THE PRINCIPLE OF FAITH …

Romans 3:21-30

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction;
23 since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus,25 whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins;
26 it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies him who has faith in Jesus.
27 Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On the principle of works? No, but on the principle of faith.
28 For we hold that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law.
29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,30 since God is one; and he will justify the circumcised on the ground of their faith and the uncircumcised through their faith.

Luke 11:47-54

47 Woe to you! for you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed.
48 So you are witnesses and consent to the deeds of your fathers; for they killed them, and you build their tombs.
49 Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’
50 that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation,
51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it shall be required of this generation.
52 Woe to you lawyers! for you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”53 As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard, and to provoke him to speak of many things,
54 lying in wait for him, to catch at something he might say.  

MEDITATION

St PAUL makes the point that the righteousness that God desired from man could not be fully achieved by the Mosaic law, hence Christ was send to atone for our sins. Faith is now an essential requirement to be in communion with God. The works of the law such as the purification (Mt 15:2) and the social distancing laws that intended to seperate the ‘righteous’ from the sinners (Mt 9:12) were incapable of transforming the hearts and minds of the people. To be clear, the law givers did not even consider those outside their community circle to be their neighbors.Lk 10:29ff

Catec 1992 “Justification has been merited for us by the Passion of Christ who offered himself on the cross as a living victim, holy and pleasing to God, and whose blood has become the instrument of atonement for the sins of all men. Justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith. It conforms us to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his mercy… “

THE GOSPEL READING: Jesus continue His harsh criticism of the Pharisees and exposed their moral deficiencies. It appears that these authors of the law could not distinguish between good and bad law because of their ignorance of history and their lack of wisdom which is the key to all knowledge! Instead of submitting to truth, Jesus’ interlocutors sought to entrap, arrest and silence Him!

Catec 2005 “Since  it belongs to the supernatural order, grace escapes our experience and cannot be known except by faith. We cannot therefore rely on our feelings or our works to conclude that we are justified and saved. However, according to the Lord’s words “Thus you will know them by their fruits”- reflection on God’s blessings in our life and in the lives of the saints offers us a guarantee that grace is at work in us… “

The Pharisees figured that their strict purification and social distancing laws would create social harmony and win them God’s approval, but because of their lack of wisdom and prudential judgment, they poisoned the well that they were hoping to drink from! Our faith in Christ alone is the key principle that opens the door to the holy Sacraments whereby we shall be transformed and saved on the last day.

LET US PRAY: Psalms 130:1-6

Out of the depths I cry to thee, O LORD!
2 Lord, hear my voice! Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!
3 If thou, O LORD, shouldst mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the LORD more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.

Author. Henry R SYLVESTER Note: The daily scripture readings are taken from the Roman Missal which the Catholic Church use in the daily Celebration of the Holy Eucharist throughout the world.Some weekly readings may differ because of the celebration of local feast days.