CHOSEN BY LOVE FOR LOVE

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17 Aug 2018 Fri
Sharing notes of key messages from Daily Gospel Reflections by the Most Rev Archbishop of Singapore William Goh




 
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Matthew 19:3–12
3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?i 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh.i What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.” 7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?” 8 He said to them, “For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity,j and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries a divorced woman, commits adultery.”
10 The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is not expedient to marry.” 11 But he said to them, “Not all men can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it.”

Key messages from the Archbishop's reflection

Today’s readings is about God’s gracious and unconditional love for His chosen people.  He chose us regardless of our family background, social status, whether we are weak or are fools etc.  

We are chosen freely 
  • because of God’s generosity.  
  • because God is love and He wants to share in His love
  • because we are loved by God, and are in turn called to love others

Jesus spoke about marriage in today’s Gospel and when confronted with the question of divorce, he went back to the origin of God’s plan….”that Moses allowed ou to divorce wives, but it was not like this from the beginning…” Mat 19:8

The original and divine plan of God is love.  We are created and redeemed out of His love.  We are called to love God and love our fellowmen according to our vocation in life, whether single or married. 

  • Love must be faithful - whether single or married, we must be faithful to the call to love.  Unless we look beyond ourselves to others, we will never be able to find life.  Life is about loving and being loved. 
  • Love must be fruitful - when we love we are creative and proactive.  God commanded us in Gen 1:28 “...God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it…"  As we have received life, we must be life-givers.   
  • Love is always grateful - we must be careful not to be carried away by our successes and become proud and arrogant, forgetting that we are what we are today because many people play a part in our lives - our parents, guardians, teachers, friends, society.

We cannot love with our own strength, but in and through Him alone.   With joy we draw water from the wells of salvation.  The Lord is our strength, our song, and our saviour.   

Only Jesus, the source of love can empower us to love selflessly and give ourselves for the greater good of society and humanity, esp the less privileged ones of society.









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