20220710 EVADING THE WORD OF GOD
10 July, 2022, Sunday, 15th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Deuteronomy 30:10-14 © |
The Law is not beyond your strength or beyond your reach
Moses said to the people: ‘Obey the voice of the Lord your God, keeping those commandments and laws of his that are written in the Book of this Law, and you shall return to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.
‘For this Law that I enjoin on you today is not beyond your strength or beyond your reach. It is not in heaven, so that you need to wonder, “Who will go up to heaven for us and bring it down to us, so that we may hear it and keep it?” Nor is it beyond the seas, so that you need to wonder, “Who will cross the seas for us and bring it back to us, so that we may hear it and keep it?” No, the Word is very near to you, it is in your mouth and in your heart for your observance.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 68(69):14,17,30-31,33-34,36-37 © |
Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive
This is my prayer to you,
my prayer for your favour.
In your great love, answer me, O God,
with your help that never fails:
Lord, answer, for your love is kind;
in your compassion, turn towards me.
Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive
As for me in my poverty and pain
let your help, O God, lift me up.
I will praise God’s name with a song;
I will glorify him with thanksgiving.
Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive
The poor when they see it will be glad
and God-seeking hearts will revive;
for the Lord listens to the needy
and does not spurn his servants in their chains.
Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive
For God will bring help to Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah
and men shall dwell there in possession.
The sons of his servants shall inherit it;
those who love his name shall dwell there.
Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive
Second reading |
Colossians 1:15-20 © |
All things were created through Christ and for Christ
Christ Jesus is the image of the unseen God
and the first-born of all creation,
for in him were created
all things in heaven and on earth:
everything visible and everything invisible,
Thrones, Dominations, Sovereignties, Powers –
all things were created through him and for him.
Before anything was created, he existed,
and he holds all things in unity.
Now the Church is his body,
he is its head.
As he is the Beginning,
he was first to be born from the dead,
so that he should be first in every way;
because God wanted all perfection
to be found in him
and all things to be reconciled through him and for him,
everything in heaven and everything on earth,
when he made peace
by his death on the cross.
Gospel Acclamation | 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!
Or: | cf.Jn6:63,68 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 10:25-37 © |
The good Samaritan
There was a lawyer who, to disconcert Jesus, stood up and said to him, ‘Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? What do you read there?’ He replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.’ ‘You have answered right,’ said Jesus ‘do this and life is yours.’
But the man was anxious to justify himself and said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was once on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of brigands; they took all he had, beat him and then made off, leaving him half dead. Now a priest happened to be travelling down the same road, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite who came to the place saw him, and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan traveller who came upon him was moved with compassion when he saw him. He went up and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He then lifted him on to his own mount, carried him to the inn and looked after him. Next day, he took out two denarii and handed them to the innkeeper. “Look after him,” he said “and on my way back I will make good any extra expense you have.” Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the brigands‘ hands?’ ‘The one who took pity on him’ he replied. Jesus said to him, ‘Go, and do the same yourself.’
EVADING THE WORD OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Dt 30:10-14; Ps 69 OR Ps 18; Col 1:15-20; LK 10:25-37]
The scripture readings make it clear that the Word of God and His laws are known by all. Moses commanded the people to observe the Law as given by the Lord. He said, “For this Law that I enjoin on you today is not beyond your strength or beyond your reach. It is not in heaven, so that you need to wonder, “Who will go up to heaven for us and bring it down to us, so that we may hear it and keep it?” Nor is it beyond the seas, so that you need to wonder, ‘Who will cross the seas for us and bring it back to us, so that we may hear it and keep it?'” As Christians, we have received the Word of God just as the Israelites and the Jews did. In fact, we have received the fullness of the Word of God in Christ Jesus. As the revelation of the Father, we have received the fullness of the Law as revealed in Christ.
So there is no excuse for us to claim ignorance of the Lord or of His laws. As Moses said, “No, the Word is very near to you, it is in your mouth and in your heart for your observance.” Indeed, the Law is written in the hearts of all men even if they do not know the Mosaic Laws or the Bible. Writing to the Romans, St Paul said, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (Rom 1:18-21)
Indeed, this was how the Lord challenged the lawyer “who, to disconcert Jesus, stood up and said to him, ‘Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?'” The scribe, an expert in the Law should know better what is written in the Law. Hence, Jesus put the question back to him, “‘What is written in the Law? What do you read there?’ He replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.'” He knew the answer! The Lord said, “You have answered right, do this and life is yours.” So too we know the answer as to how we should live our life. We all know what a righteous life is. We all know what happiness entails. Jesus gives us the golden rule which is a modification of an ancient rule, now put in a positive manner. “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” (Mt 7:12) But we do not act on the law written in our hearts.
Even St Paul reprimanded the Jews for their double standards. He wrote, “if you rely on the law and boast in God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth – you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonour God by breaking the law? As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” (Rom 7:17-24)
This too was the same attitude of the scribe. St Luke wrote, “But the man was anxious to justify himself and said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?'” The Jews have always considered those of other races as Gentiles and not among the chosen people of God. Even the half-Jews from the Northern Kingdom, known as the Samaritans were despised by the Jews in Judah. They regarded them as those who were not faithful to the Law of Moses. Hence, their attitude was to have nothing to do with the Samaritans and the Gentiles. To have dealings with them would result in compromising their ritual purity. For the Scribe, his neighbour refers only to his fellow Jews. But that is not what the Lord commands. Even in the Old Testament, Moses commanded the people, “when an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” (Lev 19:33f)
Hence, in the parable of the Samaritan, the Lord made it clear that our neighbour is anyone who is in need, regardless of race, language, nationality or religion. God’s love is given to all because all are His creatures. Whether we are conscious of not, we are all God’s children even if some do not know Him as such. “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” (1 Jn 3:1) Since God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to us, we must do the same. The love of Jesus is always inclusive, regardless of who we are. But if we think we have done very well to care for all, regardless of race, language and religion, we have not yet reached the height of Christian love.
This love is also given to our enemies. This is the most important point of the parable of the Samaritan. The scribe found it difficult even to acknowledge the identity of the Samaritan when the Lord asked him, “Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the brigands’ hands?” His reply was impersonal, “The one who took pity on him.” Jesus said to him, “Go, and do the same yourself.” To love our enemies and to offer them help goes against our very grain because like the pagans, we love those who love us. It is not easy to do charity and offer aid, whether financial or in terms of resources to those who are poor and especially to those who are grateful to us. But to offer our help to those who have hurt us, who are our enemies, to be nice to them and extend our sympathy and assistance when they are in need, is what it means to love our neighbour.
For this is what the Lord commands in His teaching on the Mount. This is what it means to fulfil the law and the prophets. He said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil.” (Mt 5:17) He added, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:20) Unless we love our enemies and care for them, we have not yet loved our neighbours. “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” (Mt 5:44) This is what it means to be perfect not in terms of moral perfection but in terms of love and compassion. “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt 5:48)
Indeed, Jesus is the exemplar of One who fulfils the law and the prophets perfectly. As St Paul wrote, “God wanted all perfection to be found in him and all things to be reconciled through him and for him, everything in heaven and everything on earth, when he made peace by his death on the cross.” By His death on the cross, Christ shows Himself to be the true Samaritan. He not only offered Himself in healing and freeing His people from sin, sickness and bondage. He fed them with the Word of God, the Bread of Life. He went beyond a narrow and literal interpretation of the Laws but always took into consideration the context and the intent of the Laws. That was why He broke the laws, not because He was disrespectful but because He sought to fulfil the law perfectly. Most of all, He died for us and indeed revealed Himself as “the image of the unseen God and the first-born of all creation, for in him were created all things in heaven and on earth.”
The implication flowing from this is the fact that “the Church is his body, he is its head.” We too, as the Body of Christ, are called to reveal His love and mercy for all of humanity. As Christians, we cannot evade our responsibility to love beyond our narrow confines, our loved ones, our Christian community but we must reach out to all of humanity, regardless of race, language, religion and nationality. Only then can we also be the image of our heavenly Father.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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