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COLLABORATION
WITH ALL PEOPLES OF GOODWILL
27 FEBRUARY,
2019, Wednesday, 7th Week, Ordinary Time
Sir 4:11-19
11 Wisdom exalts her sons
and
gives help to those who seek her.
12 Whoever loves her loves life,
and
those who seek her early will be filled with joy.
13 Whoever holds her fast will obtain glory,
and
the Lord will bless the place shep enters.
14 Those who serve her will minister to the Holy One;q
the
Lord loves those who love her.
15 He who obeys her will judge the nations,
and
whoever gives heed to her will dwell secure.
16 If he has faith in her he will obtain her;
and
his descendants will remain in possession of her.
17 For at first she will walk with him on tortuous paths,
she
will bring fear and cowardice upon him,
and
will torment him by her discipline
until
she trusts him,
and
she will test him with her ordinances.
18 Then she will come straight back to him and gladden him,
and
will reveal her secrets to him.
19 If he goes astray she will forsake him,
and
hand him over to his ruin.
165 Great peace have those who love thy law;
nothing
can make them stumble.
168 I keep thy precepts and testimonies,
for
all my ways are before thee.
171 My lips will pour forth praise
that
thou dost teach me thy statutes.
172 My tongue will sing of thy word,
for
all thy commandments are right.
174 I long for thy salvation, O Lord,
and
thy law is my delight.
175 Let me live, that I may praise thee,
and
let thy ordinances help me.
Mark 9:38-40
38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in your name,k and we forbade him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me. 40 For he that is not against us is for us.
38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in your name,k and we forbade him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me. 40 For he that is not against us is for us.
COLLABORATION
WITH ALL PEOPLES OF GOODWILL
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Sir 4:11-19; Ps 119: 165,168,171-2,174-5; Mk 9:38-40]
The rise of secularism
is partly due to rationalism, but it is also the result of division and
competition among religions.
In order to protect the unity of the country, a secular government is needed to
ensure neutrality and impartiality. However, the consequence of this is
that religion gradually gets pushed out of public life until it is relegated to
the domain of the private life of its citizens, spoken and practised only at
home or in temples, mosques and churches.
This temptation to
parochialism and protectionism is evident in many organizations, including
religions organizations.
This was what happened to the disciples during the time of Jesus. John
said to Jesus, “Master, we saw a man who is not one of us casting out devils in
your name; and because he was not one of us we tried to stop him.” We
want everyone to belong to our organization, and anyone who does not, is
considered anathema. This was the case of the Church before Vatican II, when
it was taught that the Catholic Church was the ONLY true Church of Christ and
all other Christian communities were “false” churches; or that there is no
salvation outside the Church.
However, Jesus makes it
clear in today’s gospel how we should deal with others who do not belong to our
group. He
said, “You must not stop him: no one who works a miracle in my name is likely
to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us.” It
means therefore that anyone who is not opposed to Jesus and His message is on
our side. Some might know Jesus differently from the way we Catholics and
Christians know Him. Even among Catholics, there are many ways to know
Christ. Others might not even accept Jesus as the Son of God, but they
agree with the values that He taught and the life that He lived. So there
are different levels of relationship and recognition of Jesus. But so
long as goodwill people seek to live in truth and love, they are actually on
our side and not against us. This explains the Church’s attitude towards
non-Catholic Christians, those from other religions and even people with no
religion. It does not mean that just because they are not Catholic, they
are our enemies or competitors. We are all collaborators in building the
kingdom of God, the kingdom of love, justice, equality, peace and harmony.
With respect to
Christians, Vatican II in Lumen Gentium says, “This is the one Church of Christ which in the Creed is professed as
one, holy, catholic and apostolic … constituted and organized in the world as a
society, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of
Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him, although many elements of
sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure. These
elements, as gifts belonging to the Church of Christ, are forces impelling
toward catholic unity.” (LG 8) In this paragraph, the Church no longer
equates the Catholic Church with the Church of Christ, rather, she simply
states that the Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church. All the
other Christian communities share in gifts of the Church of Christ in different
ways and in different degrees. She is linked to them in many ways, such
as in baptism and the Eucharist, reverence for the Sacred Scripture, prayers,
etc. (cf LG 15) That is why with non-Catholic Christians, we
should be thankful that many people are coming to know Christ and the gospel
through their proclamation of the Word or God and their love. What is
important is that many people are brought to know Christ who is the Way, the
Truth and the Life. It is immaterial who brings the person to the Lord,
so long as he comes to know Him and find fullness of salvation. Since we
cannot reach out to all of humanity, we should give thanks and praise to God
that other Christians are able to go to those areas where Christ has not yet
been proclaimed.
With respect to people
of other faiths,
the Church recognizes that “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. Indeed, she proclaims, and ever must proclaim Christ ‘the way, the truth,
and the life’ (John 14:6), in whom men
may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled all things
to Himself.” (Nostra Aetate, 2) Even if not all know Christ as the
fullness of revelation, all religions in some ways point to the Sacred and the
Ultimate in life. They teach us how to live a life of love, compassion,
forgiveness and charity in truth. That this world is a more peaceful and
harmonious place and people find meaning and purpose in life is already
something for us to thank God and praise Him for His goodness.
With respect to people
without faith, the Church teaches that,
“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. She knows that it is given by Him who
enlightens all men so that they may finally have life. (LH 16)
“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) Not only are we called to collaborate with people of other
religions, but even those who have no faith as well. The first reading
reminds us that all of us are the sons and daughters of Wisdom. We all
participate in the truth and love of God. “Wisdom brings up her own sons,
and cares for those who seek her. Whoever loves her loves life, those who
wait on her early will be filled with happiness. Whoever holds her close
will inherit honour, and wherever he walks the Lord will bless him. Those
who serve her minister to the Holy One, and the Lord loves those who love
her.” Those who seek for wisdom, for truth and love indirectly know God
because God is Wisdom Himself. That is why those who seek the path of
wisdom walks in truth and love. “Whoever obeys her judges aright, and whoever
pays attention to her dwells secure. If he trusts himself to her he will
inherit her; and his descendants will remain in possession on her.”
So what hinders us from
cooperating and collaborating with each other? It is due to human
weakness, namely, fear, insecurity, selfishness and narrow-mindedness.
If people are defensive
of their religion and feel threatened by other religions or even among
organizations, it is because they fear that the others are growing in
membership over them. They are afraid that their members would steal from
them. So it is not about whether they live a better and happier life, or
not whether they belong to their religion or organization. The focus is
not on them but on the organization. Others are more interested to get recognition
for the work they do. They want the world to know that they are the ones
helping the poor and are doing good works, so that they get the credit and the
publicity for their organization. It is not about who is being helped,
but who is helping the people. Thus religions and organizations compete
with each other, so as to prove that they are better and more generous than the
others. Most of all, the reluctance to cooperate with other people
of goodwill stems from their narrow-mindedness and exclusive doctrines.
Such exclusive religious teachings will only divide the people. Religions
must seek to embrace what is common to all and respect the differences.
But in truth, religions have more in common in fundamental principles.
So let us purify ourselves
in love and in wisdom so that all religions and people of goodwill can come
together to celebrate the oneness of our human family. This is an ongoing journey and
leaders must constantly teach and remind their followers to walk in love and
compassion. We will make mistakes along the way, but through the
slip-ups, we learn how to relate and dialogue more and more with people who do
not share our faith. This is what the book of Wisdom says, “for though
she takes him at first through winding ways, bringing fear and faintness on
him, plaguing him with her discipline until she can trust him, and testing him
with her ordeals, in the end she will lead him back to the straight road, and
reveal her secrets to him. If he wanders away she will abandon him, and
hand him over to his fate.” Indeed, wisdom is the only law that leads us to
peace and freedom as the psalmist says, “The lovers of your law have great
peace; they never stumble. I obey your precepts and your will; all that I
do is before you.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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