20250116 HARDEN NOT YOUR HEARTS WHEN YOU HEAR THE VOICE OF THE LORD
First reading | Hebrews 3:7-14 |
Keep encouraging one another
The Holy Spirit says: If only you would listen to him today; do not harden your hearts, as happened in the Rebellion, on the Day of Temptation in the wilderness, when your ancestors challenged me and tested me, though they had seen what I could do for forty years. That was why I was angry with that generation and said: How unreliable these people who refuse to grasp my ways! And so, in anger, I swore that not one would reach the place of rest I had for them. Take care, brothers, that there is not in any one of your community a wicked mind, so unbelieving as to turn away from the living God. Every day, as long as this ‘today’ lasts, keep encouraging one another so that none of you is hardened by the lure of sin, because we shall remain co-heirs with Christ only if we keep a grasp on our first confidence right to the end.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 94(95):6-11 |
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.’
For forty years I was wearied of these people
and I said: “Their hearts are astray,
these people do not know my ways.”
Then I took an oath in my anger:
“Never shall they enter my rest.”’
O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:88 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Because of your love give me life,
and I will do your will.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.Mt4:23 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the kingdom
and cured all kinds of sickness among the people.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 1:40-45 |
The leprosy left the man at once, and he was cured
A leper came to Jesus and pleaded on his knees: ‘If you want to’ he said ‘you can cure me.’ Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. ‘Of course I want to!’ he said. ‘Be cured!’ And the leprosy left him at once and he was cured. Jesus immediately sent him away and sternly ordered him, ‘Mind you say nothing to anyone, but go and show yourself to the priest, and make the offering for your healing prescribed by Moses as evidence of your recovery.’ The man went away, but then started talking about it freely and telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer go openly into any town, but had to stay outside in places where nobody lived. Even so, people from all around would come to him.
16 January 2025, Thursday, 1st Week in Ordinary Time
HARDEN NOT YOUR HEARTS WHEN YOU HEAR THE VOICE OF THE LORD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [HEB 3:7-14; PSALM 95:6-11; MK 1:40-45]
What does it mean to sin? The author describes sin in terms of rebellion and disobedience taken from a quotation in Psalm 95:7-11. “The Holy Spirit says: If only you would listen to him today; do not harden your hearts, as happened in the Rebellion, on the Day of Temptation in the wilderness, when your ancestors challenged me and tested me, though they had seen what I could do for forty years.” It is a reference to the Israelites who continued to test God and rebel against Him when they were on their journey from Egypt through the desert to the Promised Land. In spite of the many signs and wonders that the Lord had done for them in Egypt through Moses; saving them from the pursuit of the Egyptian Army by separating the waters in the Red Sea for them to cross dry-shod, and guiding and protecting them by day and night via a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire. And when they did not have water or bread, and even meat, the Lord provided them water from a rock, manna from heaven and even sent a wind to bring quails from the sea and let them fall around the Israelites’ camp.
What is inexcusable is that in spite of all these signs, the people did not repent. They refused to trust in the Lord and listen to His commands through Moses, His servant. They kept on doubting the love and power of God. Indeed, their hearts were hardened. And so the Lord said, “That was why I was angry with that generation and said: How unreliable these people who refuse to grasp my ways! And so, in anger, I swore that not one would reach the place of rest I had for them.” Further on, the author asked, “Now who were they who heard and yet were rebellious? Was it not all those who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses? But with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, if not to those who were disobedient?” (Heb 3:16-18)
What is said of the Israelites could also be said of us as well. Very often, we take for granted the blessings we receive from God. In His mercy and grace, He has blessed us with a good job, good salary, a good spouse and obedient children. We have good health and good friends. Unfortunately, after some time, we forget that what we have is through God’s mercy and generosity. We not only take them for granted but we abuse the position we have been given in our work or the resources we have. Instead of using them for the service of others, we use them for evil, for ill-gotten gains, or to manipulate the lives of others. We forget about God in life and no longer depend on Him. But the price we have to pay would be immense. And it might cause us to lose everything we have – our job, our family and our health.
So the author is giving his readers, and us, a warning. He had just proven the unique supremacy of Jesus’ priesthood. Accordingly, because Jesus is so unique we must render Him complete trust and obedience. But if we harden our hearts and refuse to render Him the obedience and trust, we will have to face the terrible consequences of our decision. Like the people of Israel, we will not be able to enter the Promised Land. There will be no rest, not just physical rest and rest for the soul. We will be unsettled, disturbed, unhappy and guilty. Hence, he said, “Take care, brothers, that there is not in any one of your community a wicked mind, so unbelieving as to turn away from the living God.”
What is equally important for us all, as the author reminds us, is that we all have a responsibility towards each other. It is not only for the individual to strive to listen to the voice of the Lord but as a community, we must support each other in faith. So long as we are still alive, we can be saved. No one is condemned if he repents. So long as there is hope, “Every day, as long as this ‘today’ lasts, keep encouraging one another so that none of you is hardened by the lure of sin, because we shall remain co-heirs with Christ only if we keep a grasp on our first confidence right to the end.” We must help each other to overcome the deceitfulness of sin. The lure of sin promises us happiness but it only leads us to perdition. We must be careful not to be deceived by the tempting offers of sin. We must never give up hope for those who have been led astray by sin. As long as the person is still alive, we must call the person to repentance, to pray for him and help him to soften his heart to the voice of God, to remove his pride and accept the Word of God as truth. Otherwise, we will lose the blessings promised to us as our forefathers did.
Most of all, the author tells us that we must remember the hope we received at the very beginning of our spiritual life. We must not lose focus or the hope that we had received. In the letter to the Hebrews, the author exhorts his readers, “let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb 12:1-3) We must persevere in hope.
We still have time to repent and listen to His voice. The disobedience and distrust of Israel caused them to forfeit the blessings that they might have enjoyed from God. To obtain God’s blessings, all we need is to cling to His promises and believe that what God says is true. We must be willing to trust Him with all our heart. But trust must be demonstrated by obedience. If we trust Him and believe that He is our Lord, then we will listen to all that He tells us to do. We will obey His instructions. Today, unfortunately, we have many who apparently call themselves Catholics. They would attend mass now and then. They will choose those doctrines that they agree with and can accept. They think it is alright not to believe those that they find difficult to accept, especially moral doctrines. In other words, they pick and choose what they like and ignore those uneasy doctrines.
Whilst it is understandable that we might take time to come to accept and obey all the teachings of our Lord in the Bible and the Magisterium, we must also be aware that the offer for the Promised Land is not indefinite. A time will come when our life will come to an end. We will never know when that day would be. So, whilst there is a tomorrow, we must not think that our tomorrow is guaranteed. This is how the devil deceives us from deciding for God by telling us to postpone our decision till tomorrow. But the truth is, tomorrow might never come. This is why we must accept God’s offer today before it is too late. Each day must be lived in such a way that it is the last day. So, we are being challenged to take up the offer today by giving God the trust and obedience demanded of us.
The gospel today invites us to take courage like the leper to cling to God’s promise. With faith and confidence in our Lord, he even broke the rules and came to Jesus “and pleaded on his knees: ‘If you want to’ he said ‘you can cure me.'” He knew that Jesus would be able to heal him if He chose to. He had no doubt about the power of our Lord. He was humble and respectful, not coercive. As a consequence, Christ fulfilled his wish because of his humility and faith in Him. “‘Of course I want to!’ he said. ‘Be cured!’ And the leprosy left him at once and he was cured.” Jesus’ desire to heal us of our leprosy, that is, of our sins, moved Him to not just heal the man but He “stretched out his hand and touched him.” By so doing, Jesus indicated that He came to take our sins away by being made sin, as St Paul wrote to the Corinthians. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor 5:21) The gospel ended with an anticipation of what will happen to our Lord at the end of His life. We read that “The man went away, but then started talking about it freely and telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer go openly into any town, but had to stay outside in places where nobody lived.” In other words, Jesus was made unclean, that is sin, because He was in contact with the leper. He could not be within the community, which is what sin does to us. We are excommunicated. “Even so, people from all around would come to him.” Jesus who takes our sins upon Himself continue to save us all who repent and seek forgiveness. Let us therefore seize the opportunity to repent and turn to the Lord for healing and grace.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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