20171106
IS GOD FAIR?
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Romans 11:29-36 ©
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God never takes back his gifts or revokes his choice.
Just as you
changed from being disobedient to God, and now enjoy mercy because of their
disobedience, so those who are disobedient now – and only because of the
mercy shown to you – will also enjoy mercy eventually. God has imprisoned
all men in their own disobedience only to show mercy to all mankind.
How rich are
the depths of God – how deep his wisdom and knowledge – and how
impossible to penetrate his motives or understand his methods! Who could ever
know the mind of the Lord? Who could ever be his counsellor? Who could ever
give him anything or lend him anything?
All that
exists comes from him; all is by him and for him. To him be glory for ever!
Amen.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 68(69):30-31,33-34,36-37 ©
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In your great love, answer me, O God.
As for me in my poverty and pain
let your help, O God, lift me up.
I will praise God’s name with a song;
I will glorify him with thanksgiving.
In your great love, answer me, O God.
The poor when they see it will be glad
and God-seeking hearts will revive;
for the Lord listens to the needy
and does not spurn his servants in their chains.
In your great love, answer me, O God.
For God will bring help to Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah
and men shall dwell there in possession.
The sons of his servants shall inherit it;
those who love his name shall dwell there.
In your great love, answer me, O God.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps118:18
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Open my eyes, O Lord, that I may consider
the wonders of your law.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Jn8:31-32
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Alleluia, alleluia!
If you make my word your home
you will indeed be my disciples,
and you will learn the truth, says the Lord.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 14:12-14 ©
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Jesus said to his host, one of the leading Pharisees, ‘When you
give a lunch or a dinner, do not ask your friends, brothers, relations or rich
neighbours, for fear they repay your courtesy by inviting you in return. No;
when you have a party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; that
they cannot pay you back means that you are fortunate, because repayment will
be made to you when the virtuous rise again.’
IS GOD FAIR?
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Rom 11:29-36; Ps 69; Lk 14:12-14 ]
When we look
at the world, the great disparity between the rich and the poor, we wonder
whether the justice of God is fair. The rich have plenty to
squander their wealth away in luxurious and extravagant living. The
poor do not have a single proper meal a day. Then there are those who are
borne physically disadvantaged. Why does God allow such babies to come
into the world to suffer? Then there are those who are born into to influential
families. They have the best connections to get ahead in life, whereas
there are others who have no connections nor status and have to work doubly
hard to compete for opportunities in life. Indeed, there is so much
injustice in the world and in society.
On the personal
level, some of us also feel cheated and short-changed. We do not have the
finance, unlike others, to go for further studies. Some of us feel
inferior to others in terms of physical beauty and intelligence.
Why are some so talented and smart whereas we are not. We are born into a
poor family, or sometimes dysfunctional family. Others seem to have a better
time than us because they have a loving, caring and supportive family.
Then there are those who are sickly, suffering from all kinds of illnesses,
young or old and thus live restricted lives. Others on the contrary, can
eat whatever they like and yet live to a ripe old age.
When we look
at life from this perspective, we can become envious of others who have more
than us.
Whenever we see others doing better than us, we wish we were them. We
cannot rejoice in their success. Deep in our hearts, we wish they would
fail. Envy can eat into us and rob us of our joy and peace. Envy
could lead to resentment as well. We become angry with our parents for
not providing us what others have. Of course, in our hearts, we also
resent God for creating us to be who we are and not what we wish to be.
We feel that God is not fair and is unjust to us. The conclusion is that
God only loves some people. He does not love me because He does not care
for me.
If we are
feeling that way, we are looking at life from a wrong angle. Such an outlook of God’s
love and justice is not what the scripture presents to us. St Paul tells
us that God loves us all, Jews and Gentiles alike. He “desires all
men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For
there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all.” (1 Tim 2:4-6a)
Most of all, “God never takes back his gifts or revokes his choice.”
Truly, God is the faithful one. “If we deny him, he also will deny us; if
we are faithless, he remains faithful – for he cannot deny himself.” (2 Tim 2b-13)
Then how do
we explain the disparity in the world? In God’s wondrous plan, He wants
us all to live as a family, caring for each other. No one is better or
greater than the other in His eyes. We are all given blessings and gifts
which are meant for each other. We do not receive all these blessings for
ourselves but always for the greater good of the community. This was what
Paul wrote to the Corinthians about giving. “And God is able to provide
you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of
everything and may provide in abundance for every good work. As it is written,
‘He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures for ever.’
He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and
multiply your resources and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You
will be enriched in every way for great generosity, which through us will
produce thanksgiving to God. Under the test of this service, you will glorify
God by your obedience in acknowledging the gospel of Christ, and by the
generosity of your contribution for them and for all others; while they long
for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God in you. Thanks
be to God for his inexpressible gift!” (2 Cor 9:8-15)
It is for the
same reason that Jesus told us that “when you give a lunch or a dinner, do not ask your friends,
brothers, relations or rich neighbours, for fear they repay your courtesy by
inviting you in return.” What is the rationale behind this
exhortation? When we invite those who are in the same playing field as
us, we do it for ourselves, to enrich ourselves. That is why people like
to meet those who are influential because they can get something out of
them. Hence, in a party, normally those who are invited are of the same
class. They are there to enrich each other. It is not a real
invitation from the heart and not an act of generosity. Both parties gain
from each other.
However, when we “invite the
poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; that they cannot pay you back means
that you are fortunate, because repayment will be made to you when the virtuous
rise again.” When we invite those who are poorer, then the
exchange is quite different. The poor cannot give us what we give to
them. But as St Paul said, they can bless us with other intangible
blessings, such as love, gratitude, joy, peace, fulfillment and prayers. Most
of all, in turn when they “rise again”, that is, when they become rich and
independent, they will in turn remember to bless others with what they now
have, remembering that they were once poor. So regardless of
whether we are rich or poor, we can help each other to find real happiness in
life. The poor, the weak and the suffering exist for the rich to help;
and they in turn supply the rich with a greater capacity to love and find joy
and meaning.
It is within
this context that we can better appreciate what St Paul spoke about with regard
to the salvation of the Jews. “Just as you changed from being disobedient to God, and now
enjoy mercy because of their disobedience, so those who are disobedient now –
and only because of the mercy shown to you – will also enjoy mercy
eventually. God has imprisoned all men in their own disobedience only to
show mercy to all mankind.” In other words, the Jews where the
Chosen People of God. They were blessed by God not for themselves only
but that they might be the nation that will lead all other nations to
God. But they did not assume their role to be God’s instrument of
salvation to the world. Yet, God’s plan would not be derailed because of
the obstinacy of man. He made use of the Jews’ rejection of the
gospel to bring about the conversion of the Gentiles. Now that the
Gentiles are converted to the Lord and the gospel is spread all over the world,
the Gentile Christians will be responsible in revealing to the Jews the Messiah
that they have been waiting for.
In truth,
regardless who received the Good News first, it does not matter. God will make use of
us, the good or evil we do, for the good of everyone. God writes straight
in crooked line. “We know that in everything God works for good with
those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28)
What is a sin for one, God will use that sin for the good of others. No
one can defeat the inexorable plan of God for humanity. Hence, St Paul
after contemplating on the wisdom of God in carrying His plan of salvation for
all of humanity said, “How rich are the depths of God – how deep his wisdom and
knowledge – and how impossible to penetrate his motives or understand his
methods! Who could ever know the mind of the Lord? Who could ever be his counsellor?
Who could ever give him anything or lend him anything? All that exists comes
from him; all is by him and for him. To him be glory forever! Amen.”
God’s wisdom is beyond the imagination of man.
He will
eventually save us all beyond our thinking. This is what the Church hopes, “All this
holds true not only for Christians, but for all men of good will in whose
hearts grace works in an unseen way. For, since Christ died for all men, and
since the ultimate vocation of man is in fact one, and divine, we ought to
believe that the Holy Spirit in a manner known only to God offers to every man
the possibility of being associated with this paschal mystery. Such is
the mystery of man, and it is a great one, as seen by believers in the light of
Christian revelation. Through Christ and in Christ, the riddles of sorrow and
death grow meaningful. Apart from His Gospel, they overwhelm us. Christ has
risen, destroying death by His death; He has lavished life upon us so that, as
sons in the Son, we can cry out in the Spirit; Abba, Father. (GS No.
22) Such then is the wisdom of God’s plan. His plan will
succeed regardless of our response.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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