20180615
SINGULAR-MINDEDNESS IN SEEKING
FULLNESS OF LIFE IN RIGHT RELATIONSHIPS
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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1 Kings 19:9,11-16 ©
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The Lord was not in the wind, or the earthquake, or the fire
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When Elijah reached Horeb, the mountain of God, he went into the
cave and spent the night in it. Then he was told, ‘Go out and stand on the
mountain before the Lord.’ Then the Lord himself went by. There came a mighty
wind, so strong it tore the mountains and shattered the rocks before the Lord.
But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake. But the
Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire. But the Lord
was not in the fire. And after the fire there came the sound of a gentle
breeze. And when Elijah heard this, he covered his face with his cloak and went
out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then a voice came to him, which
said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He replied, ‘I am filled with jealous
zeal for the Lord of Hosts, because the sons of Israel have deserted you,
broken down your altars and put your prophets to the sword. I am the only one
left and they want to kill me.’
‘Go,’ the
Lord said, ‘go back by the same way to the wilderness of Damascus. You are to
go and anoint Hazael as king of Aram. You are to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as
king of Israel, and to anoint Elisha son of Shaphat, of Abel Meholah, as
prophet to succeed you.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 26(27):7-9,13-14 ©
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It is your face, O Lord, that I seek.
O Lord, hear my voice when I call;
have mercy and answer.
Of you my heart has spoken:
‘Seek his face.’
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek.
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek;
hide not your face.
Dismiss not your servant in anger;
you have been my help.
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek.
I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.
Hope in the Lord!
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jn10:27
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Ph2:15-16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
You will shine in the world like bright stars
because you are offering it the word of life.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 5:27-32 ©
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If your right eye should cause you to sin, tear it out
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Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You have learnt how it was said: You must not commit adultery. But I say this to you: if a man looks
at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
If your right eye should cause you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; for
it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body
thrown into hell. And if your right hand should cause you to sin, cut it off
and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to
have your whole body go to hell.
‘It has also
been said: Anyone who divorces
his wife must give her a writ of dismissal. But I say this to you: everyone who
divorces his wife, except for the case of fornication, makes her an adulteress;
and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.’
15 JUNE, 2018, Friday, 10th Week,
Ordinary Time
SINGULAR-MINDEDNESS IN SEEKING FULLNESS OF LIFE IN RIGHT
RELATIONSHIPS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1KGS 19:9, 11-16; MT 5:27-32 ]
The gospel text
today might sound rather harsh and exacting. What does Jesus really
mean when He said, “If your right eye should cause you to sin, tear it out and
throw it away” and “if your right hand should cause you to sin, cut it off and
throw it away”? Does He really expect us to do such a thing as to maim
ourselves?
On the contrary,
Jesus wants us to have the fullness of life. What does this
fullness of life entail? Life consists of relationships. We will
find meaning in life only when there is relationship, a relationship that is
right and proper both with God and with our neighbours. Indeed, this is
the only goal in life that is worth our sacrifice. Wealth and status
cannot give us life. Only love and authentic relationship can give us life.
It is within
this context that we can understand why Jesus spoke against adultery.
He went even further to say that “everyone who divorces his wife, except for
the case of fornication, makes her an adulteress; and anyone who marries a
divorced woman commits adultery.” In the understanding of Jesus,
adultery, which is infidelity in relationship, is the worst sin because it
hurts not only the sinner but others as well. We all know so well that
because of adultery, many sins arise. We have lies, anger, hatred and
even violence. We have so many broken families and dysfunctional children today
because of infidelity. Appropriately, adultery is often used in
scriptures to portray man’s relationship with God as well. The truth is
that infidelity in human relationship also affects our relationship with
God. After all, love of God is intrinsically tied down to the love of
man.
Consequently,
since relationship is critical for happiness in life, the demand of Jesus is
that we cut away anything that will hinder us from living the
full gospel life. We must do everything within our power to avoid
the occasion of sin. Just as we need to amputate a certain part of the
body in order to save a person, all the more, we must be ready to part with
anything that can cause us to break our relationship with God, the author of
life and love, because we fail to love our fellowmen correctly. What is
the use of having something at the expense of a greater thing?
And the truth
is that everything begins from the heart, including evil desires. The
heart is the place not only of the emotions, but the mind, will, thought, and
intentions as well. The heart sums up the being of the human person. But
in truth too, the heart desires evil things only because of what the heart
sees, both physically and intellectually. The heart, which is the will,
desires an object.
That is why the sin
of adultery must first be dealt with in the heart. But quite
often it all begins with the eyes, for the eyes cause us to desire a certain
good and the hands cause us to act. The eyes will send the message to the
intellect and the head will tell the heart to desire it. The heart in
turn commands the intellect to tell the body to act. This is true for
lust. Consequently, even if we do not act, the thought is sufficient to
indicate the intention of the heart. Given the opportunity to act, the
action will follow. This explains why even if one lusts after a woman in
the heart, one has already committed adultery in principle.
Yes, we are all
called to the apostolate of love. In demanding that we cut
off anything that prevents us from love and life, Jesus is also telling us that life
cannot wait. It requires a radical decision and commitment.
Life cannot be lived half-heartedly. We cannot postpone living or
postpone loving. It is either a decision to live now or never. We
must make a radical commitment to life. To delay is to say to
ourselves that we do not want to live. But that would be a contradiction.
Perhaps, love is
too difficult for us. Relationship is always difficult.
Love has to be purified. Quite often in relationships, we feel like
giving up. At times, we fail. This was the case of Elijah in the
first reading. He apparently was zealous for the House of Israel, but he
was fleeing because the Queen wanted to take his life for slaying her 400
prophets. On the surface, it seemed that this was the reason why he ran
away. God asked him three times “’What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He
replied, ‘I am filled with jealous zeal for the Lord of hosts, because the sons
of Israel have deserted you, broken down your altars and put your prophets to
the sword. I am the only one left and they want to kill me.’”
But the real
reason was that he was angry with God for not working wonders as He did earlier
to protect him from his enemies. He had a secret and hidden resentment against
God, because he was disappointed with the way God acted. He wanted God to make
Himself present in theophany to prove His might and power. But the Lord
refused to make Himself present in the wind, earthquake or fire. Instead,
He came in a gentle breeze. It would appear that Elijah was fleeing because his
enemies wanted to kill him, when In truth his real enemy was himself.
We, too, must
never be discouraged in our struggles in relationship. We must not be too
harsh towards ourselves, especially in overcoming the sin of lust or in
purifying our relationship with our spouse or our friends. When
Jesus asked us to check the motives, He was not simply concerned about the act
itself but what goes on in our hearts. What is even more important is to
search our hearts. Through mistakes that we make, we will learn and find
the strength and wisdom to overcome our lack of love for our spouse and
partners. Just as God told Elijah who ran away from his enemies, the Lord
is also saying to us, “Go, go back the same way to the wilderness of
Damascus.” In other words, let us never give up fighting the battle to
purify our love for our spouse and friends.
Indeed, the high
ideals of married life are difficult for the modern generation.
But to those who understand the truth and necessity of the unity and
indissolubility of marriage, Jesus will give us the grace and power to follow
His way of holiness in their state of life. He does not abandon us even when we
forsake him. The Holy Spirit will help us to overcome all things.
What we need to do is to follow Elijah, to spend time in contemplation of His
love and His word, so that in the silence of our hearts, God will give us His assurance
of love and grace.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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