20161008 DIVINE FILIATION AS THE WORK OF GRACE
First
Reading Galatians 3 : 22-29
22 As
it is, scripture
makes no exception when it says that sin
is master everywhere; so the promise can be given only by faith
in Jesus Christ to those who have
this faith.
23 But
before faith
came, we were kept under guard by the Law, locked up to wait for the faith
which would eventually be revealed to us.
24 So
the Law
was serving as a slave to look after us, to lead us to Christ, so that we could
be justified by faith.
25 But
now that faith
has come we are no longer under a slave looking after us;
27
since every one of you that has been baptised has been clothed in Christ.
28
There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither slave nor freeman,
there can be neither male nor female -- for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And simply by being Christ's, you are that progeny of
Abraham, the heirs named in the promise.
Gospel 11: 27-28
27 It
happened that as he was speaking, a woman
in the crowd raised her voice and said, 'Blessed the womb that bore you and the
breasts that fed you!'
28 But he replied, 'More blessed still are those who hear the
word of God
and keep it!'
DIVINE
FILIATION AS THE WORK OF GRACE
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ GALATIANS
3:22-29; LUKE 11:27-28
]
There is no peace in the world because
there is no peace within us. When we are prisoners of sin, we
cannot find peace. “Scripture makes no exceptions when it says that sin
is master everywhere.” St Paul also wrote, “Now the works of the flesh are
obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities,
strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness,
carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before:
those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Gal 5:19-21) Indeed,
when we are ruled by sin, we live under the bondage of the Evil One and our
passions that cause us to hurt ourselves and our loved ones.
So how does the world attempt to preserve
peace and unity among peoples? Through the institution of laws!
Laws are necessary to ensure that men and women respect each other and if they
break the permitted boundaries, they will be punished accordingly. So the
laws are enacted to ensure the protection of the individual. For this
reason, no institution, secular or religious, government or corporate can do
without the laws. We have laws against the use of drugs, irresponsible
driving, excessive gambling, and infidelities. To ensure that justice
also prevails in the Church, we have Canon Law.
Laws have its value when we are still
ignorant. They are given to us so that we know what is right or
wrong. Without the laws, we might not do what is evil. Laws are
given to help us to distinguish between good and evil. To that extent when
given by God they reveal His will and provide the guidelines for harmonious and
just relationships between one another. Of course, not all laws enacted
are good, especially civil laws, because they are not always enlightened.
This is particularly true today in a world of relativism and secularism.
Civil laws do not always live up to the perfection of truth and love.
Hence, some civil laws, out of recognition of the weaknesses of men, permit
certain levels of “immoral” lifestyle, such as divorce, abortion, gambling and
pornography.
But laws have limits because they are
written on tablets. They cannot modify the state of the person.
Laws are meant for those who are still weak, rebellious and young; not for the
strong and disciplined. So although the laws, even those given by God in
the Old Testament, are good, holy and righteous, they cannot impart spiritual
life or love. They cannot make a person morally upright. Instead, he
becomes a slave, fearful of breaking the laws because of punishment rather than
because of love of others. Even for those who can fulfill the laws,
they can become prideful, self-righteous and lacking mercy and compassion for
the weak.
So more than just the laws, salvation is
through grace. “Before faith came, we were allowed no freedom by the Law;
we were being looked after till faith was revealed. The Law was to be our
guardian until the Christ came and we could be justified by faith.” The only
way to heal and restore man is not just to provide the laws but to give him the
capacity to observe them. What we need is not just the map but the
ability and strength as well. This strength to observe the laws must come
from love. When there is love, we can observe everything freely and
generously. Jesus is our justification because He is the love of
God made tangible for us. In Jesus, we no longer do things to please God
or earn His favour, but motivated by the Spirit of God’s love in us.
Salvation is through the forgiveness of sins won by Christ Jesus for
us. In faith, we only have to accept God’s forgiveness in Christ through
baptism and the reception of the Holy Spirit. In giving us the Holy
Spirit, He gives us the power to obey His Father, freely and joyfully.
In the gospel, we are reminded that Mary
too is the work of grace. She was chosen to be the Mother of the Saviour,
not on her account of a good life but by the grace of God. She was full
of grace and favoured by the Lord. For this reason, Jesus told the woman
in her outburst that the cause for her joy must go beyond biological motherhood
to spiritual motherhood. “Still happier those who hear the word of God and keep
it!” In a certain sense, we all have been graced with the gift of
sonship and daughtership through our baptism. But grace given must also
be received.
How do we know that we have received this
grace? Through obedience to the laws! What Jesus extolled in the
gospel was not kinship or connection with Him through biological or
genealogical ties but obedience to the Word of God. Having received
His grace, we must cooperate with His Word so that the grace of God can grow
and flower in us. Mary was chosen to be the Mother of God by grace.
However, she was not contented to be chosen; she allowed the grace of God to
work through her each day as she responded faithfully to the Word of God in
obedience to His divine will. Her life was one of fiat and docility to
God’s commandments. Loved by God unconditionally, Mary in return
surrendered her entire life to God’s plan, which included the giving up of her
only Son on the cross.
The responsorial psalm reminds us that
God has chosen us all. He has made His covenant with us. It is His
will that we become His sons and daughters because we are created for
Him. We are the Chosen People of God and members of His family. “O
children of Abraham, his servant, O sons of the Jacob he chose. He, the
Lord, is our God: his judgements prevail in all the earth.” So in faith,
let us follow Mary and St Paul in claiming our privilege as God’s children in
grace and in gratitude demonstrate in our lives that we have been truly saved
by grace. Let us not receive the grace of God in vain.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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