20210116 INCLUSIVE GOSPEL
16 January, 2021, Saturday, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.
First reading | Hebrews 4:12-16 © |
Let us be confident in approaching the throne of grace
The word of God is something alive and active: it cuts like any double-edged sword but more finely: it can slip through the place where the soul is divided from the spirit, or joints from the marrow; it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts. No created thing can hide from him; everything is uncovered and open to the eyes of the one to whom we must give account of ourselves.
Since in Jesus, the Son of God, we have the supreme high priest who has gone through to the highest heaven, we must never let go of the faith that we have professed. For it is not as if we had a high priest who was incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us; but we have one who has been tempted in every way that we are, though he is without sin. Let us be confident, then, in approaching the throne of grace, that we shall have mercy from him and find grace when we are in need of help.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 18(19):8-10,15 © |
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life.
The law of the Lord is perfect,
it revives the soul.
The rule of the Lord is to be trusted,
it gives wisdom to the simple.
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
they gladden the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear,
it gives light to the eyes.
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life.
The fear of the Lord is holy,
abiding for ever.
The decrees of the Lord are truth
and all of them just.
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life.
May the spoken words of my mouth,
the thoughts of my heart,
win favour in your sight, O Lord,
my rescuer, my rock!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:36,29 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Bend my heart to your will, O Lord,
and teach me your law.
Alleluia!
Or: | Lk4:17 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 2:13-17 © |
Your light must shine in the sight of men
Jesus went out to the shore of the lake; and all the people came to him, and he taught them. As he was walking on he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus, sitting by the customs house, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.
When Jesus was at dinner in his house, a number of tax collectors and sinners were also sitting at the table with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many of them among his followers. When the scribes of the Pharisee party saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ When Jesus heard this he said to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.’
INCLUSIVE GOSPEL
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [HEB 4:12-16; PS 19:8-10,15; MK 2:13-17 ]
In today’s gospel, when the scribes saw Jesus “eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’” It is good to understand the historical context of the Mosaic Laws which were provisional. Then, it was unthinkable that a self-professed rabbi would contaminate his reputation and ritual cleanliness by interacting with tax-collectors and sinners. The scribes and the Pharisees took the Mosaic Laws and the subsidiary laws seriously. They observed all the laws meticulously. These would include all the customs as well, such as ablutions before eating. Orthodox Jews were not allowed to mix with Gentiles and sinners lest they became ritually unclean. Indeed, the name, “Pharisee” means the “Separated ones.” They were separated from non-Jews so that they would remain ritually clean. But they became an elite group of Jews. Few Jews would be able to find access to God because they were unclean.
Indeed, it was difficult for the common Jews as it was for the Israelites who were engaged in business and trade not to come into contact with Gentiles. Many of the strict traditions and customs of the Jews were not practical as well. Although most tried to observe the Decalogue in principle, the subsidiary laws were difficult to carry out. They were poor and had to make a livelihood for the family. They were not able to observe all the oral traditions passed down to them. Regardless whether one committed a serious sin, such as murder or adultery, or simply the failure to observe the customary laws, such people were considered “sinners.” So not all were great moral sinners in the sense that they committed grave sins. They were excluded from worship and often marginalized by their own community.
If they were tax-collectors, they were considered even greater sinners because they collected taxes not just from their fellow Jews but from the Gentiles as well. As in the case of Levi, he worked for King Herod Antipas at the customs house in Capernaum. King Herod was a puppet ruler for the Romans. This made Levi an accomplice of the Romans, their most hated enemy. Worst of all, the service of collecting taxes was franchised to those who could pay for it. This led to a tendency to charge exorbitant fees over and above what was due to cover their investment and their income. Hence, we can appreciate why the scribes and pharisees were scandalized when Jesus ate and drank with them.
Jesus came for the ordinary man, not the elite of society. He felt with them in their struggles to be faithful to the Laws and most of all, their deep desire to come close to God. But they had been told that they were unworthy because they were sinners. Jesus made it clear that just like a physician who does not stay away from people who are sick or infected with disease, so too He came for the sinners. He had to be with them in order to heal them and restore them back to God. Jesus’ presence in their midst was to affirm them that they were loved by God. He came to show them how one could be accepted by God, not by following all the secondary laws and customs but simply to live out the two-fold commandment of loving God, neighbor and self. All the other laws were simply concrete applications of this central commandment. In this way, Jesus shows that even the ordinary man living in the midst of the secular world can be saved so long as he lives out a life of mercy. As the Lord said in Matthew’s gospel, “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'” (Mt 9:13)
Where did this compassion and mercy of Jesus come from? From the very fact that He was truly a man like us in all things but sin. “For it is not as if we had a high priest who was incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us; but we have one who has been tempted in every way that we are, though he is without sin.” Earlier on, the author of Hebrews said, “Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.” (Heb 2:17f)
However, we must clarify that Jesus’ sinlessness did not make Him less human, just as in the case of Mary. When we say that Jesus and Mary were free from original sin and the consequences of it, such as the disorientation of the will and dullness of the mind, it does not mean that their lives were therefore much easier than ours! We might imagine that because we suffer the effects of original sin, with a weak will and ignorance, it is only natural that we fall into sin more than Jesus or Mary. Yet, the truth is that because of Jesus and Mary’s sinlessness, they suffered the temptations of the Evil One to a degree beyond our imagination. This is because most of us when tempted succumb easily to the devil even before he needs to provide us, so to speak, with a bigger bait. Whereas for Jesus and Mary, the Devil would have had to work harder and use all kinds of resources and trickery to tempt Jesus or Mary. When we read the temptation story of Jesus in the desert, we can see how sly and subtle the devil was in tempting Jesus to fall, to doubt His Father, to be unsure of His dignity as the Son of God, and most of all, to find the easy way to fulfilling His mission through the use of glory, wealth and power to win the people over to His side.
Indeed, the author of Hebrews underscores the truth that more than anyone else on this earth, Jesus could empathize with us because He suffered the most, and completely, not in spite but because of His sinlessness. “Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” (Heb 2:9f) Jesus as a man, through His suffering, especially His passion and death, identified perfectly with us in our suffering and in our struggles against the temptations of the Evil One.
Hence, the author encourages us, “Let us be confident, then, in approaching the throne of grace, that we shall have mercy from him and find grace when we are in need of help.” Jesus understands our weakness and the power of the temptations of the Evil One. He knows what it means to suffer unjustly or to be marginalized and be misunderstood. He knows what it means to be a refugee, to be hungry and to be betrayed. This is why we can come to Jesus, not just for help but for consolation when we sin and when we succumb to temptations, especially of the flesh. Jesus does not condemn us but forgives us.
Conversely, the scribes and the Pharisees who were living in their own world would never have been able to feel with the common class. They did not have to struggle like them. Indeed, only those of us who have gone through difficult times and similar experiences could truly identify with those who are suffering. When Jesus said, “I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners”, He was not excluding the Pharisees and the scribes from the kingdom. Rather, because they thought they were virtuous and sinless, they would never feel the need for God’s grace. As a consequence, it is not that Jesus excluded them, but they excluded themselves. No one can experience God’s mercy and grace unless he is conscious of his sinfulness and inadequacy.
Consequently, today, especially for those of us who are self-righteous, we must put ourselves under scrutiny by the Word of God. The author says, “The word of God is something alive and active: it cuts like any double-edge sword but more finely: it can slip through the place where the soul is divided from the spirit, or joints from the marrow; it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts. No created thing can hide from him; everything is uncovered and open to the eyes of the one to whom we must give account of ourselves.” Only when we read, study, pray and discern our hearts and our motives in what we do, can we come to a greater awareness of our need for change, for God’s mercy and forgiveness.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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