20160304 YOUR INIQUITY IS THE CAUSE OF YOUR DOWNFALL
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Hosea 14:2-10 ©
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The Lord says this:
Israel, come back to
the Lord your God;
your iniquity was the
cause of your downfall.
Provide yourself with
words
and come back to the
Lord.
Say to him, ‘Take all
iniquity away
so that we may have
happiness again
and offer you our
words of praise.
Assyria cannot save
us,
we will not ride
horses any more,
or say, “Our God!” to
what our own hands have made,
for you are the one
in whom orphans find compassion.’
– I will heal their
disloyalty,
I will love them with
all my heart,
for my anger has
turned from them.
I will fall like dew
on Israel.
He shall bloom like
the lily,
and thrust out roots
like the poplar,
his shoots will
spread far;
he will have the
beauty of the olive
and the fragrance of
Lebanon.
They will come back
to live in my shade;
they will grow corn
that flourishes,
they will cultivate
vines
as renowned as the
wine of Helbon.
What has Ephraim to
do with idols any more
when it is I who hear
his prayer and care for him?
I am like a cypress
ever green,
all your fruitfulness
comes from me.
Let the wise man
understand these words.
Let the intelligent
man grasp their meaning.
For the ways of the
Lord are straight,
and virtuous men walk
in them,
but sinners stumble.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
80:6,8-11,14,17 ©
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I am the Lord your
God: listen to my warning.
A voice I did not
know said to me:
‘I freed
your shoulder from the burden;
your hands were freed
from the load.
You
called in distress and I saved you.
I am the Lord your
God: listen to my warning.
‘I answered,
concealed in the storm cloud;
at the
waters of Meribah I tested you.
Listen, my people, to
my warning.
O Israel,
if only you would heed!
I am the Lord your
God: listen to my warning.
‘Let there be no
foreign god among you.
no
worship of an alien god.
I am the Lord your
God,
who
brought you from the land of Egypt.
I am the Lord your
God: listen to my warning.
‘O that my people
would heed me,
that
Israel would walk in my ways!
But Israel I would
feed with finest wheat
and fill
them with honey from the rock.’
I am the Lord your
God: listen to my warning.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Praise and honour to
you, Lord Jesus!
The seed is the word
of God, Christ the sower;
whoever finds this
seed will remain for ever.
Praise and honour to
you, Lord Jesus!
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Or
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Mt4:17
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Praise and honour to
you, Lord Jesus!
Repent, says the
Lord,
for the kingdom of
heaven is close at hand.
Praise and honour to
you, Lord Jesus!
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Gospel
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Mark 12:28-34 ©
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One
of the scribes came up to Jesus and put a question to him, ‘Which is the first
of all the commandments?’ Jesus replied, ‘This is the first: Listen, Israel,
the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all
your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.
The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no
commandment greater than these.’ The scribe said to him, ‘Well spoken, Master;
what you have said is true: that he is one and there is no other. To love him
with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your
neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or
sacrifice.’ Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, ‘You are not far from
the kingdom of God.’ And after that no one dared to question him any more.
YOUR
INIQUITY IS THE CAUSE OF YOUR DOWNFALL
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: Hos 14:2-10;
Mk 12:28-34
We are
coming to the end of the first semester of Lent. When we look back at our
life, we should ask, what caused us so much misery and pain? Often
we blame others for the situation we are in. Yet at the end of the day,
it might be more beneficial to reflect on our own actions and attitudes because
we play a large part for the sorrows that have been brought upon
ourselves. Indeed, this is what the Lord says, “Israel, come back to the
Lord your God; your iniquity was the cause of your downfall.” It is our
sins that have caused us to fall. What are these iniquities that the Lord
is speaking about?
Pride
is the primary cause of our downfall. We think we know everything. We listen to no one
except ourselves. We always feel that we are right and that we have
all the ideas. Others who disagree with us are wrong. Not only do
we fail to listen to God, we also cannot hear what others are saying to
us. Pride causes us to be presumptuous, judgmental and
arrogant. This was the case with the Israelites. They did not rely
on God or listen to the prophets. They trusted in their economic,
military and political strength. They thought that they were powerful
enough to ward off their enemies. But the truth was that their trust in
their military might and alliance with foreign countries did not help
them. Indeed, eventually they realized, “Assyria cannot save us, we will
not ride horses any more, or say, ‘Our god!’ to what our own hands have made,
for you are the one in whom orphans find compassion.” Indeed, many of us
trust more in ourselves than in God. We think money, power and status can
do everything until one day everything crashes, our business collapses and
health fails.
Besides
pride, the Israelites worshipped idols. The idols they worshipped concretely
were expressed in their import of pagan practices and the worship of pagan
deities. But what we worship is how we live, since faith and life flows
from each other. As a result of compromises with the beliefs of pagan
religions and the influence of pagan values and cultures, their faith in the
One God was diluted. In other words, inculturation of pagan practices resulted
in the weakening of faith and also destroyed the purity of their culture.
This is true in today’s world. Because of secularization brought about by
globalization and migration, the purity of faith and culture is lost. Our
idols are the counter values of a worldly and self-centered society. We
have lost many of our traditional values and replaced them, more often than not,
with the negative or rather the counter cultural values that come from the
west, namely, materialism, consumerism, absolute freedom, relativism, same sex
union, etc. These values are gradually eroding the unity and strength of
marriage and family life.
Finally,
these idols refer to the seven capital sins. These sins of course are as old as
humanity. Anger is the second most destructive sin. Because
of un-forgiveness in our hearts, we become miserable. We are always
thinking of the past and allow the past wounds that have been inflicted on us
to prevent us from moving forward in life. Anger leads us to depression
and hatred, not just of others but of self. Envy also takes away the
peace in our minds and hearts. We are always comparing and this makes us
dissatisfied with what we have. The next most crippling of sins is
lust. Because of lust, infidelity and adultery, beautiful relationships,
the unity of marriage and the peace of the family are destroyed. Besides
lust, greed and gluttony are the other two sins that destroy us. The
greed for money destroys our peace. It causes us to be unjust towards
others. It leads to cheating, gambling, lying and dishonest
living. We destroy the peace and reputation of the family; we lose
our jobs and destroy our families and relationships all because of greed.
Gluttony
for food is also the cause of failure in health. We do not take care of
our health and so when we fall sick, not only do we suffer but our loved ones
have to pick up the mess after us. Without discipline in eating, we
hurt not only our bodies but also our souls eventually, when we fall sick and
become emotionally depressed. Sloth is also equally destructive
because of the lack of discipline in our spiritual life, the lack of commitment
to prayer, the study of the scriptures, and the Word of God, as well as in the
maintenance of our physical health. Sloth leads to a degeneration
of the mind and body.
Today,
the Lord wants to set us free. We only have to say to Him sincerely from our hearts,
“Take all iniquity away so that we may have happiness again and offer you
our words of praise.” Truly, He wants to remove from us the weight of
sins from our shoulders. The prophet said, “A voice I did not know said
to me: ‘I freed your shoulder from the burden; your hands were freed from the
load. You called in distress and I saved you. ‘I answered,
concealed in the storm cloud; at the waters of Meribah I tested you. Listen, my
people, to my warning. O Israel, if only you would heed!”
So
what must we do to find life again? The antidote to misery is to love
God, ourselves and our fellowmen. This is what the Lord tells us. “This is the first:
Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord
your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with
all your strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbour
as yourself. There is no commandment great than these.” Only when we love
God and put Him above all other things, can we find true peace and security
even in times of trials and difficulties.
So
we must first love God, and flowing from the love of God, we must love and
accept ourselves and stop hurting ourselves. From the love of God in us, we extend this love to
our neighbours. All the seven capital sins, besides hurting our
neighbours, hurt us first and foremost. We must not destroy our peace of
mind, the unity with our loved ones and our physical health by irresponsible
living. Indeed, this is what the Lord says, “Let there be no foreign god among
you, no worship of an alien god. I am the Lord your God, who brought you from
the land of Egypt. O that my people would heed me that Israel would walk in my
ways! But Israel I would feed with finest wheat and fill them with honey from
the rock.” Instead of worshipping ourselves, let us worship God and
direct our love towards others. When we love God in others, we will find
great joy and happiness in life.
Hence,
we need to draw strength from God to love ourselves and to love
others. That is why from Him we are called to draw love and wisdom.
We need to allow ourselves to be loved by God in the first place. “I
will heal their disloyalty; I will love them with all my heart, for my anger
has turned from them. I will fall like dew on Israel. He shall bloom like the
lily, and thrust out roots like the poplar, his shoots will spread far; He will
have the beauty of the olive and the fragrance of Lebanon. They will come back
to live in my shade; they will grow corn that flourishes, they will cultivate
vines as renowned as the wine of Helbon.”
Yes, have
we been open and receptive to the love of God coming to our lives through
prayer, worship, reflection on the Word of God, and the love of our brothers
and sisters? This is what the Lord said, “What has Ephraim to do with
idols any more when it is I who hear his prayer and care for him? I am like a
cypress ever green, all your fruitfulness comes from me. Let the wise man
understand these words. Let the intelligent man grasp their meaning. For the ways
of the Lord are straight, and virtuous men walk in them, but sinners
stumble.” We need to draw water from Him like the trees along the
river. We need to listen to the voice of God in His word and through His
messengers so that we could walk the right path. This is particularly
true of our young people who are seeking for direction in life. Many
Catholics turn to the world and the internet for answers when they need
direction in life, instead of turning to the Lord and the scriptures as their
compass point. We must train our people to have a deep love for the
Word of God so that they can find life from it.
Truly,
walking in His truth and love, listening to His Word, obeying His commands, and
doing what is right and just, loving our neighours, we will have a life of
peace and joy.
When we live a life of wisdom, which is a life of love of God and self and
neighbor, we find life. That is why Jesus remarked to the scribe who gave
his assent to Jesus’ teaching that he was “not far from the kingdom of God.”
When we have God’s love in our hearts and His wisdom to guide us, then
God reigns in us in His love and truth. Such a person carries the Kingdom
of God within him.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
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