20190912
CHRISTIAN
LIFE IS NOT A SET OF MORALITY BUT A RESPONSE TO LOVE
12 SEPTEMBER,
2019, Thursday, 23rd Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Colossians 3:12-17 ©
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You are God’s chosen race, his saints; he
loves you, and you should be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and
humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; forgive each other as
soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same.
Over all these clothes, to keep them together and complete them, put on love.
And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this that
you were called together as parts of one body. Always be thankful.
Let
the message of Christ, in all its richness, find a home with you. Teach each
other, and advise each other, in all wisdom. With gratitude in your hearts sing
psalms and hymns and inspired songs to God; and never say or do anything except
in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 150 ©
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Let everything that
lives and that breathes give praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Praise God in his holy place,
praise him in his mighty
heavens.
Praise him for his powerful deeds,
praise his surpassing
greatness.
Let everything that
lives and that breathes give praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
O praise him with sound of trumpet,
praise him with lute and harp.
Praise him with timbrel and dance,
praise him with strings and
pipes.
Let everything that
lives and that breathes give praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
O praise him with resounding cymbals,
praise him with clashing of
cymbals.
Let everything that lives and that
breathes
give praise to the Lord.
Let everything that
lives and that breathes give praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jm1:21
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept and submit to the word
which has been planted in you
and can save your souls.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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1Jn4:12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
As long as we love one another
God will live in us
and his love will be complete in us.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 6:27-38 ©
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Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I say this
to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To the man who
slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes your
cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and do
not ask for your property back from the man who robs you. Treat others as you
would like them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what thanks can you
expect? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who
do good to you, what thanks can you expect? For even sinners do that much. And
if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what thanks can you expect?
Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount. Instead, love your
enemies and do good, and lend without any hope of return. You will have a great
reward, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the
ungrateful and the wicked.
‘Be
compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not
be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves;
grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you:
a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured
into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be
given back.’
CHRISTIAN LIFE
IS NOT A SET OF MORALITY BUT A RESPONSE TO LOVE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Col 3:12-17; Ps 150:1-6; Lk 6:27-38 ]
Some people reduce
Christianity to an ethical lifestyle. This
is particularly true of Catholics who tend to emphasize much on good works and
obeying the commandments of God. Some Catholics fall back into legalism
like the Jewish leaders during the time of Jesus. For them, salvation is
a question of living up to the demands of the Mosaic Laws. This
explains why they were so meticulous and anxious as to whether they have
fulfilled the Mosaic Laws perfectly. The scribes were there precisely to
explain and elaborate how these laws were to be applied concretely in their
daily life. When we are obsessed with which commandments or laws we have
broken for fear of the punishment of God, especially in the next life, we too
have taken the joy out of our Catholic Faith. Indeed, St Paul’s remark to
the Galatians also applies to us. “I am astonished that you are so
quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning
to a different gospel – not that there is another gospel, but there are some
who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.” (Gal 1:6f)
Being a Christian is
primarily a calling. It is being chosen by the Lord. St Paul wrote, “You are God’s
chosen race, his saints; he loves you.” This is the starting point of
Christian life. It is to be loved by God and chosen by Him to be His
saints. Pope Emeritus Benedict in his encyclical wrote, “We have come to
believe in God’s love: in these words the Christian can express the fundamental
decision of his life. Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or
a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new
horizon and a decisive direction.” (Deus est Caritas, 1) It is not
about subscribing to a philosophy or a system of morality. Rather,
it is an encounter with God in a personal way which is Christ, and as a result
of this encounter, we change our perspective, horizon and understanding of
life.
Indeed, the consequence
of being loved by God in Christ is to live the life of Christ. Pope Benedict wrote, “Since God has
first loved us (cf. 1 Jn 4:10), love is now no longer a mere
‘command’; it is the response to the gift of love with which God draws near to
us.” (Ibid) It is no longer trying to fulfil the command of
Christ in continuity with the Old Testament, namely to love God with all our
heart, soul and strength and to love our neighbour as ourselves. (cf Mk 12:29-31) In this context, St Paul in
the first reading draws out the implications of being loved and chosen by
God. He is telling the Christians that they must now live a new life in
Christ, not because they have to but because they want to, and this is a
consequence of being baptized in Christ. “So if you have been raised with
Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right
hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on
earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col 3:1-4)
What, then, does this
Christian life consist of? Firstly, it is a life of compassion. “You should be clothed in sincere
compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with
one another; forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins.” Indeed,
what the world needs most is compassion, feeling with and for our
fellowmen. This is the most important aspect of being a Christian that
distinguishes us from the rest of the world. Jesus taught us, “Be
compassionate as your Father is compassionate.” This compassion is
expressed in our identification with those who are weak, those who are
suffering, those who are hurt and injured. Even with our enemies,
we are called to love them. Jesus said to His disciples, “I say this to
you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless
those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly.” There is
nothing great about being Christian if we were to love only those who love us
as pagans also do the same. (cf Mt 5:43-48)
How can we love our
enemies and those whom we find difficult to love? The key to compassion
and forgiveness is to adopt a non-judgmental attitude. The moment we judge a person, we already
have made up our minds about the person. No matter what he or she says,
we are already prejudiced. We will not be hearing the person and feeling
with him because we are more preoccupied in judging him than entering into
heartfelt experience and fears. This explains why the Lord advised us,
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you
will not be condemned yourself; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned.
Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken
together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount
you measure out is the amount you will be given back.” St James says the
same thing, “So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of
liberty. For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no
mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.” (Jms 2:12f)
Nevertheless, the heart
of forgiveness is more than just thinking logically why we should forgive our
enemies but because of the forgiveness that we have received. St Paul said, “The Lord has forgiven you;
now you must do the same.” We forgive because God has first forgiven
us. This is the best motivation for forgiveness. In spite of man’s
rejection of His love and betrayal, the Lord is ever ready to forgive us as He
did with the apostles who betrayed Him. We can only forgive because the
Lord has forgiven us. So we are not asked to forgive using our own
strength but rather the strength that comes from the forgiveness we have
received from Him. Only by forgiving in return can we receive the
full healing of God’s forgiveness. By not extending the forgiveness we
have received from God to those who sinned against us, we limit God’s
forgiveness for us because we block His forgiving grace. This is what the
Lord warned us, “So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you
do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” (Mt 18:35) In one
of the beatitudes, Jesus also said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will
receive mercy.” (Mt 5:7)
Secondly, Christians
live a life of love in response to Christ’s love for us. “Over all these clothes, to
keep them together and complete them, put on love.” When we love, it is
again always on account of God’s love for us. We love only because He
loved us first. We can love only because He gave us the capacity to
love. St John makes it clear, “God’s love was revealed among us in this
way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through
him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent
his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved
us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God;
if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in
us.” (1 Jn 4:9-12)
Thirdly, Christians are
peacemakers because Christ gives us His peace. Before He departed from them, the Lord
promised His disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do
not give to you as the world gives.” (Jn 14:26) After His resurrection, He appeared
to the timid and guilty disciples wishing them, “Peace be with you!” (Jn 20:19, 21) In the Beatitudes, the Lord
says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of
God.” (Mt 5:9) We are all called to be
messengers of peace. A Christian should not be causing trouble by making
himself a nuisance because of gossiping, speaking harsh words, carrying tales,
belittling others, throwing tantrums, pouting, getting angry and shouting, creating
misunderstanding by accusing people wrongly without verification, especially
through the social media, and causing division in the family or in the office.
“And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this
that you were called together as parts of one body.” We should be
fostering unity and harmony wherever we are, with our encouraging and
enlightening words; and caring and loving actions.
Fourthly, Christian life
springs from our gratitude to God for His love and mercy. St Paul says, “Always be
thankful.” Gratitude is the expression of a humble heart. When we
are grateful, we are drawn to love the person in return. It is not
difficult to love those who love us. But many are not grateful to God
because they do not see God as the source of their blessings. They think
it is due to their merits and hard work. Without gratitude, we become
demanding and lacking compassion towards others. Generosity towards others can
only come from a grateful heart. This is the basis of Jesus’ command to
let go of those who are not fair to us in life. “To the man who slaps you
on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes your cloak from
you, do not refuse your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask
for your property back from the man who robs you. Treat others as you
would like them to treat you.” When we are grateful to God, knowing that
all we have come from Him, we would not be calculative even with those who
cheat us or treat us badly because we are just distributing what He has given
to us.
To keep us focused in
living the life of Christ, St Paul gave us the foundation of Christian life. “Let the message of Christ,
in all its richness, find a home with you. Teach each other, and advise
each other, in all wisdom. With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms and
hymns and inspired songs to God.” Unless we spend time in worship, in
praise, in thanksgiving, in prayer, in contemplation of His Word, in sharing
our faith with one another, we cannot find the strength to do what Christ
did. That is why we must put Christ as the center of our lives in all
that we do and think . St Paul wrote, “never say or do anything except in
the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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