20180117
DEALING WITH THOSE WHO OPPOSE TRUTH AND
GOODNESS
17 JANUARY, 2018, Wednesday, 2nd Week, Ordinary Time
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
|
First reading
|
|
1 Samuel 17:32-33,37,40-51 ©
|
David said to Saul, ‘Let no-one lose heart on his account; your
servant will go and fight the Philistine.’ But Saul answered David, ‘You cannot
go and fight the Philistine; you are only a boy and he has been a warrior from
his youth.’
‘The Lord
who rescued me from the claws of lion and bear’ David said ‘will rescue me from
the power of this Philistine.’ Then Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the Lord be
with you!’
He took his
staff in his hand, picked five smooth stones from the river bed, put them in
his shepherd’s bag, in his pouch, and with his sling in his hand he went to
meet the Philistine. The Philistine, his shield-bearer in front of him, came
nearer and nearer to David; and the Philistine looked at David, and what he saw
filled him with scorn, because David was only a youth, a boy of fresh
complexion and pleasant bearing. The Philistine said to him, ‘Am I a dog for
you to come against me with sticks?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his
gods. The Philistine said to David, ‘Come over here and I will give your flesh
to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.’ But David answered the
Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come
against you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel
that you have dared to insult. Today the Lord will deliver you into my hand and
I shall kill you; I will cut off your head, and this very day I will give your
dead body and the bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the
wild beasts of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in
Israel, and that all this assembly may know that it is not by sword or by spear
that the Lord gives the victory, for the Lord is lord of the battle and he will
deliver you into our power.’
No sooner
had the Philistine started forward to confront David than David left the line
of battle and ran to meet the Philistine. Putting his hand in his bag, he took
out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead; the stone
penetrated his forehead and he fell on his face to the ground. Thus David
triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone and struck the
Philistine down and killed him. David had no sword in his hand. Then David ran
and, standing over the Philistine, seized his sword and drew it from the
scabbard, and with this he killed him, cutting off his head. The Philistines
saw that their champion was dead, and took to flight.
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
|
Psalm 143(144):1-2,9-10 ©
|
Blessed be the Lord, my rock.
Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who trains my arms for battle,
who prepares my hands for war.
Blessed be the Lord, my rock.
He is my love, my fortress;
he is my stronghold, my saviour
my shield, my place of refuge.
He brings peoples under my rule.
Blessed be the Lord, my rock.
To you, O God, will I sing a new song;
I will play on the ten-stringed lute
to you who give kings their victory,
who set David your servant free.
Blessed be the Lord, my rock.
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
Heb4:12
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
|
Or
|
cf.Mt4:23
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the kingdom
and cured all kinds of sickness among the people.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
Mark 3:1-6 ©
|
Jesus went into a synagogue, and there was a man there who had a
withered hand. And they were watching him to see if he would cure him on the
sabbath day, hoping for something to use against him. He said to the man with
the withered hand, ‘Stand up out in the middle!’ Then he said to them, ‘Is it
against the law on the sabbath day to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or
to kill?’ But they said nothing. Then, grieved to find them so obstinate, he
looked angrily round at them, and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He
stretched it out and his hand was better. The Pharisees went out and at once
began to plot with the Herodians against him, discussing how to destroy him.
DEALING WITH THOSE WHO OPPOSE TRUTH AND GOODNESS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 SM 17:32-33,
37, 40-51; PS 144:1-2,9-10; MK 3:1-6 ]
Many are
naïve in thinking that if they retire or give up their career to serve in the
Church or in an NGO, their lives will be one of joy and happiness. They will no longer have to
deal with those problems that exist in the secular and corporate world.
The truth is that service in the Church and in NGOs are not much
different from the world because we are dealing with people, their
idiosyncrasies, selfish ulterior motives, woundedness and insecurities.
Indeed, many labour under the false notion that when we do good, offer our
services and time, we will be appreciated. Indeed, this is far from the
truth. Many will suffer a rude awakening when they meet with opposition,
slander, negative and uncharitable criticisms and false accusations. Even
priests and religious are disillusioned. This explains why we have many
wounded, jaded, resentful priests, religious, lay workers, full time workers
and volunteers.
But should we
be surprised? Jesus in the gospel made it clear that we will be hated by all
for His name’s sake.“But he who endures to the end will be saved.” (Mt 10:22)
Jesus warned the disciples of the trials ahead of them when they chose to
follow Him. “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it
hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but
because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore
the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not
greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if
they kept my word, they will keep yours also.” (Jn 15:18-20)
So it is not
surprising to read of the hostility of the Jewish leaders against Jesus. Their oppositions were due
to many factors. We can try to understand where they were coming
from. Doctrinally, they might have seen Jesus as a dangerous heretic,
confusing the teachings that had been passed on to them for generations.
Some could have perceived Jesus as a deviant and had to be removed to prevent
division in the community. Others might have reacted out of jealousy and
fear that their position in the community and the privileges that came with
their office were being threatened. Certainly, we must not think that all
those who opposed Jesus necessarily harboured selfish motives, as some could
have been genuinely disturbed and unsettled as their traditions were put into
question.
What was the
reaction of Jesus towards those who opposed Him? To those who were
seeking to destroy Him rather than finding the truth, the evangelist wrote that
He was “grieved to find them so obstinate, he looked angrily round at them.” Indeed, those in the
gospel today were not keen to find out the truth about what Jesus was teaching
or doing. Their minds were already made up. They did not go there
to dialogue with an open mind and to clarify with Jesus. On the contrary,
we read that they were finding opportunities to have Jesus arrested and
condemned. In the synagogue, we read that “there was a man there who had
a withered hand. And they were watching him to see if he would cure him
on the Sabbath day, hoping for something to use against him.”
Jesus, aware
of such fixated minds, sought to open a sincere dialogue with them. “He said to them, ‘is
it against the law on the Sabbath day to do good, or to do evil; to save life,
or to kill?’ But they said nothing.” Jesus did not react to
their hostility by shutting them out of His life. Instead, He was willing
to engage them in a dialogue to arrive at the truth of what should be said and
done. His question was simple and direct. He was seeking to
arrive at a common principle with those who opposed Him. Once that was
agreed, then that theological principle could be applied to the concrete moral
situation.
Alas, they
were not keen to have a dialogue. Their hearts were closed and their minds were made
up. As a consequence, Jesus “looked angrily round at them, and said to
the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out and his hand was
better.” Seeing their obstinacy, Jesus knew that no dialogue was
possible. Jesus certainly felt hurt, disappointed and sad for them
because of their narrow-mindedness and refusal to see the truth of what He was
saying and doing. But instead of allowing His anger to take hold of Him,
He used that emotional pain to do good rather than evil. He used His
anger with the religious leaders positively by healing the man, notwithstanding
His wrath with them.
Indeed, the
Jewish leaders were inconsistent in their thinking. On one hand, they
were so concerned about keeping the Sabbath Law; on the other hand, they broke
the law of charity towards the man who was suffering from the withered
hand. Instead of paying attention to the needs of the suffering man, they
made use of him to trap and condemn Jesus. Furthermore, by not responding
to Jesus’ question as to whether one should do good or evil on the Sabbath,
they knew that they had no grounds to accuse Jesus of breaking the Sabbath
law. Most of all, in their desire to protect the other laws of Moses,
they broke the law of justice, namely, revenge and killing. “Then the Pharisees
went out and at once began to plot with the Herodians against him, discussing
how to destroy him.” They were blinded by their anger, loss of pride and
fears.
Today, we can
learn from David how we can keep our cool when doing good under severe
opposition. David’s triumph over Goliath was principally due to his faith
in God who had shown Himself faithful to him on previous occasions. He was confident that
God would be with Him because he was delivered from his dangers and enemies in
the past. The Lord saved him from a lion and a bear when they took a lamb
from the flock. (cf 1 Sm 17:34b-36a)
David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the
paw of the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” (1 Sm 17:37)
Such was the confidence of David because of God’s fidelity to him in his time
of need. We too must cling on to our past memories of how the Lord
had taken care of us, and helped us to overcome the trials of life.
Secondly,
David’s concern was not for Himself but for the honour of the Lord. He
was defensive of God’s glory and power. He was not thinking about protecting his
own glory or securing power and wealth for himself. His only concern was
that the Lord’s name was defamed. David answered the Philistine, “You
come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the
name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel that you have dared
to insult. Today the Lord will deliver you into my hand … so that all the
earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” Goliath was not simply attacking
the army of Israel but he had the audacity to insult God and defied His power
and majesty. We too must search our hearts deeply and sincerely
whether it is our reputation and our interests that we are seeking to protect,
or God’s name and interests. Unless we are clear and truthful about our
motives, we will make use of religion for our selfish gains and not for His
glory and for the greater good of the people we serve.
Thirdly,
David trusted not in himself but in God who would win the victory for
Him. He said, “that all this assembly may know that it is not by sword
or by spear that the Lord gives the victory, for he is lord of the battle and
he will deliver you into our power.” He did not rely on his own strength and
ingenuity but on the wisdom and power of God. God is the Lord of
Hosts. The psalmist says, “A king is not saved by his great army; a
warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a vain hope
for victory, and by its great might it cannot save. Behold, the eye of the Lord
is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may
deliver their soul from death, and keep them alive in famine.” (Ps 33:16-19)
The secret to
persevering in doing good and winning the victory over evil is to have faith in
the Lord and allow Him to work in and through us. This is what the Lord
said to His disciples, “When they deliver you up, do not be anxious how you are
to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you
in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father
speaking through you.” (Mt 10:19f) Indeed, this was the case of David.
After being anointed by Samuel, “the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon
David from that day forward.” (1 Sm 16:13)
So when faced with insurmountable problems and challenges, let us exercise our
faith like David, relying on the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit to
overcome the opposition of our enemies. Instead of reacting with fear and
retaliation, let us be proactive in managing our opponents and at the same
time, continue the good that we are doing. St Paul said, “And let
us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not
lose heart. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men,
and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Gal 6:9f)
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment