20150724 DEEPENING OUR APPRECIATION FOR GOD’S LAWS
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Exodus 20:1-17 ©
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God spoke all these
words. He said, ‘I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of
Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
‘You
shall have no gods except me.
‘You
shall not make yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven or
on earth beneath or in the waters under the earth; you shall not bow down to
them or serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God and I punish the
father’s fault in the sons, the grandsons, and the great-grandsons of those who
hate me; but I show kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my
commandments.
‘You
shall not utter the name of the Lord your God to misuse it, for the Lord will
not leave unpunished the man who utters his name to misuse it.
‘Remember
the sabbath day and keep it holy. For six days you shall labour and do all your
work, but the seventh day is a sabbath for the Lord your God. You shall do no
work that day, neither you nor your son nor your daughter nor your servants,
men or women, nor your animals nor the stranger who lives with you. For in six
days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that these
hold, but on the seventh day he rested; that is why the Lord has blessed the
sabbath day and made it sacred.
‘Honour
your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that
the Lord your God has given to you.
‘You
shall not kill.
‘You
shall not commit adultery.
‘You
shall not steal.
‘You
shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
‘You
shall not covet your neighbour’s house. You shall not covet your neighbour’s
wife, or his servant, man or woman, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that
is his.’
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Psalm
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Psalm 18:8-11 ©
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Lord, you have the
message of eternal 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.
Lord, you have the
message of eternal 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.
Lord, you have the
message of eternal life.
The fear of the Lord
is holy,
abiding
for ever.
The decrees of the
Lord are truth
and all
of them just.
Lord, you have the
message of eternal life.
They are more to be
desired than gold,
than the
purest of gold
and sweeter are they
than honey,
than
honey from the comb.
Lord, you have the
message of eternal life.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Jm1:21
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept and submit to
the word
which has been
planted in you
and can save your
souls.
Alleluia!
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Or
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cf.Lk8:15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are those
who,
with a noble and
generous heart,
take the word of God
to themselves
and yield a harvest
through their perseverance.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 13:18-23
©
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Jesus
said to his disciples, ‘You are to hear the parable of the sower. When anyone
hears the word of the kingdom without understanding, the evil one comes and
carries off what was sown in his heart: this is the man who received the seed
on the edge of the path. The one who received it on patches of rock is the man
who hears the word and welcomes it at once with joy. But he has no root in him,
he does not last; let some trial come, or some persecution on account of the
word, and he falls away at once. The one who received the seed in thorns is the
man who hears the word, but the worries of this world and the lure of riches
choke the word and so he produces nothing. And the one who received the seed in
rich soil is the man who hears the word and understands it; he is the one who
yields a harvest and produces now a hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty.’
DEEPENING
OUR APPRECIATION FOR GOD’S LAWS
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SCRIPTURE
READINGS: EX 20:1-17;
MT 13:18-23
After
leaving Egypt, God made a covenant with the Hebrews. They became a nation
constituted under God with Moses as His representative. To help them to
live as the People of God, God gave the commandments through Moses. God
gave them the laws to help them to live a life of harmony and love. It
was not enough to be set free from the slavery of the Egyptians but more
importantly, to be set free from selfishness that leads to sin. So these laws
are meant to be guidelines to protect charity and justice in the community.
These
Ten Commandments can be divided basically into two categories. The first
three commandments focus on our relationship with God. The basis of all
relationships is dependent on whether we have a right relationship with
God. The book of Sirach says, “To fear the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom.” (Sir 1:14)
“To fear the Lord is fullness of wisdom.” (Sir 1:16) “To fear
the Lord is the crown of wisdom” (Sir 1:18) “To fear
the Lord is the root of wisdom” (Sir 1:20) Indeed,
the real reason for the lack of unity in the world today is secularism, when
God’s existence is denied or forgotten. Without reverence for God, we
have too many gods fighting with each other! We cause disunity because we
lack a reference point for all that we are and do. Failing which, the
Lord says, “For I, the Lord your God am a jealous God and I punish the father’s
fault in the sons, the grandsons, and the great-grandsons of those who hate me;
but I show kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my
commandments.” For this reason, the first commandment is THE foundational
commandment. God says, “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the house
of slavery. You shall have no gods except me. You shall not make yourself
a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven or earth beneath or in the
waters under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them.” The
other two commandments further elaborate what it takes to give God His due
honour and place in our lives.
Only
because we love God, we love all whom He loves. Loving God is the way to
grasp His mind and be identified with His heart. We become like those
whom we love. This is a fact of life. We are influenced in our
minds and thoughts by the people we love. That is why lovers become more
and more identified with each other that they become one in heart and
mind. If we are called to love God and put Him as the first person in our
lives, it is in order that we too will share in His passion for justice and
love. For this reason, after the first three commandments, the next seven
commandments deal with our relationship with our fellowmen. Loving
God is the basis for loving our neighbour. We are called to love our
neighour as ourselves. Loving our neighbour in truth is to love ourselves
because we are not independent of others. In the final analysis, what
matters in life are good and loving relationships with those around us and
society at large. Everyone desires love and demands fair treatment,
respect, compassion and dignity. The moral code given to the Israelites
in truth is not much different from the moral codes in other religions and
societies. The universal values of truth and honesty, justice and
charity, integrity and fidelity are inscribed in the hearts of all.
The
fact is that the love of neighbour begins by honouring our parents. This
is the basis for an authentic human relationship. If our relationship
with our parents lacks love and respect, it affects our ability to love in a
holistic way. Our capacity for human love depends so much on how our parents
love us unconditionally since they planted that seed of love in us. We
are able to love ourselves and accept ourselves as we are only because they
love us as the representative of God. In loving ourselves, we can then
love others unconditionally since we have experienced unconditional love
ourselves.
In
spite of the goodness of the Laws given by God, yet there is always the danger
that these laws can be performed in a perfunctory manner. We can lose the
spirit of the laws, which is based on the love of God and His love for
us. We become more preoccupied in obeying the laws slavishly than seeing
the beauty of the laws. When that happens, instead of being our ally, the
laws become our enemies. Secretly, we harbor resentment against
God. We wish the laws do not exist so that we can do whatever our
passions dictate. And when we fail, we live in guilt or in fear
that God will punish us for our sins. So the obedience we render to the
laws is not based on conviction of the beauty of the commandments or of love
but rooted in fear and selfishness. When God becomes our chief enemy, we
hate Him in our hearts, or else we revolt against Him and make ourselves our
own gods. We become the ultimate judge and the norm of what is true and
right.
Hence,
in the gospel today, Jesus invites us to go deeper into the Word of God which
we have received. If we break the laws in spite of the fact that they are
good, it is because of the different levels of perception and conviction of the
value of the laws. In the parable of the Sower, Jesus invites us to
examine the depth of our receptivity. If we are those seeds that fall on
the pathway, it means that we lack understanding of the laws. We are
ignorant. The laws remain written on tablets. They are external to us.
We do not appreciate and perceive the wisdom of God and hence are not
convicted. As Jesus said, “When anyone hears the word of the
kingdom without understanding, the evil one comes and carries off what was sown
in his heart; this is the man who received the seed on the edge of the
path.” Those who have a nominal faith are lukewarm because faith is
merely a religion, a ritual and some practices; not a personal relationship
with God.
If we
are those seeds that fall on rock, obviously what we receive lack depth and do
not take root. We lack formation and mentoring. We do not
contemplate on the Word of God or deepen our knowledge of doctrines and
morals. This is particularly true of all those who have a God-experience
or a conversion experience. Many having been touched by God have already
returned to their nominal faith and a life of sin because they did not build on
the initial love of God which they had experienced. A conversion
experience is only the beginning of discipleship; not the end. Without
discipleship and spiritual maturity, regardless of whatever God-experience we
have had, we will lose that fervor and taste for God after some time. As
Jesus said, “The one who received it on patches of rock is the man who hears
the word and welcomes it at once with joy. But he has no root in him, he
does not last; let some trial come, or some persecution on account of the word,
and he falls away at once.” In the face of suffering and persecution we
give up and turn to the world for solution rather than God in faith.
As a
result too, when we lack a deepening of our love and knowledge of the Lord, not
only trials but the distractions, worries, anxieties and temptations of the
world will prevent the Word of God in us from flourishing. The
temptations that come from the world, the flesh and Satan are the thorns in our
lives that hinder us from living a life of holiness. Our life hinges on
greed and fear. We get caught up in the daily pursuits of the world. We
feel that we cannot rely on anyone except ourselves. But an unexamined
life is not worth living, so says Socrates! Indeed, Jesus warns us, “The
one who received the seed on thorns is the man who hears the word, but the
worries of this world and the lure of riches choke the word and so he produces
nothing. “
Let us
pray for docility to the Word of God so that we can be “the one who received
the seed in rich soil…he is the one who yields a harvest and produces now a
hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty.” There is no way to hear the
Word unless we make time for God in prayer. Only by listening to
Him in the depths of our hearts, can we come to understand the wisdom of His
laws for us because the truth sets us free. But most of all, we must ask
for the Holy Spirit to empower us. Only His love alone can give us the
strength to love as He loves. If the Israelites were asked to observe the
Commandments, it was because they had seen the power of God’s love for
them. We too must sit before the Lord to let His love heal our wounded
hearts and His wisdom to enlighten us in the truth.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
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