Friday, 31 August 2018

INTERPLAY BETWEEN GRACE AND MERIT

20180901 INTERPLAY BETWEEN GRACE AND MERIT


01 SEPTEMBER, 2018, Saturday, 21st Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading
1 Corinthians 1:26-31 ©

God chose what is foolish by human reckoning, to shame the wise
Take yourselves for instance, brothers, at the time when you were called: how many of you were wise in the ordinary sense of the word, how many were influential people, or came from noble families? No, it was to shame the wise that God chose what is foolish by human reckoning, and to shame what is strong that he chose what is weak by human reckoning; those whom the world thinks common and contemptible are the ones that God has chosen – those who are nothing at all to show up those who are everything. The human race has nothing to boast about to God, but you, God has made members of Christ Jesus and by God’s doing he has become our wisdom, and our virtue, and our holiness, and our freedom. As scripture says: if anyone wants to boast, let him boast about the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 32(33):12-13,18-21 ©
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
They are happy, whose God is the Lord,
  the people he has chosen as his own.
From the heavens the Lord looks forth,
  he sees all the children of men.
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
The Lord looks on those who revere him,
  on those who hope in his love,
to rescue their souls from death,
  to keep them alive in famine.
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
Our soul is waiting for the Lord.
  The Lord is our help and our shield.
In him do our hearts find joy.
  We trust in his holy name.
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.

Gospel Acclamation
Ph2:15-16
Alleluia, alleluia!
You will shine in the world like bright stars
because you are offering it the word of life.
Alleluia!
Or:
Jn13:34
Alleluia, alleluia!
I give you a new commandment:
love one another just as I have loved you, 
says the Lord.
Alleluia!

Gospel
Matthew 25:14-30 ©

You have been faithful in small things: come and join in your master's happiness
Jesus spoke this parable to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of Heaven is like a man on his way abroad who summoned his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to a third one; each in proportion to his ability. Then he set out.
  ‘The man who had received the five talents promptly went and traded with them and made five more. The man who had received two made two more in the same way. But the man who had received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
  ‘Now a long time after, the master of those servants came back and went through his accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents came forward bringing five more. “Sir,” he said “you entrusted me with five talents; here are five more that I have made.”
  ‘His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have shown you can be faithful in small things, I will trust you with greater; come and join in your master’s happiness.”
  ‘Next the man with the two talents came forward. “Sir,” he said “you entrusted me with two talents; here are two more that I have made.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have shown you can be faithful in small things, I will trust you with greater; come and join in your master’s happiness.”
  ‘Last came forward the man who had the one talent. “Sir,” said he “I had heard you were a hard man, reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered; so I was afraid, and I went off and hid your talent in the ground. Here it is; it was yours, you have it back.” But his master answered him, “You wicked and lazy servant! So you knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered? Well then, you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have recovered my capital with interest. So now, take the talent from him and give it to the man who has the five talents. For to everyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away. As for this good-for-nothing servant, throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.”’


INTERPLAY BETWEEN GRACE AND MERIT

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 CORINTHIANS 1:26-31MATTHEW 25:14-30 ]
In the first reading, St Paul makes it clear that who we are and what we are is the result of grace alone.  Indeed, we have nothing to boast about except the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. He wrote to the Corinthians, “Take yourselves, brothers, at the time when you were called: how many of you were wise in the ordinary sense of the word, how many were influential people, or came from noble families? No, it was to shame the wise that God chose what is foolish by human reckoning, and to shame the strong that he chose what is weak by human reckoning; those whom the world thinks common and contemptible are the ones that God has chosen – those who are nothing at all to show up those who are everything.”  That is why we must not think too highly of ourselves in our accomplishments.  In our pride, some of us think that we are so great and so good because we have accomplished so much in life, winning many laurels.
Yet the truth in life is that without God’s grace, we cannot do anything.  If the Lord had not given us talents, such as money, health, intelligence, opportunities, contacts, mentors and good people that come our way, could we be successful in life?  Without money, we cannot go for further studies or start a business.  Without good health, we cannot do well in our studies or in our work. Without gray matter, we will not have the capacity to earn a degree or be creative in managing our business.  Without good contacts, teachers, friends, counsellors we would not have known our talents.  So all these are God-given.  This is what the gospel wants to underscore in the parable of the Talents.  Each one of us is given talents in life, some five, some two and some one.  Why did God give others more talents than us, this is a question of grace belonging to the realm of mystery.
Indeed, it is the grace of God alone that we are saved and have become a new creation. St Paul writing to the Ephesians said, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God – not the result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”  (Eph 2:8-10)  To the Corinthians, he said, “The human race has nothing to boast about to God, but you, God has made members of Christ Jesus and by God’s doing he has become our wisdom, and our virtue, and our holiness, and our freedom. As scripture says: if anyone wants to boast, let him boast about the Lord.”  Hence in his own life, he said “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.”  (2 Cor 11:30)  His personal life taught him this when the Lord spoke to him saying, “‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.  Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, and then I am strong.”  (2 Cor 12:9f)
Having underscored the primacy of grace, does it mean that good works is not important?  There is the other extreme danger of emphasizing grace to the extent of removing merit from Catholic theology.  To do so would be to contract the teaching of the Church on grace and merit.  Catholic theology speaks about the reward of eternal life for those who live a good life.  St Paul wrote towards the end of his life, “As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”  (2 Tim 4:6-8)  We also have the parable of the Final Judgement when those who lack mercy will be condemned to hell. (cf Mt 25:31ff)
So how do we resolve the conundrum between grace and merit?  We must begin by asserting that grace precedes, accompanies and ends in the person.   From beginning to end, it is the work of grace.  We are not saved by our own efforts but truly the pure grace of God alone.  “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”  (Tit 3:4f)  We do not earn grace but it is freely bestowed upon us.  The psalmist says, “They are happy, whose God is the Lord, the people he has chosen as his own. From the heavens the Lord looks forth, he sees all the children of men.”  We have been chosen by grace for grace!
However, grace given requires our cooperation, namely our response.  The part that we play in the work of grace is simply to accept graciously the gift of God.  We need to say “yes’ to His grace so that His grace can work in, with and through us.  This is what the parable of the Talents is teaching us.  The servants were given different amounts of talents.  Having received the talents, they needed to put them to good use.  The last servant was lazy and irresponsible.  He received the talent, that is, the grace of God but did not use it to build himself up or for the service of others.  This is the tragedy of many of us.  We have received so many blessings from the Lord, of health, money, friends, jobs and opportunities.  Instead of using them well for our growth and development through our service to the community, either we abuse them by neglecting to use them properly or we use them for our self-destruction.
Most of our miseries come from negligence and irresponsibility.  This was why the last servant was punished severely.  His master answered him, “You wicked and lazy servant! So you knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered? Well then, you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have recovered my capital with interest. So now, take the talent from him and give it to the man who has five talents. For to everyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away. As for this good-for-nothing servant, throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.”
By not developing what we have, we eventually lose them.  This is true with regard to our body.  If we do not exercise the different parts of our body, we will fall sick and eventually some parts will malfunction.  If we do not use our gifts of teaching, writing and singing or organizing, we eventually will lose the art as well.  The best way to develop, grow and excel in what we have is to use them repeatedly, especially for the service of Church and society.  Their appreciation and the meaningfulness of our contributions will motivate us to work even harder in helping others.
However, even if we are able to do good, let us not forget that without His grace in the first place, it would not be possible for us to contribute anything.  The Lord does not expect us to give more than what He has given us.  Hence, to the servant given five talents, only five more were expected and for the servant with two talents, only two more were expected.  We are to give a hundred percent, that is, full commitment to the grace that He has bestowed on us.  Happiness in life is not about how much we achieve or what we do.  It is immaterial whether we produce five or two talents.  That is why we need not be envious of others who have more talents.  Because the more we have the more is expected from us in rendering back to society.  “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.”  (Lk 12:48)  Rather, happiness in life is when each one of us according to our capacity fully exercises his potentials.  Hence, we must complete the doctrine of grace with the teaching of St James.  “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.”  (Jms 2:14,17f) St Paul says, “the only thing that counts is faith working through love.” (Gal 5:6)

Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved


Thursday, 30 August 2018

THE ILLOGICAL LOGIC OF CHRISTIANITY

20180831 THE ILLOGICAL LOGIC OF CHRISTIANITY



31 AUGUST, 2018, Friday, 21st Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading
1 Corinthians 1:17-25 ©

We preach a crucified Christ, the power and wisdom of God
Christ did not send me to baptise, but to preach the Good News, and not to preach that in the terms of philosophy in which the crucifixion of Christ cannot be expressed. The language of the cross may be illogical to those who are not on the way to salvation, but those of us who are on the way see it as God’s power to save. As scripture says: I shall destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing all the learning of the learned. Where are the philosophers now? Where are the scribes? Where are any of our thinkers today? Do you see now how God has shown up the foolishness of human wisdom? If it was God’s wisdom that human wisdom should not know God, it was because God wanted to save those who have faith through the foolishness of the message that we preach. And so, while the Jews demand miracles and the Greeks look for wisdom, here are we preaching a crucified Christ; to the Jews an obstacle that they cannot get over, to the pagans madness, but to those who have been called, whether they are Jews or Greeks, a Christ who is the power and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 32(33):1-2,4-5,10-11 ©
The Lord fills the earth with his love.
Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just;
  for praise is fitting for loyal hearts.
Give thanks to the Lord upon the harp,
  with a ten-stringed lute sing him songs.
The Lord fills the earth with his love.
For the word of the Lord is faithful
  and all his works to be trusted.
The Lord loves justice and right
  and fills the earth with his love.
The Lord fills the earth with his love.
He frustrates the designs of the nations,
  he defeats the plans of the peoples.
His own designs shall stand for ever,
  the plans of his heart from age to age.
The Lord fills the earth with his love.

Gospel Acclamation
cf.Ps129:5
Alleluia, alleluia!
My soul is waiting for the Lord,
I count on his word.
Alleluia!
Or:
Lk21:36
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake, praying at all times
for the strength to stand with confidence
before the Son of Man.
Alleluia!

Gospel
Matthew 25:1-13 ©

The wise and foolish virgins
Jesus told this parable to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of heaven will be like this: Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were sensible: the foolish ones did take their lamps, but they brought no oil, whereas the sensible ones took flasks of oil as well as their lamps. The bridegroom was late, and they all grew drowsy and fell asleep. But at midnight there was a cry, “The bridegroom is here! Go out and meet him.” At this, all those bridesmaids woke up and trimmed their lamps, and the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, “Give us some of your oil: our lamps are going out.” But they replied, “There may not be enough for us and for you; you had better go to those who sell it and buy some for yourselves.” They had gone off to buy it when the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding hall and the door was closed. The other bridesmaids arrived later. “Lord, Lord,” they said “open the door for us.” But he replied, “I tell you solemnly, I do not know you.” So stay awake, because you do not know either the day or the hour.’

THE ILLOGICAL LOGIC OF CHRISTIANITY

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 Cor 1:17-25Psalm 33:1-24-510-11Mt 25:1-13 ]
Is there logic in the Christian Faith?  The Church has always maintained that faith is reasonable but not reasoned.  In other words, the starting point of Christianity is always faith, and then to show that this faith is not unreasonable.  In other words, it is a credible faith.  The faith claims of Christianity are not explained by logic.  That is why the faith claims of Christianity appear to be ridiculous to those who have no faith.
The doctrines of the Christian Faith give rise to many objections.  For the humanists, it is difficult to accept the fact of divine revelation.  Many religions claim to have some kind of divine revelation.  The scriptures are considered sacred and not questionable.  Even the founders of religions, although not claimed to be divine, are given a status of demi-gods. The scandal of Christianity is that we go beyond merely claiming that the Christian Faith is a revealed faith like some other religions.
We make the astonishing claim that the Crucified Christ is the Crucified God.  This is what St Paul said, “And so, while the Jews demanded miracles and the Greeks look for wisdom, here are we preaching a crucified Christ; to the Jews an obstacle that they cannot get over, to the pagans madness, but to those who have been called, whether they are Jews or Greeks, a Christ who is the power and the wisdom of God.”   For the Jews, it was difficult to reconcile a messiah that was crucified when he was to be the triumphant Messiah who would liberate Israel from their enemies.  All the time, they were looking for signs and miracles to authenticate their claims.  When Jesus was performing miracles, they thought He was the One.  But with His crucifixion, all His claims were called into question.  The book of Deuteronomy teaches that “When someone is convicted of a crime punishable by death and is executed, and you hang him on a tree, his corpse must not remain all night upon the tree; you shall bury him that same day, for anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse.” (Dt 21:23) The crucifixion of Christ for the Jews proved that they were right that Jesus was not the Messiah.
For the Greek Gentiles, God was supposedly to be immutable.  God is pure act because He is all that He can be.  He cannot be perfected as He is absolutely perfect.  His attributes are identical with His essence.  Creatures, however, are in a state of potentiality, seeking to arrive at perfection.  So if God can change and suffer in Christ, it would be impossible to claim that the Crucified One is the Son of God.  So to claim that God could suffer and even die is totally absurd.  The God of the philosophers was a God who cannot feel, cannot change, cannot be incarnated and of course, cannot suffer and die!  Otherwise, He would be subject to change and therefore is no longer perfect.
But this is precisely the greatest miracle of Christianity, the claims of a crucified God.  “Christ did not send me to baptise, but to preach the Good News, and not to preach that in the terms of philosophy in which the crucifixion of Christ cannot be expressed.  The language of the cross may be illogical to those who are not on the way to salvation, but those of us who are on the way see it as God’s power to save.  As scripture says: I shall destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing all the learning of the learned.  Where are the philosophers now? Where are the scribes? Where are any of our thinkers today?”  In speaking about the Crucified God in Christ, Christianity is making the wildest claim that no religion dares to make for their founder.   We are not only claiming that Christ is the Son of God but that the Crucified One is the Son of God.   By so doing, we are also saying that God is not a monad as in other monotheistic religions but a Trinity of persons.
What is the basis of this claim?  It is based on the resurrection of the Crucified Christ.  Without the resurrection, then indeed all the objections that are raised are valid.  St Paul could preach so convincingly about the Crucified Christ only because He has encountered the Risen Lord.  It was his personal encounter with the Risen Lord on his way to Damascus that made him change, not just his mind but his entire life.  Before that, like the rest of the Jews, he could not accept the claims of the early Christians, so much so he took upon himself to persecute the Christians for destroying the Jewish faith.
But what of the Crucified Christ condemned as a criminal and then risen from the dead? What is the implication?  If God had raised a criminal back to life, it clearly demonstrates that the heavenly Father endorses all that Jesus said, did and claimed.  It is the divine seal upon the life and teaching of Christ.  The resurrection of our Lord is His vindication.  So faith in the Crucified God is dependent on faith in the resurrected Christ.
This also means that we have to accept all that Jesus taught and claimed, implicitly and explicitly.  In the life of Christ, He had claimed to speak in the name of His Father and to act on His behalf.  He identified Himself with the Father and claimed that His sonship was unique and different from ours.  Faith in the resurrection is the foundation of the Christian confession of faith in Jesus as the Son of God.   Indeed, because of the resurrection of our Lord, we could accept the doctrine of the Incarnation, the mystery of the Holy Trinity, the Bible as the Word of God, the reality and effectiveness of the sacraments, the teaching authority of the Holy Father as the successor of St Peter and the magisterium.   Without faith in the resurrection, such claims cannot be justified.
But that is not all, when we contemplate that the One who was crucified is truly the Son of God, then our whole understanding of God has to change.  The death and resurrection of Christ debunks all our philosophical concepts of God through human reasoning.  The philosophical presupposition of God’s immutability cannot hold anymore and challenges us to rethink our concept of God.  This God whom we believe in can become incarnated.  He can feel with us and suffer with us.  This is a God of compassion and mercy.  He is not detached from us and oblivious to our pains.  He carries within Himself our suffering and our sins.  With His death and resurrection, the heart of God is shown.  Indeed, St Paul wrote, “Do you see now how God has shown up the foolishness of human wisdom? If it was God’s wisdom that human wisdom should not know God, it was because God wanted to save those who have faith through the foolishness of the message that we preach.”
Thus, the key to faith in Christ cannot be mere reason alone.  No amount of argument can bring a person to faith.  The intellectual arguments at most can supply the logic to our illogical belief in Christ.  That is to say, that we have reason to believe that the claims are true to enable us to take the leap of faith in Christ.  Faith at the end of the day cannot be based on reason but on submission of our reason in obedience to the revelation received.  In order to arrive at belief, we must in faith surrender our minds and enter into the experience of the Christians.  Only when we surrender in faith can we see what the mind cannot.  In daily life, this is true because only in faith and trust, can we understand a person better than when we relate with a person with doubt and skepticism.  As we open ourselves to a relationship, then we will see more and the evidence will only further what we believe.
For this reason, the gospel warns us that the Oil of faith cannot be borrowed or shared.  In the final analysis, we must bring our own Oil of faith to welcome the bridegroom.  There are certain things in life that cannot be borrowed, especially relationship.  Unless we open our hearts to the Lord in faith and engage Him in prayer, worship and the meditation on His word, we cannot find our faith strengthened.  We need to discover for ourselves the Christ that is proclaimed in the Church if we were to find a deeper faith in Him.
Finally, there is a warning that this must begin now before it is too late.  If we do not strengthen our faith in Christ now, when the time comes, it would be too late.  If we do not study hard now, it would be too late when our exams arrive.  This is particularly true when we are speaking about making our preparations to meet God.
How do we make our preparations? We must realize ourselves according to God’s plan for us.  We must become the person we are called to be.  Every little thing we do now, every good action we do will strengthen and reinforce our virtues and increase our capacity for love and holiness. Hence, we must actualize ourselves more and more each day to become the son and daughter of God that we are meant to be.   To help us to make preparations for this long journey, we need to receive Christ often, especially in the Eucharist, the bread of life and reading the Word of God.  In this way, by receiving the Viaticum, we will have the strength to journey to our heavenly Father’s home.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved