It is a matter of passion

Today, Fr. Martin celebrated the 11 a.m. mass with us. The gospel message is the familiar theme of Christians being the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-14). He used the concept of 'comfort zone' to explain Jesus' teaching in relation to with Beatitudes we read last Sunday. Being the salt of the earth and the light of the world is the essence of a Christian. But God respects our freedom. We are free to work hard to actualize this Christian essence within us, or hide ourselves in our "comfort zone" to rot.
Some people are more adventurous. They are not afraid to reach out, to meet strangers and to take risks. In so doing, their experience is enriched and their horizon expanded. Some people are more timid. They do not have enough confidence to raise the stake. They can only do routines because routines are proven to be safe. Being habitual saves them a lot of energy to make decisions which could be painful. However, Christians, by nature, should not be a slave of habits and comforts. They are born-again. They are converted. Their old-selves have been nailed onto the cross with Christ and they have been raised from the dead through baptism. Therefore, they should not return to their old-selves, their "comfort zones" any more.

The 2 books of Chronicles portray an ideal King David. They even attribute the building of the Jerusalem Temple to him but in fact, it was Solomon, his son, who spent seven years to build the Temple. David is a complex character. At the beginning, he was painted a good shepherd, somebody chosen after the heart of God to replace King Saul (1 Samuel 13:14).
But David was not without faults. While he was a fugitive fleeing from Saul's attempt on his life, he gathered a gang to follow him. They acted more or less like bandits, living on extortion. He even threatened the life of Nabal, a rich man with 3000 sheep and 1000 goats, because Nabal did not pay him respect (1 Samuel 25:1-13). Later, Nabal died (not in the hands of David) and David took over his wife Abigail.
After the death of Saul, David was crowned King of Israel. Yet, he systematically exterminated the house of Saul from which nobody would come up to challenge his throne.
Yet, one more time when David had become the King of Israel, he had an affair with Bathsheba and impregnated her. Later, David had Bathsheba's husband murdered so that he could legitimately take Bathsheba over (2 Samuel 11:1-27). This is a well known story and in our course on Historical Books, we would analyze the narrative of this story. However skilfully we analyze the text, the question remains why God still upholds, protects and loves David despite his immoral and murderous actions. How did it square with God's justice? When God promised David an eternal dynasty (2 Samuel 7:16), did not God see that David would commit adultery with Bathsheba and murdered Uriah?

God spares David not because of what merits David had. Rather, it was David's passion that moved God (2 Samuel 6:12-22). Not only did he offer sacrifice lavishly (2 Samuel 6:13), but he also danced half-nakedly with all his might in the full sight of all the people to express his fervent love of God (2 Samuel 6:14, 20).
Why did I talk about King David? How is it related to the Gospel teaching today?

I believe it is a matter of passion. Like David, all Christians are flawed. But no matter how flawed we are, when we love God and our fellow men passionatel enough, we will be truly Christian. In order to realize the God-bestowed grace, we need a passion for God, a fervent love of Jesus and our fellow men. Passion and love are the fuel that propels us to eternal life.

Dear Lord, I have loved You too late, too little. May my love for You get hotter and hotter until it glows and shines. Amen.