20210203 HOLINESS THROUGH DISCIPLINE AND GRACE
03 February, 2021, Wednesday, 4th Week, Ordinary Time
First reading |
Hebrews 12:4-7,11-15 © |
God is training you as his sons
In the fight against sin, you have not yet had to keep fighting to the point of death.
Have you forgotten that encouraging text in which you are addressed as sons? My son, when the Lord corrects you, do not treat it lightly; but do not get discouraged when he reprimands you. For the Lord trains the ones that he loves and he punishes all those that he acknowledges as his sons. Suffering is part of your training; God is treating you as his sons. Has there ever been any son whose father did not train him? Of course, any punishment is most painful at the time, and far from pleasant; but later, in those on whom it has been used, it bears fruit in peace and goodness. So hold up your limp arms and steady your trembling knees and smooth out the path you tread;then the injured limb will not be wrenched, it will grow strong again.
Always be wanting peace with all people, and the holiness without which no one can ever see the Lord. Be careful that no one is deprived of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness should begin to grow and make trouble; this can poison a whole community.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 102(103):1-2,13-14,17-18 © |
The love of the Lord is everlasting upon those who hold him in fear.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.
The love of the Lord is everlasting upon those who hold him in fear.
As a father has compassion on his sons,
the Lord has pity on those who fear him;
for he knows of what we are made,
he remembers that we are dust.
The love of the Lord is everlasting upon those who hold him in fear.
But the love of the Lord is everlasting
upon those who hold him in fear;
his justice reaches out to children’s children
when they keep his covenant in truth.
The love of the Lord is everlasting upon those who hold him in fear.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt4:4 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn10:27 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 6:1-6 © |
'A prophet is only despised in his own country'
Jesus went to his home town and his disciples accompanied him. With the coming of the sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue and most of them were astonished when they heard him. They said, ‘Where did the man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been granted him, and these miracles that are worked through him? This is the carpenter, surely, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joset and Jude and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here with us?’ And they would not accept him. And Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is only despised in his own country, among his own relations and in his own house’; and he could work no miracle there, though he cured a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.
HOLINESS THROUGH DISCIPLINE AND GRACE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [HEB 12:4-15; PS 103:1-2,13-14,17-18; MARK 6:1-6]
Man cannot find happiness until he sees the face of God. The first reading tells us that if we want to see God, we must “seek peace with all people, and holiness.” Psalm 24 asks “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully.” Indeed, we cannot find peace unless we are at peace with ourselves, with our brothers and sisters and at peace with God. This peace comes about when we live a holy life, a life in accordance to the commandments of God. In this way, we come to share in the holiness of God, which is a life that is expressed in integrity, justice, mercy, compassion and love.
To attain holiness of life, we need discipline. Because of original sin, we have become wayward, rebellious and disobedient as we have lost control over our will and our body. Concupiscence, which is a disorientation of the will, makes it difficult for us to exercise control over our sensual needs and desires of the flesh. Pride makes us arrogant, egoistic and self-centered. This is why the author of Hebrews underscores the necessity of discipline. He said, “Has there ever been any son whose father did not train him? If you were not getting this training, as all of you are, then you would be not be sons but bastards. Besides, we have all had our human fathers who punished us, and we respected them for it; all the more readily ought we to submit to the Father of spirits, and so earn life.” St Paul himself is an example of imposing self-discipline. He said, “So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.” (1 Cor 9:26f)
Discipline is not enough. We need perseverance. As the author also wrote, “perseverance is part of your training.” Many of us undertake commitments to make time for prayer, study of the scriptures, fasting and abstinence from alcohol and smoking or do works of charity. But such promises do not last for long. The resolutions which you made at the beginning of the year would have been broken by now. Goodwill is not good enough. We need to persevere in a life of discipline, waking up early to pray, day after day, be committed to our work, our family and in relationships. Bad habits, unlike good habits, are not easy to break. Cultivating a way of life takes years of discipline and perseverance.
But holiness is not just a question of discipline and perseverance, using one’s own efforts to become holy. Ultimately, holiness is a grace of God. We are not Pelagians who subscribe to the teaching that we save ourselves through a life of good conduct. We depend much on the grace of God. So it is necessary that we must be receptive to His grace. The author to the Hebrews wrote, “Be careful that no one is deprived of the grace of God.” We must seize the grace of God that is made available to us and we must also not deprive others of the grace of God that God is offering to them.
Unfortunately, this was the case of the townsfolk of our Lord when He returned to His hometown. They rejected the grace of God. They could not accept that their boy from the village is now a man, gifted with God’s wisdom, eloquence and power to heal and perform miracles. They were resentful of how Jesus, the son of a carpenter, the son of Mary, of low status, could be given such wisdom. They asked, “‘Where did the man get all this?’ And they would not accept him.” As a consequence of the lack of faith in Him as God’s personal representative, “he could work no miracle there, though he cured a few sick people by laying his hands on them.” They had deprived themselves of God’s grace.
How, then, does the grace of God come to us? God’s grace comes to us firstly through the proclamation of the Word of God. This was why the first thing Jesus did was to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to teach in the synagogue. St Paul in his letter to the Romans said, “‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.” (Rom 10:14,15,17) Proclamation of the Word through God’s servants is the first step.
Secondly, God’s grace comes to us through works of wonder as seen in works of mercy, healing and miracles. Jesus did not only preach the Word of God or the Good News of the Kingdom. He demonstrated by His works of mercy, reaching out to sinners, healing the sick, liberating those under the bondage of Satan and even raising the dead back to life. We, too, have all received God’s grace through His divine providence for us and most of all, His messengers to help us especially in our trials and difficulties. Many of us have experienced the healing grace of God, His unconditional mercy and forgiveness. We have witnessed the power of prayer and God’s intervention in our lives.
Thirdly, God’s grace comes to us through our mistakes. As human beings, we are not perfect, neither in moral living nor in wisdom. We all make mistakes in life. No one is infallible. We are all weak in different areas of our life. This is why the author of Hebrews urges us, “My son, do not scorn correction from the Lord, do not resent his training, for the Lord trains those he loves, and chastises every son he accepts.” We must not allow our ego to hinder us from learning through our mistakes. Only by humbly acknowledging them when corrected, even by our enemies, and often harshly, can we benefit most from them. By rejecting the correction of the Lord, we will only deprive ourselves of growth.
Fourthly, God’s grace comes to us through our suffering. It is in suffering that we grow most in life, even if some of this suffering comes from the mistakes we have made. Sufferings are not meant to break us but to strengthen us. They are meant to push us beyond our comfort zone and to stretch our potentials to the limit. We never know how much potential the Lord has given to us until we are tested. So all kinds of suffering, whether through the pain of learning, studying and growing; or through afflictions from sickness and rejection, humiliation and injustices, we are purified in our motives, strengthened in our resolve and, most of all, learn compassion for others. This was what happened to our Lord. In the gospel, they called Him the son of Mary, which was an indication that Joseph, His foster father, died young. Perhaps for this reason, Jesus had to stay back till He was thirty years old to earn His keep and look after His mother before setting out for the ministry. But through His suffering, He came to appreciate bereavement and poverty.
Finally, God’s grace comes to us through the community. The author says, “In the fight against sin, you have not yet had to keep fighting to the point of bloodshed.” Indeed, we have examples of faithful Christian living in our midst. They have shown us that such a righteous and holy life is not impossible to live and strive for with God’s grace. They persevered and struggled for holiness to the point of suffering a cruel death for the love of Christ. Conversely, the author warns us that we must be watchful “that no root of bitterness should begin to grow and make trouble; this can poison a large number.” Truly, as he exhorted us, “So steady all weary hands and trembling knees and make your crooked paths straight; then the injured limb will not be maimed, it will get better instead.” By living a good and holy life, disciplined in His commandments and strengthened by His love, we will walk the path of holiness and we will get stronger and better each day. But not just for ourselves, we will also influence others to walk the way of truth and love today. We need the community to journey with us on the path to holiness. If holiness is so difficult today, it is because we lack mentors in our community to influence us for good. Instead we allow the world to lead us astray.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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