20170829
SPEAKING UP FOR THE TRUTH AND JUSTICE
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Red.
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First reading
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1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 ©
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You know yourselves, my brothers, that our visit to you has not
proved ineffectual.
We had, as
you know, been given rough treatment and been grossly insulted at Philippi, and
it was our God who gave us the courage to proclaim his Good News to you in the
face of great opposition. We have not taken to preaching because we are deluded,
or immoral, or trying to deceive anyone; it was God who decided that we were
fit to be entrusted with the Good News, and when we are speaking, we are not
trying to please men but God, who can read our inmost thoughts. You know very
well, and we can swear it before God, that never at any time have our speeches
been simply flattery, or a cover for trying to get money; nor have we ever
looked for any special honour from men, either from you or anybody else, when
we could have imposed ourselves on you with full weight, as apostles of Christ.
Instead, we
were unassuming. Like a mother feeding and looking after her own children, we
felt so devoted and protective towards you, and had come to love you so much,
that we were eager to hand over to you not only the Good News but our whole
lives as well.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 138(139):1-3,4-6 ©
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O Lord, you search me and you know me.
O Lord, you search me and you know me,
you know my resting and my rising,
you discern my purpose from afar.
O Lord, you search me and you know me.
You mark when I walk or lie down,
all my ways lie open to you.
Before ever a word is on my tongue
you know it, O Lord, through and through.
O Lord, you search me and you know me.
Behind and before you besiege me,
your hand ever laid upon me.
Too wonderful for me this knowledge,
too high, beyond my reach.
O Lord, you search me and you know me.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Ac16:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord,
to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Heb4:12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 6:17-29 ©
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Herod sent to have John arrested, and had him chained up in prison
because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife whom he had married. For John
had told Herod, ‘It is against the law for you to have your brother’s wife.’ As
for Herodias, she was furious with him and wanted to kill him; but she was not
able to, because Herod was afraid of John, knowing him to be a good and holy
man, and gave him his protection. When he had heard him speak he was greatly
perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him.
An
opportunity came on Herod’s birthday when he gave a banquet for the nobles of
his court, for his army officers and for the leading figures in Galilee. When
the daughter of this same Herodias came in and danced, she delighted Herod and
his guests; so the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me anything you like and I will
give it you.’ And he swore her an oath, ‘I will give you anything you ask, even
half my kingdom.’ She went out and said to her mother, ‘What shall I ask for?’
She replied, ‘The head of John the Baptist.’ The girl hurried straight back to
the king and made her request, ‘I want you to give me John the Baptist’s head,
here and now, on a dish.’ The king was deeply distressed but, thinking of the
oaths he had sworn and of his guests, he was reluctant to break his word to
her. So the king at once sent one of the bodyguard with orders to bring John’s
head. The man went off and beheaded him in prison; then he brought the head on
a dish and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When John’s
disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
SPEAKING UP FOR THE TRUTH AND JUSTICE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JEREMIAH 1:17-19; MARK 6:17-29 ]
We all want
to be loved and to be popular. That is why today facebook, instagram, you-tube and blogs
are very popular because they help to affirm the person, especially when he
does well. People are seeking affirmation for what they do.
So if we see many “likes” for our postings in social media, we feel very much
encouraged. But very few of us want to be the “bad” person who
speaks the truth and offend people. We are afraid that when we point out
the truth or expose the falsehood of people, we will not be loved. Worse
still, we would make enemies who, in self-defense, would seek to destroy or
eliminate us. False prophets are many. They tell us everything is
alright. They only say nice things about us.
But speaking
up means inviting trouble for ourselves. This was the case of the prophets in the
Old Testament and John the Baptist as well. They were prophets of social
justice and felt the need to speak up for what is right. The
prophet Jeremiah suffered much when he spoke for the good of the nation.
He had to contend with the false prophets who gave messages that the King liked
to hear. Indeed, there are many of us who are not ready to hear the
truth. We only want to hear good things and so we employ people or have
those people who suck up to us in our committees. When we do that, we
will only suffer the deception of such people. But this is the way
of the world. We only want to hear what is good.
This is true
for Herodias who instigated the arrest and execution of John the Baptist
because he spoke out against her marriage to Herod. She had him
arrested and put in prison for she could not tolerate John the Baptist’s
condemnation of her marriage to Herod as she was the wife of Herod’s brother,
Philip. But even prison could not silence the voice of John the Baptist.
As a result, she connived with her daughter to have John beheaded by having her
dance before Herod on his birthday. When given the opportunity to ask for
anything she wanted, she asked, under instruction of her vindictive mother, for
“John the Baptist’s head, here and now, on a dish”.
Indeed, there
are people who are very vindictive even when they are in the wrong. Self-preservation is
in the blood of every human person. Indeed, even the wrong doer would
fight to be exonerated in the courts. Sometimes we wonder how lawyers can
defend people who are in the wrong. Good and bad people employ lawyers to
win their case for them. Truth is decided not by the real intention of
the person but whether they can circumvent the legalities of the laws.
Lawyers will twist and turn the facts and present them in such a way that
favour their counselees. This is the justice of today’s world.
Those who are rich and powerful can employ good lawyers to argue their cases
and find loopholes in the law to get their clients out of trouble.
Of course,
there are those whose conscience are still weak or unformed, like Herodias’
daughter.
It is ironical that in an age of information technology and fake news, it is
difficult to make a proper discernment as to what is right or wrong. For
every message posted, there are people who argue in favour and against.
Even in product advertisements, companies would employ people to write good
comments and even exaggerate about the quality of their products. So what
we read might not be the truth but just a deception. With so much
information, we are none the wiser. This is why many are paralyzed when
it comes to making choices due to information overload, and take to relativism
as the path. It is no longer a question of true or false, but what is
one’s preference. That is why it is important that we have prophets
who help people to form their conscience. In truth, many make
decisions without a formed conscience, but base their decisions on personal
preferences and what their friends advise them or what they read.
Many go for
abortions, take drugs and cheat without feeling guilty or aware of what they
are doing until they are concientised. There are those who seek to
redefine the ancient institution of marriage and the family, which has been
accepted by all peoples, cultures and religions from time immemorial, without
concern for the future of humanity. These are the people we must
address. We need to conscientise the world because conscience is
dead and not properly formed in the truth.
However, most
of us are like Herod who wanted to hear the truth even if he felt too weak to
do the right thing. “Herod was afraid of John, knowing him to be a good
and holy man, and gave him his protection. When he had heard him speak he was
greatly perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him.” Herod knew the
truth was found in John the Baptist. Unfortunately, he was a weak man who
feared rejection, in contrast to John the Baptist. This also explains why
he went against his conscience by giving in to Herodias, first by having him
arrested and putting him in prison; and next by not rescinding his promise to
give Herodias’ daughter anything that was asked of him. It would
not be out of order for Herod to retract his promise as what was asked from him
was not a matter of justice but a matter of revenge. By consenting
to the request, Herod caused more injustice than if he did not. But then
again, he feared that his reputation would be compromised. His pride, ego
and insecurity made him give in to the killing of John the Baptist.
Like Herod,
we want to do the right thing but are too weak as well. We like to go to
Church, read the bible and hear homilies. Then we feel guilty about what
we do. We try to change our way of life but too often we succumb to
temptations. We realize we are too weak to resist the temptations
of this world and to overcome our human weaknesses. But we keep on trying
and trying. This is what spiritual life is all about. God looks at
our intentions; not our actions. So long as we are trying to perfect
ourselves in following Christ, we can surrender our sins and imperfections to
the mercy and grace of God. This is what St John urges us, “If we say we
have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make
him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 Jn 1:8-10)
Otherwise,
like Herod, we will hurt ourselves even more. He lived in guilt all his
life. He knew he killed the prophet of God. Hence, he had
hallucinations of John the Baptist coming back to life in Christ. The
verses preceding today’s gospel spoke of the guilt of Herod. When King
Herod heard about the fame of Jesus, he concluded that it must be “John, whom I
beheaded, has been raised.” (cf Mk 6:14-16)
Indeed, when
we do not speak up against injustices, not only do we hurt others, but we also
hurt ourselves, especially when we see the disastrous effects on our children
and the future generations. When we see the full impact of the injustices
we failed to arrest, then we will live in guilt because we lacked the courage
to stop the tragedy. This is true with regard to deviants among our loved
ones, such as those indoctrinated by ISIS ideology, drug addicts and drug
peddlers, those involved in making money from immoral activities or scams,
etc. Not only do such actions hurt them but they bring untold misery to
innocent people like Herodias’ daughter who was used as her pawn.
We need to report them to the authorities even if they are our loved ones,
difficult as it may be, for the sake of the greater good. Can we bear to
see the harm caused to the lives of innocent people and their
families? Should we protect our loved ones who are causing harm and
allowing hundreds of people to be killed just because we love them? But
in truth, we are not loving them or ourselves, or others, by not helping them
to be formed in the truth. That is why the Lord warned
Jeremiah. “Brace yourself for action. Stand up and tell them all I command
you. Do not be dismayed at their presence, or in their presence I will make you
dismayed.” Either we live in guilt for the rest of our lives,
carrying a bad conscience, or speak the truth and free our conscience from
hurting us.
So,
regardless whether people will listen to us or not, our work is done when we
have spoken. We
do not have to impose our will on others. Some would turn to violence to
get their message across. That would be a sign of pride and
self-will. All we need is to do our part, like the psalmist. “My
lips will tell of your justice and day by day of your help. O God, you
have taught me from my youth and I proclaim your wonders still.”
After which, let us surrender all things to the Lord. It might not be us
that bring about the change, but we have begun the process. We might not
see the results in our time because God knows when to bring about the
restoration of justice. This is His promise to Jeremiah and to us.
“I, for my part, today will make you into a fortified city, a pillar of iron,
and a wall of bronze to comfort all this land: the kings of Judah its princes,
its priests and the country people. They will fight against you but shall
not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you – it is the Lord who
speaks.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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