20220311 IMPACT OF OUR CHOICES TODAY FOR TOMORROW
11 March, 2022, Friday, 1st Week of Lent
First reading |
Ezekiel 18:21-28 © |
I prefer to see the wicked man renounce his wickedness and live
Thus says the Lord:
‘If the wicked man renounces all the sins he has committed, respects my laws and is law-abiding and honest, he will certainly live; he will not die. All the sins he committed will be forgotten from then on; he shall live because of the integrity he has practised. What! Am I likely to take pleasure in the death of a wicked man – it is the Lord who speaks – and not prefer to see him renounce his wickedness and live?
‘But if the upright man renounces his integrity, commits sin, copies the wicked man and practises every kind of filth, is he to live? All the integrity he has practised shall be forgotten from then on; but this is because he himself has broken faith and committed sin, and for this he shall die. But you object, “What the Lord does is unjust.” Listen, you House of Israel: is what I do unjust? Is it not what you do that is unjust? When the upright man renounces his integrity to commit sin and dies because of this, he dies because of the evil that he himself has committed. When the sinner renounces sin to become law-abiding and honest, he deserves to live. He has chosen to renounce all his previous sins; he shall certainly live; he shall not die.’
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 129(130) © |
If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?
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.
If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?
If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt,
Lord, who would survive?
But with you is found forgiveness:
for this we revere you.
If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?
My soul is waiting for the Lord.
I count on his word.
My soul is longing for the Lord
more than watchman for daybreak.
(Let the watchman count on daybreak
and Israel on the Lord.)
If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?
Because with the Lord there is mercy
and fullness of redemption,
Israel indeed he will redeem
from all its iniquity.
If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Amos5:14 |
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
Seek good and not evil so that you may live,
and that the Lord God of hosts may really be with you.
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
Or: | Ezk18:31 |
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
Shake off all your sins – it is the Lord who speaks –
and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
Gospel | Matthew 5:20-26 © |
Anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.
‘You have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not kill; and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court. But I say this to you: anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it before the court; if a man calls his brother “Fool” he will answer for it before the Sanhedrin; and if a man calls him “Renegade” he will answer for it in hell fire. So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering. Come to terms with your opponent in good time while you are still on the way to the court with him, or he may hand you over to the judge and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. I tell you solemnly, you will not get out till you have paid the last penny.’
IMPACT OF OUR CHOICES TODAY FOR TOMORROW
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [EZEKIEL 18:21-28; PS 130:1-8; MT 5:20-26]
Happiness in life is about making right choices. We are not just speaking about individual or personal choices but collective decisions made by a group or an organization or a nation. Our choices we make will have a direct impact on our happiness today and the future as well. That is why we need to consider carefully the choices we make for ourselves, our children and our society. There is no escaping the fact that even personal choices will have an impact on others. One cannot say that this is my personal decision and it has nothing to do with others. For better or for worse our personal decisions will bear on others. One cannot presume that if a man commits adultery, it has to do with him or even with his spouse only. It will affect the children and their parents and siblings and friends as well. Or for that matter, if a person is addicted to drugs, drinking and gambling, it is more than a personal lifestyle but it has impact on his life, his health, his well-being and those around him or her.
What more when we have to make decisions for the organization or the community. The graver it is to think through carefully. This is why those in leadership and in government must consider seriously not just the immediate benefits of the decisions and policies they make, but they must have the foresight to see far enough how today’s decisions will impact the future trend and development of the people and the country. It is because of the unwise decisions of leaders that the current and future generations will have to bear the mistakes that our pragmatic leaders then made for the people. A case in point was population control, a policy that was excessively harsh in some countries and now the country is facing an aging population and the lack of replacement and new babies born. And this will be true for all the other political decisions that each country makes for their people, whether it is same sex union, transgender, promiscuity, euthanasia, the use of drugs and other ethical issues. We might not see the impact today but the next generation after us will suffer, as in the case of planet warming due to the lack of consideration for the ecology by industrialists.
It is within this context that we need to read today’s scripture readings. Today, the scripture focuses on personal choices and the consequences that follow. But we have to make a distinction between personal guilt and the consequences of our sins. As far as personal guilt is concerned, the prophet Ezekiel made it clear that it would only impact the one who has done wrong. He said, “if the upright man renounces his integrity, commits sin, copies the wicked man and practices every kind of filth, is he to live? All the integrity he has practiced shall be forgotten from then on; but this is because he himself has broken faith and committed sin, and for this he shall die.” It does not matter whether he was a good man in the past but what matters is what he does now. This is because his actions will determine his future, unless he is ready to correct and change himself. All the good he had done would have been overridden by the evil he is doing today. What good is it to speak of our past deeds when the heart is filled with greed, envy, revenge and hatred today? We are either happy in the present or unhappy. What is past is gone. What the future is, is yet to be.
In contrast, the prophet says, “If the wicked man renounces all the sins he has committed, respects my laws and is law-abiding and honest, he will certainly live; he will not die. All the sins he committed will be forgotten from then on; he shall live because of the integrity he has practiced.” Clearly therefore, the Lord looks at us and judges us here and now, not our past, not the good or the evil we had done. What is important is that at this point of time, where do we stand before God? If we are righteous, we will be at peace. If we are evil, we will suffer the consequences of our sins. Indeed, the Lord does not consider our past sins because He is concerned with the present and our future. As the Lord said, “What! Am I likely to take pleasure in the death of a wicked man – it is the Lord who speaks – and not prefer to see him renounce his wickedness and live?”
But there are many who cannot accept this fact, that we are judged by our present and not by our past. The prophet said, “But you object, ‘What the Lord does is unjust.’ Listen, you House of Israel: is what I do unjust? Is it not what you do that is unjust?” Many of us think that God judges us by weighing us on a scale, to see how much good we have done or how much evil we have committed. Then we are punished accordingly. However, God’s judgement is not like that of an accountant, or in a calculative manner. Rather, it is the state of the person at a particular point in time that he is judged. The Lord said, “When the upright man renounces his integrity to commit sin and dies because of this, he dies because of the evil that he himself has committed. When the sinner renounces sin to become law-abiding and honest, he deserves to live. He has chosen to renounce all his previous sins, he shall certainly live; he shall not die.”
This is such a beautiful thought indeed. The psalmist says, “If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive? But with you is found forgiveness: for this we revere you. Because with the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption, Israel indeed he will redeem from all its iniquity.” Precisely, God forgives our past and He does not bring them to mind. The prophet Micah said, “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of your possession? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in showing clemency. He will again have compassion upon us; he will tread our iniquities under foot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (Mic 7:18f) God does not take into account our sins in the past, so why would He take into account the good we had done in the past?
The truth is that the good or evil we do is cumulative, not in terms of number and figures. We cannot count the number of good or evil deeds we do. Rather, how our heart and mind are transformed by the good or evil we do. The more good deeds we do, the more righteous, kind, magnanimous we become. The more evil deeds we do, our hearts become hardened, cruel, insensitive and selfish. So it is the state of our mind and heart that God will judge us. This was why the Lord said to His disciples: “If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.” It is not the external works that we do but what our motives are. The religious leaders were obeying the laws as meticulously as possible but they were more concerned about observing the laws rather than to cultivate the right spirit towards God and their fellowmen. For Jesus, having the right motive and the right disposition is more important than the mere performance of good works or observance of the laws.
This is brought out in the analogy of how a man’s heart becomes more and more evil if he does nothing to change himself. The law decreed, “You must not kill, and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court.” However, the Lord goes to the heart of the matter, not just the moment when someone murders another. Jesus traces the root of killing. It begins with anger and swearing and cursing. “But I say this to you: anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it before the court; if a man calls his brother ‘Fool’ he will answer for it before the Sanhedrin, and if a man calls him ‘Renegade’, he will answer for it in hell fire.” Such anger will eventually lead to murder because the heart becomes revengeful.
This is why, the Lord asks us to deal with sins at its root and not wait till it gets out of hand. “So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering.” Another example of reconciliation is to negotiate and come to a diplomatic course of action. “Come to terms with your opponent in good time while you are still on the way to the court with him, or he may hand you over to the judge and judge to the officer and you will be thrown into prison. I tell you solemnly, you will not get out till you have paid the last penny.” Indeed, unless we take the trouble to root out our sins, big or small during this season of Lent, we are only waiting for trouble and the consequences that we will have to face eventually.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment