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ENTERING
INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD
15 MARCH, 2019,
Friday, 1st Week of Lent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Violet.
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First reading
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Ezekiel 18:21-28 ©
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I prefer to see the wicked man renounce
his wickedness and live
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Thus says the Lord:
‘If
the wicked man renounces all the sins he has committed, respects my laws and is
law-abiding and honest, he will certainly live; he will not die. All the sins
he committed will be forgotten from then on; he shall live because of the
integrity he has practised. What! Am I likely to take pleasure in the death of
a wicked man – it is the Lord who speaks – and not prefer to see him
renounce his wickedness and live?
‘But
if the upright man renounces his integrity, commits sin, copies the wicked man
and practises every kind of filth, is he to live? All the integrity he has
practised shall be forgotten from then on; but this is because he himself has
broken faith and committed sin, and for this he shall die. But you object,
“What the Lord does is unjust.” Listen, you House of Israel: is what I do
unjust? Is it not what you do that is unjust? When the upright man renounces
his integrity to commit sin and dies because of this, he dies because of the
evil that he himself has committed. When the sinner renounces sin to become
law-abiding and honest, he deserves to live. He has chosen to renounce all his
previous sins; he shall certainly live; he shall not die.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 129(130) ©
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If you, O Lord, should
mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord,
Lord, hear my voice!
O let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleading.
If you, O Lord, should
mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?
If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt,
Lord, who would survive?
But with you is found forgiveness:
for this we revere you.
If you, O Lord, should
mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?
My soul is waiting for the Lord.
I count on his word.
My soul is longing for the Lord
more than watchman for
daybreak.
(Let the watchman count on daybreak
and Israel on the Lord.)
If you, O Lord, should
mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?
Because with the Lord there is mercy
and fullness of redemption,
Israel indeed he will redeem
from all its iniquity.
If you, O Lord, should
mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Amos5:14
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Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal
glory!
Seek good and not evil so that you may
live,
and that the Lord God of hosts may really
be with you.
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal
glory!
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Or:
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Ezk18:31
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Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal
glory!
Shake off all your sins – it is the
Lord who speaks –
and make yourselves a new heart and a new
spirit.
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal
glory!
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Gospel
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Matthew 5:20-26 ©
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Anyone who is angry with his brother
will answer for it
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Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If your
virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never
get into the kingdom of heaven.
‘You
have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not kill;
and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court. But I say this
to you: anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it before the
court; if a man calls his brother “Fool” he will answer for it before the
Sanhedrin; and if a man calls him “Renegade” he will answer for it in hell
fire. So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there
remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there
before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come
back and present your offering. Come to terms with your opponent in good time
while you are still on the way to the court with him, or he may hand you over
to the judge and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison.
I tell you solemnly, you will not get out till you have paid the last penny.’
ENTERING INTO
THE KINGDOM OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ EZEKIEL 18:21-28; PS 130:1-8; MT 5:20-26 ]
What does it mean to
enter into the kingdom of God? It
means to allow God to enter into our lives. It is to allow God to reign
in our hearts and minds. When God rules our lives, there will be peace,
joy and love in the Holy Spirit. St Paul says, “For the kingdom of God is
not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy
Spirit.” (Rom 14:17) Indeed,
what is heaven if not living a blissful life of love, joy and peace, having
right relationships with God, others and ourselves? Heaven is when we
live a harmonious life with everyone, not just human beings but the entire
creation.
Conversely, hell is when
we are not at peace with ourselves, with God and with others. “Do you not know that wrongdoers
will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators,
idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy,
drunkards, revilers, robbers – none of these will inherit the kingdom of God.”
(1 Cor 6:9f) To the Galatians, St Paul
wrote, “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity,
licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels,
dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I
am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not
inherit the kingdom of God.” (Gal 5:19-21) Indeed, anyone who lives in sin
cannot find peace and joy.
Living in God’s kingdom
means that we are subject to God’s rule and so it means sharing the mind and
heart of God. It
is more than just keeping the laws of God but the spirit of the law as
well. This is what the Lord said at the outset of today’s gospel.
“If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will
never get into the kingdom of heaven.” We need to go beyond the mere
observance of the laws and enter into the spirit and mind of God.
Take for instance the
case of killing and anger.
Jesus said, “You have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not
kill, and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court. But I say
this to you: anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it before the
court; if a man calls his brother ‘Fool’ he will answer for it before the
Sanhedrin, and if a man calls him ‘Renegade’, he will answer for it in hell
fire.” The truth is, anger will eventually lead to revenge and even
killing. Even if one does not kill physically, the anger in his heart
will take away all joy, peace and love in him. Whoever is angry cannot be
at peace with himself. So not only killing, but anger, using harsh words
of condemnation and insults will destroy others and rob us of our peace and
right relationship with our fellowmen.
To restore peace and joy
in our hearts, we must be reconciled with our fellowmen. “Come to terms with your opponent
in good time while you are still on the way to the court with him, or he may
hand you over to the judge and judge to the officer.” Until we are at
peace with those whom we have hurt or those who have hurt us, we continue to
punish ourselves by harbouring ill feelings, hurts, resentment, anger because
we cannot forgive. As long as we are not ready to let go, the Lord said,
“you will be thrown into prison. I tell you solemnly, you will not get out till
you have paid the last penny.” We will suffer misery and our minds
and hearts will find no rest or peace. Hence, our Lord advises us
that happiness can be ours only when we are reconciled with God and our
fellowmen. “So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and
there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering
before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come
back and present your offering.” Unless we are reconciled with our
fellowmen, even our offerings to God would not give us peace and joy. We
must first offer the gift of forgiveness.
Within this context, we
can appreciate the first reading from the Prophet Ezekiel when God declared
forgiveness for anyone who repents. God said through the prophet Ezekiel, “If
the wicked man renounces all the sins he has committed, respects my laws and is
law-abiding and honest, he will certainly live; he will not die. All the sins
he committed will be forgotten from then on; he shall live because of the
integrity he has practiced.” Life is ours the moment we surrender our
sins to God. He does not keep a record of wrongs. (1 Cor 13:5) The Lord wants the best for
us. He wants to give us life. If He punishes, it is in order to
bring us to realization what our sins are doing to us. Indeed, He said,
“What! Am I likely to take pleasure in the death of a wicked man – it is the
Lord who speaks – and not prefer to see him renounce his wickedness and
live?” The Lord is not one who holds grudges. “Who is a God like
you, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of
your possession? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in
showing clemency.” (Mic 7:18) So to be
saved and enter into the kingdom, we only need to stop sinning.
On the other hand, no
matter what good we have done in the past, when we enter into sin, we make
ourselves unworthy to live in God’s kingdom. This explains why the Lord also said, “But if
the upright man renounces his integrity, commits sin, copies the wicked man and
practices every kind of filth, is he to live? All the integrity he has
practiced shall be forgotten from then on; but this is because he himself has
broken faith and committed sin, and for this he shall die.” Like the
Israelites, we might feel that the Lord is not just because all our good things
are forgotten. The Lord explains, “But you object, ‘What the Lord does is
unjust.’ Listen, you House of Israel: is what I do unjust? Is it not what you
do that is unjust? When the upright man renounces his integrity to commit sin
and dies because of this, he dies because of the evil that he himself has
committed. When the sinner renounces sin to become law-abiding and honest, he
deserves to live. He has chosen to renounce all his previous sins, he shall
certainly live; he shall not die.” The point is that regardless of
the good we have done in the past, our sins remove us from the reign of God,
and destroy our peace, joy and integrity. So all we need to do is to
repent to be restored into the joy of God’s kingdom. Does it mean all
good works are gone and the Lord does not take into account our past good
deeds? He does, because if a person is generally of good character and
virtues, even when he sins, he does it unwillingly. He falls out of
weakness and therefore, it will be easier for him to repent than for a hardcore
sinner because he is inclined to goodness and truth.
But there is a catch in
this principle. Can
one who is a sinner suddenly become a saint? Technically it is possible
with the grace of God. That is why, if a person dies after baptism or
suffers martyrdom, he goes straight to heaven. But in most cases, it is
unlikely because grace works with human nature. So a hardcore converted
sinner will have greater difficulty keeping himself from returning back to sin
because of his past. Even St Paul struggled against sin after his
conversion to the Lord. He said, “So I find it to be a law that when I
want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the
law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with
the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my
members.” (Rom 7:21-23)
So we need to constantly
purify ourselves and keep ourselves pure. “And all who have this hope in him purify
themselves, just as he is pure.” (1 Jn 3:3) So long as we commit sin we are out
of the kingdom. Hence, Jesus said, “The tax collectors and the
prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came
to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax
collectors and the prostitutes believed him.” However, they must continue
after conversion to persevere in the truth lest they fall into sin. But
the truth also is that sinners might not even respond to the call to repentance
in the first place because of pride and selfishness. That is why, purgatory is
needed for purification of our hearts and to enable us to gradually let go of
our sins especially of pride, our unwillingness to let go of the past and
forgive ourselves for the foolish mistakes we have made and those who have hurt
us. In this way, we grow deeper in our virtues and not just remain on
external observances only.
In the final analysis,
we are called to trust in God’s forgiveness as in the responsorial psalm. “If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt,
Lord, who would survive? But with you is found forgiveness: for this we
revere you. Because with the Lord there is mercy and fullness of
redemption, Israel indeed he will redeem from all its iniquity.” So let
us trust in God’s mercy and forgiveness. Every time we sin, we turn to
him for forgiveness.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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