Monday, 1 June 2015

FIDELITY AND INTEGRITY IN THE FACE OF TRIALS AND MISUNDERSTANDINGS

20150602 FIDELITY AND INTEGRITY IN THE FACE OF TRIALS AND MISUNDERSTANDINGS
Readings at Mass

First reading
Tobit 2:9-14 ©
I, Tobit, took a bath; then I went into the courtyard and lay down by the courtyard wall. Since it was hot I left my face uncovered. I did not know that there were sparrows in the wall above my head; their hot droppings fell into my eyes. White spots then formed, which I was obliged to have treated by the doctors. But the more ointments they tried me with, the more the spots blinded me, and in the end I became blind altogether. I remained without sight four years; all my brothers were distressed; and Ahikar provided for my upkeep for two years, till he left for Elymais.
  My wife Anna then undertook woman’s work; she would spin wool and take cloth to weave; she used to deliver whatever had been ordered from her and then receive payment. Now on March the seventh she finished a piece of work and delivered it to her customers. They paid her all that was due, and into the bargain presented her with a kid for a meal. When the kid came into my house, it began to bleat. I called to my wife and said, ‘Where does this creature come from? Suppose it has been stolen! Quick, let the owners have it back; we have no right to eat stolen goods.’ She said, ‘No, it was a present given me over and above my wages.’ I did not believe her, and told her to give it back to the owners (I blushed at this in her presence). Then she answered, ‘What about your own alms? What about your own good works? Everyone knows what return you have had for them.’

Psalm
Psalm 111:1-2,7-9 ©
With a firm heart he trusts in the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Happy the man who fears the Lord,
  who takes delight in all his commands.
His sons will be powerful on earth;
  the children of the upright are blessed.
With a firm heart he trusts in the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
He has no fear of evil news;
  with a firm heart he trusts in the Lord.
With a steadfast heart he will not fear;
  he will see the downfall of his foes.
With a firm heart he trusts in the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Open-handed, he gives to the poor;
  his justice stands firm for ever.
  His head will be raised in glory.
With a firm heart he trusts in the Lord.
or
Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation
Heb4:12
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
Or
cf.Ep1:17,18
Alleluia, alleluia!
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our mind,
so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.
Alleluia!

Gospel
Mark 12:13-17 ©
The chief priests and the scribes and the elders sent to Jesus some Pharisees and some Herodians to catch him out in what he said. These came and said to him, ‘Master, we know you are an honest man, that you are not afraid of anyone, because a man’s rank means nothing to you, and that you teach the way of God in all honesty. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay, yes or no?’ Seeing through their hypocrisy he said to them, ‘Why do you set this trap for me? Hand me a denarius and let me see it.’ They handed him one and he said, ‘Whose head is this? Whose name?’ ‘Caesar’s’ they told him. Jesus said to them, ‘Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God.’ This reply took them completely by surprise.

FIDELITY AND INTEGRITY IN THE FACE OF TRIALS AND MISUNDERSTANDINGS

SCRIPTURE READINGS: TOB 2:9-14; MK 12:13-17
There is no way to happiness and peace if we do not strive to live a life of integrity.  To think otherwise is to deceive ourselves.  “The wicked have fallen into the pit they have dug; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.”  (Ps 9:15)  When we live a life of dishonesty, deceit and vindictiveness, we will only bring curses upon ourselves as the psalmist warns.   In attempting to cheat and trap others, invariably, we will cheat and hurt ourselves even more.
This is so succinctly captured by the psalmist today in the responsorial psalm when he described the rewards of the Just Man.  He said, “Blessed the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commands. His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth; the upright generation shall be blessed. Lavishly he gives to the poor; his generosity shall endure forever; his horn shall be exalted in glory.”  In blessing others with a good life, he blesses not only himself but his posterity as well.  That is why in another text of the gospel, Jesus said, “forgive and you will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you; good measure pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.   For the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”  (Lk 6:38)
But this does not appear to be true, at least apparently.  The harder we seek to live an honest life and walk the way of God, the more troubles we have.  Tobit and Christ lived a just life and yet suffered injustices and misery.  They lived a charitable life, yet they were grossly misunderstood, even persecuted.  Tobit was an honest, God-fearing man.  He had immense concern and compassion for the poor and the marginalized, going out of his way to alleviate their sufferings, regardless of their status.  And the reward for doing all these was having enemies from without and from within, his wife berated him for being so foolish.  The irony of it all was that he became blind one day and was deprived of his sight, which in the Old Testament was seen as an affliction from God.  So too, Jesus was faithful to His Father’s will.  He endeavored throughout His life to do what the Father wanted and not His will.  But instead of making friends, He made enemies who wanted to have Him killed.
Many of us Catholics and Christians also feel short-changed too, especially in the office or when doing business.  By not employing unscrupulous means to get business contracts, they appear to be losers in worldly terms. It seems the wicked prosper more and more, living a better life, whereas the good and honest people suffer. So what is the use of righteous living? It does not earn us a good and luxurious life.  This too was the cynicism of Tobit’s wife with regard to her husband’s refusal to bend to the ways of the world.  When he insisted on being honest, even when they were in need, she sarcastically retorted: “What about your own alms? What about your own good works? Everyone knows what return you have had for them.”  So the question is:  Does being good, honest and faithful to God, ourselves and our fellowmen pay?  Are we losers in this game of life?
The truth is that the lack of integrity and fidelity to our vocation in life and the values of the Gospel would cause us untold problems in time to come, if not in this world, surely in the life to come.  Those who live by the sword will die by the sword.  Look at the dictators of the world. They are eventually brought down by their own people, as we can see in many parts of the world. Those who lie, cheat in business or in relationships, will eventually be uncovered.  They will have a high price to pay for their greed.  Not only will their families break apart, their work and business will be affected as their personal problems, family issues and guilt will have a toll on their conscience, draining all their energy and concentration required for their work and business.
Why?  The reality is that we cannot run away from who we are, created in the image of God’s likeness and love.  This truth can be drawn from Jesus’ reply to the question of whether one should pay taxes to Caesar or not.  After being handed a denarius, He asked, “Whose head is this? Whose name?”  It is a question of integrity. In an ingenious and enlightening manner, Jesus drew a distinction between the state and religion.  In saying that one should ‘Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God’, Jesus is challenging the Jewish leaders to confront their real allegiance.  Hence we must be true to ourselves at all times.  To the state, we give it the rightful obedience it deserves, since it is the duty of the state to look after its citizens and preserve peace and harmony; and to God, we give our absolute obedience He deserves, because we are created in His image.
Secondly, just as we expect the state to protect us according to the laws of the land, we can expect God to protect us according to the promises He made to us. Tobit himself was overcome by fear and was not just physically but spiritually blind, so much so he could not see that God was still with him by first giving him his brothers to help him out.  As he said, “I remained without sight four years; all my brothers were distressed; and Ahikar provided for my upkeep for two years, till he left for Elymais.”  Then later on, in His divine providence, God provided his wife with a job of spinning wool and weaving cloth.  Not only did she do her job well but she received a big bonus of a kid as well, beyond the required payment. But Tobit refused to believe her and insisted that she returned it.  Tobit did not have sufficient faith and trust in divine providence and in his wife.  Aren’t we like that as well in our sufferings and pain? We are blind to the many ways God shows us His love and care through others and certain providential events in our lives. Instead of grumbling and doubting, we must confess the fidelity of God to His faithful ones, like the psalmist when he declared, “An evil report he shall not fear; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steadfast; he shall not fear till he looks down upon his foes. The heart of the just one is firm, trusting in the Lord.”
In the final analysis, let us always be conscious that happiness is never to be measured by what we own and what office we hold in society.  It is who we are as persons, created for love and relationships that ultimately matters.  Time will prove that living a just and righteous life will bring us real happiness.  The peace and joy and freedom that come from equanimity towards all things and forgiveness are so precious that no amount of money and prestige in life can give us.  This peace and joy we have will flow towards all those whom we meet, especially our family and our children, for the psalmist confesses, “Lavishly he gives to the poor; his generosity shall endure forever; his horn shall be exalted in glory.”   So great is the joy that comes from a compassionate, forgiving and generous heart that one would never want to exchange such a life for another.
Conversely, if we are like the wicked people and the hypocrites, like the Pharisees who were consumed with jealousy, anger and hatred for the rich, and captivated by their greed and desire for power and recognition, we will never find peace in this life.  For such people, they see the wisdom of the righteous as folly.  They think falsehood, deception, self aggrandizement and cheating without getting caught is the way to life and happiness.  They will await their punishment, not from God, but from the very sins they commit, as sins always recoil on the doers who commit them.
Of course, those of us who live righteous lives must not fall into the danger of self-righteousness.  Tobit erred in this manner for misjudging his wife, although his intention was sincere and good.  But by presuming that his wife had taken stolen goods and committed a fraudulent act, he was being too presumptuous. His wife too, could also have been trying to live a righteous life, perhaps not to the level of generosity that Tobit had.  We can imagine how hurtful it must have been for his wife, Anna, to be falsely accused and be doubted for her honesty and sincerity.  No wonder she reacted with bitterness and sarcasm.  What happened to her also happens to us, especially in our own household where good intentions are often misinterpreted by our loved ones.  How painful it is when they pass rash judgements and false accusations on us!  Hence, even as we seek to live a life of integrity and fidelity to our values and ourselves, let us not become judgemental, proud and arrogant, otherwise, we would also fall into the snare of the Evil One.  Spiritual pride is even more insidious and dangerous than crude pride and arrogance.   Instead, let us give glory to God for His grace and in humility thank Him for keeping us faithful to Him and courageous in always doing the right and honest thing.


Written by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved


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