OXYGEN

11 Mar
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Hosea 14:2-10

The Lord says this:

Israel, come back to the Lord your God;
your iniquity was the cause of your downfall.
Provide yourself with words
and come back to the Lord.
Say to him, ‘Take all iniquity away
so that we may have happiness again
and offer you our words of praise.
Assyria cannot save us,
we will not ride horses any more,
or say, “Our God!” to what our own hands have made,
for you are the one in whom orphans find compassion.’
– I will heal their disloyalty,
I will love them with all my heart,
for my anger has turned from them.
I will fall like dew on Israel.
He shall bloom like the lily,
and thrust out roots like the poplar,
his shoots will spread far;
he will have the beauty of the olive
and the fragrance of Lebanon.
They will come back to live in my shade;
they will grow corn that flourishes,
they will cultivate vines
as renowned as the wine of Helbon.
What has Ephraim to do with idols any more
when it is I who hear his prayer and care for him?
I am like a cypress ever green,
all your fruitfulness comes from me.
Let the wise man understand these words.
Let the intelligent man grasp their meaning.
For the ways of the Lord are straight,
and virtuous men walk in them,
but sinners stumble.
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Mark 12:28-34

One of the scribes came up to Jesus and put a question to him, ‘Which is the first of all the commandments?’ Jesus replied, ‘This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.’ The scribe said to him, ‘Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true: that he is one and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice.’ Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And after that no one dared to question him any more.
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… or say “Our God1” to what our own hands have made

I had the good fortune to meet with one of my Protestant friends and somehow our conversation ended up on religion and the issue of idolatry came up. He was adopting a self-righteous attitude towards the polytheistic religions and those whom engaged in practices of idol worship.

Fearing that the target of his tirade was about to be directed towards the Catholics, I braced myself for the inevitable attack when another friend of ours who was seated some distance away came over and tapped the shoulder of my Protestant friend. His demeanour still haunts me to this day because he provided a perspective that I never thought of.

His words were: “My dear friend, I do not stand here to defend the adherents of the other religion in their manner of worship but I ask that you consider whether members of your church have also subtly introduced idols in your worship. Not in the form of clay, marble or stone but rather in the form of power, prestige, status, wealth that has resulted in you committing becoming proud, arrogant and adopting a ‘holier than thou’ attitude that is absolutely repulsive to all who just heard your little diatribe. Think carefully before you reply because from out of your own mouth will your own condemnation be determined.”

The look of speechlessness on my Protestant friend was priceless whilst the other friend was one of sadness because behaviour correction is not something that anybody can embark on and is just as painful for the person delivering it as it is for its intended recipient.

I have decided to recount this rather long story because it encapsulates what I feel is the theme of a belief in one God in today’s Gospel. The commandments of the Lord all lead us to want to love Him wholeheartedly and sincerely. There are times where we miss the forest for the trees. My Protestant friend was getting heated up over something that he could not have control over. Rather than embark on such behaviour, he could have considered changing his attitude and remember that God wants us to love Him wholeheartedly and this is reflected through the love of our neighbour.

I invite you to reflect on the times when you have engaged in such ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude and how your actions have caused others to become scandalised with your actions; let us ask God for his mercy and forgiveness for all our actions.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Nicholas Chia)
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Prayer: Lord, we pray that You forgive us for the times when we have led others astray through our words and actions.

Thanksgiving: We give thanks for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Upcoming Readings:
Sat, 13 Mar – Hosea 6:1-6; Luke 18:9-14
Sun, 14 Mar – Joshua 5:9-12; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; John 9:1-41; Fourth Sunday of Lent