20190913
SOCIAL
MEDIA POLICING
13 SEPTEMBER,
2019, Friday, 23rd Week, Ordinary Time
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First reading
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1 Timothy 1:1-2,12-14 ©
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From Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus
appointed by the command of God our saviour and of Christ Jesus our hope, to
Timothy, true child of mine in the faith; wishing you grace, mercy and peace
from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Lord.
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord,
who has given me strength, and who judged me faithful enough to call me into
his service even though I used to be a blasphemer and did all I could to injure
and discredit the faith. Mercy, however, was shown me, because until I became a
believer I had been acting in ignorance; and the grace of our Lord filled me
with faith and with the love that is in Christ Jesus.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm
15(16):1-2,5,7-8,11 ©
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You are my inheritance,
O Lord.
Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.
I say to the Lord: ‘You are my
God.’
O Lord, it is you who are my portion and
cup;
it is you yourself who are my
prize.
You are my inheritance,
O Lord.
I will bless the Lord who gives me
counsel,
who even at night directs my
heart.
I keep the Lord ever in my sight:
since he is at my right hand,
I shall stand firm.
You are my inheritance,
O Lord.
You will show me the path of life,
the fullness of joy in your
presence,
at your right hand happiness
for ever.
You are my inheritance,
O Lord.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps147:12,15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
He sends out his word to the earth.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Jn17:17
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O Lord:
consecrate us in the truth.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 6:39-42 ©
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Jesus told a parable to the disciples:
‘Can one blind man guide another? Surely both will fall into a pit? The
disciple is not superior to his teacher; the fully trained disciple will always
be like his teacher. Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and
never notice the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, “Brother,
let me take out the splinter that is in your eye,” when you cannot see the
plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and
then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter that is in your
brother’s eye.’
SOCIAL MEDIA
POLICING
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 TIm 1:1-2. 12-14; Ps 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 11; Lk 6:39-42 ]
In the social media
particularly, we often see how supposedly conscientious social-minded people
post photos or share information about those who have committed an offence or
did something wrong. This
is often accompanied by the nasty and merciless comments and
judgments. These people are so quick to pass judgments on others
who have made mistakes in life, condemning them using the most destructive
words possible, not to correct or reprove but to destroy the offenders.
They make themselves judges of people’s actions without knowing the real facts
but based on what they see or hear. They are presumptuous in judgment.
Not only do they appoint themselves as judges and prosecutors of
the offenders, they are also executioners as well because their aim is to put
such people down until they can no longer redeem themselves. In other
words, they want to drive them to suicide!
Yet people who speak
loudly against such offenders are blind to their own sins. This is what the Lord said.
“Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the
plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take
out the splinter that is in your eye’, when you cannot see the plank in your
own?” Indeed, the way they write or speak against those who have
apparently broken the law or did some social misconduct, show just the kind of
persons they are. When the purpose of sharing information is to condemn,
humiliate and destroy the offender, it is done out of anger and
hatred. When we are angry or full of hate, we are no longer able to
see the truth objectively because we are coloured by our pride, anger and hate.
Indeed, before we can
truly judge others, we need to first examine ourselves. Jesus said, “Hypocrite! Take
the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to
take out the splinter that is in your brother’s eye.” We must
examine ourselves, why we are reacting the way we do, and whether our reaction
is in proportion to the offence or wrong that was done. Reacting is
always wrong. Rather, we are called to be sober, level-headed and impartial in
dealing or judging any situation.
Often, our reaction
springs from our self-righteousness.
We think we are better than others and are sinless ourselves. This was
how King David reacted to the Prophet Nathan’s parable of the rich man who took
the ewe from the poor man to entertain his guests. “David’s anger was
greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, ‘As the Lord lives, the man
who has done this deserves to die; he shall restore the lamb fourfold,
because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.’ Nathan
said to David, ‘You are the man!'” (2 Sm 12:5-7) In truth, King David who
committed adultery with Bathsheba, did a more grievous and wicked thing! He had
her husband, who was one of his most loyal officers, sent to the battle front
to be killed in order to cover up his crime. Before we condemn others,
let us realize that whilst we may not have committed the same act, perhaps we
have committed many other sins that others have not found out! What if
others know of our sins and also spread all our secret sins or hypocritical
actions on social media? We would have no face to see anyone. Our
whole life would be destroyed because people will not remember the good things
we have done but that mistake we have made.
Secondly, our reaction
could spring from anger. There
are two different kinds of anger. One is holy anger and the other
is hate. This again was the case of King David. One is anger at
the sin and the other is anger at the offender. When we are angry with
the sin, we are feeling with the victim who is suffering from the effects of
the injustice done to him or her.
To be angry with the sin
entails empathy for those who have been wronged or taken advantage of, but
equal empathy also for the sinner and offender as well. Holy anger is never directed at the
person but at the wrongful actions done because both the victim and offender
are hurt in the process. When we speak out against sin, it is not wrong
because it is not a personal attack on someone. Even Jesus was
angry at the stubbornness of the Pharisees, and when the Temple was used as a
marketplace by the merchants.
However, when anger is
directed at a person, it has become hatred. Our concern is not so much the sin and the
consequences of the sin, but our goal is to take revenge on the offender, to
put him down and destroy him. The purpose of raising the issue is
not so much to offer correction or to help the offender to come to realization
of his mistake and seek repentance. Rather, the aim is to punish
and to destroy him completely. When that happens, we only add
injustice to injustice. What the offender did may have been wrong, but
when we seek to hurt the offender, we ourselves have also committed an act of
injustice because the bible makes it clear, “Thou shall not kill!” And
Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and
hate your enemy.’ 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 5:43-45)
Thirdly, our reaction
could be due to presumption. Many
of us tend to judge an event or a situation without getting our facts
right. We act unjustly when we pass judgment without knowing all the
circumstances. The truth is that even when we know the external
circumstances, do we know the history of the person, his background, his
upbringing, and the traumas that he went through? We all react from
our past wounds in life. In every sinner there is always a
history. All oppressors were once victims of sorts.
Hence, the psalmist prayed, “Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous
sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I
shall be innocent of great transgression.” (Ps 19:13, KJV) When we act
presumptuously, we commit a greater sin.
St James has this to
remind us when he wrote, “Judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has
shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.” (Jms 2:13) When we lack
mercy, it shows that we are equally unjust in rendering judgment and
justice. We are triggered by our own wounds, resentment and anger at
those who have hurt us, or by our pride and ego and
self-righteousness. No one can correct another person unless he
sees clearly the situation without prejudice and in its entirety.
For this reason, no man can judge adequately. St Paul wrote, “With me it
is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court.
In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I know of nothing against
myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.
Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both
bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal
the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from
God.” (1 Cor 4:3-5)
Hence, Jesus asked His
disciples, “Can one blind man guide another? Surely both will fall into a
pit? The disciple is
not superior to his teacher; the fully trained disciple will always be like his
teacher.” Let us recognize that we are sinners ourselves. If
want to guide others, we must first be formed in truth, love, and compassion
and understanding. We must remove every pride and anger from our heart so
that our judgement is one of love and mercy. This was how God judged
Paul. He himself testified, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given
me strength, and who judged me faithful enough to call me into his service even
though I used to be a blasphemer and did all I could to injure and discredit the
faith.” God was able to see in Saul what others could not see in
Him. God did not give up on Saul when he persecuted the Christians
because God knew he did it in ignorance. He said, “Mercy, however, was
shown to me, because until I became a believer I had been acting in ignorance.”
We too must recognize
that incorrigible sinners are few. Most of us sin out of fear, pride,
ignorance and weakness.
That was why at the Cross, the Lord prayed for His enemies thus, “Father,
forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (Lk 23:34) If we want to correct people, we
must first be conscious of our own sins, ignorance and imperfections so that we
can humbly correct others with gentleness and patience, seeking to help a
person to come self-awareness. There is no better way to correct a
person than to bring him or her to Christ so that they, too, can encounter
God’s grace and mercy. Only Christ is our teacher and our guide.
For the Lord said, “The disciple is not superior to his teacher; the fully
trained disciple will always be like his teacher.” On our part, we must never
give up becoming to be more like Christ our teacher and our true guide.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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