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LIVING A LIFE OF INTEGRITY - stephenkhoo - 02-24-2012 09:28 AM
24 February, 2012, Friday After Ash Wednesday
LIVING A LIFE OF INTEGRITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: ISA 58:1-9; MT 9:14-15
Yesterday, the scripture lessons remind us that the invitation of Lent is to choose life instead of death. Choosing life is more than just a transient and sensual life, but life to the fullest. This life, as Moses exhorted, is ours, provided we obey His commandments. But more than just not keeping ourselves safe by observing the laws, we are called to be proactive by emptying ourselves for God and for others as Jesus did. And indeed, we all wish we could truly obey the commandments of God and take up our cross and follow after Jesus.
The truth is that like the Israelites, we long for this kind of life but find ourselves incapable of living it. This is what the Prophet Isaiah remarked. He said, “They seek me day after day, they long to know my ways, like a nation that wants to act with integrity and not ignore the law of its God. They ask me for laws that are just, they long for God to draw near.” Aren’t we like them too? We know the laws and we know what is demanded of us as Christians in living out the gospel life. We know that the gospel life is the only way to live. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. We struggle to be authentic to ourselves. But again and again we find ourselves unfaithful to what we believe and hold as Christians. In a word, we lack integrity.
The lack of integrity in life is the core message of both scripture readings today. Our words and actions are not consistent with each other. What we do, does not flow from what we say. There is a dichotomy between faith and life. What we profess is not how we live out our faith. This is particularly true if we are leaders, whether in the Church, at home, or in the corporate world. We give a set of rules and expectations to those under our charge, but we do not apply the rules to ourselves. To think that as leaders or superiors we expect our subordinates to act accordingly whilst we ourselves cannot do it, this double standard puts us to shame. And if exposed, we lose credibility all together. Then we will not just be closet hypocrites known to God but also be condemned by men. That is why, when we read of the hypocrisy of the Israelites and the Jewish religious leaders, instead of condemning them, we should identify ourselves with them, for we are no less hypocritical than they.
A case in point is the question of fasting; an issue that was raised both by the prophet and the Lord Jesus. Fasting is one of the spiritual exercises recommended by the Church during this season of Lent. But we often do not fast with the right spirit. The Israelites were reprimanded for fasting for the wrong reasons. They queried God, “Why should we fast if you never see it, why do penance if you never notice?” They fasted for the wrong reasons. Their fast was meant to manipulate God and make Him their debtor. They think that by fasting, God owes them a favour in return. Fasting was but a means to earn their salvation and earthly blessings as well. Don’t we act in that manner too, whether towards God or our fellowmen? We want to earn merits by doing good, such as pleasing our superiors.
Even if that is not our intention, we fast for less than noble motives. We seek to impress people to make them think we are very holy and pious. The prophet said, “Hanging your head like a reed, lying down on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call fasting, a day acceptable to the Lord?” Otherwise, some fast for aesthetic reasons, to make their bodies beautiful and presentable. Some fast for the sake of their physical health. But in all these forms of fasting, they fast ultimately for themselves and for the things of this earth, not out of love for God or even for their fellowmen. What does God have to say to such people? “Fasting like yours today will never make your voice heard on high. Is that the sort of fast that pleases me, a truly penitential day for men?”
This lack of integrity is again raised by Jesus in the gospel, citing the example of fasting. When John’s disciples came to ask Jesus, “why is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?” The response of Jesus is clear. Jesus replied, “Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of mourning as long as the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from them and then they will fast.” He is not discounting the value of fasting. But, like everything else, one must be consistent with the purpose and objective of what we do. As in the case of fasting, we cannot adopt the same motives as John’s disciples who fasted to earn salvation, or that of the Pharisees, who fasted to get men’s attention. In other words, we do not fast when we are celebrating the presence of God in our lives. Only when God is absent, then we must fast.
Rather, fasting must bring about our real conversion towards God and a greater love for our brothers and sisters. Fasting is a means, not an end in itself. Fasting is to enable us to hunger for God and, most of all, to identify with the poor so that we can be compassionate, merciful and charitable. God, through the prophet, told the people off, “Look, you do business on your fast days, you oppress all your workmen; look, you quarrel and squabble when you fast and strike the poor man with your fist.” Hence, true fasting must lead to our solidarity with the poor so that in understanding what hunger is, we can offer alms. True fasting therefore, as Isaiah says, is “to break unjust fetters and undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke, to share your bread with the hungry, and shelter the homeless poor, to clothe the man you see to be naked and not turn from your own kin” Of course, fasting cannot be limited to food but also fasting from evil thoughts, negative thoughts, harsh words, vices and bad habits. It must lead to a strengthening of the will so that we will walk the life of the Spirit. Fasting, therefore, is one of the spiritual exercises to die to ourselves and to the world so that we can live for God and for our fellowmen and for eternal life.
Most of all, fasting must lead us to yearn for the presence of God. That is why Jesus remarked, “But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from them and then they will fast.” Jesus is that bridegroom. When we know we have lost Jesus, fasting, prayers and almsgiving will help us find Him. God is not a joy killer. Jesus comes to give us life, not make our life miserable. Hence the prophet assures us, “Then will your light shine like the dawn and your wound be quickly healed over. Your integrity will go before you and the glory of the Lord behind you. Cry, and the Lord will answer; call, and he will say, ‘I am here.’” Indeed, the glory of God is found in man fully alive, as St Irenaeus says.
Otherwise, the failure to live a life of integrity will only lead us further away from God and our fellowmen. We alienate ourselves because deep within us we are not at ease, as we are living a double life. We repress our anger and resentment against God and our fellowmen. As a result too, we alienate ourselves from our loved ones and others. We live a life of rupture from God, others and self. Instead of being in rapture at God’s love, we rapture in ourselves and our glory.
How then can we live a life of integrity? Not by our own strength. We need to experience once again the unconditional love of God and His mercy in our lives so that we can respond not with fear and obligation, but with love and gratitude. Without first experiencing His merciful and unconditional love, our hearts will not be moved or touched sufficiently to give our life to Him or trust in His ways and will for us. But if God’s love touches us, then like the psalmist, we will come to a personal realization of our sinfulness and be convicted in our sins, especially that of hypocrisy. This realization of our sinfulness will bring about a contrite heart. The earlier we arrive at this realization, the better. Otherwise, we might have to pay a price for our folly and stubbornness. Many of us change only when we suffer the penalty of the loss of face, reputation, our loved ones, our jobs and our finances. Spouses taking each other for granted, children ungrateful to their parents, those who are greedy, squandering their money away, etc, only wake up to find that they have lost them. Must we come to that situation before we repent? So pray like the psalmist for a contrite heart, but most of all, pray that Jesus is once again your bridegroom. If we long for Jesus, He will come to heal us, love us and forgive us. He will give us the grace to a life of integrity, faithful to God, to oneself unto death.