20230212 THEY ARE HAPPY WHO FOLLOW GOD’S LAW!
12 February 2023 Sunday, 6th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Ecclesiasticus 15:16-21 © |
God predestined wisdom to be for our glory before the ages began
If you wish, you can keep the commandments,
to behave faithfully is within your power.
He has set fire and water before you;
put out your hand to whichever you prefer.
Man has life and death before him;
whichever a man likes better will be given him.
For vast is the wisdom of the Lord;
he is almighty and all-seeing.
His eyes are on those who fear him,
he notes every action of man.
He never commanded anyone to be godless,
he has given no one permission to sin.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 118(119):1-2,4-5,17-18,33-34 © |
They are happy who follow God’s law!
They are happy whose life is blameless,
who follow God’s law!
They are happy who do his will,
seeking him with all their hearts.
They are happy who follow God’s law!
You have laid down your precepts
to be obeyed with care.
May my footsteps be firm
to obey your statutes.
They are happy who follow God’s law!
Bless your servant and I shall live
and obey your word.
Open my eyes that I may see
the wonders of your law.
They are happy who follow God’s law!
Teach me the demands of your statutes
and I will keep them to the end.
Train me to observe your law,
to keep it with my heart.
They are happy who follow God’s law!
Second reading |
1 Corinthians 2:6-10 © |
God predestined wisdom to be for our glory before the ages began
We have a wisdom to offer those who have reached maturity: not a philosophy of our age, it is true, still less of the masters of our age, which are coming to their end. The hidden wisdom of God which we teach in our mysteries is the wisdom that God predestined to be for our glory before the ages began. It is a wisdom that none of the masters of this age have ever known, or they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory; we teach what scripture calls: the things that no eye has seen and no ear has heard, things beyond the mind of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him.
These are the very things that God has revealed to us through the Spirit, for the Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God.
Gospel Acclamation | 1S3:9,Jn6:68 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Speak, Lord, your servant is listening:
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt11:25 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 5:17-37 © |
You have learnt how it was said to our ancestors; but I say this to you
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved. Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.
‘For I tell you, 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.
‘You have learnt how it was said: You must not commit adultery. But I say this to you: if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye should cause you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body thrown into hell. And if your right hand should cause you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body go to hell.
‘It has also been said: Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a writ of dismissal. But I say this to you: everyone who divorces his wife, except for the case of fornication, makes her an adulteress; and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
‘Again, you have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not break your oath, but must fulfil your oaths to the Lord. But I say this to you: do not swear at all, either by heaven, since that is God’s throne; or by the earth, since that is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, since that is the city of the great king. Do not swear by your own head either, since you cannot turn a single hair white or black. All you need say is “Yes” if you mean yes, “No” if you mean no; anything more than this comes from the evil one.’
THEY ARE HAPPY WHO FOLLOW GOD’S LAW!
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ECCL 15:15-20; PS 119:1-2,4-5,17-18,33-34; 1 COR 2:6-10; MT 5:17-37 (OR MT 5:20-22,27-28,33-34,37) ]
In the responsorial psalm, the psalmist says, “They are happy whose life is blameless, who follow God’s law! They are happy who do his will, seeking him with all their hearts. You have laid down your precepts to be obeyed with care. May my footsteps be firm to obey your statutes.” Indeed, the commandments given to us by God are for our good. The laws of God express the wisdom of God. “For vast is the wisdom of the Lord; he is almighty and all-seeing. His eyes are on those who fear him, he notes every action of man. He never commanded anyone to be godless, he has given no one permission to sin.” God’s laws are meant to help man walk the way of truth and of love.
Today, in a world of individualism and moral relativism, many of us do not take the law of God seriously. We think that they are man-made and culturally conditioned. Man who seeks freedom today find it difficult to obey an external command. Being educated and well versed in science and technology, he thinks he is intelligent enough to decide what is good or bad for himself. He does not need the law or some external authority to tell him what to do. He is a law unto himself. Man today is arrogant and proud of his knowledge and intelligence. He does not refer to any external or objective norm. He judges everything from his perspective. Today, what is right or wrong is a subjective matter.
Furthermore, he excuses himself from the observance of the laws because everything is to be interpreted in context. It is not so much the observance of the letter of the law that gives life but the Spirit of the Laws. In this respect, there is much truth in that kind of understanding. St Paul himself in his letter to the Corinthians wrote, “He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant – not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Cor 3:6) But it is important that we do not relativize the commandments under the pretext of situating the laws within context as a means to justify what we want to do. Instead of sincerely seeking the true spirit of the law, we can for selfish reasons, try to rationalize the laws to justify our actions. This is what many Christians in the world is doing; trying to justify the world’s values and lifestyle using the bible and gospel, interpreting and manipulating them in a way that is not true to the spirit of the scriptures.
Lest we think that the laws of God are no longer important since Christ Himself have modified many of the Jewish laws, the Lord reiterated the importance of the Law when He remarked, “Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish them but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved.” How does our Lord help us to complete or fulfil the law perfectly? This is what today’s scripture readings seek to enlighten us. This is our prayer and also that of the psalmist when he says, “Bless your servant and I shall live and obey your word. Open my eyes that I may see the wonders of your law. Teach me the demands of your statutes and I will keep them to the end. Train me to observe your law, to keep it with my heart.”
Laws are meant to give us life. The book of Ecclesiasticus says, “If you wish, you can keep the commandments, to behave faithfully is within your power. He has set fire and water before you; put out your hand to whichever you prefer. Man has life and death before him; whichever a man likes better will be given him.” To choose the laws of God is to believe that the way of God leads to life. To break the laws leads us to death. For this reason, the Lord warns us, “Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.”
However, the observance of the laws as we have said earlier is more than the how but the why. It is not sufficient to observe the laws and carry them out faithfully in a slavish manner. It is important that we observe them with the right spirit and with the right intention if the laws are to set us free for life. Otherwise, the observance of the laws would become burdensome and make us resentful, as if God is forcing us to do what we do not like and take our freedom away. On the contrary, God wants to give us true freedom so that we will not allow our passions to control our hearts, against what our mind tells us to do. So for the right observance of the laws so that they can give us life, we must bring the mind and the heart together, that what we believe and understand is what motivates our will to do. This requires us to understand the rationale behind the laws of God so that we can appreciate the wisdom behind it.
What is this wisdom that we must have so that we can apply the laws of God meaningfully? St Paul wrote, “We have a wisdom to offer those who have reached maturity: not a philosophy of our age, it is true, still less of the masters of our age, which are coming to their end. The hidden wisdom of God which we teach in our mysteries is the wisdom that God predestined to be for our glory before the ages began.” This wisdom is not mere reasoning or rationalism. We must view all the laws from the perspective of God’s wisdom. His wisdom is love. It is a wisdom that none of the masters of this age have ever known, or they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory; we teach what scripture calls: the things that no eye has seen and no ear has heard, things beyond the mind of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him. These are the very things that God has revealed to us through the Spirit, for the Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God.
Christ as the Wisdom of God gives us a few examples of how the laws must be understood in the right spirit and not just a question of context. “If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.” In other words, it is not enough to observe the laws externally, or rationalize it to circumvent the laws as the religious leaders did, or to contextualize them to the extent that the objective truth of the laws is undermined. To enter the Spirit of the law requires us to get to the heart of the matter. To come to worship the true God, Jesus taught us that we must worship in spirit and truth. In other words, heart and mind must be in agreement and aligned. Truth and charity go together. That is why the law serves charity. It is for the common good, enabling us all to live in harmony, justice and compassion.
Following this principle given by our Lord, He illustrated with three examples how we should observe the law of charity and truth. Firstly, charity goes beyond the prohibition to kill. Even anger and harsh words can kill a person, if not physically, at least emotionally. True sacrifice is not just offering sacrifices to God in worship, but this must be preceded by reconciliation with our estranged brothers and sisters. Similarly, with respect to adultery, even the thought of it will hurt our relationship with our loved ones. The mind will make the heart less loving towards our spouse and when given the opportunity, what we conceive in our minds, we will give birth to action. Just because we have not expressed our lustful desires in action, does not mean that we are chaste and charitable. Finally, the question of taking oath must be done with sincerity and not to avoid the need to be truthful to ourselves. In truth, as the Lord says, “All you need say is ‘Yes’ if you mean yes, ‘No’ if you mean no; anything more than this comes from the evil one.'”
In the final analysis, happiness in life is found not so much in observing the laws of God. These are only guidelines to help us walk in truth and love. Happiness is found when we are at peace with God and with our fellowmen. There is no greater happiness in life than to live in peace and unity among our loved ones, friends and colleagues. And even if we do not all believe in the same God, yet our desire to live a righteous life in accordance with the teachings of our religion, which exhort us all to love, forgive and live in charity. Indeed, if we can find peace in our community, then we can speak of progress, prosperity and happiness for all. We cannot be happy without everyone else being happy. Let us be the light to others.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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