6th Sunday of Ordinary Time (A)
Picture: By Glen Carrie on Unsplash
What is the most important word in the English language? Is it a verb or a noun? An article or a preposition? What do you think? To be honest, I don’t know. I wonder, though, whether a possible candidate might be found in the name of a popular local podcast. Has anyone here heard of Yah Lah But? I suspect a good number of us have. Anyway, in an interview given last year, this podcast’s two hosts explained the reason for its interesting name. Our goal, they said, is to encourage people to empathise with other perspectives, so we called our podcast “Yah Lah But”… To illustrate, in a recent episode, one of the hosts spoke light-heartedly about the frustration he experienced, while talking to foreigners he had met on an overseas trip. Upon hearing that he hailed from Singapore, they would typically gush with praise for our little island nation. Isn’t this the world’s best place to live? Don’t locals here enjoy 80% home ownership? In response, our host felt a burning need to offer some qualifications. To say, yah lah, but… Unfortunately, he wasn’t given a chance to do so. To use that important word but. To let this tiny 3-lettered conjunction lead his conversation partners to consider other, deeper, more nuanced perspectives.
Before we go any further, perhaps I should state that I’m not connected in any way to this podcast. Nor have I received any incentive––monetary or otherwise––to mention it at the pulpit. So why do it? The reason is simple. In our ongoing reading of Matthew’s gospel, we have reached that portion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in which one word keeps recurring. Have you noticed what it is? Actually, it’s not just a word, but a distinctive pattern of speech or argument. Again and again, we hear the Lord say, You have learnt how it was said… But I say to you… Or, roughly translated into Singlish, yah lah… but… By repeatedly using the word but, the Lord invites his listeners––including all of us––to consider other, deeper, more nuanced perspectives on the Law. Not to abolish or to weaken it, but to complete it. To better achieve its purpose. So, according to Jesus, it’s not enough, simply to refrain from engaging in acts of murder and adultery. We also need to continually struggle against the violent tendencies, and the lustful appetites that so often stir deep within our all too human hearts.
By using the word but, the Lord calls us to go beyond the superficial legalistic approach of the religious leaders of his day. Reminding us that if your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven. Why? Isn’t it because, for the sake of certainty and control, the scribes and Pharisees transform what is meant to be a living word into a dead letter. They distort the Law. Changing it from a life-giving expression of God’s merciful and steadfast love, into an oppressive burden. And isn’t it possible for us, whether we realise it or not, to adopt this same legalistic approach even when applying the Lord’s teaching?
Such as when victims of domestic abuse are encouraged, or subtly pressured, to reconcile with their abuser prematurely, while the abuse is still ongoing. Or when, for the sake of avoiding scandal, or to safeguard the reputation of the institution, credible reports of abuse in a church setting are simply ignored or covered up. After all, doesn’t Jesus say that reconciliation should take priority over even the bringing of offerings to God?… Sure, reconciliation is indeed important. But… is this truly the reconciliation intended by God, when it comes at the expense of the safety and wellbeing of those more vulnerable?
Of course, we cannot deny that a yah lah but approach likely means less certainty and control. Which may make it even more demanding. Difficult enough to struggle with the sinful tendencies in our own hearts. Now we also have to figure out what exactly the Law requires in concrete situations too? Are we even capable of doing this? From where do we obtain the wisdom it requires? These questions lead us to consider yet another instance of yah lah but. For the first reading tells us in no uncertain terms that we are all blessed with the freedom to do what is right. If you wish, you can keep the commandments… And yet, doesn’t our lived experience prompt us to add a but? Yes, we may have the freedom to keep the Law, but we struggle in vain to exercise that freedom without the help of God. Isn’t this why the psalmist prays so fervently that God will not only teach me the demands of your statutes, but also train me to observe your law, to keep it with my heart? And doesn’t this prayer find its full and definitive answer in Jesus himself? For it is in his Life, Death and Resurrection that we find what the second reading calls the hidden wisdom of God. And isn’t this what we are celebrating at this and at every Mass?
Truly, we cannot say for sure whether or not but is indeed the most important word in the English language. What we Christians can say, with a conviction born of faith, is that we believe in a Living Word, an Eternal Word, a Word-Made-Flesh, a Word who was Crucified, Died and was Raised for us, a Word that even now begs to be inscribed most tenderly upon our inmost heart. Sisters and brothers, what do we need to do to allow the power and wisdom of this Word to continue animating our lives, as individuals, as families, and as Church today?
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