20210823 A LIVING AND ACTIVE FAITH
23 August, 2021, Monday, 21st Week, Ordinary Time
First reading |
1 Thessalonians 1:1-5,8-10 © |
You broke with idolatry when you were converted to God
From Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, to the Church in Thessalonika which is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; wishing you grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We always mention you in our prayers and thank God for you all, and constantly remember before God our Father how you have shown your faith in action, worked for love and persevered through hope, in our Lord Jesus Christ.
We know, brothers, that God loves you and that you have been chosen, because when we brought the Good News to you, it came to you not only as words, but as power and as the Holy Spirit and as utter conviction. And you observed the sort of life we lived when we were with you, which was for your instruction, since it was from you that the word of the Lord started to spread – and not only throughout Macedonia and Achaia, for the news of your faith in God has spread everywhere. We do not need to tell other people about it: other people tell us how we started the work among you, how you broke with idolatry when you were converted to God and became servants of the real, living God; and how you are now waiting for Jesus, his Son, whom he raised from the dead, to come from heaven to save us from the retribution which is coming.
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 149:1-6,9 © |
The Lord takes delight in his people.
or
Alleluia!
Sing a new song to the Lord,
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel rejoice in its Maker,
let Zion’s sons exult in their king.
The Lord takes delight in his people.
or
Alleluia!
Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music with timbrel and harp.
For the Lord takes delight in his people.
He crowns the poor with salvation.
The Lord takes delight in his people.
or
Alleluia!
Let the faithful rejoice in their glory,
shout for joy and take their rest.
Let the praise of God be on their lips:
this honour is for all his faithful.
The Lord takes delight in his people.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | Jn17:17 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O Lord:
consecrate us in the truth.
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 |
Matthew 23:13-22 © |
Alas for you, blind guides!
Jesus said: ‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who shut up the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces, neither going in yourselves nor allowing others to go in who want to.
‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who travel over sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when you have him you make him twice as fit for hell as you are.
‘Alas for you, blind guides! You who say, “If a man swears by the Temple, it has no force; but if a man swears by the gold of the Temple, he is bound.” Fools and blind! For which is of greater worth, the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? Or else, “If a man swears by the altar it has no force; but if a man swears by the offering that is on the altar, he is bound.” You blind men! For which is of greater worth, the offering or the altar that makes the offering sacred? Therefore, when a man swears by the altar he is swearing by that and by everything on it. And when a man swears by the Temple he is swearing by that and by the One who dwells in it. And when a man swears by heaven he is swearing by the throne of God and by the One who is seated there.’
A LIVING AND ACTIVE FAITH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 TH 1:1-5. 8-10; PS 149:1-6,9; MT 23:13-22]
In most religions, there are many who are merely converts and not active intentional disciples. Catholicism is no exception to this temptation to a nominalist membership. But such membership in the Church will not bring much life, if at all, to those who subscribe to it. It will be a routine membership, just as many hold memberships in club houses but hardly enter to make use of its facilities except, perhaps, a few times a year. That is how nominal members conduct themselves as Catholics as well. They go to Church a few times a year, observe the bare minimum, like saying a few prayers, giving some donations to the church and the poor. We come as we like without any real commitment. We come more often when we are desperate and in need of help because we are desperate for our petitions to be answered, or we need healing for our sickness.
Of course, there are those who have an active but not a living faith. These are those that the Lord condemned in today’s gospel. They are those who reduce faith to a mere religion, that is, external practices. It is living a hypocritical life when what we believe is not translated into actions of love and faith. We are contented with the practices of religion, like observing the holydays, the rituals, the days of penance and the laws of the Church. We practice them to impress others that we are good Catholics. It is more for show than having a real relationship with God or with the Community of Faith. We want to gain acceptance and recognition from the public or the community.
We make all kinds of laws for people to observe. But we cannot observe them ourselves. Isn’t this what the Lord said to the religious leaders? “Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who shut up the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces, neither going in yourselves nor allowing others to go in who want to.” There is a danger that sometimes we make religion so complicated and legalistic that our faithful, instead of focusing on the essentials of faith, which is cultivating enriching relationships with God and our neighbours, become more concerned about breaking the laws. When that happens, religion becomes a burden instead of life-giving; it takes away our joy and our freedom in love.
Because our heart is not truly with God, we find ambiguities to avoid observing the spirit of the laws on technical grounds. We try to evade obedience to the laws by explaining the laws away. We say the bible is the Word of God but we pick and choose what we want to believe. We are not sincere in wanting to observe them. This was what the scribes and Pharisees did. A case in point was the way they tried to circumvent an oath. They said, “If a man swears by the Temple, it has no force; but if a man swears by the gold of the Temple, he is bound.” They tried to distinguish which oath is binding. If one is sincere, then we will keep our word without the need to make any oath. The Lord said, “Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.” (Mt 5:37) People take oath only to break them!
And when we are not able to observe the laws that we have formulated, we try to find loopholes to deviate from the norms. We try to explain them away. We try to make the laws conform with the desires of society. That is what many churches are doing as we cannot keep our doctrines, otherwise we would be marginalized by society. So many churches have been rewriting their doctrines, including moral doctrines; from the ordination of men to include women, from giving the Eucharist to those without serious sins to include those who promote serious sins using their positions in public life, such as those who are divorced and remarried, from marriage between a man and a woman to same-sex union, from sacredness of life to abortion, destruction of embryos, euthanasia, from permanency of marriage to acceptance of divorce, and the list goes on and on. Today, we are all confused!!
Indeed, at the end of the day, we must ask whether we are adherents of the Faith or teachers, whether we are leading people to Christ or to a man-made religion. If people are led to Christ, they will find new-found freedom, joy and peace. We must be clear that the ultimate goal is union with Christ. All the laws and doctrines must lead a person to a deeper and closer relationship with the Lord and a harmonious relationship with his fellowmen. We are not simply trying to gain converts or increasing membership, but we are more concerned about leading people to fullness of life and love. What is the use of being in the right religion but not finding life because we are not sincere about living out the faith.
In contrast, St Paul presents to us what a living faith entails. He wrote to the Thessalonians, “We always mention you in our prayers and thank God for you all, and constantly remember before God our Father how you have shown your faith in action, worked for love and persevered through hope, in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Three characteristics will determine whether our faith is a living faith, namely, faith, love and hope. These are often called the theological gifts.
What should be motivating a Christian is faith in Christ. This demarcates a Christian from the rest of the world. It is his faith in Christ as the Saviour, the Son of God that determines how he or she lives. Faith is primarily directed towards God. For a Christian, Christ is the centre of his life. Everything is done in reference to Christ, his thoughts and actions. The works that he does is not for himself, or for reward or done out of fear of suffering any penalty. For a Christian, he is inspired by Christ and seeks to model his life after His. Motivated by faith, he does everything for the glory of God and for the love of his fellowmen. Such a person lives for a purpose, which is not about himself but for God and his neighbours. His life is one of vibrancy and focus. It calls for a break with idolatry, the worship of self and instead becomes “servants of the real, living God.”
Secondly, this faith is not just a doctrinal faith or even a ritualistic faith. It is a faith seen in action and expressed in love. A person who claims to obey the laws of the Catholic Faith, attends Mass regularly and observes all the customs and Church laws, does not mean that he has a living faith. Unless he is a person filled with love, not just for God but for his neighbours, it is difficult to speak of a living faith. Christians are not difficult people to live with. We are called to be tolerant, forgiving and inclusive. Even if we have our moral principles and we speak about them, we do not condemn individuals. We respect their decisions and their freedom to choose. Most of all, this faith is seen in works of charity for the poor and the suffering, regardless of race, language or religion. Truly, such a faith is productive. It issues in works and in charity.
However, Christian faith is not merely concerned with worldly or humanitarian works. Christian faith provides us a hope beyond this world. Christian hope is not just a kind of optimistic outlook of life, hoping that things would be better one day. Our hope is not just happiness in this life but eternal life with Christ. A Christian always has a future even in times of suffering, and injustice. He does not fall into despair because he knows that this world is passing. It is this hope that helps us to endure suffering and pain. This explains why Christians are willing to make sacrifices for the present, suffer with our fellowmen, emptying our life for others because we know that our hope is to be with God at the end of this pilgrimage on earth. Indeed, our hope is sustained by the fact that we are “waiting for Jesus, his Son, whom he raised from the dead, to come from heaven to save us from the retribution which is coming.”
The vision of a Christian is one that is inspired by faith in God, not on oneself or one’s ingenuities. It is this faith that manifests in works, endured in hope. We are called to imitate the Thessalonians in their faith in God’s love, which requires us to accept the Word of God not “only as words, but as power and as the Holy Spirit and as utter conviction.” Because we believe in the Word, we can observe the life of Christ modelled after the apostles, a life of charity and hope.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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