20190525
RADICALISM
OR ADAPTATION
25 MAY, 2019,
Saturday, 5th Week of Easter
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
White.
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First reading
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Acts 16:1-10 ©
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'Come across to Macedonia and help us'
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From Cilicia Paul went to Derbe, and then
on to Lystra. Here there was a disciple called Timothy, whose mother was a
Jewess who had become a believer; but his father was a Greek. The brothers at
Lystra and Iconium spoke well of Timothy, and Paul, who wanted to have him as a
travelling companion, had him circumcised. This was on account of the Jews in
the locality where everyone knew his father was a Greek.
As
they visited one town after another, they passed on the decisions reached by
the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, with instructions to respect them.
So
the churches grew strong in the faith, as well as growing daily in numbers.
They
travelled through Phrygia and the Galatian country, having been told by the
Holy Spirit not to preach the word in Asia. When they reached the frontier of
Mysia they thought to cross it into Bithynia, but as the Spirit of Jesus would
not allow them, they went through Mysia and came down to Troas.
One
night Paul had a vision: a Macedonian appeared and appealed to him in these
words, ‘Come across to Macedonia and help us.’ Once he had seen this vision we
lost no time in arranging a passage to Macedonia, convinced that God had called
us to bring them the Good News.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 99(100):1-3,5 ©
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Cry out with joy to the
Lord, all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the
earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing for
joy.
Cry out with joy to the
Lord, all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
Know that he, the Lord, is God.
He made us, we belong to him,
we are his people, the sheep
of his flock.
Cry out with joy to the
Lord, all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
Indeed, how good is the Lord,
eternal his merciful love.
He is faithful from age to
age.
Cry out with joy to the
Lord, all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel Acclamation
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord, who hung for us upon the tree,
has risen from the tomb.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Col3:1
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Since you have been brought back to true
life with Christ,
you must look for the things that are in
heaven, where Christ is,
sitting at God’s right hand.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 15:18-21 ©
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The world hated me before it hated you
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Jesus said to his disciples:
‘If the world hates you,
remember that it hated me before you.
If you belonged to the world,
the world would love you as its own;
but because you do not belong to the
world,
because my choice withdrew you from the
world,
therefore the world hates you.
Remember the words I said to you: A
servant is not greater than his master.
If they persecuted me, they will persecute
you too;
if they kept my word, they will keep yours
as well.
But it will be on my account that they
will do all this,
because they do not know the one who sent
me.’
RADICALISM OR
ADAPTATION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS 16:1-10; PS 100:1-3,5; JOHN 15:18-21 ]
In a globalized world,
religions are being challenged on their claims to supremacy in beliefs. In the past, it was common for religions
to assert that theirs was the “one and only true religion.” It was common
for religions to brand others as pagan or “false” religions. Until
Vatican II, the Catholic Church had always claimed to be the one and only true
Church of Jesus Christ because of the apostolic succession and apostolic faith
that had been transmitted to us. In our relations with Christians, we
then labeled them as false Church or at least not the true Church.
But Vatican II was truly
a council beyond its time as it foresaw the rapid changes that would take place
in society and in the world due to mass communications. Whilst identifying the Church of Christ as
subsisting in the Catholic Church, Vatican II also recognized that “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.” (LH 8.2) Then in the decree on
Ecumenism, the Church reiterated the position of the Christian communities.
“Moreover, some and even very many of the significant elements and endowments
which together go to build up and give life to the Church itself, can exist
outside the visible boundaries of the Catholic Church: the written word of God;
the life of grace; faith, hope and charity, with the other interior gifts of
the Holy Spirit, and visible elements too. All of these, which come from Christ
and lead back to Christ, belong by right to the one Church of Christ.”
(Unitatis Reintegratio)
And with respect to
other religions, the Church also admitted the possibility of salvation. “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 16.1) In Nostra Aetate, the Council taught that “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.”
How do these statements
of the Church synchronize with the scripture readings of today? In the gospel, Jesus seems
to be promoting a kind of radical lifestyle. He said, “If the world
hates you, remember that it hated me before you. If you belonged to the world,
the world would love you as its own; but because you do not belong to the
world, because my choice withdrew you from the world, therefore the world hates
you.” In John’s understanding, there is an opposition between the world and
Christ. But this must be seen in context because by the time of the
evangelist, the Church was already under persecution. He himself was
exiled in the island of Paphos. Jesus is not asking us to oppose the world
because earlier on, He said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only
Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the
world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (Jn 3:16f)
To understand how time
immemorial truths can be applied in the light of new situations and challenges,
it is important that Church doctrines or religious beliefs be always situated
in the context of their time. Applying
the Sacred Texts or religious doctrines without considering the context in
which such doctrines arose can cause more harm than good. When preachers
of religions and adherents take the words and repeat them outside the context
in which they were originally uttered, this becomes dangerous, and more
frighteningly so when people take videos of these speakers or extract some
words and messages for the social media. Hearing them without the context
can be rather misleading. That is how the media sometimes sensationalize
just by focusing on a passing remark of the speaker without presenting the
whole message. This was what happened to Pope Benedict in his illustrious
speech at the University of Regensburg on “Faith and reason.” (2006)
We are not advocating
relativism, that is, that truth changes with the circumstances. Rather, the truth remains the same
but it has to be applied to concrete situations. The application of the same
truth requires adaptation because of new discoveries, scientific advancements
and new knowledge. It is just like the case of the bible teaching that
the world is flat and comprised of three levels or strata – the heavens, the
earth and the underworld. This was also true in many areas as well.
In the past, the Church would not permit a church burial to those who committed
suicide. But with the study of psychology, we have come to realize that
many who committed suicide did not do so as an affront to the sovereignty of
God but were overwhelmed by suffering, loneliness and depression.
So when this passage of
the gospel was written, Christianity was already under persecution as a new
religion. Christians were
persecuted because of their faith in Christ. It was outlawed and those
who were found to be Christians were punished even by death. The Roman emperors
hated the Christians because they were regarded as disloyal citizens as they
did not worship Caesar. This hatred for the Christians was accentuated by
the slanders of the Jews and those opposed to the Christian Faith. The
Christians were regarded as revolutionaries since Christ was their only King;
cannibals because they ate the flesh and drank the blood of Christ; and immoral
because of their fellowship meal called “agape.” Most of all, many feared
the Christians because their faith brought division to society and the families
of those who were converted to the faith.
The ‘world’ therefore
referred to those who opposed the Christian way of life. That is why we read of St Paul and
St Peter exhorting the Christians to be good citizens so as to negate such
false accusations that Christians were divisive. However, when it came to
morality, justice and righteous living, Christians could not compromise the gospel
values. If keeping the Word of Jesus causes us to be rejected, we need to
stand firm in our faith. Standing up for the truth, for what is right,
just and good is not destructive to society but constructive. At
the end of the day, freedom of worship must be respected, but it cannot lead to
fundamentalism and fanaticism, branding those who embrace other religions as
infidels, condemned or pagans. At the end of the day, the Church
makes it clear that it is our way of life, of love, compassion, justice and truth
that will determine whether we truly love God or not. St John accordingly
wrote, “How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees
a brother or sister[f] in need and yet
refuses help?” (1 John 3:17)
This need to adapt
without compromising the truth is found in the way St Paul handled Timothy. When he wanted to bring Timothy along in
his missionary trips, he had him circumcised. “This was on account of the
Jews in the locality where everyone knew his father was a Greek.” It was
not that Timothy should be circumcised to be a Christian, as this was already
settled at the Council of Jerusalem earlier. Furthermore, they were going
from “one town after another, …(passing) on the decisions reached by the
apostles and elders in Jerusalem, with instructions to respect them.”
This position of St Paul
appears to contradict what he had opposed with regard to the circumcision of
the Gentile Christians. He
argued, “We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know
that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus
Christ.” (Gal 2:15-16). But in
this case, it was done for pragmatic reasons. Firstly, Timothy was a
half-Jew since his woman was Jewish. Circumcision, although not necessary
for the Gentiles, was still part of the Jewish way of life. By so doing,
he would be more acceptable to a Jewish audience. But it also showed how
liberal Paul was in accepting Timothy as a Jew, as an orthodox Jew would not
recognize a mixed marriage. In truth, we can see how Paul could adapt the
gospel without compromising the truths of being saved by faith alone and that
in Christ, “there is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free,
there is no longer male and female.” (Gal 3:28)
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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