INCONSISTENCY

20170323 INCONSISTENCY

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Violet.

First reading

Jeremiah 7:23-28 ©

These were my orders: Listen to my voice, then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Follow right to the end the way that I mark out for you, and you will prosper. But they did not listen, they did not pay attention; they followed the dictates of their own evil hearts, refused to face me, and turned their backs on me. From the day your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until today, day after day I have persistently sent you all my servants the prophets.

  But they have not listened to me, have not paid attention; they have grown stubborn and behaved worse than their ancestors. You may say all these words to them: they will not listen to you; you may call them: they will not answer. So tell them this, “Here is the nation that will not listen to the voice of the Lord its God nor take correction. Sincerity is no more, it has vanished from their mouths.”

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 94(95):1-2,6-9 ©

O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’

Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;

  hail the rock who saves us.

Let us come before him, giving thanks,

  with songs let us hail the Lord.

O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’

Come in; let us bow and bend low;

  let us kneel before the God who made us:

for he is our God and we

  the people who belong to his pasture,

  the flock that is led by his hand.

O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’

O that today you would listen to his voice!

  ‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,

  as on that day at Massah in the desert

when your fathers put me to the test;

  when they tried me, though they saw my work.’

O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’

Gospel Acclamation

Ezk18:31

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

Shake off all your sins – it is the Lord who speaks –

and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

Or	Joel2:12-13

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

Now, now – it is the Lord who speaks –

come back to me with all your heart,

for I am all tenderness and compassion.

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

Gospel

Luke 11:14-23 ©

Jesus was casting out a devil and it was dumb; but when the devil had gone out the dumb man spoke, and the people were amazed. But some of them said, ‘It is through Beelzebul, the prince of devils, that he casts out devils.’ Others asked him, as a test, for a sign from heaven; but, knowing what they were thinking, he said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is heading for ruin, and a household divided against itself collapses. So too with Satan: if he is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? – since you assert that it is through Beelzebul that I cast out devils. Now if it is through Beelzebul that I cast out devils, through whom do your own experts cast them out? Let them be your judges then. But if it is through the finger of God that I cast out devils, then know that the kingdom of God has overtaken you. So long as a strong man fully armed guards his own palace, his goods are undisturbed; but when someone stronger than he is attacks and defeats him, the stronger man takes away all the weapons he relied on and shares out his spoil.

  ‘He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters.’

INCONSISTENCY

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ JER 7:23-28; PS 94:1-2, 6-9; LK 11:14-23]

One of the reasons why many have given up faith in institutional religions, including Catholicism, is the hypocrisy they see in the believers – how they live their lives is not consistent with what they believe and profess in their religion.  Truly, many of us are scandalized by religious leaders, clerical and lay, because of their questionable lifestyle, attitudes and values.  It is very difficult to reconcile what they say and what they do.  This has led many people to stop going to church or temple, although they still believe in a God. Religion has been privatized. These people no longer want to have anything to do with institutionalized religions.  They prefer to pray at home, read the scriptures and simply do what is right by their conscience.

This was the situation during the time of Jeremiah as well. To better appreciate today’s first reading; we must go back to the verses preceding today’s text.  The Lord was displeased with the Israelites even though they obediently offered sacrifices.  What the Lord wanted was not just sacrifices but that they be obedient to His voice.  The Lord lamented, “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh. For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices.”  (Jer 7:21f)  Rather, the Lord said, “These were my orders: Listen to my voice, then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Follow right to the end the way that I mark out for you, and you will prosper.” (Jer 7:23)  Indeed, they were offering sacrifices like many of us do during the season of Lent, but there is no change of heart and growth in Christian charity and justice.

This dichotomy between faith and life makes intelligent and sincere soul- searching people, especially the young, lose faith in institutionalized religions.  They observe their parents and elders leading active lives in church, participating in church activities, serving the poor and helping to run church ministries and programs.  They even go for daily mass, devotions and pray their prayers daily.  But at home, they do not contribute to the household, be it financially or in the household chores. They make their domestic helpers work day and night without giving them proper rest, as if only the master of the house needs rest.  We need our day off, but we do not give the same to our workers, as if they are robots and not human beings with a life of their own.  So when people see how we are so unjust towards our workers, our family members and loved ones, how can they believe that religion is a positive influence when they do not see the fruits of prayer, mass and devotions?  In fact, religious piety can lead some people to become self-righteous and judgmental.

This same attitude was found in the religious leaders during the time of Jesus.  They practised double standards. Some of them were performing exorcism, like Jesus.  In their case, they attributed their work to God, but in the case of Jesus, they attributed it to the work of the Evil One.  They charged, “It is through Beelzebul, the prince of devils that he casts out devils.”  Clearly, they were totally inconsistent in what they said. Logically their argument could not stand either, as Jesus said, “Every kingdom divided against itself is heading for ruin, and a household divided against itself collapses.  So too with Satan: if he is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? – since you assert that it is through Beelzebul that I cast out devils.”  Clearly, Jesus could not have been in league with the Evil One when the work He was doing was against the kingdom of Satan.  He was at war with Satan and his angels.

Ironically, some even asked Jesus “for a sign from heaven.”  Such a sign was redundant, for they could see for themselves that the man was delivered from the Evil One.  We read that “Jesus was casting out a devil and it was dumb; but when the devil had gone out the dumb man spoke, and the people were amazed.”  This itself was proof, yet they asked for a sign!  To substantiate this truth, the Lord said, “So long as a strong man fully armed guards his own palace, his goods are undisturbed; but when someone stronger than he is attacks and defeats him, the stronger man takes away all the weapons he relied on and shares out his spoil.”   Jesus is that strong man; otherwise, He would not have been able to defeat Satan.  Only Jesus who is the Lord could evict Satan from the man.

The question we need to ask is, whether we are ready to listen and to obey.  How sincere are we in obeying the Lord?  We use our devotional practices and spiritual exercises to mask our real intentions.  We have no real desire to amend our lives, like the Israelites.  “But they have not listened to me, have not paid attention; they have grown stubborn and behaved worse than their ancestors.  You may say all these words to them: they will not listen to you; you may call them: they will not answer.”  Indeed, often so called religious people are the most difficult to convert because their hearts are jaded and hardened over the years of indifference and callousness towards the Sacred and the people.  “Here is the nation that will not listen to the voice of the Lord its God nor take correction.  Sincerity is no more, it has vanished from their mouths.”  We can send prophets to them, but they too will not listen. Instead, they will only become defensive and even hostile, if we were to say anything negative about them.  As the Lord said, “But they did not listen, they did not pay attention; they followed the dictates of their own evil hearts, refused to face me, and turned their backs on me from the day your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until today, day after day I have persistently sent you all my servants the prophets.”

Hence, the cry of the psalmist today is, “O that today you would listen to his voice!  ‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as on that day at Massah in the desert when your fathers put me to the test; when they tried me, though they saw my work.’”  During this season of Lent, we are asked to be humble and to listen to the voice of the Lord. It is not that devotions, prayers, masses and other pious practices are useless.  If God asks us to offer sacrifices, it is only to help us to be focused on God and learn to be grateful to Him so that we can be generous with others.  How can we treat others poorly when we were once in their shoes?  “You shall not oppress a stranger; you know the heart of a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”  (Ex 23:9)  As sheep of the flock that belong to God, we must listen to the voice of the shepherd. “Come in; let us bow and bend low; let us kneel before the God who made us: for he is our God and we the people who belong to his pasture, the flock that is led by his hand.”

Then again, in reality, although we know that we lack integrity and consistency in what we belief and how we live our lives, yet, deep inside us, we all want to live more integrated lives.  We must admit that the Old Adam still lives quietly in our hearts, waiting to resurrect the moment we are not conscious of our dignity as God’s children.  To be consistent we cannot use our strength alone because the Evil One is more powerful than us. We cannot resist him with our own strength alone. We must fight the battle with Jesus on our side. He is our strongman who can resist the spiritual onslaughts of the Evil One.

Indeed, today, we must make clear our stand.  Are we for the Lord or not?  Jesus in the gospel throws down the gauntlet.  “He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters.”  There is no neutrality in faith and allegiance to the Lord.  If we are not on His side, we are already against Him because we do not support what is true and good.

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