20240216 SEEKING INTEGRITY
16 February 2024, Friday after Ash Wednesday
First reading | Isaiah 58:1-9 © |
The sort of fast that pleases me
Thus says the Lord:
Shout for all you are worth,
raise your voice like a trumpet.
Proclaim their faults to my people,
their sins to the House of Jacob.
They seek me day after day,
they long to know my ways,
like a nation that wants to act with integrity
and not ignore the law of its God.
They ask me for laws that are just,
they long for God to draw near:
‘Why should we fast if you never see it,
why do penance if you never notice?’
Look, you do business on your fast-days,
you oppress all your workmen;
look, you quarrel and squabble when you fast
and strike the poor man with your fist.
Fasting like yours today
will never make your voice heard on high.
Is that the sort of fast that pleases me,
a truly penitential day for men?
Hanging your head like a reed,
lying down on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call fasting,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
Is not this the sort of fast that pleases me
– it is the Lord who speaks –
to break unjust fetters and
undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and break every yoke,
to share your bread with the hungry,
and shelter the homeless poor,
to clothe the man you see to be naked
and not turn from your own kin?
Then will your light shine like the dawn
and your wound be quickly healed over.
Your integrity will go before you
and the glory of the Lord behind you.
Cry, and the Lord will answer;
call, and he will say, ‘I am here.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 50(51):3-6,18-19 © |
A humbled, contrite heart, O God, you will not spurn.
Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.
In your compassion blot out my offence.
O wash me more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.
A humbled, contrite heart, O God, you will not spurn.
My offences truly I know them;
my sin is always before me
Against you, you alone, have I sinned;
what is evil in your sight I have done.
A humbled, contrite heart, O God, you will not spurn.
For in sacrifice you take no delight,
burnt offering from me you would refuse,
my sacrifice, a contrite spirit.
A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.
A humbled, contrite heart, O God, you will not spurn.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Ps129:5,7 |
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
My soul is waiting for the Lord,
I count on his word,
because with the Lord there is mercy
and fullness of redemption.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Or: | cf.Amos5:14 |
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Seek good and not evil so that you may live,
and that the Lord God of hosts may really be with you.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Gospel | Matthew 9:14-15 © |
When the bridegroom is taken from them, then they will fast
John’s disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?’ Jesus replied, ‘Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of mourning as long as the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from them, and then they will fast.’
SEEKING INTEGRITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISAIAH 58:1-9; PS 51:3-6,18-19; MATTHEW 9:14-15]
It is strange that on this Friday during the season of Lent, when the Church exhorts the People of God to fast or abstain from some foods, both scripture readings seem to suggest that fasting is not necessary. In fact, it could be a hypocritical act and give the impression that one is holy and pious because he observes the ritual fasting as required by his religion. More than fasting alone, one should live a life of integrity and honesty. This integrity must be applied to the intent of the fasting itself and the expected outcomes. Hence, when “John’s disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘why is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?’ Jesus replied, ‘Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of mourning as long as the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from them and then they will fast.'”
Obviously, one does not fast when one is in the midst of a celebration. It will dampen not just the celebration but the greater good that is intended in the celebration. A case in point is the recent celebration of Lunar New Year where on the eve of the New Year a reunion meal is celebrated to gather the family together in thanksgiving and to strengthen family bonds. Obviously, we should not be asking those celebrating the reunion lunch or dinner to fast or abstain because it goes against the spirit of the celebration. This also explains why Jesus went further to illustrate how ludicrous the mere observance of regulations without considering the real intention of what we do is. He said, “No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.” (Mt 9:16f)
However, Jesus is not against ritual fasting. We fast for a greater motive. In the gospel of Matthew, people should fast when Jesus is “taken away”, that is arrested and put to death. When the bridegroom is taken away from them, it would be the time to fast. In other words, fasting is commendable when there is a higher purpose. Even for those of us who celebrate the Lunar New Year for 15 days, the local church deems it fit that Ash Wednesday, which fell on the 5th day of the Lunar New Year Festival, should be a day of fasting and penance. This is because before us lies the great season of Lent, which is to prepare us for the most important celebration of His passion, death and resurrection. In this case, Catholics should, in union with the whole Church, join everyone in this common journey by beginning the season of Lent with fast and penance. Indeed, whilst the Lunar New Year celebrates the unity of the family and a spirit of thanksgiving for God’s blessing, the season of Lent, which prepares us for the celebration of life, is even more important.
The integrity of fasting must also be demonstrated by the intended outcome. Just carrying out the action alone will not be of much good to anyone. It is not life-giving because it makes one’s life miserable. It seems to take away joy, restrict one’s freedom, making the atmosphere sombre. When something we do is not life-giving, it will go against not just human nature but against the gospel values. Jesus makes it clear that that He has come to give us life, and life abundantly. (Jn 10:10) So fasting in the final analysis must bring about a greater good in our lives, making us truly free, truly joyful and truly life-giving. Otherwise, we make God out as if He is a joy-killer and does not want us to be happy and joyful.
This is far from the truth. As we read in the gospel, Jesus wants us to celebrate life and love so long as the bridegroom is with them. In other words, we can celebrate life and love to the fullest when God is with us and in us. Without God in our lives, we can never attain fullness of life and love because God is life and God is love. To say that the bridegroom is with us, means that we share in the joy and love of the bride and bridegroom.
What is this joy of God if not the fact that we live in love and unity? This is why the reunion meal during the Lunar New Year is of great importance to those celebrating the New Year. In fact, this is perhaps the most important gathering of the family in the entire year. It is not a matter of just gathering to eat, but the intention behind the meal is to forge ties, renew bonds and be grateful for the family that has supported each other in life. It is hoped that through this celebration, when family members begin to talk and share with each other their lives, their experiences, their struggles and how they have arrived, they are brought closer to each other.
What is true of the intended celebration of the reunion meal of Lunar New Year is true also of the spirit of fasting during the season of Lent. God told the people through Isaiah that if the people did not feel His presence, His love, it was because even though they fasted and put on the external gestures of “hanging your head like a reed, lying down on sackcloth and ashes”; they continued to act unjustly towards their fellowmen. “Look, you do business on your fast days, you oppress all your workmen; look, you quarrel and squabble when you fast and strike the poor man with your fist. Fasting like yours today will never make your voice heard on high. Is that the sort of fast that pleases me, a truly penitential day for men?”
The kind of fasting that the Lord wanted was a fast that brought them closer to their fellowmen. The fasting was meant to help them feel with the poor, those deprived of their essential needs in life. It was to help them appreciate what it meant to be oppressed and be deprived of freedom. The Lord spelt out the kind of fasting that is life giving, namely, “to break unjust fetters and undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke, to share your bread with the hungry, and shelter the homeless poor, to clothe the man you see to be naked and not turn from your own kin.”
The kind of fasting that is life-giving is one that helps us to come to appreciate what we have and not take our blessings and freedom for granted. In life, we tend to take for granted what we have. Ingratitude is the cause of losing the joy of life. A child who is always grateful for every new thing that he discovers, is always full of wonderment and excitement. But most of all, we tend to take for granted what God has blessed us with; our job, our health, our house, our loved ones, our faith and the peace and prosperity of our country. We live an entitlement mentality, as if all these are our rights and they must be given to us. But when we fast, we will begin to be grateful for what we miss, whether our food, our community and even our freedom to pray and to worship, which not all peoples in the world enjoy. Deliberate fasting is meant to wake us up from our lack of appreciation for all that we already have. In truth, most of us have more than enough.
Happiness in life ultimately is about living a life of integrity and in loving relationship with our family members, friends, colleagues and our community. God is found when there is truth in a life of integrity and when there is love, where there is mutual respect, care and concern. The Lord assures those who live such lives that their light will “shine like the dawn and your wound be quickly healed over. Your integrity will go before you and the glory of the Lord behind you. Cry, and the Lord will answer; call, and he will say, ‘I am here.'” Truly, this is the intent of fasting. It is not about showing off our piety or pleasing God by our sacrifices. This is why the Lord told the prophet, “Shout for all you are worth, raise your voice like a trumpet. Proclaim their faults to my people, their sins to the House of Jacob. They seek me day after day, they long to know my ways, like a nation that wants to act with integrity and not ignore the law of its God. They ask me for laws that are just, they long for God to draw near: ‘Why should we fast if you never see it, why do penance if you never notice?'” Through fasting, may we have a repentant heart as we enter into ourselves and come to know the truth of ourselves so that we can ask God for forgiveness and mercy as the psalmist invites us, “Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness. My offences truly I know them; my sin is always before me. Against you, you alone, have I sinned; what is evil in your sight I have done. For in sacrifice you take no delight, burnt offering from me you would refuse, my sacrifice, a contrite spirit. A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.”
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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