Sunday: Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Date: June 5, 2005 Year: A The readings: [Hos. 6:3-6; Rom. 4:18-25; Mt. 9:9-13] The message: Healing faith demands repentance. Prepared by: CATHOLIC DOORS MINISTRY Total words: 1483 |
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Friends, visitors, welcome to today's celebration of the Holy Mass that commemorates the Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time in Cycle A of the Liturgical Year. Reviewing the Scripture readings that we have just heard from the Book of Hosea, [Hos. 6:3-6] the Letter of Paul to the Romans [Rom. 4:18-25] and the Gospel of Matthew, [Mt. 9:9- 13] in a few words, God's message to us can be summarized into "the faith that heals demands repentance."
After hearing today's First Reading, some of you may have summarized that its message was a call to repentance. And such a conclusion would have been correct. The entire Chapter six and part of Chapter seven of the Book of Hosea [Hos. 6:1-7:10] refer to a call to repentance. They concern a struggle between God's desire to save His people while manifesting His justice to them. Having been continuously disciplined by Yahweh with chastisement that had been spoken through the prophets, Israel continued to remain insincere. It failed to appreciate the fatherly love of Yahweh who desired a holy people of His own, an obedient and submissive people that shared in His righteousness. Consequently, God's judgment went forth as the light goes forth.
When God said that He desired steadfast love and not sacrifice, He was indicating that the Israelites had become indifferent to their sins. Knowing that their sins could be forgiven through the sacrifices of burnt offerings, the people deliberately continued to live in sin. Today, that attitude could be compared to a hardened heart who uses the Sacrament of Confession to obtain the absolution of his sins while having no intention of repenting. This would be like a person who is living in a common-law relationship and who goes to confession to receive absolution in order to receive the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist while having no intention of ending the sinful affair. In such cases, what God is saying is that He is not moved by those who engage in meaningless rituals when there is no true love in their hearts. For the Sacrament of Confession to be valid, the sinner must have a repentant heart. Equally, for the burnt offerings of the Israelites to be valid, the individuals were required to have repentant hearts. Such, they did not have.
Today's Second Reading spoke of the faith of Abraham that grew strong as he gave glory to God. God's promise to Abraham was fulfilled through faith, a living faith that was manifested through meaningful actions. A faith without works is dead. [Jas. 2:26] When a Christian enjoys a living faith, he is filled with the Holy Spirit. He is in harmony with the Divine Will. He humbly obeys the commands of God, manifesting his love towards God and towards his brothers and sisters in Christ. It is a living faith that is free of hypocrisy.
When God told Abraham that he would have a child, Abraham hoped against hope. He knew that he was an old man of 99 years and that his wife Sarah was 90 and barren. Yet he believed. Although it seemed impossible that he would have a child, Abraham had faith in the Word of God. Abraham took God at His Word and believed in the creative power of the Lord to do what seemed impossible. Consequently, he had a son, Isaac. [Gal. 4:23; Gen. 17:16, 19, 18:10]
As Christians, do we have the faith of Abraham? Do we waver in disbelief regarding God's promise to raise those who persevere to the end in their living faith? Do we believe that God will raise us as He has raised Jesus from the dead? Do we also believe in God's promise of the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit and walk accordingly with the sanctifying grace of God? What about our belief in God's promise to forgive our sins and to no longer remember them as is experienced through the Sacrament of Confession? The faith of Abraham is a model to the Christian faith. It is a belief in God who gives life to those who were once dead.
Today's reading from the Gospel related the calling of Matthew. Jesus came to call not the righteous but sinners. [Mt. 9:13] As most of you are aware, Matthew was a tax collector. Biblical history tells us that the Roman taxes were collected by tax farmers, who bid for the right to collect taxes and then extorted them to the limit. The tax collectors were therefore not only considered oppressors, but traitors of their own people because they collaborated with the foreign imperial power. Such was the position of Matthew prior to meeting Jesus. Matthew held a position of authority that provided him with the opportunity to inflict much hardship on his Jewish brothers and sisters.
When Jesus sat at dinner with many tax collectors and sinners, He was criticized by the Pharisees. Responding to this, Jesus said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick." When a person recognizes that he is sick, does he not seek out a doctor? And does he not also submit himself to the doctor's orders if he is serious about recovering? Equally, the tax collectors and the sinners were drawn to Jesus who is the greatest Healer of all with a sincere desire to hear Him and obey Him in order to be spiritually healed of their worldly ailments. As such, it can be summarized "The faith that heals demands repentance."
From this message, it is recognized that the self-righteous who do not recognize their illness will not summon the true Jesus as their Physician, nor receive Him. For they are beyond healing. No one can approach Jesus unless he confesses that he is a sinner. In the closing of the Gospel today, Jesus said, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice." Love, mercy, forgiveness, righteousness, these are spiritual qualities that many claim to possess? But do all the Christians who claim to possess them, actually possess them?
When we speak of zero tolerance regarding the sins of others, sins that were committed 20, 30 and even 60 years ago, are we showing mercy? Are we serving the best interest of the Body of Christ, seeking the healing of its members? Did Jesus not say, "Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get." [Mt. 7:2]
"Why do you see the speck in your neighbour's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?" [Mt. 7:3] Is it not true that there is no such thing as a good sin, one sin being better than the other? Is not a sin, a sin, an offense against God? As such, under what authority do we have the right to judge and condemn our brothers and sisters for their past sins? Under what authority do we have the right to persecute them today for sins committed 20, 30 or 60 years ago, sins that God may have forgiven through the Sacrament of Penance? Do we have a right to set aside God's almighty and final say regarding Divine mercy and forgiveness?
We are living in very sad days! Many of our brothers and sisters have chosen to commit spiritual suicide by accepting financial compensation versus spiritual healing for the wrong that has been committed against them. Many have abandoned their faith, blaming God and the entire Body of Christ for the sins of a few. Many seek revenge, refusing to forgive! If Jesus was here right now, what would He say?
When an adulteress was brought before Jesus, what did He say to those who condemned her? Jesus said, "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." [Jn. 8:7] And what did Jesus say to the adulteress? He said, "Go your way, and from now on do not sin again." [Jn. 8:11] Such is the power of the saving grace of the Lord Jesus. He has the power to forgive and transform sinners so that they may serve Him as a holy people. Jesus never said, "One strike and you are out." He commanded us to forgive "not seven times, but, ... seventy-seven times." [Mt. 18:22]
If we truly want to heal in our living faith, we must repent of our sinful ways. We must not associate with those who are judgmental of others. Their false righteousness shall catch up with them on Judgment Day. As Christians, we must seek to heal those who are hurting, the victims, the perpetrators, the faith community, the entire Body of Christ. Such can only be done with true love, true mercy, true forgiveness, true righteousness, true spiritual qualities that make us shine as lights in the world.
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The readings...
[The readings were taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (C) 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America.]
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First Reading...
"Israel shall say:
'Let's us know, let us press on to know the Lord;
his appearing is as sure as the dawn;
he will come to us like the showers,
like the spring rains that water the earth.
Hear the word of the Lord, O people of Israel:
What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?
What shall I do with you, O Judah?
Your love is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that goes away early,
Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,
I have killed them by words of my mouth,
and my judgement goes forth as the light.
For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings."[Hos. 6:3-6]
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Second Reading...
"Hoping against hope, Abraham believed that he would become 'the father of many nations,' according to what was said, 'So numerous shall your descendants be.' He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
Therefore his faith 'was reckoned to him as righteousness.' Now the words, 'it was reckoned to him,' were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in God who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification."[Rom. 4:18-25]
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Gospel Reading...
"As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, 'Follow me.' And he got up and followed him.'
And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, 'Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?'
But when Jesus heard this, he said, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.'"[Mt. 9:9-13]
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