20181023
RELIGIOUS EXCLUSIVITY
AS THE CAUSE OF DIVISION IN HUMANITY
23 OCTOBER,
2018, Tuesday, 29th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Ephesians 2:12-22 ©
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In Christ you are no longer aliens, but
citizens like us
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Do not forget that you had no Christ and
were excluded from membership of Israel, aliens with no part in the covenants
with their Promise; you were immersed in this world, without hope and without
God. But now in Christ Jesus, you that used to be so far apart from us have
been brought very close, by the blood of Christ. For he is the peace between
us, and has made the two into one and broken down the barrier which used to
keep them apart, actually destroying in his own person the hostility caused by
the rules and decrees of the Law. This was to create one single New Man in
himself out of the two of them and by restoring peace through the cross, to
unite them both in a single Body and reconcile them with God: in his own person
he killed the hostility. Later he came to bring the good news of peace, peace
to you who were far away and peace to those who were near at hand. Through
him, both of us have in the one Spirit our way to come to the Father.
So
you are no longer aliens or foreign visitors: you are citizens like all the
saints, and part of God’s household. You are part of a building that has the
apostles and prophets for its foundations, and Christ Jesus himself for its
main cornerstone. As every structure is aligned on him, all grow into one holy
temple in the Lord; and you too, in him, are being built into a house where God
lives, in the Spirit.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 84(85):9-14 ©
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The Lord speaks peace to
his people.
I will hear what the Lord God has to say,
a voice that speaks of peace.
His help is near for those who fear him
and his glory will dwell in
our land.
The Lord speaks peace to
his people.
Mercy and faithfulness have met;
justice and peace have
embraced.
Faithfulness shall spring from the earth
and justice look down from
heaven.
The Lord speaks peace to
his people.
The Lord will make us prosper
and our earth shall yield its
fruit.
Justice shall march before him
and peace shall follow his
steps.
The Lord speaks peace to
his people.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Lk8:15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are those who,
with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves
and yield a harvest through their
perseverance.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Lk21:36
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake, praying at all times
for the strength to stand with confidence
before the Son of Man.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 12:36-38 ©
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Be dressed for action and have your
lamps lit
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Jesus said to his disciples:
‘See
that you are dressed for action and have your lamps lit. Be like men waiting
for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as
soon as he comes and knocks. Happy those servants whom the master finds awake
when he comes. I tell you solemnly, he will put on an apron, sit them down at
table and wait on them. It may be in the second watch he comes, or in the
third, but happy those servants if he finds them ready.’
RELIGIOUS EXCLUSIVITY AS THE CAUSE OF
DIVISION IN HUMANITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ EPH 2:12-22; LK 12:35-38 ]
All of us desire world
peace, beginning with our own nation, our community and our family. Without peace, there can be no unity among
the peoples of the world. Division in the world is caused by fear,
selfishness and injustices. This is further reinforced by the exclusive
approach of most religions. Such exclusive claims of religions make
believers of other faiths feel alienated and rejected. This causes
religious tension, fanaticism and rivalry. That is why we need to
promote a more inclusive approach in dealing with other religions.
This exclusive approach
of religions is of course not new. This is true even in the history of
Israel. However, it is
important to understand the historical background of why such an exclusive
position was taken. In those days, Israel was struggling to be a
nation. She had to fight against the many other tribes that were already
in Palestine. Therefore, it was necessary for Moses to unite the people
with a common faith, a common culture and a common identity. The way to
promote unity in those days was conceived in terms of homogeneity and
uniformity. Hence, it was important that the Israelites distinguished
themselves from the rest in terms of religion, culture, politics and
values. By the time of Christ, Israel was no longer an independent
nation. Indeed, since the exile, they were under the domination of foreign
powers. Yet, they still could keep their identity based on race and
religion.
Within this context, the
Gentiles were considered second class, even if they worshipped the God of
Israel. This
was what St Paul told the Gentiles. “Do not forget that you had no Christ
and were excluded from membership of Israel, aliens with no part in the
covenants with their Promise; you were immersed in this world, without hope and
without God.” For those Gentiles that did not accept the God of Israel,
they were regarded as condemned and lost. No matter what they did,
they would never be considered as the Chosen People of God. This belonged
exclusively to the Jews. Furthermore, the insistence on observing the
laws of Moses strictly created not just division among themselves but also
distanced them further from the Jews.
So with the coming of
Christ, Jesus as the God-man broke all barriers between God and man; and among
all peoples. As the
incarnation of God, Jesus showed us the face of God in person. He told
Philip, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know
me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the
Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in
me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who
dwells in me does his works.” (Jn 14:9f) In Jesus, we come to know who God
is. It is for this reason that Jesus said to Thomas, “I am the way, and
the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If
you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have
seen him.” (Jn 14:6f)
Jesus revealed to us
that there is One God and that we have one Father. God is the Father of
all of humanity. We are all His children, therefore we are all brothers
and sisters. Jesus
said, “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes
his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and
on the unrighteous.” (Mt 5:44f) St John wrote, “See what love the
Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what
we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know
him.” (1 Jn 3:1f)
What divides us from God
and from each other is because of our sins of selfishness. However,
Jesus removed the fundamental barrier between God and us by eradicating our
hostility against God because of our sins. “But now in Christ Jesus, you that used to be
so far apart from us have been brought very close, by the blood of
Christ.” With the death of Christ on the cross, Jesus reaffirms that all
our sins are forgiven. “For while we were still weak, at the right time
Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a
righteous person – though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare
to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners
Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:6-8)
Consequently, salvation
is no longer by observance of the laws but by faith in God’s love and mercy in
Christ. “For he is the
peace between us, and had made the two into one and broken down the barrier
which used to keep them apart, actually destroying in his own person the
hostility caused by the rules and decrees of the Law. This was to create
one single New Man in himself out of the two of them and by restoring peace
through the cross, to unite them both in a single Body and reconcile them with
God. In his own person he killed the hostility.”
Christianity has been an
inclusive religion right from the start. It embraces all men and women from all nations,
cultures, economic and political situations. In Christ, all are loved and
accepted by God. This is why the Christian Church eventually became known
as the Catholic Church, because of its universality in its identity, openness
to all, regardless of who we are. All are loved by God without exception.
This was the message of the Good News preached by the early Church. St
Paul wrote, “Later he came to bring the good news of peace, peace to you who
were far away and peace to those who were near at hand. Through him, both
of us have in the one Spirit our way to come to the Father. So you are no
longer aliens or foreign visitors: you are citizens like all the saints, and
part of God’s household.”
However, when
Christianity broke out of the shadow of Judaism and reached out to the Greek
World, where there were many other religions, it had to adapt to the Greek
culture and language.
In the same way, when the whole of Europe embraced Catholicism, there was
homogeneity in politics, religion, culture, language and values. It was
thought that Christianity had been spread to the whole world. Again, as
Christianity moved out of Europe, it confronted many other rich religions, like
Buddhism, Islam and Hinduism in other parts of the world. This called for
a paradigm shift in how the work of evangelization should proceed.
The Church no longer
maintains that outside her, there is no salvation. Instead, the Church teaches, “Those
also can attain to salvation who through no fault of their own do not know the
Gospel of Christ or His Church, yet sincerely seek God and moved by grace
strive by their deeds to do His will as it is known to them through the
dictates of conscience. Nor does Divine Providence deny the helps necessary for
salvation to those who, without blame on their part, have not yet arrived at an
explicit knowledge of God and with His grace strive to live a good life.
Whatever good or truth is found amongst them is looked upon by the Church as a
preparation for the Gospel.” (LG 16)
The Church even
positively affirms the goodness in other religions and their practices. “Likewise, other religions found everywhere
try to counter the restlessness of the human heart, each in its own manner, by
proposing ‘ways,’ comprising teachings, rules of life, and sacred rites. The
Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She
regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those
precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones
she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which
enlightens all men.” (Nostra Aetate 2) This is a bold affirmation that
not only all can be saved through their own religions but that they also
contain different levels of truth and holiness in their way of life.
Having stated these
principles clearly, the Church offers from her beliefs and conviction that
Christ is “‘the way, the truth, and the life’ (Jn 14:6), in whom men may find the fullness of
religious life,
in whom God has reconciled all things to Himself. The Church, therefore,
exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of
other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the
Christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things,
spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these
men.” (NA 2) So whilst not denying the value of other
religions, the Church offers Christ as a gift to those who wish to seek the
fullness of life, love and truth which we encounter in Christ Jesus.
It is therefore critical
that in the light of globalization and migration, we increase our understanding
of each other’s religion, appreciate, respect and learn from each other the
truths they present, the positive values of respect and love, and their
spirituality in prayer and worship. Indeed, in the final analysis, all men and
women are brothers and sisters of the same heavenly Father. In humility,
we must continue searching and entering into the fullness of truth and
love. We are companions along the way. Instead of seeing each other as
enemies and competitors, we must see each other as friends, helping each other
to find the fullness of truth, love and life.
This was what our Lord
said in the gospel about union with Him. When the servants “dressed for action” and
ready to welcome the master who wants to share the joy of the wedding feast
with them, the servants would no longer be servants but his friends.
Instead of the servants serving the master, he served them in return.
When there is mutual love, the distinction between master and servant no longer
exists because they are one in love with each other. So too, like the
servants, we must be ready to welcome others who might not be believers in
Christ but who want to share our love and joy. Let us welcome them
with open arms, non-believers and sinners alike, so that entering into this
love, they too would be filled with the joy of God’s love.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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