POSSIBILITY OF LIVING SINLESS

TUESDAY, SECOND WEEK OF LENT

Isa 1:10,16-20; Ps 50:8-9,16-17,21,23; Mt 23:1-12

The Possibility of living Sinless

As we keep the dazzling figure of our Lord Jesus Christ on the mountain of transfiguration before us in our imagination, we ponder on our sinfulness and the possibility of attaining the sinlessness he beckons us to hope for. We can never get to such lofty glory by focusing on ourselves and our human ability. We know how weak we are when it comes to doing good. We don’t even know what is good for us and our salvation, for that is the prerogative of God, as he forbade Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Because we do not know ourselves, we do not know what is good for us. We end up in sin and enslaved to evil whenever we separate ourselves from God and take ourselves to be self-sufficient moral agents. The prophet Isaiah metaphorically passed this lesson to the Israelites when he called them people of Sodom. “Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the command of God, you people of Gomorrah.” Unaided by God, that is what we are: sinful and damnable, no different from the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Subsequently, that God made us for himself implies that we can never function or behave well without God living within us. When the prophet says: “Wash, make yourselves clean.” He does not imply that we can make ourselves clean by our effort alone; we have no such ability. Forgiveness and purification from sin belong to God alone; he forgives and purifies us through his grace. But he cannot achieve it in us without us; we must cooperate with the grace of his word. Hence, the prophet added the discursive aspect of what we must do. “Come now, let us talk this over, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing to obey, you shall eat the good things of the earth.” It is not only in charitable acts that God acts through us and with us but in every work of grace. There is no life of grace without the indwelling of God within, from whom we receive every inspiration and ability. The redemptive work that is ongoing within us is a purification process. It is a progressive journey into the mystery of Jesus Christ. As we gaze on the transfigured figure of the Lord, God purifies and transforms us into the same glory.

Our Lord Jesus Christ admonishes us not to turn our gaze to any other person in the gospel. “Addressing the people and his disciples Jesus said, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. You must therefore do what they tell you and listen to what they say; but do not be guided by what they do: since they do not practise what they preach.” By occupying the chair of Moses, our Lord means that they proclaim the will of God as expressed in the Law to the people. Therefore, what they say comes from God, who gave the Law and Prophets to his people. But their lives belong to them since they do not practice what they tell the people. They help people dialogue and commune with God but fail to do that themselves. The people we should revere are those who preach the Good News in words and deeds. We copy them as they copy Jesus Christ and the Father, as Saint Paul directed. So, the priest called father, or any other with exalted names, should not glory in the name, but that he truly represents God to the people. Such representation of God calls for ready self-sacrifice or oblation to God for the people. Based on this, the Church of Roman Rite requires its priests to be celibates consecrated to the service of the people. “The greatest among you must be your servant.”

Let us pray: Guard your Church, we pray, O Lord, in your unceasing mercy, and, since without you mortal humanity is sure to fall, may we be kept by your constant helps from all harm and directed to all that brings salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.