20151015
LEADING OTHERS INTO THE TRUTH PRESUPPOSES OUR
ABILITY TO FACE THE TRUTH ABOUT OURSELVES
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Romans 3:21-30 ©
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God’s justice that
was made known through the Law and the Prophets has now been revealed outside
the Law, since it is the same justice of God that comes through faith to
everyone, Jew and pagan alike, who believes in Jesus Christ. Both Jew and pagan
sinned and forfeited God’s glory, and both are justified through the free gift
of his grace by being redeemed in Christ Jesus who was appointed by God to
sacrifice his life so as to win reconciliation through faith. In this way God
makes his justice known; first, for the past, when sins went unpunished because
he held his hand, then, for the present age, by showing positively that he is
just, and that he justifies everyone who believes in Jesus.
So what
becomes of our boasts? There is no room for them. What sort of law excludes
them? The sort of law that tells us what to do? On the contrary, it is the law
of faith, since, as we see it, a man is justified by faith and not by doing
something the Law tells him to do. Is God the God of Jews alone and not of the
pagans too? Of the pagans too, most certainly, since there is only one God.
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Psalm
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Psalm 129:1-6 ©
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With the Lord
there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
Out of the depths I
cry to you, O Lord,
Lord,
hear my voice!
O let your ears be
attentive
to the
voice of my pleading.
With the Lord
there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
If you, O Lord,
should mark our guilt,
Lord, who
would survive?
But with you is found
forgiveness:
for this
we revere you.
With the Lord
there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
My soul is waiting
for the Lord.
I count
on his word.
My soul is longing
for the Lord
more than
watchman for daybreak.
With the Lord
there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Ps110:7,8
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Your precepts, O
Lord, are all of them sure;
they stand firm for
ever and ever.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Jn14:6
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the Way, the
Truth and the Life, says the Lord;
No one can come to
the Father except through me.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 11:47-54 ©
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Jesus said:
‘Alas for
you who build the tombs of the prophets, the men your ancestors killed! In this
way you both witness what your ancestors did and approve it; they did the
killing, you do the building.
‘And that
is why the Wisdom of God said, “I will send them prophets and apostles; some
they will slaughter and persecute, so that this generation will have to answer
for every prophet’s blood that has been shed since the foundation of the world,
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was murdered between the
altar and the sanctuary.” Yes, I tell you, this generation will have to answer
for it all.
‘Alas for
you lawyers who have taken away the key of knowledge! You have not gone in
yourselves, and have prevented others going in who wanted to.’
When he
left the house, the scribes and the Pharisees began a furious attack on him and
tried to force answers from him on innumerable questions, setting traps to
catch him out in something he might say.
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LEADING OTHERS INTO THE TRUTH PRESUPPOSES OUR ABILITY TO
FACE THE TRUTH ABOUT OURSELVES
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We all
know very well that confronting oneself is one of the most painful things in
life. Many of us just cannot accept the truth about
ourselves. That is why, even in listening, we only listen to those whose
ideas agree with ours, not whether they are true or not; or when we argue, we
are concerned about protecting our opinions more than whether our views are
right or wrong. This is basically the attitude of the scribes and
Pharisees that Jesus had to contend with. But if it is simply this, then
there is still something that can be done about it. However, our ego is
so conniving that even when we are defensive of ourselves, we do it in such a
subtle manner, so much so that we cheat ourselves without even realizing we are
doing so.
And how
do we do it? By covering up our real motives in what we do. This
was what Jesus was condemning the Pharisees for in today’s gospel. They
persecuted the prophets when they were alive, and only gave them the due
respect when they were dead. Isn’t it strange that this is so true in our
lives? We only show gratitude to people who have left us, or who have
died; but not those who are still present with us. And what is the reason
if not simply because the dead is less of a threat to us and we can interpret
them the way we want to; but for those who are alive, we fear having to
confront them. And so we cover our guilt by building tombs, or
giving thanks and gratitude to those who have left us. This is but
another way of avoiding having to confront the truth about ourselves.
But the
danger is this – so long as we do not face the truth about ourselves, we can
never be truly liberated. A person who destroys his enemies does not
necessarily mean that he is at peace even if all his enemies were dead, because
the real battle is the battle that goes on within his heart. The point is
that his heart is still evil, selfish and insecure. That problem is not
resolved and will resurface in other ways at other times.
That is
why those of us who have unresolved problems in our lives should not build
tombs over them by pretending that they do not exist and focus on something
else that is more pleasing. For example, some of us might have problems
with regards to our prayer life. We excuse ourselves by saying that our
work is our prayer. Or when we have difficulties with our studies, or are too
lazy to do so, we cover up our sloth by getting involved in church
activities. Or some of us may have no personal experience and
relationship with God, and so we deny this inadequacy by appearing to be
theologically knowledgeable and competent. Then again, some of us might
have issues with authority and loneliness; instead of confronting them and
transcending them, we might be tempted to push the issues aside, suppress them
and try to believe that we are not bothered or affected by them. The fact
is that whatever personal problems and hang-ups we do not transcend, sooner or
later, we will have to face them. What is not dealt with now will
come back to haunt us, unleashing its full consequences on our lives.
But
what is even more harmful for those of us who are superiors or leaders is that
we unknowingly allow our hang-ups and repressed fears and anger to determine
the way we deal with those under our charge. One cannot be a master
if one has not grown in discipleship. Only one who has learnt to master
himself and transcended his own personal struggles could be a mentor and be of
real service to others. For the blind leading the blind will both fall
into the ditch. Unless we have overcome our own personal struggles or at
least are conscious that we are struggling with them, we cannot help others in
their own struggles. Instead, Jesus warns us that we would be taking away
the key of knowledge from them. We will mislead them and prevent them
from finding the truth since we ourselves have not even resolved our own
problems. Indeed, if we have not personally found God in our own lives,
how can we possibly lead others to Him?
Perhaps
the greatest tragedy that can happen to us leaders, parents and formators is
when we who are called to be teachers of truth and love find ourselves hardly
knowing God in our lives; and we cover this inadequacy or shortcoming by
activities, performances, appearing holy and knowledgeable, while deep inside
us, we know that we are hollow – merely empty vessels.
Today,
we have one person, St Paul, who is our exemplar of one who has transcended his
fears. St Paul went through much to find God in Jesus Christ in his
life. He realized through the hard way that God is found not in achievements
and slavish obedience to the laws, but faith in the goodness of God and
openness to His providence.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
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