20141112 ETERNAL LIFE IS WHOLESOME LIVING IN BODY AND SPIRIT
First
reading Titus 3:1-7 ©
Remind
your people that it is their duty to be obedient to the officials and
representatives of the government; to be ready to do good at every opportunity;
not to go slandering other people or picking quarrels, but to be courteous and
always polite to all kinds of people. Remember, there was a time when we too
were ignorant, disobedient and misled and enslaved by different passions and
luxuries; we lived then in wickedness and ill-will, hating each other and
hateful ourselves.
But when the kindness and love of God our
saviour for mankind were revealed, it was not because he was concerned with any
righteous actions we might have done ourselves; it was for no reason except his
own compassion that he saved us, by means of the cleansing water of rebirth and
by renewing us with the Holy Spirit which he has so generously poured over us
through Jesus Christ our saviour. He did this so that we should be justified by
his grace, to become heirs looking forward to inheriting eternal life.
Psalm Psalm 22:1-6 ©
The
Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
The
Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh
and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.
Near
restful waters he leads me,
to revive my drooping spirit.
The
Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
He
guides me along the right path;
he is true to his name.
If
I should walk in the valley of darkness
no evil would I fear.
You
are there with your crook and your staff;
with these you give me comfort.
The
Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
You
have prepared a banquet for me
in the sight of my foes.
My
head you have anointed with oil;
my cup is overflowing.
The
Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
Surely
goodness and kindness shall follow me
all the days of my life.
In
the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for ever and ever.
The
Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
Gospel
Acclamation cf.2Th2:14
Alleluia,
alleluia!
Through
the Good News God called us
to
share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Alleluia!
Or 1Th5:18
Alleluia,
alleluia!
For
all things give thanks,
because
this is what God expects you to do in Christ Jesus.
Alleluia!
Gospel Luke 17:11-19 ©
On
the way to Jerusalem Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and
Galilee. As he entered one of the villages, ten lepers came to meet him. They
stood some way off and called to him, ‘Jesus! Master! Take pity on us.’ When he
saw them he said, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ Now as they were
going away they were cleansed. Finding himself cured, one of them turned back
praising God at the top of his voice and threw himself at the feet of Jesus and
thanked him. The man was a Samaritan. This made Jesus say, ‘Were not all ten
made clean? The other nine, where are they? It seems that no one has come back
to give praise to God, except this foreigner.’ And he said to the man, ‘Stand
up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.’
ETERNAL
LIFE IS WHOLESOME LIVING IN BODY AND SPIRIT
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: TIT 3:1-7; LK 17:11-19
Many of
us are very conscious about our health to the extent that some of us are
suffering a little from hypochondria. After all, health is wealth.
To a great extent, this axiom is true. Unless we are healthy, we cannot
really experience the joy of living. Without good health, we will not be
able to work, to enjoy or to be disposed to anything. Hence, whenever we
pray, uppermost on our lips is the petition for good health.
Unfortunately, most of us are overly concerned about our physical health,
more so than spiritual, emotional and psychological health. This is
true of nine of the ten lepers in today’s healing miracle story.
Like
them, we have forgotten that physical health is but a manifestation of our
total health. Other than the influence of the kind of genes we have
inherited, our good health or lack of it, is due to the state of our spiritual,
emotional and psychological well-being. Indeed, doctors often tell us
that many of our sicknesses are psychosomatic, due to stress in work and
relationships. A healthy body is often a reflection of a sound mind and a
sound heart. Conversely, a sound mind and sound heart will be manifested
in a sound body since the body is the window to the spirit.
The
lepers in today’s gospel dramatically bring this point out. We can
identify with them in their misery. To be a leper is to be cut off from
society. It is to live a life of rejection and loneliness. Leprosy
as a sickness is a gradual destruction of the body. The sight of a leper
would turn anyone off. So it is a terrible affliction. But
the physical consequences of leprosy indicate the deeper reality
of anyone who suffers from spiritual, emotional or psychological
abnormality. They too are equally alienated from society, including their
loved ones, and they suffer rejection, loneliness and fear as well.
Within
this context, we can understand why Jesus asked the Samaritan the question,
“Were not all ten made clean?” The truth is all ten were cured but not
all ten were healed. Only one was healed and therefore made
clean. The other nine were only cured but not healed and therefore
remained unclean. Only he was saved in the fullest sense of the word; his
whole person, mind, body and soul. The others cannot be said to have been
saved as only their bodies were cured. For this reason, they were not
with the Samaritan to give thanks to God and Jesus. Only the Samaritan
was healed and we know this by the change of heart. He was not
preoccupied with himself. He was selfless. This is expressed by the
gratitude in his heart. He was also humble enough to recognize that a Jew
has healed him. His priority was not even to return to rejoin his family
nor show himself to the priests to certify that he had been healed.
Rather, we are told he immediately returned to give thanks to God. He
knew he was healed. He did not need someone else or any external authority
to tell him. Because he knew deep in his heart, he was no more the same
person. He had changed, not only without but within as well.
That he was physically healed is secondary to the fact that he had been healed
spiritually. He knew who the healer was and he knew that he owed
everything to God.
What
about “the other nine, where are they?” Jesus asked. Where could they be?
They must have been so preoccupied with themselves and their needs. They
had forgotten about others. They had even forgotten about God who is
their source of life. Before they were cured of their leprosy, they were
inward looking, alienated, lonely and wallowing in self-pity. But after
their restoration to physical health, their hearts did not change.
Indeed, very soon, they would fall sick again since the evil in them would be
manifested physically sooner or later. What is true of them is true of
us. Many who pray for healing for their sicknesses very soon after
recovery forget about God and about living a life that is compatible with their
physical health. Because they do not live a good life, very soon,
their interior disorder would manifest in new sicknesses.
Thus,
St Paul in the first reading today reminds us that we are heirs to eternal
life. But for this eternal life to be truly ours, we must cultivate
a pure mind and a pure heart. This is what it means to be saved by
the cleansing water of rebirth. We must not allow those attitudes
that are contrary to our well-being to prevail in our minds. Negative
attitudes such as irresponsibility, slander, quarrelsomeness, wickedness, ill
will, hatred; all these will eat us up like leprosy. We will destroy
ourselves not only spiritually, emotionally and psychologically but physically
as well. Indeed, Paul remarked that in hating others, we will also hate
ourselves.
Instead
of giving in to our passions and self-indulgence, we are exhorted to be
ready to do good at every opportunity. Indeed, when we are positive
in outlook; pure in our minds; loving in our hearts; then we become enlightened,
centered, compassionate, forgiving and generous. Such a kind of life will
certainly make us feel liberated and truly happy. This is because we will
have no enemies nor hatred nor anger nor selfishness. Freed from anxiety
and fear, there will be peace, joy and love in our hearts.
With a
sound mind and heart, normally good physical health will follow because we have
done nothing to destroy the equilibrium in our body. When we do not
abuse our body, then our spirit and body will work in tandem with each other;
producing an integral person that is centered, self-disciplined and able to
transcend the environment. Such a person is master of himself and
not a slave to anyone or anything. He is truly the heir of God because he
is free and free in love.
But how
can such purity of mind and heart be cultivated? St Paul tells us
that we must be conscious of the kindness and love of God for us in Jesus.
God has accepted us unconditionally in Christ not because of “any righteous
actions we might have done ourselves.” No, “it was for no reason except
his own compassion that he saved us.” And not only that, He has renewed
us “with the Holy Spirit which he so generously poured over us through Jesus
Christ.”
Yes,
this is the key to be filled with the Spirit of Jesus: to share His mind and
heart. We must be open to the outpouring of His love for us in Christ
and in the Spirit. This openness to God in humility, like the
Samaritan, is a necessary pre-requisite to a life of faith. If Jesus told
the Samaritan that His faith had saved him, it was because his relationship of
trust expressed, in surrender, and humility, expressed in gratitude, had made
possible his true healing, both in body and spirit. He was the only one
truly healed because he lived a transformed life in Christ, a heart and mind
configured to that of Christ.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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