20251014 THE UPRIGHT MAN FINDS LIFE THROUGH FAITH
14 October 2025, Tuesday, 28th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Romans 1:16-25 |
These people knew God and failed to honour him
I am not ashamed of the Good News: it is the power of God saving all who have faith – Jews first, but Greeks as well – since this is what reveals the justice of God to us: it shows how faith leads to faith, or as scripture says: The upright man finds life through faith.
The anger of God is being revealed from heaven against all the impiety and depravity of men who keep truth imprisoned in their wickedness. For what can be known about God is perfectly plain to them since God himself has made it plain. Ever since God created the world his everlasting power and deity – however invisible – have been there for the mind to see in the things he has made. That is why such people are without excuse: they knew God and yet refused to honour him as God or to thank him; instead, they made nonsense out of logic and their empty minds were darkened. The more they called themselves philosophers, the more stupid they grew, until they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for a worthless imitation, for the image of mortal man, of birds, of quadrupeds and reptiles. That is why God left them to their filthy enjoyments and the practices with which they dishonour their own bodies, since they have given up divine truth for a lie and have worshipped and served creatures instead of the creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen!
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 18(19):2-5 |
The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God,
and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.
Day unto day takes up the story
and night unto night makes known the message.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
No speech, no word, no voice is heard
yet their span extends through all the earth,
their words to the utmost bounds of the world.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:135 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Let your face shine on your servant,
and teach me your decrees.
Alleluia!
Or: | Heb4:12 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 11:37-41 |
Give thanks for what you have and it will all be clean
Jesus had just finished speaking when a Pharisee invited him to dine at his house. He went in and sat down at the table. The Pharisee saw this and was surprised that he had not first washed before the meal. But the Lord said to him, ‘Oh, you Pharisees! You clean the outside of cup and plate, while inside yourselves you are filled with extortion and wickedness. Fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside too? Instead, give alms from what you have and then indeed everything will be clean for you.’
THE UPRIGHT MAN FINDS LIFE THROUGH FAITH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Rom 1:16-25; Ps 19:2-5; Lk 11:37-41]
Every one of us is seeking life. But what is life? Is it merely to be freed from physical ailments and sickness? There are many people who are full of energy and spend hours in the gym, yet they are not happy in life. They are full of anger and frustration. Then, is life about being freed from hunger and poverty? Again, most of us have more than enough to eat. In fact, the problem today is that we eat too much rather than too little. Even if we eat well, we are still unhappy, because life has no meaning if it is just about eating. After all, how much can we eat? After some time, even good food becomes boring. Maybe life is about pleasure, fun, and entertainment. For many, going on holidays has become a basic necessity of life in our times. We think that holidays will bring us joy and happiness after days of hard work and stress. But for most, holidays are just an escape, a temporary reprieve — and for some, they even continue working during holidays out of a sense of responsibility.
So, what is life? In asking this question, we are seeking the ultimate meaning of life. We need something or someone who can fulfil the yearnings not just of our body but also of our spirit. We need meaningful relationships with our fellowmen. Without friendship and intimacy, we find ourselves incomplete. Life becomes empty and joyless. Of course, friendship is never easy because there will be misunderstandings, friction, and sometimes quarrels. At times, we even suffer a breakdown in relationships with our loved ones. So much so that some people dare not form relationships with anyone — not even with fur friends — because they do not want to be hurt or find departures and separations too painful. Above all, we need a connection with God to find our security and satisfaction.
But the problem is that we are too proud to even acknowledge that God is the supreme Creator. This is the greatest and primary reason for the destruction of humanity and the world today. St Paul speaks of impiety as the root of all sins. “The anger of God is being revealed from heaven against all the impiety and depravity of men who keep the truth imprisoned in their wickedness. For what can be known about God is perfectly plain to them since God himself has made it plain. Ever since God created the world, his everlasting power and deity–however invisible–have been there for the mind to see in the things he has made.” The sad truth is that if we were humble enough, we would recognize that there is a moral order in the world established by God. When we break the natural and moral laws inherent in creation, we suffer the consequences. St Paul said, “Such people are without excuse: they knew God and yet refused to honour him as God or to thank him.”
Without God, we become confused and lose our perspective and orientation. “They made nonsense out of logic, and their empty minds were darkened. The more they called themselves philosophers, the more stupid they grew, until they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for a worthless imitation–for the image of mortal man, of birds, of quadrupeds, and reptiles.” Because of man’s pride, he cannot go beyond himself. When we reduce ourselves to the level of mere creatures, we forget our special dignity as God’s children–created in His image and likeness, called to share in His intellect, will, knowledge, freedom, and love. We live less than what we are created to be. This is why we cannot find fulfilment in life. As St Augustine rightly says, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in You, O God.”
In rejecting God as the source of life and love, we end up worshipping creation instead. It is true that creation manifests the glory of God. In the responsorial psalm, we pray, “The heavens proclaim the glory of God, and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands. No speech, no word, no voice is heard, yet their span extends through all the earth, their words to the utmost bounds of the world.” But to worship creation as God, as some people do, is to make creation equal to God. We become what we worship. In truth, creation should lead us to the Creator–not possess us. This is the downfall of man: when he worships creation, creatures, and things, he becomes enslaved by them. As St Paul says later, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:23) Because we worship creation, we degrade ourselves further. The psalmist understood this when he wrote, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established–what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honour. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet.” (Ps 8:3-6)
Indeed, the punishment of God for our rejection of Him is to abandon us to our own pride and sin. God does not force His love upon us. He gives us the gift of free will and respects our choices in life. This freedom is what makes us different from the rest of creation. Because of freedom, we can speak of love and goodness. When there is no freedom of choice, there can be no love or goodness, for coerced love is not love at all. God does not abandon us out of spite but out of sorrow and regret, like the father who had to see his prodigal son leave home and suffer the consequences of his choice. There is no condemnation–only sorrow. We are foolish because we have been deceived by sin, believing it will make us happy, when in truth it only ruins our life.
Yet this abandonment to our wrong choices becomes our punishment. It is not God who punishes us; our sins punish us. Sin is itself the punishment. As St Augustine says, “The punishment for the iniquity of sin is more sins!” In other words, sin never comes alone. One sin leads to another. When we sin the first time, it becomes easier to sin again. Eventually, we become numb to sin. Sin has the power to beget more sin. This is why the Church urges us to take even venial sins seriously, not just grave ones. In the Gospel, sin is often described as a form of yeast–it grows from strength to strength until we no longer recognize ourselves as sinners. As the psalmist says, “Fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is no one who does good.” (Ps 14:1)
If we are to find true life, St Paul urges us to accept the Good News, which “is the power of God saving all who have faith–Jews first, but Greeks as well–since this is what reveals the justice of God to us. As Scripture says: The upright man finds life through faith.” Faith in God is what saves us. Faith means surrendering ourselves to God in absolute trust. Faith is the foundation of relationship, for without trust, no relationship is possible. If we want to be justified–that is, to enter into a relationship with God–then faith is what is required. Of course, relationships take time to grow. This is why St Paul says, “Faith leads to faith.” It is like in human relationships: friendship begins with a simple act of trust in another person. Trust is rewarded with greater trust as we discover the person’s reliability and faithfulness. Over time, that relationship strengthens as trust builds upon trust.
So too with our relationship with God: when we trust Him and surrender our life to Him in faith, obeying His holy will, we will find peace, joy, and fulfilment. In contrast, a superficial and external relationship–like that of the Pharisees in today’s Gospel, who were scandalized that Jesus did not wash before a meal–does not please God. Jesus reminded them that it is the heart that matters: “Oh, you Pharisees! You clean the outside of the cup and plate, while inside yourselves you are filled with extortion and wickedness. Fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside too? Instead, give alms from what you have, and then indeed everything will be clean for you.” It is a pure, generous, and compassionate heart that reveals a genuine relationship with God and with our fellow human beings. Almsgiving from the heart is the true indicator of a righteous and justified life. Indeed, only a person who is in right relationship with God and with others will find the fullness of life in faith, love, and sharing.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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