaminated and therefore
unclean, but we contaminate others with our negativity and hypocrisy without
our awareness. Isn’t this true of us so-called ‘good Christians’? We fail
to realize how sinful we are even whilst we strive to grow in holiness.
We should instead humbly admit that we are all struggling to live a life of
integrity. Who among us can claim that we live a life of integrity in
every aspect of life, whether it is with regard to our prayer life, moral
virtues, commitments and work?
Thus, it is important that we get in
touch with ourselves before, or as we seek, to help others. For how can
we discern for others when we are not even aware of the movements of the spirit
in our lives? How can we succeed in converting others to the faith if we are
not sensitive to the Spirit in our lives? At other times, we act with less than
noble motives in assisting others or in rendering our services. Isn’t it true
that sometimes because we act so rationally without faith that we prevent the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit to direct our lives, and those under our charge?
How then can we be sensitive to the
movements of the Spirit?
Today, St Paul gives us the criteria in which we can ascertain whether our
decisions are in accordance with the will of God and the Spirit. He gives
us the list of nine fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control. Any
decision that we make, if it is from the Lord, should produce such fruits as
mentioned. Conversely, if the decision we make is based on our selfish needs,
the bad fruits of the counter-spirit can also be seen. St Paul wrote,
“When self-indulgence is at work the results are obvious: fornication, gross
indecency and sexual irresponsibility; idolatry and sorcery; feuds and
wrangling, jealousy, bad temper and quarrels; disagreements, factions, envy;
drunkenness, orgies and similar things. “
Yes, St Paul urges us, “If you are led
by the Spirit, no law can touch you. Since the Spirit is our life, let
us be directed by the Spirit.” There is also a warning for those who
do not live Spirit-led lives as well, “those who behave like this will not
inherit the kingdom of God.” Let us therefore walk by the Spirit so that
we can live with a pure heart, a clear and sincere conscience and with
love. And as the psalmist assured us, “Those who follow you, Lord,
will have the light of life.
He is like a tree planted near running water, that
yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade. Whatever he
does, prospers.”
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP OF
SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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