20190408
POWER
CORRUPTS
08 APRIL, 2019,
Monday, 5th Week in Lent
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First reading
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Daniel 13:1-9,15-17,19-30,33-62 ©
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Susannah and the elders
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In Babylon there lived a man named Joakim.
He had married Susanna daughter of Hilkiah, a woman of great beauty; and she
was God-fearing, because her parents were worthy people and had instructed
their daughter in the Law of Moses. Joakim was a very rich man, and had a
garden attached to his house; the Jews would often visit him since he was held
in greater respect than any other man. Two elderly men had been selected from
the people that year to act as judges. Of such the Lord said, ‘Wickedness has
come to Babylon through the elders and judges posing as guides to the people.’
These men were often at Joakim’s house, and all who were engaged in litigation
used to come to them. At midday, when everyone had gone, Susanna used to take a
walk in her husband’s garden. The two elders, who used to watch her every day
as she came in to take her walk, gradually began to desire her. They threw
reason aside, making no effort to turn their eyes to heaven, and forgetting its
demands of virtue. So they waited for a favourable moment; and one day Susanna
came as usual, accompanied only by two young maidservants. The day was hot and
she wanted to bathe in the garden. There was no one about except the two
elders, spying on her from their hiding place. She said to the servants, ‘Bring
me some oil and balsam and shut the garden door while I bathe.’
Hardly were the servants gone
than the two elders were there after her. ‘Look,’ they said ‘the garden door is
shut, no one can see us. We want to have you, so give in and let us! Refuse,
and we will both give evidence that a young man was with you and that was why
you sent your maids away.’ Susanna sighed. ‘I am trapped,’ she said ‘whatever I
do. If I agree, that means my death; if I resist, I cannot get away from you.
But I prefer to fall innocent into your power than to sin in the eyes of the
Lord.’ Then she cried out as loud as she could. The two elders began shouting
too, putting the blame on her, and one of them ran to open the garden door. The
household, hearing the shouting in the garden, rushed out by the side entrance
to see what was happening; once the elders had told their story the servants
were thoroughly taken aback, since nothing of this sort had ever been said of
Susanna.
Next day a meeting was held at
the house of her husband Joakim. The two elders arrived, in their
vindictiveness determined to have her put to death. They addressed the company:
‘Summon Susanna daughter of Hilkiah and wife of Joakim.’ She was sent for, and
came accompanied by her parents, her children and all her relations. All her
own people were weeping, and so were all the others who saw her. The two elders
stood up, with all the people round them, and laid their hands on the woman’s
head. Tearfully she turned her eyes to heaven, her heart confident in God. The
elders then spoke. ‘While we were walking by ourselves in the garden, this
woman arrived with two servants. She shut the garden door and then dismissed
the servants. A young man who had been hiding went over to her and they lay
down together. From the end of the garden where we were, we saw this crime
taking place and hurried towards them. Though we saw them together we were
unable to catch the man: he was too strong for us; he opened the door and took
to his heels. We did, however, catch this woman and ask her who the young man
was. She refused to tell us. That is our evidence.’
Since they were elders of the
people, and judges, the assembly took their word: Susanna was condemned to
death. She cried out as loud as she could, ‘Eternal God, you know all secrets
and everything before it happens; you know that they have given false evidence
against me. And now have I to die, innocent as I am of everything their malice
has invented against me?’
The Lord heard her cry and, as
she was being led away to die, he roused the holy spirit residing in a young
boy named Daniel who began to shout, ‘I am innocent of this woman’s death!’ At
which all the people turned to him and asked, ‘What do you mean by these
words?’ Standing in the middle of the crowd he replied, ‘Are you so stupid,
sons of Israel, as to condemn a daughter of Israel unheard, and without
troubling to find out the truth? Go back to the scene of the trial: these men
have given false evidence against her.’
All the people hurried back,
and the elders said to Daniel, ‘Come and sit with us and tell us what you mean,
since God has given you the gifts that elders have.’ Daniel said, ‘Keep the men
well apart from each other for I want to question them.’ When the men had been
separated, Daniel had one of them brought to him. ‘You have grown old in
wickedness,’ he said ‘and now the sins of your earlier days have overtaken you,
you with your unjust judgements, your condemnation of the innocent, your
acquittal of guilty men, when the Lord has said, “You must not put the innocent
and the just to death.” Now then, since you saw her so clearly, tell me what
tree you saw them lying under?’ He replied, ‘Under a mastic tree.’ Daniel said,
‘True enough! Your lie recoils on your own head: the angel of God has already received
your sentence from him and will slash you in half.’ He dismissed the man,
ordered the other to be brought and said to him, ‘Spawn of Canaan, not of
Judah, beauty has seduced you, lust has led your heart astray! This is how you
have been behaving with the daughters of Israel and they were too frightened to
resist; but here is a daughter of Judah who could not stomach your wickedness!
Now then, tell me what tree you surprised them under?’ He replied, ‘Under a
holm oak.’ Daniel said, ‘True enough! Your lie recoils on your own head: the
angel of God is waiting, with a sword to drive home and split you, and destroy
the pair of you.’
Then the whole assembly
shouted, blessing God, the saviour of those who trust in him. And they turned
on the two elders whom Daniel had convicted of false evidence out of their own
mouths. As prescribed in the Law of Moses, they sentenced them to the same
punishment as they had intended to inflict on their neighbour. They put them to
death; the life of an innocent woman was spared that day.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 22(23) ©
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If I should walk in the
valley of darkness, no evil would I fear.
The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me,
to revive my drooping spirit.
If I should walk in the
valley of darkness, no evil would I fear.
He guides me along the right path;
he is true to his name.
If I should walk in the valley of darkness
no evil would I fear.
You are there with your crook and your
staff;
with these you give me
comfort.
If I should walk in the
valley of darkness, no evil would I fear.
You have prepared a banquet for me
in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil;
my cup is overflowing.
If I should walk in the
valley of darkness, no evil would I fear.
Surely goodness and kindness shall follow
me
all the days of my life.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for ever and ever.
If I should walk in the
valley of darkness, no evil would I fear.
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Gospel Acclamation
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2Co6:2
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Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word
of God!
Now is the favourable time:
this is the day of salvation.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word
of God!
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Or:
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Ezk33:11
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Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word
of God!
I take pleasure, not in the death of a
wicked man
– it is the Lord who speaks –
but in the turning back of a wicked man
who changes his ways to win life.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word
of God!
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Gospel
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John 8:12-20 ©
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'I am the light of the world'
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Jesus said to the Pharisees:
‘I am the light of the world;
anyone who follows me will not be walking
in the dark;
he will have the light of life.’
At this the Pharisees said to him, ‘You
are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.’
Jesus replied:
‘It is true that I am testifying on my own
behalf,
but my testimony is still valid,
because I know
where I came from and where I am going;
but you do not know
where I come from or where I am going.
You judge by human standards;
I judge no one,
but if I judge, my judgement will be
sound,
because I am not alone:
the one who sent me is with me;
and in your Law it is written
that the testimony of two witnesses is
valid.
I may be testifying on my own behalf,
but the Father who sent me is my witness too.’
They asked him, ‘Where is your Father?’
Jesus answered:
‘You do not know me,
nor do you know my Father;
if you did know me,
you would know my Father as well.’
He spoke these words in the Treasury,
while teaching in the Temple. No one arrested him, because his time had not yet
come.
POWER CORRUPTS
The most famous quote by Lord Acton is
this, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great
men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not
authority; still more when you superadd the tendency of the certainty of
corruption by authority.” How true these words are! We see this in
the history of humanity, in religion, politics and business. Human beings
are weak and they will be tempted to use their power for themselves and serve
their interests when there are no checks and balances. Indeed, very often
power is desired only because it can be used to control people and use them to
serve one’s interests. Power is often used to satisfy the lust and greed
of the powerful. That is why many people in the world desire power.
What is frightening is
that the more powerful one is, the greater the temptation to abuse one’s power
for himself or herself. This was what happened to the corrupt judges in
the first reading. Two
elderly men, unworthy as they were, were appointed to be judges. These judges
were not concerned with justice for the people but they used their power to satisfy
their desires. So much so, the Lord said, “Wickedness has come to
Babylon through the elders and judges posing as guides to the people.”
Both men lusted after Susanna because she was “a woman of great beauty.”
They tried to get her to sleep with them. When she refused, in order to
protect themselves in case Susanna reported them, they accused her of
committing adultery with another man. She was falsely accused
before judges and the elders. Since those accusing her were judges themselves,
they were supposedly trustworthy and credible. The rest of the judges and
the people bought their story without questioning and condemned Susanna to
death without a proper investigation.
Indeed, the injustice
done to Susanna by the conspiracy of powerful people is perpetuated in our
times. Often,
the rich and the powerful silence their subordinates from reporting the truth,
either by using bribery or by threats to their lives or dismissal from their
jobs. Otherwise, they secure the best lawyers to fight their case or buy
over influential people to support them, including the media. More often
than not, those who are weak, or are dependent on their superiors for survival,
would collaborate with them in their injustices. This is the sad reality
of life. This happens not just in the corporate and political world, but
even in religion. The corruption in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church
shows that not even so-called religious people are exempted from the
temptations of the Evil One to use power for sex, money and self-interests.
This is where, more than
ever, proper governance and accountability is necessary. We cannot trust human beings, for
this is what the bible says: “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than
to put confidence in mortals. It is better to take refuge in
the Lord than to put confidence in princes.” (Ps 118:8f) Jeremiah said, “Cursed are those
who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts
turn away from the Lord.” (Jer 17:5) The truth is that man, being man, is
a fallen creature. Because of original sin, we suffer from darkness of
the intellect and the weakness of the will. Our sinful nature will blind
us to the truth of what we do. Indeed, Jeremiah said, “The heart is devious
above all else; it is perverse – who can understand it? I
the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according
to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings.” (Jer 17:9f) Indeed, we are blinded by our own
weaknesses, especially when decisions involved concern our loved ones.
Hence Jesus said, “Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do
not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor,
‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye?”
That is why the scriptures speak of the
need to have proper witnesses. “A single witness
shall not suffice to convict a person of any crime or wrongdoing in connection
with any offense that may be committed. Only on the evidence of two or three
witnesses shall a charge be sustained.” (Dt 19:15) Even in the New Testament, the Lord
advised the people, “If you are not listened to, take one or two others along
with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three
witnesses.” (Mt 18:16) In the case of
Susanna, they had two witnesses but they colluded with each other. This
is why it is better to have three witnesses. Today, we speak of a
tribunal that consists of three judges in order to show impartiality.
However, having
witnesses is still not enough. The truth is that using reason alone, we
might not be able to see the truth of the matter because of our ignorance. Today, the so-called intellectuals
of the world are proposing laws that contradict the conscience and basic
reasoning of any ordinary man. They use words and arguments to convince
the world that abortion and euthanasia are not killing, or that same-sex union
is part of nature, or that the family is no longer defined as a man and a woman
with children. This is what St Paul wrote to the Romans. “For
though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but
they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were
darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools; and they exchanged
the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human being or
birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.” (Rom 1:21-23)
If we seek to be true
judges exercising our authority and power in a fair, impartial, just and wise
manner, we should first come to the Lord who is the Light of the World. We read “Jesus went to the Mount of
Olives. At daybreak, he appeared in the Temple again; and as all the
people came to him, he sat down and began to teach them. Jesus said to the
people: I am the light of the world; anyone who follows me will not be
walking in the dark; he will have the light of life.'” The evangelist
plays on the words, “darkness and light” and “I am.” In the mind of St
John, Jesus who is the “I Am” is identified with God who revealed Himself to
Moses, as “I am who am”. Jesus as the Light of the World,
therefore, is the One who can show us the Way, the Truth and the Life. He
is the One that comes to enlighten all men in the truth. And Jesus does
it not simply by His words but by His very life. “What has come into
being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (Jn 1:3-5)
Unfortunately, many of
us do not know Him. This
is not surprising. If our values and that of the gospel contradict the
values of the world today it is because as Jesus said, “You do not know me, nor
do you know my Father; if you did know me, you would know my Father as
well.” The world does not believe in God but only in themselves.
Man has supplanted the place of God in the world and has made himself the new
god of truth based on his so-called human reasoning. However, Jesus has
this to say to the world. “You judge by human standards; I judge no one,
but if I judge, my judgement will be sound, because I am not alone: the one who
sent me is with me; and in your law it is written that the testimony of two
witnesses is valid. I may be testifying on my own behalf, but the father who
sent me is my witness too.” By His death and resurrection, the Father
endorsed all that Jesus said and did, and that He is truly the Son of God, the
Light of the World.
Consequently, as
leaders, we must turn to Him for light and wisdom in our governance so that we
will not deceive ourselves or the world in judging situations. We bear in mind the exhortation of
St Paul, “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that
everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good
work.” Leaders who do not pray every day as Jesus did, or read the Word
of God, are not fit to lead the people of God because they will depend on human
reasoning alone and they are often misguided because they are not conscious of
their real desires in their hearts. We must be like Daniel, a man of God,
in touch with the Spirit of God and acts with justice and wisdom.
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ DN 13:1-9.15-17,19-30, 33-62 (OR VERSES
41-62); JN 8:12-20 ]
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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