Scripture Reflection 13 October 2014, Monday, 28th Week in Ordinary Time TAKING OUR PRIVILEGES FOR GRANTED SCRIPTURE READINGS: GAL 4:22-24, 26-27, 31-5:1; LK 11:29-32 universalis/20141013/mass.htm The first reading from the letter of St Paul to the Galatians is basically concerned with the observance of the Jewish laws and the new- found freedom for Christians in Christ. Paul was disturbed that some Jewish converts were imposing their Jewish customs and traditions on the newly converted in Galatia. There were two polarised groups, those who insisted on a slavish observance of the laws and those who felt that they had been liberated by the laws and thus could do whatever they liked, disregarding the laws completely. This message was highlighted last Saturday when the gospel from Luke reminded us that this new relationship with God is rooted not so much in our physical relationship with a race or even blood ties, but in our spiritual relationship with Him. Once again the freedom from the laws is reiterated in today’s reading when St Paul gives the allegory between the child of the slave-girl, Hagar and that of Sarah, the free-born wife of Abraham. St Paul insists that Christians “are the children, not of the slave-girl, but of the free- born wife. When Christ freed us, He meant us to remain free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” On the other extreme end of the pendulum were some Christians who were simply relying on their privilege of being set free by Christ. Like the Jews, they claimed their salvation simply on the basis of their being the chosen people of God, or the adopted sons and daughters of Christ. Whilst salvation is certainly not through good works, yet the other extreme danger is that we can abuse our privilege as God’s Chosen people by not living in accordance to our identity as His chosen people. Accordingly, when the woman praised the mother of Jesus, the response of Jesus was that if His mother were blessed it was because she was the one who heard the Word of God and put it into practice. In a similar vein, Luke would later record Jesus declaring that anyone who does the will of God is His relative. Thus, we must be careful that as Christians, we do not behave like the Jews during the time of Jesus. They were so caught up by their privilege of being the chosen race and their traditions that they were closed to the revelation of God in Jesus. Jesus reprimanded them for being so blind to the signs of the times. They were looking for signs but Jesus pointed out that the Sign from God was right before them and yet they were still living in darkness. They were unappreciative of Jesus. In contrast, the pagans, as in the case of the Ninevites and the Queen from the South, were more receptive to the Word of God . Even though Jonah did not care for the Ninevites very much, yet his preaching brought them to repentance. Similarly, Queen Sheba would travel from afar just to listen to the wisdom of King Solomon. Of course Prophet Jonah cannot be compared to Jesus, the eschatological prophet, the Word of God in person. Neither could the wisdom of Solomon, although renowned, be compared to the wisdom of Jesus. What would have happened if they knew Jesus in person as the Word of God? What about us baptized Catholics? We too, like the Jews, have received privileges. We are privileged to be the chosen people of God in the new covenant. We have the signs that help us to confess in Christ as the Son of God. We have seen the power of the Risen Lord, the sign that Jonah gave. We have access to the wisdom of the Holy Spirit given to us and the Church. We have witnessed again and again the work of the Holy Spirit in our midst. Although gentiles and sinners, we are now called to share in the divine sonship of Christ, enjoying all His privileges. The Church also provides us the opportunities to deepen our spiritual life through study, retreats and prayers. In a nutshell, we have been given all that we need to deepen our relationship and love for the Lord so that we can live a Christ-like life. But have we? Are we converted and transformed to be more like Jesus? Many of us, especially active church volunteers, have taken our privileges for granted. Many people would envy the kind of religious knowledge we have. Instead of using our talents and spiritual experience for the humble service of the people of God, we use them to exert our authority and control over others. When we use our spiritual gifts and powers to seek control over others’ lives, we have abused what we have been given. All gifts that have been received must be used to empower people for love and free people from slavery to their sins. By behaving in the contrary, in the words of St Paul, we have returned to our former state of slavery. We are not acting as mature and free people. This is particularly applicable to leaders in the Church, whether priests, religious or laity. We too have been privileged to serve in key positions in the Church. Many of us have our experience of encountering God in our lives. One of the greatest obstacles for church leaders to deepen their spiritual life is pride. We are so used to ministering to those under our charge, we find it hard to humble ourselves to be ministered by others, especially when we perceive people to look up to us for spiritual guidance. We are so used to counseling and teaching people so much so that it is too painful to admit that we too need counseling, ministering and to be taught ourselves. Indeed, it seems beyond our dignity to have others telling us that we do not know about God or something about the Holy Spirit, or some Church doctrines and religious experiences. Hence, when we have been leaders for too long, allowing others to minister to us can be quite humiliating and the feeling too painful to acknowledge. This explains why the religious leaders during the time of Jesus could not accept Him as the Messiah. They were too proud to give Jesus the recognition simply because of jealousy and envy. If we are in that situation of complacency or pride in receiving help from others, alas, the words of Jesus would surely apply to us. And the warning of Jesus as well that, “On judgement day the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation and condemn it, because when Jonah preached they repented; and there is something greater than Jonah here.” Yes, more than those who are not Christians, we will be judged more heavily before God at judgment. God will bring us to accountability for abusing our office, our position and all the gifts he has given to us. For those who have been given more, more will be demanded of them. The guilt and punishment will certainly be more severe than others because we have been given all that is necessary for our spiritual growth. Others can claim ignorance but we cannot. Hence, it behooves us to take the warning of Jesus seriously so that we will be faithful to our calling. Let us heed the exhortation of St Paul, “Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” Indeed, let not the grace of God given to us be in vain. WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV WILLIAM GOH ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 08:32:01 +0000
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