[stephenkhoo]

Friday, 08 June, 2012, 9th Week, Ordinary Time
LEARNING FROM OUR GREATEST TEACHER, CHRIST, THE WORD OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 2 TM 3:10-17; MK 12:35-37

If one is seeking a comfortable and easy life, then one cannot be an authentic Christian. This is particularly true when it comes to morality. At the home front, it is not uncommon that the non-catholic spouse would not allow the Catholic spouse and their children to go to church, or practise Catholic values. At work or in business, the Catholic is always challenged in observing ethical values which are in contrast to the values of the world.

Indeed, the Church is not only attacked from outside, that is the world, being ridiculed for its moral stance on issues such as birth control, divorce, bioethics and homosexuality, but from within as well. The Church also needs much purification and restoration of its credibility. Indeed, our battle, as St Paul would say, is not just against “flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of his present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Eph 6:12) To be nice to the world is to keep quiet in the face of injustice and falsehood. To be acceptable is to make compromises so that we will not be an obstacle to the so-called progress in the world.

If we are facing such challenges in seeking to be faithful to our Christian life, let us be consoled that this is nothing new. We read how St Paul was persecuted verbally and physically. Paul warned us, “You are well aware, then, that anybody who tries to live in devotion to Christ is certain to be attacked; while these wicked impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and deceived themselves.”

Thanks to God’s mercy, we have great teachers of faith in the history of Christianity and in our lives to inspire us to remain faithful to what we have been taught. St Paul urges us, “You must keep to what you have been taught and know to be true; remember who your teachers were.” The author of Hebrews said a similar thing when he wrote, “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings.” (Heb 13:7-9)

We have just read St Paul’s personal testimony as to how he fought and withstood the onslaught of his enemies. If Paul could remain firm in his faith and mission, it was because he drew strength from Christ, His great teacher, wisdom and strength. Jesus in the gospel, as our Lord and master, suffered the same fate when He was put to death. In the gospel today, Jesus’ personal identity and authority was questioned. It was difficult to convince the Jews that the Christ who descended from the Davidic Dynasty is truly the Son of God. Nevertheless, Jesus showed their illogical refusal to accept the Messiah, the Son of David, as the Son of God, since David called Him “my Lord”. For this reason we must come to Jesus who is the Word of God.

Where is Jesus to be found today? He is in Scripture in a special way. We must use the Scripture to keep us focused and inspired in our struggle to be faithful to Jesus. St Paul reminded the Christians that “you have known the holy scriptures – from these you can learn the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and can profitably be used for teaching, for refuting error, for guiding people’s lives and teaching them to be holy. This is how the man who is dedicated to God becomes fully equipped and ready for any good work.” Truly, no one can walk faithfully in the way of the Lord unless he is grounded and nurtured by the Word of God daily.

However, it would be imprudent to think that Scripture can exist or be read without the Church and the Magisterium. It was the Christian community, inspired by the Holy Spirit, that God wrote the Scriptures. And it was the same Holy Spirit that guided the Church to recognize those writings that are truly inspired by God, which were then put together into a bible. As such, if we were to profit from the Scriptures, we cannot be without the Magisterium’s guidance in interpreting the Scriptures’ authentically. We must, like good children, turn to the Mother Church, the Christian Community to be our teacher in faith. The Church is also our teacher. This is the meaning of the Latin word “magister” from which the English word, “magisterium” is derived.

Of course, besides the Scriptures, the Written Word, we need the living Word in the lives of Christians. We need personal teachers, especially in the witnessing of life, like St Paul, since the Bible is a product of the Church’s community of faith. In our time, we have the shining examples of the saints and martyrs before us. We have their writings as well. We have contemporary leaders in our time who led by example. We have ordinary men and women in our midst who, in their own ways, live heroic lives unknown to us by simply being faithful to their vocation as parents, workers, and committed members in offering their humble service to the Church.

All these faithful Christians testify to us this one thing, that it is possible to be faithful to the gospel life because God is faithful to us. Indeed, if we look after what is important to God, He will look after what is important to us. St Paul captured this fidelity of God in his own life when he wrote, “all the persecutions I have endured; and the Lord has rescued me from every one of them.” So let us also be witnesses to the world by being teachers in faith, in truth and in love.

In this way we can find true peace like the psalmist who prayed, “O Lord, great peace have they who love your law.” This peace is not that of the world, free from trouble and pain. It is not a peace that comes from falsehood seeking to please everyone at all cost, regardless of the need to rebuke and correct the wrong. But this peace comes from doing God’s will. It is in the final analysis, a peace that comes from faith in the triumph of truth and love.