20170427 HANDLING TENSION BETWEEN STATE AND RELIGION
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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Acts 5:27-33 ©
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When the officials
had brought the apostles in to face the Sanhedrin, the high priest demanded an
explanation. ‘We gave you a formal warning’ he said ‘not to preach in this
name, and what have you done? You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and
seem determined to fix the guilt of this man’s death on us.’ In reply Peter and
the apostles said, ‘Obedience to God comes before obedience to men; it was the
God of our ancestors who raised up Jesus, but it was you who had him executed
by hanging on a tree. By his own right hand God has now raised him up to be
leader and saviour, to give repentance and forgiveness of sins through him to
Israel. We are witnesses to all this, we and the Holy Spirit whom God has given
to those who obey him.’
This so
infuriated them that they wanted to put them to death.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
33(34):2,9,17-20 ©
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This poor man
called and the Lord heard him.
or
Alleluia!
I will bless the Lord
at all times,
his
praise always on my lips;
Taste and see that
the Lord is good.
He is
happy who seeks refuge in him.
This poor man
called and the Lord heard him.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord turns his
eyes to the just
and his
ears to their appeal.
They call and the
Lord hears
and
rescues them in all their distress.
This poor man
called and the Lord heard him.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord is close to
the broken-hearted;
those
whose spirit is crushed he will save.
Many are the trials
of the just man
but from
them all the Lord will rescue him.
This poor man
called and the Lord heard him.
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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Jn20:29
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Alleluia, alleluia!
‘You believe, Thomas,
because you can see me.
Happy are those who
have not seen and yet believe.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 3:31-36 ©
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John the Baptist said
to his disciples:
‘He who comes from
above is above all others;
he who is born of the
earth is earthly himself
and speaks in an
earthly way.
He who comes from
heaven
bears witness to the
things he has seen and heard,
even if his testimony
is not accepted;
though all who do
accept his testimony
are attesting the
truthfulness of God,
since he whom God has
sent
speaks God’s own
words:
God gives him the
Spirit without reserve.
The Father loves the
Son
and has entrusted
everything to him.
Anyone who believes
in the Son has eternal life,
but anyone who
refuses to believe in the Son will never see life:
the anger of God
stays on him.’
HANDLING
TENSION BETWEEN STATE AND RELIGION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [
ACTS 5:27-33; PS 33:2,9,17-20; JOHN 3:31-36 ]
“Obedience to God comes
before obedience to men.” This principle seems to be quite clear and
straight forward. No one would be able to fault this principle. No
believer of any religion would disagree with this truth. This is because
believers who are God-fearing recognize that we are not gods and we do not
possess the ultimate truth. To claim that we have the truth is a
lie. We do not exist by ourselves, for ourselves and in ourselves.
We originate from another source. Indeed, the great falsehood of
humanity today is when the world speaks of complete human autonomy as
independence from God. When that happens, truth is decided by the
majority and we must obey. Yet, in the history of humanity, the minority can
speak so loudly that the silent majority is obliged to follow them even when
what they propose is evil and based on falsehood. The decision of the majority
is a double-edged sword because it can either be a consensus of truth or
falsehood, of good or evil. In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is
deemed to be completely blind, and the blind are those who can see. Such
an irony! This dictatorship of evil in a subtle way is forcing the Church to
succumb to the amoral and immoral values of the world.
But what if all religions subscribe to
this principle and yet disagree on what obedience to God entails? This is
the fear of the State as the primary duty of the State is to ensure justice,
equality and harmony in the country. If each religion would to push its
own agenda, there will inevitably be tension, chaos, division and even
religious wars. If we go by that route, there is no way to preserve peace
and unity in the world because religions cannot agree. There is always a danger
of fundamentalism, triumphalism, comparison and exclusivity among religions.
We have challenges dealing with the ISIS, fundamentalist preachers and
intolerant religions. If religions cannot coexist peacefully, this is the
justification for secularization and a secular government that is impartial to
all religions.
Consequently, this principle cannot be
applied without qualification. How do we discern whether something is
from God or from man? John the Baptist gave us the guideline. “He
who comes from above is above all others; he who is born of the earth is
earthly himself and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven
bears witness to the things he has seen and heard, even if his testimony is not
accepted.”
Firstly, a person can be said to have
come from above if what he or she teaches does not contradict reason and
morals. Faith is not against reason. So, if it were the laws of
God, it does not contradict truth. To speak of truth means that whatever
is taught and practiced must be rooted in justice and seek what is good. It
must promote peace, unity, love, joy, kindness and compassion. If a religion
seeks to destroy lives, condemn others who are different from them, shows
disrespect for others’ beliefs and cultures, discriminate others who are
different and causes division and hatred among peoples, it is difficult to
claim that one is speaking in the name of God.
Of course, whilst faith is not opposed to
reason, it transcends reason. In other words, we go beyond natural reason
and human justice to divine revelation and divine justice. There are some
religious beliefs like the Incarnation, the Holy Trinity and the resurrection
of Christ that cannot be proven like empirical science because it has logic of
its own. Revelation is required but only faith can perceive them as
divine revelation. Such beliefs therefore cannot be imposed on others as
there is no faith. This is dependent on grace. So religions cannot
impose on others what pertains to faith. This is true when it comes
to beliefs about God, life-hereafter, rituals, the institutions and the scriptures.
However, there is another level of divine
love which is not contradictory to reason but goes beyond human justice.
Instead of the principle of revenge, tit-for-tat, or punishment, one can
go beyond basic human justice by exercising compassion and forgiveness.
So the Church does not advocate death penalty because she believes that human
being is as much the product of society as the work of the
offender. Criminals are not born but they are greatly influenced by
the evils promoted by society. Furthermore, the Church does not believe
that a person is hopeless. Change is always possible when they are healed
of their wounds and enlightened in their ignorance. This is an extreme case of
what divine compassion and forgiveness is all about. For the justice of God
is His mercy for humanity. We are all sinners but God forgives us all
whenever we sin and repent of our wrong doings.
Secondly, we need to trace the source of
their authority. Today’s scripture readings make allusion to this
principle because at the end of the day, the origin of one’s authority will
determine the truth of what we teach. For the religious leaders, their
authority comes from the institution. Hence, we can see why the religious
authorities were anxious and nervous that the apostles could cause disturbance
and provoke the Roman authorities to step in and take control of the
country. The danger is that those whose authority relies only on the
institution can lack moral authority. They are simply carrying out the
laws without understanding the spirit of the laws. This explains why many are
skeptical about institutions, including religious institutions because those in
authority teach without credibility and authenticity. They use their powers to
suppress and control dissent for their own benefit instead of using their
powers for service to justice.
In contrast, the apostles spoke with
authority even though the authorities could not figure out where they got their
authority from! They not only spoke with conviction but they demonstrated
it by their fearlessness of being cowered to suppress the truth. The
moment they were released by the angel, they went forth to proclaim the Good
News. They could go against the institution simply because they witnessed
and had seen for themselves the Risen Lord. They recounted that “it was
the God of our ancestors who raised up Jesus, but it was you who had him
executed by hanging on a tree. By his own right hand God has now raised
him up to be a leader and saviour, to give repentance and forgiveness of sins
through him to Israel. We are witnesses to all this, we and the Holy
Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.” The real
authority of anyone must come from a personal encounter with the Lord; not from
hearsay or a second source.
This authority of course is manifested by
their way of life; not just by their beliefs. Like the Lord, he “turns
his eyes to the just and his ears to their appeal.” He is “close to the
broken-hearted; those whose spirit is crushed he will save.” In other
words, he must show the fruits of the Spirit in his life, namely, love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Gal 5:22f) How do we
know that someone is a man of God? He is a man of integrity, honesty,
peace, forgiveness, love, compassion, understanding and tolerance. With
the fruits of the Spirit, there is no ambiguity.
Thirdly, respect for legitimate authority
includes abiding by the laws of the State. Yet there is a distinction
here. Between religion and the State, there is mutual autonomy but yet
not in opposition. The laws of the country must be observed for the common
good. Secular laws that promote justice, truth, and order must be
complied. Only unjust laws cannot be imposed on the people.
The role of the State is to promote economic growth, social order and
justice. Religions cannot interfere unless the laws are unreasonable.
On the order hand, the State cannot interfere in the beliefs of religions
unless their doctrines cause disharmony and disorder in the country. How
and what each religion believes and how they practice their faith is not the
concern of the State. Freedom of worship and religion is the basic right
of every person but this is not absolute if one’s practice of the faith results
in causing social disorder contrary to the promotion of peace, love, unity and
mutual respect.
In the final analysis, there is no real
dichotomy between the State and religions because both seek the common good of
all. Religions enable humanity to go beyond themselves and offer them
peace, love and joy and meaning in life. The State seeks to provide human
justice and the physical needs of its citizens, ensuring justice, law and
order. The State seeks justice on the natural order whilst religions,
over and above the natural laws, speak of the supernatural laws. The
ultimate question we need to ask is whether our life is richer, fuller, happier
and more liberated. Accepting Jesus for us is to go beyond what this life
on earth can offer. St John said, “God gives him the Spirit without
reserve. The Father loves the Son and has entrusted everything to him.
Anyone who believes in the Son has eternal life, but anyone who refuses to
believe in the Son will never see life: the anger of God stays on him.”
By accepting Jesus, we find the fullness of life.
Written by The Most
Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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