20150227 DEEPENING OUR VIRTUES FOR THE LIFE OF THE KINGDOM
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Ezekiel 18:21-28
©
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Thus says the Lord:
‘If the
wicked man renounces all the sins he has committed, respects my laws and is
law-abiding and honest, he will certainly live; he will not die. All the sins
he committed will be forgotten from then on; he shall live because of the
integrity he has practised. What! Am I likely to take pleasure in the death of
a wicked man – it is the Lord who speaks – and not prefer to see him
renounce his wickedness and live?
‘But if
the upright man renounces his integrity, commits sin, copies the wicked man and
practises every kind of filth, is he to live? All the integrity he has
practised shall be forgotten from then on; but this is because he himself has
broken faith and committed sin, and for this he shall die. But you object,
“What the Lord does is unjust.” Listen, you House of Israel: is what I do
unjust? Is it not what you do that is unjust? When the upright man renounces
his integrity to commit sin and dies because of this, he dies because of the
evil that he himself has committed. When the sinner renounces sin to become
law-abiding and honest, he deserves to live. He has chosen to renounce all his
previous sins; he shall certainly live; he shall not die.’
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Psalm
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Psalm 129:1-8 ©
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If you, O Lord,
should mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?
Out of the depths I
cry to you, O Lord,
Lord,
hear my voice!
O let your ears be
attentive
to the
voice of my pleading.
If you, O Lord,
should mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?
If you, O Lord,
should mark our guilt,
Lord, who
would survive?
But with you is found
forgiveness:
for this
we revere you.
If you, O Lord,
should mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?
My soul is waiting
for the Lord.
I count
on his word.
My soul is longing
for the Lord
more than
watchman for daybreak.
(Let the watchman
count on daybreak
and
Israel on the Lord.)
If you, O Lord,
should mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?
Because with the Lord
there is mercy
and
fullness of redemption,
Israel indeed he will
redeem
from all
its iniquity.
If you, O Lord,
should mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Amos5:14
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Praise to you, O
Christ, king of eternal glory!
Seek good and not
evil so that you may live,
and that the Lord God
of hosts may really be with you.
Praise to you, O
Christ, king of eternal glory!
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Or
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Ezk18:31
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Praise to you, O
Christ, king of eternal glory!
Shake off all your
sins – it is the Lord who speaks –
and make yourselves a
new heart and a new spirit.
Praise to you, O
Christ, king of eternal glory!
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Gospel
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Matthew 5:20-26 ©
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Jesus said to his
disciples, If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and
Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.
‘You
have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not kill; and if
anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court. But I say this to you:
anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it before the court; if a
man calls his brother “Fool” he will answer for it before the Sanhedrin; and if
a man calls him “Renegade” he will answer for it in hell fire. So then, if you
are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother
has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and
be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your
offering. Come to terms with your opponent in good time while you are still on
the way to the court with him, or he may hand you over to the judge and the
judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. I tell you solemnly,
you will not get out till you have paid the last penny.’
DEEPENING
OUR VIRTUES FOR THE LIFE OF THE KINGDOM
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: EZ 18:21-28; MT 5:20-26
In the
gospel today, Jesus told His disciples, “If your virtue goes no deeper than
that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of
heaven.” What we should be concerned is the determination to rid of
sins in our lives. In the first reading, we are told that God hates
sin because it brings about the death of man. God wants us to live by
renouncing sin. The truth is that most of us are not resolute in
renouncing sins in our lives. This is because we do not sincerely detest
sins in our hearts the way God detests sins. Perhaps, when it comes to
grave and major sins, we might feel remorseful, or at least guilty, and so make
effort to confess them and not repeat them.
However,
when it comes to venial or minor sins, we are quite contented to let them
remain in us without making any real effort to overcome them in our
lives. This is what Jesus meant when He said, “You have learnt how it was
said to our ancestors: You must not kill, and if anyone does kill he must
answer for it before the court. But I say this to you: anyone who is angry with
his brother will answer for it before the court; if a man calls his brother
‘Fool’ he will answer for it before the Sanhedrin, and if a man calls him
‘Renegade’, he will answer for it in hell fire.” For Jesus, one
sins not only when one actually kills a person, but even when one is angry and
makes all kinds of false accusations against one’s neighbour. So the
conquest of sin must not just be targeted at major sins, but also at minor
sins, as such sins will eventually lead us to bigger sins with greater
repercussions. Yes, Jesus warns us that the failure to deal with sins
effectively when they are just unfolding, would cause us to suffer greater pain
at a later stage. And Jesus in no uncertain terms warns us of the
consequences: “I tell you solemnly, you will not get out till you have paid the
last penny.”
Why then are we not
ready to give up sins completely? If we are not yet ready to give up sins, it is due mostly
to our ignorance and blindness. We do not see the full ramifications of
our sinful actions. If we only understand what sin is doing to us and our
loved ones, we would have resolved never to sin again. The reality is
that on the superficial level, sin looks attractive and seems to afford us the
pleasure and happiness we are seeking. However, the effects of our actions
would be apparent in the long term. Thus Jesus in the gospel says, “Come to
terms with your opponent in good time while you are still on the way to the
court with him.” Yes, if only we have discerned sufficiently, we might
repent, if not out of love for God, at least out of love of self and the fear
of destroying our own happiness. Like the psalmist, we must pray
for divine wisdom and knowledge to perceive the ugliness and destructive nature
of sin the way God sees sin, for if the Lord marks our iniquities, who can
stand? If only we can see sin in its stark reality as God sees it, we
would shudder at our sins. Sin ultimately destroys us, as Ezekiel says,
“When the upright man renounces his integrity to commit sin and dies because of
this, he dies because of the evil that he himself has committed.”
But it is not sufficient to
rid ourselves of sins. It is equally important that we perfect our love for
God and neighbour. As the gospel reminds us, entry into the Kingdom
of God necessitates that we purify our motives in what we do. As
Archbishop Oscar Romero said, “A religion of Sunday Mass but of unjust weeks
does not please the Lord. A religion of much praying but with hypocrisy in the
heart is not Christian. A church that sets itself up only to be well off, to
have a lot of money and comfort, but that forgets to protest injustices, would
not be the true church of our divine Redeemer.” Thus, if during this
season of Lent we are contented with just prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we
have not yet gone deep enough to capture the true meaning of Lent. For in
all these spiritual exercises, we are still focused on ourselves.
However, today, the gospel
invites us to reach out to others as well. We are called to take
proactive steps in the work of reconciliation. We are exhorted to
take the first step in seeking reconciliation even when we are the innocent
party. Jesus says, “So then, if you are bringing your offering to the
altar and there remember that your bother has something against you, leave your
offering before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and
then come back and present your offering.” To be noted is the
command to reach out to anyone who has something against us. It is
immaterial whether we have done wrong, or misunderstood to have offended
them. The point of reconciliation is to restore communion and friendship,
regardless of who is responsible for the break-up of the relationship, or the
hurt that was caused. And at the end of the day, vindicating or proving
who is right or wrong is secondary to a healed and restored friendship and
relationship, since forgiveness does not depend on the explanation of the
sinner. Sins are forgiven without conditions. This is the mercy and
justice of God, as the prophet in the first reading realized: “If the wicked
man renounces all the sins he has committed, respects my laws and is
law-abiding and honest, he will certainly live; he will not die. All the sins
he committed will be forgotten from then on; he shall live because of the
integrity he has practiced.”
How can this be done
unless we learn humility? Without humility, we will never be able to see the sinfulness in
us and the hurts we have inflicted on others, intentionally or unintentionally.
So any work of reconciliation must begin from the individual. We value
the person’s friendship rather than who is right or wrong. It is
communion that takes first priority in building community. Of course, by
not reaching out, we only hurt ourselves even more. By not forgiving, or
seeking forgiveness, or attempting to seek reconciliation, we might miss the
golden opportunity to reconcile.
The other way to bring us
to true repentance is to contemplate on the passion and love of our Lord
Jesus Christ. If we are not moved to conversion of sin and
reconciliation, it could be because of our lack of appreciation for the real
suffering of Christ for us. However, by meditating on the love of God for
us in the cross, we come to appreciate much better the presence of
God. By so doing, we will grow in virtues, not so much to gain
merit from God or even to escape from punishments, but in true response to the
pure love of God for us.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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