20201010 BECOMING GOD’S SPIRITUAL FAMILY
10 October, 2020, Saturday, 27th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.
First reading |
Galatians 3:22-29 © |
There are no more distinctions: all are one in Christ Jesus
Scripture makes no exceptions when it says that sin is master everywhere. In this way the promise can only be given through faith in Jesus Christ and can only be given to those who have this faith.
Before faith came, we were allowed no freedom by the Law; we were being looked after till faith was revealed. The Law was to be our guardian until the Christ came and we could be justified by faith. Now that that time has come we are no longer under that guardian, and you are, all of you, sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. All baptised in Christ, you have all clothed yourselves in Christ, and there are no more distinctions between Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female, but all of you are one in Christ Jesus. Merely by belonging to Christ you are the posterity of Abraham, the heirs he was promised.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 104(105):2-7 © |
The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or
Alleluia!
O sing to the Lord, sing his praise;
tell all his wonderful works!
Be proud of his holy name,
let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice.
The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or
Alleluia!
Consider the Lord and his strength;
constantly seek his face.
Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, the judgements he spoke.
The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or
Alleluia!
O children of Abraham, his servant,
O sons of the Jacob he chose.
He, the Lord, is our God:
his judgements prevail in all the earth.
The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | Jn14:23 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him.
Alleluia!
Or: | Lk11:28 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Happy are those
who hear the word of God
and keep it.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 11:27-28 © |
'Happy the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked!'
As Jesus was speaking, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, ‘Happy the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked!’ But he replied, ‘Still happier those who hear the word of God and keep it!’
BECOMING GOD’S SPIRITUAL FAMILY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [GALATIANS 3:22-29; LUKE 11:27-28 ]
During the time of Jesus, the Jews gave great importance to family ties. Not surprisingly in the gospel, a woman in the crowd who was amazed at the teaching of our Lord said, “Happy the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked!” Indeed, the Jews were very protective of their race and considered Gentiles as unclean. Their Jewish identity was strengthened by their common and meticulous observance of the Mosaic Laws and the Rabbinic Tradition passed on to them.
But Jesus changed the way one’s dignity was to be appraised. For Jesus, what makes us members of God’s family or God’s people is not our biological ties but our spiritual ties with God. It is not our family tree that should give us our importance and fulfilment but our obedience to the Word of God. Jesus replied, “Still happier those who hear the word of God and keep it!” Obedience to God is even greater than being related to some great people or ancestors. Admiring Jesus’ eloquence and wisdom in His teaching still does not bring us far enough. Truly, what counts is that we belong to God’s spiritual family than His earthly family. This happens only when we hear the Word of God and put it into practice.
This obedience of faith is what St Paul is reiterating in today’s first reading. He tells us what it takes to be a member of God’s family and His Chosen People. It is not by race or by obedience to the Law. We cannot be saved by the Law because we are all sinners. “Scripture makes no exceptions when it says that sin is master everywhere.” In his letter to the Romans, he wrote, “For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:22f) All of us, regardless, Jews or Gentiles, are all prisoners of sin.
Does it mean therefore that the Law had no purpose in the plan of God? On the contrary, the Law had a purpose until the coming of Christ. St Paul said, “Before faith came, we were allowed no freedom by the Law; we were being looked after till faith was revealed. The Law was to be our guardian until the Christ came and we could be justified by faith.” In other words, in Paul’s view, he saw the economy of salvation being revealed to humanity gradually. Already in the Old Testament, we saw the stages of revelation being progressively unfolded, beginning with the covenants established with Adam, Noah, Abraham and Moses. Then the prophet Ezekiel and Jeremiah spoke of a New Covenant to replace the Old Ones.
Indeed, the Law given by Moses had the purpose of forming the people in faith before the coming of grace, given by our Lord Jesus Christ. St John wrote, “From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (Jn 1:16f) So it was a pedagogy God used to prepare His people to receive the grace of our Lord. “The Law was to be our guardian until the Christ came and we could be justified by faith.” A guardian signifies that we were still children in faith and therefore required to be tutored and disciplined to prepare us to accept the freedom of God’s grace in Christ. The ethical, moral, juridical and religious laws of Moses were meant to protect the People of God from the depravity of the neighboring nations.
How then does the Law form us in grace? The Law has a negative character in forming us. St Paul had earlier on underscored that the Law cannot save us. But the Law is important insofar as it teaches us what is right and what is wrong. In Romans, he wrote, “I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’ But sin, seizing an opportunity in the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law sin lies dead.” (Rom 7:7f) “So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good. Did what is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, working death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. (Rom 7:12f)
So the Law was useful to instruct us and make us aware of our sins, our infidelity and our ingratitude towards God. The Law was meant to make our conscience more sensitive to the wrongs we have done against our fellowmen. So it has a purpose to form us in truth. However, it also makes us aware of our incapacity to do what is right even though we know it. In our helplessness in rendering obedience to the Law, Christ has come to give us the capacity to obey the law to the fullness. The Lord said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.” (Mt 5:17f) So in truth, some of the Old Testament laws still apply to us. Those parts of the Old Testament that reveal to us the unchanging nature of God, His irrevocable plan for humanity and His eternal moral laws are still relevant except for those ceremonial laws that were suitable for the people of their time.
How does the grace of Christ enable us to do what we cannot do by our own efforts? By His death on the cross, He has freed us from our bondage to the Law. He has shown us the love and mercy of God. Writing to the Romans, St Paul said, we “are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Rom 3:24-26)
So the way to salvation is faith in Christ. “Now that that time has come we are no longer under that guardian, and you are, all of you, sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” This faith in Christ is more than just an intellectual or verbal assent. Rather, faith demands an obedience not just to fulfill the external laws but to give our entire heart, mind and soul to Him. It is a giving more than just some external obedience to some commands or rules, but it is the personal giving of oneself entirely to Jesus. This is what the obedience of faith demands. In Christ, God has replaced a religion based on some external performance of rules imposed from outside with one that demands a personal gift of oneself to God as a person. Faith is a personal relationship with God, where there is mutual sharing, giving and loving.
This personal relationship with God through grace is given to us at baptism. “All baptised in Christ, you have all clothed yourselves in Christ, and there are no more distinctions between Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female, but all of you are one in Christ Jesus. Merely by belonging to Christ you are the posterity of Abraham, the heirs he was promised.” In Christ, we put on a new garment, a symbol of maturity in faith. It is the passage to adulthood in Christ whereas under the Old Testament, we were children under the Law. As adults in Christ, we enjoy the freedom in the exercise of love because we put on the robe of Christ’s righteousness. We act with Christ and in Christ, in the way we conduct ourselves, always in the spirit of love, giving humble service and selflessness. Faith in Christ makes us all equal members in God’s family regardless of our race, language and social status. Like Mary, the mother of Jesus, we no longer just believe in the Word of God but like her, we keep all the words of God and put them into practice in our lives.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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