20230116 SOLIDARITY IN WEAKNESS AND IN GRACE
16 January 2023 Monday, Week 2 in Ordinary Time
First reading | Hebrews 5:1-10 © |
Although he was Son, he learned to obey through suffering
Every high priest has been taken out of mankind and is appointed to act for men in their relations with God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins; and so he can sympathise with those who are ignorant or uncertain because he too lives in the limitations of weakness. That is why he has to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. No one takes this honour on himself, but each one is called by God, as Aaron was. Nor did Christ give himself the glory of becoming high priest, but he had it from the one who said to him: You are my son, today I have become your father, and in another text: You are a priest of the order of Melchizedek, and for ever. During his life on earth, he offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of death, and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard. Although he was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering; but having been made perfect, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation and was acclaimed by God with the title of high priest of the order of Melchizedek.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 109(110):1-4 © |
You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
The Lord’s revelation to my Master:
‘Sit on my right:
your foes I will put beneath your feet.’
You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
The Lord will wield from Zion
your sceptre of power:
rule in the midst of all your foes.
You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
A prince from the day of your birth
on the holy mountains;
from the womb before the dawn I begot you.
You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change.
‘You are a priest for ever,
a priest like Melchizedek of old.’
You are a priest for ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.1Th2:13 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept God’s message for what it really is:
God’s message, and not some human thinking.
Alleluia!
Or: | Heb4:12 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 2:18-22 © |
'Why do your disciples not fast?'
One day when John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, some people came to Jesus and said to him, ‘Why is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?’ Jesus replied, ‘Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of fasting while the bridegroom is still with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they could not think of fasting. But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from them, and then, on that day, they will fast. No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak; if he does, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. And nobody puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins too. No! New wine, fresh skins!’
SOLIDARITY IN WEAKNESS AND IN GRACE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [HEB 5:1-10; PS 110:1-4; MK 2:18-22]
There are two extreme groups of people in the Church and in the world. Obviously, the first group belongs to the category of sinners. They may or may not know that they are sinners. Those who do not, continue to sin. Some are relativists, who are not conscious of what is right or wrong. Others are aware that what they do is wrong. Most are aware that hurting others, whether bodily, sexually or physically is wrong. There are those who destroy the reputation of others, infringe on their rights or take away their property. Some are regretful. Yet they feel unable to overcome their tendency to evil and selfishness. They condemn themselves and think that they are beyond reach. As a result, they stay out of the Church because they think that God condemns them and, at any rate, they are not worthy to come to church because they would then be hypocrites.
The other extreme group of people are those who seek to be righteous. Within this group, there are those who genuinely seek to be faithful to the truth and the precepts of God. We must not think that all the Pharisees and scribes during the time of Jesus were hypocrites and insincere. Indeed, many of them who have been brought up with the importance and the sacredness of the law as given by God to Moses sought to observe the laws as faithfully as possible. So we must not think that those who seek to be true to the laws are condemned by the Lord.
The danger is that those who are so passionate about the Laws of God and the Church, in wanting to be faithful to the laws, may become proud and egoistic. They may become self-righteous, judgmental and despise those who fail to keep the laws as faithfully as they do. When that happens, they condemn others. They are fault finding, like the Pharisees and the scribes who were more focused on catching those who sinned than being attentive to their own sinfulness. Some of them can spend hours quibbling over the interpretation of the laws when people are suffering. So much so, sometimes Catholicism is seen to be too bureaucratic and distant from the lives of our people. It is perceived as theoretical and impersonal in its response to the struggles of our people in their moral life, especially in the areas of sexuality and marriage.
Christianity appears to be a joy killer. Some were alarmed that Jesus and His disciples did not fast. They asked Jesus, “Why is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?” In truth, Christianity seeks to give life, not death; freedom, not slavery. Jesus and the disciples were eating and drinking. They were people who celebrate life. There is nothing wrong with celebrating life and love, provided it is truly life and love. Jesus replied, “Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of fasting while the bridegroom is still with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they could not think of fasting.” Fasting only becomes a necessity when we are not living an authentic life of love and giving. We are called to fast not just from food but from evil, injustices, and falsehood. So the real fasting is to abstain from our sinful and immoral activities. Physical fasting is but a discipline to remind ourselves of the need to fight against sin and the disorientation of our human will. We need to seek truth and love.
But then where do we draw the line between justice and mercy; truth and love? On one hand, we are obliged to observe the objective laws. St. John Paul II’s encyclical Veritatis Splendor, 79 declared the existence of absolute moral norms that prohibit intrinsically evil acts that are binding without exceptions. On the other hand, there is the compassionate approach of Pope Francis in Amoris Laetitia when he wrote, “The Church possesses a solid body of reflection concerning mitigating factors and situations. Hence it can no longer simply be said that all those in any ‘irregular’ situation are living in a state of mortal sin and are deprived of sanctifying grace. More is involved here than mere ignorance of the rule. A subject may know full well the rule, yet have great difficulty in understanding ‘its inherent values’, or be in a concrete situation which does not allow him or her to act differently and decide otherwise without further sin.” (AL, 301)
Right from the outset, we must reassert the fundamental principle of Jesus in today’s gospel when He spoke of the need for integrity and consistency. He said, “And nobody puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins too. No! New wine, fresh skins!” It is important that we should hold fast to the teaching of Scripture and Tradition with respect to the objective norms of the moral law. We cannot compromise on the truth.
We have no authority to change the teachings of the Church either. It is not for individuals to change the moral teachings of the Church as they are based on scripture and tradition. The letter of Hebrews reminds us all, including the authorities of the Church that we are not the legislator of the laws but God Himself. We are only the servants of the Church and of Christ. We are chosen by God’s grace and leaders must be faithful to their call as they are accountable to God. “No one takes this honour on himself, but each one is called by God, as Aaron was. Nor did Christ give himself the glory of becoming high priest, but he had it from the one who said to him: You are my son, today I have become your father, and in another text: You are a priest of the order of Melchizedek, and forever.”
Nevertheless, whilst holding to the absolute norms and objective truths, we must also exercise tolerance and compassion with those who are not able to arrive at the absolute norms. In many ways, Christianity remains an ideal for us to reach. We all fall short of the laws and the commandments in many ways. None of us live out the laws completely or perfectly. We are all sinners. This is a fact that must be acknowledged and recognized. We should not pretend to be holy when we are not. Pope Francis wrote, “Yet conscience can do more than recognize that a given situation does not correspond objectively to the overall demands of the Gospel. It can also recognize with sincerity and honesty what for now is the most generous response which can be given to God, and come to see with a certain moral security that it is what God himself is asking amid the concrete complexity of one’s limits, while yet not fully the objective ideal.” (AL, 303) This is not giving blanket approval to a conscience that goes against the moral absolute norms that prohibit intrinsically evil acts.
In order to show compassion, mercy, understanding and tolerance to those who fail to be true to the teachings of Christ, we must learn to identify with them in their struggles and sinfulness. This is what the letter to the Hebrews also said, “Every high priest has been taken out of mankind and is appointed to act for men in their relations with God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins; and so he can sympathize with those who are ignorant or uncertain because he too lives in the limitations of weakness. That is why he has to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people.” We must be compassionate because we are all in the same journey from guilt to grace, slavery to the Promised Land. Being conscious of our own sins keeps us humble and compassionate with fellow sinners. We must avoid hypocrisy, thinking that we are perfect and holy. Whilst circumstances can mitigate moral responsibility, yet we must reiterate that “circumstances or intentions can never transform an act intrinsically evil by virtue of its object into an act ‘subjectively’ good or defensible as a choice.” (VS, 81)
Today, we are called to follow the example of Jesus. He led us by example and by obedience to the will of God. Like Jesus, we must seek to align our will with the will of God, difficult though it may be. We need to pray for docility to the Word of God and for the strength to do His will. We must form our conscience according to the mind of Christ and the Church based on Scripture and Tradition. Only the truth can set us free. At the same time, we recognize that moral responsibility is mitigated by other factors such as “by ignorance, inadvertence, duress, fear, habit, inordinate attachments, and other psychological or social factors.” (CCC, 1735) This is where compassion is required. We need to enlighten them and help them to find strength to do His will.
This can only be done through the grace of God given through prayer. Even Jesus prayed fervently for the grace to do the Father’s will. “During his life on earth, he offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of death, and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard.” For those of us who are living in irregular situations or unable to overcome our sins and addictions, let us turn to God for mercy and pardon. Let us acknowledge in all humility that we need to change but at the same time, let us beg from Him the grace, courage, strength, and determination to do the right thing. With God on our side, like the Messiah, we will be victorious over evil.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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