20150213 CHRIST COMES TO SET US FREE FROM SHAME AND GUILT
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Genesis 3:1-8 ©
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The serpent was the
most subtle of all the wild beasts that the Lord God had made. It asked the
woman, ‘Did God really say you were not to eat from any of the trees in the
garden?’ The woman answered the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees in
the garden. But of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said,
“You must not eat it, nor touch it, under pain of death.” ‘ Then the serpent
said to the woman, ‘No! You will not die! God knows in fact that on the day you
eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and
evil.’ The woman saw that the tree was good to eat and pleasing to the eye, and
that it was desirable for the knowledge that it could give. So she took some of
its fruit and ate it. She gave some also to her husband who was with her, and
he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realised that
they were naked. So they sewed fig-leaves together to make themselves
loin-cloths.
The man
and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool
of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
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Psalm
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Psalm 31:1-2,5-7
©
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Happy the man
whose offence is forgiven.
Happy the man whose
offence is forgiven,
whose sin
is remitted.
O happy the man to
whom the Lord
imputes
no guilt,
in whose
spirit is no guile.
Happy the man
whose offence is forgiven.
But now I have
acknowledged my sins;
my guilt
I did not hide.
I said: ‘I will
confess
my
offence to the Lord.’
And you, Lord, have
forgiven
the guilt
of my sin.
Happy the man
whose offence is forgiven.
So let every good man
pray to you
in the
time of need.
The floods of water
may reach high
but him
they shall not reach.
Happy the man whose
offence is forgiven.
You are my hiding
place, O Lord;
you save
me from distress.
You surround me with
cries of deliverance.
Happy the man
whose offence is forgiven.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Jn6:63,68
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words are
spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message
of eternal life.
Alleluia!
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Or
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cf.Ac16:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O
Lord,
to accept the words
of your Son.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 7:31-37 ©
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Returning
from the district of Tyre, Jesus went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of
Galilee, right through the Decapolis region. And they brought him a deaf man
who had an impediment in his speech; and they asked him to lay his hand on him.
He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, put his fingers into the
man’s ears and touched his tongue with spittle. Then looking up to heaven he
sighed; and he said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be opened.’ And his ears
were opened, and the ligament of his tongue was loosened and he spoke clearly.
And Jesus ordered them to tell no one about it, but the more he insisted, the
more widely they published it. Their admiration was unbounded. ‘He has done all
things well,’ they said ‘he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.’
CHRIST
COMES TO SET US FREE FROM SHAME AND GUILT
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: GENESIS 3:1–8; MARK 7:31 – 37
Why do we feel burdened,
miserable and oppressed, even when everything seems to be going well for us? Often, we think it is because of
difficult people around us, or because of the situation we are in. But
the truth lies deeper than what meets the eyes. The sadness we carry in
our hearts is because we are burdened by the guilt of sin. We are like
the deaf man in today’s gospel, unable to proclaim the glory of
God. We read that he has an impediment in his speech. All
those of us who are unable to praise God or proclaim His love to the world, or
say positive and nice things about others, especially our enemies, are
suffering from an impediment of speech.
The first reading tells us
that the primary consequence of sin is shame and withdrawal. The
author of Genesis writes, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they
realised that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together to make
themselves loin-cloths.” Before they sinned against the Lord, Adam and
Eve were totally open to each other. There was no question of lust, which is a
selfish desire to possess and to make use of each other. There was pure love
for each other; so much so that being naked with each other was something that
they felt comfortable with. But because of sin, love turns into lust,
when we no longer love the person but seek to use the person’s body to satisfy
our pleasures. When trust and confidence in each other is lacking,
one needs to cover himself or herself, less he or she is violated or
manipulated by the other.
This shame and
withdrawal extends beyond human relationship to that with God as well. This is portrayed by the author
of Genesis when he wrote, “the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God
walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God
among the trees of the garden.” When we do something wrong, we tend to
hide. Evil is always committed in darkness because the sinner is ashamed
of his or her act. When we do something that is selfish or wrong, we do
not want the world to know. Not only do we hide our evil deeds from the
world, we also try to hide them from God by silencing our conscience.
Unfortunately, there is no way to hide from God. We can try to run away
from our conscience, but the latter will continue to speak in our
hearts. Suppression and repression of our dead conscience cannot
last forever. Hence, the sadness in our hearts, because we know that we
are not set free from fear and from self-condemnation.
The consequences of
withdrawal from God and hiding from man will lead to hypocrisy, pride and
further sin. We
will eventually become like the deaf man, unable to pray or praise God and to
hear His Word. Indeed, those of us who are living a life of sin will
eventually lose our taste for the Word of God and the Sacred Presence. We
can attend Mass or read the bible, but the Word no longer speaks to us.
Nothing seems to move our hearts. Eventually, in our spiritual dryness,
we give up praying, reading the Word of God, and after some time, give up
worship and God all together. Such are the effects of sin. We
become prisoners of ourselves.
The Good News in today’s
scripture readings is that God wants to set us free. We might be ashamed
to meet Him, but He wants to meet us, just as He went about searching for Adam
and Eve, even after they had sinned. God wants to rescue us from our
brokenness. All we need is to turn to Him, to beg for forgiveness, especially
in the sacrament of reconciliation. So great and liberating is the gift of
forgiveness that the psalmist says, “Blessed is he whose fault is taken away,
whose sin is covered. Blessed the man to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, in
whose spirit there is no guile. Then I acknowledged my sin to you, my guilt I
covered not. I said, ‘I confess my faults to the Lord,’ and you took away the
guilt of my sin.” Indeed, we also read that God yearns for us to be set free,
as Jesus did when He took the deaf man aside to pray for him. “Then
looking up to heaven he sighed; and he said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be
opened’. “
Unfortunately, because
of pride, many of us do not go for the sacrament of reconciliation. Pride
does exactly the opposite. It closes us to all truth and attempts of God
to reach out to us.This is of course the strategy of the devil. He tempts
us to sin and then after sinning, accuses us of our transgressions.
Realizing how sinful and unworthy we are, we feel so embarrassed to confess our
sins, especially through the priest appointed by Christ to mediate His
forgiveness. We try to rationalize that it is sufficient to seek
forgiveness from God directly. We do not need any mediator. If that
were the case, we might as well do away with the sacraments. We might as
well celebrate the Mass at home with our family, with us being the presider and
consecrate our own Eucharist. And if we are sick, we need not go to any
priest, or any person to pray over us, since we can pray to God directly for
healing. We might as well be the sole and final interpreter of the bible,
found our own church at home, etc. Of course, we know this would be
ridiculous, because we know that Christ speaks and heals through His Church,
which is the Body of Christ. No one heals himself or ministers to
himself!
Indeed, if Christ wants
us to confess through His priests, it is because He knows the shame of
confessing. Hence, in today’s gospel, we see Jesus so sensitive to
the embarrassment of the deaf and dumb man. He “took him aside in
private, away from the crowd, put his fingers into the man’s ears and touched
his tongue with spittle.” Keeping one’s sins unknown to anyone, locked in the
hidden chambers of our heart, repressing them, including our fear and guilt, we
will become even more neurotic, unhealed and unforgiven. One cannot forgive
oneself. Forgiveness must be received through another. In the same vein,
we can appreciate why St James told his community, “Confess your sins to one
another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” (Jms 5:16)
The failure to ask for
forgiveness and for healing will lead to our self-destruction. By not opening our hearts to God
in contrition, we will not be able to open our mouths to proclaim His
love. Hence, the exhortation of Jesus to those whose hearts are closed to
seeking forgiveness because of shame due to one’s pride is, “Be opened!”
If we open your hearts for healing, then the psalmist assures us that our
prayers for deliverance from our distress will be heard and “though deep waters
overflow, they shall not reach him.” This is because God is our shelter
and “from distress you will preserve me; with glad cries of freedom you will
ring me round. Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.”
So let us take courage
today. We have
already fallen into sin by allowing the Devil to tempt us, just like Adam and
Eve. We allow him to deceive us into believing that if we get what our
eyes and hearts desire, we will be happy and be free. On the contrary,
because of sinful desires, we die, not just physically, but spiritually and
emotionally. We bear the pain of shame, guilt and fear. But if we
turn to the Lord, He will rescue us and set us free today. God knows our
weaknesses. He does not keep a record of wrongs against Him. He
only wants to forgive and set us free. Pray for the gift of humility so
that you might find courage to confess your sins, especially the shameful sins
hidden in your hearts all these years. May you find a compassionate
confessor to unload the burden of your past, so that you can receive the
healing and liberating grace of Christ’s forgiveness.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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