Law

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Sunday, 17 March 2013 : 5th Sunday of Lent (Third Scrutiny for Baptism) (Second Reading)

Philippians 3 : 8-14

Still more, everything seems to me as nothing compared with the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. For His sake I have let everything fall away and I now consider all as garbage, if instead I may gain Christ.

May I be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the Law, but with the righteousness that God gives to those who believe. May I know Him and experience the power of His resurrection and share in His sufferings and become like Him in His death, and attain through this, God willing, the resurrection from the dead!

I do not believe I have already reached the goal, nor do I consider myself perfect, but I press on till I conquer Christ Jesus, as I have already been conquered by Him. No, brothers and sisters, I do not claim to have claimed the prize yet. I say only this : forgetting what is behind me, I race forward and run towards the goal, my eyes on the prize to which God has called us from above in Christ Jesus.

 

Alternative reading from Year A (For Third Scrutiny for Baptism)

 

Romans 8 : 8-11

Therefore, those walking according to the flesh cannot please God. Yet your existence is not in the flesh, but in the spirit, because the Spirit of God is within you. If you did not have the Spirit of Christ, you would not belong to Him. But Christ is within you; though the body is branded by death as a consequence of sin, the spirit is life and holiness.

And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is within you, He who raised Jesus Christ from among the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies. Yes, He will do it through His Spirit who dwells within you.

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Saturday, 16 March 2013 : 4th Week of Lent (Scripture Reflection)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s readings we see how, the righteous ones and the ones sent by the Lord, the prophets, and even our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, received slander, persecution, and were actively rejected by many in the society, not least by those who indeed should have been closer to God than that of the rest of the society.

These people are the Pharisees, the priests and the experts in the Law of God, passed through Moses, they are also expert in the Torah and the writings of the words of the prophets, that it is why they could say that no prophet is ever said to come from Galilee, because basically they really know the prophets, their sayings, and the Law itself. But yet, they have failed to see God, and failed to see His works, when it was already in fact right in front of their eyes.

The reason for their failure to see the good works of the Lord is that they have been blinded, their eyes had been blocked by the very arrogance and pride that clouds their heart and hardened that heart against the love of God. Jealousy became the order of the day, as these priests, instead of being happy and supportive of Christ’s good works, they slandered Him, accused Him of using the devil to perform miracles, and plotted against Him to kill Him. They would eventually succeeded in capturing Him after the Lord’s Last Supper, put Him on trial, and brought Him to Pilate to be condemned to death, death on the cross.

We should not follow their examples, and we too should lower our pride and our selfishness before God. We must put the Lord ahead of men, and put our attention on the Lord ahead of any personal glorification through majesty, wealth, or even simplification, and publicity. Priests and leaders of the Church must strive to remain humble in their ministry.

But remember, very importantly, never dabble in the false sense of humility through excessive display of humility or simplification, especially and certainly, we must never let the Holy Mass be simplified to the point that it loses the sanctity and meaning, as the Holy Sacrifice where Jesus offers us His Most Precious Body and Blood.

Very often people has misunderstood the noble simplicity as mentioned in the Vatican II document, Sacrosanctum Concilium, focusing way too much on the simplicity, that it is no longer noble. There is a need for balance, that the liturgy does not become too flagrant a display of excessive wealth and worldliness, but at the same time also there should be proper decorum and avoidance of insertion of non-liturgical elements into the Mass, and also avoidance of stripping the Mass so much that it ceases to be solemn and devout.

Instead, the way is to live a life of prayer and dedication to God, and strive to put the Lord ahead of ourselves, and to make God the centre of our lives. Through the Mass, the centre of our faith, we can make the Lord indeed as the centre of our life, via the solemn and magnificent liturgy and execution of the Mass, that the Lord is glorified at the Mass.

Remember that the Mass is not about self, and it is not to be centred at the priest-celebrant, but to be centred to the Lord Himself. The vestments, the beautiful adornments, and the solemn atmosphere in the Mass is dedicated entirely to God, that we glorify the Lord, and through these external glorification, we bring mankind closer to God, simply by unearthly experience that all of us can experience in the Mass, through a solemn and devout liturgy of the Mass.

We humble ourselves before the Lord, and focus our attention on the glorious cross of Christ, both for us behind the altar, and for the priest, the altar cross, according to the Benedictine Altar arrangement, that all of us will put our full attention in Christ, and not on men. The cross must be the centre of our focus, our attention, and also be the focus of our hearts, that we continue to keep Christ in all things that we do, so that in whatever good that we do, God will be present, and will justify us.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us rediscover our faith, particularly in this Holy Year of Faith, that we can grow much deeper in our understanding of the Mass and its liturgical contents, and learn to place the Lord at the centre of our lives, and grow stronger in our faith and love of God day by day. May we follow in Christ’s footsteps and not be proud, neither be vain, by discarding the darkness and veil of pride that blocks our heart from truly receiving the love and grace of our God. Amen.

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Saturday, 16 March 2013 : 4th Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

John 7 : 40-53

Many who had been listening to these words began to say, “This is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some wondered, “Would Christ come from Galilee? Doesn’t Scripture say that the Christ is a descendant of David, and from Bethlehem, the city of David?”

The crowd was divided over Him. Some wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him. The officers of the Temple went back to chief priests, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring Him?”

The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this Man.” The Pharisees then said, “So you, too, have been led astray! Have any of the rulers or any of the Pharisees believed in HIm? Only these cursed people, who have no knowledge of the Law!”

Yet, one of them, Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier, spoke out, “Does our Law condemn people without first hearing them and knowing the facts?” They replied, “Do you, too, come from Galilee? Look it up and see for yourself that no prophet is to come from Galilee.” And they all went home.

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Friday, 15 March 2013 : 4th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Wisdom 2 : 1a, 12-22

Led by mistaken reasons they think, “Life is short and sad, and there is no cure for death. Let us set a trap for the righteous, for He annoys us and opposes our way of life; He reproaches us for our breaches of the Law and accuses us of being false to our upbringing.”

“He claims knowledge of God and calls Himself, Son of the Lord. He has become a reproach to our way of thinking; even to meet Him is burdensome to us. He does not live like others and behave strangely.”

“According to Him, we have low standards, so He keeps aloof from us as if we were unclean. He emphatises the happy end of the righteous and boasts of having God as Father. Let us see the truth of what He says and find out what His end will be. If the righteous is a Son of God, God will defend Him and deliver Him from His adversaries.”

“Let us humble and torture Him, to prove His self-control and test His patience. When we have condemned Him to a shameful death, we may test His words.” This is the way they reason, but they are mistaken, blinded by their malice. They do not know the mysteries of God, nor do they hope for the reward of a holy life; they do not believe that the blameless will be recompensed.

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Tuesday, 12 March 2013 : 4th Week of Lent (Scripture Reflection)

Today, we see Christ, who bring upon us the living water, the water that satisfies all thirsts, in His miraculous healing of the sick man, on whom He had mercy and through His mercy, the sick man was healed and cured of his afflictions.

Yet again, we hear about the Jews and their laws on the Sabbath day, that is the day when the Lord completed His creation and rested. However, we must understand, the reason, and indeed the true reason behind having such a rule of the Sabbath, for the people of Israel, God’s chosen people.

The people of Israel was indeed a rebellious people, especially during the time when they escaped from Egypt on God’s providence, and crossed the Red Sea. Already they exhibited much doubts in the very God who saved them from the slavery of Egypt since then, and even forced Aaron, Moses’ brother to make for them a ‘replacement’ god in the shape of the golden calf.

They too had rebelled against the Lord often, and like at Massah and Meribah, again doubted God and His promise of delivering them into the Promised Land of milk and honey. They even complained that their lives in Egypt, though in slavery, had been much better than the present life, their lives in the desert. They refused the Lord’s offer in fearing the Canaanites, and was punished for forty years to wander in the desert, until all those who had defied the Lord had perished, and a new generation had come forth.

It is against this background of constant rebellion, pride, and arrogance of the Israelites at the time, that the laws of the Lord, and that of the Sabbath was made, when God delivered these laws to Moses on the Mount Horeb. Over time, these laws were enshrined by the people as the basic tenets and obligations (also prohibitions) that the people had to follow, otherwise they would be expelled or exiled from the society.

Sadly however, the Law eventually becomes a huge list, supposedly numbering 613 in total, of rules and regulations, that govern many aspects of the society’s life, even to trivial manners such as washing of the hands before meals, which had to be done to the precise and minute details exactly as it was said how it must be done.

This is how the law concerning the Sabbath was also made, that as the Lord has said that no one should work or labour on that day in honour of the Lord, and to make holy that day before God, just as we now make holy our first day of the week that is Sunday, and celebrate the Mass together as one Church on Sundays, to bring ourselves and offer ourselves as the offerings of prayer to God.

Nevertheless, this law and the other rules and regulations in the Law, were not created to constrain or restrict mankind, and definitely to enslave men to these laws, as what the situation at the time of Jesus was. It was well noted that Judas Maccabee, the leader of the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucids, who tried to erase the worship of God in Israel and replaced it with pagan Greek gods, had decided with the leaders of the people that they be allowed to defend themselves on Sabbath, as the enemies had taken advantage of the Sabbath law to massacre many Israelites on the day of the Sabbath.

And King David too ate the bread for the sacrifice that is reserved only for the priests, when he and his companions were hungry. Clearly it shows that God did not create this Law to punish or enslave His beloved people, but rather to shape them and to ensure that they remain faithful to Him, by keeping His laws and keeping themselves in good order. It is not to restrain them, and as Jesus said, that the Law is made for man and not man for the Law.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us not be like the Israelites and be embroiled too much on societal rules, but instead, through the Church, strive to do more loving acts and good works for the benefit of others, because, in doing so, we glorify the Lord far more than mere profession of faith by words, or by fulfilling laws, rules, and regulations.

It is by making our faith alive through action, that we are justified, not enough by just how pious we are in fulfilling and adhering ‘strictly’ to laws of the Lord and men who made these laws of God into tangible laws that we see today. Nevertheless, we do still have to obey the laws and fulfill them. Jesus did not give us an excuse to do away with the laws, since did He not come to perfect the Law? and not destroy it? So that the Law that had once lost its true meaning, was given full meaning in love by Christ.

We are also taught the value of humility and accepting God’s divine providence and mercy today. Christ asked the sick man, “Do you want to be healed?” This shows that God gives His love and blessings freely, only if we ask Him, and forgiveness will be given to us if we are sincere and if we truly humble ourselves before God, we are sure to receive His welcoming embrace and healing, as what had happened to the sick man.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us then pray for humility, that despite all our human achievements and greatness, and worldly strengths, we will remain humble, and will use our best resources for the purpose of helping those others around us who need them, and those who are in great disadvantaged, those who are hated, and those who are prejudiced against. Pray too for those who had persecuted the righteous, like what happened when the Jews persecuted Jesus and His followers. That they too will learn about the true wonder of God, and repent from their sinful ways. Amen.

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Friday, 8 March 2013 : 3rd Week of Lent, Memorial of St. John of God, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Mark 12 : 28b-34

So a teacher of the Law came up and asked Jesus, “Which commandment is the first of all?”

Jesus answered, “The first is : ‘Hear Israel! The Lord, our God, is One Lord; and you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ And after this comes a second commandment : ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these two.”

The teacher of the Law said to Him, “Well spoken, Master; You are right when You say that He is one, and there is no other besides Him. To love Him with all our heart, with all our understanding, and with all our strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves is more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice.”

Jesus approved this answer and said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask Him any more questions.

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Wednesday, 6 March 2013 : 3rd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Matthew 5 : 17-19

Do not think that I have come to annul the Law and the Prophets. I have not come to annul them but to fulfill them. I tell you this : as long as heaven and earth last, not the smallest letter or dot in the Law will change until all is fulfilled.

So then, whoever breaks the least important of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be the least in the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, whoever obeys them, and teaches others to do the same, will be great in the kingdom of heaven.

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Wednesday, 6 March 2013 : 3rd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Deuteronomy 4 : 1, 5-9

And now, Israel, listen to the norms and laws which I teach that you may put them into practice. And you will live and enter and take possession of the land which YHVH, the God of your fathers, gives you.

See, as YHVH, my God, ordered me, I am teaching you the norms and the laws that you may put them into practice in the land you are going to enter and have as your own. If you observe and practice them, other peoples will regard you as wise and intelligent. When they come to know of all these laws, they will say, “There is no people as wise and as intelligent as this great nation.”

For in truth, is there a nation as great as ours, whose gods are as near to it as YHVH, our God, is to us, whenever we call upon Him? And is there a nation as great as ours whose norms and laws are just as this Law which I give you today?

But be careful and be on your guard. Do not forget these things which your own eyes have seen nor let them depart from your heart as long as you live. But on the contrary, teach them to your children and to your children’s children.

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Thursday, 28 February 2013 : 2nd Week of Lent (Scripture Reflection)

We heard today, the well-known story of Lazarus the poor and the rich man. One who suffered in this life and received his reward in the afterlife, while the rich man who enjoyed in this world, suffers  grievously in hell. Do not be confused though. God does not hate the rich, and neither that He hates those who have more. It does not mean that if you are poor then you are guaranteed entry into the kingdom of heaven.

No, indeed, what matters is the state of the soul, and how are we aligned with God in our hearts. Wealth and property can be a hindrance in our path to God, but they can also be an asset that helps us in our path. What matters is how we use them, and to whom we depend on. We have a choice, either to place our trust in the eternal and undying Lord our God, and in His love, or to place our trust in mortal man and temporal wealth.

Wealth though useful, as indeed, we cannot live in this world today without money at all. Money makes the world spinning, and it allows many things to be done. But, as we have seen in many people today, many are ensnared and trapped in the futile thirst for wealth, possessions, affluence, and wanting for more of each of them, that they plough forward thinking only on the best way to get these, and immerse themselves so fully in their career and work, so that they can earn all these. Such is the kind of damage to our soul and our being, that materialism and commercialism in our world has brought us.

Just as in the first reading, in what the Lord said to the prophet Jeremiah, that these men who placed their trust in mortal and temporary things will be cursed and rejected just like the rich man. You can party all you want all day, and have a very enjoyable life in this world, but in too many cases, because of such pleasure, enjoyment, and fulfillment, we became blind to those around us, we became blind to the condition of the world outside our comfort zone, and we ignore the cry of the poor and the less fortunate for help.

We do not need to give all our wealth and possessions to the poor. We do not need to sell our homes and live like a poor ourselves, denying ourselves any property. For what is important is that, to listen. Just as Abraham said to the rich man in hell, that there is a need to listen, to listen to the teachings of God through the Law and the prophets, and listen to the word of God, which today we read and listened to in the readings. But to listen is also to sharpen our minds and our senses, to open our eyes and ears to see and hear the plight of the less fortunate around us.

That beyond all those ceaseless partying, happy life, and all, there is a way to achieve true happiness. Because, happiness that is built on these materials, possessions, and all mortal things will eventually be swept away, and although it is real happiness, but it is not true happiness. What is true happiness is to follow what God has constantly taught us through Christ, to follow His commandments of love.

To love our neighbour as we love ourselves, and to love God Himself with all our strength, and with all our being. In doing so, we will gain true satisfaction, and with the knowledge that God loves what we are doing, if we do so, we can be rest assured that we will not suffer the same way the rich man did. For the rich man had many opportunities in life to help Lazarus in life, who always present at his gate, and therefore must be well known to the rich man. Yet, instead of giving him help, the rich man lifted no finger to help and abandoned him to his death.

Indeed, again we heard about the sin of omission, that is, failing to do what we are supposed to do, and failing to do what is good, when we are able to. To sin is not by just doing what is bad and evil in the eyes of God, but we also have committed sin, if we are fully capable of doing good, and have the power and capacity to lessen the sufferings of others by sharing what good we have, but have chosen to ignore, and do not use what we have, the opportunity that we have. Such is the sin of omission, that the rich man had done, in addition to whatever bad things he might have done in his life, that made him deserve hell.

For in hell, the sufferings that the rich man suffered is in fact not physical fires and torment, as what many would have thought and portrayed as the burning hells. Instead, what is hell? Hell is the ultimate separation between God and man, where man has no hope of eternal life, but eternal death and separation from God who is everything. For God encompass everything and loves all of His creation, that it is incomprehensible to be left out of His love and presence.

Hell is when we have totally rejected God, and have turned our back entirely from Him, and shunned His divine and infinite love. The suffering of the rich man is the suffering of the soul, the internal fire, a fire that is the absence of the love and presence of God, that burns the person so greatly that they suffer. Imagine a world where you cannot reach out to God, and where you have no hope of escaping, and imagine the place where it is too late for you to ask the Lord for forgiveness, because we ourselves have rejected Him. That is the true hell.

We have the privilege today to listen to the Word of God through the Scripture, just as the rich man had the opportunity to listen to the Moses through the Law, and the prophets. Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, it is now up to us to choose, whether we want to listen to the Word of God, and begin to change our ways and our life, that we may live in charity and love, or to reject the Word and continue to revel in our own pleasurable life, that is not true happiness.

Let us pray for one another that all of us will grow ever more in faith, hope, and love. That all of us can do in our own ways, charitable acts and acts of love, to help those less fortunate around us, and not limited to just that, but also to comfort the sorrowful and to accompany the lonely, and many others things that we indeed can do, and we have the potential to do. Let us pray for our Church, that it can continue to do its numerous act of charity, which all of us can also participate in, for the good of our brethren throughout the world, suffering from hunger, injustice, prejudice, and even persecution. May God bless us all, always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 27 February 2013 : 2nd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Matthew 20 : 17-28

When Jesus was going to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, “See, we are going to Jerusalem. There the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the Law, who will condemn Him to death. They will hand Him over to the foreigners, who will mock Him, scourge Him, and crucify Him. But He will be raised to life on the third day.”

Then the mother of James and John came to Jesus with her sons, and she knelt down, to ask a favour. Jesus said to her, “What do you want?” And she answered, “Here You have my two sons. Grant that they may sit, one at Your right hand and one at Your left, when You are in Your kingdom.”

Jesus said to the brothers, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They answered, “We can.” Jesus replied, “You will indeed drink My cup, but to sit at My right or at My left is not for Me to grant. That will be for those, for whom My Father has prepared it.”

The other ten heard all this, and were angry with the two brothers. Then Jesus called them to Him and said, “You know that the rulers of the nations act as tyrants over them, and the powerful oppress them. It shall not be so among you : whoever wants to be more important in your community shall make himself your servant. And if you want to be the first of all, make yourself the servant of all.”

“Be like the Son of Man who has come, not to be served but to serve, and to give His life to redeem many.”