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REFLECTION

The theme for our reflection is God’s counter-cultural heart for the unqualified. Counter-cultural means a way of life and set of attitudes opposed to or at variance with the prevailing social norm. The “unqualified” is a person considered to be unfit according to the religious or cultural standards or norms of a society. In today’s reflection, Jesus teaches us that God requires us to love and show mercy rather than hold on to rigid and self-righteous established religio-cultural norms that most often than not do not promote compassion and love for those who sometimes go contrary to them. Matthew reports that “At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.” (Matthew 12:1-2) In other words, the Pharisees judged the disciples as unqualified, unfit or unholy because they were hungry and picked grains to eat on the Sabbath. The key question is, would God also consider these disciples as unqualified or unfit considering the fact that they had dedicated their lives to become disciples of Jesus Christ on His mission of preaching the Good News to save the world? In addition, how many souls have the Pharisees saved for the Kingdom of God by holding on to the law on the Sabbath or the strict application of the Torah? Jesus answered them “If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” (Matthew 12:7-8)

Beloved in the Lord, like the Pharisees our Churches also have established man-made and institutional cultures and norms that seem to render some people unqualified hence undeserving of the support of the Church. God’s love and compassion for the lost and unqualified have become subservient to our rigid and established church laws and cultural norms. For instance, in some churches, a polygamist or a man married to two or more women is not allowed to participate in the Eucharist or the Lord’s Supper. It is only the first wife who is allowed to partake in Communion to the exclusion of any other wife or wives. This Church tradition or norm was not established by Jesus when He instituted the Holy Communion. Again, in some Churches, a child born out of wedlock cannot be named and out-doored by the pastor because of the promiscuity or premarital relationship of his or her parents. In some churches, women cannot be leaders nor can they be preachers in the church. All these established church norms and traditions may somewhat be backed with some Scripture references but the fundamental and ultimate question is how would Christ intervene or handles such unqualified people? Should the Church keep holding on and disqualifying people based on established church traditions and laws or God’s counter-heart or love for the unqualified must prevail? In some situations, Jesus invites us to consider the principle of substance over form. In other words, we must demonstrate the unconditional love and mercy of God as seen in the nature of Christ in the Gospel accounts over the rigid application of established Church tradition and norms. For instance, “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him…“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:3-6,7-11). Dear friend, established traditions and laws are not bad in themselves, they have shaped and formed the structures of the Church for many years but holding on to some traditions and norms can also do more harm than good, especially to those considered to be unqualified or unfit according to our established church traditions or cultural norms. We must allow the Spirit of love and the teachings of Christ to lead all endeavours of Christian fellowship and let the perfect example and nature of Christ shape our understanding of God’s love and compassion in our interaction with those in the category of the “unqualified”. Let us always remember that before we became part of the qualified, we were once upon a time part of the unqualified. It was the love and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that rendered us qualified. Shalom.

PRAYER

Holy Spirit, help us to have a deepened understanding of God’s love and mercy for the unqualified. May the Church be more discerning and ultimately be led by God’s love and compassion through Christ for the unqualified rather than over-reliance on dogma and established man-made Church traditions and norms. Amen.