Follow Christ: obey the Commandments; exercise Mercy -- and you will have Eternal Life.

Sunday | 15 | OT | C

Vancouver, July 14, 2019

What is the difference between hearing and obeying? Obey comes from the Latin ab-audire, “listen to.” Of course, this is related to “hear,” as in -audio- audio equipment.   “Obey” we know goes further than “hearing”: “obey” we think of “doing what we hear.” Why should we “obey” God? Why not ignore God? Or do the opposite of what God tells us to do? There is this sense within us, we should not be ignoring what God tells us, and certainly not doing the opposite. 
“Observe His commandments,” Moses says in the Book of Deuteronomy. Sometimes people believe they do not sin,  and so they, don’t go to Confession. I am not as sinner I have no need for Confession. And what comes to my mind, do they know the 10 Commandments?

1. I am the LORD your God. You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.
Who are the gods in our life? God of pleasure? God of wealth? God of power? I mention these three because they have been and remain the idols people tend to serve –philosophers for centuries – the most ancient philosophy will tell you – do not let these idols become your gods: pleasure, wealth, power.

2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
Do not blaspheme. Do not use the name of the Lord in a way that is offensive. Blasphemy is like believing God will not react to your offensive use of His name in vain. Sooner or later God will let you know. ​

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3. Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.
The Sabbath is our Sunday. Many people unfortunately due to ignorance or foolishness do not recognise the gravity of this sin --  to miss Mass on Sunday. Mass on Sunday is how we Catholics observe the 3rd commandment. But our motivation should be love: we are here because we love God -- and we love our community. When we ignore this Command we say, really, I do not care what God asks of me. I will not obey. The Sunday is a day where we worship God together as a community of believers in the House of God where we can receive the Sacraments or the grace of the Sacraments. Nothing replaces Sunday worship -- offering ourselves to God.
You have heard these 1st three commandments and they all relate to loving God with all our heart and all our soul, all our strength and all our mind, as Jesus teaches in St. Luke’s Gospel echoing Moses. But Jesus adds, “and your neighbour as yourself.” Your neighbour, “the other” – the other who is not God but another human being  -- refers to the remaining 7 commandments. 

4. Honor your father and your mother.
You honour your father and mother by being a good Catholic – and a good Catholic is someone who loves God because that love radiates in their own life – loving God – and loving others. There should be no grudges between parents and children. And if there are problems/conflicts/ tension, your parents, by the very fact that they are your parents, it is for you, to take that step, and let them know, you love them, and actions always speak louder than words. Do not wait until mom or dad have died because then your conscience will mortify you.

5. You shall not kill.
Whenever people say that they are good and they have no sins to confess, this is always the commandment that comes up. I’m a good person, I haven’t killed anyone. People can kill with words. A heart is stabbed a person destroyed -- with language. Do no underestimate the power of words. Words can bring life, and words can bring death. And all too often children are the ones who suffer most, and longest, and hardest, because adults around them use words that kill. And children cannot defend themselves. 

6. You shall not commit adultery.
The sixth commandment is not limited to sexual relations outside of marriage, but any kind of sexual activity outside of marriage. And within marriage the sexual act should is meant to be a natural sexual act between man and woman open to generating human life as Jesus Christ teaches.

7. You shall not steal.
If it does not belong to you, it is not yours.  And if you take someone else’s property and claim it and possess it without the other knowing -- it has become yours. This is called stealing. If you do not want to steal then you need to ask the owner, may I borrow this; or may I keep this. 

8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
This includes gossip not just lying and certainly slander is sinful. Do not say things with the intent of damaging a person’s reputation. We all want to have a good reputation. If you are not the one who starts the gossip you can either change the subject or not contribute to the gossip, and certainly not embellish the gossip. This could be out of lack of courage, or due to anger, envy, pride, hatred, but notice, these are all sins, that lead simply to more sins. You need to stop this cycle of sin by being truthful.

9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
Do not covet your neighbour’s wife refers to the sin of lust; lustful desires are in one’s heart and mind. Right now the lust-related moral epidemic is pornography which falls under the 9th commandment. And pornography, just like pleasure-inducing psychoactive drugs, is deadly because of its addictive nature – but even worse because of how the human heart and mind are corrupted and rot away in the slime of sin.

10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.
The last commandment, relates to envy. Yes, your neighbour has a bigger house, a newer car, the children have a better education and better income. And you’re saying, “Lord what about me. Have you forgotten me?” And the answer: Thank God for what you have because God loves you. And there is nothing greater nothing more precious nothing more valuable than the love of God. 

Now Jesus also gives us this beautiful story of the compassionate Samaritan. Jesus takes as an example those who are considered the holier people of society, the priest and the Levite. And what do they do, they distance themselves from the victim. Samaritans were the ones who were looked down upon with contempt because they were treated like foreigners -- not the true Jews -- and notice paradox, the holy ones do nothing, and the unholy one – the Samaritan -- gives this victim of theft tremendous attention and care.

Thee details St. Luke provides are beautiful – truly the teachings of Jesus – a man of true mercy and compassion. The Samaritan bandaged his wounds poured oil on them. Brought him to the inn. He left money with the innkeeper, saying, take care of him, when I’m back I’ll pay you. 

Reading this you know only Jesus would teach these bold audacious values in a society, where you separate yourself from the inferior, and from the diseased. And Jesus asks, “Which showed him mercy?” Jesus knew it was the one they least expected: the Samaritan. And this is how we love our neighbour. We show mercy. It is one of the Beatitudes which Jesus taught: Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.

The Catholic Church, has throughout its history emphasised what we call “works of mercy”: attending to the poor, the sick, the dying… this is why we have Catholic hospitals and clinics in throughout the world. If you look at the history of the Catholic Church in Canada which began in Quebec, you will discover all the religious congregations that established hospitals, clinics, orphanages, homes for the dying, and homeless. And even the ministries in our own parish right here that attend to the sick, residences for the elderly, ministries reaching out to the marginalised in our streets, this is the mercy of which Christ speaks.

​So, how do we answer this question? “Teacher, what must I do, to inherit eternal life?” Jesus has given us the answer: obeying the Commandments of God and exercising mercy. Let us turn to Mary, Mother of Mercy, Mother of God, for her prayers and guidance. Amen.