20170322 ENTRANCE TEST TO ENTER THE PROMISED LAND
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Deuteronomy
4:1,5-9 ©
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Moses said to the
people:
‘Now,
Israel, take notice of the laws and customs that I teach you today, and observe
them, that you may have life and may enter and take possession of the land that
the Lord the God of your fathers is giving you.
‘See, as
the Lord my God has commanded me, I teach you the laws and customs that you are
to observe in the land you are to enter and make your own. Keep them, observe
them, and they will demonstrate to the peoples your wisdom and understanding.
When they come to know of all these laws they will exclaim, “No other people is
as wise and prudent as this great nation.” And indeed, what great nation is
there that has its gods so near as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call
to him? And what great nation is there that has laws and customs to match this
whole Law that I put before you today?
‘But take
care what you do and be on your guard. Do not forget the things your eyes have
seen, nor let them slip from your heart all the days of your life; rather, tell
them to your children and to your children’s children.’
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
147:12-13,15-16,19-20 ©
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O praise the Lord,
Jerusalem!
O praise the Lord,
Jerusalem!
Zion,
praise your God!
He has strengthened
the bars of your gates
he has
blessed the children within you.
O praise the Lord,
Jerusalem!
He sends out his word
to the earth
and
swiftly runs his command.
He showers down snow
white as wool,
he
scatters hoar-frost like ashes.
O praise the Lord,
Jerusalem!
He makes his word
known to Jacob,
to Israel
his laws and decrees.
He has not dealt thus
with other nations;
he has
not taught them his decrees.
O praise the Lord,
Jerusalem!
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Jn8:12
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Glory to you, O
Christ, you are the Word of God!
I am the light of the
world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me
will have the light of life.
Glory to you, O
Christ, you are the Word of God!
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Or
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cf.Jn6:63,68
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Glory to you, O
Christ, you are the Word of God!
Your words are
spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message
of eternal life.
Glory to you, O
Christ, you are the Word of God!
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Gospel
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Matthew 5:17-19 ©
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Jesus
said to his disciples: ‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or
the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. I tell you
solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke,
shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved. Therefore, the man
who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to
do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man
who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of
heaven.’
ENTRANCE
TEST TO ENTER THE PROMISED LAND
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [
Dt 4:1,5-9; Ps 147:12-13,15-16,19-20; MT 5:17-19]
In the early Church, today’s mass was
recommended for the Catechumens’ First Scrutiny before entering the Catholic
Faith. It was a necessary test before they could be accepted for
baptism. This first test concerns obedience to the laws. Unless the
Catechumens were ready to embrace the laws of God as taught in the scripture
and especially by Christ, they could not be admitted into the faith. The litmus
test that they must ratify is their desire to observe the commandments so that
they might have life.
This was the same test that God gave to
the people through Moses. God was fully aware that once they entered the
Promised Land, they would be surrounded by pagan neighbours. They would begin
to mix with the original inhabitants. Some inculturation would take place
even in the area of worship of God. They would be tempted by the
Canaanites’ fertility gods and thereby forsake the God of the Exodus once they
settled into a sedentary and agricultural life. Furthermore, the
Promised Land was a fertile land, a land filled with honey. As they grew
rich, they would be tempted to fall away from God, as most people do when they
become rich and successful. Success will get into their heads, and they will
become arrogant and independent from God. In the light of the impending
challenges, the Lord also warned them of the test before them; Moses said, “And
now, Israel, take notice of the laws and customs that I teach you today, and
observe them, that you may have life and may enter and take possession of the
land that the Lord the God of your fathers is giving you. See, as the Lord my
God has commanded me, I teach you the laws and customs that you are to observe
in the land you are to enter and make your own.”
Since Moses used the word, “today” it
also means that his instruction is still valid for us all. Unless we
observe the commandments of God, we will not have the fullness of life.
This was what Jesus said as well, “Therefore, the man who infringes even
one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will
be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them
and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of
heaven.” To enter into the Promised Land at Easter, we must return
to the Laws of God, observe them so that we might have life.
But what is it that hinders us from being
obedient to the laws of God? Simply, it is because we have separated the
laws from the person of God. When the laws are separated from God
Himself, the laws become an existence unto its own, alienated from life.
The laws become harsh, cold and burdensome. This was what happened in the
history of religions. The laws were meant to help Israel live a
harmonious and happy life. But they either forsook the laws or became
self-righteous, like the Pharisees and the scribes during the time of
Jesus. When laws are detached from God Himself, they become simply a set
of rules, just like the laws in the civil courts or any organization. In other
words, the spirit of the laws is lost.
Now, the point is that the Spirit of the
laws is identified with God. He is the lawgiver. The laws are not
distinct from God Himself because He is the law. His word is identical to
Himself. God expressed Himself therefore in Christ Jesus who is the
Incarnated Word. In Christ, God speaks completely and fully, not just in
the words but in the being, life, conduct and actions of Jesus. Thus, we
say that Jesus is the Word of God. By extension, we also say that the
bible is the Word of God. We have reverence for the Bible simply because
it is God who is revered through the scriptures. The laws of God are His
wisdom and His fatherly advice to all His children, just like the words of our
parents. They are meant for our good and not to make our lives miserable.
They are meant to guide us to live fully.
Truly, the laws of God are the expression
of His wisdom and concern for us. “Keep them, observe them, and they will
demonstrate to the peoples your wisdom and understanding. When they come to
know of all these laws they will exclaim, ‘No other people is as wise and
prudent as this great nation.’” Just as parents, elders and statesmen
pass on their knowledge and wisdom to their children through the sharing of their
lives, their biography and the truths that they learnt, not just through study
but through life itself, so too the laws of God are meant to be wisdom for His
people so that they would not make the mistakes that others had before
them.
Indeed, God comes close to us when we
observe His laws. This was what Moses said. “And indeed, what great nation is
there that has its gods so near as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call
to him? And what great nation is there that has laws and customs to match this whole
Law that I put before you today?” Through the laws, God comes into our
lives as He guides us through them. The psalmist rejoiced, “He sends out
his word to the earth and swiftly runs his command. He showers down snow
white as wool, he scatters hoar-frost like ashes. He makes his word known
to Jacob, to Israel his laws and decrees. He has not dealt thus with
other nations; he has not taught them his decrees.” To give us His laws
is to give us Himself in person.
The test of the truth of the wisdom of
His laws is in observing them. Moses told the people. “Israel, take
notice of the laws and customs that I teach you today, and observe them, that
you may have life and may enter and take possession of the land that the Lord
the God of your fathers is giving you.” When we are obedient to the laws
of God, there will be justice, charity and harmony among all peoples. The
Decalogue is given as the basic principles of life that everyone must observe
at its minimum. Beyond these Ten Commandments, the rest are elaboration
for specific circumstances. Of course, Jesus gave us His principles of
life Himself, not in terms of prohibitions but in a positive and proactive
manner, as in the Beatitudes, the Sermon on the Mount, and the call to love one
another as He has loved us.
Thus, the key to observing the laws of
God joyfully and not slavishly is when we are conscious that observing the laws
of God is to love Him and to love our neighbours and ourselves. Only
those who know God and His love will learn to trust Him even when they do not
understand the laws and its implication as this point of time. It is like
children obeying their parents. When they are young, before they reach
the age of understanding and reasoning, they simply obey their parents because
they believe that their parents know best. They even observe those rules
that they do not understand, because they know that these are meant for their
well-being. Furthermore, observing the rules is the way they demonstrate
their love for their parents, since these rules are in many ways an expression
of their parents’ wisdom and conviction in life.
So if we want to find strength to observe
the laws, we must rediscover the love of God. His love must come first
before the laws. Indeed, these laws were given to the Israelites only
after they had encountered the power of the Lord, His mercy and love in the
Exodus. For this reason, Moses gave an adjunction to the laws, “But take
care what you do and be on your guard. Do not forget the things your eyes have
seen, nor let them slip from your heart all the days of your life; rather, tell
them to your children and your children’s children.” In other
words, cut off from the love of God as demonstrated at the Exodus, observing
the laws do not make sense and become a burden. No longer are they
observed purely out of love for God who identifies Himself with the laws.
Jesus is for us the exemplar of what it
means to observe the laws. He stated categorically in no uncertain terms,
“Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have
come not to abolish but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and
earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the
Law until its purpose is achieved.” We must not think that Jesus was a
lawless person. Although He broke some of the religious laws and customs,
it was done to recover the spirit of the laws, not the letter of the
laws. Jesus came to perfect the observance of the laws by linking
obedience with love. Without love, obedience is a burden. When laws
are carried out with love for the person and not the laws themselves, we become
more humane and more compassionate.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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