Fr Henry Siew

Year II. Monday of Week 23 in Ordinary Time. 1 Corinthians 5:1-8   Paul spoke against various moral disorders prevalent in the Corinthian community. He condemned the problem of incest. He heard one of them was cohabiting with his father’s wife. It was a case of sexual immorality that could not be tolerated. Even among the pagans, that was unacceptable. All the more, Christians should expel such a person from the community if he did not repent.   The purpose of this punishment was twofold: that the punishment would bring him back to his senses and change; and that the community might restore its good name. Paul emphasized that even one case was a serious matter, for the impact of one person on the whole community was great. He used the analogy of a small quantity of yeast that could leaven a large amount of dough.   Paul then mentioned the practices of the Passover to elaborate his message. In the Jewish calendar, Passover was followed immediately by the festival of Unleavened Bread. In preparation for this feast, all traces of old leavened bread were removed from the house, and, during the festival, only unleavened bread was eaten.   Paul said that Christ’s death and resurrection (the new and true Passover event) was followed by the formation of the Christian community, whose members were to die to sin and be raised to life with Him. Their new lives included removing all corrupting behaviour, wickedness, incest, and sin of old.   The church must be aware of how scandals can impact her identity and mission. Bad examples in the church can cause others to question the validity and goodness of our Faith and the authenticity of the Gospel. We must constantly purify ourselves so as to become effective witnesses for Christ.   APPLICATION How should we respond to the scandal in the church? How should we purify ourselves in order to be true witnesses for Christ?   GOLDEN VERSE 1 Cor 5:7 You must know how even a small amount of yeast is enough to leaven all the dough, so get rid of all the old yeast, and make ourselves into a completely new batch of bread.   Gospel. Luke 6:6-11 Jesus healed a man whose right hand was withered on the Sabbath.  He did it under the watchful eyes of the scribes and Pharisees, but he did not hold back. Instead, he asked the man to stand in full view of the crowd. This healing was not going to be hidden even if it would incur the wrath of his opponents. They must acknowledge that man was not meant for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was meant for man. The handicapped man responded to the merciful gesture of Jesus with courage and trust. He did not hesitate when Jesus told him to stretch out his withered hand. He did not know how that could be done; he simply tried, and his hand was better. After all, it was Jesus who healed him, and not so much his effort. He only believed. The scribes and Pharisees were out to catch Jesus making “mistakes”. They loved their rules and regulations more than they loved God and cared for fellow men. They did not rejoice when they saw a man healed of his disability. Rather, they were furious because that healing happened on a Sabbath. They were so blind to goodness and truth. They failed to recognize the wellbeing of the disabled man healed, and they interpreted the good act of Jesus as evil. They did not encourage and support Jesus for his saving action, but they accused him of breaking the law and attempted to destroy his reputation and injure his character. APPLICATION Do you rejoice with others for their success, or are you upset because your own agenda is not realized? GOLDEN VERSE Lk 6:9 Is it against the law on the Sabbath to do good, or to do evil; to save life or to destroy it?