20171017
WORSHIPPING THE CREATURE INSTEAD OF THE
CREATOR
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Red.
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First reading
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Romans 1:16-25 ©
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I am not ashamed of the Good News: it is the power of God saving
all who have faith – Jews first, but Greeks as well – since this is
what reveals the justice of God to us: it shows how faith leads to faith, or as
scripture says: The upright man finds life through faith.
The anger of
God is being revealed from heaven against all the impiety and depravity of men
who keep truth imprisoned in their wickedness. For what can be known about God
is perfectly plain to them since God himself has made it plain. Ever since God
created the world his everlasting power and deity – however
invisible – have been there for the mind to see in the things he has made.
That is why such people are without excuse: they knew God and yet refused to
honour him as God or to thank him; instead, they made nonsense out of logic and
their empty minds were darkened. The more they called themselves philosophers,
the more stupid they grew, until they exchanged the glory of
the immortal God for a worthless imitation, for the image of
mortal man, of birds, of quadrupeds and reptiles. That is why God left them to
their filthy enjoyments and the practices with which they dishonour their own
bodies, since they have given up divine truth for a lie and have worshipped and
served creatures instead of the creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen!
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 18(19):2-5 ©
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The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God,
and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.
Day unto day takes up the story
and night unto night makes known the message.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
No speech, no word, no voice is heard
yet their span extends through all the earth,
their words to the utmost bounds of the world.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps118:135
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Let your face shine on your servant,
and teach me your decrees.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Heb4:12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 11:37-41 ©
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Jesus had just finished speaking when a Pharisee invited him to
dine at his house. He went in and sat down at the table. The Pharisee saw this
and was surprised that he had not first washed before the meal. But the Lord
said to him, ‘Oh, you Pharisees! You clean the outside of cup and plate, while
inside yourselves you are filled with extortion and wickedness. Fools! Did not
he who made the outside make the inside too? Instead, give alms from what you
have and then indeed everything will be clean for you.’
WORSHIPPING THE CREATURE INSTEAD OF THE CREATOR
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Rom 1:16-25; Ps 19:2-5; Lk 11:37-41 ]
What is the
greatest of all sins? Is it killing, cheating, drug smuggling, sexual abuse or
slandering people and destroying their reputation? None of these!
All these sins are manifestations of the one sin that gives birth to all these
other sins, namely, the sin of idolatry or the sin of impiety, the worship of
self, of the creature rather than the worship of God. This is the theme
of today’s scripture readings. “That is why God left them to their filthy
enjoyments and the practices with which they dishonour their own bodies, since
they have given up divine truth for a lie and have worshipped and served
creatures instead of the creator, who is blessed forever.” The most insidious
form of idolatry is not the worship of statues but the worship of self.
How is
idolatry expressed in our lives? We worship ourselves when we make
ourselves the center of our lives. We are absorbed in ourselves and in our
self-interests. We want the whole world to revolve around us, thinking
that we are the center of people’s lives. We become egoistic and self-centered.
We are always thinking of ourselves, our needs, our convenience, our security
and our pleasures. We make use of others for our selfish interests.
We see people in terms of utility and not in terms of relationships. Eventually,
we will lose our compassion for others and the ability to feel with and for
others. When that happens, we lose our humanity. We forget that we
are just a tiny dot in this whole world. We are here today and tomorrow
we are no more. Even great men will have their days and then they are no
more.
We worship
ourselves when we think we know everything. Some of us are so arrogant, thinking we
have the answer to everything in life, and that we can solve all the problems
in this world merely by using our intellect and knowledge. This is the world of
relativism, when people make themselves the judge of all that is true and
good. They do not believe in anything unless they can understand or be
convinced. In truth, we accept most things in life without understanding
and proof. Otherwise it would be impossible to live if we have to
understand everything before we believe. That is why those who think so
highly of themselves and lack the humility to know their limitations are the
fools of this world because they can learn nothing from anyone. St Paul wrote,
“The more they called themselves philosophers the more stupid they grew, until
they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for a worthless imitation, for the
image of mortal man, of birds, of quadrupeds and reptiles.”
The third way
to worship ourselves is to worship our bodies. We only care about the
pleasures of this world. We live a sensual life, a life of depravity and
licentiousness. We seek to fulfill the desires of the body but we forget
the all important aspect of our soul. We think that by satisfying
our cravings, we will be happy in life. On the contrary, our souls are
restless until they rest in God. Our bodies will be saturated after a
while and then life is empty again. Those of us who do not take care of
our bodies, eating excessively, drinking until we get drunk, or living a
promiscuous life, will have to pay for our sins because our body would be
destroyed by our unhealthy lifestyle and because of our immoral life, we will
break up our families and the ones we love.
The irony of
idolatry is that in worshipping ourselves, we lose our freedom. We become so obsessed
with ourselves that we can no longer see beyond ourselves, our interests and
our needs. In wanting absolute freedom, we abuse the freedom that is
given to us. We are imprisoned in our egotism, in our fears, in our
insecurity and in the things of this world. We are attached to the
world and live like prisoners of this world and its pleasures.
What is the
root of the sin of idolatry with all its offsprings? It is the sin
of impiety, the rejection of God in our lives. St Paul wrote, “The
anger of God is being revealed from heaven against all the impiety and
depravity of men who keep the truth imprisoned in their wickedness.” When
God is denied, man supplants the place of God. He makes himself god in
this world. He thinks he is in control of his own life and in charge of
this world. This is foolishness because we cannot even determine how long
we will live in this world. We might be healthy and doing well in life,
and tomorrow we might meet our death because of an accident or discover that we
have an incurable deadly illness. As a result, we live in deep insecurity
and fear over death. We seek to prolong our lives. Indeed, what the
world fears most is death because we think that death is the end of everything
since there is no God and no life beyond this earth. This explains why
the modern man seeks to grab as much as he can, enjoy as much as he wants
because he thinks he has only one life on this earth. But the truth is that
life goes beyond this earth.
We can
believe in life after death only when we believe in God. To say that we
believe in God means that we believe in eternity, in truth and in goodness and
in love. It means that we live beyond this life. It is to
acknowledge that we did not come from ourselves but from a transcendent source
whom we call God. St Paul made it clear, “For what can be known about God
is perfectly plain to them since God himself has made it plain. Ever
since God created the world his everlasting power and deity – however invisible
– have been there for the mind to see in the things he has made. That is
why such people are without excuse: they knew God and yet refused to honour him
as God or to thank him; instead, they made nonsense out of logic and their
empty minds were darkened.” Indeed, the whole of creation manifests
the wonders of God. This is what the psalmist tells us. “The
heavens proclaim the glory of God, and the firmament shows forth the work of
his hands. Day unto day takes up the story and night unto night makes known the
message. No speech, no word, no voice is heard yet their span extends
through all the earth, their words to the utmost bounds of the world.”
The book of
wisdom says that the fear of the Lord is true wisdom. It is the way to
gladness, joy and a long life. (cf Sir 1:12)
They “will have a happy end; on the day of their death they will be
blessed.” (Sir 1:13) To fear the Lord is fullness of
wisdom; she inebriates mortals with her fruits; she fills their whole
house with desirable goods, and their storehouses with her produce. The
fear of the Lord is the crown of wisdom, making peace and perfect health to
flourish. She rained down knowledge and discerning comprehension, and she
heightened the glory of those who held her fast. To fear the Lord is the root
of wisdom, and her branches are long life.” (Sir 1:16-20)
Only in God, is there truth and life. In God alone, is the foundation of
love, joy and peace.
Indeed, only
those who fear the Lord are able to have a proper appreciation of himself in
the context of the universe. We are not the center of the universe but God
alone. But we are important to God and God loves each one of us. He
created the universe for us to share in His life and joy. What prevents
us from living a life of joy and love is our focus on ourselves, instead of
giving ourselves in service to others. This is what the Lord is
asking of us in the gospel, not to be concerned with what others think about us
but what is inside of us. He said to the Pharisees, “Oh, you Pharisees!
You clean the outside of cup and plate, while inside yourselves you are filled
with extortion and wickedness. Fools! Did not he who made the outside
make the inside too?”
Rather, what
is more important for our happiness is what is inside of us! Happiness is not how much we
have or what people think of us, but whether we are at peace within ourselves,
whether we focus on serving others and making a difference in the lives of
others. Only those who give themselves generously to the service God and
their fellowmen can find true joy in life because that is the way in which we
participate in the life of God. This is what the Lord advised us,
“Instead, give alms from what you have and then indeed everything will be clean
for you.” This is eternal life, a life of love and giving, which is the
life of God.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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