Tuesday, 23 December 2014

20140702 TRUE SPIRITUALITY REQUIRES US TO DEAL WITH SOCIAL EVILS

20140702 TRUE SPIRITUALITY REQUIRES US TO DEAL WITH SOCIAL EVILS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 
AMOS 5:14-15. 21-24;
14 Seek good and not evil so that you may survive, and Yahweh, God Sabaoth, be with you as you claim he is.
15 Hate evil, love good, let justice reign at the city gate: it may be that Yahweh, God Sabaoth, will take pity on the remnant of Joseph.   21 I hate, I scorn your festivals, I take no pleasure in your solemn assemblies.
22 When you bring me burnt offerings . . . your oblations, I do not accept them and I do not look at your communion sacrifices of fat cattle.
23 Spare me the din of your chanting, let me hear none of your strumming on lyres,
24 but let justice flow like water, and uprightness like a never-failing stream!
MT 8:28-34

 28 When he reached the territory of the Gadarenes on the other side, two demoniacs came towards him out of the tombs -- they were so dangerously violent that nobody could use that path.
29 Suddenly they shouted, 'What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before the time?'
30 Now some distance away there was a large herd of pigs feeding,
31 and the devils pleaded with Jesus, 'If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.'
32 And he said to them, 'Go then,' and they came out and made for the pigs; and at that the whole herd charged down the cliff into the lake and perished in the water.
33 The herdsmen ran off and made for the city, where they told the whole story, including what had happened to the demoniacs.
34 Suddenly the whole city set out to meet Jesus; and as soon as they saw him they implored him to leave their neighbourhood.
“The Lord says this: I hate and despise your feasts, I take no pleasure in your solemn festivals.  When you offer me holocausts, I reject your oblations, and refuse to look at your sacrifices of fattened cattle. Let me have no more din of your chanting, no more of your strumming on harps.”  Yes, the message of the prophet is clear.  True spirituality is more than worship and sacrificial offerings.  What God wants is that we live the life of the Spirit, a life of justice and love.

There is a real danger that believers often dichotomize their faith from their life.  Some Catholics consider themselves as good Catholics just because they attend Mass regularly, even weekday Masses, and are involved in some Church organizations.  Yet, when it comes to dealing with their loved ones at home, especially their spouse, their maids or their workers, they are far from being Christian. Conversely, we have workers who do not put in a day’s effort for the remuneration received, or students who do not give their time to study but idle away their time and waste the resources given them by their parents at great sacrifice. In fact, quite often we live lives of contradiction, appearing to be pious in Church but lacking justice and charity in our relationships. When we live in this manner, the Lord will admonish us the same way He did with the Israelites, “Why do you recite my statutes, and profess my covenant with your mouth, though you hate discipline and cast my words behind you?”

Indeed, true spirituality demands that we practise social justice on those under our care.  By taking advantage of the poor and exploiting them, we hurt those whom God loves.   We are called to love not just those who love us or are important to us, but even towards strangers, since they too are loved by God.  At times, we might have to speak on behalf of the needy and those who are oppressed.  Like the prophet Amos, those of us who have the privilege of influence, should use our resources to champion the cause of the marginalized and the voiceless.   It is not sufficient to live a righteous life but we also have a responsibility towards society in helping our people to live a life of righteousness.

How then do we deal with social evils?  Firstly, we must begin with ourselves.  We must not think of social sins as something outside of us because we are social beings and we are part of this society.  Social sins and structural sins do not exist by themselves but are caused by individuals living in society.  So as individuals, we must seek to put our own house in order.  If individuals live an upright life, society will have fewer social problems. The importance of upholding the role of the family in society must not be compromised.  Without a good family environment, the individual adapts well in society.  In truth, most problems begin in the family because of poor upbringing.  By our failure to live an authentic Christian life, we influence society for the worse.  The good or the evil we do have an effect on others.  Hence, we either contribute to the social evils of society or we imbue society with the right values.

But dealing with social evils cannot be purely a matter of human justice and ethical living.   We cannot deny that other than our individual failings, personal and social evil is also caused by the Devil and his cohort.  We cannot underestimate the force of Satan working subtly in the world.  Whilst we cannot ascribe all our sins to the Evil One, as we have the freedom of choice, yet we cannot dismiss the fact that the Devil does tempt us to sin, often masking himself with the culture of society so that he is not noticeable.

The deliverance of the two possessed men in today’s gospel underscores the reality of our spiritual warfare against the Devil.  There are various explanations by scripture scholars for the apparent act of social injustice of drowning the pigs.  No one knows for sure the reason.  Perhaps, in Jesus’ culture where pigs were seen as defiled animals and Jews were not to be in contact with them, His giving permission for the demons to enter the pigs demonstrates the reality of not just the demons, but that of their power of destruction as well.  Only in this way would people come to realize that evil is more than just personal sins but truly a force and power of the Evil One.

Indeed, today many discount diabolical influence, reducing everything to a psychological nature.  Every problem is attributed only to a medical disorder of the body and the mind.  Many think that illnesses are caused by nature and can thus be cured by medicine and counseling alone.  Yet the truth is that some illnesses are the effects of the sins of our forefathers, since all of us are somehow influenced by our loved ones.  But some infirmities could be caused by demons as they have influence over our thoughts, emotions and actions.  We read often of demonic possession and bondage in the gospel. Of course, not all sicknesses and diseases are to be attributed to the devil.  Our battle is thus not only against sins committed by human beings but we need also to be alert to the temptations of the Evil One.

So we must also seek to remove Satan from the influence over our lives.  How? By enthroning Jesus in our hearts!  Concretely, it means being committed to His truth and His way of life.  This is what the prophet is asking of us when he wrote, “Seek good and not evil so that you may live, and that the Lord, God of hosts, may really be with you as you claim he is.”  We need not be helpless in the face of evil in our own lives or in society.  Rather, we have the spiritual weapons given to us by Christ in establishing His reign of righteousness on earth.  Our response in the responsorial psalm declares, “To the upright I will show the saving power of God.”  All we need is to seek the Lord daily in prayer and meditate on His Word.  With the Word of God as our shield and the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we will be able to ward off the temptations of the Evil One and live a life of integrity.  Yes, we must “let justice flow like water, and integrity like an unfailing stream.”   

WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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