20170123 STANDING FIRM BEYOND PRAISE AND BLAME
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Hebrews
9:15,24-28 ©
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Christ brings a new
covenant, as the mediator, only so that the people who were called to an
eternal inheritance may actually receive what was promised: his death took
place to cancel the sins that infringed the earlier covenant. It is not as
though Christ had entered a man-made sanctuary which was only modelled on the
real one; but it was heaven itself, so that he could appear in the actual
presence of God on our behalf. And he does not have to offer himself again and
again, like the high priest going into the sanctuary year after year with the
blood that is not his own, or else he would have had to suffer over and over
again since the world began. Instead of that, he has made his appearance once
and for all, now at the end of the last age, to do away with sin by sacrificing
himself. Since men only die once, and after that comes judgement, so Christ,
too, offers himself only once to take the faults of many on himself, and
when he appears a second time, it will not be to deal with sin but to reward
with salvation those who are waiting for him.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 97(98):1-6
©
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Sing a new song to
the Lord for he has worked wonders.
Sing a new song to
the Lord
for he
has worked wonders.
His right hand and
his holy arm
have
brought salvation.
Sing a new song to
the Lord for he has worked wonders.
The Lord has made
known his salvation;
has shown
his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his
truth and love
for the
house of Israel.
Sing a new song to
the Lord for he has worked wonders.
All the ends of the
earth have seen
the
salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord,
all the earth,
ring out
your joy.
Sing a new song to
the Lord for he has worked wonders.
Sing psalms to the
Lord with the harp
with the
sound of music.
With trumpets and the
sound of the horn
acclaim
the King, the Lord.
Sing a new song to
the Lord for he has worked wonders.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Ps24:4,5
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Teach me your paths,
my God,
make me walk in your
truth.
Alleluia!
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Or
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cf.2Tim1:10
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Our Saviour Jesus
Christ abolished death
and he has proclaimed
life through the Good News.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 3:22-30 ©
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The scribes who had
come down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘Beelzebul is in him’ and, ‘It is through
the prince of devils that he casts devils out.’ So he called them to him and
spoke to them in parables, ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is
divided against itself, that kingdom cannot last. And if a household is divided
against itself, that household can never stand. Now if Satan has rebelled
against himself and is divided, he cannot stand either – it is the end of
him. But no one can make his way into a strong man’s house and burgle his
property unless he has tied up the strong man first. Only then can he burgle
his house.
‘I tell
you solemnly, all men’s sins will be forgiven, and all their blasphemies; but
let anyone blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and he will never have
forgiveness: he is guilty of an eternal sin.’ This was because they were
saying, ‘An unclean spirit is in him.’
STANDING
FIRM BEYOND PRAISE AND BLAME
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ HEB 9:15.24-28; MARK 3:22-30 ]
Who is our greatest enemy
in life? It is our ego! Most of us cannot stand being
criticized. This is true especially for those of us in positions of
authority when our decisions or actions are questioned. We feel extremely hurt,
especially when we are misunderstood and our good intentions are
misinterpreted. We become defensive. Some of us get so discouraged
that we react by terminating our services or lose all enthusiasm for our
work. Of course, we also find it difficult to admit that our pride
prevents us from listening objectively to what others are saying.
Why are we so
defensive? Perhaps we think that we know a lot, or we are perfectionists
and cannot tolerate the idea that we are not as good as we would like others to
think we are. When our subordinates sense that we are not open to
constructive feedback, they are discouraged from giving us counsel and lack the
courage to correct us or offer a different opinion.
Today,
the gospel presents to us a situation when Jesus too was unjustly criticized
and accused of something which was totally absurd. We read that “the
scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying: ‘Beelzebul is in him’
and, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he casts devils out.’” What
should impress us is the way Jesus handled His detractors without getting
angry, upset or discouraged. In a pointed manner, He challenged them
saying, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against
itself, that kingdom cannot last. And if a household is divided against
itself, that household can never stand. Now if Satan has rebelled against
himself and is divided, he cannot stand either – it is the end of him.”
It was a logical response to an irrational reaction to Jesus’ works of
deliverance.
What is the secret of
Jesus’ ability to remain firm and calm even when misunderstood and accused
wrongly? It is self-knowledge and self-consciousness. Jesus knew who He
was and the basis for His actions. Because of His self-awareness, no
accusations or misjudgments could shake His self-confidence. Indeed,
Jesus is the truly strong man in today’s gospel. A strong man is one
whose house, His inner self, is undivided. He is one with himself and
lives a life of integrity. He has nothing to hide because all His actions
and thoughts are transparent. He is conscious of the motives for all that
he does. Because of the purity of motives, he can afford to be
level-headed in dealing with emotional responses that come from an intimidated
heart.
So faithful was Jesus to
Himself that He was even willing to die for His belief. As the first
reading tells us “”And he does not have to offer himself again and again, like
the high priest going into the sanctuary year after year with the blood that is
not his own, or else he would have had to suffer over and over again since the
world began. Instead of that, he has made his appearance once and for
all, now at the end of the last age, to do away with sin by sacrificing
himself.” Indeed, because He was so true to Himself that His sacrifice
has eternal value for all. He had given Himself completely to His Father
and to us all. Hence, His one death suffices to atone for the sins of
man. Jesus died the perfect death and made the perfect sacrifice on our
behalf.
On our
part, if we are so easily unsettled by the remarks of others, it is because we
do not know ourselves or our true motives for how we act. Like the
scribes, we are weak and insecure. Indeed, quite often when we attack
others with unsubstantiated remarks, it is because we are putting up our
defense mechanisms. The strong man is one who is unmoved and does not
feel threatened by others. The bully, the boastful, the one who always needs
to rely on his external credentials is one who is unsure of himself.
Thus, he needs to show off his strength, his skills and abilities.
Such a person will always live in deep insecurity and view his competitors and
even sincere people who want to help them as enemies.
However,
if we know who we are and have the humility to accept ourselves, then we will
always be beyond praise and blame. This is the way of Jesus. He
said, “no one can make his way into a strong man’s house and burgle his
property unless he has tied up the strong man first. Only then can he
burgle his house.” We are called today to be that strong man, not only to go
beyond praise and blame, but also to be the strong man in doing good. We
must never allow ourselves to bend under the pressure of criticisms. What is
important is that we do everything in clear conscience and in obedience to
God’s will as Jesus did. Like Jesus, we must be stronger than the devil
by overcoming evil with good; hatred with forgiveness, prejudice with compassion
and understanding. It is not enough to be a strong man because the devil is
also strong in doing evil. In this way, no one can harm us, not even the
evil one. When we live such a life, we can consider ourselves truly saved
by Christ’s death and sacrifice for us.
At any
rate, we must realize that even when others misjudge us, they are the losers in
the end. As Jesus said, “’I tell you solemnly, all men’s sins will be
forgiven, and all their blasphemies: but let anyone blaspheme against the Holy
Spirit and he will never have forgiveness: he is guilty of an eternal
sin.’ This was because they were saying, ‘An unclean spirit is in
him.’” In saying this, Jesus is not saying that He would not forgive them
for slandering Him, but rather that they were so closed in their minds, they
would never be able to receive forgiveness nor the truth. Similarly, when
people accuse us wrongly, it is not that we should never forgive them but that
they would not be able to forgive themselves because they are hurting themselves
by misjudging us. This in itself is already a punishment and thus, like Jesus,
we should not take these people to heart for wrongly misunderstanding us.
Following Jesus, our
response to our detractors, slanderers and enemies, must be one of compassion
and sympathy, not anger. When we react angrily against those who are not
with us or who seek to bring us down because of jealousy or insecurity, let us
pray for them and for ourselves. Only when we respond without anger and
vindictiveness, can we remain objective, calm and reflective of what they say,
seeking to know the truth so that we can be set free and grow in grace.
By refusing to retaliate, or rather by retaliating with compassion and sincere
prayers for them, we will not allow ourselves to let evil have a foothold in us
and not allow our hurts to consume us, thereby making us lose our center and
focus. We must be that strong man, not allowing anything negative or
contrary to the fruits of the Spirit to enter our hearts.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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