TRIBULATIONS ROOT OUR SALVATION

TUESDAY, THIRTY THIRD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME  

2 Maccabees 6:18-31; Ps 3:2-7; Lk 19:1-10

Embracing Salvation from God

As Saint Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, justification comes to us when we believe with and in our hearts. By heart, he means the whole spiritual faculties: the mind, heart, and will. We receive a new spiritual life that is supported by these faculties when we make the assent of faith in the word of God or in Jesus Christ. The assent of faith is the foundation of a new life that gradually manifests in our members and revealed in our expressions. Thus, Paul concludes by saying that salvation comes with confession of our faith with our mouth. Here, the mouth stands for every way of expressing or revealing the conviction of our hearts. These two are connected as two aspects of the same reality, just as a building is essentially composed of its foundation and the external or visible structure. The visible structure cannot stand without the foundation, while the foundation is useless without supporting an external structure, which is the reason for its existence. Similarly, the belief of our heart is useless or ineffective if it does not support the visible structure of religious and moral behaviour; a religious and moral behaviour is baseless when it is not flowing from a deep conviction of our heart. Therefore, we know a justified person by his sound religious and moral behaviour flowing from a deep conviction of his heart in God and his word. Our Lord affirms this when he taught us to look at the fruits to discern a good or bad tree.

God the Father, as the Vine Dresser, uses trials and tribulations to drive our faith and convictions deep down to our hearts, thereby separating the genuine believers from freelancers or opportunists. The author of the 2 Maccabees affirms this truth. “Indeed, when evil-doers are not left for long to their own devices but incur swift retribution, it is a sign of great benevolence. In the case of the other nations, the Master waits patiently for them to attain the full measure of their sins before he punishes them, but with us he has decided to deal differently, rather than have to punish us later, when our sins come to a lead.” On the unity of the two aspects of our witnessing to the truth of the Gospel, Eleazar gives us a shining example. His action confirms to us that the two aspects must never be separated in any case. Urged to eat a meat that is suited to his faith, and pretend to be eating one forbidden by the Law to escape death, he replied: “Such pretence does not square with our time of life; many young people would suppose that Eleazar at the age of ninety had conformed to the foreigners’ way of life, and because I had played this part for the sake of a paltry brief spell of life might themselves be led astray on my account; I should only bring defilement and disgrace on my old age.” Such tenacity of faith and adherence to practice, conviction of heart, does not come immediately with conversion, but with constant practice of prayer, meditation, contemplation, and practice.

Because our emotions rule us, our conduct flows from the perturbations of our emotions by external things. Because we not rooted in our faith and conviction, we fall many times. Hence, the Lord left us the Sacrament of Penance or Confession for our training and perfection in the harmony of these two aspects of our witnessing of the Gospel. But our repentance must be genuine and deep each time we notice that we have fallen due to the sinful impulses that are yet to be purged from our weak fallen nature. Zacchaeus is an example of genuine and sincere conversion at the impulse of grace. He just wanted to catch a glimpse of the Son of Man, never considered himself worthy to receive him or entertain him in his house. But the Lord, who came for the salvation of all, saw the disposition of his heart and spoke to him where he positioned himself on the tree. “‘Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today.’ And he hurried down and welcomed him joyfully.” Zacchaeus acknowledged the benevolence of the Lord to him, despite his sinfulness, and sincerely repented of his sins. “Look, sir, I am going to give half my property to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody I will pay him back four times the amount.” These are the requirements of our Sacramental Confession: acknowledgment of sins, sincere repentance or contrition, confession of sins to Jesus Christ, who is represented by the priest, and doing of penance received. These are necessary for its grace to bear the fruits of holiness in our lives. When we confess our sins well, we hear from the Lord: “Today salvation has come to this house.”

Let us pray: Grant us, we pray, O Lord our God, the constant gladness of being devoted to you, for it is full and lasting happiness to serve with constancy the author of all that is good. 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.