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MY LIPS WILL TELL OF
YOUR JUSTICE, O LORD
29 AUGUST, 2018,
Wednesday, The Passion of John the Baptist
Jeremiah 1:17-19
17 But you, gird up your loins;
arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by
them, lest I dismay you before them. 18 And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city,
an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of
Judah, its princes, its priests, and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against
you; but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you.”
Mark 6:17-29
17 For Herod had sent and
seized John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodi-as, his brother
Philip’s wife; because he had married her. 18 For John said to Herod,
“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 And Herodi-as had a
grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, 20 for Herod feared John,
knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. When he heard
him, he was much perplexed; and yet he heard him gladly. 21 But an opportunity came
when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and
the leading men of Galilee. 22 For when Herodi-as’
daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said
to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will grant it.” 23 And he vowed to her,
“Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.” 24 And she went out, and
said to her mother, “What shall I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the
baptizer.” 25 And she came in
immediately with haste to the king, and asked, saying, “I want you to give me
at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And the king was
exceedingly sorry; but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to
break his word to her. 27 And immediately the king
sent a soldier of the guard and gave orders to bring his head. He went and
beheaded him in the prison, 28 and brought his head on a
platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard
of it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.
MY LIPS WILL TELL OF YOUR JUSTICE, O
LORD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ JEREMIAH 1:17-19; MARK 6:17-29 ]
There are two things
that human beings seek most in life other than physical and material
needs. It is the search for truth and authentic love. Our human intellect will never rest
until we find the truth that we are searching for. Our human heart will
remain restless until we find true love in life. So we seek not only for
truth but also for true love. Without satisfying our mind and heart, a
person cannot find rest in life or find true happiness. We live for
meaning and the only real meaning of life is true love.
In the responsorial
psalm, we hear the psalmist crying out for justice. “In you, O Lord, I take refuge; let
me never be put to shame. In your justice rescue me, free me: pay heed to me
and save me. Be a rock where I can take refuge, a mighty stronghold to
save me; for you are my rock, my stronghold. Free me from the hand of the
wicked.” Indeed, all of us seek justice in life. This is in our
DNA. We are proud beings and our ego would not let us be humiliated
or our desire for our interests be taken away by others. That is
why we are quick to defend ourselves, especially when we know we are in the
right. Even those who are wrong wish to appear to be right. Many
would use all kinds of devious means and arguments to make themselves look good
before others.
“Do not be dismayed at
their presence, or in their presence I will make you dismayed.” This is what the Lord said to
Jeremiah. When we are silent in the face of injustice, our conscience
would be disturbed. Not doing anything to right what is wrong pricks our
conscience. We cannot stand evil and injustices done not just to
ourselves but to others as well. When we see people oppressed, cheated or
maligned, we feel for them. We cannot stand evil done to others, much
less to ourselves. We hear stories of corruption, abuses, violence and
terrorism. In the face of such injustices and atrocities, our conscience
would not allow us to rest especially when we are in a position to do
something.
This is why dramas on
justice and revenge are amongst the most common motifs in movies and TV
serials. No drama, if it
were to appeal to the audience, should end with evil victorious over
good. We all want to watch dramas that have a happy ending, which is that
the good are rewarded and the evil punished. We feel happy when the
perpetuators of injustice and those who commit crimes and evil are brought to
justice. We feel justified when people who used their power to corrupt
others and manipulate others to do evil are condemned, punished and given their
just deserts. Deep inside us, there is a part that always rejoices in
what is right and good; and we are dismayed when evil and injustices are
committed. We rejoice when the good man wins and the evil man is
punished.
In truth, even people
who do evil and commit misdeeds are bothered by what they do. Not all sinful people are
intrinsically evil. Rather, they are weak and susceptible to the
temptations of the world, the flesh and the Evil One. Even so, they may
apparently look happy and satisfied, but in truth they live in guilt and
fear. This was the case of King Herod. “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.”
Although he was doing everything that John the Baptist condemned, yet
ironically, he liked to listen to him. This is true for many of us.
We enjoy hearing a nice and inspiring homily. We feel guilty after that
but at the same time, we feel good. This means that grace is still
present in us. We know that we are weak and sinful but our hearts are not
totally closed to goodness. We want to change our lives but we are too
weak to change.
For such people, grace
is still at work in their conscience.
In the case of King Herod, he was a weak ruler. He could not resist the
sin of lust. He was under the control of Herodias. He could not say
“No” to her. He was a man who lived in fear of what people thought of
him. That was why when Herodias’ daughter asked for the head of John the
Baptist on a plate, he did not have the courage to do the right thing; not
because he had made the promise to do whatever she asked. In moral
theology, we do not have to fulfill a request for something that is morally
evil even if we had promised to fulfill every request. Hence, his
conscience continued to haunt him. “At that time Herod the ruler heard
reports about Jesus; and he said to his servants, ‘This is John the Baptist; he
has been raised from the dead, and for this reason these powers are at work in
him.'” (Mt 14:1f)
However, for those whose
hearts are closed to goodness and truth, like Herodias, they suffer even more
without being aware of it consciously.
People like her are so consumed by their desires, their fears, their greed and
anger that they are filled with anxiety, distrust, suspicion and anger, leading
them to resort to manipulating people, planning and scheming. Such
people can never find peace in this life or in the next. What is
the use of abusive and authoritarian powers when everyone is afraid of you and
you have no real friends? What is the use of ill-gotten wealth when you
know that one day our crimes will catch up with us and we would have to pay the
consequences of our greed? What is the use of fame when a greater
disgrace will befall us once we are overthrown? Those who live evil and
dishonest lives have nothing but worries, fears and anxieties.
In truth, whether we are
weaklings when it comes to sin or whether we are identified with our sins, our
unsettled and disturbed conscience will haunt us to death, if not physically, it would be morally
and emotionally. Herodias knew that she was evil but she could not stop
being evil. One sin leads to another. This was true of Herod.
From adultery, it led to the wrongful imprisonment of John the Baptist and then
to his killing. So too for Herodias. From sinful desires, it became
anger, revenge and hatred, leading to conniving and killing. The more we
try to suppress the wrongs we do, the more it will surface in other ways.
All dictators, oppressors and molesters were once victims of authoritarian
parents and superiors, abusive authority figures and sexual predators.
Hence, they are acting out of their deepest wounds, insecurity and anger.
How many of us are like
them, haunted by our past sins and actions? Instead of coming to terms
with our past, repenting and turning over a new leaf, we, like them, try to
suppress the promptings of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. St Paul urged the
Christians, “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of
prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain
from every form of evil.” (1 Th 5:19-22) Today, we are called to listen
to the voice of John the Baptist. Otherwise, we will cause further damage
to ourselves and those under our care, like the daughter of Herodias. The
seed of evil was planted in her, and one day she too would follow in her
mother’s footsteps and suffer the same consequences.
Like John the Baptist,
we too must work for justice and truth. This is the command of the Lord, “Brace
yourself for action. Stand up and tell them all I command you.” It is not
easy to bring about justice. The most difficult ministry is to be a
prophet of God, for no prophet is welcomed. We need perseverance and
courage to withstand opposition. This might take years and often without
certainty. This was the case of the many political and religious martyrs
who died for their convictions. We have much to learn from them, the
courage, perseverance and convictions they displayed. We too must put our
faith in God who will bring our work to completion. He assured 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.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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