No Love, No True Worship (Friday, Week 30, Year 2)

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We have begun to read St Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. The opening section of the letter (cf. Phil. 1:1-11) is Paul’s very passionate prayer for the Christian people of Philippi. A sentiment that runs through that prayer is that of joy for the good work God is doing in and through the people of Philippi. The prayer itself suggests that some missionary work had been done in Philippi and that the gospel had been preached to them in the past. And so, it was a thing of joy for Paul to remember that the gospel preached to the Philippians was not empty words but words with power which transformed them into a community of love. That is why he further prayed that “their love may abound more and more”. 

In the gospel (cf. Luke 14:1-6), we have the Pharisees who refused to be touched by the message and acts of love which Jesus preached and performed. On a Sabbath day, Jesus went to dine at the house of one of them. The Pharisees who came were watching Jesus to know whether He would heal on a Sabbath day. Having noticed their intention, He asked them very piercing questions: Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not? No response! To help them understand His first question, he asked a follow-up question: “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well, will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day? And they could not reply to this. The problem of the Pharisees was that they were too rigid in their application of the law, forgetting that the law is meant for the common good not for oppression. If they could rescue an ordinary animal on a Sabbath, why won’t a sick person who had been chained by sickness be freed on the Sabbath day?      

If we have not grown in love for one another, then we may have wasted years going to places of worship in the name of worshipping God. We see a multitude of Christians and Muslims calling upon God at home, in places of worship and even in the streets. At the same time, we see a society submerged in hate and wickedness. To have encountered God is to have encountered Love itself. A piece of iron placed in fire must glow. A Christian immersed in God must glow in love. That there is hate and wickedness in our society is a sign that many of us don’t really encounter God in worship. We go to Church just for formalities.  



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