20170311 COMPASSION AS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
|
First reading
|
|
Deuteronomy
26:16-19 ©
|
Moses said to the
people: ‘The Lord your God today commands you to observe these laws and
customs; you must keep and observe them with all your heart and with all your
soul.
‘You have
today made this declaration about the Lord: that he will be your God, but only
if you follow his ways, keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances,
and listen to his voice. And the Lord has today made this declaration about
you: that you will be his very own people as he promised you, but only if you
keep all his commandments; then for praise and renown and honour he will set
you high above all the nations he has made, and you will be a people
consecrated to the Lord, as he promised.’
|
Responsorial
Psalm
|
|
Psalm
118(119):1-2,4-5,7-8 ©
|
They are happy who
follow God’s law!
They are happy whose
life is blameless,
who
follow God’s law!
They are happy who do
his will,
seeking
him with all their hearts.
They are happy who
follow God’s law!
You have laid down
your precepts
to be
obeyed with care.
May my footsteps be firm
to obey
your statutes.
They are happy who
follow God’s law!
I will thank you with
an upright heart
as I
learn your decrees.
I will obey your
statutes;
do not
forsake me.
They are happy who
follow God’s law!
|
Gospel
Acclamation
|
cf.Lk8:15
|
Praise and honour to
you, Lord Jesus!
Blessed are those
who,
with a noble and
generous heart,
take the word of God
to themselves
and yield a harvest
through their perseverance.
Praise and honour to
you, Lord Jesus!
|
Or
|
2Co6:2
|
Praise and honour to
you, Lord Jesus!
Now is the favourable
time:
this is the day of
salvation.
Praise and honour to
you, Lord Jesus!
|
Gospel
|
Matthew 5:43-48 ©
|
Jesus
said to his disciples: ‘You have learnt how it was said: You must love your
neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and
pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be sons of your Father
in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his
rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike. For if you love those who love
you, what right have you to claim any credit? Even the tax collectors do as
much, do they not? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you
doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, do they not? You must
therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.’
COMPASSION
AS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ DEUTERONOMY
26:16-19; MATTHEW 5:43-48
]
One of
the central messages of Lent is to return to God. This is more than just
reconciliation with God but it also means that we give God back His
Lordship. Concretely, this entails the giving up of our idols, which
include power, glory and wealth but most of all, ourselves. Idolatry is
the worship of self at the expense of God and others. The practical way
of pre-empting such a possibility is to follow the Mosaic Laws given by
God. Obedience to the Laws is the way to show obedience to God.
Hence, Moses said to the people: “The Lord your God today commands you to
observe these law and customs; you must keep and observe them with all your
heart and with all your soul.
Obedience to the Laws is
the concrete sign that God is our Lord. Once again, Moses said to the people,
“You have today made this declaration about the Lord; that he will be your God,
but only if you follow his ways, keep his statutes, his commandments, his
ordinances, and listen to his voice. And the Lord has today made this
declaration about you; that you will be his very own people as he promised
you.” By obeying the Laws that come from God, it shows that we are His
people, since we allow ourselves to be ruled by Him.
Obedience to the Law is our
consecration to Him. “But only if you keep all his commandments; then for
praise and renown and honour he will set you high above all the nations he has
made, and you will be a people consecrated to the Lord, as he had
promised.” By consecrating our entire being to the Lord, God will
also bless us and protect us. We will find peace and joy since the Laws
are the wisdom of God.
Obedience to the laws is
important for our commitment to the community. Laws are meant to govern
relationships with each other. They are meant for our good. They
make us truly the People of God because we live in harmony with each
other. So the Laws are meant to foster justice and equality. By
living a life of wisdom and love, we demonstrate that the Lord is our God. The
psalmist says, “They are happy who follow God’s law! They are happy whose life
is blameless, who follow God’s law! They are happy who do his will, seeking him
with all their hearts.”
Yet the
real danger is that fulfillment of the Laws can lead to bigotry,
self-righteousness and make us judgmental towards others. We begin to
think we are better than others and pride sets in. We can also become
critical of those who fail to observe the Laws. Most of all, we can obey
the Laws externally according to the letter but not in spirit. This would then
be a perverted and subtle form of worship of self. Apparently it is a worship
of God but it turns out to be a worship of self since we become proud,
intolerant and competitive.
Hence
it is important to remember the purpose of the Law is the promotion of justice
and harmony. They are means to the end. Hence the laws are important as the
psalmist says. “They are happy whose life is blameless, who follow God’s
law! They are happy who do his will, seeking him with all their hearts.”
They offer us specific guidelines to implement the one and only law which is
the love of God, self and others. Hence, as Jesus told us in the gospel,
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not
come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Mt 5:17) In a
similar vein, St Paul wrote,“Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love
is the fulfillment of the law.” (Rom 13:10)
In the
gospel, Jesus invites us to strive for perfection. “You must therefore be
perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” At first glance and,
read out of context, it would seem that Jesus too demands that we be perfect in
the observance of the Laws. Yet the truth is that He was not speaking so
much about moral perfection which no one can arrive at in this life unless
endowed with a very special grace from God. The perfection demanded of us
is not that of the Old Testament as in the fulfillment of the Laws but it is
given a new slant in forgiveness and compassion. It is the perfection of love
from the perspective of compassion. We are called to forgive our enemies
and sinners. We are to accept the imperfections of others. While the Laws
are necessary, compassion is even greater. Hence, Jesus said to his
disciples: “You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbour and
hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those
who persecute you.”
By so
doing, Jesus is giving us a greater form of love which is that of compassion,
especially to the weak and the sinner. He understands our human weakness
and our struggles against sin. Being a man like us and taking upon our
infirmities, He has nothing but compassion for us. He wants to assure us
that God is the Father of all and that He loves us all alike, good and
bad. On this basis of His unconditional love and mercy for all, we are
called to do likewise. “In this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven,
for he causes the sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall
on honest and dishonest men alike.”
Jesus is the exemplar of
compassion and forgiveness. He condemns no one. He ate and drank with
sinners. He came for the poor, the marginalized and the sick. Even
with His enemies, He made excuses for them. “For if you love those who
love you, what right have you to claim any credit? Even the tax collectors do
as much, do they not? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you
doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, do they not? You must
therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” So the heart of
the gospel is compassion, understanding and forgiveness. So the
perfection that we are called to imitate is not moral perfection or performance
of the Laws but of love and compassion. Love is the perfection of the
Laws. St Paul says, “The entire law is summed up in a single command:
‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’”
When there is love, we will
of course follow the spirit of the laws which is the perfection of the Laws.
Following the Laws is not merely an external obedience but it must be done out
of love. Without love, the Laws will cause us to be divided as a
community and individually we become proud and arrogant. Hence, Jesus
criticized the religious leaders of the day. For by their
meticulous observance of the Laws, they became self-righteous and judgmental.
They played the role of judge and executor.
There is a danger too for
us who are leaders as well. We are critical of each other and often use harsh
words to put each other down. Instead of saying encouraging and affirming
words, we only find fault with our subordinates or leaders. It is
important to remember that whilst it is the duty of leaders to ensure that
members observe the rules of the organization for the sake of harmony and
unity, they must exercise compassion in dealing with those who break the
rules. We must exercise restraint in dealing with errant sinners and
avoid being too juridical and legalistic. More importantly, like Jesus,
we must feel with the sinners and come to understand from their vantage point.
In the
final analysis, compassion, understanding and forgiveness will help the person
to change rather than condemnation and fault finding. We leaders, and
this includes everyone who is in leadership, like parents, are responsible for
fostering unity. This is what it means to be shepherds after the heart of
Christ. Like Jesus who came for the sick, not the healthy, we too
must reach out to the wounded, the weak, the poor and sinners. In this
way, we can then say, we are truly sons and daughters of the Father since we
too love all alike, even our enemies.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment