[stephenkhoo]

Scripture Reflections
Monday, 02 July, 2012, 13th Week, Ordinary Time
REMEMBER THIS, YOU WHO NEVER THINK OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: AM 2:6-10, 13-16; MT 8:18-22

The warning given in the response of today’s responsorial psalm is this: “Remember this, you who never think of God!” Who are those who never think of God? And what are the consequences for such people who do not think of Him? Perhaps, those of you who are reading this homily would like to give yourself a pat on your back and say, “Well, this homily does not apply to me but to this other person ….” This is where we are wrong.

Of course, in the first instance, the obvious people who do not think of God are the atheists and the agnostics. These are people who live their lives without considering the ultimate truth and the ultimate values of life. They refuse to acknowledge that only God alone, who is the Source of all things, is the Ultimate Truth. And because they reject the First Truth, namely, the existence of God, they also reject all other truths about life. They are so proud of themselves, thinking that they can control the world and their lives. Indeed, this was the same temptation of the Israelites in the first reading during the time of the Prophet Amos. The Northern Kingdom was at its zenith politically and economically. They abandoned God because they thought they could rely on themselves. And when God in His mercy dispatched Amos to bring them to repentance lest they suffer destruction, they expelled him from the city and forbade him to prophesy there again.

The rejection of truth reduces us to material beings, simply living for the pleasures of life and for this world alone. It blinds us to the realisation that what brings true happiness are those values that are rooted in love, joy, peace, justice, forgiveness and freedom. As such values are not tied down to the material world, it is reasonable to believe and hold these values as eternal as well.

But those who do not remember God are not only those who put Him out of their lives! Even so called religious people also ironically belong to those who do not remember God. Whilst categorically believing in God and professing their faith in Him publicly, in doctrines and worship, yet the lives they live are in contradiction to what they believe and what they do. Such religious hypocrisy is even more insidious than that of blatant rejection of God. At least the atheists are being true to themselves. But religious hypocrites want to look good in the eyes of others. They may deceive us, but they cannot deceive themselves. Such was the situation of the people during the time of the prophet Amos. Hypocrisy and idolatrous religion were practised by the people. Not only did they worship false gods, but they were engaged in immoral living, dishonest living and oppressing the poor.

Of course, we are not much different from them. Many of us Catholics profess that we believe in God and worship Him. We are careful with our religious observances, doing penance on Fridays, donating to the Church and fulfilling our religious obligations. Yet, we can be unjust to our workers; treating our domestic helpers as if they are robots without feelings or the need for rest and recreation; dishonest in fulfilling the day’s work at the office; irresponsible in playing our part in the family; and lacking charity, sensitivity and hospitality in treating our brothers and sisters in the Christian community.

Against such a life, the Lord has this to say, “Why do you recite my statutes, and profess my covenant with your mouth though you hate discipline and cast my words behind you?” Because justice and righteousness are rooted in God’s character, violating them is tantamount to insulting God. Both Jesus and Amos understood that the true worship of God is not the formal observance of religious duties but doing God’s will, demonstrated by righteous conduct in the way we treat our fellowmen with justice and charity.

In the gospel, Jesus goes beyond fulfillment of justice when He spoke of the demands of discipleship. When one of the scribes apparently wanted to follow Jesus, he was told “Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” In this, Jesus not only addresses those who are insincere in their intentions to follow Him, but He also cautions against those who believe in the prosperity gospel. Anyone who is serious about living the gospel is called to follow Jesus and Amos in proclaiming the gospel of love and service even unto death, making himself poor so that others can be rich, and suffering for justice and truth. Being a Christian is thus not about having one’s favours answered, or about belonging to a particular social group. It is a commitment to live the gospel life.

And to another man who wished to follow Jesus but on condition that he would do so after his father’s death, Jesus replied, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their dead.” For such a calling, there is no question of the right timing. Anyone who is only prepared to give a half-hearted response will never be able to find the fullness of life offered by Christ. When Jesus calls, our response must be immediate and total. Indeed, discipleship calls for a total commitment to the person of Jesus above everyone else. Examining ourselves, how many of us are giving our total commitment to Jesus and striving sincerely to live the gospel life as taught to us by Him? More often than not, we compromise the teachings of the gospel at the risk of our own perdition.

How then is it possible to live such a life of discipleship? The first reading gives us the clue when God said through the prophet, “It was I who brought you out of the land of Egypt and for forty years led you through the wilderness to take possession of the Amorite’s country.” Yes, we must remember what the Lord has done for us. If we turn against the Lord, it is because we have forgotten, like the Israelites, how God has delivered us. It is therefore necessary for us to contemplate on Christ’s love for us on the cross, remembering how He paid for us with His life, in order to stay focused on living the life of Christ. By remembering how much God has loved us in Jesus, our faith in Him will be strengthened and our love deepened as well. Only when we have personally experienced Jesus for ourselves as the Way, the Truth and the Life, the Good Shepherd, our leader and brother, will we be able to identify ourselves with Him and make His life our own. Indeed, let us take heed of the warning of the psalmist, “Remember this, you who never think of God.” The reward of remembering God is salvation, as the psalmist declares, “He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me; and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.” But the price of forgetting is self-destruction, for as Amos warned us, “the strong man will find his strength useless, the mighty man will be powerless to save himself. The bowman will not stand his ground, the fast runner will not escape, the horseman will not save himself, the bravest warriors will run away naked that day.”