Who can enter into God’s presence?
June 27, 2023 - Tuesday, 12th Week in Ordinary Time
Psalm 15:2-5
In the Old Testament we find a paradox: on the one hand, the people long to be in God’s presence and at the same time, God evoke awe and fear. And so, Psalm 15 begins with a very important question: “O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?” (Ps 15:1).
The answer to that question includes ten requirements: five of them are positive and five are negative. The positives include: living blamelessly, doing right, speaking the truth, despising reprobates but honouring God-fearing people, and standing by one’s oath. The negative requirements are: no lying, no evil, no reproach, no usury, and no bribes (see Ps 15:2-5). The psalm then follows the prophetic tradition that highlights the fact that worship cannot be separated from ethical living.
The ten requirements to enter the holy presence of God remind me of the Ten Commandments summarised by Jesus in the commandment of loving God and our neighbours. If asked today, “Who shall dwell on God’s holy hill?”, our answer should be: those who love the LORD with all [their] heart, soul, and might, and love their neighbours as they love themselves (see Deut 6:5; Lev 19:18). But who among us can fulfil this commandment of love? As I reflect upon this psalm, I think about a question that the disciples asked Jesus: “Who can be saved?” (Matt 19:25). Jesus’ answer states that we cannot save ourselves but need God to save us.
There is yet another paradox in the Bible that surprises many, namely that what God commands he also enables us to do it. I think that no one of us can claim that he can fulfil the psalmist’s requirement to enter into God’s presence. The same goes for the Ten Commandments and the commandment of love. Together with Saint Paul, we discover that the commandments help us to realise our shortcomings but do not enable us to fulfil them. They present an ideal of righteous living that we are unable to reach. What can we do then? Who can save us from this predicament?
The message of Christianity contains two important words worth mentioning today: redemption and sanctification. The act of redemption takes place in our lives the moment we believe in Jesus and are baptised. It is the fruit of God’s grace. We are saved by God’s grace. Then we begin our journey of faith that aims at our sanctification. We are called to resemble Christ in our lives. This is a lifelong process in which our determination to live by God’s commandments and God’s grace cooperate with each other. What was before impossible for us, now becomes possible. Redeemed by Jesus’ death, we embark on our pilgrimage to God’s tent, His holy hill, the heavenly Jerusalem. Accompanying by the Holy Spirit, we walk through life loving the Lord and those we meet along the way.