20150829
THE NECESSARY DISPOSITIONS BEFORE ONE CAN PROCLAIM
THE TRUTH FEARLESSLY
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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1 Thessalonians
4:9-11 ©
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As for loving our
brothers, there is no need for anyone to write to you about that, since you
have learnt from God yourselves to love one another, and in fact this is what
you are doing with all the brothers throughout the whole of Macedonia. However,
we do urge you, brothers, to go on making even greater progress and to make a
point of living quietly, attending to your own business and earning your
living, just as we told you to.
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Psalm
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Psalm 97:1,7-9 ©
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The Lord comes to
rule the people with fairness.
Sing a new song to
the Lord
for he
has worked wonders.
His right hand and
his holy arm
have
brought salvation.
The Lord comes to
rule the people with fairness.
Let the sea and all
within it, thunder;
the
world, and all its peoples.
Let the rivers clap
their hands
and the
hills ring out their joy
The Lord comes to
rule the people with fairness.
at the presence of
the Lord: for he comes,
he comes
to rule the earth.
He will rule the
world with justice
and the
peoples with fairness.
The Lord comes to
rule the people with fairness.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Ph2:15-16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
You will shine in the
world like bright stars
because you are
offering it the word of life.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Jn13:34
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I give you a new
commandment:
love one another just
as I have loved you,
says the Lord.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 6:17-29 ©
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Herod sent to have
John arrested, and had him chained up in prison because of Herodias, his
brother Philip’s wife whom he had married. For John had told Herod, ‘It is
against the law for you to have your brother’s wife.’ As for Herodias, she was
furious with him and wanted to kill him; but she was not able to, because Herod
was afraid of John, knowing him to be a good and holy man, and gave him his
protection. When he had heard him speak he was greatly perplexed, and yet he
liked to listen to him.
An
opportunity came on Herod’s birthday when he gave a banquet for the nobles of
his court, for his army officers and for the leading figures in Galilee. When
the daughter of this same Herodias came in and danced, she delighted Herod and
his guests; so the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me anything you like and I will
give it you.’ And he swore her an oath, ‘I will give you anything you ask, even
half my kingdom.’ She went out and said to her mother, ‘What shall I ask for?’
She replied, ‘The head of John the Baptist’ The girl hurried straight back to
the king and made her request, ‘I want you to give me John the Baptist’s head,
here and now, on a dish.’ The king was deeply distressed but, thinking of the
oaths he had sworn and of his guests, he was reluctant to break his word to
her. So the king at once sent one of the bodyguard with orders to bring John’s
head. The man went off and beheaded him in prison; then he brought the head on
a dish and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When John’s
disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
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THE NECESSARY DISPOSITIONS BEFORE ONE CAN PROCLAIM THE
TRUTH FEARLESSLY
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SCRIPTURE
READINGS: JER 1:17-19;
MK 6:17-29
Although
many of us are unable to act the way John the Baptist did, we can still reflect
on how one might be able to gather such courage and imitate his noble example.
In other words, the question is what kind of dispositions must one have
before one can speak the truth for justice? What is it that John the
Baptist has that we do not?
Firstly,
John the Baptist shows us that one must have a deep faith in God.
Indeed, John the Baptist was seen by everyone, even Herod himself, as a man of
God, as he was an upright and holy man. We know that he himself has spent
all his life in the desert listening to the voice of God. Only a man who
has a deep faith in God is not afraid of death or any consequences because he
trusts that God will somehow bring out good from any kind of
situation. This deep faith in God will also enable the person to do
what he perceives to be right.
This is
the second disposition necessary for a man to act. Indeed, only a man who
has a deep faith and relationship with God would be centered enough to discern
the situation. John the Baptist was not muddle-headed in evaluating the
situation. He saw that an injustice had been done and he spoke
accordingly. Without clarity of mind and heart, it is not possible even
to act, or at least to act with conviction and strength. Without
conviction, one cannot commit oneself totally. Conviction however must
come from a clear mind a clean heart.
Thirdly,
a deep faith in God will bring about selflessness. When a person is truly
one with God, he cannot but become selfless. In his union with God, he
loses himself and does not think of himself anymore. Because he is
already so happy to be united with God, such a man does not need anything or to
gain anything from anyone since neither can add to his happiness.
This, surely, was the case for John the Baptist. He was a man who lived
meagerly because he had found the joy of God in his life. And because he
was selfless, he could stand up to Herod without fear even at the risk of his
own life. Surely, by speaking out against Herod, John the Baptist had no
self-interests at all. If John the Baptist had vested interests, then he
would have lost the moral strength to speak against Herod.
Fourthly,
only a selfless person can be a compassionate person. Compassion implies
that we have forgotten about our own passion and learnt to identify with the
passion of another. It is compassion for others, especially those who
suffer and are voiceless, that enables one to take up their cause.
Compassion is the concrete expression of love of one’s neighbours. In
this respect, we can be very certain that John the Baptist must have felt the
injustice that Herod had done to his brother.
Yes, if
John the Baptist was willing to stand for the truth and for justice, it was
simply because he was truly a man of God, deeply in love with Him and therefore
with his fellowmen. His lifestyle was surely in contrast to ours and to
the other characters portrayed in the scripture readings of today.
Perhaps, it is good to reflect for ourselves where we stand with regard to our
relationship with God and therefore with our neighbours.
Perhaps,
some of us are like King Herod. He can be likened to most ordinary
Christians. Like many of us, Herod was searching for God but had not yet
found Him. He had a certain respect for the sacred but had not come to
full understanding yet. That is why he liked to listen to John the
Baptist and yet was afraid to accept his message. Herod was confused,
like many of us. We are not too sure as to what should be done in some
situations.
If we
are not like Herod, perhaps, some of us are like Jeremiah. Unlike Herod,
he had deep faith in God. However, his faith was not deep enough yet as
he still lacked love for his fellow human beings. Jeremiah, unlike John
the Baptist, was not selfless. He was more afraid for his life and his
own interests than the plight of his countrymen.
There
are two other characters which one can identify with. We have the
character of Herodias’ daughter. She did not seem to have a mind of her
own. She listened to whatever her mother said. She was unable to
discern what was good and what was not good. She had no values at
all. However, she was obedient to authority. But isn’t that the way
most people act? Many people do not have values of their own. The
values that they have are imbibed from the mass media or from some
authorities. Are we also like her? Are we also so obedient to
authority that we have relinquished our responsibility to speak and act
according to what we discern to be right? Have we forgotten that
authorities at times can be wrong in judgement? They are not infallible.
Finally,
we can be like Herodias herself, the vindictive kind. In not so nice
contemporary parlance, we call her a real bitch. She was full of hatred
and defensiveness. Why? Because unlike John the Baptist she was fearful;
fearful of her interests. She only wanted things her way. She had
no heart for others. She was so fearful that she needed to connive
with her daughter to have John the Baptist beheaded. Her heart was so full of
evil, so closed to goodness and truth that she was unable to see beyond herself
at all. She only knew revenge. She was one who not only did not
discern but was incapable of discernment. She is an example of a real
hardened sinner.
Yes, to
confront the truth about the state that we are in is indeed painful. But
this is why this feast is celebrated. We all know that most of us are far
from what we should be. We know that we are all called to be John the
Baptist. And if after reflection, we know that we belong instead to one
of the other four characters, then at least we know where we have gone wrong
and what we are lacking. Let us pray that a deeper relationship with God
will empower us with His love so that we too might love God and His people so
deeply to the extent that we are willing to live and die for them.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
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