20200901 SPIRITUAL MATURITY MEANS LIVING OUT ONE’S IDENTITY
01 September, 2020, Tuesday, 22nd Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.
First reading |
1 Corinthians 2:10-16 © |
The Spirit reaches even the depths of God
The Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God. After all, the depths of a man can only be known by his own spirit, not by any other man, and in the same way the depths of God can only be known by the Spirit of God. Now instead of the spirit of the world, we have received the Spirit that comes from God, to teach us to understand the gifts that he has given us. Therefore we teach, not in the way in which philosophy is taught, but in the way that the Spirit teaches us: we teach spiritual things spiritually. An unspiritual person is one who does not accept anything of the Spirit of God: he sees it all as nonsense; it is beyond his understanding because it can only be understood by means of the Spirit. A spiritual man, on the other hand, is able to judge the value of everything, and his own value is not to be judged by other men. As scripture says: Who can know the mind of the Lord, so who can teach him? But we are those who have the mind of Christ.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 144(145):8-14 © |
The Lord is just in all his ways.
The Lord is kind and full of compassion,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
How good is the Lord to all,
compassionate to all his creatures.
The Lord is just in all his ways.
All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,
and your friends shall repeat their blessing.
They shall speak of the glory of your reign
and declare your might, O God,
to make known to men your mighty deeds
and the glorious splendour of your reign.
The Lord is just in all his ways.
Yours is an everlasting kingdom;
your rule lasts from age to age.
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and loving in all his deeds.
The Lord supports all who fall
and raises all who are bowed down.
The Lord is just in all his ways.
Gospel Acclamation | Heb4:12 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
Or: | Lk7:16 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
A great prophet has appeared among us;
God has visited his people.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 4:31-37 © |
'I know who you are: the Holy One of God'
Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because he spoke with authority.
In the synagogue there was a man who was possessed by the spirit of an unclean devil, and it shouted at the top of its voice, ‘Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus said sharply, ‘Be quiet! Come out of him!’ And the devil, throwing the man down in front of everyone, went out of him without hurting him at all. Astonishment seized them and they were all saying to one another, ‘What teaching! He gives orders to unclean spirits with authority and power and they come out.’ And reports of him went all through the surrounding countryside.
SPIRITUAL MATURITY MEANS LIVING OUT ONE’S IDENTITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 CORINTHIANS 2:10-16; LUKE 4:31-37 ]
Many of us are baptized in Christ but not many are living out their full identity as a child of God. If we believe that we are children of God, then we must act and live in the Spirit. What does it mean to live a life of Christian maturity?
Spiritual maturity means that our knowledge of God is not based on some philosophical considerations. Faith is not something that is reasoned but revealed to us by God. This is why there are some teachings unspiritual people will never come to accept because they do not have the Spirit of Christ in them. St Paul says, “Therefore, we teach, not in the way in which philosophy is taught, but in the way that the Spirit teaches us: we teach spiritual things spiritually.” St Paul earlier on underscored this fact when he wrote, “I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.” (1 Cor 2:1,4f) Only God can reveal Himself to us and only the Spirit of God can enlighten us about Him. “The Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God.” Human wisdom will not be able to accept the dogma of the Incarnation, the resurrection, the Holy Trinity, the efficacy of the Sacraments, and the doctrines regarding Mary, hell, purgatory and heaven. So, using reason alone cannot bring a person to faith unless God’s Spirit fills him with His truth and wisdom.
Secondly, spiritual maturity is more than just knowing God but knowing our identity as well. In the gospel, we have an unclean spirit that calls out the name of Jesus revealing His identity. He shouted at the top of his voice. “Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.” The devil, being a spirit, immediately sensed the presence of God in Jesus. By calling out the name of Jesus, he thought that would distract Jesus and His focus on delivering the possessed man. However, Jesus would not allow the unclean spirit to derail His intent on setting the possessed man free. “Jesus said sharply, ‘Be quiet! Come out of him!'”
The confidence and calmness of Jesus in His ministry, whether with respect to the way He taught or the way He dealt with evil forces, showed Jesus to be very much in control of Himself. We also read that “Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbath. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because he spoke with authority.” Jesus taught from the depth of His heart and from the depth of God. He did not teach some philosophical truths or clever and sophisticated arguments. Jesus’ teaching was clear and direct to the point, touching people’s lives and transforming them. When the gospel said, Jesus taught with authority, what the author meant was that He taught in such a way that His listeners were able to immediately perceive the truth, not just philosophical truth but the existential truth. Hence, the words of Jesus struck His listeners deeply because they spoke to them.
Indeed, Jesus showed Himself to be one who knew Himself, and God. Unlike us, He was not afraid of the unclean spirits. Jesus showed His power over the Evil One even when he sought to frighten our Lord by “throwing the man down in front of everyone.” But as the evangelist wrote, the devil “went out of him without hurting him at all.” Christ was not afraid of the evil spirits because He knew that the Spirit of God was with Him. He had no fear because He was fully aware of His identity as the Son of the Father and that He was given the anointing of the Holy Spirit to cast out evil spirits and to announce the gospel with authority and the power of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, we read that after the exorcism, “Astonishment seized them and they were all saying to one another, ‘What teaching! He gives orders to unclean spirits with authority and power and they come out.'” The authoritative teaching of Jesus was demonstrated by Jesus exercising His ministry in the power of the Spirit.
Thirdly, spiritual maturity means that we are able to judge everything with the mind of Christ. St Paul, writing to the Christians, gives us the criterion for determining whether we are spiritual men and women. He says, “a spiritual man is able to judge the value of everything, and his own value is not to be judged by other men.” Being spiritual requires us to see and judge everything in relation to Christ and the gospel. It is to see life and situations from the perspective of Christ. A true Christian who is spiritually mature will measure life by the same measure that Christ lived His life, and according to the teachings of Christ. St Paul wrote, “As scripture says: Who can know the mind of the Lord, so who can teach him? But we are those who have the mind of Christ.”
But more than just living by the laws of Christ, a Christian sees the wisdom and the truth of what the Lord is teaching us. Unlike the Israelites and the Jews, although some obeyed the law of Moses, they complied slavishly without understanding the laws as Moses had instructed them. “You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!'” (Dt 4:6) In other words, a Christian understands the depth of Christ’s word and therefore embraces the Word of God interiorly and not just externally. St Paul says, “Now instead of the spirit of the world, we have received the Spirit that comes from God, to teach us to understand the gifts that he has given us.”
Spiritual maturity is only possible because we have the Spirit of God living in us. St Paul says, “The Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God. After all, the depths of a man, and in the same way the depths of God can only be known by the Spirit of God.” This is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Jeremiah when he said, “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.” (Jer 31:33f)
Today, we must recover our identity as the children of God. We must reclaim our true identity as God’s children by virtue of our baptism. St Paul wrote, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ – if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” (Rom 8:14-17) Conscious of our identity as God’s children, we will be able to not just live with confidence and with pride but also with the power of the Holy Spirit to do what Jesus did and “in fact, will do greater works than these.” (cf Jn 14:12)
We must hear the Word of God anew if we want to grow in spiritual maturity. Getting in touch with the Lord and being filled with His Spirit requires us to be in constant dialogue and contact with Him. Only the Word of God can help us to discern the Spirit of God as Hebrews tells us, “Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Let us turn to the Word of God every day so that we can be guided by the Spirit and understand the wisdom of what the Word is saying to be able to use it “for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.’ (2 Tim 3:16) Together with prayer, the Lord will guide us to make proper discernment as to what He wants us to do and how we should live our lives according to His will.
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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