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THE PRINCIPLE OF COMPASSION IN EXERCISING OUR
RIGHTS AND FREEDOM
11 FEBRUARY, 2018, Sunday, 6th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Leviticus 13:1-2,44-46 ©
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The unclean man must live outside the camp
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The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘If a swelling or scab or shiny
spot appears on a man’s skin, a case of leprosy of the skin is to be suspected.
The man must be taken to Aaron, the priest, or to one of the priests who are
his sons.
‘The man is
leprous: he is unclean. The priest must declare him unclean; he is suffering
from leprosy of the head. A man infected with leprosy must wear his clothing
torn and his hair disordered; he must shield his upper lip and cry, “Unclean,
unclean.” As long as the disease lasts he must be unclean; and therefore he
must live apart: he must live outside the camp.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 31(32):1-2,5,11 ©
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You are my refuge, O Lord; you fill me with the
joy of salvation.
Happy the man whose offence is forgiven,
whose sin is remitted.
O happy the man to whom the Lord
imputes no guilt,
in whose spirit is no guile.
You are my refuge, O Lord; you fill me with the
joy of salvation.
But now I have acknowledged my sins;
my guilt I did not hide.
I said: ‘I will confess
my offence to the Lord.’
And you, Lord, have forgiven
the guilt of my sin.
You are my refuge, O Lord; you fill me with the
joy of salvation.
Rejoice, rejoice in the Lord,
exult, you just!
O come, ring out your joy,
all you upright of heart.
You are my refuge, O Lord; you fill me with the
joy of salvation.
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Second reading
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1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1 ©
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Take me for your model, as I take Christ
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Whatever you eat, whatever you drink, whatever you do at all, do
it for the glory of God. Never do anything offensive to anyone – to Jews
or Greeks or to the Church of God; just as I try to be helpful to everyone at
all times, not anxious for my own advantage but for the advantage of everybody
else, so that they may be saved. Take me for your model, as I take Christ.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Ep1:17,18
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Alleluia, alleluia!
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our mind,
so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Lk7:16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
A great prophet has appeared among us;
God has visited his people.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 1:40-45 ©
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The leprosy left the man at once, and he was cured
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A leper came to Jesus and pleaded on his knees: ‘If you want to’
he said ‘you can cure me.’ Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand
and touched him. ‘Of course I want to!’ he said. ‘Be cured!’ And the leprosy
left him at once and he was cured. Jesus immediately sent him away and sternly
ordered him, ‘Mind you say nothing to anyone, but go and show yourself to the
priest, and make the offering for your healing prescribed by Moses as evidence
of your recovery.’ The man went away, but then started talking about it freely
and telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer go openly into
any town, but had to stay outside in places where nobody lived. Even so, people
from all around would come to him.
THE PRINCIPLE OF COMPASSION IN EXERCISING OUR RIGHTS AND FREEDOM
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Lev 13:1-2, 44-46; 1 Cor 10:31 – 11:1; Mk 1:40-45 ]
The theme of
today’s liturgy is on the question of how we should exercise our
Christian freedom. If we are to appreciate the message of the second
reading of St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, then we must understand the
context. St Paul was speaking about the exercise of Christian freedom and
rights with respect to the question of eating food offered to idols. As
Christians who believed only in the One God and Father of Jesus Christ, and
considered all other deities as non-entity, they would have had the right to
eat of food offered to idols by their pagan friends and relatives. Yet,
St Paul cautioned them about using their rights even though it was legitimate
for them to do so.
This question
is urgent and very relevant for our world today. Some time ago a
European newspaper, in the name of freedom of expression, portrayed a cartoon
of Prophet Mohammed which incensed the religious sentiments of the Muslim
world. The question is whether it was right for them to do what they
did. Where do we draw the line between what is right and what is
wrong? Certainly, the principle of the freedom of expression is
correct. Yet at the same time, that principle could also cause disunity
and anger those who are offended. For the Muslims who see this issue from
the context of the divine law, it is wrong to portray or make any image of God
or of the prophet Mohammed. So we have two poles of argument; one is based on
the personal freedom of the individual and the other on the legalistic
obligation of freedom.
Today’s
liturgy explains the dual poles in the exercise of freedom. The case in point is
the way we should treat lepers. In the first reading from the Book of
Leviticus, it is clear that leprosy was considered a most dreaded
sickness. It was believed, rightly or wrongly, that it is contagious and
therefore those infected must separate themselves from the community.
Such social alienation was further reinforced by the theological explanation
that leprosy was a divine punishment for sins. Indeed, we are told that
Miriam, because of her disobedience, was struck with leprosy. So too was
Job, who was accused of having sinned against the Lord because he suffered from
a form of skin disease thought to be leprosy. Hence, in both instances,
lepers were unclean and must “live apart … outside the camp.” So from the
Torah, we see the legal dimension in the exercise of freedom.
However, in
today’s gospel, we have Jesus Himself apparently breaking the law. Jesus
went beyond the dictates of His culture and the Law by allowing the
leper to come close to Him and to even touch Him. Surely, that would have
made Him unclean. Certainly, Jesus must have been a courageous man to
permit such close contact, and to act contrary to His time. After all,
Jesus Himself was a man of His time. He would surely have shared the
fears and even religious beliefs that leprosy was contagious, a terrible
sickness on account of one’s sins. Hence, Jesus and the leper would have
both broken the law.
What was His
basis for breaking the law? The underlying principle is charity. It
was out of compassion that Jesus stretched out His hand to touch and cure
him. The leper was the untouchable, lacking love and acceptance. So
it was necessary for Jesus to heal him, not just spiritually or physically, but
emotionally. On compassionate grounds, Jesus broke the law.
Indeed, this is
what St Paul is also urging us to do. Of course, in his case, it was to
refrain from exercising freedom for the sake of charity. He urged, “never
do anything offensive to anyone – to Jews or Greeks or to the Church
of God; just as I try to be helpful to everyone at all times, not anxious for
my own advantage but for the advantage of everybody else, so that they may be
saved.” So if something causes our weaker brothers to sin because of a
right action that we do, then it is necessary to restrain ourselves for a
greater good. By so doing, St Paul supplies us the principle which is to
do everything for the glory of God.
This is also the
principle of the Society of Jesus. To do everything for the
greater glory of God, “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam” should be the principle that
guides all our actions. In situations when we are faced with a dilemma,
we must ask ourselves whether what we do will bring about not simply the glory
of God but His greater glory. So even if what we do is good, it is still
not sufficient for us to act. We must act for the greater good. So
in two instances when both actions are good, we must choose the one that brings
about a greater good for everyone and therefore for God. In the example
of the Muslims’ anger over the publication of the cartoons of Prophet Mohammed,
it shows that although there is a right with regard to the freedom of
expression, yet that right should not be exercised when it offends the sentiments
of another group.
For us to be
able to act courageously like Jesus, to do what is truly right and
just, we need to be like Jesus. That is why St Paul exhorted, “Take
me for your model, as I take Christ.” For in the gospel, we read that
Jesus “immediately sent him away and sternly ordered him, ‘Mind you say nothing
to anyone, but go and show yourself to the priest, and make the offering for
your healing prescribed by Moses as evidence of your recovery.’”
Why was Jesus
in a hurry to send him away, and why did He forbid him to speak of the healing
miracle?
Perhaps, it was because if the authorities had found out about His
contamination, He could also have been branded unclean and be alienated from
the community. At any rate, “the man went away, but then started talking
about it freely and telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer
go openly into any town, but had to stay outside in places where nobody
lived.” Ironically, the leper who had to stay outside the camp could now
return to the community, because he had been restored to health. Jesus
the healer on the other hand, had to stay outside the camp!
Most probably,
it was the evangelist’s way of underscoring Jesus’ identification with
the poor and the marginalized. Unless we stay outside the camp, or
have been ostracized ourselves, we can never feel with them and have compassion
for them. By staying outside the camp, Jesus showed His willingness to
take our sins upon Himself and carry all our infirmities and sicknesses.
Jesus is truly the compassion of God in person.
Of course, by
staying outside the camp and away from the people, Jesus could grow in
compassion, because in the desert He was able to strengthen His communion with
the Father in prayer. Indeed, only by identifying with the poor,
living with them and being one with them on one hand; and being with God,
sharing His compassion and love, could we truly reach out to others and find
the courage to do what is right and just.
Yes, today we
are called to be like Jesus and imitate Him as St Paul did. Let
us in all that we do be motivated by love and for the greater glory of God.
We must avoid falling into legalism as the Jews did. On the other hand,
we must be careful not to fall into moral subjectivism and insist on doing
whatever we feel is right and just, regardless of how others may be impacted,
as the early Christians at Corinth did. It is not enough to do what is
right but we must do what is right and also good for everyone. Not our
interests, but the interests of the larger community, must take precedence over
personal and individual rights. This is charity. Hence, it is clear
that as Christians, we cannot exercise our freedom and rights if it is against
the principle of charity and compassion. Let everything be done for the
greater glory of God.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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