THE COURAGE TO CHANGE OUR HEARTS AND MINDS

20160702 THE COURAGE TO CHANGE OUR HEARTS AND MINDS

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading

Amos 9:11-15 ©

It is the Lord who speaks:

‘That day I will re-erect the tottering hut of David,

make good the gaps in it, restore its ruins

and rebuild it as it was in the days of old,

so that they can conquer the remnant of Edom

and all the nations that belonged to me.’

It is the Lord who speaks, and he will carry this out.

‘The days are coming now – it is the Lord who speaks –

when harvest will follow directly after ploughing,

the treading of grapes soon after sowing,

when the mountains will run with new wine

and the hills all flow with it.

I mean to restore the fortunes of my people Israel;

they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them,

plant vineyards and drink their wine,

dig gardens and eat their produce.

I will plant them in their own country,

never to be rooted up again

out of the land I have given them,

says the Lord, your God.’

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 84(85): 9,11-14 ©

The Lord speaks peace to his people.

I will hear what the Lord God has to say,

  a voice that speaks of peace,

peace for his people and his friends

  and those who turn to him in their hearts.

The Lord speaks peace to his people.

Mercy and faithfulness have met;

  justice and peace have embraced.

Faithfulness shall spring from the earth

  and justice look down from heaven.

The Lord speaks peace to his people.

The Lord will make us prosper

  and our earth shall yield its fruit.

Justice shall march before him

  and peace shall follow his steps.

The Lord speaks peace to his people.

Gospel Acclamation

Ps118:135

Alleluia, alleluia!

Let your face shine on your servant,

and teach me your decrees.

Alleluia!

Or

Jn10:27

Alleluia, alleluia!

The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,

says the Lord,

I know them and they follow me.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 9:14-17 ©

John’s disciples came to him and said, ‘Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?’ Jesus replied, ‘Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of mourning as long as the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one puts a piece of unshrunken cloth on to an old cloak, because the patch pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse. Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; if they do, the skins burst, the wine runs out, and the skins are lost. No; they put new wine into fresh skins and both are preserved.’

THE COURAGE TO CHANGE OUR HEARTS AND MINDS

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ AMOS 9:11-15, MT 9:14-17 ]

In the gospel, the Kingdom of God is likened to a marriage.  God is the bridegroom and we are the bride. In the New Testament, Jesus is our bridegroom.  Marriage is an apt symbol of what heaven is all about because it is about intimacy, love and relationship. There is nothing more fulfilling and necessary in life than love and intimacy.  Indeed, Jesus is offering us an intimate relationship with His Father, just as He shares this intimacy with His Father.  The whole purpose of Jesus’ coming was to restore the broken relationship between God and man and among men.  He came to reconcile us with the Father and with one another.  For this reason, Jesus told the disciples of John, “Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of mourning as long as the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”  In other words, it is sin that leads to separation and death, biological or spiritual death that causes us to be estranged from God. When that happens, it will inevitably affect human relationships as well because without God’s love and peace in our hearts, we will act out our inner dissatisfaction when dealing with others.

How, then, can we overcome this barrier between God and us?  Jesus wants to fill us with the new wine of His Spirit.  Indeed, the desire of Jesus is to give us His Holy Spirit so that we will be filled with the joy and love of His Father.  The Holy Spirit is none other than the love of God that is poured into our hearts.  (cf Rom 5:5)  The Holy Spirit enables us put on the mind and heart of our Lord.  This explains why the Holy Spirit is very much associated with the gifts as well, especially the habitual graces of wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel, fortitude, piety and reverence for the Lord.  When God’s love dwells in us, we begin to look at life the way God sees it.  With the Holy Spirit, we will be filled with joy.  Hence, wine is always associated with celebration, rejoicing and joy.

But what are the conditions to receive the Holy Spirit?  We need to purify the receptacle otherwise the New Wine of the Holy Spirit will spill if we are still wearing the old wineskin.  New wine is still fermenting and it is therefore very strong.  It expands.  So if the strong wine is put into old goatskins that are hardened and no longer stretchable, it will surely burst the skin.  That is why Jesus said, “Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; if they do, the skins burst, the wine runs out, and the skins are lost. No; they put new wine into fresh skins and both are preserved.”

This old wineskin refers to the hardness of a heart of sin and the stubborn and prideful mind. Many of us, having fallen into sin over the years, have become so hurt and wounded that we have become numb to our sins.  We continue sinning because our consciences have become desensitized over the years that we no longer feel any more, even when doing wrong.  It has become part of us.  When our hearts are hardened by sin, selfishness, self-centeredness, anger and hatred, we can no longer feel with others or be receptive to goodness and love.  Indeed, sinners hate to hear the truth spoken and do not like to be told that they are wrong.  If criticized, they are not only defensive but they can be hostile and vindictive.  They will retaliate and seek to destroy those who put obstacles in their path because they want to continue their sinful way of life.

At the same time, many are too proud to be receptive to the truth.  They think they know everything and unless one agrees with their opinions, he or she is wrong.  When man makes himself the absolute in judgment and the absolute reference point, then he has unwittingly established himself as god and ironically denying the principle of relativism held by them.

As a consequence, they become misfits in society.   Thus Jesus said, “No one puts a piece of unshrunken cloth on to an old cloak, because the patch pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse.”   The truth is that the old and the new cannot match.  We cannot continue to live a life of sin and yet seek to live in holiness.   When we try to match both together, the danger is that we destroy not just our own faith but the faith of others.  This is truly the potential danger of adulterating the faith.  Many of our Catholics are weak in their faith.  They do not know Jesus personally and they do not have a sound knowledge of Catholic doctrines and the Word of God.  They import all kinds of foreign elements from other sources, whether of ancient religions or some esoteric practices and seek to inject them into our Catholic faith.  As a consequence, the purity of faith is compromised.  What is worse is that they mislead other Catholics who are ignorant of the origin of such practices.  Unknowingly, they begin to think that such practices and values are in line with the gospel.

Jesus makes it clear that to choose Him is to break from the world of sin and selfishness.  It is to break away from all forms of idolatry and to worship the Lord our God alone.  The shema of the Israelites is still valid for us when Moses commanded, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”  (Dt 6:4f)  Our obedience and allegiance is to the Lord Jesus alone and all that is revealed in the scriptures, the Word of God.  There cannot be any compromise unless such values are in line with the gospel.  We must be careful not to import any practices and values that are foreign to the gospel that we have received from the Lord and the Apostolic College.

Within this context, we can then appreciate why the Lord permitted the Israelites to go into exile. The Northern Kingdom was steeped in corruption and social injustice because of affluence and wealth.  They were cheating each other, especially the poor and the weak.  Their hearts were far from God and the Covenant was not observed.  So the Lord allowed the Assyrians to bring His people to task, to break them down not as a punishment but in order to raise them up. Unless we are ready to be broken down, to face the truth about ourselves, we cannot be raised or restored to fullness of life.  So long as we are proud of our achievements, arrogant of our knowledge and harbor a sense of self-sufficiency, as if we are in complete control of our lives, then we will act as if we are all powerful like God.  But like the Israelites, it is always when things have gone wrong and we are reduced to nothingness that we come to realize our place in this world.  No matter how rich, powerful and influential we are, a time will come when we will be stripped of all that we have.  No one can conquer sickness and death.

But if we are ready to let go of our fears, insecurity of change, our habitual ways of doing things, then the new wine of the Spirit will be given to us.  So long as we want to be in charge of our lives and do what we want without asking God for guidance, we will destroy ourselves.  But in the destruction, God will raise us up as He did with the Israelites.  The prophet Amos prophesied of the day to come when Israel would be restored.  “That day I will re-erect the tottering hut of David, make good the gaps in it, restore its ruins and rebuild it as it was in the days of old … when harvest will follow directly after ploughing, the treading of grapes soon after sowing, when the mountains will run with new wine and the hills all flow with it.  I mean to restore the fortunes of my people Israel; they will rebuild cities and live in them, plant vineyards and drink their produce. I will plant them in their own country, never to be rooted up again out of the land I have given them, says the Lord, your God.”

If we seek peace today, the psalmist invites us to hear the voice of the Lord.  “I will hear what the Lord God has to say, a voice that speaks of peace, peace for his people and his friends and those who turn to him in their hearts.  The Lord speaks peace to his people.”  After hearing His Word, let us be ready and courageous to put the Word of God into practice, placing our entire trust in His Word so that we can live a life of joy, peace and love.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved