20190309
SEEING
THE GOODNESS OF GOD IN THE HOPELESS
09 MARCH, 2019,
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Violet.
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First reading
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Isaiah 58:9-14 ©
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You will be like a spring whose waters
never run dry
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The Lord says this:
If you do away with the yoke,
the clenched fist, the wicked word,
if you give your bread to the hungry,
and relief to the oppressed,
your light will rise in the darkness,
and your shadows become like noon.
The Lord will always guide you,
giving you relief in desert places.
He will give strength to your bones
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water
whose waters never run dry.
You will rebuild the ancient ruins,
build up on the old foundations.
You will be called ‘Breach-mender’,
‘Restorer of ruined houses.’
If you refrain from trampling the sabbath,
and doing business on the holy day,
if you call the Sabbath ‘Delightful’,
and the day sacred to the Lord
‘Honourable’,
if you honour it by abstaining from
travel,
from doing business and from gossip,
then shall you find your happiness in the
Lord
and I will lead you triumphant over the
heights of the land.
I will feed you on the heritage of Jacob
your father.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 85(86):1-6 ©
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Show me, Lord, your way
so that I may walk in your truth.
Turn your ear, O Lord, and give answer
for I am poor and needy.
Preserve my life, for I am faithful;
save the servant who trusts in
you.
Show me, Lord, your way
so that I may walk in your truth.
You are my God, have mercy on me, Lord,
for I cry to you all the day
long.
Give joy to your servant, O Lord,
for to you I lift up my soul.
Show me, Lord, your way
so that I may walk in your truth.
O Lord, you are good and forgiving,
full of love to all who call.
Give heed, O Lord, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my
voice.
Show me, Lord, your way
so that I may walk in your truth.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cfPs94:8
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Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word
of God!
Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word
of God!
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Or:
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Ezk33:11
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Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word
of God!
I take pleasure, not in the death of a
wicked man
– it is the Lord who speaks –
but in the turning back of a wicked man
who changes his ways to win life.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of
God!
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Gospel
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Luke 5:27-32 ©
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Jesus comes not to call the virtuous,
but sinners to repentance
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Jesus noticed a tax collector, Levi by
name, sitting by the customs house, and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And leaving
everything he got up and followed him.
In
his honour Levi held a great reception in his house, and with them at table was
a large gathering of tax collectors and others. The Pharisees and their scribes
complained to his disciples and said, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax
collectors and sinners?’ Jesus said to them in reply, ‘It is not those who are
well who need the doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the virtuous,
but sinners to repentance.’
SEEING THE
GOODNESS OF GOD IN THE HOPELESS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ISAIAH 58:9-14; PS 86:1-6; LUKE 5:27-32 ]
We live in a world that
is lacking in graciousness and charity. This is a cruel world. It does not
tolerate imperfections, failures and shortcomings. People expect leaders
to be perfect from the day they were born. They must not have any
skeletons in their cupboards. They must have lived a perfect life to be a
leader. Moreover, during their course of leadership, they cannot afford
to make any mistakes. Otherwise, they will be condemned and judged as
untrustworthy and incompetent. Some would even expect them to commit
suicide to show their remorse and grief for their failures.
Ironically, the truth is
that no one is perfect. We all have made our fair share of mistakes in
life. Some
mistakes were serious, like taking drugs, stealing and even molesting our
siblings. However, like the Pharisees, we are so quick to pick at
the faults of others, judge and condemn them, failing to realize that we too
have sinned in our own lives. Jesus taught, “Do not judge, so that you
may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the
measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your
neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?” (Mt 7:1-3) Indeed, by judging
others, we have judged ourselves self-righteous and presumptuous.
Not only does the world
judge and condemn sinners, it gives up on sinners and failures in life. We write them off completely from
the book of life. Sinners and those who are dropouts in life often
condemn themselves to the situation they are in because society does not have
faith and confidence in them. They are made to believe that they are
incorrigible, hopeless and useless. Indeed, drug addicts and ex-offenders
are often rejected by society after their release from prison. They are
unemployed because no employer would trust them enough to give them a job and
to start a new life. As a result, many of them in their desperation for
money return to their old way of life and end up in prison once again.
Is this not the way we
also treat our children, our unfaithful spouse and our friends? When our children show themselves
to be slow, dull-minded and poor in their studies, we write them off as useless
and a failure in school. Spouses who had been unfaithful are often never
given a second chance when they seek to repair the marriage and the
relationship. In the eyes of the spouse who felt betrayed, they are not
to be trusted ever again. That is why the relationship remains
indifferent, cold and distant even after the couple has been reconciled.
Friendships are cut off over one mistake, notwithstanding the fact that the
relationship has been built over many years, and that those involved have stood
by us through thick and thin for years. We are intolerant of the
failures, weaknesses and sins of others, even though we cannot claim to be
perfect ourselves.
Most of all, we try not
to associate ourselves with them because we do not want to be seen in bad
company. From
young, we were told, “Birds of a feather flock together.” So we avoid
mixing with people who have a bad reputation, are uncouth, uneducated and
deemed failures in life because they are a bad influence. This was how
the Pharisees and Scribes treated sinners. They kept themselves away from
sinners so that they would not be contaminated by them. Thus, when Jesus
was with the tax-collectors for dinner, they were scandalized and
murmured. They complained to His disciples, “Why do you eat and drink
with tax collectors and sinners?” Many of us too are afraid to be seen
with people who are frowned upon by society, whether AIDs or mental patients,
people who hold low-class menial jobs and those who are engaged in dubious
activities. We do not wish to be identified with them and so we keep our
distance. In our hearts, we despise them and look down on them, thinking
that we are above them.
However, Jesus looks at
us very differently. He sees so much goodness in each one of us in spite
of our sinfulness. He
can see more goodness in us than we can see in ourselves. Whilst others
only see our weaknesses and give up hope on us, Jesus sees the potentials that
have yet to be unearthed. For Jesus, we are rough diamonds waiting to be
polished. He does not look at us from the outside, just by what we do, or
our position and office. He sees us from the inside. He is able to
intuit our mind and heart. Even in the person who is always grumpy,
nasty, boastful, arrogant and rebellious, He is able to see the beauty of his
heart.
That was how our Lord
saw Matthew. He was a rich man who amassed riches from his work as a tax
collector. He would have
cheated and charged exorbitant taxes in order to gain more commission from his
service. He was of course despised by his own people who saw him not just
a traitor serving the Romans but because he took advantage of the people.
With the rest of the tax collectors, he was castigated as a sinner and
ostracized from society. We can be sure that Jesus understood how he was
feeling. He felt alone. He had no real friends.
Although rich, his conscience was not at peace. He was far away from God.
Jesus saw in him, one
who was ready for harvesting.
“Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax
booth. ‘Follow me,’ Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and
followed him.” Jesus did not simply call him to follow Him but He
showed His confidence in Him by making him an apostle. Which religious
leader in His right mind would choose someone known to be a sinner in society,
a notorious swindler, to be His disciple and apostle? Like St Paul who
said, “But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me
through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I
might proclaim him among the Gentiles.” (Gal 1;15) Jesus saw the potential in Levi to
be an apostle and a saint when others could not see.
Of course, it took some
time for Matthew to rise to be an apostle and later a great saint.
However, without Jesus giving him a chance, he would not have made it. We too must give opportunities to others
and not write them off as incorrigible, hopeless and useless. Many a
great leader was born because someone never gave up on him or her.
Through patient encouragement, support, love and compassion, there is always
hope. We see such miracles happening everywhere, especially those who
were abandoned in the homes by their parents and guardians, or those who came
for conversion retreats. When such people are given a second chance, what
is a setback is turned into a comeback. Indeed, the Lord’s words are so
touching for those of us who are sick or miserable in life, having lost hope in
the world and ourselves. “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the
sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Instead of isolating
sinners from Him, the Lord came to meet the people, ate among them and
fellowshipped with them.
Not afraid of losing His reputation as a rabbi, He accepted the invitation to
eat and drink among the friends of Matthew, the tax collector.
Eating and drinking with them, the Lord made the tax collectors feel at ease
with Him. He did not come to meet them in a condescending
manner. Rather, Jesus treated them as friends and as members of His
family. He wanted to know them personally so that He could enlighten
them, make them feel loved and know how they can find true and real happiness
even in their profession. Jesus was clear of His mission, which was
to restore all of us, regardless who we are, into the fullness of the dignity
of God’s children.
We too must learn from
Jesus by reaching out to sinners and bring them back to God. St James says, “My brothers and
sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by
another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering
will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of
sins.” (Jms 5:19f) By helping our brothers and sisters to return to
God, we too will also grow in faith ourselves. We must give hope and
encouragement through our love and acceptance of the weak and wicked.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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