20190715 PASSIVE
CONSPIRACY TO FALSEHOOD
15 JULY, 2019,
Monday, 15th Week, Ordinary Time
PASSIVE
CONSPIRACY TO FALSEHOOD
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Exodus 1:8-14,22 ©
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The Egyptians force the sons of Israel into slavery
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There came to power in Egypt a new king
who knew nothing of Joseph. ‘Look,’ he said to his subjects ‘these people, the
sons of Israel, have become so numerous and strong that they are a threat to
us. We must be prudent and take steps against their increasing any further, or
if war should break out, they might add to the number of our enemies. They
might take arms against us and so escape out of the country.’ Accordingly they
put slave-drivers over the Israelites to wear them down under heavy loads. In
this way they built the store-cities of Pithom and Rameses for Pharaoh. But the
more they were crushed, the more they increased and spread, and men came to
dread the sons of Israel. The Egyptians forced the sons of Israel into slavery,
and made their lives unbearable with hard labour, work with clay and with
brick, all kinds of work in the fields; they forced on them every kind of
labour.
Pharaoh
then gave his subjects this command: ‘Throw all the boys born to the Hebrews
into the river, but let all the girls live.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 123(124) ©
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Our help is in the name
of the Lord.
‘If the Lord had not been on our side,’
this is Israel’s song.
‘If the Lord had not been on our side
when men rose up against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive
when their anger was kindled.
Our help is in the name
of the Lord.
‘Then would the waters have engulfed us,
the torrent gone over us;
over our head would have swept
the raging waters.’
Blessed be the Lord who did not give us
a prey to their teeth!
Our help is in the name
of the Lord.
Our life, like a bird, has escaped
from the snare of the fowler.
Indeed the snare has been broken
and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
Our help is in the name
of the Lord.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Ac16:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord,
to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Mt5:10
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Happy those who are persecuted
in the cause of right,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 10:34-11:1 ©
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It is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword
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Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows:
‘Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth: it is not peace I
have come to bring, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his
father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her
mother-in-law. A man’s enemies will be those of his own household.
‘Anyone
who prefers father or mother to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who prefers son
or daughter to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who does not take his cross and
follow in my footsteps is not worthy of me. Anyone who finds his life will lose
it; anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.
‘Anyone
who welcomes you welcomes me; and those who welcome me welcome the one who sent
me.
‘Anyone
who welcomes a prophet will have a prophet’s reward; and anyone who welcomes a
holy man will have a holy man’s reward.
‘If
anyone gives so much as a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because
he is a disciple, then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his
reward.’
When
Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples he moved on from there to
teach and preach in their towns.
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Ex 1:8-14. 22; Ps 124:1-8; Mt 10:34-11:1]
The instruction of Jesus
to His followers in the gospel is unsettling because it seems to contradict the
basis of all true religions, that is, to be promoters of peace and harmony. But Jesus said, “Do not suppose
that I have come to bring peace to earth: it is not peace I have come to bring,
but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter
against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s
enemies will be those of his own household.” This is the irony of the
gospel message. It seeks to bring real and lasting peace and unity among
all of humanity.
Unfortunately, the world
is not seeking true peace but a facile and superficial peace. The peace and unity in the world is no
longer founded on truth, on universal values. With the denial of God and
absolutes in life because of relativism, no one has the truth, or rather, the
truth cannot be found. This is why governments no longer see themselves
as moral spokesmen of society. It is a matter of gathering consensus on
what the people would like the government to do. Truth, therefore,
is decided by the majority, which is only relevant for a certain period of
time. Today, unity is about increasing the common space, what society is
happy with. Those things that we disagree with, we keep to
ourselves. We do not bring them out into the public space.
Alas, such conflicts we
see in society begin in our own homes. That is why Jesus used the example of
conflicts and division because of the gospel in the family rather than in
society. The most difficult and painful part of division is when it happens
among our loved ones because we cannot agree on what is truth and love.
How do you deal with your sons and daughters who are into same-sex
relationships? How do you handle your children when they bring their
partners into their bedroom and sleep together? How do you speak to your
spouse who does not believe in natural family planning? How do you
discourage your spouse from seeking in-vitro fertilization because you are
desperate to have baby? How do you say “no” to your friend who wants to
have sex with you outside of marriage? If you say “no” to them, it would
mean resentment, anger, hostility, quarrels and cold war.
So to maintain peace in
our family today, we keep quiet and do not make any comments; see but don’t
act. We are called to
accept falsehood, untruths and lies from our family members and loved ones for
the sake of peace. Otherwise, they might leave the family and leave
us. That would even be more painful. So we live and let live.
We tolerate evil and after some time, as is happening in the world today, we
become numb to evil and what is evil and false become the new norm and accepted
by society. Yet, we know that we are living the lie. We know
deep in our hearts that it is wrong. But we lack the courage to speak the
truth for fear of rejection. So even in the family, the peace and unity
is but a fragile peace. There is no real unity when there is no unity of
mind and heart.
Indeed, very few of us
would be willing to follow Jesus’ command when He said, “Anyone who prefers father or
mother to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who prefers son or daughter to
me is not worthy of me. Anyone who does not take his cross and follow in
my footsteps is not worthy of me. Anyone who finds his life will lose it;
anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.” In truth, we
prefer our loved ones more than Jesus. We are afraid to lose our loved
ones more than we are afraid to lose Jesus. Between Jesus and our
children or spouse, we choose them. Between our status or position in
life and society, we choose these over Jesus. This explains why although
we are living yet we have no life, because we are afraid to lose our life for
Jesus. We are not ready to carry the cross after Jesus because the cross
means shame, rejection, humiliation, persecution, suffering, loneliness and even
death.
But why do people
champion the anti-life and anti-love of Satan and promote a love that is not
based on truth, integrity and faithfulness? As the first reading suggests, like the
new Pharaoh of Egypt, he did not know Joseph. “There came to power in Egypt a
new king who knew nothing of Joseph.” Unfortunately, many
people in the world do not know God or Jesus or Christians. They think
that we are people who sow division in the world, like the way the
contemporaries saw the Lord. We are not against the world. In
fact, we love the world and humanity so much that we want to help humanity to
find the fullness of life and to protect this earth and the whole of
creation. That is why the Church promotes peace, love and harmony through
inter-religious dialogue, the need to search for truth, strengthening of family
life and marriages, protection of the weak and the poor; care for the sick and
elderly, the sanctity of life; respect for others, compassion for those who
failed or made mistakes in life, forgiveness and mercy.
The peace that Jesus
came to bring is founded on truth. The kingdom of peace, love and justice
contradicts the kingdom of Satan. Jesus came to teach us to love God and
others before self, to empty our lives and die for our fellowmen. The
only truth for Jesus is love, mercy and compassion. We are to care for
the poor. We are called to respect the person and not make use of people
for our selfish pleasures and interests. Truth calls for honesty,
integrity and justice. Charity calls for the protection of the
vulnerable, the weak, the marginalized, the suffering and the poor.
Hence, the gospel seeks to promote the culture of true love, a love that is
faithful, caring, selfless and unconditional. We seek to promote a
culture of life where every life is sacred and important to God and to us.
But the world is won
over by the kingdom of Satan. It promotes the culture of selfishness, individualism
and death. This is done by over exaggerating the rights of the human
person to the extent that the rights of others are violated. Can we
honestly say that divorce, promiscuity and infidelity are not the result of
selfishness? Can we truthfully say that protectionism and individualism
is not putting ourselves and our needs before others? Can we claim that war,
killing of a human being from the moment of conception until death, violence
and terrorism, do not promote the culture of death? Can we in charity say
that we are doing good when we spread half-truths, unverified information, fake
news, destroy the lives of others completely using social media to bash them,
especially for those who have made mistakes in life?
But when the world is selfish,
when people want to have things their way and for themselves first because of
individualism, they are
opposed to the universal values of the gospel as they choose to live in
half-truths and fake love. It is always about themselves, their
needs, their pleasure, their freedom, their convenience, their rights and their
happiness. It is not about others. They know that relationships
that are not built on true and lasting love cannot last. They exchange
love for lust. They exchange meaning for pleasure. They exchange
freedom for power. They exchange life for money. Indeed, Jesus
makes it clear, “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those
who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save
it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their
life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?” (Mk 8:35f)
So what can we do except
to call on the name of the Lord, as the psalmist says, “Our help is in the name of the
Lord.” The Lord understands us. He knows we are
weak. But we must continue to welcome the message proclaimed to us.
Jesus said, “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me; and those who welcome me welcome
the one who sent me. Anyone who welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will
have a prophet’s reward; and anyone who welcomes a holy man because he is a
holy man will have a holy man’s reward.” We must welcome the messengers
of God and those who proclaim the truth even if we ourselves lack the courage
to proclaim it. Hopefully by welcoming the prophets sent by God in His
name, we too can find courage one day to speak the truth charitably, to agree
to disagree respectfully, not to condemn but to inspire truth. Most of
all, to live our lives in truth and charity, which is the best witness to the
gospel of authentic life and love.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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