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LACK OF FRATERNAL COMMUNION AS THE OBSTACLE TO ETERNAL LIFE - stephenkhoo - 08-19-2013 10:11 AM
Scripture Reflections
19 August 2013, Monday, 20th Week, Ordinary Time
LACK OF FRATERNAL COMMUNION AS THE OBSTACLE TO ETERNAL LIFE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: JG 2:11-19; MT 19:16-22
“Master, what good deed must I do to possess eternal life?” Yes, we too ask the same question today. Like the rich young man in today’s gospel, we are not really happy. What prevents us from attaining the fullness of life?
Like the young man, perhaps we think that we are not doing enough. Hence, like him, we ask, “What else must I do to attain eternal life?” The ironical answer that Jesus gave is: “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” Clearly, this man believed that he has kept all the commandments and thus he clarified with Jesus which commandments he might have omitted. Again, Jesus spelt out the commandments which are found in the second part of the Decalogue, which deals with one’s duty towards our fellowman rather than our duty towards God, which is found in the first part of the Decalogue.
But precisely, this is where the young man felt he had fulfilled the laws of justice towards his fellowmen. Hence, his immediate response was, “I have kept all these. What more do I need to do?” And so Jesus said, ’If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’“ Why did Jesus ask him to sell all that he owns and give to the poor? The truth is that Jesus wanted him to realize that eternal life is not simply a question of doing things for people or even fulfilling the laws of justice. More than that, eternal life is to be in communion with our fellow human beings.
In other words, Jesus is inviting the man to keep a right relationship with his fellowmen. Without communion with his fellowmen, there is no way to participate in the life of God; that is, eternal life, since the life of God is a life of giving, fidelity and compassion. Such is the kind of God portrayed in the first reading when we read how God had been faithful to the Israelites even when they deserted Him for false gods because they did not know Him as Moses and Joshua did. But again and again, God showed His forgiving love and mercy, especially when He heard their groans “under the iron grip of their oppressors”. Feeling with them, He would send judges, one after another to rescue them “from the hands of their plunderers.” God was in communion with them even though they were not. Thus, to observe the commandments is to worship God who alone is the only God, as Jesus remarked. By so doing, we guarantee our communion with our fellowmen as well.
When we situate today’s gospel text with the gospel texts of the last two days, this emphasis on complete communion with our fellowmen becomes clearer. Last Friday, the gospel spoke about the union and communion between husband and wife. On Saturday, the text dealt with the importance of children and their attitude of trust in a relationship, especially innocent children who lack love as a result of infidelity and divorce. Today, Jesus gives instructions to the young man who probably had not been faithful to his parents, since he put the commandment of honouring one’s parents as the last in the series of commandments that he should observe. In all these texts, the question of communion and accessibility to each other is underscored.
Within this context, we can therefore understand why “when the young man heard these words he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth”. If he went away sad, it was because he understood the words of Jesus clearly. Although he might have fulfilled the letter of the laws regarding the commandments, he had not gone beyond the minimum to the extent of giving himself totally to others. Therefore, his love for his neighbour cannot be said to be perfect or godly. The implication therefore is that the rich young man did not love his neighbour as much as he loved himself. Jesus wanted to iterate that if we truly love others, then we would want to be one with them. We must identify with them in every way. When others’ happiness is as important as ours, then we can claim that we have loved our neighbours. Paradoxically, this is also the only way to really love ourselves. This explains why this is the way to perfect ourselves and to inherit the treasure in heaven which is eternal life, the life of God. Thus, the extent we give of ourselves to others in love is the extent we share in the life of God.
Consequently, the important lesson we learn from today’s liturgy is that so long as we are not in communion with our fellowmen or we do not give of ourselves in love for them, this would be the primary obstacle that prevents us from attaining full union with God and from following Jesus. Until and unless we practise justice and love, we cannot be in full communion with God. Without truly loving ourselves in others, we cannot be free to follow Jesus and give our lives to Him. Only by removing the obstacle of injustice in our lives, can we then be free to follow Jesus. This explains why great importance is given to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, for without it, the graces of God cannot flow to us. Hence, the condition for following Jesus is that we must first give up whatever is an impediment to loving ourselves so that God’s love can reach us.
Consequently, if we are not truly happy today, then we need to ask ourselves which area of our lives is hampering us from truly loving our fellowmen and being in union with them. Has money become the obstacle to unity especially when we squabble over financial and material matters? Have we become too attached to some people in our lives, that we are no longer free for His service? Or have we by our unforgiveness blocked that channel of love to flow from us? Our wealth or false gods could be certainly any one of these. We would have fallen into the same sin as the Israelites in the first reading so long as we allow these false gods to enslave us.
Thus, from today’s scripture readings, it is clear that the lack of love and communion with others will lead to the lack of love for oneself. As a result, we will not only be sad like the rich young man who could not give up his wealth, but we will also suffer untold misery like the Israelites who continued to serve and worship false gods and “would not give up the practices and stubborn ways of their ancestors at all.” God wants us to share His life and be completely fulfilled. But so long as we allow our attachments to false gods to separate us from our fellowmen, we can never give ourselves fully to live the life of Jesus and share our lives with Him. But if we do, then we will be able to be totally devoted to Jesus and share His life of self-emptying love.
Written by The Most Rev Msgr William Goh
Archbishop of Singapore
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