20161012 TO LIVE A LIFE OF THE SPIRIT IS TO LIVE A LIFE OF FREEDOM
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Galatians
5:18-25 ©
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If you are led by the
Spirit, no law can touch you. When self-indulgence is at work the results are
obvious: fornication, gross indecency and sexual irresponsibility; idolatry and
sorcery; feuds and wrangling, jealousy, bad temper and quarrels; disagreements,
factions, envy; drunkenness, orgies and similar things. I warn you now, as I
warned you before: those who behave like this will not inherit the kingdom of
God. What the Spirit brings is very different: love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control. There can be no
law against things like that, of course. You cannot belong to Christ Jesus
unless you crucify all self-indulgent passions and desires.
Since the
Spirit is our life, let us be directed by the Spirit.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 1:1-4,6 ©
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Anyone who follows
you, O Lord, will have the light of life.
Happy indeed is the
man
who
follows not the counsel of the wicked;
nor lingers in the
way of sinners
nor sits
in the company of scorners,
but whose delight is
the law of the Lord
and who
ponders his law day and night.
Anyone who follows
you, O Lord, will have the light of life.
He is like a tree
that is planted
beside
the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit
in due season
and whose
leaves shall never fade;
and all
that he does shall prosper.
Anyone who follows
you, O Lord, will have the light of life.
Not so are the
wicked, not so!
For they like
winnowed chaff
shall be
driven away by the wind.
for the Lord guards
the way of the just
but the
way of the wicked leads to doom.
Anyone who follows
you, O Lord, will have the light of life.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Ps26:11
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Instruct me, Lord, in
your way;
on an even path lead
me.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Jn10:27
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong
to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they
follow me.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 11:42-46 ©
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The Lord said to the
Pharisees:
‘Alas for
you Pharisees! You who pay your tithe of mint and rue and all sorts of garden
herbs and overlook justice and the love of God! These you should have
practised, without leaving the others undone. Alas for you Pharisees who like
taking the seats of honour in the synagogues and being greeted obsequiously in
the market squares! Alas for you, because you are like the unmarked tombs that
men walk on without knowing it!
A lawyer
then spoke up. ‘Master,’ he said ‘when you speak like this you insult us too.’
‘Alas
for you lawyers also,’ he replied ‘because you load on men burdens that are
unendurable, burdens that you yourselves do not move a finger to lift.’
TO LIVE
A LIFE OF THE SPIRIT IS TO LIVE A LIFE OF FREEDOM
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ GAL 5:18-25; LK 11:42-46 ]
St Paul in the first
reading speaks about living the life of the Spirit, a life that transcends mere
external obedience to the laws. Since the Spirit is our life, let us be
directed by the Spirit. How, then, can we live the life of the
Spirit? The gospel gives us three areas to examine whether we are living
the life of the Spirit. One thing is certain; the religious leaders of
the day did not. Undoubtedly, they obeyed the laws faithfully but they
did not go beyond them as it was an external obedience. The indictments
against them also apply to us.
In the
first place, we too can overlook justice and the love of God in our concern for
the implementation of rules for the good of order in our community or
organization. Rules are of course important to safeguard harmony and
order. However, as leaders and teachers, we must ask ourselves each
day whether we are more concerned with the rules being kept or whether the
spirit of the rules is inculcated. Rules are at best an indication that
someone is serious in belonging to an organization, but the reality may not be
so. Some parents are more concerned that their children keep the rules
than the spirit of the rules in the house. When parents discipline their
children without explaining the spirit behind the rules, they will only create
resentment against them without any conversion of heart.
Indeed,
one of the tensions in life is between law and love; the institution and the
Charismatic. There are extremes in approaches. On one hand, there
are those who put the laws above everything else. The Pharisaic behavior
in Jesus’ time continues very much in our own family and organizations where
obedience to the rules and regulations are enforced to the extent that there is
no room for compassion, tolerance and forgiveness. Thus, those formed and
governed under such situations in turn become wounded and resentful, often lacking
in love, compassion, warmth and human feelings in their dealings with
others. One can hardly experience the love of God from such
communities and people.
But
more than rules, we should also be concerned about the fact that sometimes in
community life we squabble over minor issues. We fight over petty things
which are insignificant and sometimes a matter of personal preference.
Some of us can be so picky about rules that, like the Pharisees, we behave like
supervisors seeking to find fault in others. By being narrow minded, we forget
that rules must always be subordinated to the greater act of justice and
love. That is why Jesus said, “Alas for you Pharisees! You who pay your
tithe of mint and rue and all sorts of garden herbs and overlook justice and
the love of God! These you should have practised, without leaving the others
undone.”
In the
second place, to live the life of the Spirit is to live a life of
authenticity. Quite often, many of us do things to seek approval, like
children who are always so desperate to seek their parents’ approval for what
they do, lest they lose favour, respect and most of all, the love of their
parents. So long as we are like the Pharisees looking for approval
from people rather than from God, we live a hypocritical life. Like them,
consciously or unconsciously, we seek to be respected and honoured. We
want to be addressed with the appropriate titles, but we must ask ourselves
whether we are worthy of the titles. Honour gained by virtue of our office
is nothing compared to the honour that is gained by the kind of lives we live.
Thirdly,
Jesus warns us against loading burdens on others. Very often, as parents
and leaders, we tend to tell people what to do. We make rules and
teach ideals. But in the first place, do we live them
ourselves? It is easy to be a counselor instructing people what
they should do, but if we were in their situation, we may fare worse than
them. For this reason, as a teacher, we need to be in touch with
ourselves. We must face our own brokenness and wounds rather than pretend
they are not there. What is not acknowledged will turn out to be the
monster that will later be unleashed and attack us when we are least
alert. So before we teach others what they should be doing, we must first
implement them for ourselves. We cannot underscore the importance of
punctuality, responsibility, prayer, etc if we ourselves are always late,
procrastinating and not praying. At the end of the day, a true
teacher must walk the talk, for no one believes in a teacher who is not at the
same time a witness. But if we see our leaders walk that path, then
we too can do it, for there is no excuse for us not to observe the life that
they have shown us.
However,
having spoken about the dangers of falling into legalism, we must not fall into
the extreme position of rejecting all laws in the name of freedom.
There are some who have been influenced by those who advocate absolute freedom
at all costs and without qualification. However, when this principle of
freedom is stretched too far, there is chaos. Under the guise of freedom,
what we have is laxity and self-indulgence. This is what St Paul
condemned in the first reading. “When self- indulgence is at work the
results are obvious: fornication, gross indecency and sexual irresponsibility;
idolatry and sorcery; feuds and wrangling, jealousy, bad temper and quarrels;
disagreements, factions, envy; drunkenness, orgies and similar things.”
For
that reason today, the scripture readings remind us of the kind of attitude we
should adopt. Undoubtedly, both readings put love and justice before the
observance of laws. St. Paul says that if we are led by the Spirit, which
is manifested in love, joy, peace etc, then no law can touch us. “What
the Spirit brings is very different: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control. There can be no law
against things like that, of course. You cannot belong to Christ Jesus
unless you crucify all self-indulgent passions and desires.” Similarly, Christ
indicted the Pharisees for keeping the laws to the minute details but forget
the greater responsibilities towards their fellowmen, that of love and justice.
At the
same time, Jesus is not against the observance of the laws. Indeed, Jesus
requires us to not omit them. In other words, what is required of us is
to ensure that laws and rules are good for us. But we cannot remain on
this level. Laws and rules are at best only guidelines as to how we
should live an orderly life for the sake of harmony in our own lives and that
of the community. But these laws cannot be kept unless we have the deeper
reality in us, that of love and authentic freedom. Observance of laws
must not be done out of force but because we see the value in them.
Unless we are convinced of the values of the laws and see that they are good
for us, we will not practise them. Otherwise we will be obeying them
blindly, reluctantly. Such an attitude will not make us loving people in
the end.
Having
laid down the principles, we must reexamine whether the rules and laws that
have been introduced in our homes or organizations are really for the good of
all. One must have the courage to change them if they do not serve the
purpose of bringing about love and happiness in the community. If
the rules do not achieve the end, then it calls for a revision over the way the
rules are implemented. As teachers and guardians, we must not use laws to
put pressure and unnecessary burdens on others. As the gospel says, we
tend to load on men burdens that are unendurable. So in formulating laws,
we have to make sure that they are observable, beginning with
ourselves. On the side of those who have to observe the laws, we
must seek to understand why certain rules are made in an organization.
Unless we understand the background and intent of the rules and policies of an
organization, we tend to dismiss them and disobey them. More often than
not, we tend to be negative towards laws because they infringe not so much our
freedom but our selfish interests.
We must
be sincere in seeking to walk in the light if we really want to live a life of
the Spirit. The psalmist says, “Anyone who follows you, O Lord, will have
the light of life.” Let us take heed of the words of St Paul
seriously. To live and be led by the Spirit means that in all things that
we do, we must bring joy, love and peace. Following the law is not
sufficient. But it must be done as an expression of love and
conviction. Ultimately, it must lead to love and for the sake of love.
Anything that leads us to self-indulgence is an abuse of authentic freedom.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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