20220227 RADICAL TRANSFORMATION OR RADICAL ANNIHILATION
27 February, 2022, Sunday, Week 8 in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Ecclesiasticus 27:5-8 © |
The test of a man is in his conversation
In a shaken sieve the rubbish is left behind,
so too the defects of a man appear in his talk.
The kiln tests the work of the potter,
the test of a man is in his conversation.
The orchard where a tree grows is judged on the quality of its fruit,
similarly a man’s words betray what he feels.
Do not praise a man before he has spoken,
since this is the test of men.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 91(92):2-3,13-16 © |
It is good to give you thanks, O Lord.
It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to make music to your name, O Most High,
to proclaim your love in the morning
and your truth in the watches of the night.
It is good to give you thanks, O Lord.
The just will flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a Lebanon cedar.
It is good to give you thanks, O Lord.
Planted in the house of the Lord
they will flourish in the courts of our God,
still bearing fruit when they are old,
still full of sap, still green,
to proclaim that the Lord is just.
In him, my rock, there is no wrong.
It is good to give you thanks, O Lord.
Second reading |
1 Corinthians 15:54-58 © |
Death is swallowed up in victory
When this perishable nature has put on imperishability, and when this mortal nature has put on immortality, then the words of scripture will come true: Death is swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? Now the sting of death is sin, and sin gets its power from the Law. So let us thank God for giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Never give in then, my dear brothers, never admit defeat; keep on working at the Lord’s work always, knowing that, in the Lord, you cannot be labouring in vain.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Ac16:14 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord,
to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!
Or: | Ph2:15-16 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
You will shine in the world like bright stars
because you are offering it the word of life.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 6:39-45 © |
Can the blind lead the blind?
Jesus told a parable to his disciples: ‘Can one blind man guide another? Surely both will fall into a pit? The disciple is not superior to his teacher; the fully trained disciple will always be like his teacher. Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, “Brother, let me take out the splinter that is in your eye,” when you cannot see the plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter that is in your brother’s eye.
‘There is no sound tree that produces rotten fruit, nor again a rotten tree that produces sound fruit. For every tree can be told by its own fruit: people do not pick figs from thorns, nor gather grapes from brambles. A good man draws what is good from the store of goodness in his heart; a bad man draws what is bad from the store of badness. For a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart.’
RADICAL TRANSFORMATION OR RADICAL ANNIHILATION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Sir 27:4-7; Ps 92:2-3,13-16; 1 Cor 15:54-58; Luke 6:39-45]
Since the beginning of the Ordinary Sundays, the scripture readings have been speaking about the different levels of transformation. On the first Sunday, we have the transformation of Jesus from a carpenter to a prophet on mission after His baptism and the Father’s affirmation of His Sonship. On the Second Sunday, we read of the transformation of water into wine. On the Third and Fourth Sundays, the townsfolk of Jesus were amazed at how their little boy, now grown up, had been transformed into an eloquent preacher and healer. On the Fifth Sunday, Isaiah, Paul and Peter were transformed by their encounter with God. On the Sixth Sunday, the Beatitudes speak of the radical change of values in contrast to that of the world’s. Last Sunday, we read that the hallmark of a Christian is to love our enemies. Today, we end with the radical transformation of St Paul’s teaching on the resurrection.
What we can gather over these eight Sundays is that Christianity is about transformation of life. This transformation begins here and now in our daily life. Transformation of one’s life is made possible only by the grace of God as we have seen in the transformation of our Lord, the prophets, Paul and Peter. Their lives were transformed radically only because they encountered God deeply. Jesus is the Transformer who can bring us the New Wine and bring about a radical transformation of the values and structures of society. The gospel of Jesus transforms the way we look at life and the way we look at people, especially the poor and our enemies. But Jesus not only transforms us by His teaching. Most of all, He transforms us by giving us His Holy Spirit, the agent and power of change.
Of course, for most of us, transformation is an ongoing process. Not all of us have a radical encounter with the Lord to empower us to make radical changes in life. For most people, the depth of transformation would vary according to how deep their encounter with the Risen had been and how much they continue to work on the grace given to them. The truth is that grace is given to all, even if they lack a deep encounter with the Lord. God will give us His grace accordingly, as we have read in St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. One can have a deep encounter with the Lord but if we do not continue to grow in the grace given to us, even that deep encounter with the Lord will eventually be forgotten and its transformative power is lost. Hence, St Paul wrote, “So let us thank God for giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Never give in then, never admit defeat; keep on working at the Lord’s work always, knowing that, in the Lord, you cannot be labouring in vain.”
Hence, the first reading from Sirach and the gospel text invites us to examine how much transformation has occurred in our lives. The best way to examine whether we have been transformed from within is in the way we demonstrate the fruits of transformation in our lives. Both scripture readings speak of the essential continuity between the inner self and the outer self. Jesus in the gospel makes it clear when He said, “There is no sound tree that produces rotten fruit, nor again a rotten tree that produces sound fruit. For every tree can be told by its own fruit: people do not pick figs from thorns, nor gather grapes from brambles.” Indeed, we know who we are by the way we conduct ourselves in words and deeds. What is in our heart will be seen in the way we relate to others. As the Lord reiterated, “A good man draws what is good from the store of goodness in his heart; a bad man draws what is bad from the store of badness. For a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart.”
Sirach teaches that we judge a man by how and what he says. His words reveal his mind and his heart, especially his tone of speaking as well. “In a shaken sieve the rubbish is left behind, so too the defects of a man appear in his talk. The kiln tests the work of the potter, the test of a man is in his conversation. The orchard where the tree grows is judged on the quality of its fruit, similarly a man’s words betray what he feels.” Of course, there will be some who can twist and turn their words, say nice things to flatter us but in fact are insincere. But we will find out sooner than later. For if we examine a person’s entire life and his speech, not just on one or two occasions but the way he conducts himself with everyone, it will reveal whether his heart and mind is full of love and compassion like our Lord, or one of condemnation and vindictiveness like those selfish and ambitious people in the world.
However, we must also be aware that often our judgment of people and situations also reflect our heart as well. In speaking about judgment, the Lord rhetorically asked, “Can one blind man guide another? Surely both will fall into a pit? The disciple is not superior to his teacher; the fully trained disciple will always be like his teacher.” Most of us are blind to our own sins, our fears and insecurities. We tend to project our fears on those whom we see as a threat to our security, or because they are mirrors of our defects which we do not admit. This is why the Lord exhorts us to put our vision in order first so that we can judge justly and with compassion and charity, the way God looks at us. The Lord said, “Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the splinter that is in your eye,’ when you cannot see the plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter that is in your brother’s eye.”
Through a gradual dying to self, with the grace of God, we will share the final victory with Christ over death. Through the fruits we bear in our lives, the compassion with which we look at people and situations, the detachment with which we look at possessions, glory and power, our lives will be transformed and purified until we attain perfection in Christ. For us as Christians we know our final victory is eternal life. St Paul wrote, “When this perishable nature has put on imperishability, and when this mortal nature has put on immortality, then the words of scripture will come true: Death is swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?” Indeed, Christians do not fear death because we know that the end is not annihilation but total transformation of life including our bodies in the resurrection. This transformation of course must begin already, here and now with the transformation of the inner person, his heart and mind to be one with God. In this way, sin has no power over him.
In contrast, the way of the world leads to radical annihilation. St Paul makes it clear, “Now the sting of death is sin, and sin gets its power from the Law.” The world thinks that it is through human efforts alone that they can find life. They do not believe in God, they do not believe that truths can be found, they live a life of amorality because of moral relativism. As a consequence, a worldly life leads to self-destruction, destruction of the family, then of society and the planet. We can see the trends of society today underscoring individualism, consumerism, pleasures without regard for the common good of others and society. It is about an individual seeking to find fullness of life on earth. But those who live in that manner know that life is empty, relationships are fragile, possessions are not secure, health cannot be guaranteed, society is fragmented without common values, and peace in the world is always under threat because nations seek to control the rest of the world. We are ultimately fulfilled when we are in communion and in unity with our fellowmen. Love gives us life.
Truly, what people fear most is death because death is the only certain and inevitable reality. But those who have no faith in Christ, can only live for this life. Life has no meaning beyond this world. With death, they believe that we are totally annihilated and disappear into thin air. For those without faith and can only rely on themselves, they cannot win the battle over death. Ultimately, for them life is a failure, all their good works and success do not live on after them. They are conquered by death. Life is meaningless for wealth, power and glory are vanities as they vanish into thin air. For them, it is a life leading towards total annihilation. What, then, is love when it cannot last as well? What, then, is the value of our good works?
Indeed, today, we are given the choice whether we want to seek radical transformation of life in Christ through a living faith and relationship with Him, or whether we want to subscribe to a nihilistic outlook of life that is gloomy and fatalistic.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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