20210829 WALKING IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD
29 August, 2021, Sunday, 22nd Week, Ordinary Time
First reading |
Deuteronomy 4:1-2,6-8 © |
Observe these laws and customs, that you may have life
Moses said to the people: ‘Now, Israel, take notice of the laws and customs that I teach you today, and observe them, that you may have life and may enter and take possession of the land that the Lord the God of your fathers is giving you. You must add nothing to what I command you, and take nothing from it, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God just as I lay them down for you. Keep them, observe them, and they will demonstrate to the peoples your wisdom and understanding. When they come to know of all these laws they will exclaim, “No other people is as wise and prudent as this great nation.” And indeed, what great nation is there that has its gods so near as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call to him? And what great nation is there that has laws and customs to match this whole Law that I put before you today?’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 14(15):2-5 © |
The just will live in the presence of the Lord.
Lord, who shall dwell on your holy mountain?
He who walks without fault;
he who acts with justice
and speaks the truth from his heart;
he who does not slander with his tongue.
The just will live in the presence of the Lord.
He who does no wrong to his brother,
who casts no slur on his neighbour,
who holds the godless in disdain,
but honours those who fear the Lord.
The just will live in the presence of the Lord.
He who keeps his pledge, come what may;
who takes no interest on a loan
and accepts no bribes against the innocent.
Such a man will stand firm for ever.
The just will live in the presence of the Lord.
Second reading |
James 1:17-18,21-22,27 © |
Accept and submit to the word
It is all that is good, everything that is perfect, which is given us from above; it comes down from the Father of all light; with him there is no such thing as alteration, no shadow of a change. By his own choice he made us his children by the message of the truth so that we should be a sort of first-fruits of all that he had created.
Accept and submit to the word which has been planted in you and can save your souls. But you must do what the word tells you, and not just listen to it and deceive yourselves.
Pure, unspoilt religion, in the eyes of God our Father is this: coming to the help of orphans and widows when they need it, and keeping oneself uncontaminated by the world.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Jn6:63,68 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Or: | James1:18 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
By his own choice the Father made us his children
by the message of the truth,
so that we should be a sort of first-fruits
of all that he created.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Mark 7:1-8,14-15,21-23 © |
You put aside the commandment of God, to cling to human traditions
The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus, and they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with unclean hands, that is, without washing them. For the Pharisees, and the Jews in general, follow the tradition of the elders and never eat without washing their arms as far as the elbow; and on returning from the market place they never eat without first sprinkling themselves. There are also many other observances which have been handed down to them concerning the washing of cups and pots and bronze dishes. So these Pharisees and scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not respect the tradition of the elders but eat their food with unclean hands?’ He answered, ‘It was of you hypocrites that Isaiah so rightly prophesied in this passage of scripture:
This people honours me only with lip-service,
while their hearts are far from me.
The worship they offer me is worthless,
the doctrines they teach are only human regulations.
You put aside the commandment of God to cling to human traditions.’ He called the people to him again and said, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that goes into a man from outside can make him unclean; it is the things that come out of a man that make him unclean. For it is from within, from men’s hearts, that evil intentions emerge: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within and make a man unclean.’
WALKING IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Dt 4:1-2, 6-8; Ps 15; James 1:17-18,21-22,27; Mk 7:1-8,14-15, 21-23]
In the responsorial psalm, we said, “the just will live in the presence of the Lord.” How true these words are to us all who struggle to be faithful to God in this world. Indeed, although many of us might be baptized, and some of us are even priests and religious, yet we do not always walk consciously in the presence of the Lord in our everyday life. This explains why many are scandalized by our conduct, more so when we spend so much time in prayer and devotional reading of the bible. Like the Jews during the time of Jesus, we think that God is only present when we are at prayer and at worship.
Whilst this is true, the whole purpose of worship of God is to lead us to the love of our neighbours. St James makes it clear, “Pure, unspoilt religion, in the eyes of God our Father is this: coming to the help of orphans and widows when they need it, and keeping oneself uncontaminated by the world.” The psalmist says, “Lord, who shall dwell on your holy mountain? He who walks without fault; he who acts with justice and speaks the truth from his heart. He who does no wrong to his brother, who casts no slur on his neighbour, who holds the godless in disdain, but honours those who fear the Lord. He who keeps his pledge, come what may; who takes no interest on a loan and accepts no bribes against the innocent. Such a man will stand firm for ever.”
Indeed, Jesus sums up the entire purpose of religion by synthesizing all the commandments to two. “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Mt 22:37-39) This was what the Israelites and the Jews often forgot. They were either intent on keeping the laws meticulously, just like the Pharisees and the Scribes, or they lived contrary to the laws, like the tax-collectors.
Yet, there is a danger that those of us who seek to keep the Laws can do it without observing the spirit of the laws. In the case of the Jews, they would observe carefully the customary laws of ritual and hygienic purity. They would never eat “with unclean hands, that is, without washing them” and they were particular about the “washing of cups and pots and bronze dishes.” But some would find excuses and loopholes to use the laws to evade responsibility to their parents and society. They used the Corban law to consecrate everything to God so that no one else had a right to their money and property. Indeed, the only sure criterion we know that we love God is not only when we worship Him but when we live the life of the spirit, which is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Gal 5:22) The opposite of a life of the Spirit is what the Lord said, “fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within and make a man unclean.”
In itself, the customary laws of the elders have some merits. They are just like some religious practices that every religion has for their believers. We all need cultural symbols and signs to remind us of God’s presence and the call to live out what we believe. So the ritual laws of purity are good insofar as it helped the Jews to observe purity of mind, heart and actions before God and their fellowmen. So too all the practices of religions. But they are the means, not the ends themselves. When we are more concerned about external performance, it only makes us look holy but we are far from God. Jesus cited this criticism of the Prophet Isaiah who said, “This people honours me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.” (Mk 7:6f; cf Isa 29:13)
In other words, it is not so much a matter of observing the customary laws, it is a question of how we keep ourselves from being contaminated by the world. In the gospel, Jesus made it clear the reason for the lack of consistency in the way we live out our faith is more than just forgetfulness. St James said it is because in the first place, we are broken people with a fallen nature. St James wrote, “one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death.” (James 1:14f) We desire to be good but our flesh is weak. We are seduced by the world to pursue after pleasures, fame and glory. The Lord diagnosed the origin of evil, “For it is from within, from men’s hearts, that evil intentions emerge.” These evil intentions are brought to the open from the temptations of the world. When we are influenced daily by the unsolicited influence of social media, internet, movies, entertainment and advertisements, we cannot but unconsciously subscribe to the worldly values promoted by the world. This is how the devil works, in a very subtle and unobtrusive way.
As a consequence, so contaminated by the world and its values, we become oblivious to the presence of God, what is good or evil, because we are numbed to sin and to the truth. We are like the rich man who was oblivious to poor Lazarus outside his door, hungry and sick. We are so absorbed in our own comfort and convenience that we are blind to the sufferings and pains of our fellowmen. In other words, we have forgotten about God and His word in our lives. St James warns us, “For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like.” (James 1:23f)
How, then, can we walk in the presence of the Lord? Remembering the Word of the Lord is the key. Moses said to the people: “Now, Israel, take notice of the laws and customs that I teach you today, and observe them, that you may have life and may enter and take possession of the land that the Lord the God of your fathers is giving you.” How can we remember the Word of God, not just reading and forgetting? It calls first for attentive reading of the Word. This comes about through a devotional reading of the Bible and through an inductive study of the Word which requires a careful observance of the text, interpretation according to the context and then applying to our daily life. But it is not enough to read or study the Word of God, we must remember them and call to mind every time when we have to make decisions or discernment. Unless we commit the scripture text to our memory, we will not able to allow the Word of God to make its home in us. (Jn 14:23)
However, we must, as Moses and James tell us, to put into practice. “Keep them, observe them, and they will demonstrate to the peoples your wisdom and understanding.” Indeed, it is practice that makes our learning and memory perfect because it reinforces what we read and believe. When we do not put the Word of God into practice, we will eventually forget them. So it is important that we must make resolutions after reading the Word of God, or a homily, as to how we want to implement the insights we have received from the day’s reflection.
Finally, to help us to be constantly aware of His presence, and to determine our progress in our spiritual life, the Church exhorts the faithful to make daily examen, two or three times a day, when we wake up, at midday and in the evening before we sleep. The daily examen is not so much to find our faults and our weaknesses so that we can correct them. Rather, the examen is more than just an examination of conscience, which is what we do before celebrating the sacrament of reconciliation. It is to examine the moments when we were attentive to God’s presence in our lives or when we missed out His presence, whether in good or bad times. The truth is the Lord is present in every event of our life and the lives of others. It depends on whether we are conscious of His presence and able to see and read the signs of His presence in our work, daily chores, relationships and ordinary events. Walking in His presence, we find peace! Living the life of the Spirit in lover makes us truly alive.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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