20240115 THE VIRTUE OF OBEDIENCE
15 January 2024, Monday, 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
1 Samuel 15:16-23 © |
Saul disobeys the Lord and the Lord rejects him
Samuel said to Saul, ‘Stop! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.’ Saul said, ‘Tell me.’ Samuel continued, ‘Small as you may be in your own eyes, are you not head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord has anointed you king over Israel. The Lord sent you on a mission and said to you, “Go, put these sinners, the Amalekites, under the ban and make war on them until they are exterminated.” Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you fall on the booty and do what is displeasing to the Lord?’ Saul replied to Samuel, ‘But I did obey the voice of the Lord. I went on the mission which the Lord gave me; I brought back Agag king of the Amalekites; I put the Amalekites under the ban. From the booty the people took the best sheep and oxen of what was under the ban to sacrifice them to the Lord your God in Gilgal.’ But Samuel replied:
‘Is the pleasure of the Lord in holocausts and sacrifices
or in obedience to the voice of the Lord?
Yes, obedience is better than sacrifice,
submissiveness better than the fat of rams.
Rebellion is a sin of sorcery,
presumption a crime of teraphim.
‘Since you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 49(50):8-9,16-17,21,23 © |
I will show God’s salvation to the upright.
‘I find no fault with your sacrifices,
your offerings are always before me.
I do not ask more bullocks from your farms,
nor goats from among your herds.
I will show God’s salvation to the upright.
‘But how can you recite my commandments
and take my covenant on your lips,
you who despise my law
and throw my words to the winds,
I will show God’s salvation to the upright.
‘You do this, and should I keep silence?
Do you think that I am like you?
A sacrifice of thanksgiving honours me
and I will show God’s salvation to the upright.’
I will show God’s salvation to the upright.
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!’
THE VIRTUE OF OBEDIENCE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 SAMUEL 15:16-23; PS 50:8-9, 16-17, 21, 23; MARK 2:18-22]
In today’s world, obedience has become an outdated virtue, not just in the secular world but even in religious life. In the ancient days, obedience was presumed. Children obeyed their parents without any argument, subordinates obeyed their bosses submissively, priests and religious obeyed their superiors without question. But this seems to be something of the past. Today, very few render total obedience to those in authority. Superiors are being challenged for every decision they make; and if their subordinates disagree, they rebel and continue to do things their own way.
Indeed, because of pervasive mass communications and increased literacy, people are exposed to information and knowledge overload. Individuals are often at a loss to decide for themselves what is good or bad, right or wrong, true or false, so much so that one dares to claim that he or she has the truth because there are many arguments to every position. Hence, today the prevailing attitude is relativism, because we cannot agree on anything.
We all have our reasons for disobeying authority and the laws. In the first reading, Saul broke the law of God requiring them to kill all their enemies so that evil would not spread to the younger generation through their adoption of the practices of their pagan neighbours. But Saul was presumptuous and rebellious. He did not carry out what the Lord asked of him. Instead, he rationalized his decision to keep the booty and the King of the Amalekites. He said, “I put the Amalekites under the ban. From the booty the people took the best sheep and oxen of what was under the ban to sacrifice them to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” On the surface, what Saul did seem to be honourable. In his reasoning, whether rightly or wrongly motivated, it seemed that what he did was good. According to him, he did it for the greater glory of God, not for himself.
In the gospel, Jesus did not seem to be a very obedient man either, breaking the Sabbath Law when He deemed it necessary! He, too, had his reasons for breaking the laws and customs of His days. He healed on the Sabbath because He felt that the work of compassion was more urgent than observing the Laws. (cf Mk 3:1-6) He even touched the lepers and healed them, risking spiritual contamination and thereby making Himself unclean. (cf Mt 8:3) He defended the disciples for plucking corn on the Sabbath. (cf Mt 12:1-8) He defended the disciples who broke tradition by not washing their hands before eating. (Cf Mt 15:1-9) His disciples did not fast, unlike John’s disciples and the Pharisees.
But the scripture is very clear about the importance of obedience. “Is the pleasure of the Lord in holocausts and sacrifices or in obedience to the voice of the Lord? Yes, obedience is better than sacrifice, submissiveness better than the fat of rams.” Samuel said, “Rebellion is a sin of sorcery, presumption a crime of teraphim.” Disobedience is an act of rebellion against authority, and in the case of Saul, against God. It is sinful because rebellion springs from pride and self-will. It is also a sin of idolatry; worshipping and thinking highly of ourselves. More often than not, we rebel for selfish interests rather than for the good of others. In the case of Saul, he broke the law because he wanted to seek the approval of man rather than God. Indeed, when confronted, he confessed, “I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.” (1 Sm 15:24)
Disobedience is the first of many sins. It leads to other sins such as envy, greed and anger. We know that the first sin of Adam and Eve was the sin of disobedience. Because of their disobedience, not only did they forfeit the preternatural gifts but they caused their descendants to forfeit them as well. From the sin of disobedience, they became ashamed of their own nakedness, because love turned to lust. Then the sin of envy crept in, leading Cain to kill his brother Abel. From then on, more and more evil were committed because men saw each other as competitors and enemies rather than brothers and sisters. Indeed, the whole history of Israel was a history of disobedience to the commandments of God. As a consequence, they suffered the wrath of God. In the case of Saul, his kingship was taken away from him. By rejecting the Word of God, God also rejected Saul. Samuel pronounced the judgement, “Since you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”
Is there a contradiction in the two events narrated in the gospel? What is the difference between the disobedience of Jesus and that of Saul? In the case of Jesus, when He broke the laws, it was never for His own interests but purely out of charity and justice. He was living out the spirit of the laws, which were enacted to protect the people from evil and selfishness. He wanted the people to go beyond the mere observance of the laws. The truth is that mere observance of the laws does not mean that the intention of the laws are fulfilled. Indeed, the Jewish leaders who obeyed the laws were no better than Saul because they, too, sought the approval of men, not of God. They observed the laws so that they would appear to be holy and righteous before others. They did not observe the laws for the glory of God nor for the good of their fellowmen, but in order to prove that they were holier and better than the ordinary Jew who could not keep the laws meticulously because their occupations prevented them from doing so.
So the answer to whether we can disobey the laws or not lies in the question of integrity. Jesus came to teach us real obedience, which is to be true to the spirit of the laws. Hence, the response of Jesus to fasting was clear, “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.” In other words, does observance of the laws serve a good purpose? Fasting is to help one yearn for the presence of God when His absence is felt. It is for cultivating inner discipline so that we will be freed of attachment to things of this world and so help us to focus on the spiritual. Most of all, fasting is for repentance of sins. The purpose of fasting is not for slimming purposes, to look good in the eyes of others or to impress others of our holiness. On the contrary, Jesus said, “And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Mt 6:16-18)
In the final analysis, we must combine both principles of obedience to the laws of God with the spirit in which obedience is carried out. Jesus was not teaching us to disobey God. He Himself was obedient unto death. He taught us to obey the Word of God and to do His will at all times. So whilst we must maintain the importance of rendering obedience to the Word, we must be discerning as to what is His will and how we should apply the laws within context. This calls for maturity in the work of discernment. Hence, Jesus exhorts us to be consistent in what we do and say. “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!”
Of course, there is also the danger that we can be tempted to justify and rationalize our actions, like Saul who deceived himself into thinking that he was serving God when in fact he was afraid of losing his men’s approval. So we too can compromise the truths of the gospel, the laws of God and His Church so that we can gain men’s approval. This is where the danger lies. Many of us today, like Saul, use the name of God to justify our selfish and self-centred actions. We rationalize what we want to do because such actions benefit us and not truly for the glory of God and His people. When we do that, let us remember the warning of Samuel, “presumption (is) a crime of teraphim.”
We must remain open and humble before the Word of God if we are not to be over-confident of ourselves. Discernment is an art and we need to learn it before we can confidently claim that we are observing the spirit of the laws. Many who are not tuned to the Lord often make false and supercilious claims that they are acting in obedience to the spirit of the gospel and not in blind obedience when disobeying the laws. In truth, arrogance is worse than blind obedience! “But how can you recite my commandments and take my covenant on your lips, you who despise my law and throw my words to the winds. You do this, and should I keep silence? Do you think that I am like you? A sacrifice of thanksgiving honours me and I will show God’s salvation to the upright.” Let us sincerely search our hearts and our motives before we dare to say that we have gone beyond blind obedience. Let us walk the way truth of truth and love in obedience to the Word of God.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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