The theme of this week's readings again is faith. Again, God wants us to know what real faith is. He compares the real faith of Abraham and Jesus with the superficial faith that "like the dew that early fades away."
This week we will discuss what real faith is vs. "pretend" faith. The readings give particular attention to real faith vs. insincere sacrifice. The first reading talks about how the Lord desires love and knowledge of him rather than sacrifices.
Today, I am focusing on real love vs. "pretend" love and knowledge of God. There is commentary following the 1st reading only.
Reading 1
Hos 6:3-6
In their affliction, people will say:
"Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD;
as certain as the dawn is his coming,
and his judgment shines forth like the light of day!
He will come to us like the rain,
like spring rain that waters the earth."
What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your piety is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that early passes away.
For this reason I smote them through the prophets,
I slew them by the words of my mouth;
for it is love that I desire, not sacrifice,
and knowledge of God rather than holocausts.
"Pretend" Love
Now why does God want real love rather than sacrifice? Not long ago, a well-known pro basketball player publicly confessed to adultery. It was reported by news agencies that a few days after he confessed to everyone and his wife, he bought a $4,000,000 ring for her. Now would he have served his wife better by remaining faithful? Instead he betrayed her and then bought a ring. I imagine that in her heart she resented the gift. Any woman who loves her spouse would prefer real loyalty over cheating and jewelry. We are talking about the person we will spend the rest of our lives with. Is jewelry going to keep us united "til death do us part" or is real love the answer?
Our situation with God is the same. We are going to spend ETERNITY with him. He desires love, not sacrifice. In the same example, didn't this basketball star SACRIFICE $4MM of his hard-earned money to buy the ring? He did, but God doesn't want this type of sacrifice. He wants REAL love. Now if a mortal woman can see through insincerity, God SURELY can. He can see through all of our insincere acts! In our modern lives, it is laughable that we would offer 10% of our income to God while committing adultery, fornication, theft, and total ABANDONMENT of our poor brothers and sisters. Sin is an offense against GOD first and foremost. Now how can we expect to make up for our infidelity to God by giving him a few bucks? In this reading, God says that such faith is "like the dew that early passes away." In other words, such faith amounts to NOTHING. God desires love, not sacrifice.1
In Jn 15:14, Jesus says that "if you love me, you will keep my commandments". Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him, the word that I spoke. It will condemn him on the last day." Here, Jesus is so generous to explain what it means to love him. Jesus makes it easy on us. He explains very simply what we should do rather than sacrifice to him in an insincere manner. We are supposed to follow his commandments to love him and each other.
Learning About God
In this reading, the author says, "let us strive to know the Lord." God also says it is "knowledge of God" that he desires. Why does God want us to know more about him? I have found that EVERY time I learn something new about God, I am learning more about who he is. And each time, I am reminded that he is love. It is a wonderful thing to know God and that is the point of our lives.
Imagine that you love your wife. Imagine that you found some old pictures of her volunteering at an orphanage. You never knew that she did that. Next, you look into your closet and you find that your wife has ironed ALL of your shirts perfectly. You come home from work and you discover that she has spent 2 hours cooking you dinner. Wow! She loves you and you are starting to understand that in a new way. With God, we experience this new found love at the highest level. As we grow in "knowledge of God", we find that out of love, he created us so that we could experience REAL life and REAL love. We find that he loves us so much that he lowered himself by becoming human because he loves us. We find that in response to our infidelity to him, he doesn't kill us. Instead he DIES for us. Knowledge of God increases our love of him.
The Price of Ignorance
In Romans 1:24-32, Paul shows how "ignorance of God is the reason (principle) of all moral deviations."2 In other words, Paul shows how we do really terrible things against God because we don't know him. Jesus echoes this on the cross: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."
Here is Romans 1:24-32 where Paul talks about unbelievers:
Therefore, God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their hearts for the mutual degradation of their bodies.
25
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26
Therefore, God handed them over to degrading passions. Their females exchanged natural relations for unnatural,
27
and the males likewise gave up natural relations with females and burned with lust for one another. Males did shameful things with males and thus received in their own persons the due penalty for their perversity.
28
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God handed them over to their undiscerning mind to do what is improper.
29
They are filled with every form of wickedness, evil, greed, and malice; full of envy, murder, rivalry, treachery, and spite. They are gossips
30
and scandalmongers and they hate God. They are insolent, haughty, boastful, ingenious in their wickedness, and rebellious toward their parents.
31
They are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
32
Although they know the just decree of God that all who practice such things deserve death, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
The people who do these things are called unbelievers. Unbelievers can be baptized Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, or Muslims. Unbelievers are those who do not follow the law of God. "Since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God handed them over to their undiscerning mind to do what is improper." That means that people who don't know God are left with their own insufficient minds and end up doing very bad things. So what happens to them in this passage?
- Their own lust destroyed their bodies
- Perverted sexuality (homosexuality) became common.
- Males did shameful things with males and thus received in their own persons the due penalty for their perversity. (maybe he is talking about STD's and lack of fatherhood)
- Not only did they do HORRIBLE things, they gave approval to others who did.
The World Today
Does this all sound familiar? It sounds like the place where we live. Instead of following God and his natural order, we have become perverted. Instead of sex being a way for a husband and wife to participate in creation, it has been lowed to another form of entertainment by many. Giving approval to those who do terrible EVILS reminds me of abortion. We are talking about an act which ends with blood and death EVERY time. This is an act which if we would avoid, would result in long lives for millions of newborns each year. Not only do we as a nation kill our babies, we GIVE APPROVAL to those who do the killing. We vote for pro-choice politicians even though as Catholics our unified pro-life votes could make abortion illegal forever in this country. Paul isn't just talking about idolaters of the 1st century in this reading from Romans. He is talking about unfaithful Catholics of the 21st century.
Just the same, in the 1st reading, God said, "What can I do with you Ephraim?" Today, God says the same thing to us, "What can I do with you El Paso, TX? What can I do with you Lexington, KY? What can I do with you Maine? What can I do with you America? Your piety is like a morning cloud, like the dew that early passes away."
It is a sad state of affairs and personally, I don't want to be counted amongst the unfaithful on judgment day.
As you can see, ignorance of God is truly "the principle of all moral deviations." Can you see why God desires knowledge of God rather than sacrifice? Many of us who hear this message might be scared. After all, how do you get to know God? Do we have to get PHD's in theology? Of course not. Because God loves us, he makes it easy for us. Gaining knowledge of God is as easy picking up that dusty bible from the shelf. If we do not do this, we will be left to figure out life with our own pea-sized brains. Now every time we decide to watch "American Idol", ESPN, or some movie instead of reading the bible, we are making a pitiful decision. It is a daily decision in which we can get to know our God and spend eternity with him, or we can decide to be distracted by 2 hours of entertainment every night until the day we die.
Instead of staying ignorant, I hope that we will sing together, "Oh how I'd like to be in that number, when the saints go marching in!"
The Point
- God is a person, not a thing or a book. He desires a real relationship with sincere love and boundaries
- God wants love first and foremost. We can love him the same we he loves us, his Son and the Holy Spirit- by loving unconditionally as described in the commandments.
- Faith desires understanding.3 Because of our faith, we must learn more about God. God wants us to know more about him.
- The better we get to know God, the more we understand that he love us and so we will fall in love with him more and more.
- Ignorance of God causes death and destruction of all kinds. We can see it now.
- God is calling us to read the Bible. Each day, we choose to watch television and other forms of entertainment instead of growing in knowledge of God. Many of us spend more time flossing our teeth than we do reading the Bible. It is an atrocity!
Real Life
Last Sunday night, my friend and I went to a large juvenile detention center in Juarez. She sang to the inmates and shared with them the good news of the Lord. It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. Many of these teenage boys, were against what she had to say at first. She spoke out against stealing (a way of life for many of them), pornography, and other sins. They laughed, jeered, and ignored her at first. But as the night went on, the Holy Spirit took over. Instead of telling you about it, I want you to see for yourself.
Click below to see video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 50:1, 8, 12-13, 14-15
R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
God the LORD has spoken and summoned the earth,
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
"Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your holocausts are before me always."
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for mine are the world and its fullness.
Do I eat the flesh of strong bulls,
or is the blood of goats my drink?"
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"Offer to God praise as your sacrifice
and fulfill your vows to the Most High;
Then call upon me in time of distress;
I will rescue you, and you shall glorify me."
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
Reading II
Rom 4:18-25
Brothers and sisters:
Abraham believed, hoping against hope,
that he would become "the father of many nations, "
according to what was said, "Thus shall your descendants be."
He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body
as already dead - for he was almost a hundred years old -
and the dead womb of Sarah.
He did not doubt God's promise in unbelief;
rather, he was strengthened by faith and gave glory to God
and was fully convinced that what he had promised he was also able to do.
That is why it was credited to him as righteousness.
But it was not for him alone that it was written that it was credited to him;
it was also for us, to whom it will be credited,
who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
who was handed over for our transgressions
and was raised for our justification.
Gospel
Mt 9:9-13
As Jesus passed on from there,
he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, "Follow me."
And he got up and followed him.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners came
and sat with Jesus and his disciples.
The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples,
"Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
He heard this and said,
"Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
Go and learn the meaning of the words,
'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."
Mass Excitement #15
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1- If we are obedient to God and have no plans or intentions to sin, God is quite pleased by sacrifice (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2099)
2- CCC 2087
3- CCC 158
3- CCC 158
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