20161005 FIRMNESS WITH RESPECT TOWARDS AUTHORITY
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Galatians
2:1-2,7-14 ©
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It was not till
fourteen years had passed that I went up to Jerusalem again. I went with
Barnabas and took Titus with me. I went there as the result of a revelation,
and privately I laid before the leading men the Good News as I proclaim it
among the pagans; I did so for fear the course I was adopting or had already
adopted would not be allowed. On the contrary, they recognised that I had been
commissioned to preach the Good News to the uncircumcised just as Peter had
been commissioned to preach it to the circumcised. The same person whose action
had made Peter the apostle of the circumcised had given me a similar mission to
the pagans. So, James, Cephas and John, these leaders, these pillars, shook
hands with Barnabas and me as a sign of partnership: we were to go to the
pagans and they to the circumcised. The only thing they insisted on was that we
should remember to help the poor, as indeed I was anxious to do.
When
Cephas came to Antioch, however, I opposed him to his face, since he was
manifestly in the wrong. His custom had been to eat with the pagans, but after
certain friends of James arrived he stopped doing this and kept away from them
altogether for fear of the group that insisted on circumcision. The other Jews
joined him in this pretence, and even Barnabas felt himself obliged to copy
their behaviour.
When I
saw they were not respecting the true meaning of the Good News, I said to
Cephas in front of everyone, ‘In spite of being a Jew, you live like the pagans
and not like the Jews, so you have no right to make the pagans copy Jewish
ways.’
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 116:1-2 ©
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Go out to the
whole world and proclaim the Good News.
O praise the Lord,
all you nations,
acclaim
him all you peoples!
Go out to the
whole world and proclaim the Good News.
Strong is his love
for us;
he is
faithful for ever.
Go out to the
whole world and proclaim the Good News.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Ps118:24
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Train me, Lord, to
observe your law,
to keep it with my
heart.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Rm8:15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The spirit you
received is the spirit of sons,
and it makes us cry
out, ‘Abba, Father!’
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 11:1-4 ©
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Once Jesus was in a
certain place praying, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said,
‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’ He said to them,
‘Say this when you pray:
“Father, may your
name be held holy,
your kingdom come;
give us each day our
daily bread,
and forgive us our
sins,
for we ourselves
forgive each one who is in debt to us.
And
do not put us to the test.”’
FIRMNESS
WITH RESPECT TOWARDS AUTHORITY
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ GAL 2:1-2, 7-14; LUKE 11:1-4 ]
It is quite common for us
to disagree with those in authority, be they religious, government or corporate
leaders. When that happens, many do not know how to handle such
conflicts. More often than not, they play to the gallery by publishing
their grievances and their one-sided myopic views in the mass media. Some
go to the extent of attacking the leaders personally, using nasty, intimidating
and offensive words. Such approaches will only further widen the conflict
and instead of solving the problem, make it even more difficult to
resolve. In some instances, they cause the authorities to react by being
defensive, and if the situation becomes critical, become offensive as well.
In the
first reading we had precisely such a problem. There was a growing
tension in the primitive Church when the gospel was preached to the
gentiles. Initially, when the early Church comprised mostly Jewish
converts to Christianity, the faith and culture were still homogeneous.
Although Christians, the Jewish converts practically continued to observe the
Jewish practices that they were accustomed to. We cannot expect them to
put away their Jewish culture when their faith and culture were so
intertwined. Furthermore, such practices were deeply ingrained in their
DNA for more two thousand years. To give up the Jewish practices practically
meant to deny their Jewish heritage. So the Jewish converts remained
Jewish in their values and culture, even though their faith was in
Christ. The full implications of their faith in Christ were still not
worked out.
On the other hand, with the
conversion of St Paul, he had brought the gospel beyond Palestine to the Greek
world where many were non-Jews. It was difficult for them to accept the
cultural practices of the Jews. They were converted to Christ, not to
Judaism. Thus, they did not see the necessity of embracing the Jewish
culture and practices. For them, faith in Christ was all that mattered,
not the Jewish practices. Observance of the Jewish laws could not save them for
they were justified in Christ. It was by His passion, death and resurrection
that they were reconciled with God.
This, then, was the crux of
the tension. The leaders of the Church therefore had the unenviable task
of trying to reconcile these two groups of people within the one Church.
What was made more difficult was that the Jewish group considered the Gentiles
as outcasts, unclean and therefore sinners in the ritual sense. To be
associated with the Gentiles, especially having common meals with them, would
tantamount to contamination. In the understanding of the Jews, only the
Chosen People were loved by God, whilst the rest lived under condemnation.
We can therefore appreciate
the dilemma of Peter. He was in favour of accepting the Gentiles
into the Church, especially after God revealed to him in a vision that all were
clean, and after seeing how Cornelius and his household received the Holy
Spirit even when they were not yet baptized. This is because God has not
favourites. (cf Acts 10)
However, under pressure from certain friends of James, he stopped having meals
with them “and kept away from them altogether for fear of the group that
insisted on circumcision.” Whilst Peter had no qualms eating with the Gentile
Christians, he was also aware that his action could cause the other group to
break away as well.
Conversely, Paul was also
annoyed that Peter was not firm in his position with respect to the position of
the Gentile converts. He felt that by his action, he was giving the wrong
signal to the rest of the Christian Church. He was betraying the gospel,
which was given to all of humanity, regardless of race, language or
culture. Accordingly, he was very firm with Peter for vacillating in his
principle. He rationalized with him that since he ate with the Gentiles,
then he should not impose Jewish practices on the Gentiles. “In spite of being
a Jew, you live like the pagans and not like the Jews, so you have no right to
make the pagans copy Jewish ways.” It was necessary therefore for
Peter to make a clear stand with respect to the Gentile converts.
Faith in Christ transcends
culture even though faith needs to be expressed through a culture. But
the principles of faith come from the gospel, not from the culture. Since
Christ died for all, it is necessary for us to accept that all of us are
brothers and sisters in Christ since we share in His sonship. What keeps
us together is charity and compassion. That is what the apostles asked of
us. “The only thing they insisted on was that we should remember to help the
poor, as indeed I was anxious to do.” The early Church gave great
emphasis not so much on the laws and rituals but to the works of charity for
the poor. When we have compassion for the poor, it includes not just the
materially or financially poor but those who are suffering from privation,
marginalization, discrimination and oppression.
But throughout this whole
conflict that Paul had with the Jewish Christian leaders, Paul was never
disrespectful. He was certainly unsettled and exasperated. He was firm in
his principle but he spoke in a measured tone. Right from the outset, he
made it clear that his position was not against the principle upheld by the
apostles in Jerusalem. He affirmed that the apostles firstly recognized
that he had been given a divine revelation directly from Christ. “The
same person whose action had made Peter the apostle of the circumcised had
given me a similar mission to the pagans.” Although Paul received the
revelation, he wanted to be sure that what he was preaching was not something
alien to the Christian faith. “I went there as the result of a revelation, and
privately I laid before the leading men the good News as I proclaim it among
the pagans; I did so for fear the course I was adopting or had already adopted
would not be allowed.” He sought communion and unity of doctrines with
the apostles.
Secondly, he made it clear
that they recognized that he had been “commissioned to preach the Good news to
the uncircumcised just as Peter had been commissioned to preach it to the
circumcised. So, James, Cephas and John, these leaders, these pillars,
shook hands with Barnabas and me as a sign of partnership: we were to go to the
pagans and they to the circumcised.” So what Paul did was in total
agreement with the leaders. They did not differ in matters of principles
with regard to the spread of the Good News. However, with respect to
Peter’s lack of decisiveness in upholding this principle, Paul felt the need to
be firm with him. So in no uncertain terms, he had to tell Peter that as
a leader he had to show the way.
Accordingly, in our
relationship with others, Jesus reminds us that we have one Father. In
teaching us the Lord’s Prayer, we are reminded that there is only one God who
is the Father of us all. Therefore regardless of race, language or
religion, we must affirm this in our relationship with others. This is
what it entails in keeping the name of God holy. Only when we live truly
as His sons and daughters in unity, respecting and loving each other, can we
claim ourselves as His sons and daughters. Praying the Lord’s Prayer is
more than asking for favours from God but acknowledging His Fatherhood over
us. As our Father, He will provide us all our needs on one hand. On
the other hand, we as brothers and sisters must take care of each other so that
others will know that we are from the same Father and the same family of God.
In conclusion, we are
called to maintain the foundational principle of God’s fatherhood over all of
us and to live accordingly. This also demands proper respect for those
whom God has appointed to be His representative on earth. Respect
must always be rendered to those who have been given this
authority. When there is disagreement, we must engage in respectful
dialogue and in Christian charity to preserve unity in the Church.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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