20171103
SINCERE CORRECTION OF OTHERS
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Romans 9:1-5 ©
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What I want to say now is no pretence; I say it in union with
Christ – it is the truth – my conscience in union with the Holy
Spirit assures me of it too. What I want to say is this: my sorrow is so great,
my mental anguish so endless, I would willingly be condemned and be cut off
from Christ if it could help my brothers of Israel, my own flesh and blood.
They were adopted as sons, they were given the glory and the covenants; the Law
and the ritual were drawn up for them, and the promises were made to them. They
are descended from the patriarchs and from their flesh and blood came Christ
who is above all, God for ever blessed! Amen.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 147:12-15,19-20 ©
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O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
or
Alleluia!
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Zion, praise your God!
He has strengthened the bars of your gates
he has blessed the children within you.
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
or
Alleluia!
He established peace on your borders,
he feeds you with finest wheat.
He sends out his word to the earth
and swiftly runs his command.
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
or
Alleluia!
He makes his word known to Jacob,
to Israel his laws and decrees.
He has not dealt thus with other nations;
he has not taught them his decrees.
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.1Th2:13
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept God’s message for what it really is:
God’s message, and not some human thinking.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Jn10:27
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 14:1-6 ©
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Now on a sabbath day Jesus had gone for a meal to the house of one
of the leading Pharisees; and they watched him closely. There in front of him
was a man with dropsy, and Jesus addressed the lawyers and Pharisees. ‘Is it
against the law’ he asked ‘to cure a man on the sabbath, or not?’ But they
remained silent, so he took the man and cured him and sent him away. Then he
said to them, ‘Which of you here, if his son falls into a well, or his ox, will
not pull him out on a sabbath day without hesitation?’ And to this they could
find no answer.
SINCERE CORRECTION OF OTHERS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Rm 9:1-5; Ps 147:12-15, 19-20; Lk 14:1-6 ]
As we read
today’s gospel, we can easily identify with the Pharisees in the way they
hawked Jesus; waiting to catch Him breaking the laws. “Now on a sabbath day
Jesus had gone for a meal to the house of one of the leading Pharisees; and
they watched him closely.” Their real intention was to catch Jesus
committing some sins so that they could discredit Him. They were watching
Jesus so intently that they were oblivious to one of their fellowmen suffering
in his body. In front of them all, “was a man with dropsy”, but
that was not their focus. They were too consumed with finding fault with
Jesus.
We too are
like that, fault-finding and judgmental. Living in a community, whether at home,
in the church or in a Catholic office where everyone is supposed to live the
gospel life, it is not uncommon to find people judging each other, hawking one
another to see where others have failed, instead of what good they are
doing. When they make a misstep or do something wrong, we delight in
pointing it out and exposing them to the whole world. Even better if the
mistakes are those committed by our bosses and superiors! We would watch
gleefully when they are put down.
Such negative
attitudes imply two things. Firstly, it implies that we think we are
perfect; that we are above making mistakes. We think we are
better than others; impeccable, always righteous and upright. Such an
attitude smacks of deep pride. We are unaware of ourselves. It
shows that we are presumptuous and have a big ego.
Secondly, it
could be an indication of our own insecurity and inferiority. The fact that we take
joy in pointing out the failures and weaknesses of others means that our
intentions are not motivated by the desire to help them grow, but so that we
can feel superior to them. By humiliating them, we hope to raise
ourselves up. In other words, we need others to be worse than us so that
we can feel better. When we desire others to fail so that we can
succeed or feel good about ourselves, it is a sign of envy and jealousy that
springs from a low self-esteem.
What kind of
attitude does Jesus invite us to cultivate? We need to cultivate true
empathy for our fellowmen. If we really want to help others, we must learn to
feel with them in their humanity, their struggles, their fears and anxieties.
To feel with others presupposes that we are honest and true with
ourselves. Self-awareness is the pre-requisite to humility. Without
a proper estimation of ourselves, recognizing both our weaknesses and our
strengths, we will not be able to “rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with
those who weep.” (Rom 12:15) When we notice the faults of others, we must
ask ourselves whether we also break them at times. Given the
circumstances, we might not fare better than them. If we cannot observe
the laws ourselves, how can we condemn others who fail?
Secondly, we
must correct out of love, as St Paul showed us. Fraternal
correction must not be done out of anger or spite. Indeed, we can
be sure that we are sincere in helping others only when we feel for and with
them. That was the attitude of St Paul towards his fellow Jews who
rejected the gospel. He did not condemn them for failing to accept
Christ. In fact, he spoke from his heart about his deep sadness for them,
which made him even willing to do anything to help them come to the fullness of
the truth. Until we feel this way for our errant brothers, we have no
right to judge them, nor even attempt to correct them, because even if we do,
it would be to feed our own pride and glory than for the sake of our brothers.
Thirdly, we
must be willing to do anything for their good and not ours. Our desire to
corrrect must be for their salvation and for their well being. We do not
correct a person to protect our interests. Many of us do just that. When
we try to change others, it is not so much for their sake but for ours.
We have an ulterior motive of wanting them to change, not so much for their
happiness but for ours. Our motive is not pure but tainted with
selfishness. In the case of St Paul, he made it clear that he was devoid
of self-interests. He said, “What I want to say now is no pretence; I say
it in union with Christ – it is the truth – my conscience in union with the
Holy Spirit assures me of it too. What I want to say is this: my sorrow
is so great, my mental anguish so endless, I would willingly be condemned and
be cut off from Christ if it could help my brothers of Israel, my own flesh and
blood.” Jesus too, was willing to risk His life by entering the house of
the Pharisees, knowing that they had the intention to harm Him. But He
entered the lion’s den without fear because of His unconditional love even for
His enemies.
Fourthly, to
help others, we must develop a sense of proportion in judgment. Jesus asked the
Pharisees, “Is it against the law to cure a man on the Sabbath, or not?”
To help them to make a proper judgement, He asked further, “Which of you here,
if his son falls into a well, or his ox, will not pull him out on a sabbath day
without hesitation?” In asking the Pharisees and the bystanders whether
they would rescue their son or an ox that fell into the ditch on the Sabbath,
Jesus is asking us not to judge things and situations too legalistically.
We must take into account the situation. Morality is not only concerned
with the objective dimension but the subjective aspects as well. We are
not merely dealing with objects without feelings but people who have emotions
and will. Thus, judging others at face value may not be that accurate
after all, because often we do not know the circumstances and the reasons for
the behaviour or the actions of the person.
When we put
the person first, we use the judgement of love, not of cold rules. In truth, we know deep
in our hearts what is right and wrong. This explains why when questioned
by Jesus, the people remained silent and were unable to respond to Him.
The answer is clear. No logical reasoning is necessary as to why we cannot
cure someone on the Sabbath when he or she is suffering, especially if that
person is not just a digit or a case but yourself or your loved
one. When it is a question of love, all rules can be broken.
“Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor
has fulfilled the law.” (Rom 13:8)
Fifthly, we
must appeal to the heart, not so much the head, in seeking to correct our
fellowmen.
If we speak to the head, then we will find all reasons to justify
ourselves. Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and
desperately corrupt; who can understand it? ‘I the Lord search the mind
and try the heart, to give every man according to his ways, according to the
fruit of his doings.’” (Jer 17:9f) Hence, St Paul appealed to their
hearts. “They were adopted as sons, they were given the glory and the
covenants; the Law and the ritual were drawn up for them, and the promises were
made to them. They are descended from the patriarchs and from their flesh
and blood came Christ who is above all.”
Indeed, God
had blessed the Jews greatly. They were the chosen people of God, adopted as sons, given
the laws, the covenant and from them came the Messiah. Alas, they did not
understand the treasure that they were holding on behalf of the human race.
Instead of allowing the plan of God to unfold and so embrace every man
and woman, they kept the graces of God for themselves. This is the
tragedy of the Jews, for seeking to be exclusive and not embracing the rest of
humanity. We too have been blessed richly. “We have this treasure
in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not
to us.” (2 Cor 4:7) Indeed, we must be responsible for the graces
we have received. If we reach out to others it is because of the
blessings we have been given. With the psalmist we sing, “Zion,
praise your God! He has strengthened the bars of your gates, he has blessed the
children within you. He established peace on your borders, he feeds you with
finest wheat. He makes his word known to Jacob, to Israel his laws and decrees.
He has not dealt thus with other nations; he has not taught them his decrees.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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