20190613
ALL
THINGS NEW IN CHRIST
13 JUNE, 2019,
Thursday, 10th Week, Ordinary Time
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First reading
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2 Corinthians 3:15-4:1,3-6 ©
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The veil over their eyes will not be removed until
they turn to the Lord
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Even today, whenever Moses is read, the
veil is over their minds. It will not be removed until they turn to the Lord.
Now this Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
freedom. And we, with our unveiled faces reflecting like mirrors the brightness
of the Lord, all grow brighter and brighter as we are turned into the image
that we reflect; this is the work of the Lord who is Spirit.
Since we have by an act of
mercy been entrusted with this work of administration, there is no weakening on
our part. If our gospel does not penetrate the veil, then the veil is on those
who are not on the way to salvation; the unbelievers whose minds the god of
this world has blinded, to stop them seeing the light shed by the Good News of
the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For it is not ourselves that we
are preaching, but Christ Jesus as the Lord, and ourselves as your servants for
Jesus’ sake. It is the same God that said, ‘Let there be light shining out of
darkness’, who has shone in our minds to radiate the light of the knowledge of
God’s glory, the glory on the face of Christ.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 84(85):9-14(Thu10) ©
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The glory of the Lord
will dwell in our land.
I will hear what the Lord God has to say,
a voice that speaks of peace.
His help is near for those who fear him
and his glory will dwell in
our land.
The glory of the Lord
will dwell in our land.
Mercy and faithfulness have met;
justice and peace have
embraced.
Faithfulness shall spring from the earth
and justice look down from
heaven.
The glory of the Lord
will dwell in our land.
The Lord will make us prosper
and our earth shall yield its
fruit.
Justice shall march before him
and peace shall follow his
steps.
The glory of the Lord
will dwell in our land.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.1Th2:13
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept God’s message for what it really
is:
God’s message, and not some human
thinking.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Jn13:34
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I give you a new commandment:
love one another just as I have loved you,
says the Lord.
Alleluia!
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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.’
ALL THINGS NEW
IN CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 2 COR 3:15-4:1.3-6;
MT 5:20-26 ]
Everyone is looking for
things that are new.
The world is changing so fast because of technology. Everything gets
outdated in a matter of months. Your computer is outdated within two
years. Your mobile phone is outdated within a few months. New
things are always coming out in the market so much so that consumerism has
created a desire in us to have new things. We become easily bored
with old things.
Yet the truth of life is
that whilst things get old, the
essentials of life, the happiness of life remain the same.For the heart of
the human person has not changed since the creation of man. Whether we
were born yesterday or tomorrow, we are seeking for freedom, love, unity,
peace, truth and justice. Indeed, this is what the kingdom of God is all
about. To seek the kingdom is to seek real happiness that lasts.
The things of the world will become old and discarded within a short period of
time. We get tired of old things but none of us get tired of love, of
freedom, joy and peace.
Unfortunately, like the scribes
and the Pharisees, we follow the ways of the world and therefore never find
true happiness. For the world gives us the old ways to seek happiness
and justice. One clear instance of how seeing from the perspective of
Christ differs from the world is the way we look at our enemies and those who
have done us wrong. In the world, it is based on the principle of
revenge, the principle of “an eye for an eye.” As the gospel implies,
they teach us to be angry with our enemies, to slander and take revenge against
them even to the extent of killing. Indeed, most people think that
violence and power is the way to redress injustices or find peace in the world
or wherever we are. Yet, precisely because the world believes in revenge
and conditional love, there can be no permanent peace. Going to court,
taking revenge, saying hurtful things will only make the situation worse.
How can we right a wrong with another wrong? How does taking the life of
a murderer restore the life of the victim who was killed? For this
reason, the Church does not advocate capital punishment. Justice is to
make things better for everyone and not a matter of taking revenge on someone
who has hurt us. What is of utmost importance for the Church is that a
person who has done wrong turns to a new life and becomes a life-giver.
That is why Jesus warns
us that “If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.” Indeed, anger that broods in us will lead to
bitterness, causing mental and emotional stress and often leading to violence
or self-mutilation. Anger keeps us from developing a spirit pleasing to
God. Anger leads to a broken relationship and we find no peace. It
also hinders our relationship with God because an unforgiving heart cannot
receive the peace of God. Without a blameless heart, we cannot pray
properly.
This is what St Paul
meant when he spoke of the
veil that covers us. Indeed, “whenever Moses is read, the veil is
over the minds of the Israelites.” We, too, because of the old and
legal way of seeing things, we have allowed our pride, anger, hatred, hardness
of heart, selfishness and the refusal to repent to blind us from seeing the
bigger picture of life and people around us.
How, then, can we find
true peace, freedom and happiness in life? How will old things be new? What
is needed is a change of perception. The newness will come from within
you. The change will come from within. Because the old has become
new, everything outside will be new.
Today, the Lord is going to take away
the veil that has taken away your glory, the glory of God in you!
Yes, by virtue of our creation, we are made in the glory of God, called to
share in His glory. But because of our sins and our ignorance, we have
veiled the glory of God from shining out through us. Indeed, compared to
the rest of creation, because they do not sin, the glory of God continues to
shine through them.
For this is what the responsorial psalm
says, “The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.” But how
does God’s glory dwell in our land? The psalmist says, when we hear
Him proclaiming “peace to his people”, when “kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice
shall look down from heaven”, “when the Lord Himself will give His benefits;
our land shall yield its increase. Justice shall walk before him, and
salvation, along the way of his steps.”
But what is the way to make the
glory of God dwell in our land, in each one of us? St Paul tells
us, not by our efforts, not by our strength but by the power of the
Lord. All we need to do, St Paul tells us, is to accept Christ in
our hearts and Christ will remove the veil, giving eternal life and freedom
from trying to be saved by keeping the laws. It is not so much a question of
loving and forgiving others. This is not Good News. Rather, it is
the recognition that we are loved and forgiven. When we surrender
ourselves to Christ to save us, He removes our heavy burden of trying to please
Him and our guilt for failing to do so. Through the Holy Spirit, Christ
provides us freedom from sin and condemnation. In Christ, we will once again
feel loved, accepted and forgiven. When we feel loved, we look at
everyone else with the same eyes that Jesus looks at us, with love and
compassion even for our enemies. A person is said to be truly healed only
when he has experienced God’s forgiveness for himself and in turn is seen by
the way he sets all his enemies free, identifying with them in their sins and
pains. So long as we cannot forgive our enemies from the depths of
our hearts, we are not yet healed completely by the Lord. Only those who
are saved in Christ, St Paul says, live in true freedom, for “Where the Spirit
of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Indeed, without the veil, we are like
mirrors reflecting God’s glory.
Hence, we must turn to the Lord! We
begin by listening to what the Lord wants to say to us.
This is the exhortation of the psalmist when he said, “I will hear what God
proclaims; the Lord – for he proclaims peace to his people. Near indeed is his
salvation to those who fear him, glory dwelling in our land.”
To turn to the Lord is
to contemplate His
face and glory. When we contemplate on the glory of the Lord, we
become lighted up in Christ. By gazing at the nature of God with unveiled
minds, we can be more like Him. By contemplating the face of Christ, we
are transformed into His likeness, we begin to think and act like Him.
Through reflection on Christ, we begin to understand how wonderful and loving
God is. As our knowledge deepens, the Holy Spirit helps us to change to
become more and more like Christ. The more closely we follow Christ, the
more we will be like Him.
We must not misinterpret
the words of Jesus or
even the message of St Paul as if the laws are not important and that there
should be no laws in religion. On the contrary, fulfilling the laws are
not even enough for us to enter the kingdom because observing the laws without
the spirit of love will make us legalistic, calculative, proud and
judgmental. To live a life of true freedom, we go beyond the observance
of the laws but live out the spirit of the law which is rooted in love.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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