09-01-2015, 09:56 AM
FAITH AND FAMILIARITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1 TH 4:13-18; LK 4:16-30
How many of us would concur with Jesus that “this text is being fulfilled today” even as we read or listen to today’s gospel text? Why are we are no longer excited about the Good News? What makes us indifferent or insensitive to the Good News?
Familiarity is the cause for our lack of faith. But how could this be the problem? After all, we have often been taught that God is our friend and so be casual with Him. We can pray to Him anywhere and everywhere even whilst lying down on our bed. There is no need to be too formal with Him, no need to kneel or fold our hands in a praying position. This over-familiarity has resulted in indifference and insensitivity. Indeed, many Catholics have lost their sense of the sacred. They come to Mass casually dressed, sloppily dressed or even under-dressed. They have no respect for the sacredness of the Church. They talk in Church loudly as if it was a community center, make phone calls, surf the internet or chat with their friends via sms or facebook. Indeed, many of us have fallen into the snare of familiarity. We are so familiar with the Mass that we do not really pay attention to every word that is uttered, or what is going on during Mass. We pray the Divine Office or daily prayers so often that we simply repeat the prayers, but our hearts are far from what we say.
Familiarity does make us blind. Familiarity is different from intimacy. Familiarity is often masqueraded as intimacy when it is only a shallow relationship or understanding of the reality. When we say someone is familiar, we mean that we know someone on the surface, or that we have seen some familiar features of this person. But to be familiar does not mean intimacy at all. On the contrary, it means that there is no depth in that relationship.
This was what happened to the townsfolk of Jesus. They thought they knew Him as the son of Joseph, the carpenter. Of course, this was true. But they only knew about Him. They did not know Him. As a result, they demanded proof from Him. In their hearts, they were saying, “We have heard all that happened in Capernaum, do the same here in your countryside”. If we need proof, it is only because there is no relationship. When we know someone, we do not ask him or her to prove that he or she loves us. Certainly, we do not demand from our friends proof of our friendships. Of course, when there is no real relationship, then we need proof to reassure us.
Consequently, today, the liturgy invites to deepen our relationship with the Lord. Faith requires intimacy. St Paul in the first reading illustrates what faith is all about. It is a conscious awareness of death and life. Unless we are embalmers, undertakers, doctors or nurses, many of us do not come across death on a daily basis. Certainly, there are people dying everyday. But when we encounter the death of someone we know, that demise is different. We pay attention to that death and we are affected in some ways.
Similarly, if we want to deepen our relationship with the Lord, we need to grow in depth in our relationship with the Lord. Intimacy with the Lord is just the opposite of familiarity. Intimacy is a relationship that has depth and meaning. It is not a superficial knowledge of God, but a relationship that is built on true knowledge and understanding. In intimacy, we become more aware and conscious of the one whom we love. This is what faith presupposes – for trust and love can develop only when there is an in-depth relationship.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1 TH 4:13-18; LK 4:16-30
How many of us would concur with Jesus that “this text is being fulfilled today” even as we read or listen to today’s gospel text? Why are we are no longer excited about the Good News? What makes us indifferent or insensitive to the Good News?
Familiarity is the cause for our lack of faith. But how could this be the problem? After all, we have often been taught that God is our friend and so be casual with Him. We can pray to Him anywhere and everywhere even whilst lying down on our bed. There is no need to be too formal with Him, no need to kneel or fold our hands in a praying position. This over-familiarity has resulted in indifference and insensitivity. Indeed, many Catholics have lost their sense of the sacred. They come to Mass casually dressed, sloppily dressed or even under-dressed. They have no respect for the sacredness of the Church. They talk in Church loudly as if it was a community center, make phone calls, surf the internet or chat with their friends via sms or facebook. Indeed, many of us have fallen into the snare of familiarity. We are so familiar with the Mass that we do not really pay attention to every word that is uttered, or what is going on during Mass. We pray the Divine Office or daily prayers so often that we simply repeat the prayers, but our hearts are far from what we say.
Familiarity does make us blind. Familiarity is different from intimacy. Familiarity is often masqueraded as intimacy when it is only a shallow relationship or understanding of the reality. When we say someone is familiar, we mean that we know someone on the surface, or that we have seen some familiar features of this person. But to be familiar does not mean intimacy at all. On the contrary, it means that there is no depth in that relationship.
This was what happened to the townsfolk of Jesus. They thought they knew Him as the son of Joseph, the carpenter. Of course, this was true. But they only knew about Him. They did not know Him. As a result, they demanded proof from Him. In their hearts, they were saying, “We have heard all that happened in Capernaum, do the same here in your countryside”. If we need proof, it is only because there is no relationship. When we know someone, we do not ask him or her to prove that he or she loves us. Certainly, we do not demand from our friends proof of our friendships. Of course, when there is no real relationship, then we need proof to reassure us.
Consequently, today, the liturgy invites to deepen our relationship with the Lord. Faith requires intimacy. St Paul in the first reading illustrates what faith is all about. It is a conscious awareness of death and life. Unless we are embalmers, undertakers, doctors or nurses, many of us do not come across death on a daily basis. Certainly, there are people dying everyday. But when we encounter the death of someone we know, that demise is different. We pay attention to that death and we are affected in some ways.
Similarly, if we want to deepen our relationship with the Lord, we need to grow in depth in our relationship with the Lord. Intimacy with the Lord is just the opposite of familiarity. Intimacy is a relationship that has depth and meaning. It is not a superficial knowledge of God, but a relationship that is built on true knowledge and understanding. In intimacy, we become more aware and conscious of the one whom we love. This is what faith presupposes – for trust and love can develop only when there is an in-depth relationship.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh