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THE WISDOM OF GOD AS THE KEY TO THE FULLNESS OF LIFE - stephenkhoo - 02-17-2014 10:27 AM
THE WISDOM OF GOD AS THE KEY TO THE FULLNESS OF LIFE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: ECCL 15:15-20; 1 COR 2:6-10; MT 5:17-37
http://www.universalis.com/20140216/mass.htm
If we find the gospel message today too hard and harsh to accept, it is understandable. It is the way of the world. As St Paul puts it, we have not yet reached that spiritual maturity to understand the wisdom of God, since such wisdom is beyond human reasoning. But to remain at the human level, a greater tragedy will befall us. Jesus warns us that if our virtue goes no deeper than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, then we will never get into the kingdom of heaven. In other words, we will never experience the fullness of life, here and hereafter.
The question that confronts us today is, why is it that fulfilling the laws is no guarantee of finding happiness in life? After all, the first reading praises the commandments as the wisdom of God, guiding us towards living a harmonious and happy life. The crux of the problem therefore cannot be the laws in themselves. It is the slavish observance without awareness of one’s motivation and understanding of the wisdom behind the laws that is condemned by Jesus. Why?
Firstly, this will necessarily lead to an attitude of minimalism. We will do only the minimum of what the laws require, since our goal is simply to avoid punishment either in this world or in the next. We become very calculating, and this in turn will lead us to complacency and inertia. Thus, if I am obliged to attend mass on Sundays, then I make sure I do just that. Whether I participate actively in the mass or not, is not important. But we know that just being physically present alone cannot benefit us at all. The Eucharist requires our total presence and full participation of mind, body and soul, if it is to be efficacious.
Secondly, we become legalistic. We observe the letter, but not the spirit of the laws. Therefore, we observe abstinence on Fridays, but we will replace meat with a sumptuous sea-food dinner, neglecting the real purpose of abstinence, which is to train us in detachment, so that we may be more like Christ and feel with Him in His sufferings, so that we can understand the depth of His love for us in His passion on the cross. Truly, when things are simply done out of duty and not out of conviction and love, they always become burdensome and oppressive. Instead of liberating us for love, we become edgy, self-centered and unhappy.
Thirdly, the purpose of the laws is to enable us to be more loving towards one another. Instead, whether it is fulfilled or not, becomes a tool for judging and comparing fidelity. Such comparisons will surely lead to self-righteousness or self-condemnation. Either we begin to adopt a holier-than-thou attitude towards those who break the laws, or we fall into despair, thinking that we are condemned sinners. The laws only tell us what is right or wrong, but they cannot give us the power to fulfill them.
Yes, such are the consequences for failing to go beyond the superficial performance of the law. How then can we see the wisdom of the laws? By going beyond what we do to why we do what we do, that is, to be aware of our motivations, and understand the wisdom of living out the laws. Jesus gives us a few examples as to how one can go to the heart of the laws.
Firstly, with regard to the question of killing; for Jesus, it is not enough to abstain from murder; even anger itself is not permissible. Why? Because when we delve deeper into the source of violence, we will find that it is not murder but irritation, hatred and grudges that are the triggers for violence. Murder is but the final outcome of anger in our hearts. So Jesus is making us aware that anger is the root cause. We have to trace the source of our anger so that we can neutralize such negative energy before it explodes into murder. Anger, whether in the short or long run, destroys our inner peace, freedom, harmony, as well as our physical health. Once we are conscious of the source of our anger, and understand why we are angry, then we can deal with our anger objectively and defuse it, so that such negative energy can be transformed into positive energy of love and authentic service.
This is also true in the case of lust. Many of us would find it difficult to see why lust should be classified as adultery. The truth is that adultery is only the outcome of lust. Committing adultery in reality is not much different from a person who indulges in sexual fantasies. One does it physically whereas the other does it mentally. In both instances, the feeling and experiences are equally real. The stark reality about adultery or lust is that the other person is perceived as an object for our sensual satisfaction. We reduce the other person to another object of pleasure or possession, thereby diminishing his or her dignity. In other words, we are not respecting someone as a person; for a person is more than his or her body, but includes his or her intellect as well as spiritual and affective faculties. Hence, to treat a person as a person means that we are concerned primarily about inter-personal relationship, about trust, fidelity, love and commitment and mutual self-surrender of the mind and heart.
The crux of the matter is the failure to place the priority of love over physical relationship. Consequently, both parties will remain emotionally, spiritually and personally unfulfilled and frustrated, even though they may get some physical relief. But once we are aware of this, then we can transform our lust to love. And when there is real love and personal intimacy, physical intimacy becomes secondary in the relationship. And if ever physical intimacy is expressed, it is always done in a sacred manner, as a real expression of total love and total giving.
Finally, Jesus gives us another example regarding oath-taking. What is wrong with taking oaths? After all, we make statutory oaths in all solemn matters. But Jesus wants to go to the pivot of the matter. By taking an oath, it shows there is no trust between the parties concerned. We do not feel as bad when we break an oath as when we break a trust. If we live in suspicion of each other, fearing when we will be cheated, society will break down. Love and harmony cannot flourish in such a situation of distrust. But by not taking oaths, it means that we have a greater responsibility to be true to ourselves and to others at all times. If not, we are simply not living authentic lives, since our doing does not flow from our being. In other words, we are pseudo-people. Who wants to relate with a fake?
Yes, Jesus is suggesting to us a new way of looking at morality. Morality must not be seen in terms of what can or cannot be done, but in terms of self-awareness of what and why we do certain things, and the wisdom of such laws. Unless we practise self-awareness and understand the wisdom of carrying out the laws, we cannot find joy or liberation from them. We will behave just like robots or unwilling slaves to God’s laws. That is the last thing that God wants us to do. Christ has come to set us free, not so much from the laws, but to live the laws as God’s gift to us, because they are the wisdom of God to help us live meaningful and loving lives. In the final analysis, it is not what we do in life that really matters before God, but why we do what we do. Hence, when we do something out of pure love and charity, even if such actions appear to contravene the laws, in reality we are fulfilling the laws at the highest level, as Jesus has shown in His own life.
But we can act in this manner only if we have the love of God in us, as St Paul tells us. For this reason, we need to turn to Jesus who is the Wisdom of God for guidance. As we come to know Him more in the scriptures and in the Eucharist, we can begin to acquire His mind and His heart in seeing situations. To have the mind and heart of Jesus is to be imbued with His Spirit, which enables us to penetrate beyond mere superficial performance of laws to the depth of God’s wisdom, since the Spirit reaches everything, even the depths of God. Once we acquire the wisdom of God to see life and people the way God would see, then indeed, we will see life anew in such a way that no eye has seen and no ear has heard, things beyond the mind of man – a new seeing that truly liberates us from the narrow outlook of life so that we can live in the kingdom everyday of our lives, now and hereafter.