20150910
A RADICAL CHRISTIAN LIFE PRESUPPOSES A GRATEFUL
HEART THAT COMES FROM BEING CHOSEN, FORGIVEN AND LOVED IN CHRIST
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Colossians
3:12-17 ©
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You are God’s chosen
race, his saints; he loves you, and you should be clothed in sincere
compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one
another; forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven
you; now you must do the same. Over all these clothes, to keep them together
and complete them, put on love. And may the peace of Christ reign in your
hearts, because it is for this that you were called together as parts of one
body. Always be thankful.
Let the
message of Christ, in all its richness, find a home with you. Teach each other,
and advise each other, in all wisdom. With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms
and hymns and inspired songs to God; and never say or do anything except in the
name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
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Psalm
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Psalm 150:1-6 ©
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Let everything
that lives and that breathes give praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Praise God in his
holy place,
praise
him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his
powerful deeds,
praise
his surpassing greatness.
Let everything
that lives and that breathes give praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
O praise him with
sound of trumpet,
praise
him with lute and harp.
Praise him with
timbrel and dance,
praise
him with strings and pipes.
Let everything
that lives and that breathes give praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
O praise him with
resounding cymbals,
praise
him with clashing of cymbals.
Let everything that
lives and that breathes
give
praise to the Lord.
Let everything
that lives and that breathes give praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
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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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1Jn4:12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
As long as we love
one another
God will live in us
and his love will be
complete in us.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 6:27-38 ©
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Jesus said to his
disciples: ‘I say this to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to
those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you
badly. To the man who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to
the man who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic. Give to
everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back from the man who
robs you. Treat others as you would like them to treat you. If you love those
who love you, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners love those who love
them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks can you
expect? For even sinners do that much. And if you lend to those from whom you
hope to receive, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners lend to sinners to
get back the same amount. Instead, love your enemies and do good, and lend
without any hope of return. You will have a great reward, and you will be sons
of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
‘Be
compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not
be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves;
grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you:
a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured
into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be
given back.’
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A RADICAL CHRISTIAN LIFE PRESUPPOSES A GRATEFUL HEART
THAT COMES FROM BEING CHOSEN, FORGIVEN AND LOVED IN CHRIST
|
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: COL 3:12-17;
LK 6:27-38
“I say
this to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate
you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To the man
who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes
your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic. Give to everyone who asks
you, and do not ask for your property back from the man who robs you.”
These instructions from the Lord are too tall an order for anyone to
follow. What Jesus is asking is directly opposed to the ways of the world
and to common sense. No one can humanly do such a thing as it is only
natural for us to love those who love us and defend ourselves in the face of
our enemies. Giving in to our enemies and loving them is something
contrary to human nature. So it is not surprising that this gospel text
appears rather idealistic and impractical.
However,
we must note that the context of today’s gospel is the Sermon on the Plain in
Luke’s gospel. This sermon on the Plain is a collection of all the
teachings of Jesus and was used in the Christian community as a catechesis for
those who had already been converted to the Lord. In other words, this
text was addressed primarily to those who had already accepted Christ as their
Lord and Saviour. It presumes that they had already received the Good
News, salted by the Word and enlightened by the light of Christ. That it
is situated in the context of the Sermon on the Plain, suggests that it is
destined for the ultimate Christian life that all disciples are called to live
a life after Christ their master who lived out what He preached. So then,
this radical lifestyle is the ideal Christian life offered to us.
Consequently,
those of us not yet touched by the love and mercy of the Lord cannot be
expected to follow the commands of Jesus. This is implied by the words of
our Lord. “If you love those who love you, what thanks can you
expect? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good
to those who do good to you, what thanks can you expect? For even sinners
do that much. And if you lend to those from who you hope to receive, what
thanks can you expect? Even sinners lend to get back the same
amount.” Without being converted to the Lord, we can only act as pagans,
that is, ordinary sinful people, do, that is to love those who love us.
So the
capacity to love the way that Jesus asked of us in today’s gospel presupposes
that we have encountered the Good News in person, in words and deeds. If
we are able to love in a godly and Christ-like way, it must be because we have
been healed, loved and forgiven in the first place. In other words, we
have been chosen by the Lord. St Paul wrote, “You are God’s chosen race,
his saints; he loves you, and you should be clothed in sincere compassion, in
kindness and humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another;
forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven
you; now you must do the same.” So forgiveness, compassion and love for
others originate not from us, since we are sinners, incapable of unconditional
love and mercy but from the love of Christ in us. We love only because He
first loved us. (cf 1 Jn 4:19)
“This is love: not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as
an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Since God so loved us, we also ought to
love one another.
For
this reason, St Paul in inviting the Christians to forgive, bear and love each
other, appeals to our gratitude for what Christ has done for us. “Over
all these clothes, to keep them together and complete them, put on love.
And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this that
you were called together as parts of one body. Always be thankful.”
Again he said, “Never say or do anything except in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.” So we are able to love as
Christ loved, only because we are grateful for the forgiveness and mercy we
have received from Him. The beginning of a radical Christian lifestyle is
dependent on how radical is our conversion experience. We tend to be more
grateful and loving to those who love us more. Those who love us less, we
love less. Jesus told Simon the Pharisee in the gospel, “Therefore, I
tell you, her many sins have been forgiven – as her great love has shown.
But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” (Lk 7:47)
The
capacity to love does not only derive from gratitude but from the strength that
comes from a heart that is healed, a nature that is perfected by grace.
St Paul wrote, “Over all these clothes, to keep them together and complete
them, put on love. And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts,
because it is for this that you were called together as parts of one
body.” When we have peace in our hearts, we can bring peace to
others. Peace must begin with us in order to flow out to others. As
the hymn has it, “Let there be peace on earth but let it begin with me!”
Those who find themselves unable to forgive are easily irritable, reactive and
calculative because they are still very much wounded. The natural response
from such a wounded heart is to react and retaliate.
But
when we are healed, we seek to imitate the Father as Jesus did, in love and
mercy. As Jesus said, “’Be compassionate as your Father is
compassionate.” Concretely, imitating the compassion of the Father entails this,
“love your enemies and do good, and lend without any hope of return. You
will have a great reward, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he himself
is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.” Through the eyes of Jesus and
the heart of the Good Shepherd, we learn to see everyone as our brothers and
sisters of the same Heavenly Father. And if they are unreasonable, petty
and selfish, it is because they do not know the love of the heavenly Father.
Hence,
it is necessary always to bring to consciousness that we are chosen in Christ,
and our identity is found in Christ alone, who is true God and true man.
If our identity is Christ, then we must act and live accordingly as His
brothers and sisters. How can this be done if not through prayer and a
personal relationship with the Lord? St Paul exhorts us, “Let the message
of Christ, in all its richness, find a home with you. Teach each other,
and advise each other, in all wisdom. With gratitude in your hearts sing
psalms and hymns and inspired songs to God.” Praising the Lord in
thanksgiving enlarges our hearts, for as we thank the Lord and praise Him for
His wonderful and marvelous works in our lives, we too become like Him.
Indeed, this is the invitation of the psalmist when he prayed, “Let everything
that lives and that breathes give praise to the Lord. Praise God in his
holy place, praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his powerful
deeds, praise his surpassing greatness. O praise him with resounding cymbals,
praise him with clashing of cymbals. Let everything that lives and that
breathes give praise to the Lord.” Praises and thanksgiving release us
from self-centeredness and narrow mindedness.
Truly,
if we respond to the love of God in Christ, then the rewards of eternal life
will be great, a life that is already lived on this earth because we will share
the life and love of the Holy Trinity. What we give to others is but what
the Lord has given to us. The more we enter into this divine life, the
richer and fuller our lives become as we are liberated from our fears and
selfishness. “Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not
condemn, and you will not be condemned yourself; grant pardon, and you will be
pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed
down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; because
the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.”
Yes, in granting pardon we learn to pardon ourselves. In granting mercy,
we become merciful to ourselves. In being non-judgmental, we stop judging
ourselves. By not condemning others, we also will not condemn
ourselves. Indeed, God cannot be outdone in generosity and
love. Blessed is such a life of loving and giving!
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
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