20210118 OBEDIENCE AS THE CAUSE OF OUR SALVATION
18 January, 2021, Monday, 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.
First reading | Hebrews 5:1-10 © |
Although he was Son, he learned to obey through suffering
Every high priest has been taken out of mankind and is appointed to act for men in their relations with God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins; and so he can sympathise with those who are ignorant or uncertain because he too lives in the limitations of weakness. That is why he has to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. No one takes this honour on himself, but each one is called by God, as Aaron was. Nor did Christ give himself the glory of becoming high priest, but he had it from the one who said to him: You are my son, today I have become your father, and in another text: You are a priest of the order of Melchizedek, and for ever. During his life on earth, he offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of death, and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard. Although he was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering; but having been made perfect, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation and was acclaimed by God with the title of high priest of the order of Melchizedek.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 109(110):1-4 © |
You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
The Lord’s revelation to my Master:
‘Sit on my right:
your foes I will put beneath your feet.’
You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
The Lord will wield from Zion
your sceptre of power:
rule in the midst of all your foes.
You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
A prince from the day of your birth
on the holy mountains;
from the womb before the dawn I begot you.
You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change.
‘You are a priest for ever,
a priest like Melchizedek of old.’
You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.1Th2:13 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept God’s message for what it really is:
God’s message, and not some human thinking.
Alleluia!
Or: | Heb4:12 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 2:18-22 © |
'Why do your disciples not fast?'
One day when John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, some people came to Jesus and said to him, ‘Why is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?’ Jesus replied, ‘Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of fasting while the bridegroom is still with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they could not think of fasting. But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from them, and then, on that day, they will fast. No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak; if he does, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. And nobody puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins too. No! New wine, fresh skins!’
OBEDIENCE AS THE CAUSE OF OUR SALVATION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [HEB 5:1-10; PS 110:1-4; MARK 2:18-22]
In the bible there are different theories as to the cause of our salvation in Christ’s death on the cross. The most common is the expiation theory that Christ needs to die to pay for our sins. This is to satisfy the justice of God. Man’s sins have caused irreparable damage to God’s dignity and hence only the sacrifice and death of Christ, the God-man could redeem us. This analogy was useful in olden days when there was a strong sense of justice and paying for our sins. But today, the sacrificial death of our Lord is seen not so much as a payment to an angry Father but rather it is the expression of the Father’s unconditional love and mercy for humanity so that looking at God’s love in Christ, man would be brought to repentance and come back to His love. So it was not so much a repayment of a debt owed to God but an appeal of love and mercy.
Today, the scripture readings provide another dimension to the cause of our salvation through the obedience of Christ. The first reading underscores that is it the obedience of Christ that saves us. “Although he was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering; but having been made perfect, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation and was acclaimed by God with the title of high priest of the order of Melchizedek.” St Paul reiterates this point in his letter to the Romans. He wrote, “Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” (Rom 5:18f) In his letter to the Philippians, he cited from an ancient hymn, that says, Christ “humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.” (Phil 2:8)
Indeed, the cause of humanity’s downfall springs from pride that led to disobedience. Adam and Eve were disobedient to God. The history of Israel was one of infidelity after infidelity. They were a stubborn race. Earlier on in the letter of Hebrews, two incidents were cited, namely, the disobedience of the Israelites at Massah and Meribah when they rebelled against Moses because they did not have water. (cf Ex 17:1-7) So much so, Moses was angry with the people and went against the Lord’s command by striking the rock twice with his staff instead of just commanding the water to bring forth water. (cf Num 20: 2-13) Another incident cited by the author of Hebrews was their refusal to seize the Promised Land given to them because they feared the inhabitants living there. Because of their rebellion against Moses and God, the Lord said, “none of the people who have seen my glory and the signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have tested me these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their ancestors.” (cf Heb 3:7-11; Num 13,14)
To lead man back to God, Jesus came to show us that obedience to God is possible. It is not humanly impossible to obey the divine will of God. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus struggled with His human will seeking to obey the divine will of God. It was not easy for Jesus as a man to face not just death but the sufferings ahead of Him. Indeed, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was not like Himself, confident and strong. He was in bewilderment, in fear and in great agony. As the gospel said, “In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.” (Lk 22:44) But theologians reflected that His agony was not simply because of the physical torture He had to undergo but the spiritual darkness of His soul that would be part of the process of dying. He would be separated from His Father and allowed to carry the full reality of the suffering and torments of sin in His body even though He knew no sin. This was necessary so that in Christ, we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor 5:21)
Obedience is the price that Jesus had to pay to save us from our sins because He, as our leader in salvation, must show us the way. “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 2:10) What is significant is that this obedience rendered to God was through His human will. This is why Hebrews underscores that Jesus is not ashamed to call us His brothers and sisters. (cf Heb 2:11) And today’s reading makes it clear that Jesus was appointed high priest. “Every high priest has been taken out of mankind and is appointed to act for men in their relations with God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins; and so he can sympathise with those who are ignorant or uncertain because he too lives in the limitations of weakness.”
Today, we too are called to render obedience to God and His appointed leaders simply because obedience is the antidote to pride, the cause of disobedience. All rebellions come from pride, thinking that we know better than others. Isn’t it true that many people reject the bible because they think the bible is irrelevant in today’s world because it does not agree with them? Once again, the warning of St Augustine with regard to such arrogance is timely, “If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.” Today man thinks they know best and the bible they read must agree with them and not that they agree with the bible.
For obedience to grow and strengthen, we need to master our will. In this sense, the question of fasting in today’s gospel becomes relevant. The primary reason for fasting, according to Jesus, is when the bridegroom is taken away. In other words, fasting is associated with periods of mourning. Fasting is to help us to recognize the absence of God in our lives, the absence of joy and peace in our hearts, so that we become conscious of our sins and then turn to God. From another perspective, fasting helps a person to strengthen his will against temptations of the flesh. It is a form of self-discipline over our body and will. Unfortunately, sometimes, like the Pharisees, people fast for the wrong reasons, for vanity, pride and for gaining attention. So long as we are clear of the motives of fasting, as in the case when the Bridegroom, that is, God, is absent in our lives, then that fasting will benefit us. Routine and perfunctory fasting or even for vanity reasons like beauty makes us proud.
Obedience also requires humility to adapt to new situations in life. When we insist on doing the same old things and refuse to change, it would be a sign of pride and disobedience. Sometimes, people think obedience means being faithful to the past traditions that they have inherited. Obedience is not given to the traditions but the spirit of the traditions. We must maintain the same spirit but not necessarily the letter of the law. This is what the Lord is asking of us. We cannot be straight-jackets like the Pharisees, and even some traditional Catholics today. Doctrines like traditions are not carved in stone but they can grow and develop, not to something that is entirely different, but organically, remaining the same like the human person even though the form might be different. This is what the Lord seeks to teach us in the parable of the unshrunken cloth sewn on an old cloak or new wine being stored in old wineskins. “If he does, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse; the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins too. No! New wine, fresh skins!”
Obedience requires not just discipline and perseverance, but the grace of God through intense personal prayer. We read that “during his life on earth, he offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of death, and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard.” In what sense was His prayer heard, since He had to go through the passion still? It was heard because God gave Him the strength to say “Yes” to the Divine Will of God. And by so doing, “he learnt to obey through suffering; but having been made perfect, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation.” We too will find salvation not by changing God’s will to suit ours but by aligning ourselves with His divine will. Through suffering and obedience, we find peace!
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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