20170728 UNDERSTANDING THE WORD OF GOD DETERMINES OUR
RESPONSE
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
First reading
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Exodus 20:1-17 ©
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The Law given at Sinai
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God spoke all these words. He said, ‘I am the Lord your God who
brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
‘You shall
have no gods except me.
‘You shall
not make yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven or on
earth beneath or in the waters under the earth; you shall not bow down to them
or serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God and I punish the
father’s fault in the sons, the grandsons, and the great-grandsons of those who
hate me; but I show kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my
commandments.
‘You shall
not utter the name of the Lord your God to misuse it, for the Lord will not
leave unpunished the man who utters his name to misuse it.
‘Remember
the sabbath day and keep it holy. For six days you shall labour and do all your
work, but the seventh day is a sabbath for the Lord your God. You shall do no work
that day, neither you nor your son nor your daughter nor your servants, men or
women, nor your animals nor the stranger who lives with you. For in six days
the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that these hold,
but on the seventh day he rested; that is why the Lord has blessed the sabbath
day and made it sacred.
‘Honour your
father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the
Lord your God has given to you.
‘You shall
not kill.
‘You shall
not commit adultery.
‘You shall
not steal.
‘You shall
not bear false witness against your neighbour.
‘You shall
not covet your neighbour’s house. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or
his servant, man or woman, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is his.’
Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 18(19):8-11 ©
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Lord, you have the message of eternal life.
The law of the Lord is perfect,
it revives the soul.
The rule of the Lord is to be trusted,
it gives wisdom to the simple.
Lord, you have the message of eternal life.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
they gladden the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear,
it gives light to the eyes.
Lord, you have the message of eternal life.
The fear of the Lord is holy,
abiding for ever.
The decrees of the Lord are truth
and all of them just.
Lord, you have the message of eternal life.
They are more to be desired than gold,
than the purest of gold
and sweeter are they than honey,
than honey from the comb.
Lord, you have the message of eternal life.
Gospel Acclamation
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Jm1:21
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept and submit to the word
which has been planted in you
and can save your souls.
Alleluia!
Or
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cf.Lk8:15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are those who,
with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves
and yield a harvest through their perseverance.
Alleluia!
Gospel
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Matthew 13:18-23 ©
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Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You are to hear the parable of the
sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom without understanding, the
evil one comes and carries off what was sown in his heart: this is the man who
received the seed on the edge of the path. The one who received it on patches
of rock is the man who hears the word and welcomes it at once with joy. But he
has no root in him, he does not last; let some trial come, or some persecution
on account of the word, and he falls away at once. The one who received the
seed in thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this world and
the lure of riches choke the word and so he produces nothing. And the one who
received the seed in rich soil is the man who hears the word and understands it;
he is the one who yields a harvest and produces now a hundredfold, now sixty,
now thirty.’
UNDERSTANDING THE WORD OF GOD DETERMINES OUR RESPONSE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ EX 20:1-17; PS 18:8-11; MT 13:18-23]
“The law of
the Lord is perfect, it revives the soul. The
rule of the Lord is to be trusted; it gives wisdom to the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, they gladden the heart. The command
of the Lord is clear; it gives light to the eyes.”
Indeed the law of the Lord is good. This is what the psalmist declares. The Ten
Commandments offer us guidelines to wise living. They help us to walk in
the right path and in the way of justice and love. They are simple and based on
truth. “The decrees of the Lord are truth and all of them
just. They are more to be desired than gold, than the purest
of gold and sweeter are they than honey, than honey from the comb.”
Anyone can appreciate them. They are founded on universal truths.
The last seven Commandments are based on the human conscience and instinct on
justice. Those who abide by these Commandments will have a happy life and
a glad heart, free from guilt and blame.
Truly, the
laws are the wisdom of God. Moses told the people how fortunate they were to have such a
God! “So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding
in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely
this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is
there that has a god so near to it as is the Lord our God whenever we call on
Him? Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous
as this whole law which I am setting before you today.” (Dt 4:6-8)
Then why is
it that we keep breaking the laws, just like the Israelites? Jesus in the
gospel says it is due to the lack of receptivity. There are different depths
of understanding. But He was not speaking so much about the
understanding of the mind but of the heart. It has to do with
receptivity. What kind of soil are we? Are the laws
written on tablets or on our hearts? Do we have an attitude of faith and
docility? The different depths of openness and understanding are
illustrated in the parable of the sower.
The first
level concerns understanding. “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom without understanding,
the evil one comes and carries off what was sown in his heart; this is the man
who received the seed on the edge of the path.” This concerns our
conviction. It depends on how convinced we are of what we
hear. The depth of conviction depends on understanding, not knowledge.
The latter must not be confused with the former. Knowledge is
merely information without conviction. Understanding involves the intellect
grasping the truth and the heart perceiving as good. Until that happens,
there is no real understanding.
In this
respect, understanding requires prayer, study and grace. The most direct and easiest
way to understand the bible is through a prayerful meditation on the
scriptures. Of course, our prayer life is helped by a greater knowledge of the
Word of God through Bible and theological study. Whilst knowledge of the
Bible is not essential for understanding, it helps greatly to understand the
different levels of meanings in the bible, namely, the historical, existential
and theological meanings. Yet the ability to enter into the depths of the
Word of God depends on the grace of God, the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit.
The mystical
and spiritual meaning must be inspired by Him alone. This is because, as St
Paul says, “It is a wisdom that none of the masters of this age have ever
known, or they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory; we teach what
scripture calls: the things that no eye has seen and no ear has heard, things
beyond the mind of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him. These
are the very things that God has revealed to us through the Spirit, for the
Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God. After all, the
depths of a man can only be known by his own spirit, not by any other man, and
in the same way the depths of God can only be known by the Spirit of
God.” (1 Cor 2:8-11)
The second
level of receptivity is affected by external factors that come from
trials. “The one who received it on patches of rock is the man who hears
the word and welcomes it at once with joy. But he has no root in him, he
does not last; let some trial come, or some persecution on account of the word,
and he falls away at once.” This is because faith is not deep enough.
The lack of conviction means that in the face of struggles and trials, we
forget the Word of God. We have short memories of God’s love for us as in
human love. Like the Israelites, we forget the wonders He has wrought in
our lives.
There are two
reasons for this forgetfulness. Firstly, the experience was not a depth experience and
hence easily forgotten. Unless it is a radical encounter with the power
and grace of God, we tend to forget. Secondly, we all have short memories
for good things that have been done to us but have long memories for those
hurting events in our lives. We cannot forgive those who have hurt
us. Because of one serious failure on the part of our loved ones, we
break relationship completely, forgetting all the many good things the person
has done for us or had helped us in the past. We need to see things in
perspective and in proportion. Hence, by recollecting the good things and
beautiful events we have with the person who has failed us, we will regain
confidence in that person. So too by recalling those times that God has
seen us through, we would then not feel so shaken by the trials of life,
especially the painful events. So it is necessary that we recollect often
and pray over those events in the past so as to relish and appreciate His love
and mercy. Recounting His love and mercy like the psalmist is important
to strengthen faith through gratitude for His love in the past. It is for
this reason that the Church invites us to pray the Liturgy of the Hours, which
is called Praise and Thanksgiving, so that praying the psalms, we remember His
love for us throughout the ages.
The third
level of receptivity is affected by the temptations of the world. “The one who received
the seed on thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this world
and the lure of riches choke the word and so he produces nothing.” It has
to do with our fallen nature. We are sensual beings, not pure
spirits. Our body craves for food and pleasure. We are afraid of
pain and discomfort. This is natural but it becomes unnatural when we
lose control over ourselves. This is the consequence of a fallen nature,
when we suffer the loss of integrity, the fear of death, the aversion to pain
and an unenlightened mind. As a consequence, our spirit is willing but
the flesh is weak. The lures of the world come from a wounded
nature, a weak body, a disordered will and a confused mind with shallow
understanding. This explains why the world is imposing their desires and
preferences as the norm for constructing the new world order. They are
rewriting laws based even on nature to suit their selfish needs. The new
moral order is not founded on truth but on compromises and succumbing to the
sensual, self-centered and individualistic needs of man.
How can we
overcome the temptations of the world? We need to cultivate
discipline, the practice of mortification, penance, prayer and almsgiving,
regular confession, and reception of the Eucharist. But more than just
discipline we need to pray for the gift of wisdom to see what is truly
essential in life. St Paul says, “Now we have received not the spirit of
the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts
bestowed on us by God. And we speak of these things in words not taught by
human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those
who are spiritual. Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of
God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to
understand them because they are spiritually discerned. Those who are spiritual
discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny.
‘For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the
mind of Christ.” (1 Cor 2:12-16) When we see and know what is truly good
for us then we won’t pursue the illusory things of the world realising that
they are means not the ends of our happiness.
Finally, we
arrive at the final level of receptivity. This level is attained through
pure grace but with full human cooperation. “And the one who received the seed in
rich soil is the man who hears the word and understands it; he is the one who
yields a harvest and produces now a hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty.”
Indeed, this is the thrust of the gospel message of the parable.
Everything is pure grace. Where the seeds will fall is grace. When
they fall is grace. Furthermore, knowledge of the laws alone is not
sufficient to help us live a good and wise life. Laws are incapable of
empowering us. They only tell us how to live and tell us when we are
wrong. Only God’s love can empower us. This is pure grace. St Paul
says, “For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I
have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is
Christ who lives in me. And the life, I now live in the flesh I live by faith
in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the
grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for
nothing.” (Gal 2:19-21)
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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