20200910 RADICAL LOVE AS THE HALLMARK OF CHRISTIANITY
10 September, 2020, Thursday, 23rd Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.
First reading |
1 Corinthians 8:1-7,11-13 © |
Your brethren may be weaker than you: do not lead them astray
Now about food sacrificed to idols. ‘We all have knowledge’; yes, that is so, but knowledge gives self-importance – it is love that makes the building grow. A man may imagine he understands something, but still not understand anything in the way that he ought to. But any man who loves God is known by him. Well then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: we know that idols do not really exist in the world and that there is no god but the One. And even if there were things called gods, either in the sky or on earth – where there certainly seem to be ‘gods’ and ‘lords’ in plenty – still for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things come and for whom we exist; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things come and through whom we exist.
Some people, however, do not have this knowledge. There are some who have been so long used to idols that they eat this food as though it really had been sacrificed to the idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled by it. In this way your knowledge could become the ruin of someone weak, of a brother for whom Christ died. By sinning in this way against your brothers, and injuring their weak consciences, it would be Christ against whom you sinned. That is why, since food can be the occasion of my brother’s downfall, I shall never eat meat again in case I am the cause of a brother’s downfall.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 138(139):1-3,13-14,23-24 © |
Lead me, O Lord, in the path of life eternal.
O Lord, you search me and you know me,
you know my resting and my rising,
you discern my purpose from afar.
You mark when I walk or lie down,
all my ways lie open to you.
Lead me, O Lord, in the path of life eternal.
For it was you who created my being,
knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I thank you for the wonder of my being,
for the wonders of all your creation.
Lead me, O Lord, in the path of life eternal.
Already you knew my soul,
O search me, God, and know my heart.
O test me and know my thoughts.
See that I follow not the wrong path
and lead me in the path of life eternal.
Lead me, O Lord, in the path of life eternal.
Gospel Acclamation | Jm1:21 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept and submit to the word
which has been planted in you
and can save your souls.
Alleluia!
Or: | 1Jn4:12 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
As long as we love one another
God will live in us
and his love will be complete in us.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 6:27-38 © |
Love your enemies
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.’
RADICAL LOVE AS THE HALLMARK OF CHRISTIANITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 COR 8:1-7,11-13 ; LUKE 6:27-38]
What does it mean to be a Christian? What distinguishes a Christian from others in loving? It is the capacity to love like Jesus in a radical way. This love goes beyond simply loving our neighbour but even our enemies. The gospel today invites us to love radically, which is an invitation to love our enemies. 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 arrive at this highest level of love, we must ask what is the foundation of this love. What is it that motivates a Christian to love even his or her enemies?
We begin at the lowest level of love, namely, the love of self. The world today promotes a self-centered love, based on self. The modern generation is obsessed with loving oneself at the expense of others. This is the philosophy of the YOLO and the FOMO. You only live once and therefore there is always the fear of missing out. Life for the YOLOs and FOMOs is only life in this world. There is no world beyond this world. Understandably, because life is short, then one must seek to enjoy as much as we can before we are extinguished into nothingness. So it about working hard so that we have money to enjoy all the pleasures of this world, attempt every adventure and travel the whole world. Since there is no inkling of life after death or eternal reward, there is no motivation to make sacrifices for the future or for the rest of humanity. Each person lives for himself; that is just the opposite of what St Paul wrote, “We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” Since they do not live for the Lord, they will not live for others as well.
There are however many believers of other religions and even those without religion who believe in love of neighbour. What motivates them to love others beyond themselves? It is rooted in the joy of being loved in return, the joy of being appreciated, the joy of being able to be identified with the sufferings of others; and for others, the joy of being recognized. Loving those who love us is a natural response of the human person in any human relationship. It is natural for spouses to love and care for each other; and for parents to love their children. Loving our loved ones in truth is tantamount to loving ourselves because we are so identified with them that we have become part of them. Their suffering becomes our suffering. Their joy is also our joy. So to love them ultimately is also to love ourselves. This kind of mutual love does not require effort because it is in our constitution. This is why the Lord said, “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 who you hope to receive, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners lend to get back the same amount.”
What about loving beyond our loved ones and friends, especially the poor and the suffering? This love is of course much higher than just loving those who love us. Most of the time when we love these people, it is rooted in humanitarian love. This is the universal principle taught since ancient times and not just by our Lord, namely, the Golden Rule: “Treat others as you would like them to treat you.” In another version, “Do not do to others what you do not like them to do to you.” So this principle is based on a shared humanity, feeling with the sufferings of our fellowman. Humanitarian love presupposes identification with the other as well, but this time it is on the level of need and suffering of the human person.
Of course, loving the poor and the suffering also brings about tangible joy that cannot be measured in monetary terms. The reward is emotional and on the level of meaning. We feel good about ourselves because we are capable of loving. Not all the time, but most of the time, those whom we help are grateful for our service and assistance. We feel appreciated and that makes us feel that we have lived a meaningful life, making a difference in the lives of others by bringing relief, joy and hope to them. The sense of self-worth would motivate people to help out for humanitarian reasons. Indeed, the Lord said, “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.”
However, will we give if there is no reciprocal acknowledgement of what we have done for them? For many who help for humanitarian reasons, they also seek recognition and acknowledgement. They want their name to be published and their generosity to be acknowledged. For some it is to satisfy their egoistic need, yet for others, they hope that more people will support them and their businesses for the good works they do. Regardless of whatever motive, humanitarian service also does receive some forms of reward, tangible and sometimes intangible. Otherwise, what motivation would one have to sacrifice their time, service and resources to help the poor unless they get back something in return. Thus, even if we have love in our hearts for the poor and the suffering, and whilst such charity is admirable, it is not yet distinguishable from Christian love.
The height of Christian love is to love even our enemies. This goes against the grain of our fallen human nature. We are happy to love those who love us in return. We might not even mind loving those who cannot show appreciation to us. But to love those who are our enemies is a very tall order. For eros, which is passionate love, or for philia, which is the love of friends, these forms of love do not need an act of the will because it comes spontaneously from the human heart. But for agape love, not only is the heart required but we also need to make an act of the will because our love for our friends and loved ones cannot be the same love we have for our enemies. This is why the word “love” used in the gospel today is that of “agape”, a love beyond reciprocal love. Loving our enemies means that we will attend to their needs.
Radical love of our enemies is required of us as Christians. Jesus said, “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.” What Jesus taught, He Himself lived it. He did not retaliate against His enemies but forgave them and prayed for them when He was on the cross. He gave everything He had to all, stripped Himself of His divinity and riches so that we could be rich in Him. (2 Cor 8:9) On the cross, He was stripped naked and even His tunic was divided among the soldiers. (Mt 27:35) Indeed, this was the radical love that Jesus had shown to us. St Peter wrote, “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.” (1 Pt 2:21)
However, how can we love in such a manner like our Lord? What is the foundation of this radical love? Firstly, it is the love of Christ for us in His passion, death and resurrection. Jesus’ love for us, especially in the Holy Spirit, gives us the capacity to love like Him. Without His love in us, we cannot love our enemies by sincerely caring for them. Secondly, it is the promise of an eternal reward, which is to share in the life and love of God as His children. Our reward is different from the world’s. They seek a reward only in this life. We seek an eternal reward. This is what the Lord promised those who love their enemies and “do good to them 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.” Sharing in God’s life is the ultimate joy and fulfillment of anyone of us. This is what it means to be called sons of God.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved. The contents of this page may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission from the Archbishop’s Office. This includes extracts, quotations, and summaries.
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