20211014 THE JUSTICE OF GOD
14 October, 2021, Thursday, 28th Week, Ordinary Time
First reading | Romans 3:21-30 © |
It is the same justice of God that comes to Jew and pagan alike
God’s justice that was made known through the Law and the Prophets has now been revealed outside the Law, since it is the same justice of God that comes through faith to everyone, Jew and pagan alike, who believes in Jesus Christ. Both Jew and pagan sinned and forfeited God’s glory, and both are justified through the free gift of his grace by being redeemed in Christ Jesus who was appointed by God to sacrifice his life so as to win reconciliation through faith. In this way God makes his justice known; first, for the past, when sins went unpunished because he held his hand, then, for the present age, by showing positively that he is just, and that he justifies everyone who believes in Jesus.
So what becomes of our boasts? There is no room for them. What sort of law excludes them? The sort of law that tells us what to do? On the contrary, it is the law of faith, since, as we see it, a man is justified by faith and not by doing something the Law tells him to do. Is God the God of Jews alone and not of the pagans too? Of the pagans too, most certainly, since there is only one God.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 129(130):1-6 © |
With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord,
Lord, hear my voice!
O let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleading.
With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt,
Lord, who would survive?
But with you is found forgiveness:
for this we revere you.
With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
My soul is waiting for the Lord.
I count on his word.
My soul is longing for the Lord
more than watchman for daybreak.
With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps110:7,8 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your precepts, O Lord, are all of them sure;
they stand firm for ever and ever.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn14:6 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;
No one can come to the Father except through me.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 11:47-54 © |
You have not gone in yourselves and have prevented others who wanted to
Jesus said: ‘Alas for you who build the tombs of the prophets, the men your ancestors killed! In this way you both witness what your ancestors did and approve it; they did the killing, you do the building.
‘And that is why the Wisdom of God said, “I will send them prophets and apostles; some they will slaughter and persecute, so that this generation will have to answer for every prophet’s blood that has been shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was murdered between the altar and the sanctuary.” Yes, I tell you, this generation will have to answer for it all.
‘Alas for you lawyers who have taken away the key of knowledge! You have not gone in yourselves, and have prevented others going in who wanted to.’
When he left the house, the scribes and the Pharisees began a furious attack on him and tried to force answers from him on innumerable questions, setting traps to catch him out in something he might say.
THE JUSTICE OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Rom 3:21-30; Ps 130:1-6; Lk 11:47-54 ]
One of the questions that baffles the modern man is the justice of God. Are we being too anthropomorphic to suggest that God’s wrath or anger can only be appeased by the sacrifice of His Son? Why must God demand the death of His only Son to forgive our sins and reconcile sinners with Him? He seems to be rather blood-thirsty and unforgiving. He seems to be no better than the pagan gods. At the same time, how can the blood of Jesus help to pacify the wrath of God? God had already rejected sacrifices. “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.” (Isa 1:11)
The sacrifice of Christ’s death for our reconciliation with God must be understood firstly on the level of the justice of God. The holiness of God is irreconcilable with the sins of man. When man sins against God, he must rectify his mistakes by paying back what he owed or the injury done to God’s honour. Offering an atonement sacrifice in the Old Testament was the way to reconcile with God as a sacrifice brought about the expiation of sins and also satisfies the justice of God. If there is no consequence of sin or evil, then justice would have lost its meaning in the world. If both evil and good men suffer the same fate or enjoy the same reward, it does not make sense in doing good. For this reason, God’s holiness and honour must be satisfied by a sacrifice.
In fact, that is how we see justice as well. Our notion of justice is a strict justice. As the age-old principle would dictate, “an eye for an eye.” In other words, the injury that we have done to another must be repaid with the same injury. We demand retributive justice of some sort. Today, even when we go to the Court of Law to sue someone who has done us harm, physically, emotionally or financially, the Court would punish the offender accordingly, whether by serving time in prison, be given strokes of the cane, or a hefty fine. Indeed, when justice is not rendered, we would think this life is unfair. We all want justice and seek justice. Otherwise, there is no motivation to do good if evil men are forgiven without paying the price for their crimes.
But what sacrifice can man pay to God for His sins to render justice to God? Our sins against God cannot be compared to our sins against our fellowman. When we offend or slander a king or someone holding a prominent position in society or in the government, the penalty for libel would be much heavier because the damage is done not just to the person but it has an impact on society when people lose faith in the leader or when his credibility is put in question. What if our offence is against God? What punishment do we deserve if not death! Who then can pay the damage caused to God’s holiness? Because it is not just a human person who is offended but God, we need a divine person to justify us. This person is Jesus Christ, who is divine and yet human. As a human person, Jesus represents sinful humanity to God, and as divine, His sacrificial offering is the perfect atonement for our sins, in rendering justice to God.
This is the scandal of the cross. How can man’s sins be forgiven without being punished? How could we be justified without paying for our sins? The justice of God seems to us an injustice, not to us but to Him. We have committed sins but Jesus is the One who pays for our crimes without us having to make any reparation. Instead, God overlooks our sins. In Christ, God justifies us and makes us righteous. He reconciles us with Him. The justice of God is seen therefore in forgiving us. In His forgiveness, He puts things right and restores our relationship with Him. Truly, the justice of God is His mercy. This idea of course scandalizes the Jews who always thought we need to prove ourselves by good works.
Thus, St Paul remarked, “So what becomes of our boasts? There is no room for them. What sort of law excludes them? The sort of law that tells us what to do? On the contrary, it is the law of faith, since, as we see it, a man is justified by faith and not by doing something the Law tells him to do. Is God the God of Jews alone and not of the pagans too? Of the pagans too, most certainly, since there is only one God.”
It is for this reason that St Paul says, “both Jew and pagan sinned and forfeited God’s glory, and both are justified through the free gift of his grace by being redeemed in Christ Jesus who was appointed by God to sacrifice his life so as to win reconciliation through faith. In this way God makes his justice known; first, for the past, when sins went unpunished because he held his hand, then, for the present age, by showing positively that he is just, and that he justifies everyone who believes in Jesus.” In Christ’s death, the justice of God is seen, making us aware of the serious consequences of sins. Sin must not be treated lightly because it caused the death of Christ on the cross.
Christ’s death not only fulfils God’s justice in the world but it also reminds us of the gravity of sins and its consequences. So when we think of the love of God for us in Christ, we will seek repentance not out of fear of God’s punishment but out of fear of breaking the heart of God. When we know that God loves us so much in giving His only Son to show us His unconditional love, mercy and forgiveness, we will now want to do good and live a good life, not to earn our salvation or justification, since Christ has already forgiven us, but because of our gratitude to His love. When someone has forgiven us, we want to show ourselves to be deserving of that forgiveness and to assure the person that his act of forgiveness and the sacrifice he had made was not done in vain. In fact, Christ’s death on the cross is not so much to pay a ransom to God or to anyone, surely not to Satan, but as a sacramental reminder of the depth of God’s love and mercy. When we contemplate on His love, we will walk in love.
Hence, Christians confess in Christ as the universal Saviour of the world. This is simply because man cannot save himself. Man cannot justify himself before God. Man will always remain a sinner before God regardless whether he is a Jew or a Gentile. Those who are Jew will never be able to fulfil all the commandments laid down by Moses perfectly. No matter how much they try to fulfil the laws meticulously they will fail, if not by deed at least by thought. So too for the Gentiles. Even though they are without the Laws, they too would be judged according to their conscience and the laws of nature. But we will all fall short of what we know we must do. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. We might know the right thing but it does not always mean we will do the right thing. We give in to the flesh easily because our bodily nature seeks comfort and pleasure. So how can we be made righteous?
How, then, do we receive the justification that Christ won for us by His death on the cross? St Paul says, “God’s justice that was made known through the Law and the Prophets has now been revealed outside the Law, since it is the same justice of God that comes through faith to everyone, Jew and pagan alike, who believes in Jesus Christ.” Faith in Christ is the key to receiving justification. The sacrifice of Christ, St Paul reiterates, shows “positively that he is just, and that he justifies everyone who believes in Jesus.” Without faith in Christ, truly God and truly man, we will not be certain that God’s justice has been satisfied.
We can now surmise that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is truly efficacious in rendering the justice of God, without underestimating the evil of sin, in reconciling us with Him, and in sanctifying us. We are truly justified not just notionally or juridically, but in our hearts as well. “For by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.'” (Heb 10:14f) Through His sacrifice, we can observe the laws because of His love in our hearts. The laws remain good but they are written in our hearts and not on tablets. With the Holy Spirit living in our hearts, we walk by faith and by love.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment