20151024 ARE WE COURTING DEATH?
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Romans 8:1-11 ©
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The reason why those
who are in Christ Jesus are not condemned is that the law of the spirit of life
in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. God has done
what the Law, because of our unspiritual nature, was unable to do. God dealt
with sin by sending his own Son in a body as physical as any sinful body, and
in that body God condemned sin. He did this in order that the Law’s just
demands might be satisfied in us, who behave not as our unspiritual nature but
as the spirit dictates.
The
unspiritual are interested only in what is unspiritual, but the spiritual are
interested in spiritual things. It is death to limit oneself to what is
unspiritual; life and peace can only come with concern for the spiritual. That
is because to limit oneself to what is unspiritual is to be at enmity with God:
such a limitation never could and never does submit to God’s law. People who
are interested only in unspiritual things can never be pleasing to God. Your
interests, however, are not in the unspiritual, but in the spiritual, since the
Spirit of God has made his home in you. In fact, unless you possessed the
Spirit of Christ you would not belong to him. Though your body may be dead it
is because of sin, but if Christ is in you then your spirit is life itself
because you have been justified; and if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from
the dead is living in you, then he who raised Jesus from the dead will give
life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you.
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Psalm
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Psalm 23:1-6 ©
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Such are the men
who seek your face, O Lord.
The Lord’s is the
earth and its fullness,
the world
and all its peoples.
It is he who set it
on the seas;
on the
waters he made it firm.
Such are the men
who seek your face, O Lord.
Who shall climb the
mountain of the Lord?
Who shall
stand in his holy place?
The man with clean
hands and pure heart,
who
desires not worthless things.
Such are the men
who seek your face, O Lord.
He shall receive
blessings from the Lord
and
reward from the God who saves him.
Such are the men who
seek him,
seek the
face of the God of Jacob.
Such are the men
who seek your face, O Lord.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Ps144:13
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord is faithful
in all his words
and loving in all his
deeds.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Ezk33:11
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I take pleasure, not
in the death of a wicked man,
says the Lord,
but in the turning
back of a wicked man
who changes his ways
to win life.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 13:1-9 ©
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Some people arrived
and told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of
their sacrifices. At this he said to them, ‘Do you suppose these Galileans who
suffered like that were greater sinners than any other Galileans? They were
not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or
those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell and killed them? Do you suppose
that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? They
were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.’
He told
this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came
looking for fruit on it but found none. He said to the man who looked after the
vineyard, “Look here, for three years now I have been coming to look for fruit
on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the
ground?” “Sir,” the man replied “leave it one more year and give me time to dig
round it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut
it down.”’
ARE WE
COURTING DEATH?
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SCRIPTURE
READINGS: ROM 8:1-11;
PS 23:1-6; LK 13:1-9
Are we
reading the signs of the time rightly or even taking them seriously? This
was the question Jesus posed to the crowd in the gospel yesterday. Of
course He was giving the example of forecasting the weather. But the
irony of man is that we can predict the weather, haze included of course, and
we can even predict the financial markets, etc but we lack foresight when it
comes to considering the future of humanity, the future of our marriage
institution, the repercussions on our children without holistic parents because
of divorce and same sex union, the promotion of promiscuous sex, cohabitation,
divorce on movies and the television especially; the effects of secularism, the
vacuum they leave behind in the hearts of humanity, the consequences of
materialism, individualism and relativism. Have we all read the signs of
the time? Have we seriously considered the outcome of our current
lifestyles and the impact not just on us but on our children, children’s
children and the future of humanity?
Unfortunately
the world is controlled by unspiritual people. When our leaders are
unspiritual, what will become of the nation? What will become of
society? What will happen to our schools? What will happen even to
our leaders in religion? When decadence sets in society, and
unfortunately because future religious leaders come from that environment, even
our religious leaders of tomorrow will be infected. Unspiritual people,
St Paul says, only care for this passing world, pleasures and themselves. He
wrote, “the unspiritual are interested only in what is unspiritual, but the
spiritual are interested in spiritual things. It is death to limit
oneself to what is unspiritual; life and peace can only come with concern for
the spiritual. That is because to limit oneself to what is unspiritual is
to be at enmity with God: such a limitation never could and never does submit
to God’s law. People who are interested only in unspiritual things can
never be pleasing to God.” Policies are pragmatic decisions, made for
today but with no consideration for tomorrow. Policies are made
simply for economic interests but without thought for the moral and spiritual
growth of the people. How can a nation be truly happy when the people are
without Christ-like values, without spiritual fulfillment and authentic love
and unity? How short sighted our leaders are, whether in politics or in
the corporate world, when all they care about is productivity and economic
growth, as if these are the only determinants and the recipe for happiness.
In the
gospel, Jesus warns us that when we make false compromises or fail to take the
appropriate actions, we will perish. Twice, He repeated, “Unless you
repent you will perish as they did.” Truly, the writing is on the
wall. We read it in the papers. We have seen the impact of
secularization and so called freedom in the West. We have gone from one
extreme to the other, from the dictatorial rule of a tyrannical government to
the dictatorial rule of individuals. The abuse of freedom is but
another form of slavery when freedom is used for selfish interests and worldly
gains. Indeed, we have read so many cases of greed, cheating and
fraud, where are those people? Those who are desperate for power and
practice dictatorial rule, where are they? Have we asked those who have
fallen into addictions, of gambling, drinking, drugs, sex, pornography, etc,
where are they? For those of us who are unfaithful in marriage, what has
happened to our family and our children? Those of us who live unhealthy
lifestyles, are we suffering now? But we don’t stop to think that
we might be the next one to suffer the consequences. We escape from
confronting our own lives by engaging in speculation and gossip, like the Jews
in today’s gospel, discussing whether those who suffered or killed were greater
sinners than them. Jesus told them bluntly, “They were not, I tell you.”
However, He warned them, “No; but unless you repent you will perish as they
did.”
The
parable of the barren fig tree is another warning to us all. God is
patient and compassionate. He can tolerate us for the lack of response to
His grace. But a time will come when we will have to face our judgment,
not just at death, but the consequences of our sins and follies will catch up
with us. St Paul wrote to the Galatians, “Do not be deceived; God is not
mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will
reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap
eternal life from the Spirit.” (Gal 6:7f)
So what
does it mean to repent? One way to look at repentance is to turn away
from our sins. Another way is to obey the laws. This is implied in
today’s responsorial psalm. “Who shall climb the mountain of the
Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? The man with clean hands and
pure heart, who desires not worthless things. He shall receive blessings from
the Lord and reward from the God who saves him. Such are the men who seek him,
seek the face of the God of Jacob.” But again, as we have seen, the
spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. We want to turn away from
sin. We know the consequences of sin because we have seen how leaders
have fallen, how marriages have been destroyed and how children have become
resentful and rebellious. But we keep falling to the same sins that
others committed and which we condemn! So whilst we want to live a holy
life, we cannot do it by ourselves and by our will. We need to allow the
Spirit of Christ to live in us. We need to allow His love to motivate us
and empower us. How can this be a reality in our lives? How can He
help us to overcome sin and destroy death in our body?
Firstly,
St Paul says that Christ’s death destroyed death which is the cause and wage of
sins. “The reason why those who are in Christ Jesus are not condemned, is
that the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the
law of sin and death. God has done what the Law, because of our unspiritual
nature, was unable to do. God dealt with sin by sending his own Son in a
body as physical as any sinful body, and in that body God condemned sin.
He did this in order that the Law’s just demands might be satisfied in us, who
behave not as our unspiritual nature but as the spirit dictates.” With His
death on the cross, we know that we are saved because He has conquered
death. We are no longer afraid of death because death has been
overcome. Only those who are without fear can love fully and take risks
even in the face of death.
Secondly,
by His resurrection, He has bestowed upon us His Holy Spirit. Through
baptism, “the Spirit of God has made his home in you. In fact, unless you
possessed the Spirit of Christ you would not belong to him. Though your
body may be dead it is because of sin, but if Christ is in you then your spirit
is life itself because you have been justified; and if the Spirit of him who
raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Jesus from the
dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in
you.” So it is the Holy Spirit working in and through us that is bringing
us into union with Christ, sharing in His wisdom and empowering us to live out
the laws through love and faith in Him. When we allow the Spirit of God
to rule our lives and when we live by His power and in His presence, we will be
able to overcome the temptations of the Evil One. Love overcomes all
things, even our enemies.
So let
us take heed of Christ’s warning to repent before we perish; not just us, but
our children and humanity. Let us be wise by being spiritual, think
beyond ourselves, our immediate needs and quick fix solutions that cause more
unimaginable consequences in the future. We must, whilst trying to solve
the problems of today, keep an eye on the future. Otherwise, it might be
too late to rectify the situation, just as in the case of the so-called
population explosion theory in the 1960’s. Leaders, if they want to do
good for their people under their care, must check their spiritual eyesight so
that they will be wise and prudent. Following St Paul’s exhortation, “let
us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if
we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for
the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.” (Gal 6:9f)
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
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