20230316 HARDENING OUR HEARTS
16 March 2023, Thursday, 3rd Week of Lent
First reading |
Jeremiah 7:23-28 © |
Here is the nation that will not listen to the voice of the Lord its God
These were my orders: Listen to my voice, then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Follow right to the end the way that I mark out for you, and you will prosper. But they did not listen, they did not pay attention; they followed the dictates of their own evil hearts, refused to face me, and turned their backs on me. From the day your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until today, day after day I have persistently sent you all my servants the prophets.
But they have not listened to me, have not paid attention; they have grown stubborn and behaved worse than their ancestors. You may say all these words to them: they will not listen to you; you may call them: they will not answer. So tell them this, “Here is the nation that will not listen to the voice of the Lord its God nor take correction. Sincerity is no more, it has vanished from their mouths.”
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 94(95):1-2,6-9 © |
O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;
hail the rock who saves us.
Let us come before him, giving thanks,
with songs let us hail the Lord.
O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
Come in; let us bow and bend low;
let us kneel before the God who made us:
for he is our God and we
the people who belong to his pasture,
the flock that is led by his hand.
O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
O that today you would listen to his voice!
‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in the desert
when your fathers put me to the test;
when they tried me, though they saw my work.’
O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
Gospel Acclamation | 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!
Or: | Joel2:12-13 |
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
Now, now – it is the Lord who speaks –
come back to me with all your heart,
for I am all tenderness and compassion.
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
Gospel | Luke 11:14-23 © |
Know that the kingdom of God has overtaken you
Jesus was casting out a devil and it was dumb; but when the devil had gone out the dumb man spoke, and the people were amazed. But some of them said, ‘It is through Beelzebul, the prince of devils, that he casts out devils.’ Others asked him, as a test, for a sign from heaven; but, knowing what they were thinking, he said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is heading for ruin, and a household divided against itself collapses. So too with Satan: if he is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? – since you assert that it is through Beelzebul that I cast out devils. Now if it is through Beelzebul that I cast out devils, through whom do your own experts cast them out? Let them be your judges then. But if it is through the finger of God that I cast out devils, then know that the kingdom of God has overtaken you. So long as a strong man fully armed guards his own palace, his goods are undisturbed; but when someone stronger than he is attacks and defeats him, the stronger man takes away all the weapons he relied on and shares out his spoil.
‘He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters.’
HARDENING OUR HEARTS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JER 7:23-28; PS 95:1-2,6-9; LK 11:14-23]
The scripture readings today warn us not to harden our hearts to God. In the first reading from the Prophet Jeremiah, the Lord bemoaned the fact that His people never listened to His voice. The command of the Lord was clear. “Listen to my voice, then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Follow right to the end the way that I mark out for you, and you will prosper.” God came to lead His people to prosperity and happiness. Unfortunately, the people, as the Lord said, “did not listen, they did not pay attention; they followed the dictates of their own evil hearts, refused to face me, and turned their backs on me from the day your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until today.” The history of Israel was but a history of infidelities. The people were incorrigible. They were ingrates and they were stubborn, wanting to find happiness their own way.
Still, God was patient with His people. He did not leave them alone in their sins or self-destruction. God would send prophet after prophet to call the people back to repentance. In the Book of Exodus and Deuteronomy, we read how Moses interceded for the people whenever they sinned against the Lord and hardened their hearts against Him. So too the prophets after him when they entered the Promised Land, from the days of the Judges to the time of the Kings. We have the fiery prophet Elijah and other prophets calling the people to repentance. Indeed, the Lord said, “Day after day I have persistently sent you all my servants the prophets. But they have not listened to me, have not paid attention; they have grown stubborn and behaved worse than their ancestors.”
Prophet Jeremiah had this daunting task of calling the people to repentance for they were on the brink of disaster as the Babylonian army came nearer to Jerusalem. Unless they returned to the Lord, Israel would be destroyed. Instead of turning to God, they turned to foreign nations seeking help from them. As a consequence, they also brought in pagan worship. Their hearts became even more hardened than ever as the Lord said, “You may say all these words to them: they will not listen to you; you may call them: they will not answer. So tell them this, ‘Here is the nation that will not listen to the voice of the Lord its God nor take correction. Sincerity is no more, it has vanished from their mouths.'”
Why do people harden their hearts to God? Because they have lost faith in God especially during trials and tribulations. When we do not get what we want, we think that God does not care for us. We want God to do our bidding and pander to our whims and fancies. So when we have to go through suffering, whether a bereavement, illness, financial crisis or a failure in our career or business, or worse still, a failed and broken relationship, we blame God. And if God does not restore our fortunes, we turn away from Him. We take things into our own hands or turn to other gods which we feel might be able to help us. Isn’t this what people do, even Catholics? When they fail to have their petitions answered, they pray to other deities, seek fortune tellers, and engage in superstitious practices. This was what happened to the Israelites during the time of Moses when they were in the desert. They turned to idols, worshipped the golden calf and always complained against Moses over food and water.
It is true for us in daily life as well. When we are hurt by someone again and again, eventually, we become cold towards that person. We become defensive and lack openness for fear of being taken for a ride again. It is natural for us to protect ourselves from being harmed by others. We no longer communicate with him. We close our heart and mind to whatever the person does or says. We no longer trust him. After some time, we become weary and suspicious of him. This will lead to greater distancing, mistrust and eventually, anger and resentment. When we lose faith in someone, we are no longer receptive. When love and trust are lost, our hearts become hardened.
But why did they lose faith in God and why do we lose faith in God? It is forgetfulness. As Sirach taught us, “In the day of prosperity, adversity is forgotten, and in the day of adversity, prosperity is not remembered.” (Sir 11:25) Indeed, the people of Israel always failed to remember what the Lord had done for them. This explains why Moses kept reminding the Israelites who they were – slaves in Egypt – and how God delivered them with His mighty arm. To help them remember, Moses instituted a series of feasts and rituals for them to remember what the Lord had done for them. With regard to the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Passover Celebration, Moses said to the people, “You shall tell your child on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.” (Ex 12:27, 13:8f) Then just before God made a covenant with them, the Lord said, “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” (Ex 19:4)
We lose faith in our fellowmen or even our spouse and loved ones, also because we have forgotten what they had done for us. We only remember their failures, but we forget the many good things that they have done and sacrificed for us. It is the lack of gratitude, the forgetfulness of the sacrifices that people have made for us. This is true of children with respect to their parents. Ungrateful children do not look after their parents when they grow up, simply because they forgot how much sacrifices their parents had made for them.
The second reason why people harden their hearts is because of sin. The Lord warned us that sin is like yeast, it multiplies. He warned His disciples, “Watch out – beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” (Mk 8:15) St Paul wrote, “Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Cor 5:8) So the people of Israel gradually hardened their hearts because of complacency and the failure to take their faith seriously. They fell into the sin of idolatry, and then to other sins. When sin accumulates, we harden our hearts to goodness and truth. We do not become evil people overnight. We become addicted to sins. Soon our conscience becomes numb and we are no longer able to distinguish good from evil, truth from falsehood. We begin to justify every sin we commit, just like what the world is doing, regularizing what is abnormal and wrong to be normal and right.
Thirdly, people harden their hearts because of pride. This was the sin of the Pharisees in today’s gospel. They saw the miracles of Jesus and how He cast out the Evil Spirit. Instead of recognizing His power as from God, they slandered Him and accused Him of being in league with the Evil One. It was a charge that could not hold water because as the Lord pointed out, “Every kingdom divided against itself is heading for ruin, and a household divided against itself collapses. So too with Satan: if he is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand?” Intellectualism is the greatest pride of humanity today. They think they have the answers to everything and everyone presumes he is right. When we are arrogant and think so highly of ourselves, we harden our hearts to truth and goodness.
Today, we are called to return to the Lord. The psalmist says, “He is our God and we the people who belong to his pasture. O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as on that day at Massah in the desert when your fathers put me to the test; when they tried me, though they saw my work.” The Lord is our strongman. He is the only One who can lead us out of darkness into His wonderful light. Indeed, the choice is clear, as the Lord said, “But if it is through the finger of God that I cast out devils, then know that the kingdom of God has overtaken you. So long as a strong man fully guards his own palace, his goods are undisturbed; but when someone stronger than he is attacks and defeats him, the stronger man takes away all the weapons he relied on and shares out his spoil.” The Lord also said, “He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters.” Truly, we must make clear our stand whether we choose Him or choose evil. There is no question of being neutral, just like the people in the crowd asking the Lord for a sign. We have heard the Lord, we have seen His death and resurrection, there is no excuse for us not to choose Him over the world and the Evil One.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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