20181029
MOTIVATED BY LOVE, OR
LAW, OR LAWLESSNESS
29 OCTOBER,
2018, Monday, 30th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Ephesians 4:32-5:8 ©
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Follow Christ by loving as he loved you
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Be friends with one another, and kind,
forgiving each other as readily as God forgave you in Christ.
Try,
then, to imitate God as children of his that he loves and follow Christ loving
as he loved you, giving himself up in our place as a fragrant offering and a
sacrifice to God. Among you there must be not even a mention of fornication or
impurity in any of its forms, or promiscuity: this would hardly become the
saints! There must be no coarseness, or salacious talk and jokes – all
this is wrong for you; raise your voices in thanksgiving instead. For you can
be quite certain that nobody who actually indulges in fornication or impurity
or promiscuity – which is worshipping a false god – can inherit
anything of the kingdom of God. Do not let anyone deceive you with empty
arguments: it is for this loose living that God’s anger comes down on those who
rebel against him. Make sure that you are not included with them. You were
darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord; be like children of light.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 1:1-4,6 ©
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Try to imitate God, as
children of his that he loves.
Happy indeed is the man
who follows not the counsel of
the wicked;
nor lingers in the way of sinners
nor sits in the company of
scorners,
but whose delight is the law of the Lord
and who ponders his law day
and night.
Try to imitate God, as
children of his that he loves.
He is like a tree that is planted
beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due season
and whose leaves shall never
fade;
and all that he does shall
prosper.
Try to imitate God, as
children of his that he loves.
Not so are the wicked, not so!
For they like winnowed chaff
shall be driven away by the
wind:
for the Lord guards the way of the just
but the way of the wicked
leads to doom.
Try to imitate God, as
children of his that he loves.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jn17:17
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O Lord:
consecrate us in the truth.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 13:10-17 ©
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Was it not right to untie this woman's
bonds on the sabbath day?
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One sabbath day Jesus was teaching in one
of the synagogues, and a woman was there who for eighteen years had been
possessed by a spirit that left her enfeebled; she was bent double and quite
unable to stand upright. When Jesus saw her he called her over and said,
‘Woman, you are rid of your infirmity’ and he laid his hands on her. And at
once she straightened up, and she glorified God.
But
the synagogue official was indignant because Jesus had healed on the sabbath,
and he addressed the people present. ‘There are six days’ he said ‘when work is
to be done. Come and be healed on one of those days and not on the sabbath.’
But the Lord answered him. ‘Hypocrites!’ he said ‘Is there one of you who does
not untie his ox or his donkey from the manger on the sabbath and take it out
for watering? And this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan has held bound
these eighteen years – was it not right to untie her bonds on the sabbath
day?’ When he said this, all his adversaries were covered with confusion, and
all the people were overjoyed at all the wonders he worked.
MOTIVATED BY LOVE, OR LAW, OR
LAWLESSNESS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Ephesians 4:32-5:8; Ps 1:1-4,6; Luke 13:10-17 ]
How should we live our
lives? Basically, the world can be divided into three classes of
people. Firstly, there are those who live a life of lawlessness. Such people live for
themselves. It is about seeking pleasure and self-indulgence. One
of these manifestations is living a promiscuous life. They worship false
gods, thinking that self-indulgence can make them happy. They become
addicted to their passions. This was the case of the people during St
Paul’s time. “Among you there must be not even a mention of
fornication or impurity in any of its forms, or promiscuity: this would hardly
become the saints! There must be no coarseness, or salacious talk and jokes.”
But deep in their
hearts, there is no peace or real joy.
When there is no true love, only pure selfishness, how can there be
peace? St Paul makes is clear, “For you can be quite certain that nobody
who actually indulges in fornication or impurity or promiscuity – which is
worshipping a false god – can inherit anything of the kingdom of
God.” It is all a pretense. Their laughter and apparent happiness
is empty and shallow. It is all just a show. It is merely a
suppression of their loneliness, their emptiness, their anger and
resentment. We might try to rationalize what we do and justify our
actions but we know that our conscience continues to reprimand us. That
is why St Paul cautions us, “Do not let anyone deceive you with empty
arguments.”
Such feelings of the
lack of peace and fulfillment and anger are in themselves the punishment for
their sins. St Augustine
says, “The punishment for iniquity is iniquity.” St Paul in the
same vein says, “It is for this loose living that God’s anger comes down on
those who rebel against him.” When we sin, we do not only hurt God and
those whom we have hurt but ultimately, we hurt ourselves. We destroy
ourselves gradually by getting deeper and deeper into sin until our conscience
is dead to sin. In that state, no one can save us, not even God, as the
Lord warned us, “Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin
and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever
speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in
the age to come.” (Mt 12:31f)
At the other end of the
spectrum are those who live strictly by the law. They are those who seek to do the
right thing. They love the laws and see the laws as good. “Oh, how I love
your law! It is my meditation all day long. Your commandment makes me wiser
than my enemies, for it is always with me. I have more understanding than all
my teachers, for your decrees are my meditation.” (Ps 119:97-99) They truly desire to live a
righteous life. They teach the laws and encourage obedience to the
laws. As Moses commanded, “Recite them to your children and talk about
them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you
rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your
forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your
gates.” (Dt 6:7f) They truly
believe in the goodness and wisdom of the law, like the psalmist in the
responsorial psalm. “Happy indeed is the man who follows not the counsel
of the wicked; nor lingers in the way of sinners nor sits in the company of
scorners, but whose delight is the law of the Lord and who ponders his law, day
and night. He is like a tree that is planted beside the flowing waters, that
yields its fruit in due season and whose leaves shall never fade; and all that
he does shall prosper. Not so are the wicked, not so! For they like winnowed
chaff shall be driven away by the wind for the Lord guards the way of the just
but the way of the wicked leads to doom.” Indeed, it is not wrong to live
in this manner, provided we observe the laws in spirit and in truth. In
this way, we will find the laws not oppressive but liberating.
But we also know that we
are far from living the ideals of the laws. We must learn to accept our
limitations and sinfulness. St
Paul asked, “Is the law then opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For
if a law had been given that could make alive, then righteousness would indeed
come through the law. But the scripture has imprisoned all things under
the power of sin, so that what was promised through faith in Jesus Christ might
be given to those who believe. Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and
guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore, the
law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by
faith.” (Gal 3:21-24)
So it is through faith in Christ that can save us, not the laws, because we
will always fall short in fulfilling the laws.
The crux of the problem
is that many of us who teach and advocate the laws pretend that we are observing
them perfectly ourselves. This is where hypocrisy comes in. It is one thing to teach the laws as
ideals to be attained and as the guide to authentic Christian living, but it is
a different thing to presume that all can live up to the laws perfectly.
When we behave as if we are perfect like the scribes and Pharisees in the
observance of the laws, we are denying the truth about ourselves. Our
pride and ego cannot accept the fact that we are sinners. As a
consequence, denial of this truth leads us to live under the illusion that we
are perfect. Hence, we tend to be harsh in judging others who fail to
keep the laws. Unable to accept their weaknesses, they cover them up by
being harsh and fault- finding with those who sinned or broke the laws.
Instead of examining their own conscience, they focus on others so as to avoid
looking at themselves.
This was the case of the
synagogue official. He
put himself above those who broke the law. He was judgmental and
unfeeling towards those who were really in need. He spoke in a nonchalant
manner. He “was indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, and he
addressed the people present. ‘There are six days’ he said ‘when work is to be
done. Come and be healed on one of those days and not on the Sabbath.'”
He could speak in this manner because the woman had nothing to do with
him. He was taken up by his ego and pride in maintaining the laws.
As an official of the synagogue, his duty was to ensure the compliance of the
laws at all times. So he was annoyed that Jesus broke the Sabbath
law. Obviously, he knew he would not be able to fault Jesus and so he
addressed the ignorant congregation instead.
Indeed, isn’t that the
way we act towards those who break the laws? We apply the laws in a
clinical manner without taking into consideration the specific situation, the
person and his circumstances. We can apply the laws harshly and coldly because we
are not the persons implicated. What if that person was himself or his
loved ones? When it involves ourselves or our loved ones, we would know
how to justify ourselves and adjust the laws accordingly. The truth is
that we disconnect ourselves from others when we are not the ones affected by
the laws. That was why the Lord reprimanded him saying, “Hypocrites!
Is there one of you who does not untie his ox or his donkey from the manger on
the Sabbath and take it out for watering? And this woman, a daughter of
Abraham whom Satan has held bound these eighteen years – was it not right
to untie her bonds on the Sabbath day?”
The difference between
God and us in applying justice is that God takes into consideration the person
and not just the law. Charity and love is the ultimate truth and law. The focus is the good of the
person, not the observance of the laws. Sabbath is made for man, not man
for the Sabbath. For a greater good and in this case, relieving the
person’s suffering and pain is more important than merely observing the Sabbath
Law forbidding work, especially when it is a work of charity and does not involve
monetary rewards. Hence, when the Lord saw the woman “who for eighteen
years had been possessed by a spirit that left her enfeebled; she was bent
double and quite unable to stand upright,” Jesus “called her over and
said, ‘Woman, you are rid of your infirmity’ and he laid his hands on her. And
at once she straightened up, and she glorified God.”
Today, we are invited to
imitate Christ in the way we observe the laws and the law of love. St Paul wrote, “Try, then, to
imitate God as children of his that he loves and follow Christ loving as he
loved you, giving himself up in our place as a fragrant offering and a
sacrifice to God.” This is the ultimate law of love. Putting others
before self is what should motivate us in whatever we do. This includes
even loving our enemies as St Paul says, “Be friends with one another, and
kind, forgiving each other as readily as God forgave you in Christ.” In
this way, we act as children of light and not of darkness. “You were
darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord; be like children of light.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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