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.
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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