20260825 STAND FIRM BY KEEPING THE TRADITION AND TRADITIONS
25 August 2026, Tuesday, 21st Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3,14-17 |
Stand firm and keep the traditions we have taught you
To turn, brothers, to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we shall all be gathered round him: please do not get excited too soon or alarmed by any prediction or rumour or any letter claiming to come from us, implying that the Day of the Lord has already arrived. Never let anyone deceive you in this way.
Through the Good News that we brought God called you to this so that you should share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Stand firm, then, brothers, and keep the traditions that we taught you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father who has given us his love and, through his grace, such inexhaustible comfort and such sure hope, comfort you and strengthen you in everything good that you do or say.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 95(96):10-13 |
The Lord comes to rule the earth.
Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’
The world he made firm in its place;
he will judge the peoples in fairness.
The Lord comes to rule the earth.
Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad,
let the sea and all within it thunder praise,
let the land and all it bears rejoice,
all the trees of the wood shout for joy
at the presence of the Lord for he comes,
he comes to rule the earth.
The Lord comes to rule the earth.
With justice he will rule the world,
he will judge the peoples with his truth.
The Lord comes to rule the earth.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Ac16:14 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord,
to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 23:23-26 |
Clean the inside of the cup first, so that the outside may become clean
Jesus said: ‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who pay your tithe of mint and dill and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law – justice, mercy, good faith! These you should have practised, without neglecting the others. You blind guides! Straining out gnats and swallowing camels!
‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who clean the outside of cup and dish and leave the inside full of extortion and intemperance. Blind Pharisee! Clean the inside of cup and dish first so that the outside may become clean as well.’
STAND FIRM BY KEEPING THE TRADITION AND TRADITIONS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [2 THESSALONIANS 2:1-3,14-17; MATTHEW 23:23-26]
During the time of St. Paul, some advocated the idea that the Day of the Lord was imminent. Before this day could arrive, they believed the Great Rebellion must happen and the lawless one–“the one destined for destruction”–must be revealed. This figure “opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God” (2 Thess 2:3-4). Paul, however, wanted to assure the Christians that this time was not as close as they thought: “Please do not get excited too soon or alarmed by any prediction or rumour or any letter claiming to come from us, implying that the Day of the Lord has already arrived. Never let anyone deceive you in this way.” Nevertheless, until that day comes, the faithful of Christ will endure a period of testing. This reality is present in every age as we are individually tested by temptations and trials.
How, then, can we remain firm during these times of testing? “Through the Good News that we brought God called you so that you should share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Stand firm, then, brothers, and keep the traditions that we taught you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.” We must rest on the Good News we have received, which is our calling to share in the Lord’s glory. Instead of looking to the future with fear and anxiety, we should look forward to being with the Lord in glory. When St. Paul asked the Christians to stand firm by keeping the traditions he and his fellow missionaries had taught them, he was referring to the critical Traditions passed down–namely, the passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord, alongside the overarching beliefs foundational to Christianity. “For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve” (1 Cor 15:3-5).
Another such Tradition concerns the Last Supper. “For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (cf. 1 Cor 11:23-26).
These represent the foundational Traditions handed down by early Christians, dealing with the primary doctrines and liturgical celebrations deemed critical to the early Church. By keeping such Tradition, Christians preserve their faith, especially when facing trials. Alongside this Tradition, there are other teachings considered vital to the Church, namely the Creed, the celebration of the sacraments, the institutions of the Church, Papal infallibility, and the sacrament of Holy Orders. These cannot be compromised, as they define how the Church understands herself. By holding to these Traditions, the Church perpetuates herself.
However, there are lesser traditions that are not strictly essential for the faith of the Church. These are customary, good practices that change with time and circumstance. Not all of these traditions must be kept by everyone, as they depend on culture, context, devotion, and relevance. Traditions such as observing penance on Fridays, abstaining from meat, celebrating Church festivals and saints’ days, and popular piety are optional because they stem from personal or cultural preferences. While useful to some, others may have different needs and devotions. Freedom is left to the individual to choose or adapt these secondary traditions, as they do not compromise the faith.
Unfortunately, some fail to differentiate between Tradition and traditions, regarding the latter as equally important as the former. In other words, they fail to distinguish between the essential doctrines of the faith and the cultural practices developed in different societies. Worse still, they often attempt to impose these cultural and personal traditions on others, treating them as the absolute norm for how faith and life should be lived. For example, some countries maintain popular devotions to specific saints or apparitions of Mary and our Lord. The Philippines and South America have many such devotions–often a blend of the Catholic faith and local culture–and this is true of many older Catholic countries in Europe as well. While such popular religiosity helps to concretise the faith locally, one should not try to export or impose these devotions on another country. It is, of course, a different matter if others voluntarily adopt such practices.
This was the same mistake made by the Jews during the time of Jesus. The Tradition of the Jews is enshrined in the first five books of the Old Testament, the Torah. These formed the foundational principles for the establishment of the People of God. The Mosaic Laws were given to help the people live in harmony, charity, and justice; to regulate their cultic and liturgical life; and to govern their relations with others–especially strangers, slaves, and foreigners–so that their faith in Yahweh would be protected. Yet, one could not expect the Torah to cover every concrete instance of human relationship.
Consequently, extrapolating from the Tradition (the Law of Moses), it became necessary to draw up secondary laws to protect the primary ones. This is what the scribes and Pharisees sought to do during the time of our Lord. In their zeal to fulfil the Mosaic Law perfectly, they applied rules to every aspect of daily life, governing tithing, hygiene, cultic purity, and Sabbath observance. For this, the Lord reprimanded them: “Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who pay your tithe of mint and dill and cummin and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law–justice, mercy, good faith! These you should have practised, without neglecting the others. You blind guides! Straining out gnats and swallowing camels!” While their desire to be faithful to secondary laws and customs was well-intentioned, they should have prioritised the primary intentions of the Law: ensuring mercy and justice. Ultimately, all laws exist to guide our relationship with God and our fellow human beings, helping us live justly and, beyond justice, with mercy and compassion for the poor, the suffering, and the weak.
The same applies to the question of cleanliness. Jesus said, “Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who clean the outside of cup and dish and leave the inside full of extortion and intemperance. Blind Pharisees! Clean the inside of cup and dish first so that the outside may become clean as well.” External observance of cultural and hygienic practices is good when it serves as an expression of the interior heart, but this is not always the case. Some observe religious customs out of mere habit or routine, acting without consciousness of the action’s intention. This is particularly true of customs like Friday penance, abstinence, fasting, or the one-hour fast before receiving Holy Communion. Some become obsessed with the number of days or hours required for a devotion to be “valid,” acting as if God is primarily concerned with externals. What matters most to God is the interior of our hearts: our sincerity, our devotion, and our love for Him.
Therefore, let us be faithful to the Sacred Tradition of the Church–the deposit of faith handed down since the time of the Apostles–and cherish the traditions the Church has developed over the centuries to make the faith concrete and real in our lives. All these Traditions and traditions are meant to help us encounter “our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father who had given us his love and hope,” comforting and strengthening us in everything good that we do or say.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment