20170228 OFFERING A VIRTUOUS SACRIFICE TO THE LORD
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Ecclesiasticus
35:2-15 ©
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A man multiplies
offerings by keeping the Law;
he offers
communion sacrifices by following the commandments.
By showing gratitude
he makes an offering of fine flour,
by giving
alms he offers a sacrifice of praise.
Withdraw from
wickedness and the Lord will be pleased,
withdraw
from injustice and you make atonement.
Do not appear
empty-handed in the Lord’s presence;
for all
these things are due under the commandment.
A virtuous man’s
offering graces the altar,
and its
savour rises before the Most High.
A virtuous man’s
sacrifice is acceptable,
its
memorial will not be forgotten.
Honour the Lord with
generosity,
do not
stint the first-fruits you bring.
Add a smiling face to
all your gifts,
and be
cheerful as you dedicate your tithes.
Give to the Most High
as he has given to you,
generously
as your means can afford;
for the Lord is a
good rewarder,
he will
reward you seven times over.
Offer him no bribe,
he will not accept it,
do not
put your faith in an unvirtuous sacrifice;
since the Lord is a
judge
who is no
respecter of personages.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
49(50):5-8,14,23 ©
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I will show God’s
salvation to the upright.
‘Summon before me my
people
who made
covenant with me by sacrifice.’
The heavens proclaim
his justice,
for he,
God, is the judge.
I will show God’s
salvation to the upright.
‘Listen, my people, I
will speak;
Israel, I
will testify against you,
for I am God, your
God.
I accuse
you, lay the charge before you.
I find no fault with
your sacrifices,
your
offerings are always before me.
I will show God’s
salvation to the upright.
Pay your sacrifice of
thanksgiving to God
and
render him your votive offerings.
A sacrifice of
thanksgiving honours me
and I
will show God’s salvation to the upright.’
I will show God’s
salvation to the upright.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Ph2:15-16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
You will shine in the
world like bright stars
because you are
offering it the word of life.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Mt11:25
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you,
Father,
Lord of heaven and
earth,
for revealing the
mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 10:28-31 ©
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At that time Peter
began to tell Jesus, ‘What about us? We have left everything and followed you.’
Jesus said, ‘I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, brothers,
sisters, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who
will not be repaid a hundred times over, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers,
children and land – not without persecutions – now in this present
time and, in the world to come, eternal life.
‘Many
who are first will be last, and the last first.’
OFFERING
A VIRTUOUS SACRIFICE TO THE LORD
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ SIR 35:1-12; PS 49:5-8, 14, 23; MK 10:28-31 ]
The idea of offering
sacrifices is practiced in most religions since time immemorial. But the
motives of making these sacrifices vary from religion to religion, and even
from person to person within the same religion. In most religions, very often,
God or the deities are thought to be supreme beings with much power over the
lives of their devotees, just like those sovereign powers on earth. To
ensure their own safety or to get protection, it is necessary to appease the
gods through the offerings of holocausts, lest the gods get angry with
them. But the Lord said, “For every beast of the forest is mine, the
cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the air, and all that
moves in the field is mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell
you; for the world and all that is in it is mine. Do I eat the flesh of
bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and
pay your vows to the Most High.” (Ps 49:10-14)
The primary motive of
offering sacrifices is fundamentally self-serving, either out of fear or the
hope that God will bless them more with earthly wealth, power and health.
Indeed, many give alms or offer sacrifices more out of a duty than anything
else. Of course, behind the offering is that when God is pleased with
them, He will grant them even more blessings. So it is a kind of investment.
I give one cow and He will bless me with 10 cows! It is not about giving but
about getting. Even some Christians preach in this manner. It is
the promise of greater blessings, not in the next life but now on earth; and
not in terms of spiritual blessings but earthly blessings. This should
not be surprising for the apostles too followed Jesus for the earthly motives
of wanting to gain religious and political powers and the riches of the world
before their conversion. This was what the apostles said to the Lord in
the gospel. “What about us. We have left everything and
followed you.”
When we think of sacrifices
in this way, we have missed the whole point. We think that God needs what we
need – animals and food. We have reduced God to a human being like us, wanting
to enjoy the earthly things of life. “What to me is the multitude of your
sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the
fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or
of he-goats.” (Isa 1:11)
Sirach reminds us, “Offer him no bribe, he will not accept it; do not put your
faith in an unvirtuous sacrifice; since the Lord is a judge who is no respecter
of personages.” When we offer such sacrifices with impure
intentions, these are basically bribes!
What, then, would be
considered a virtuous sacrifice? It must be offered with grateful hearts and in
thanksgiving. The primary motive of offering sacrifices must always be focused
on the Lord, not on self. Sacrifices must be an expression of our deep
gratitude to God and they must be acts of thanksgiving for His generosity and
kindness shown to us. It is not done to gain favours but simply to praise
and thank Him and glorify His name. The author says, “Honour the Lord
with generosity; do not stint the first fruits you bring. Add a smiling face to
all your gifts, and be cheerful as you dedicate your tithes. Give to the
Most High as he has given to you, generously as your means can afford.”
So if we offer sacrifices,
whether ritual sacrifices or almsgiving or tithes, we must remember that they
are to be given not reluctantly but cheerfully, because all that we have comes
from God. This is the purpose of giving tithes and offering sacrifices, not for
God’s sake but ours. In truth, whatever we have over our needs do not belong to
us but to God and to His people. We are only stewards of God’s gifts and
blessings. The whole earth belongs to humanity, not to just a few
individuals who control all the earthly goods and use them for
themselves. Rather, all gifts of creation belong to all and therefore
must be shared by all. Those who are blessed with more are called to give
more because they are only stewards.
Consequently, we must never
offer sacrifices and almsgiving and tithes as if others are our debtors.
Rather, we are all debtors to God. There is no place for condescension
since we are only trustees of God’s gifts. Some people think that when
they give to the Church, they are giving to the bishop or to the priests or
even to the Church per se. Nay, bishops and priests are only stewards of
your gifts given not to the Church but to God. It is to God that you are
rendering praise and thanksgiving. The psalmist says, “Listen, my people,
I will speak; Israel, I will testify against you, for I am God, your God. I
accuse you, lay the charge before you. I find no fault with your sacrifices,
your offerings are always before me. Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God
and render him your votive offerings. A sacrifice of thanksgiving honours
me and I will show God’s salvation to the upright.” The Church, as God’s
stewards, would then have to decide how to use the money wisely for the good of
the community and the expansion of the gospel to all of humanity, especially
the materially poor and the spiritually poor.
But the
offering of sacrifices goes beyond ritual sacrifices and the giving of money.
More importantly, the best sacrifice is to offer oneself by observing the
commands of God. Sirach wrote, “A man multiplies offerings by keeping the
Law; he offers communion sacrifices by following the commandments.”
When we observe the commandments of God, we become like Him in justice and
charity. The commandments given by God are not to enslave us but to
help us live a life of justice. It is to keep us from sin and evil.
“Withdraw from wickedness and the Lord will be pleased, withdraw from injustice
and you make atonement. Do not appear empty-handed in the Lord’s
presence; for all these things are due under the commandment.” By
living a righteous life rooted in charity and love, we can then offer a
virtuous sacrifice. It is ironical that sometimes people cheat from
others but would come to the Temple or Church to offer sacrifices hoping that
God would forgive them for living a double life. If we cannot even live a
just and honest life, how can we ever give to God the things that we have
stolen from the poor!
At the end of the day,
there is no perfect sacrifice other than the gift of oneself. All other things
are but mere expressions of wanting to give part of ourselves, but not totally.
That is why even in the conjugal act in marriage, the giving of one’s body to
the other is really but an expression and a celebration of the couple giving to
each other not just in bed but in love in their daily lives, through the things
they do for each other, the gentle and encouraging words spoken and always
putting the interests of the spouse and their children before themselves.
This explains why the sacrifice of the mass is the perfect sacrifice and the
highest form of worship. Christ said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt
offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”
– though they were offered in accordance with the law.” “Then he said,
‘Here I am, I have come to do your will.’ He sets aside the first to establish
the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through
the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Heb 10:8-10) Within
this context, the offering given at Offertory is but again a small expression
of our desire to share in Christ’s offering of Himself to the Father.
Many Catholics reduce this collection during offering merely as giving money to
the church for maintenance. This is very pragmatic thinking.
Rather, the offering, regardless of how much we give, must be like the widow’s
mite; it must be an expression of our giving and wanting to join Christ in
offering ourselves to the Father and to His people for our salvation.
Does it
mean that it is wrong for us to expect anything from offering sacrifices to
God? God does reward us for our gratitude. Sirach assures us that “the
Lord is a good rewarder, he will reward you seven times over.” But the
blessings of the Lord must not be reduced to mere material terms, even if at
times it does not exclude the things of the world like wealth, money and
health. More importantly, God wants to offer us a life that goes beyond
the transient things of this earth. He wants to give us something that
the moth and rust cannot destroy and where thieves could not break in and
steal. (cf Mt 6:19f)
The
treasures of heaven are love, joy, peace and freedom in the Lord. This is
what Jesus meant when He told Peter, “Many who are first will be last, and the
last first.” The values of the kingdom are totally different from the
values of this world. Indeed, they will be “repaid a hundred times over,
houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land – not without
persecutions – now in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal
life.” Truly, for these treasures we should be expecting not the
passing things of this world. When we live for love, justice and truth,
we live beyond this life to the next. Only love and meaning can satisfy
the longings and yearnings of our hearts.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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