20190311
FOUNDATION
FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
11 MARCH, 2019,
Monday, 1st Week of Lent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Violet.
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First reading
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Leviticus 19:1-2,11-18 ©
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Only pass judgement on your neighbour
according to justice
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The Lord spoke to Moses. He said: ‘Speak
to the whole community of the sons of Israel and say to them:
‘“Be
holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.
‘“You
must not steal nor deal deceitfully or fraudulently with your neighbour. You
must not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God. I am the
Lord. You must not exploit or rob your neighbour. You must not keep back the
labourer’s wage until next morning. You must not curse the dumb, nor put an
obstacle in the blind man’s way, but you must fear your God. I am the Lord.
‘“You
must not be guilty of unjust verdicts. You must neither be partial to the
little man nor overawed by the great; you must pass judgement on your neighbour
according to justice. You must not slander your own people, and you must not
jeopardise your neighbour’s life. I am the Lord. You must not bear hatred for
your brother in your heart. You must openly tell him, your neighbour, of his
offence; this way you will not take a sin upon yourself. You must not exact
vengeance, nor must you bear a grudge against the children of your people. You
must love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord.”’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 18(19):8-10,15 ©
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Your words are spirit,
Lord, and they are life.
The law of the Lord is perfect,
it revives the soul.
The rule of the Lord is to be trusted,
it gives wisdom to the simple.
Your words are spirit,
Lord, and they are life.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
they gladden the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear,
it gives light to the eyes.
Your words are spirit,
Lord, and they are life.
The fear of the Lord is holy,
abiding for ever.
The decrees of the Lord are truth
and all of them just.
Your words are spirit,
Lord, and they are life.
May the spoken words of my mouth,
the thoughts of my heart,
win favour in your sight, O Lord,
my rescuer, my rock!
Your words are spirit,
Lord, and they are life.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ezk18:31
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Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal
glory!
Shake off all your sins – it is the
Lord who speaks –
and make yourselves a new heart and a new
spirit.
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal
glory!
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Or:
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2Co6:2
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Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal
glory!
Now is the favourable time:
this is the day of salvation.
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal
glory!
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Gospel
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Matthew 25:31-46 ©
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I was naked and you clothed me; sick,
and you visited me
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Jesus said to his disciples: ‘When the Son
of Man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his
seat on his throne of glory. All the nations will be assembled before him and
he will separate men one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from
goats. He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.
‘Then
the King will say to those on his right hand, “Come, you whom my Father has
blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation
of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave
me drink; I was a stranger and you made me welcome; naked and you clothed me,
sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me.” Then the virtuous
will say to him in reply, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you; or
thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you
welcome; naked and clothe you; sick or in prison and go to see you?” And the
King will answer, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the
least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.”
‘Next
he will say to those on his left hand, “Go away from me, with your curse upon
you, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was
hungry and you never gave me food; I was thirsty and you never gave me anything
to drink; I was a stranger and you never made me welcome, naked and you never
clothed me, sick and in prison and you never visited me.” Then it will be their
turn to ask, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or naked,
sick or in prison, and did not come to your help?” Then he will answer, “I tell
you solemnly, in so far as you neglected to do this to one of the least of
these, you neglected to do it to me.”
‘And
they will go away to eternal punishment, and the virtuous to eternal life.’
FOUNDATION FOR
HUMAN RIGHTS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [LEV 19:1-2,11-18; PS 19:8-10,15; MATT 25:31-46 ]
Today, the world is
always talking about and invoking human rights to justify its actions. We champion rights for equality of
women at work and in marriage, for the poor, for freedom of religion, for
justice and for life; for freedom from all forms of slavery and oppression, and
to follow one’s conscience. Most of these rights are drawn directly or
indirectly from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United
Nations on 10th Dec 1948. Some of the basic
principles that are held as human rights include freedom and equality in
dignity and rights; the right to life, liberty and security of persons; the
rights of the family; freedom of religion and conscience; and the rights of the
community over the individual. While some individual rights such as the
right to life and freedom cannot be compromised, yet the exercise of the
individual’s rights must be seen in relation to the greater good of the
community. It cannot always be exercised absolutely without
qualification.
Yet, the world is so
divided on the application of human rights declared by the United Nations. Some of these fundamental rights
have been reformulated or expanded. We no longer agree on what are human
rights. The right to life is compromised by the right to abortion and
euthanasia. Recently, some academics proposed that even the lives of
newly born babies could be terminated if they were found to be
undesirable. Why is it that in one instance we can kill and in another we
cannot? The right to a traditional family is contradicted by the push for same
sex union and adoption of babies. Why is it that in some countries
monogamy is the law and in other countries, polygamy is allowed? Then in
the name of freedom, everyone is demanding the right to do whatever they like
or want.
What is the reason for
the confusion about human rights?
It is because we have forgotten the foundation of human rights. Whether
we want to admit it or not, the human rights enshrined in the United Nations
were formulated by deeply religious leaders from Christian nations from United
States and Europe. Their moral values would have by and large been
influenced by the Christian values that they were brought up with. The
context of the Human Rights Declaration is based on the gospel values as taught
in the Christian scriptures. Hence, we cannot say that human rights are secular
rights without any religious influence. All human rights and morality are
founded on some presupposed religious principles. We cannot deny the
Christian influence on the Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.
Indeed, all human rights
are rooted in some belief in God and absolutes and not in mere reason alone. In the face of relativism, which
denies that there are absolutes, then these human rights cannot stand.
Regardless, human rights presuppose faith in God, in absolutes, in truth and in
the sacredness of life and the dignity of man. It is God who lays down
the rules for life. This is what the first reading from the book of
Leviticus wants to underscore. Three times after delineating the laws of
justice and mercy towards our fellowmen, it ended by saying, “I am the
Lord.” Indeed, all laws regulating the relationship between and among men
are based on the laws of God. On this basis alone, all laws must be
obeyed because God is the legislator of these laws. (cf Lev 19:11-18) The psalmist
enjoined this truth when he says, “Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are
life. The law of the Lord is perfect, it revives the soul. The rule
of the Lord is to be trusted, it gives wisdom to the simple. The command
of the Lord is clear, it gives light to the eyes. The decrees of the Lord are
truth and all of them just.” So the laws of God are for the good of man
in his relationship with each other.
Secondly, human rights
are founded not just on the laws of God but Christ’s identification with us in
the gospel. In
the gospel, when Jesus spoke of the obligation to help the poor, the hungry,
the needy, the suffering, the homeless, those in prison, it was based on the
fact that He is identified with every human person. When the virtuous
asked the Lord, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you; or thirsty and
give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome;
naked and clothe you; sick or in prison and go to see you?” The Lord
said, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of
these brothers of mine, you did it to me.” (cf Mt 25:37-40)
In other words, we are
the brothers and sisters of Jesus. And that is what we are. “For the one who sanctifies and
those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is
not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, saying, ‘I will proclaim your
name to my brothers and sisters, in the midst of the congregation I will praise
you.'” (Heb 2:11f) As the
brothers and sisters of our Lord, we too share in His suffering and
glory. “When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit
bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children,
then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ – if, in fact, we suffer
with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” (Rom 8:16f)
And if we are His
brothers and sisters, we are children of God. “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. Beloved, we are
God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know
is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he
is.” (1 Jn 3:1f) This is
why the bible says we are created in God’s image and likeness thereby sharing
His authority over creation and empowered to give life through
procreation. (cf Gn 1:26-28)
Indeed, this is the
foundation of all human rights.
People ask ‘what about animal rights? Why is it that we can kill animals
and not human beings?’ It is simply because, like the rest of creation,
animals are created for the service of man. Only human beings are created
in God’s image, sharing in His divine life. As such, every human person
reflects God and only God who is the life-giver can take away human life and
not our fellowmen, neither can we decide to end our life through suicide.
If we do not subscribe to the fact that we are unique creatures created by God,
we have no basis for giving special rights to human beings, and neither to each
other. If we are not God’s creatures, then there is no reason why we need
to perpetuate the human race, to protect the ecology or creation, to live or to
care for others. If we are just like all other animals in creation, then
we do not deserve any rights. Precisely, because we are created in God’s
image, sharing in His truth and love, can we speak of morality, conscience,
justice and truth.
Indeed, we cannot avoid
the fact that the morality of the United Nations is shaped by religions,
especially Christianity.
It is Christianity that promotes the freedom of the individual, the freedom of
conscience, the common good, and the sacredness of life from the moment of
conception till death. Reason alone cannot conclude that we are the
children of God and created in His image and likeness. That is why, the
secular world, the State, needs religion to help it purify reason. Only
faith in God can help reason to go beyond what is merely nature alone.
Truly, the task of
religion is to purify the truth offered by reason. Pope Benedict clarified the role of
religion with respect to politics as such, “The State must inevitably face the
question of how justice can be achieved here and now. But this presupposes an
even more radical question: what is justice? The problem is one of practical
reason; but if reason is to be exercised properly, it must undergo constant
purification, since it can never be completely free of the danger of a certain
ethical blindness caused by the dazzling effect of power and special interests.
Here politics and faith meet. Faith by its specific nature is an encounter with
the living God – an encounter opening up new horizons extending beyond the
sphere of reason. But it is also a purifying force for reason itself. From
God’s standpoint, faith liberates reason from its blind spots and therefore
helps it to be ever more fully itself. Faith enables reason to do its work more
effectively and to see its proper object more clearly.” (Deus Caritas
est, 28)
Indeed, in the final
analysis, faith and reason must meet together so that truth can be found. Only in truth can true justice be
rendered to humanity. Again, this was what Pope Emeritus said in his
famous Regensburg address. “While we rejoice in the new possibilities
open to humanity, we also see the dangers arising from these possibilities and
we must ask ourselves how we can overcome them. We will succeed in doing so
only if reason and faith come together in a new way, if we overcome the
self-imposed limitation of reason to the empirically falsifiable, and if we
once more disclose its vast horizons… In the Western world it is widely held
that only positivistic reason and the forms of philosophy based on it are
universally valid. Yet the world’s profoundly religious cultures see this
exclusion of the divine from the universality of reason as an attack on their
most profound convictions. A reason which is deaf to the divine and which
relegates religion into the realm of subcultures is incapable of entering into
the dialogue of cultures.” (‘Faith, reason and University’ at the
University of Regensburg, 2006) Truly, only when those who champion
Human Rights have their foundation on God and the gospel of Christ, can those
rights be truly just and right. Otherwise, it is based on blind self-interests
and ideological positions. Human rights today are reformulated
against the dignity of the human person as God’s children.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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