20180827
LEGALISM THE CAUSE FOR
THE LOSS OF FAITH
27 AUGUST, 2018,
Monday, 21st Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
White.
|
First reading
|
|
2 Thessalonians
1:1-5,11-12 ©
|
|
We thank God for your faith and your
love
|
From Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, to the
Church in Thessalonika which is in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ;
wishing you grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We
feel we must be continually thanking God for you, brothers; quite rightly,
because your faith is growing so wonderfully and the love that you have for one
another never stops increasing; and among the churches of God we can take
special pride in you for your constancy and faith under all the persecutions
and troubles you have to bear. It all shows that God’s judgement is just, and
the purpose of it is that you may be found worthy of the kingdom of God; it is
for the sake of this that you are suffering now.
Knowing
this, we pray continually that our God will make you worthy of his call, and by
his power fulfil all your desires for goodness and complete all that you have
been doing through faith; because in this way the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified in you and you in him, by
the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
|
Psalm 95(96):1-5 ©
|
Proclaim the wonders of
the Lord among all the peoples.
O sing a new song to the Lord,
sing to the Lord all the
earth.
O sing to the Lord, bless his
name.
Proclaim the wonders of
the Lord among all the peoples.
Proclaim his help day by day,
tell among the nations his
glory
and his wonders among all the
peoples.
Proclaim the wonders of
the Lord among all the peoples.
The Lord is great and worthy of praise,
to be feared above all gods;
the gods of the heathens are
naught.
Proclaim the wonders of
the Lord among all the peoples.
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
Jn17:17
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O Lord:
consecrate us in the truth.
Alleluia!
|
Or:
|
Jn10:27
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my
voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
|
Matthew 23:13-22 ©
|
|
Alas for you, blind guides!
|
Jesus said: ‘Alas for you, scribes and
Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who shut up the kingdom of heaven in men’s
faces, neither going in yourselves nor allowing others to go in who want to.
‘Alas
for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who travel over sea and
land to make a single proselyte, and when you have him you make him twice as
fit for hell as you are.
‘Alas
for you, blind guides! You who say, “If a man swears by the Temple, it has no
force; but if a man swears by the gold of the Temple, he is bound.” Fools and
blind! For which is of greater worth, the gold or the Temple that makes the
gold sacred? Or else, “If a man swears by the altar it has no force; but if a
man swears by the offering that is on the altar, he is bound.” You blind men!
For which is of greater worth, the offering or the altar that makes the
offering sacred? Therefore, when a man swears by the altar he is swearing by
that and by everything on it. And when a man swears by the Temple he is
swearing by that and by the One who dwells in it. And when a man swears by
heaven he is swearing by the throne of God and by the One who is seated there.’
LEGALISM THE CAUSE FOR THE LOSS OF FAITH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 2 THESSALONIANS 1:1-5, 11-12; MATTHEW 23:13-22 ]
In the first reading, we
read of St Paul’s warm and encouraging letter to the early Christians in
Thessalonica. St Paul began the
letter by affirming them in the progress they had made in Christian life.
“We feel we must be continually thanking God for you, brothers; quite rightly,
because your faith is growing so wonderfully and the love that you have for one
another never stops increasing; and among the churches of god we can take
special pride in you for your constancy and faith under all the persecutions
and troubles you have to bear.” St Paul first praised them for their
growing faith.
Their maturity in faith
was seen firstly in the love that they had for each other. Indeed, the sign of faith is always the
expression of love. St John wrote, “let us love one
another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and
knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
(1 Jn 4:7f) Jesus in the gospel said, “A
new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love
one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love
one another.” (Jn 13:34f) He
reiterated this when He said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and
appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last -and
so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This
is my command: Love each other.” (Jn 15:16f) St Paul, writing to the
Galatians, made it clear, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing
itself through love.” (Gal 5:6)
Secondly, their strong
faith was manifested in the capacity to remain firm in their allegiance to
Christ in spite of the persecutions and oppositions they faced. Being able to endure and suffer for
our faith and beliefs is the hallmark of a tested faith. It is easy to
love Christ in good times. True love is always seen in the trials of
life. This is particularly true in relationships, especially in
marriage. When things are good, it does not take much sacrifice to
love. It is only when things are trying, then love requires us to die to
ourselves and to suffer for the love of other. St Peter wrote to the
Christians, “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you
may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so
that the proven genuineness of your faith – of greater worth than gold, which
perishes even though refined by fire – may result in praise, glory and honor
when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and
even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an
inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of
your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Pt 1:6-9)
Unfortunately, many
Catholics have gone back to the laws like the early Christians. This is disastrous for the Catholic
Faith. Truly, many Catholics in their mind think that salvation is by
good works and not by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. They
think that salvation is simply doing good, living righteously, earning merits
to get to heaven. That is why many Catholics live in fear of the final
judgement, about being punished and sent to hell. They are over
scrupulous of their sins and actions. St Paul reprimanded the Christians, “I am
astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in
the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel which is really no
gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are
trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.” (Gal 1:6f) He made it clear, “We who are
Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified
by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our
faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by
the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be
justified.” (Gal 2:15f)
Legalism is the strength
and also the weakness of the Catholic Church. Laws are certainly needed in any
institution to safeguard justice and charity because not all members are strong
enough to love like Christ. They need structures and guidelines to help
them to live out the gospel life. But an over emphasis on obedience
and observance of the laws reduce faith into a moral system, the efficacy of
some rituals and an impersonal and cold institution without a soul. This
is how many Catholics feel about the Church. The institutions of the
Church lead to legalism in the way we practice our faith. It is a list of dos
and don’ts. The individual is not taken seriously but all are seen
collectively. We do not treat our people as persons who have their
feelings and unique struggles. All are judged by the laws without
exception. Punishment is meted without taking into consideration the
specific circumstances. The letter of the law is followed but not the
spirit. There is no compassion exercised, sensitivity and sympathy to
their pain.
This is precisely the
condemnation of Jesus in the gospel with regard the way the Pharisees and the
scribes lived out their faith.
He called them “hypocrites!” Why? Firstly, the meticulous observance of
the laws is almost impossible for anyone to truly observe them in fact and in
spirit. Tradition has it that the Pharisees had developed a system of 613
commandments, of which 365 are negative commands and 248 are positive
laws. But if you think this is already too many, the Catholics have
1752 Canon laws for us to observe and obey. These laws do not include the
liturgical laws and laws dealing with governance in specific areas.
In truth, how could anyone truly claim that he or she has observed all the laws
or even know what they are! Hence, the Lord said, “You who shut up the
kingdom of heaven in men’s faces, neither going in yourselves nor allowing
others to go in who want to.”
Secondly, when we fall
into legalism, we become self-righteous. There are many Catholics who are lacking
compassion for fellow Catholics who are weak, struggling in their sins and
trying to walk the gospel way of life. The so-called upright Catholics
are judgemental of others’ behavior and conduct. They make themselves the
judges of others, how they live their lives and practice their faith.
Often they make presumptuous judgement, slandering people, gossiping and
spreading fake news. Such self-righteous Catholics often break up
families, communities and discourage sincere Catholics from coming to Church
because of their sins. Instead of welcoming them, understanding them,
affirming and journeying with them, we ostracize them, especially those who
have same-sex orientation, are divorced and remarried, past criminals, etc.
Hence, Jesus warns us, “Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you
hypocrites! You who travel over sea and land to make a single proselyte,
and when you have him you make him twice as fit for hell as you are.”
Thirdly, when we are
legalistic, we are manipulative of the laws. Instead of seeking to be true to the spirit of
the laws, we are simply concerned about the external performance. We find
ways to circumvent the laws by giving all kinds of excuses. This was what
the Lord said to the religious leaders regarding the validity of an oath taken
by the gold of the Temple or the Temple itself. He said to them, “You
blind men! For which is of greater worth, the offering or the altar that
makes the offering sacred? Therefore, when a man swears by the altar he
is swearing by that and by everything on it. And when a man swears by
heaven he is swearing by the throne of God and by the One who is seated
there.” We lack sincerity!
Indeed, at the end of
the day, it is not the legalistic and ritualistic observance of the laws that
will save us. Rather, it is our
faith in God’s love and that we are justified in Christ. In uncertain terms, St
Paul declared, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but
Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in
the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside
the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ
died for nothing!” (Gal 2:20f) St Paul
also wrote, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love
one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.” (Rom 13:8)
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment