20150327 PERSEVERE IN DOING GOOD EVEN WHEN MISUNDERSTOOD
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Jeremiah
20:10-13 ©
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Jeremiah said:
I hear so many
disparaging me,
‘“Terror from every
side!”
Denounce him! Let us
denounce him!’
All those who used to
be my friends
watched for my
downfall,
‘Perhaps he will be
seduced into error.
Then we will master
him
and take our
revenge!’
But the Lord is at my
side, a mighty hero;
my opponents will
stumble, mastered,
confounded by their
failure;
everlasting,
unforgettable disgrace will be theirs.
But you, O Lord of
Hosts, you who probe with justice,
who scrutinise the
loins and heart,
let me see the
vengeance you will take on them,
for I have committed
my cause to you.
Sing to the Lord,
praise the Lord,
for he has delivered
the soul of the needy
from the hands of
evil men.
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Psalm
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Psalm 17:2-7 ©
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In my anguish I
called to the Lord, and he heard my voice.
I love you, Lord, my
strength,
my rock,
my fortress, my saviour.
My God is the rock
where I take refuge;
my
shield, my mighty help, my stronghold.
The Lord is worthy of
all praise,
when I
call I am saved from my foes.
In my anguish I
called to the Lord, and he heard my voice.
The waves of death
rose about me;
the
torrents of destruction assailed me;
the snares of the
grave entangled me;
the traps
of death confronted me.
In my anguish I
called to the Lord, and he heard my voice.
In my anguish I
called to the Lord;
I cried
to God for help.
From his temple he
heard my voice;
my cry
came to his ears.
In my anguish I
called to the Lord, and he heard my voice.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Jn6:63,68
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Glory to you, O
Christ, you are the Word of God!
Your words are
spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message
of eternal life.
Glory to you, O
Christ, you are the Word of God!
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Gospel
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John 10:31-42 ©
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The Jews fetched
stones to stone him, so Jesus said to them, ‘I have done many good works for
you to see, works from my Father; for which of these are you stoning me?’ The
Jews answered him, ‘We are not stoning you for doing a good work but for
blasphemy: you are only a man and you claim to be God.’ Jesus answered:
‘Is it not written in
your Law:
I said, you are
gods?
So the Law uses the
word gods
of those to whom the
word of God was addressed,
and scripture cannot
be rejected.
Yet you say to
someone the Father has consecrated and sent into the world,
“You are
blaspheming,”
because he says, “I
am the son of God.”
If I am not doing my
Father’s work,
there is no need to
believe me;
but if I am doing it,
then even if you
refuse to believe in me,
at least believe in
the work I do;
then you will know
for sure
that the Father is in
me and I am in the Father.’
They wanted to arrest
him then, but he eluded them.
He went
back again to the far side of the Jordan to stay in the district where John had
once been baptising. Many people who came to him there said, ‘John gave no
signs, but all he said about this man was true’; and many of them believed in
him.
PERSEVERE
IN DOING GOOD EVEN WHEN MISUNDERSTOOD
SCRIPTURE
READINGS:JER 20:10-13; JN 10:31-42
Doing
good is quite difficult for some of us as we are inclined towards individualism
and self-centredness. Nonetheless, some of us who are moved by the
Holy Spirit, still seek to reach out in love to our suffering fellowmen
and those courting disaster, but our efforts, unfortunately, do not
always find positive reception. By speaking out against evil or the
wrongs that others have done, we risk being spurned or even confronted with
hostility. Not being appreciated for the good we do is already discouraging
enough, but to have our good intentions misunderstood and be wrongly accused of
things we never did, or suspected of dubious motives which we never had, truly
pierces the heart.
In such a situation, we
are tempted to give up
helping such people and consigning them to their ignorance and fate. We
want to wash the dust from our feet and allow nature and the consequences of
their sins to punish and awaken them. We might even feel angry with God
for abandoning us and not taking our side. Indeed, when faced with such
challenges and violent opposition, those of us who are active in Church
ministry or helping out in voluntary organizations can become indignant and
sometimes even vindictive. We might even curse those we set out to help,
or hope that God will take revenge on our behalf. Others might even give
up faith in God or in the Church and resign themselves to evil when they deem
the situation to be hopeless. We cannot accept that God does not
show His face quickly and vindicate us from our foes.
This was the case of
Jeremiah in the first reading. He too was a reluctant prophet.
He was called by God in spite of his objections of inadequacy to speak the Word
of God. But because he loved God and his people, he spoke out against the
infidelity of his people to the Covenant, for the injustices they committed
against their fellowmen and the failure to observe the laws of the
Covenant. For all his sacrifices, his warnings not only went unheeded but
he created many enemies, especially from the royal court, the false prophets
and priests. They were too blinded by their own sins and
narrow-mindedness to face the truth about themselves and the precarious
situation the country was in. As a consequence, they went all out
to get at Jeremiah, to eliminate him from the face of the earth, so that their
conscience would not be disturbed by his stark teachings. Indeed, they
began to manipulate, connive and plan to put Jeremiah out of circulation.
That was what Jeremiah said, “I hear so many disparaging me, ‘Terror from every
side!’ Denounce him! Let us denounce him!’ All those who used to be my friends
watched for my downfall, ‘Perhaps he will be seduced into error. Then we will
master him and take our revenge!’”
Similarly, in the
gospel, Jesus too was denounced for His teachings. The Jews could not
accept the way Jesus spoke about God’s mercy and acceptance of the
sinners. In spite of the good works that He did, the authorities ganged
up against Him and plotted to dispose of Him. They even fetched stones to
stone Jesus. What was the reason? On the superficial level, they
gave a theological excuse to put Jesus to death because He claimed to be the
Son of God. They said to Jesus, “We are not stoning you for doing a good
work but for blasphemy: you are only a man and you claim to be God.”
Underlying this apparent justification to put Jesus to death was their
inability to accept that Jesus was more popular than them and that the crowds
were following Him. They were envious of Him, insecure of their position
and power and fearful of His perceived political agenda. How then can we
transcend our detractors and slanderers?
Firstly, we must cling
to God our Hero, as Jeremiah called Him. In faith, he said, “But the Lord is at
my side, a mighty hero; my opponents will stumble, mastered, confounded by
their failure; everlasting, unforgettable disgrace will be theirs.”
When we feel we are losing the battle and we cannot change the mind-set or
soften the heart of our unrepentant spouse or children, let us never give up
hope that the Lord is on our side and that He will act in His own time and in
His wisdom. He is our mighty hero. Like the psalmist, we pray, “My God,
my rock of refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold! Praised
be the Lord, I exclaim, and I am safe from my enemies.”
Secondly, we must
surrender our cause to Him. He will know how to put things right. We
must continue to trust Him the way Jesus did, even unto death. This is
because He knows the heart of every person. He knows our intentions and
He knows the sins that have a hold over sinners. As Jeremiah exclaimed,
“But you, Lord of hosts, you who probe with justice, who scrutinise the loins
and heart, let me see the vengeance you will take on them, for I have committed
my cause to you.” It is to the Lord that we should surrender our
lives and all our aspirations. We will never be able to understand the
wisdom of God and His plan for us. But if we just learn to let go and let
Him take over, cooperating with His love and Will, we will triumph over our
enemies in the end. This we can be sure, for He will see us
through. The death of Jesus is a reminder that love and life are
victorious in the end, not sin and evil.
Thirdly, we must
continue to pray with faith and sing praises to the Lord. This is
what Jeremiah did. Worshipping and singing praises to the Lord is the
most effective way to raise our hopes, for praise renders trust in the mighty
hand of God. As we sing to the Lord in songs and with faith, the sorrows
and disappointments of this life will not be able to overwhelm us and cause us
to lose confidence in Him. The sentiment of the psalmist assures us that
God is faithful. He said, “In my distress I called upon the Lord and
cried out to my God; from his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him
reached his ears.”
Fourthly, never forget
our dignity as the sons and daughters of God. This was the reply of
Jesus when accused of blasphemy, “Is it not written in your Law: I said, you
are gods? So the Law used the word gods of those to whom the word of God was
addressed, and scripture cannot be rejected. Yet you say to someone the Father
has consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because he
says, ‘I am the Son of God.’” We are all children of God. So we can
be assured that we are safe in the hands of the Father. Jesus reminds us,
“If I am not doing my Father’s work, there is no need to believe me, at least
believe in the work I do; then you will know for sure that the Father is in me
and I am the Father.” The Father who chose us to be His children will not
abandon us if we continue to surrender our lives to Him and all our anxieties
and fears. We cannot be so presumptuous to think we can solve all our
problems. We cannot change people’s minds and hearts. Only the Lord
can reach the recesses of every one of us.
So in the face of evil, let
us not retaliate or take matters into our own hands. That would be
unbecoming of us Christians. We must let the Father defend us and put things
right. We must pray for our enemies and also that God will grant them wisdom,
understanding and conversion of heart. In the meantime, we must persevere
in doing good with a clear conscience as Jesus did in the gospel when He
challenged the Jews, “I have done many good works for you to see, works from my
Father; for which of these are you stoning me?” Let our good works
justify us and show that we come from the Father and that the Father is acting
and working in and through us. Jesus did not stop doing good and doing
the right thing just because some people were not happy. On the contrary,
we read that “Many people who came to him there said, ‘John gave no signs, but
all he said about this man was true’; and many of them believed in him.”
Finally, let us learn
from the mistakes of our enemies. The enemies of Jeremiah and Jesus
were too intent on destroying them that they failed to remain objective and
docile to their messages. Their hearts and minds were closed to the
truth. As a result, the real losers were themselves. We too must be
careful not to fall into this trap. Instead of reacting with anger, we
must try to disregard what our critics say about us. We must pray for
humility to consider what they say, for even if such remarks were made in fear
or retaliation, there could be some truth in what they are saying. More
often than not, our enemies attack us because of their fears and unaddressed
hurts. Such hurts could have been caused by us, consciously or
unintentionally. Let us listen not to what they say but what they are not
saying. Rather, let us listen to what they are truly feeling within,
masked by all their harsh words spoken angrily against us. They too can
be the unlikely prophets of God sent to purify our love and help us grow in
self-awareness and love for others.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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