20140921 DIVINE JUSTICE IS INCOMPARABLE TO HUMAN JUSTICE

20140921 DIVINE JUSTICE IS INCOMPARABLE TO HUMAN JUSTICE

First reading Isaiah 55:6-9 ©

Seek the Lord while he is still to be found,

call to him while he is still near.

Let the wicked man abandon his way,

the evil man his thoughts.

Let him turn back to the Lord who will take pity on him,

to our God who is rich in forgiving;

for my thoughts are not your thoughts,

my ways not your ways – it is the Lord who speaks.

Yes, the heavens are as high above earth

as my ways are above your ways,

my thoughts above your thoughts.

Psalm

Psalm 144:2-3,8-9,17-18 ©

The Lord is close to all who call him.

I will bless you day after day

  and praise your name for ever.

The Lord is great, highly to be praised,

  his greatness cannot be measured.

The Lord is close to all who call him.

The Lord is kind and full of compassion,

  slow to anger, abounding in love.

How good is the Lord to all,

  compassionate to all his creatures.

The Lord is close to all who call him.

The Lord is just in all his ways

  and loving in all his deeds.

He is close to all who call him,

  who call on him from their hearts.

The Lord is close to all who call him.

Second reading

Philippians 1:20-24,27 ©

Christ will be glorified in my body, whether by my life or by my death. Life to me, of course, is Christ, but then death would bring me something more; but then again, if living in this body means doing work which is having good results-I do not know what I should choose. I am caught in this dilemma: I want to be gone and be with Christ, which would be very much the better, but for me to stay alive in this body is a more urgent need for your sake.

  Avoid anything in your everyday lives that would be unworthy of the gospel of Christ.

Gospel Acclamation           cf.Lk19:38,2:14

Alleluia, alleluia!

Blessings on the King who comes,

in the name of the Lord!

Peace in heaven

and glory in the highest heavens!

Alleluia!

Or        cf.Ac16:14

Alleluia, alleluia!

Open our heart, O Lord,

to accept the words of your Son.

Alleluia!

Gospel           Matthew 20:1-16 ©

Jesus told this parable to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner going out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. He made an agreement with the workers for one denarius a day, and sent them to his vineyard. Going out at about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place and said to them, “You go to my vineyard too and I will give you a fair wage.” So they went. At about the sixth hour and again at about the ninth hour, he went out and did the same. Then at about the eleventh hour he went out and found more men standing round, and he said to them, “Why have you been standing here idle all day?” “Because no one has hired us” they answered. He said to them, “You go into my vineyard too.” In the evening, the owner of the vineyard said to his bailiff, “Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last arrivals and ending with the first.” So those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came forward and received one denarius each. When the first came, they expected to get more, but they too received one denarius each. They took it, but grumbled at the landowner. “The men who came last” they said “have done only one hour, and you have treated them the same as us, though we have done a heavy day’s work in all the heat.” He answered one of them and said, “My friend, I am not being unjust to you; did we not agree on one denarius? Take your earnings and go. I choose to pay the last comer as much as I pay you. Have I no right to do what I like with my own? Why be envious because I am generous?” Thus the last will be first, and the first, last.’

DIVINE JUSTICE IS INCOMPARABLE TO HUMAN JUSTICE

SCRIPTURE READINGS: Isa 55:6-9; Phil 1:20-24.27; Mt 20:1-16
http://www.universalis.com/20140921/mass.htm

What is justice?  Is justice the destruction of all evil forces or is justice the exercise of compassion and love to win over evil?  Is justice the same as revenge or is it for the purpose of establishing harmony?

Why is there this quest for justice in all of us regardless of who we are?  If man seeks for justice, whether he is a believer in God or otherwise, it is because justice is innate to us.  We have been created with the intellect to discern what truth is and what falsehood is.  In other words, we have a conscience, that urges us to do good and avoid evil.  In Christian parlance, we are created in the image of God and God is justice.

However, human justice is only a pale reflection of divine justice.  Human justice is based on the laws rather than on the spirit of the laws.  It judges situations externally rather than the heart of the person.  Human justice is purely objective insofar as it judges on the basis of the laws.  But how could such justice be objective since all of us are different and come from different circumstances.  We are equal only as human beings but not in terms of charisms, wealth, personal assets and health.

So a pure objective application of the law is never possible.  On the surface, it appears to be objective but because it does not take into consideration that each person is unique and different, the justice of man is flawed.

Secondly, human justice is geared towards self-preservation.  Laws are meant to protect the rights of the individual, especially his property and his personal rights.  The focus is on the self and the individual.  Justice is therefore drawing a boundary between the individual and another.

Thirdly, human justice is based on achievements.  It is not based on grace.  A person is determined by what he can do and what he possesses.  But we know that although it is true that we might be self-made, yet the fact remains that human effort alone cannot assure us of success.  There are many other factors that come into play. Hard work alone cannot guarantee that we will do well.  The timing, the circumstances, the situations and the people we meet will also determine our success in life.

Finally, human justice is based on rewards and punishments.  Indeed, the world teaches that causality principle.  You are rewarded when you do well and penalized when you do not.  It is this principle of so-called meritocracy that supposedly ensures fair play.

Indeed, we find God incomprehensible in His dealings with man in the world.  In the first reading, God makes it clear, “my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways not your ways – it is the Lord who speaks.”  Human justice is only analogous to divine justice.  But it is far from the meaning of human justice.

The justice of God is rooted in love, not in the laws.  God’s justice is His love since His justice is to make us all live in harmony and love.  If the justice of God is founded on love, it is because love has no limits or boundaries.  Human justice reflects the protection of the individual and does not require the individual to go beyond loving himself.   Love however demands that we seek for the well-being of the other.  Hence, love means that we cannot be calculative.  It means that we must do all that we can to alleviate the sufferings of others.  When justice is founded on love, it always promotes the common good of all, not just of the individual.  That is why, social justice demands that those who are rich and better off have a duty to share his goods with the have-nots.

Secondly, divine justice is founded on grace.  We must realize that there is nothing that we have that did not come from grace or from God.  Our health, talents and wealth all have come from God.  We cannot choose the country, the family and the society we wish to be born into.  We cannot dictate the kind of genes we want.  Everything is grace and the mercy of God.  Consequently, we have nothing to boast about.  Even our cooperation with the gifts that God has given to us is His grace.  If God did not give us good health, we can do nothing.

Thirdly, divine justice is founded on mercy.  In the first reading, Isaiah urges us, “Seek the Lord while he is still to be found, call to him while he is still near. Let the wicked man abandon his way, the evil man his thoughts.”  Yes, because God loves us and feels with us in our weakness, His only desire is to restore us in our relationship with Him.  So if forgiveness can bring about that restoration, then God would do anything to bring us to repentance.  This explains why the prophet says, “Let him turn back to the Lord who will take pity on him, to our God who is rich in forgiving.”

Fourthly, in divine justice, God judges the intentions of the heart not the external work we do.  In the case of the parable of the labourers in the vineyard, all the workers were treated as individuals and unique.  On the surface, we could certainly identify with those who were employed earlier when they found out that the workers employed later were given the same pay as those who started work earlier.

The truth is that remuneration cannot be measured only on material terms, for the labourers who were hired earlier had gained in terms of experience, security, and fulfillment. Those who were employed later lost out in experience and in personal development.  Furthermore, we know how those who were waiting to be employed lived in fear and anxiety, for they could not be sure of their livelihood and how they could sustain their lives.   We must learn to empathize with those who have no work.

That the master rewarded all of them with one talent is in order to show that every one of us requires the basic food, accommodation and needs in life.  The family of the worker who came earlier needed as much as the family of the worker who came last.  Justice requires that all must be given their basic rights and needs because every one of us human beings must be given the rightful dignity.   The society and state must ensure that all are given the basic needs of life.

At any rate, as we have said earlier, the justice of God is founded on grace.  Whatever we have, our talents and possessions all come from God.  We have nothing to boast about except His grace. Everything is the grace of God and His mercy.   So the gospel today asks, why should we be envious of God’s generosity to others when He has been so generous towards us?  Of course, there is no true external equality because we are all so different.   There is no way for us to compare with each other.  We do not have a monopoly of gifts and talents.  We all need each other.  So God has blessed us with different gifts so that through the sharing of the gifts we have, we become more loving and more united as one body.   If God never gives any one all the gifts of life, it is to ensure that we recognize our own limitations and therefore learn to accept others in their limitations and use our strengths to help each other.

What is the implication for all of us?  Firstly, we must be grateful for our calling.  None of us deserves to be what we are.  We have nothing to boast about. Realizing God’s mercy, we must therefore respond to that grace of God by living our lives responsibly and giving ourselves to the vocation, which we have been called to.

Secondly, we must never look down on others.  If we are able to do certain things better than others or live holier lives, we should be humble and not be self-righteous.  If not for the grace of God, we too would have fallen.  So we must thank God for His merciful grace without which we too would have been counted among the damned.

Thirdly, we are called to share our gifts with each other.  Since we have received everything through the grace of God, we must be generous in sharing what we have.  We must not hoard things for ourselves.  If God has been generous with us, then the surplus we have must be shared with others.  God has given us His gifts not for ourselves but so that we can be His instruments to share what we have with others.  We are stewards of God’s grace and blessings, not the owner.  In this way, justice would be realized because all men become one brotherhood, sharing their resources with each other.  All would have more than sufficient.  The rich will never become too rich and the poor will never be deprived of their needs.  Justice means harmonious living with all men.

Today, we have the example of St Paul who has shown to us the true meaning of justice and love.  Strictly speaking, he would have preferred to be with Christ, since he had discovered that being with Christ meant everything.  Yet, he chose to stay, not because he loved Christ less but because he loved us.

This is what divine justice is all about.  Instead of seeking for his rights, he gave up his rights for others.  So too is the justice of God.  Christ gave Himself up for us in our stead because He loves us and wants to save us.

To be able to live out the divine justice of God in our lives, we must be touched by the prior grace of God.  Unless we have experienced His merciful love and become conscious of that love, we cannot love in that manner.  Hence, it is necessary that we become more conscious of this love that has already been given to us.  Through prayer and our union with Him, we will come to appreciate the mercy and grace of God.

WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV WILLIAM GOH


ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE
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