20180907
RESISTING THE DYNAMISM
OF CHANGE
07 SEPTEMBER,
2018, Friday, 22nd Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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1 Corinthians 4:1-5 ©
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The Lord alone is our judge
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People must think of us as Christ’s
servants, stewards entrusted with the mysteries of God. What is expected of
stewards is that each one should be found worthy of his trust. Not that it
makes the slightest difference to me whether you, or indeed any human tribunal,
find me worthy or not. I will not even pass judgement on myself. True, my
conscience does not reproach me at all, but that does not prove that I am
acquitted: the Lord alone is my judge. There must be no passing of premature
judgement. Leave that until the Lord comes; he will light up all that is hidden
in the dark and reveal the secret intentions of men’s hearts. Then will be the
time for each one to have whatever praise he deserves, from God.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm
36(37):3-6,27-28,39-40 ©
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The salvation of the
just comes from the Lord.
If you trust in the Lord and do good,
then you will live in the land
and be secure.
If you find your delight in the Lord,
he will grant your heart’s
desire.
The salvation of the
just comes from the Lord.
Commit your life to the Lord,
trust in him and he will act,
so that your justice breaks forth like the
light,
your cause like the noon-day
sun.
The salvation of the
just comes from the Lord.
Then turn away from evil and do good
and you shall have a home for
ever;
for the Lord loves justice
and will never forsake his
friends.
The salvation of the
just comes from the Lord.
The salvation of the just comes from the
Lord,
their stronghold in time of
distress.
The Lord helps them and delivers them
and saves them: for their
refuge is in him.
The salvation of the
just comes from the Lord.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Ps18:9
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words gladden the heart, O Lord,
they give light to the eyes.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Jn8:12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the world, says the
Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light
of life.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 5:33-39 ©
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When the bridegroom is taken from them,
then they will fast
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The Pharisees and the scribes said to
Jesus, ‘John’s disciples are always fasting and saying prayers, and the
disciples of the Pharisees too, but yours go on eating and drinking.’ Jesus
replied, ‘Surely you cannot make the bridegroom’s attendants fast while the
bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come, the time for the
bridegroom to be taken away from them; that will be the time when they will
fast.’
He
also told them this parable, ‘No one tears a piece from a new cloak to put it
on an old cloak; if he does, not only will he have torn the new one, but the
piece taken from the new will not match the old.
‘And
nobody puts new wine into old skins; if he does, the new wine will burst the
skins and then run out, and the skins will be lost. No; new wine must be put
into fresh skins. And nobody who has been drinking old wine wants new. “The old
is good” he says.’
RESISTING THE DYNAMISM OF CHANGE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 CORINTHIANS 4:1-5; LUKE 5:33-39 ]
We are living in
changing times.
The world is moving so fast that it is becoming very difficult to keep up with
the changing values, cultures and technology. Once it was a crime not to
believe in God; now one is ridiculed for professing faith in God. Once
abortion, divorce and same-sex union were condemned, today it is accepted as a
fact of life. Indeed, the traditional values of purity, fidelity in
relationships and marriage, the definition of marriage and family have all gone
through a revolutionary change.
We are bewildered at
what is happening in the world and even in the Church. Those of us who have been brought up with
the traditional values of marriage, fidelity and filial piety are confused as
to why the present generation has abandoned such time immemorial values.
Today, in a world of relativism, we find it difficult to take a stand on any
matter because the world does not believe in absolutes except
relativism. So, we are left confused and uncertain.
Fortunately, for us
Catholics, the Church remains the pillar of truth and our guide in moral and
religious life. St
Paul says of the Church, “You may know how one ought to behave in the household
of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the
truth.” (1 Tim 3:15) For
over two thousand years, the Church has remained strong and firm because of the
structure and institution of the Church. It had withstood the test of time and
the ravages of war, moral decadence and scandals.
But it is also a
double-edged sword.
On one hand, it gives stability, but on the other hand, because it is so
structured, it kills and stifles creativity. Institutions tend to
be rigid and unchanging because of the traditions and laws that have
accumulated over the years. Those who are recruited into the institutions
continue to uphold the laws and add in new ones as well. This was the
case for Judaism. The laws of Moses were multiplied and elaborated over
the years. Along the way, in trying to apply the laws of Moses in new
situations, they added new customs, rules and practices. So much so, the
laws became burdensome, too detailed and onerous, making it impossible to
practise all of them. This is true of the Catholic Church as well.
We have so many laws governing every area of Church life and faith. The
Code of Canon Law is not the only laws. There are many other laws in
addition to Canon Laws, such as liturgical laws. It would be a miracle
for anyone, even the bishop, to remember all the details of the laws.
But now, the institution
of the Church is under question. Because of scandals at the highest echelon of
authority of the Church, the power play and politics of high officials of the
Church, people are doubting the credibility of the Church leaders and therefore
there is distrust and suspicion of Church authorities. The current
scandals of the Church have exposed the weakness of these institutions.
Even with all the laws, many do not keep them or merely circumvent them.
At any rate, the institutions of the Church are often prone to corruption and
abuses. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The weakness of the
Catholic Church is that power is too centralized on the Pope, the Curia, the
bishops and the religious superiors.
There is a lack of checks on power. Because they have the final authority
in many matters, there is always the temptation to abuse their powers, suppress
the truth, cover up injustices and scandals, and most of all, using their
powers for personal interests, gains and glory, and not for the service of the
Church. Indeed, as a consequence, financial scandals and moral corruption are
taking place.
Indeed, the first change
that is drastically needed is to revise the institutions of the Church. In those days when only the clergy were
more educated, governance was the responsibility of pastors. But today
the laity are more educated and better trained in the mundane areas of the
world, such as finance, administration and governance. We should be
relegating such authority to our lay people to manage the Church. We
should go back to what the apostles did in the early Church when they appointed
deacons. They proposed, “Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves
seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may
appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer
and to serving the word.” (Acts 6:3f) Unfortunately, those who are in
control are not willing to share their powers with the laity, especially women,
much less to let go of their powers. So long as the hierarchy of the
Church is not willing to let go of their powers and go back to their main role,
which is to be ministers of the gospel and the sacraments, the Church would
become more and more alienated from the world.
The second change needed
is to revise those outdated laws, morality or disciplines of the Church to meet
the changing needs of our people. Of course, this does not mean that we
should abandon the truth of the gospel. Moral laws which are based on natural laws
and divine revelation cannot be changed because they are founded on the truth
that Christ has revealed to us. Rather, what is important is
to see how we can apply them effectively for the service of our people, to help
them to grow in their faith and more importantly, to live out the values of the
gospel. Let us not pretend that our people who live in a very secularized world
are able to live up to the pristine truth of the gospel. Many of them
have in fact succumbed to the pressure of accepting the values of society for
fear of being rejected, discriminated or lose out to the world in work, career
and advancements in life. This is particularly true when it comes to sexual
morality.
For this reason, we must
look for new approaches to proclaim the gospel. It is not enough to proclaim the
truth but to convey it in such a way that it could be understood and accepted
and even applied. What is the use of teaching beautiful doctrines when no
one can live them out? This was the case of the Pharisees who wanted to
keep the tradition. They were actually not bad people. They were
like those conservative and traditional Catholics who want to do the right
thing, keep the traditions and cherished values of our forefathers.
Unfortunately, time and tide wait for no man. If we do not engage the
world effectively now, we will lose them.
Jesus is the new wine,
filled with the Holy Spirit, who dared to bring about a change in communicating
the eternal truths of His Father’s love and mercy. He chose to proclaim the gospel
differently from the Jewish religious leaders of His days. Instead of preaching
punishment, He spoke of God’s love and mercy. Instead of avoiding the
sinners and tax-collectors and prostitutes, Jesus went out of His way to reach
out to them. Instead of preaching in the Synagogues, He chose the
countryside, the empty wastelands and the shores to teach the gospel.
Instead of quoting the prophets of old, He used parables taken from daily life
experiences to communicate His experience of God. Instead of fasting to
show off, He fasted only for a good reason, “when the bridegroom (is) taken
away” Instead of preaching slavish obedience to the laws, He did works of mercy
through healing and exorcism.
Unfortunately, they
could not accept Him and His ways. Hence,
Jesus remarked, “And nobody who has been drinking old wine wants new.
‘The old is good.'” We are not ready to change. We do not have the
courage or the will. We are afraid to take risks or to step out of our
comfort zone. We just want to stick to the old ways of doing things, the
traditional ways instead of finding new ways to proclaim the same gospel of
love and mercy so that people can see the relevance for their life happiness
and meaning.
Indeed, this is what is
required of us, servants and stewards of the gospel, as St Paul says. Let
us take heed of the warning of Jesus. “No one tears a piece from a new cloak to put it on a
new cloak; if he does, not only will he have torn the new one, but the piece
taken from the new will not match the old. And nobody puts new wine into old
skins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and then run out, and the
skins will be lost. No; new wine must be put into fresh skins.” We
must be courageous to adapt and change without changing our fundamental moral
principles. In other areas where it does not compromise the unchanging
truths of our faith, especially liturgical expression in worship, the Universal
Church should allow the local Church more freedom to inculturate their faith in
a way that the local people can express their faith in prayer, worship and
according to their cultural values. Unity cannot mean uniformity.
Let us all, regardless
of whether we are bishops, priests or laity, be good stewards of Christ’s
mysteries. “People
must think of us as Christ’s servants, stewards entrusted with the mysteries of
God. What is expected of stewards is that each one should be found worthy of
his trust.” Let us purify our motives, whether in keeping the traditions
or modifying for today’s generation. At the end of the day, we are accountable
to God. “There must be no passing of premature judgement. Leave
that until the Lord comes: he will light up all that is hidden in the dark and
reveal the secret intentions of men’s hearts. Then will be the time for
each one to have whatever praise he deserves, from God.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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