20201013 ESSENCE OF CHRISTIANITY: LOVING RELATIONSHIPS
13 October, 2020, Tuesday, 28th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.
First reading | Galatians 5:1-6 © |
It is faith, not the Law, that justifies us
When Christ freed us, he meant us to remain free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. It is I, Paul, who tell you this: if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all. With all solemnity I repeat my warning: Everyone who accepts circumcision is obliged to keep the whole Law. But if you do look to the Law to make you justified, then you have separated yourselves from Christ, and have fallen from grace. Christians are told by the Spirit to look to faith for those rewards that righteousness hopes for, since in Christ Jesus whether you are circumcised or not makes no difference – what matters is faith that makes its power felt through love.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 118(119):41,43-45,47-48 © |
Lord, let your love come upon me.
Lord, let your love come upon me,
the saving help of your promise.
Do not take the word of truth from my mouth
for I trust in your decrees.
Lord, let your love come upon me.
I shall always keep your law
for ever and ever.
I shall walk in the path of freedom
for I seek your precepts.
Lord, let your love come upon me.
Your commands have been my delight;
these I have loved.
I will worship your commands and love them
and ponder your statutes.
Lord, let your love come upon me.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:135 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Let your face shine on your servant,
and teach me your decrees.
Alleluia!
Or: | Heb4:12 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 11:37-41 © |
Give thanks for what you have and it will all be clean
Jesus had just finished speaking when a Pharisee invited him to dine at his house. He went in and sat down at the table. The Pharisee saw this and was surprised that he had not first washed before the meal. But the Lord said to him, ‘Oh, you Pharisees! You clean the outside of cup and plate, while inside yourselves you are filled with extortion and wickedness. Fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside too? Instead, give alms from what you have and then indeed everything will be clean for you.’
ESSENCE OF CHRISTIANITY: LOVING RELATIONSHIPS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [GALATIANS 5:1-6; LUKE 11:37-41]
When a scribe, that is, one who was an expert on the Jewish scriptures asked Jesus “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mk 12:28-31) Indeed, when the scribe repeated the words of Jesus, concluding that “this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices”, the Lord responded, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” (Mk 12:33f)
Indeed, the heart of Christianity and of all religion is love of God, neighbor and self. This is the ultimate measure of a true religion. We can profess the right doctrines and have all the knowledge about God and what we should do in living our faith. But if we are without love for God and without a personal relationship with Him and expressed in our love for ourselves and our neighbours, then we have missed out the essence of our faith. We have reduced it to a religion of practices, rules and laws. It could become just some external observance without having the right motive or even consciousness of what we are doing. It becomes a routine and repetitive performance of rituals and customs without understanding and meaning. This is always the temptation of many old Catholics, and especially cradle Catholics who just imbibed the practices of the faith but not the spirit of it.
This was why Jesus reprimanded the Pharisees in today’s gospel. He exposed their hypocrisy for being so meticulous in observing the ablutions for washing before eating, but their lives were not transformed. “Oh, you Pharisees! You clean the outside of cup and plate, while inside yourselves you are filled with extortion and wickedness. Fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside too? Instead, give alms from what you have and then indeed everything will be clean for you.” In other words, what is the use of such external demonstration of their faith in God by observing the Laws externally but we have not grown in charity and love for others. This is why the Lord told them that it is more important to purify their minds and hearts first so that they could love their neighbours as much as they claimed to honour God by their washing ablutions. Without love, observance of the laws would be just for show, vanity and pride. It only makes them worse.
This explains why the Lord concluded the rebuke by saying, “Instead, give alms from what you have and then indeed everything will be clean for you.” Giving alms is a sign of generosity and the capacity to feel with others. Our generosity reveals the purity of our heart and our love for God and our neighbours. The opposite is greed and selfishness. St Peter wrote, “Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.” The Pharisees on the contrary were selfish with their money towards God and to the poor. Like the cup that looks clean on the outside but inside it is filthy with extortion and wickedness. They should purify their hearts instead of being concerned with ritual purity. This is not to deny the beauty of these customs and rituals. But unless the heart is moved to purity as well, such external performances would only hide their sins. Indeed, entering the Kingdom of God in Jesus’ understanding is not based on observance of the laws or becoming an elite group like the Pharisees. Rather, entry into the Kingdom is purely by the grace of God. Our response should be one of humility and sincerity. This is then expressed in our love for God and others by giving ourselves and our resources to help others. The Lord called them “fools” because they were blind to the truth. Since God made both the inside and outside, both the external and internal aspects are important.
Indeed, this same message is taken up by St Paul in the first reading. The Gentile Christians were told by the Judaizers that unless they kept the Law, they would not be saved. But Paul argued strongly against this erroneous teaching. Hence, if the Gentile Christians were to accept circumcision then, he wrote, “Everyone who accepts circumcision is obliged to keep the whole Law. But if you do look to the Law to make you justified, then you have separated yourselves from Christ, and have fallen from grace.” It would imply that Christ’s death and resurrection was not sufficient to save us but we are saved by the Law. But as he had shown earlier, the Law cannot save us because we do not have the capacity to observe all the laws. Laws enslave us and paralyze us. Laws put fears into our hearts.
This situation of the Gentile Christians mirrors the attitude of our Catholics as well. Although we believe that it is by the grace of God that we are saved and that God forgives us and set us free from sin and death, Catholics are always fearful of breaking the laws of God and the laws of the Church. Some of us are so scrupulous in observing the laws like the Pharisees and over scrupulous in confessing every small little sin or negligence they committed for fear that if they are not confessed, God would condemn them and they would not be forgiven completely. This is not because we love God or love others but we love ourselves more. We are afraid that if we break one of the laws, we might be punished in hell or purgatory. Catholics tend to live with a guilt complex. Perhaps, some left the Catholic Faith to join the Protestants because they felt too burdened by the many laws of the Church, whereas Christian churches emphasize that salvation is by grace alone. I am not too sure whether all Catholics really believe that justification is by faith in Christ alone, or whether over and above believing in Jesus, we are saved by obedience to the laws.
We must reclaim the centrality of Christian faith in Christ who has set us free by His death and took upon our curse in His body. By dying, God has forgiven us all unconditionally. By His death, His love has overcome hatred and selfishness and He has shown us the way. By His death and resurrection, He gave us the Spirit to love as He has loved. Sanctification, that is living a good life, is the result of God’s love in our hearts. This is why the responsorial psalm says, “Lord, let your love come upon me, the saving help of your promise. I shall walk in the path of freedom for I seek your precepts. Your commands have been my delight; these I have loved. I will worship your commands and love them and ponder your statutes.” Salvation is through faith in Christ alone.
Not being a slave to the Law does not mean that we live selfishly, without consideration for others and without charity. This would be an abuse of the freedom given to us. On the contrary, if we claim that we have faith in Christ who has set us free from sin and death, then this faith must be demonstrated in living a life of love expressed in good works. “Christians are told by the Spirit to look to faith for, since in Christ Jesus whether you are circumcised or not makes no difference – what matters is faith that makes its power felt through love.” Love is the sign of faith. This where we must be reminded by St James, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.” (Jms 2:14,17,18) Indeed, St Paul wrote, “The one who loves another has fulfilled the law. Love is the fulfilling of the law.” (Rom 13:8,10)
But love cannot be compelled from the outside. The only coercion is by the force of love itself, but it is not an external pressure. This was how St Paul felt when he wrote, “For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.” (2 Cor 5:14f) So St Paul urges us, “when Christ freed us, he meant us to remain free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” Let us walk in the Spirit of Christ’s love which we have received.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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