20180224
CONVERSION AS RESTORATION AND PERFECTION OF
THE DIGNITY OF OUR SONSHIP IN CHRIST
24 FEBRUARY, 2018, Saturday, 1st Week, Lent
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Deuteronomy 26:16-19 ©
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You will be a people consecrated to the Lord
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Moses said to the people: ‘The Lord your God today commands you to
observe these laws and customs; you must keep and observe them with all your
heart and with all your soul.
‘You have
today made this declaration about the Lord: that he will be your God, but only
if you follow his ways, keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances,
and listen to his voice. And the Lord has today made this declaration about
you: that you will be his very own people as he promised you, but only if you
keep all his commandments; then for praise and renown and honour he will set
you high above all the nations he has made, and you will be a people
consecrated to the Lord, as he promised.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 118(119):1-2,4-5,7-8 ©
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They are happy who follow God’s law!
They are happy whose life is blameless,
who follow God’s law!
They are happy who do his will,
seeking him with all their hearts.
They are happy who follow God’s law!
You have laid down your precepts
to be obeyed with care.
May my footsteps be firm
to obey your statutes.
They are happy who follow God’s law!
I will thank you with an upright heart
as I learn your decrees.
I will obey your statutes;
do not forsake me.
They are happy who follow God’s law!
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Lk8:15
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Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Blessed are those who,
with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves
and yield a harvest through their perseverance.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
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Or
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2Co6:2
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Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Now is the favourable time:
this is the day of salvation.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
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Gospel
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Matthew 5:43-48 ©
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Pray for those who persecute you
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Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You have learnt how it was said: You
must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you:
love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be
sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on bad men as well
as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike. For if you
love those who love you, what right have you to claim any credit? Even the tax
collectors do as much, do they not? And if you save your greetings for your
brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, do
they not? You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is
perfect.’
CONVERSION AS RESTORATION AND PERFECTION OF THE DIGNITY OF OUR
SONSHIP IN CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [DT 26:16-19; MT 5:43-48
]
In the first
reading we are reminded that we are chosen to be God’s people. Like
the Israelites, we were nobody, but God called us. “Once you were not a
people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but
now you have received mercy.” (1 Pt 2:10)
But we are not only called to be God’s people and His subjects, but also His
sons and daughters. “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we
are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God
and co-heirs with Christ.” (Rom 8:16f)
To be called
God’s people and His children is a great privilege. But it entails
obligations arising from our dignity as God’s people and His children as well.
Office always comes with responsibility. So what are the
implications of being the people of God? As the people of God, we
must show ourselves as God’s people by our way of life. How?
In the first
place, we must remember that we are chosen and saved, not as individuals but as
a people. The covenant that God made with Moses was not with some
individuals but with a community. The plan of God is that we will be
His people so that He will be our God. Necessarily, the first
obligation as a member of the Chosen People of God is to strive to live a life
of unity and charity among ourselves, which is reflective of the
Trinitarian inner life of God. We are called to be a covenanted people,
living a covenanted life; a life based on justice, equality and above all,
charity and compassion. Only by subscribing to such fundamental values of
the Covenant, can the community be preserved in love and unity.
Indeed the
purpose of the commandments that God gave to the people through Moses is to
help them to live in unity. They are guidelines to provide them
direction in their relationship with God and with each other.
Commandments therefore are not the ends themselves, but they are at the service
of love and unity, otherwise, the commandments become means to discriminate
people and penalize those who fail.
Secondly, we must recognize
His Lordship over us. If we are God’s people, we must realize that
God is our Lord and our king, we are His subjects. Hence, we must
surrender everything to His Lordship. We must obey Him in all things. We
cannot claim Jesus as our Lord so long as we continue to control our lives
according to our whims and fancies. ‘Jesus is Lord’ is more than just a
verbal acclamation but it means subjecting ourselves to the kingdom values as
enunciated in the Sermon of the Mount (cf Mt 5-7)
on how, as Christians, we are expected to conduct ourselves.
Thirdly, we
must be
consecrated to Him. We must consecrate our whole life, soul and being,
returning to Him what He has given to us. To be consecrated to the Lord
is to be called to holiness. “Be holy because I am holy.” (Lev 11:45 cf 1 Pt 1:16)
Holiness is to be set apart. This means that we must set ourselves apart
for the service of our Lord and king. All that we have, all that we are,
our thoughts, our will and love must totally be given to the Lord for the
service of His Kingdom and His people. Whether we are working in the
Church, at home or working in the world, what makes us holy is when we do
everything for the glory of His name and for the love of Him and His
people. A person is holy when he recognizes that all he has comes from
God and belongs to God alone. Because everything comes from Him and we
all belong to Him, it is only right that we give everything back to God.
But God is
not contented to choose us as His people. He wants us to be more than His
subjects. As Christians we are His sons and daughters because He
is our Father and we share in His divine nature. He wants each of us to
reflect the perfection of God. The implication is to reflect the face of
God. “You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is
perfect.” We must reflect the glory of God in us.
Hence, we must go beyond just observance of the laws to the way God loves us.
Yesterday’s
gospel says that our virtues must go deeper than the scribes and
Pharisees, otherwise we cannot enter the Kingdom of God. We must not
conduct ourselves in a legalistic manner like the Jewish leaders and end up
being self-righteous and judgmental of others. We are to go beyond the
mere observance of the laws to the spirit of the laws. For all laws in
the final analysis is for the service of love. St Paul says, “Avoid
getting into debt, except the debt of mutual love. If you love your
fellowmen, you have fulfilled the laws.” (Rom 13:8)
This means
that we must love like the Father. He is the Father of all humanity. As sons and
daughters of the Father, we must consider others as our brothers and
sisters. It is not enough, as Jesus said, to love our loved ones or even
our fellow Christians. But our love must be given to all, regardless of
language, race or religion. Everyone is to be regarded as our brother and
sister if we dare to claim that God is our Father. As Jesus said, “For if
you love those who love you, what right have you to claim any credit? Even the
tax collectors do as much, do they not?” Unfortunately, most of us tend to
restrict our love to those who are our friends, those who think like us,
perhaps our fellow Christians, but we disregard others who do not share our
faith or our interests. Even within Church ministry, members tend to be
cliquish and would only mix with their own members; or worse still, only with
selected friends within the ministry.
However, even if
we love our brothers and sisters, we are still not anywhere near the perfection
of God. We are called to forgive and love our enemies so
that they do not come under the reign of Satan. Jesus said, “You have
learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I
say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in
this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes the sun to
rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest
men alike.” This was the very life of the Father and the attitude of
Jesus towards His enemies. Even when we reject God again and again, He
would forgive us and embrace us. Jesus, in His passion and death, shows
us what it takes to love our enemies. On the cross, not only did Jesus
forgive His enemies, but He prayed for them. As if it was not sufficient
proof of His love for us, He even made excuses for His enemies “Father, forgive
them for they do not know what they are doing.” (Lk 23:34)
The call to love our enemies, to forgive and do good to those who can’t repay
us, is in order that we reflect the glory of God in us.
How can this
be possible? Perfection
is only possible by inserting ourselves into the paschal mystery of Christ,
sharing in His death and resurrection at baptism. By baptism too, we share in
Christ’s sonship and receive His Spirit to act like sons. Through
baptism, we belong to the new people of God. The Church, which is the
community of grace and the body of Christ, will assist us to live out our identity
as God’s children. Indeed, we need each other to live out this calling to
be God’s people and His children.
We must now
reclaim our gift of sonship through repentance, prayer and Christian living,
and most of all, byreflecting on God’s perfect love for us during this season of
Lent. God’s love for us is everlasting. To reflect the glory
of God is to live a life that claims this love of the Father for our parents,
friends and fellow human beings. This love is especially seen in Christ
who is the love of God in person. Jesus is the compassion and forgiveness
of God.
At the same
time, we are aware that we are only living out our finite and
conditional love in life which is founded in God’s love. We
cannot love perfectly as parents, children and friends. We cannot love
with unlimited and unconditional love. Human love will always be
inadequate and often disappointing. But that should not throw us into
despair because God’s unconditional love will heal us. We also become
more compassionate, but we should not expect that we can love exactly like
God. What is important is that we are trying to perfect our love after
our heavenly Father. That is why we should, and we can, forgive each
other in our failures in love, since we too fail in our love for God and for
our fellowmen occasionally.
Lent is a
time to prepare us to renew our baptismal calling. The focus is not on
fasting and prayer alone. The spiritual exercises are means to help
restore our dignity as baptized Christians, called to be the people of God and
sons and daughters of God. This necessitates a greater awareness of what
our calling entails. Let us therefore, whilst fasting, praying and doing
works of charity, come from a consciousness of who we are before God, His
chosen people and His children.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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