20151119
DEALING WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE BLINDED TO THE TRUTH
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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1 Maccabees
2:15-29 ©
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The commissioners of
King Antiochus who were enforcing the apostasy came to the town of Modein to
make them sacrifice. Many Israelites gathered round them, but Mattathias and
his sons drew apart. The king’s commissioners then addressed Mattathias as
follows, ‘You are a respected leader, a great man in this town; you have sons
and brothers to support you. Be the first to step forward and conform to the
king’s decree, as all the nations have done, and the leaders of Judah and the
survivors in Jerusalem; you and your sons shall be reckoned among the Friends
of the King, you and your sons shall be honoured with gold and silver and many
presents.’ Raising his voice, Mattathias retorted, ‘Even if every nation living
in the king’s dominions obeys him, each forsaking its ancestral religion to
conform to his decrees, I, my sons and my brothers will still follow the
covenant of our ancestors. Heaven preserve us from forsaking the Law and its
observances. As for the king’s orders, we will not follow them: we will not
swerve from our own religion either to right or to left.’ As he finished
speaking, a Jew came forward in the sight of all to offer sacrifice on the
altar in Modein as the royal edict required. When Mattathias saw this, he was
fired with zeal; stirred to the depth of his being, he gave vent to his
legitimate anger, threw himself on the man and slaughtered him on the altar. At
the same time he killed the king’s commissioner who was there to enforce the
sacrifice, and tore down the altar. In his zeal for the Law he acted as
Phinehas did against Zimri son of Salu. Then Mattathias went through the town,
shouting at the top of his voice, ‘Let everyone who has a fervour for the Law
and takes his stand on the covenant come out and follow me.’ Then he fled with
his sons into the hills, leaving all their possessions behind in the town.
At this,
many who were concerned for virtue and justice went down to the desert and
stayed there.
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Psalm
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Psalm
49:1-2,5-6,14-15 ©
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I will show God’s
salvation to the upright.
The God of gods, the
Lord,
has
spoken and summoned the earth,
from the rising of
the sun to its setting.
Out of
Zion’s perfect beauty he shines.
I will show God’s
salvation to the upright.
‘Summon before me my
people
who made
covenant with me by sacrifice.’
The heavens proclaim
his justice,
for he,
God, is the judge.
I will show God’s
salvation to the upright.
Pay your sacrifice of
thanksgiving to God
and
render him your votive offerings.
Call on me in the day
of distress.
I will
free you and you shall honour me.’
I will show God’s
salvation to the upright.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Ps118:135
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Let your face shine
on your servant,
and teach me your
decrees.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Ps94:8
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Harden not your
hearts today,
but listen to the
voice of the Lord.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 19:41-44 ©
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As
Jesus drew near Jerusalem and came in sight of the city he shed tears over it
and said, ‘If you in your turn had only understood on this day the message of
peace! But, alas, it is hidden from your eyes! Yes, a time is coming when your
enemies will raise fortifications all round you, when they will encircle you
and hem you in on every side; they will dash you and the children inside your
walls to the ground; they will leave not one stone standing on another within
you – and all because you did not recognise your opportunity when God
offered it!’
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DEALING WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE BLINDED TO THE TRUTH
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SCRIPTURE
READINGS: 1 MC 2:15-29;
LK 19:41-44
When we
read today’s scripture readings, we can easily empathize with both Mattathias
in the first reading and Jesus in the gospel. Both were very much in
touch with the situation of their fellow human beings. They knew the problem
and they could anticipate what would befall them if they did not change their
lives. Unfortunately, their fellow human beings could not see the truth
because of their blindness. So how should they best help them to see the
reality of their situation so that they can be saved from their catastrophes?
This,
too, is also our question today. Very often we see certain situations so
clearly. We know, for example, how a man’s relationship with another
woman would lead to adultery and cause a break-up with his family. We see
how a person who keeps working like a dog, day and night without rest will
eventually suffer a break-down, destroying not only his health but his family
as well. We see how a person who smokes and drinks heavily will one day
cause himself or his loved ones to die of cancer or a car accident. In
all these cases, we do not need any special inspiration from God to understand
the consequences of such actions. Yet, there are many people who are so
blind to such realities until they encounter them; but by then it is often almost
too late to regret. So how do we help such people who are so blinded by
their own passions and selfish desires? What would be the best way to
bring them out of their precarious path to suffering?
The
scripture readings present us with two different approaches to dealing with
sinners and those who are recalcitrant. In the case of Mattathias, he was
so incensed by a fellow Jew who apostatized in offering sacrifice to the pagan
gods that he had him killed together with the rest of the King’s commissioners.
For Mattathias, he felt that the best way to transform the situation was to use
force. And indeed, besides killing his oppressors, he, his children and
some others fled into the desert and started a rebel force to fight against the
Roman oppressors.
However,
in the case of Jesus, we see Him weeping over Jerusalem because the people
would not accept His message of truth and peace. This failure to respond
to His message would eventually lead them to their own destruction. Indeed,
Jesus’ foresightedness came true because Jerusalem was historically destroyed
in the year AD 70. But in spite of His certainty that Jerusalem and the
people would be destroyed, Jesus did not force the people to accept His
message. He could only extend His invitation, feel with them and pray for
them. Indeed, He felt very sorry for His people because they could not
recognize the visitation of the Lord. He was helpless in love.
What
can we say about these two approaches? Although Mattathias meant well for
his people, yet, we cannot but detect a certain selfish element in his
action. Firstly, he manifested a kind of intolerance towards his weak
fellow Jews. He did not feel with them. By killing his fellow Jew,
he was simply imposing his will on him and the other Jews. He put fear into
their hearts. The danger for Mattathias is that he could become
self-righteous and was certainly lacking in compassion and love. Although
we need not question his motives and zeal for the House of the Lord by killing
the weak Jew who apostatized, regardless of his good intentions, he lacked
charity. Perhaps, like many people during his time, they mistook that
fidelity to God and zeal for Him would require them even to kill their
enemies. Furthermore, He had confused religion with politics even though
it is true that both do overlap in many areas. Indeed, he was
fighting for the religious freedom of his people, yet we know that at the same
time, he confused the need for religious freedom with political freedom as
well. But because he was not clear and discerning enough, his zeal, supposedly
for the purity of the faith of the Jews, also became a political struggle
against the Roman intruders.
Isn’t
it true that very often when we help people we do have selfish motives as
well? On the surface we want to help people, but it is also because we
have something to gain from it. For example, parents want their children
to do well in their studies and often they have to pressurize or nag them into
disciplining themselves. In itself, it is a noble thing to do. But
quite often when we examine our deeper motives for forcing them to study hard,
under the pretext that we want them to do very well in their exams for their
own good, we are also thinking of our interests. We want them to do well
not simply for themselves but also for our glory and perhaps we even see them
as our investments for our old age. Indeed, whatever we do in life,
we tend to confuse our love for people and love for self. For this
reason, very often, we are intolerant of people who refuse to change even when
they have been told of their mistakes. Most anger is always the result of
some self-centered needs that are not fulfilled.
But the
way of Jesus is so different. One thing is certain, Jesus was weeping over
Jerusalem not for Himself but for the people. He was not weeping for
Himself; that He would soon have to suffer a miserable death in the hands of
His enemies. He wept because He knew His time was near and that He would
die soon and if His message was not heeded by the people, they would have
missed the opportunity of life that God was offering them. He wept for
them in compassion and love. Indeed, it is because Jesus had no selfish
motives in helping them that He was not at all angry for their lack of
response. Instead, He felt very much with them. He felt sorry for
them. But He did not feel the need to force people into conversion.
He did not threaten them. No, His way is that of love, compassion and
understanding.
Yes,
the way of Jesus is the way of God. This is the heart of God’s
love. His love for us is unconditional and free. He is free
in loving us. God knows that the only way to really win us over is not
through force and compulsion but by love and understanding. He knows that
once He wins our hearts over in love, then we will come to understand the truth
as well. Christianity does not advocate violence of any sort, even in the
struggle against religious freedom and social justice. The way of the
gospel is one of compassion, forgiveness and tolerance. If we lack patience and
tolerance for those who are weak in faith or even compassion for the enemies of
our faith, it is because we are also lacking in love. It is this
lack of love that blinds us to the truth. But with love in our hearts,
our minds will be open to the truth and we will see the situation in
perspective. This is particularly true even when we have
misunderstandings with people. We are so fixated in our views that we are
no longer open to the views of others, thereby feeling that we are the victims
of injustice when sometimes we could be the very ones who are acting unjustly.
Indeed,
we see this so clearly in our spiritual life as well. Many people do not
wish to read the scriptures or deepen their faith nor even come to
Church. No matter how much we try to reason with them, they simply have
no taste for the spiritual. But when they have been touched by the love
of God, they suddenly feel the urge to read the scriptures more, to pray more
and to grow in understanding of their faith. Only through an experience
of God’s love and compassion, will people then come to search for the truth.
What is
true in our relationship with God is also true in our relationship with our
fellow human beings. Even though we know that they are in the wrong and
we have the truth, we cannot force truth on others. We must first win
them over by love, through patient dialogue and understanding. Gradually,
when they realize that we truly love them and are ready to hear them out in
love and truth, they will one day begin to open their minds to what we are
saying also. Yes, the only way to the mind is first through the heart,
for the heart knows and understands what the mind cannot know. Only one
language, in the final analysis, can speak to all; it is the language of love,
not the language of truth. Truth can be understood only through
love. This is undoubtedly a more difficult and long way to help a person
to come to his senses and come to the truth. But it is definitely more
effective and enduring as well.
But to
be able to love people freely and patiently, we certainly need to cultivate the
heart and mind of Jesus. We need to be filled with the love and
compassion of Jesus. Unless we ourselves experience the love and
compassion of Jesus ourselves, we cannot give that compassion to others.
And the truth is that when we reflect on our own lives, we will realize that
God has always treated us in such a way. He has always been patient,
forgiving and understanding towards us whenever we turned against Him and His
ways. For this reason we need to pray and meditate. Only
through prayer and contemplation will we come to experience the depth of God’s
love for us in Jesus. With this experience, we will find that we will
also be able to love others with the love and compassion that Jesus has for
us. In this way, not only can we truly help others to find the
truth and therefore find God also, but we also help ourselves to live in love
and in the truth.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
©
All Rights Reserved
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