20200320
RETURN
TO HIS LOVE
20 March, 2020, Friday, 3rd
Week in Lent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
|
First reading
|
Hosea 14:2-10 ©
|
A call to conversion and promise of safety
The Lord says
this:
Israel,
come back to the Lord your God;
your
iniquity was the cause of your downfall.
Provide
yourself with words
and
come back to the Lord.
Say
to him, ‘Take all iniquity away
so
that we may have happiness again
and
offer you our words of praise.
Assyria
cannot save us,
we
will not ride horses any more,
or
say, “Our God!” to what our own hands have made,
for
you are the one in whom orphans find compassion.’
– I
will heal their disloyalty,
I
will love them with all my heart,
for
my anger has turned from them.
I
will fall like dew on Israel.
He
shall bloom like the lily,
and
thrust out roots like the poplar,
his
shoots will spread far;
he
will have the beauty of the olive
and
the fragrance of Lebanon.
They
will come back to live in my shade;
they
will grow corn that flourishes,
they
will cultivate vines
as
renowned as the wine of Helbon.
What
has Ephraim to do with idols any more
when
it is I who hear his prayer and care for him?
I am
like a cypress ever green,
all
your fruitfulness comes from me.
Let
the wise man understand these words.
Let
the intelligent man grasp their meaning.
For
the ways of the Lord are straight,
and
virtuous men walk in them,
but
sinners stumble.
|
Responsorial
Psalm
|
|
Psalm 80(81):6,8-11,14,17 ©
|
I
am the Lord your God: listen to my warning.
A
voice I did not know said to me:
‘I
freed your shoulder from the burden;
your
hands were freed from the load.
You
called in distress and I saved you.
I
am the Lord your God: listen to my warning.
‘I
answered, concealed in the storm cloud;
at
the waters of Meribah I tested you.
Listen,
my people, to my warning.
O
Israel, if only you would heed!
I
am the Lord your God: listen to my warning.
‘Let
there be no foreign god among you,
no
worship of an alien god.
I am
the Lord your God,
who
brought you from the land of Egypt.
I
am the Lord your God: listen to my warning.
‘O
that my people would heed me,
that
Israel would walk in my ways!
But
Israel I would feed with finest wheat
and
fill them with honey from the rock.’
I
am the Lord your God: listen to my warning.
|
Gospel
Acclamation
|
Praise
and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
The
seed is the word of God, Christ the sower;
whoever
finds this seed will remain for ever.
Praise
and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
|
Or:
|
Mt4:17
|
Praise
and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Repent,
says the Lord,
for
the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.
Praise
and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
|
Gospel
|
Mark 12:28-34 ©
|
'You are not far from the kingdom of God'
One of the
scribes came up to Jesus and put a question to him, ‘Which is the first of all
the commandments?’ Jesus replied, ‘This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord
our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The
second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no
commandment greater than these.’ The scribe said to him, ‘Well spoken, Master;
what you have said is true: that he is one and there is no other. To love him
with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your
neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or
sacrifice.’ Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, ‘You are not far from
the kingdom of God.’ And after that no one dared to question him any more.
RETURN TO HIS LOVE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [HOSEA
14:2-10; PS 81:6,8-11,14,17; MARK
12:28-34 ]
How comforting to hear
the words of appeal from God Himself when He said, “Israel, come back to the
Lord your God; your iniquity was the cause of your downfall.” Indeed, God is like the Prodigal Father
who is waiting for us to come home. We have wondered far away from Him
because of our ignorance and our sins. Like the Prodigal Son, we have
come to realize that without God, our life is in a mess and we fall into
poverty, misery and slavery to the world.
This is what the Lord
wants us to realize, that regardless how powerful a nation is, without His
blessings, that nation cannot exist. Indeed, even “Assyria cannot save us, we
will not ride horses any more, or say, ‘Our god!’ to what our own hands have
made, for you are the one in whom orphans find compassion.” We cannot
rely on ourselves, our wealth, power and resources. These were the false
gods that Israel trusted and as a consequence, fell into decadence and
exile. We must learn the lessons of those who turned away from God.
Self-autonomy was what the prodigal son wanted but he was reduced to a beggar.
However, the great thing
is that the Lord is ever ready to welcome us back. He is waiting for our
response. “I
will heal their disloyalty, I will love them with all my heart, for my anger
has turned from them.” Truly, the Lord is most forgiving. He does
not want us to suffer and stumble in darkness. He wants to raise up and
restore us to fullness. This was what the Lord said to Israel. “I
will fall like dew on Israel. He shall bloom like the lily, and thrust
out roots like the poplar, his shoots will spread far; He will have the beauty
of the olive and the fragrance of Lebanon. They will come back to live in
my shade.”
So the motivation to
return to the Lord is because the Lord loves us and wants the best for
us. He
cares for our interests and our well-being. He is for us and our
happiness. He wants us to prosper. He wants us to be fruitful in
life. “I am like a cypress ever green, all your fruitfulness comes from
me.” This is the point of departure. God loves us and He wants us
to share in His happiness. This was what the Lord said, “I am the
vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much
fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” (Jn 15:5)
How can we experience
His love unless we love Him in return? Love is always a two way process. The unconditional love of God for
us calls for a reciprocal love since love cannot be forced and we cannot
experience love one-sidedly. It is within this context that the gospel
must be understood. To the question, “Which is the first of all the
commandments?” Jesus replied, “This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our
God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second
is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment
great than these.”
The call to love God
with all our heart, soul and strength might seem impossible. Of course, it is impossible using our
human will alone to love God. The command to love God with our entire
being always presupposes that God has first loved us. We can only
love Him with the love that we have received. “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.” (1 Jn 4:10f) Unless we first received His love, we cannot
respond accordingly in love.
This was the situation
of the Israelites in the book of Exodus. When Moses told, “You shall love
the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and
with all your might” (Dt 6:5f), it was in the context of the Exodus
experience. Earlier on, the Lord reminded the people, “You have seen what
I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to
myself. Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you
shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples.” (Ex 19:4f)
If we have seen the power of God at work in our lives, we can surrender our
lives to Him completely.
When we are assured of
God’s love we can entrust our lives to Him. “What has Ephraim to do with idols any
more when it is I who hear his prayer and care for him? I am like a
cypress ever green, all your fruitfulness comes from me. Let the wise man
understand these words. Let the intelligent man grasp their meaning. For
the ways of the Lord are straight, and virtuous men walk in them, but sinners
stumble.” Indeed, when we know that God is all-powerful and all loving,
why should we turn to other gods? Only, those who do not know Him and
therefore cannot trust Him would turn to other gods.
For Christians, the love
of God is not something abstract or mere words. His love comes to us in a human way.
Our Lord assumed our humanity so that He could mediate His Father’s love to us
in a concrete way. He communicated the Father’s love and mercy by
healing the sick, casting out the demons, eating and drinking with sinners; and
teaching us through parables that came from daily life about the love of His
Father, His mercy and forgiveness. So too, if people cannot feel the love
of God, very often, it is because they cannot feel the love of their
fellowmen. They are bitter with God or think He does not exist simply
because they cannot encounter love in their daily life. What they
experience is rejection, alienation and indifference. Isn’t this the
reason why some Catholics leave the Church because they have been hurt or
wounded by priests or fellow Catholics? Few leave the Church
because of disagreement with doctrines. Most leave the Church
because they feel that the love of God is not lived in their communities.
Hence, the love of God
must be seen in the love of our neighbours. “To love him with all your heart, with all your
understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far
more important than any holocaust of sacrifice.” If we have
received the love of God directly in prayer or through some mystical
revelation, it is God’s blessings. But for most people, they need
to encounter God through the love and kindness of their fellowmen
worshippers. So it is important that those of us who claim to love
God must make it a point to express our love for God not just in sentimental
worship but in reaching out to our brothers and sisters in service.
Love of God without expressing our love for neighbor is questionable. One
cannot claim to love God if he or she does not love his or her neighbor.
Indeed, for most
Catholics who do not have any mystical experience of God, they often encounter
God when they serve the poor in their fellowmen. For the Lord said, “Truly I tell
you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my
family, you did it to me.” (Mt 25:40)
When serving the poor, seeing their poverty, their humility, cheerfulness
and gratitude for the little they received, they experience a joy that no
amount of money can buy. The poor truly reveals God to us by their
simplicity and joy. Their gratitude makes us feel that what we do is
worthwhile and meaningful. Often, we have no joy in life because we
are so used to what we have, our comforts, convenience, and luxuries, so much
so that we no longer know how to enjoy the simple things of life. And the
truth is that we get tired of living a luxurious life because it only satisfies
the body but does not enrich our heart and soul. The poor teaches us how
to be joyful with little and how to be happy with friends, and enjoy the meaning
of true friendship.
Indeed, the truly wise
and intelligent man is one who depends on God for everything and shares what he
has with everyone. By
loving others, He comes to discover the God who is the Emmanuel; the one who
stays with us. Let us therefore come back to His love, in prayer, in
worship and in our outreach to our brothers and sisters, especially those in
need.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment