20160428 GUIDING PRINCIPLES IN CHANGE AND INCULTURATION
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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Acts 15:7-21 ©
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After the discussion
had gone on a long time, Peter stood up and addressed the apostles and the
elders.
‘My
brothers,’ he said ‘you know perfectly well that in the early days God made his
choice among you: the pagans were to learn the Good News from me and so become
believers. In fact God, who can read everyone’s heart, showed his approval of
them by giving the Holy Spirit to them just as he had to us. God made no
distinction between them and us, since he purified their hearts by faith. It
would only provoke God’s anger now, surely, if you imposed on the disciples the
very burden that neither we nor our ancestors were strong enough to support?
Remember, we believe that we are saved in the same way as they are: through the
grace of the Lord Jesus.’
This
silenced the entire assembly, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing
the signs and wonders God had worked through them among the pagans.
When they
had finished it was James who spoke. ‘My brothers,’ he said ‘listen to me.
Simeon has described how God first arranged to enlist a people for his name out
of the pagans. This is entirely in harmony with the words of the prophets,
since the scriptures say:
After that I shall
return
and rebuild the
fallen House of David;
I shall rebuild it
from its ruins
and restore it.
Then the rest of
mankind,
all the pagans who
are consecrated to my name,
will look for the
Lord,
says the Lord who
made this known so long ago.
‘I rule, then, that
instead of making things more difficult for pagans who turn to God, we send
them a letter telling them merely to abstain from anything polluted by idols,
from fornication, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For Moses
has always had his preachers in every town, and is read aloud in the synagogues
every sabbath.’
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 95:1-3,10 ©
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Proclaim the
wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
or
Alleluia!
O sing a new song to
the Lord,
sing to
the Lord all the earth.
O sing to
the Lord, bless his name.
Proclaim the
wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
or
Alleluia!
Proclaim his help day
by day,
tell
among the nations his glory
and his
wonders among all the peoples.
Proclaim the
wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
or
Alleluia!
Proclaim to the
nations: ‘God is king.’
The world
he made firm in its place;
he will
judge the peoples in fairness.
Proclaim the
wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Christ has risen, he
who created all things,
and has granted his
mercy to men.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Jn10:27
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong
to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they
follow me.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 15:9-11 ©
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Jesus said to his
disciples:
‘As the Father has
loved me,
so I have loved you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my
commandments
you will remain in my
love,
just as I have kept
my Father’s commandments
and remain in his
love.
I have told you this
so that my own joy
may be in you
and your joy be
complete.’
GUIDING
PRINCIPLES IN CHANGE AND INCULTURATION
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [
ACTS 15:7-21; JOHN 15:9-11 ]
Growth demands change. Change is difficult. We
are creatures of habit. We seek security and stability. We do not like to live
in the unknown and the unpredictable. In the face of change, we can be
sure that there will always be resistance and opposition. When we know
that change is coming, we feel insecure and unsettled. So the normal and
spontaneous reaction is to oppose change unless it is in our favour. Whether we
like it or not, most people respond to change based on selfish motives of
security and convenience rather than sincerely seeking for the greater good of
church, society and community.
This was the case of the
early Church and for all of us too, especially when we are living in a
multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious society. With the influx of
Greek-speaking non-Jews being converted to the faith, it was necessary for the
early Church to think through what it meant to be a Christian. Until
then, most of the early Christians were all Jews. Whilst accepting
Christ, they continued observing the Jewish traditions and customary practices,
obeying the laws of Moses, which they had inherited since time immemorial,
meticulously. So, when the minority Gentiles converted to the Christian
faith, the strict Christian Jews insisted that the Gentiles adopted the Jewish
culture and religious practices, including dietary laws. But why would
the Gentiles want to do that when they abandoned their pagan practices which
could not save them, only to replace them with the Jewish practices which were
equally ineffective for salvation as no one could fulfill the laws
perfectly? Such conflicts still happen in our time, not just in the area
of inculturation but in any attempts to make changes in the Church, whether it
is structural or personal.
So how do we handle
change, adaptation and progress for the sake of the Church and humanity? Because of the human element involved
in any change, we need to tread carefully. Jesus in the gospel gives us
two guiding principles, one is theological and the other is practical. He
said, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Remain in my
love. If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love, just as I
have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” In other words, we
must deal both on the level of the head and of the heart. It is not
enough to found change on the basis of right principles, but we must also
exercise and implement them with charity and sensitivity. This is because
we are human beings with intellect and will. More often than not, we use
our will instead of reason to make decisions. This means that knowing what is
right or wrong is not sufficient in implementing change unless we also deal
with the cultural and emotional sensitivities. Faith transcends culture
but cannot bypass culture. This is the greatest challenge of our time,
especially in the area of inculturation in an era of migration and
globalization.
So what is the
process? Love is the beginning and end of this whole process. It must permeate the whole
discernment process. That is why it must begin with consultation and
dialogue. The Gentile Christians did not take things into their own
hands, neither did Paul and Barnabas. They knew that if they did so, they
would cause division in the Church and there would be a split between the two
cultures. So with humility and patience, they brought the issue to the
apostles in Jerusalem to determine how best to continue the work of spreading
the Good News to all creation and yet take into consideration the Jews’ feelings.
The process of discernment must first be founded on the right theological
principle. This is what Jesus meant when He said, “If you keep my
commandments you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s
commandments and remain in his love.” In other words, no decision should
be made that is not based on the truth as revealed to us by Christ.
So in order to
substantiate that the Gentile Christians could be saved without having to
subscribe to circumcision and observance of the Jewish laws, Peter recalled
that incident when he was in the House of the pagan Centurion, Cornelius. The Holy Spirit descended upon
them and they spoke in tongues without being circumcised or accepting the
Jewish customs. From this incident, Peter concluded that we are saved not by
the laws but “through the grace of the Lord Jesus.” By bestowing the Holy
Spirit upon them, God “showed his approval of them.” Hence, “God
made no distinction between them and us, since he purified their hearts by
faith. It would only provoke God’s anger now, surely, if you imposed on
the disciples the very burden that neither we nor our ancestors were strong
enough to support?” In truth, we are saved by faith in Christ
through grace, not through the observance of the laws which none of us could
ever observe faithfully.
Secondly, Paul and
Barnabas substantiated this truth by the fruits seen in the lives of those
Gentiles who were converted. They shared “the signs and wonders God had worked
through them among the pagans.” Indeed, there is no better proof that
this is the will of God than by the fruits. All good and all graces come
from the Holy Spirit. It means that the Holy Spirit was at work in their
lives.
Thirdly, James was able
to render biblical support to both of these religious manifestations of God’s
election of them by citing from the Prophet Isaiah. He said, “This is entirely in harmony
with the words of the prophets, since the scriptures say: After that I shall
return and rebuild the fallen House of David; I shall rebuild it from its ruins
and restore it. Then the rest of mankind, all the pagans who are consecrated to
my name, will look for the Lord, says the Lord who made this known so long
ago.” (Cf Isa 61) Scriptural attestation is important to show the
continuity of the will of God.
Fourthly, the leader’s
decision must hold at the end of the consultation. We cannot please everyone but
once consultation has taken place, someone must make a decision. It was
James who was the head of the Church in Jerusalem, and being a strict Jew
himself, he was faithful to the Jewish laws. His decision was thus of great
importance because he showed his impartiality in admitting the Gentiles into
the Church without requiring them to embrace Jewish laws and customs.
Consequently, he took it upon himself to make a ruling on behalf of the
Church. He said, “I rule, then, that instead of making things more
difficult for pagans who turn to God, we send them a letter telling them merely
to abstain from anything polluted by idols, from fornication, from the meat of
strangled animals and from blood.”
It is significant that
whilst the basis for accepting the Gentile Christians into the Church without
them having to embrace Jewish customs (since theologically they are saved by
faith in Christ), yet in practice, James was aware of the cultural
sensitivities of the strict Jewish Christians who could not overcome the fear of being contaminated by
the Gentile Christians. This was because according to Jewish customs, if they
were to eat with the Gentiles, especially when they ate food offered to idols
or animals whose blood was not drained, they would be contaminated, since for
the Jews, blood is life and life is sacred since it belongs to God alone.
Hence, in principle, whilst the Gentile Christians did not have to observe
Jewish customs, yet, for the greater good of the Church and respect for the
sentiments of the Jews, the Gentile Christians were asked to practice charity
by respecting the Jewish sentiments. Thus, they were asked to observe the
basic dietary laws out of charity. This was also Paul’s advice in his
letter to the Corinthians. (cf 1 Cor 8:1-13) “Only
take care lest this liberty of yours somehow become a stumbling block to the
weak.” (1 Cor 8:9)
In the final analysis,
truth must be practiced in charity. This is Jesus’ command, “As the Father has loved me, so I
have loved you. Remain in my love.” We must remain in the love of Jesus
in all that we do. Truth proclaimed and implemented without charity would
be cruel. Truth is more than a concept or a rule. Truth is a living
love. When love is real and authentic, then it is truth. In the
light of this, we must therefore be sensitive to others who are weak even
though we know the truth.
Indeed, we bring back
the moral principle of the law of gradualness. Not everyone can live up to the
highest demands of the gospel overnight. They need time to grow in
maturity, in grace and holiness. There are certain things in life not essential
to faith or the truth that can be compromised or be accommodated for now.
When people are ready then they can slowly let go, as in the case of the
Gentiles who had to observe the Jewish customs initially. But when the
Gentile Christians grew in number and spread to other lands where there were
fewer Christian Jews, the problem no longer existed. St Paul says, “When
I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a
child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways.” (1 Cor 13:11) This is
quite different from advocating the gradualness of the Law. We know the
truth, but as St Paul says, “Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or
boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own
way.” (1 Cor 13:4f)
Finally, St Paul says, “And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries
and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have
not love, I am nothing.” (1 Cor 13:2)
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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