20190916
FOSTERING
RELIGIOUS HARMONY
16 SEPTEMBER,
2019, Monday, 24th Week, Ordinary Time
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First reading
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1 Timothy 2:1-8 ©
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My advice is that, first of all, there
should be prayers offered for everyone – petitions, intercessions and
thanksgiving – and especially for kings and others in authority, so that
we may be able to live religious and reverent lives in peace and quiet. To do
this is right, and will please God our saviour: he wants everyone to be saved
and reach full knowledge of the truth. For there is only one God, and there is
only one mediator between God and mankind, himself a man, Christ Jesus, who
sacrificed himself as a ransom for them all. He is the evidence of this, sent
at the appointed time, and I have been named a herald and apostle of it
and – I am telling the truth and no lie – a teacher of the faith and
the truth to the pagans.
In every place, then, I want the
men to lift their hands up reverently in prayer, with no anger or argument.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 27(28):2,7-9 ©
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Blessed be the Lord, for
he has heard my cry.
Hear the voice of my pleading
as I call for help,
as I lift up my hands in prayer
to your holy place.
Blessed be the Lord, for
he has heard my cry.
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts.
I was helped, my heart rejoices
and I praise him with my song.
Blessed be the Lord, for
he has heard my cry.
The Lord is the strength of his people,
a fortress where his anointed
find salvation.
Save your people; bless Israel your
heritage.
Be their shepherd and carry
them for ever.
Blessed be the Lord, for
he has heard my cry.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps118:27
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Make me grasp the way of your precepts,
and I will muse on your wonders.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Jn3:16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
God loved the world so much that he gave
his only Son:
everyone who believes in him has eternal
life.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 7:1-10 ©
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When Jesus had come to the end of all he
wanted the people to hear, he went into Capernaum. A centurion there had a
servant, a favourite of his, who was sick and near death. Having heard about
Jesus he sent some Jewish elders to him to ask him to come and heal his
servant. When they came to Jesus they pleaded earnestly with him. ‘He deserves
this of you’ they said ‘because he is friendly towards our people; in fact, he
is the one who built the synagogue.’ So Jesus went with them, and was not very
far from the house when the centurion sent word to him by some friends: ‘Sir,’
he said ‘do not put yourself to trouble; because I am not worthy to have you
under my roof; and for this same reason I did not presume to come to you
myself; but give the word and let my servant be cured. For I am under authority
myself, and have soldiers under me; and I say to one man: Go, and he goes; to
another: Come here, and he comes; to my servant: Do this, and he does it.’ When
Jesus heard these words he was astonished at him and, turning round, said to
the crowd following him, ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I found faith
like this.’ And when the messengers got back to the house they found the
servant in perfect health.
FOSTERING
RELIGIOUS HARMONY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 TIm 2:1-8; Ps 28:2, 7-9; Lk 7:1-10 ]
Even today as we claim
to be a more civilized and democratic society, there is religious oppression in
many parts of the world, sometimes by the secular authority and sometimes by
the dominant religion of the country.
Even if there are no outward oppressive acts, there is great
discrimination. The truth is that religious conflicts are lose-lose
situations for everyone, whether those of religious beliefs or without
religious affinity. They create more disharmony, retaliation and
hostility among peoples.
The consequence of
religious conflicts is that religions are indirectly helping society to sow the
seeds of secularism.
In other to avoid religious conflicts, governments think that the way to show
neutrality is through the promotion of secularism. With secularism, the
moral consequence is relativism. It is almost impossible for a
government to always act morally because no one agrees on what is right or
wrong. The government no longer sees itself as the spokesman for
morality, since there is no common foundation of truth. The end result is
a life of individualism and pragmatism. This is the true age of idolatry,
the worship of self, ego and the selfish needs of the individual. For the
sake of convenience and not thinking of the implications of our actions for the
future of humanity, we end up with pragmatism, which is to do what we think is
good for the moment.
In truth, all peoples on
earth want to live in peace and harmony, whether at home, in office, in society
or in the world.
But no peace is possible so long as religions are not respected and
accepted. True religions must promote peace, love and unity. In the
first reading, St Paul calls everyone to pray for all “so that we may be able
to live religious and reverent lives in peace and quiet.” Indeed, St Paul
says, “To do this is right, and will please God our saviour: he wants everyone
to be saved.” Ultimately, St Paul says, “there is only one
God.” Indeed, God is the Father of us all, regardless whether we
are believers or not. We are one family of God and God loves us
all. In the gospel, Jesus says, “But I say to you, Love your enemies and
pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your
Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and
sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” (Mt 5:44)
Of course, from our
Christian experience and perspective “there is only one mediator between God
and mankind, himself a man, Christ Jesus, who sacrificed himself as a ransom
for them all.”
This is based on our encounter with the saving grace of Christ Jesus through
His passion, death and resurrection. St Paul said he is the perfect
example of one who had been saved by Christ. “He is the evidence of this,
sent at the appointed time, and I have been named a herald and apostle of it
and – I am telling the truth and no lie – a teacher of the faith and the truth
to the pagans.”
This does not mean that
we need to impose our faith on others. Just because we believe that Christ is the Way,
the Truth and the Life and that no one can come to the Father except through
Him because He is identified with the Father (cf Jn 14:5-14), it does not imply that all have
come to this faith. The work of evangelization is not
proselytizing. Rather it is the work of enlightenment, the gradual work
of leading one into a personal relationship with the Lord. This takes
time. This is what St Paul urges us, “he wants everyone to be saved and
reach full knowledge of the truth.” We are called to help them to grow in
the knowledge of the truth, which we recognize they already have in a greater
or lesser extent. “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.”
(Nostra Aetate, 2)
How can we help humanity
to grow in faith and in truth? Firstly, we must pray for everyone,
especially those in authority, be it secular or religious. St Paul wrote, “My advice is
that, first of all, there should be prayers offered for everyone – petitions,
intercessions and thanksgiving – and especially for kings and others in
authority.” Ironically, the cause of division is often those in authority
sowing seeds fear and hostility through slander, misinformation, inciting
hatred and discrimination. Religious leaders that fan suspicion, distrust
and hatred for other religions through their preaching and distortion of the
truth of the beliefs of others are not promoting religions as the path to
peace. So it is important that we pray for religious leaders, whether
official or lay leaders, to promote peace and goodwill rather than hatred and
competition.
But secular authorities
do equally worse when they discriminate one religion over another or even give
preference to secularism under the guise of neutrality to all religions.
In some countries, the secular authority is not just secular but anti-religion. It is a misconception for the world to
think that only secularism can bring about unity in the world in the midst of
so many religions and non-believers. Secularism is not the solution to
peace and unity but in reality brings more division since it leads to
relativism, individualism and pragmatism. A society without moral values
and strong foundation in the truth will eventually disintegrate and be divided
because they live in falsehood. If secularism is the answer to world
peace and unity, we just need to look at the world today, and ask if we are
more secure, more united, more tolerant, more self-giving and more selfless in
serving humanity.
Secondly, we must be
respectful of other religions and recognize the good in them rather than pick
on doctrines which we cannot agree.
Religious teachers and leaders must teach their congregations to be respectful
and appreciative of other religions. We must not see other religions as a
threat to ours. They are not a threat but actually a boost to our own
faith, especially when we interact with them and come to realize how little we
know about our faith and are unable to explain what we believe and why we
believe. So formation is the key to strengthening our faith, not focusing
on other religions and putting them down in their beliefs, or worse still,
discrediting and making fun of them by distorting their beliefs. We
must be sensitive, like the Centurion who understood the religious rituals and
cleanliness of the Jews. So we read that “Jesus went with them, and was
not very far from the house when the centurion sent word to him by some
friends: ‘Sir’ he said, ‘do not put yourself to trouble; because I am not
worthy to have you under my roof and for this same reason I did not presume to
come to you myself; but give the word and let my servant be cured.” He
was sensitive enough not to approach Jesus himself for fear of showing
disrespect.
Thirdly, we must promote
authentic friendship and charity.
It was the Jewish elders who came to Jesus and “pleaded earnestly with
him. ‘He deserves this of you’ they said ‘because he is friendly towards
our people; in fact, he is the one who built the synagogue.'” Although
the centurion was not a Jew, he was a good man. He cared for the people
and supported them, even in their religion. He did not isolate
them. He gave them whatever support they needed. Such is the
generosity and open-mindedness and heart of the centurion. So much so he
won the respect and love of the Jewish community. We, too, must do the
same and reach out to those who are of different faith from us. We must
wish them well and celebrate with them in their joys and festivities. We
might not share the same beliefs but at least we can show our common
brotherhood. Through genuine friendship, respect and mutual appreciation, we
come to value and support one another, and even enrich each other’s faith as
well.
The centurion might not
worship the God of Abraham but he certainly must have believed in God. His life was a demonstration of the
fruit of God’s love in his heart. This is seen in his devotion to his
family. He even treated his slave like his own child and his love for the
people regardless of their religious affiliations. He might not have
faith in Jesus as the Son of God but certainly, his faith was growing and he
believed that Jesus must be a man of God to be able to perform miracles.
So conversion is the
work of the Holy Spirit. Faith ultimately is a gift and we cannot force
or impose. What is more
important is for us is to share our faith in Christ with others, the Christian
way of life, so that others too can share in the fullness of life in Jesus,
here and hereafter. Happiness in life is not just in the next life
but begin here and now. If we share our faith it is because we want
others to come to know Jesus so that they can have life abundantly and to the
full. (cf Jn 10:10) If they
come to know that Jesus is their Saviour and Lord, may God be praised!
Otherwise, even if they live a good life like the Centurion, they can be saved
by their own religions. The Church teaches, “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.” (Lumen
Gentium, 16)
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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