20150117 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION AND HOLINESS THROUGH CONTEMPLATION
OF THE WORD OF GOD
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Hebrews 4:12-16 ©
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The word of God is
something alive and active: it cuts like any double-edged sword but more
finely: it can slip through the place where the soul is divided from the
spirit, or joints from the marrow; it can judge the secret emotions and
thoughts. No created thing can hide from him; everything is uncovered and open
to the eyes of the one to whom we must give account of ourselves.
Since in
Jesus, the Son of God, we have the supreme high priest who has gone through to
the highest heaven, we must never let go of the faith that we have professed.
For it is not as if we had a high priest who was incapable of feeling our
weaknesses with us; but we have one who has been tempted in every way that we
are, though he is without sin. Let us be confident, then, in approaching the
throne of grace, that we shall have mercy from him and find grace when we are
in need of help.
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Psalm
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Psalm 18:8-10,15
©
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Your words are
spirit, Lord, and they are life.
The law of the Lord
is perfect,
it
revives the soul.
The rule of the Lord
is to be trusted,
it gives
wisdom to the simple.
Your words are
spirit, Lord, and they are life.
The precepts of the
Lord are right,
they
gladden the heart.
The command of the
Lord is clear,
it gives
light to the eyes.
Your words are
spirit, Lord, and they are life.
The fear of the Lord
is holy,
abiding
for ever.
The decrees of the
Lord are truth
and all
of them just.
Your words are
spirit, Lord, and they are life.
May the spoken words
of my mouth,
the
thoughts of my heart,
win favour in your
sight, O Lord,
my
rescuer, my rock!
Your words are
spirit, Lord, and they are life.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Ps118:36,29
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Bend my heart to your
will, O Lord,
and teach me your
law.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Lk4:17
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord has sent me
to bring the good news to the poor,
to proclaim liberty
to captives.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 2:13-17 ©
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Jesus went out to the
shore of the lake; and all the people came to him, and he taught them. As he
was walking on he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus, sitting by the customs house,
and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.
When
Jesus was at dinner in his house, a number of tax collectors and sinners were
also sitting at the table with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many of
them among his followers. When the scribes of the Pharisee party saw him eating
with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat
with tax collectors and sinners?’ When Jesus heard this he said to them, ‘It is
not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. I did not come to call the
virtuous, but sinners.’
CHRISTIAN
PERFECTION AND HOLINESS THROUGH CONTEMPLATION OF THE WORD OF GOD
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: HEB 4:12-16; MK 2:13-17
As
Christians, we are called to grow in holiness. However, growing in
Christian perfection presupposes that we are sensitive to our weaknesses and
sinfulness. Having a sensitive conscience is a key to purifying
ourselves. Unfortunately, in this relativistic and amoral world we are
in, it is becoming more and more difficult to distinguish between what is right
and wrong, good and evil. As a result, people today tend to lose the
sense of sin and morality becomes subjective. We have made ourselves the
norm of judgment as to what is right or wrong. What is even more
dangerous is that our selfish interests and personal preoccupations often cloud
our moral judgment. How, then, can we become more aware of the holiness
of God so that we can be more conscious of ourselves?
Today, the
liturgy tells us that the Word of God is the key to spiritual
growth. Indeed, the responsorial psalm testifies to the beauty of God’s
Word when we respond, “your words are spirit, Lord and they are life.”
How is this so? Firstly, the Word of God helps us to know not just
objectively what is right or wrong but it is able to penetrate our innermost
secret thoughts or desires. Indeed, the author of Hebrews tells us,
“The word of God is something alive and active: it cuts like any double-edge
sword but more finely: it can slip through the place where the soul is divided
from the spirit, or joints from the marrow; it can judge the secret emotions
and thoughts. No created thing can hide from him; everything is uncovered
and open to the eyes of the one to whom we must give account of
ourselves.” Such is the power of the Word, for quite often, we tend
to deceive ourselves by justifying our actions. But the Word of God
exposes our hidden desires and imperfect motives in what we do.
Secondly,
the Word of God is not only meant to make us feel remorseful for our actions
and so seek repentance. It is meant to inspire us. The
psalmist testifies that “the law of the Lord is perfect, it revives the
soul. The rule of the Lord is to be trusted; it gives wisdom to the
simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, they gladden the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear, it gives light to the eyes. The fear of the
Lord is holy, abiding forever. The decrees of the Lord are truth and all
of them just.” Truly, the Word of God is for our guidance, our
inspiration and our consolation.
Thirdly,
when we contemplate on the Word of God, we are ultimately
contemplating on a person. The Word of God for us, Christians, is not
simply words, but it is the Word made flesh in Jesus. So by meditating on
the Word of God, we come into contact with Jesus, our High priest
Himself. We look upon Jesus as our model in spiritual struggles.
This explains why in Hebrews, after speaking of the power of the Word of God, the
author speaks of Jesus “our supreme high priest who has gone through to the
highest heaven.” Consequently, we can turn to Jesus our high priest to
sanctify us. How?
In the
first place, what is significant is that this High Priest was a man
like us. Indeed, “it is not as if we had a high priest who was
incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us; but we have one who has been
tempted in every way that we are, though he is without sin.” Thus, in
Jesus we find confidence and hope that if Jesus, a man, could overcome sin and
remain faithful to God even in sufferings, we too can also conquer our
sinfulness and be perfected in holiness of life. Jesus as the High Priest
is our model in holiness.
But
more importantly, knowing how weak and sinful we are, we turn to Jesus because
we are confident that in approaching Him, the throne of grace, “we
shall have mercy from him and find grace when we are in need of help.” So
Jesus is not only our model but also our mediator and intercessor. He
will give us the grace to overcome our sinfulness through forgiveness and
love. It is within this context that our meditation on the Word of God
will assist us in knowing the person of Jesus, His life and His heart and mind.
Indeed,
in today’s gospel we have the example of Levi. He knew that he was a
sinner, being a tax collector, a civil servant of the foreign conquerors, the
Romans. He must have been tempted to cheat in his position as a tax
collector. Yet at the same time, he knew that he needed help. Thus,
when Jesus said to him, “Follow me”, we read, “he got up and followed
him.” But what could be the factor that gave him the courage to
follow Him? Because he knew that Jesus came for sinners.
The mercy
and compassion of Jesus was further testified when Jesus accepted to dine
at his house where “a number of tax collectors and sinners were also sitting at
the table with Jesus and his disciples.” The gospel further underscored
that “there were many of them among his followers.” We can presume that
these too were seeking for acceptance and forgiveness. So “when the
scribes of the Pharisee party saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors”
and lamented that He eats “with tax collectors and sinners”, Jesus explained
His action, saying,”It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the
sick. I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.”
Indeed,
today’s liturgy should give us encouragement. Like the
psalmist we pray, “may the spoken words of my mouth, the thoughts of my heart
win favour in your sight, O Lord, my rescuer, my rock!” This can be
realized only if we turn to Jesus by contemplating on His Word, His person and
His life. And if we have tried and still fail, let us be courageous
and be humble to turn to Jesus, the throne of grace and ask for forgiveness and
grace. And as Jesus assured us in today’s gospel, He will heal us since
He has come for the sinners and the sick; not the just and healthy.
Conversely,
if we ever feel that we are so holy and spiritually healthy, then we can never
grow in holiness because we do not need Jesus. We live in
self-righteousness and spiritual pride. This is an evil and more
insidious sin because spiritual pride will be our downfall.
Rather, knowing our tendency to rationalize and justify ourselves, we must turn
to the Word to help us judge our secret intentions. Let us pray that with
a deeper love for the Word, we will recognize our need for purification of our
motives and actions. In this way, we will become more like Jesus and be
perfected in love.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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