[stephenkhoo]

Scripture Reflections
Thursday, 07 June, 2012, 9th Week, Ordinary Time
FAITH IN THE POWER OF GOD AS THE WAY TO LIVE IN HIS KINGDOM
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 2 TM 2:8-15; MK 12:28-34

With the scandals that are rocking the Church today, we cannot but feel uneasy and unsettled whether the Good News, which we are proclaiming, would be chained up by the negative reaction to the Church. It seems to be the case. But before we condemn those who are involved in the scandals we must realize that sin is real even in our own lives. I am humbled whenever I minister the Sacrament of Reconciliation because penitents would often ask me how they could overcome their sinful tendencies. And I know that they are sincere and want to change. Yet they feel helpless, oftentimes in despair. What then is the real problem with our inability to cope with evil?

The liturgy of the Word tells us that the source of our problem lies in the fact that we have misplaced the foundation of our faith. We have perceived the pillar of our faith in the observance of the Ten Commandments of God, just like the scribes and Pharisees during the time of Jesus. For them, what was most important was to observe the commandments. But this is bad news because no matter how much effort we put into fulfilling these commandments, we know we will fail. The Decalogue is negative in character. It is meant for people who want to live an ethical life. It cannot even be said to be specifically Christian as it is based on universal laws of justice and charity.

For this reason, the response of Jesus to the question posed to Him by the Scribe had little bearing on any of the Ten Commandments. Rather, He made it clear that the most important commandment is the love of God, love of neighbour and of self. Indeed, as the scribe rightly agreed, “To love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice.” For in this threefold commandment we see the intrinsic relationship between the love of God, neighbour and self. There is no way to love others, and see God in them if we have no love for God. And even if we see our neighbours suffering, we would not reach out to them unless we see ourselves in them. This presupposes that we are “happy” with ourselves and truly love ourselves.

But even then, knowing that we must love God, others and self is fundamental, yet the fact remains that we find ourselves incapable of loving Him. Not that we do not want to, but we lack the capacity. This is because the Good News is not founded on the Ten Commandments, or even our need to love God, but that God loves us. As St Paul made it clear, the Good News that he carries is, “Jesus Christ risen from the dead, sprung from the race of David.” Only a contemplation of the love of God revealed in the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus can help us to marvel at the profundity of His love. Unless we have a personal experience of the Risen Lord present in our lives, transforming and overpowering us, we will not know that God truly is alive, real and is at work in us.

How can this experience be mediated? St Paul tells us that we must surrender ourselves to Jesus in the way he surrendered his life to Him. Only a total surrender in death, in total trust, can we experience the power of His love for us. That is why St Paul says, “If we have died with him, then we shall live with him.” This implies that we must be driven to the situation when we can no longer rely on our own strength, so that we can experience the power of God helping us. So long as we can count on our own strength, God would not step in. Even if He does, we would not be able to distinguish His work from ours. We might secretly believe that our achievements are due to our hard work rather than the grace of God.

The fact remains that the more we recognize that what we are and who we are today is the work of God, the more we will be able to recognize the power of His love at work in our lives. Indeed, those of us who hold firm in Him, persevering all the way even when God seems to be absent, will know at the end of the day when God restores all things to us, that God is faithful. That day, we would be able to say with inner conviction that God is real and His love is real. Truly, the greater the passion, the greater the love; the greater the pain, the greater the joy; the greater the death, the greater the resurrection! Hence, St Paul urges us, “Do all you can to present yourself in front of God as a man who has come through his trials, and a man who has no cause to be ashamed of his life’s work and has kept a straight course with the message of the truth.” In saying this, Paul is expressing his own experience of trusting the Lord in his own trials, especially in his chains, for he knows that God would vindicate him.

Yes, we are invited to pray with the psalmist saying, “Lord, make me know your ways. Lord, teach me your paths. Make me walk in your truth, and teach me; for you are God my Saviour.” For when we walk in His ways and truth, we will experience the Lord’s love since “the Lord’s friendship is for those who revere him” and “to them he reveals his covenant.” In this way, experiencing His overwhelming love, loving ourselves, and extending his love to others, we would be as Jesus said, “not far from the kingdom of God.”