20190328
SIN
OF DIVISION
28 MARCH, 2019,
Thursday, 3rd Week in Lent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Violet.
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First reading
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Jeremiah 7:23-28 ©
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Here is the nation that will not listen
to the voice of the Lord its God
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These were my orders: Listen to my voice,
then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Follow right to the end the
way that I mark out for you, and you will prosper. But they did not listen,
they did not pay attention; they followed the dictates of their own evil
hearts, refused to face me, and turned their backs on me. From the day your
ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until today, day after day I have
persistently sent you all my servants the prophets.
But
they have not listened to me, have not paid attention; they have grown stubborn
and behaved worse than their ancestors. You may say all these words to them:
they will not listen to you; you may call them: they will not answer. So tell
them this, “Here is the nation that will not listen to the voice of the Lord
its God nor take correction. Sincerity is no more, it has vanished from their
mouths.”
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 94(95):1-2,6-9 ©
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O that today you would
listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;
hail the rock who saves us.
Let us come before him, giving thanks,
with songs let us hail the
Lord.
O that today you would
listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
Come in; let us bow and bend low;
let us kneel before the God
who made us:
for he is our God and we
the people who belong to his
pasture,
the flock that is led by his
hand.
O that today you would
listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
O that today you would listen to his
voice!
‘Harden not your hearts as at
Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in
the desert
when your fathers put me to the test;
when they tried me, though
they saw my work.’
O that today you would
listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
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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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Joel2:12-13
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Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal
glory!
Now, now – it is the Lord who
speaks –
come back to me with all your heart,
for I am all tenderness and compassion.
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal
glory!
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Gospel
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Luke 11:14-23 ©
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Know that the kingdom of God has
overtaken you
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Jesus was casting out a devil and it was
dumb; but when the devil had gone out the dumb man spoke, and the people were
amazed. But some of them said, ‘It is through Beelzebul, the prince of devils,
that he casts out devils.’ Others asked him, as a test, for a sign from heaven;
but, knowing what they were thinking, he said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided
against itself is heading for ruin, and a household divided against itself
collapses. So too with Satan: if he is divided against himself, how can his kingdom
stand? – since you assert that it is through Beelzebul that I cast out
devils. Now if it is through Beelzebul that I cast out devils, through whom do
your own experts cast them out? Let them be your judges then. But if it is
through the finger of God that I cast out devils, then know that the kingdom of
God has overtaken you. So long as a strong man fully armed guards his own
palace, his goods are undisturbed; but when someone stronger than he is attacks
and defeats him, the stronger man takes away all the weapons he relied on and
shares out his spoil.
‘He
who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters.’
SIN OF DIVISION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ JER 7:23-28; PS 95:1-2,6-9; LK 11:14-23 ]
We are coming towards
the end of the first half of the season of Lent. The emphasis in the first part of
Lent is the call to repentance. “O that today you would listen to his
voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.'” The liturgy today calls us to repent
from the sin of division because it destroys our community and weakens the work
of evangelization. Indeed, in the gospel, Jesus underscores the
importance of maintaining unity when He remarked, “Every kingdom divided
against itself is heading for ruin, and a household divided against itself
collapses.” The sin of division is the work of the Evil One.
Whenever Satan is present, he brings about disunity through lies and distortion
of truth.
What are the causes of
division in the community? Firstly, because of selfishness and an evil
heart. Jeremiah said,
“they followed the dictates of their own evil hearts, refused to face me, and
turned their backs on me from the day your ancestors came out of the land of
Egypt until today.” They go against the laws of God. The Lord said,
“These were my orders: Listen to my voice, then I will be your God and you
shall be my people. Follow right to the end the way that I mark out for
you, and you will prosper. But they did not listen, they did not pay
attention.” Selfishness always causes division because of injustices
caused through cheating, greed, slander, oppression, lust and killing.
When people care only for their own interests and their own needs and are blind
to the sufferings of others, especially when their wealth and power are
acquired through unscrupulous means, it leads to resentment, anger and hatred.
Secondly, division in
the community is not only caused by sinners who go against the laws of God but
ironically by those who seek to keep the laws as well! Like the religious leaders during the time
of Jesus, they were legalists. They strove to uphold the Law of
Moses. They thought that Jesus was a law-breaker and a deviant rabbi.
To obey the law of Moses perfectly, they expanded the laws by explicating the
general principles of the Law of Moses in every specific and concrete
situation. But these laws were applied without consideration of the
special circumstances of the persons who were affected by the laws.
This is true even among Catholics. There are some who apply the Church
laws narrowly, whether Canon Laws or liturgical laws. They think that the
Church is a legal institution and operates by the laws without having a heart
of compassion and understanding. Some even appoint themselves as
inquisitors of others or supervisors of the execution of the laws, believing
that if everyone observes the laws, there will be unity. Such rigid
application of the laws causes more harm and division than good. It does
not bring unity but legalism. The Church is a community and we work with
a heart of compassion. The laws are meant to guide us, not to limit the
freedom of worship or creativity.
Thirdly, division
happens most often among clergy, religious and active Church members because of
pride, both intellectual and spiritual. This was the primary sin of the religious
leaders during the time of Jesus as well. In truth, the Jewish religious
leaders were good people. Most of them were sincere in observing the Law
of Moses. They were striving to live righteously. However, by doing so,
they inadvertently fell into the sin of pride, partly because of their
knowledge of the laws and because they managed to keep more of the laws than
others. As a result, they thought highly of themselves and despised
others who failed. Their sin of pride hindered them from listening to the
voice of God because they believed they knew everything, and more than
others. So when it came to Jesus’ radical and unconventional teaching and
explanation of the Laws, they felt intimidated and challenged. As a
consequence, they felt the need to react and reclaim their authority by
denouncing and discrediting the ministry of Jesus, including His works of healing
and exorcism, by suggesting that Jesus was in league with Beelzebul.
This is the same
challenge we face in the Church today, especially among active Church members
and even nominal Catholics.
The lack of credibility in the Church today is not because of the scandals but
the failure of clergy, religious and laity to work as one, and to see each
other’s fruitfulness in the apostolate as theirs. There is much
competition among the different Church organizations, sometimes for the same
pool of people instead of reaching out to those who are unreached. Within
organizations, we see many good people who volunteered their services and their
resources but left the organizations because they disagreed with how the
organizations were being run. Very often, which for me is the biggest
scandal, we see Church workers and volunteers attacking each other with nasty,
harsh and hurtful remarks without reservations. There is no charity in
our speech, no humility in deferring our opinions to others, especially in the
community. Everyone wants things to be run their way, and no other
way. Then there are many nominal Catholics who do not know what is
happening in the Church or are aware of Church doctrines or the teaching of the
scriptures, but make comments and attack the Church’s moral positions publicly,
and yet call themselves Catholics when in truth they are just Catholics in name
but not in fact.
By so doing, we are
working against ourselves and the common good of all. Jesus said, “So too with Satan: if he is
divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand?” Not even Satan can
be successful if they are divided against each other. Satan and his
devils are more united in destroying us and the world than we are in restoring
the Kingdom of God. In no uncertain terms, the Lord warns us, “He who is
not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me
scatters.” Jesus is one with His Church. If we are not one
with Jesus and His Church, then we are working against the building and
extension of the Kingdom of God. Is our one desire to make everyone a
subject of God’s kingdom? If we claim to be one with Jesus, we cannot be
acting and working in silo. Rather, we must actively cooperate with
fellow Catholics, giving in to each other, finding the best solution for the
good of all, not worrying about who will get the credit. We must put the
Church before ourselves. We cannot be working and championing our organization
apart from the greater good of the Church and the community. Our organization
must serve the good of the entire Church and not our sectarian interests.
During this season of
Lent, we need to pray for the gift of humility to repent sincerely of our sins
of selfishness, legalism and pride. Such attitudes lack charity, justice and
compassion. They bring about disunity. Without humility, we cannot
hear the Word of God that is addressed to us, just like the Israelites and the
religious leaders of Israel. The judgement of the prophet is also
applicable to us. “But they have not listened to me, have not paid
attention; they have grown stubborn and behaved worse than their
ancestors. You may say all these words to them: they will not listen to
you; you may call them: they will not answer. So tell them this, ‘Here is
the nation that will not listen to the voice of the Lord its God nor take
correction. Sincerity is no more, it has vanished from their
mouths.'” Indeed, when our hearts are consumed by self-centeredness and
our minds are blinded by pride, we cannot hear the voice of the Lord.
To overcome the sin of
division, we must welcome the Lord into our hearts. We must rely on the strong man who
can save the Church. Jesus said, “But if it is through the finger of God
that I cast out devils, then know that the kingdom of God has overtaken
you. So long as a strong man fully armed guards his own palace, his goods
are undisturbed; but when someone stronger than he is attacks and defeats him,
the stronger man takes away all the weapons he relied on and shares out his
spoil.” We cannot fight this battle alone or with our ingenuity. We
cannot build the kingdom of God just by sheer hard work and human
resources. All of us, from the Church’s hierarchy to the members of our
organizations and the laity must turn to the Lord in prayer and penance to pray
for the gift of conversion and repentance. This is the appeal of today’s
scripture lessons. “O that today you would listen to his voice!
‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as on that day at Massah in the desert
when your fathers put me to the test; when they tried me, though they saw my
work.'”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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