20191118
A
MISCONCEPTION THAT SECULARISM IS THE PATH TO UNITY
18 NOVEMBER,
2019, Monday, 33rd Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
|
First reading
|
|
1 Maccabees
1:10-15,41-43,54-57,62-64 ©
|
There grew a sinful offshoot, Antiochus
Epiphanes, son of King Antiochus; once a hostage in Rome, he became king in the
one hundred and thirty-seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks. It was then
that there emerged from Israel a set of renegades who led many people astray.
‘Come,’ they said ‘let us reach an understanding with the pagans surrounding
us, for since we separated ourselves from them many misfortunes have overtaken
us.’ This proposal proved acceptable, and a number of the people eagerly approached
the king, who authorised them to practise the pagan observances. So they built
a gymnasium in Jerusalem, such as the pagans have, disguised their
circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant, submitting to the heathen rule
as willing slaves of impiety.
Then
the king issued a proclamation to his whole kingdom that all were to become a
single people, each renouncing his particular customs. All the pagans conformed
to the king’s decree, and many Israelites chose to accept his religion, sacrificing
to idols and profaning the sabbath. The king erected the abomination of
desolation above the altar; and altars were built in the surrounding towns of
Judah and incense offered at the doors of houses and in the streets. Any books
of the Law that came to light were torn up and burned. Whenever anyone was
discovered possessing a copy of the covenant or practising the Law, the king’s
decree sentenced him to death.
Yet
there were many in Israel who stood firm and found the courage to refuse
unclean food. They chose death rather than contamination by such fare or
profanation of the holy covenant, and they were executed. It was a dreadful
wrath that visited Israel.
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
|
Psalm 118(119):53,61,134,150,155,158 ©
|
Give me life, O Lord,
and I will do your will.
I am seized with indignation at the wicked
who forsake your law.
Though the nets of the wicked ensnared me
I remembered your law.
Give me life, O Lord,
and I will do your will.
Redeem me from man’s oppression
and I will keep your precepts.
Those who harm me unjustly draw near;
they are far from your law.
Give me life, O Lord,
and I will do your will.
Salvation is far from the wicked
who are heedless of your
statutes.
I look at the faithless with disgust;
they ignore your promise.
Give me life, O Lord,
and I will do your will.
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
Jn8:12
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the world, says the
Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light
of life.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
Luke 18:35-43 ©
|
As Jesus drew near to Jericho there was a
blind man sitting at the side of the road begging. When he heard the crowd
going past he asked what it was all about, and they told him that Jesus the
Nazarene was passing by. So he called out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have pity on
me.’ The people in front scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he shouted
all the louder, ‘Son of David, have pity on me.’ Jesus stopped and ordered them
to bring the man to him, and when he came up, asked him, ‘What do you want me to
do for you?’ ‘Sir,’ he replied ‘let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Receive
your sight. Your faith has saved you.’ And instantly his sight returned and he
followed him praising God, and all the people who saw it gave praise to God for
what had happened.
A MISCONCEPTION
THAT SECULARISM IS THE PATH TO UNITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 MC 1:10-15. 41-43. 54-57. 62-64; Lk 18:35-43]
It is understandable
that in every country, community and organization, promoting and ensuring unity
is very important.
No country can prosper if the citizens and inhabitants are divided and fighting
among themselves. There will be chaos, civil wars, fighting, violence and
killing. In such a situation, it will be extremely dangerous for anyone
to live there. No tourist will visit and businesses will withdraw to more
stable countries where there is law and order. Right from the outset, we
can appreciate that it is the duty of the government to ensure that there is
law and order, security and peace in the country.
Today, it seems to be
the presumed truth that the only way to preserve unity among the peoples in a
country is the path of secularism. It is assumed that only when the State is
secular, will there be unity because no religion is favoured. In this
way, all religions can live in peace with each other. For this reason,
many secular governments allow religions to operate but not in public
space. They can do so within the confines of their churches, temples or
mosques. It is argued that only in this way would the rights of everyone
be protected. Secularism is the new pagan religion promoted in the world
today. If you are not a secularist or a humanist but a believer, it means
that you are superstitious, naïve, silly and a fanatic.
This was what the evil
king in Israel did. King Antiochus Epiphanes wanted to unite the people
for political reasons.
He used religion to achieve his political goal. Hence, he “issued a proclamation
to his whole kingdom that all were to become a single people, each renouncing
his particular customs. All the pagans conformed to the king’s decree,
and many Israelites chose to accept his religion, sacrificing to idols and
profaning the Sabbath.” He wrongly thought that the way to promote unity
in his kingdom was to force everyone to subscribe to his religion. So he
“erected the abomination of desolation above the altar; and altars were built
in the surrounding towns of Judah and incense offered at the doors of houses
and in the streets.”
Such a philosophy of
life is so much propagated by political leaders that unthinking people are
accepting such an ideology as well.
Indeed, we read that “there emerged from Israel a set of renegades who led many
people astray. ‘Come’ they said ‘let us reach an understanding with the
pagans surrounding us. For since we separated ourselves from them many
misfortunes have overtaken us.’ This proposal proved acceptable, and a number
of the people eagerly approached the king, who authorised them to practise the
pagan observances. So they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, such as the
pagans have, disguised their circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant,
submitting to the heathen rule as willing slaves of impiety.”
But King Antiochus did
not simply insist that all must accept his religion. He also began to persecute
those who refused to submit to his decree. “Any books of the Law that came to light
were torn up and burned. Whenever anyone was discovered possessing a copy
of the covenant or practising the Law, the king’s decree sentenced him to
death.” Indeed, in some countries, not only is the State secular, but
those who profess a religion are discriminated. Some are even persecuted
for professing their faith and beliefs in public.
Indeed, we must examine
objectively whether secularism is truly the path to unity, peace, economic and
technological progress and human development. If it were so, then we need to assess
whether today’s world is a much safer place to live in. Are people more
united today because of secularism? Are people living more holistic lives
even if they are affluent and enjoying the luxuries of life? Is society becoming
more gracious, forgiving, and caring, especially for those who are
marginalized, the vulnerable babies, the sick, the elderly and the
poor? Are our people living more righteous lives with
integrity? Are our families more stable? Are our marriages more loving
and enduring? Human beings need more than just physical satisfaction,
what about their emotional, aesthetic and spiritual fulfillment?
What is happening in our
society today?
Children have no respect for the elders. Many do not look after
them. When we grow old, we may have to fend for ourselves or make a
graceful exit through euthanasia. In the name of freedom,
individualism is promoted at the expense of the greater good of the
community. Drugs, pornography and gambling are promoted in some
countries. In some countries, Satanism is even permitted in
institutions. In the name of freedom of speech, fake news is
disseminated. In the name of relativism, amorality is the order of the
day because no one has the truth and the truth cannot be found because it is
all subjective and contextualized. Today, government leaders are no
longer required to live an exemplary life so long as they can deliver economic
progress for the country.
So today, the world is
more unsafe and divided than ever because no one has the truth. That explains all the confusion
that is happening in the world. We disagree when a baby is called a baby,
when death is permitted, whether there is a word called “gender”, what is
marriage, what is a family. We live in the midst of so many
inconsistencies. In some places, drugs are permitted when smoking is not;
sexual crimes are condemned and harsh punishments are meted but we expose our
bodies and entice people to fall into sexual temptations; pornography is
frowned upon and in some countries it is a crime, but we promote all kinds of
sensual and lustful ideas on TV, in movies and advertisements; we condemn
killing but we kill babies; we condemn wars, senseless and terrorist activities
but we are selling arms and weapons.
All of us are the blind
crowd following Jesus along the way to Jerusalem. Ironically only the blind man,
Bartimaeus could recognize Jesus as the “Son of David”, a messianic
title. The rest were just walking along but failed to grasp the true
identity of Jesus. Indeed, we read that when Bartimaeus “heard the crowd
going past he asked what it was all about, and they told him that Jesus the
Nazarene was passing by.” For the crowd, the Lord was just Jesus
the Nazarene, not the Messiah. We, too, just follow the world blindly
simply because everyone is subscribing to the worldly philosophy of life.
This is because we, too, are blind.
The truth is not that
religions are destructive of unity in the world; rather, it is the failure of
governments to help to promote racial and religious harmony. Religions teach our people to respect
legitimate authorities. They teach truth, honesty and integrity; love,
filial piety, mutual respect, compassion and responsibility. So a true
religion embodies truth and love in different ways. But because all
religions seek the Ultimate, they search for the fullness of truth and
love. Religions are partners of the State for the integral development of
the people. They are not a threat to the State. For the State to
promote secularism at the expense of the other religions is to make the
‘religion’ of the 20% or less secularists in the country the dominant
religion. This is not doing justice to the rest of the 80% of
believers. What the State should do is to help religions to understand
each other, promote righteous and virtuous living so that the people can be
united in love and collaborate for the greater good of the nation.
We are called to imitate
Bartimaeus’ courage and fidelity to Christ. We must in the face of opposition, even
persecution, with a cacophony of voices drowning and overwhelming us, stand
firm like Bartimaeus. When “the people in front scolded him and
told him to keep quiet, he shouted all the louder, ‘Son of David, have pity on
me.'” This, too, was what some of the Jews did as well. Many in
Israel “stood firm and found the courage to refuse unclean food. They
chose death rather than contamination by such fare or profanation of the holy
covenant, and they were executed. It was a dreadful wrath that visited
Israel.”
So let us not be easily
defeated by the loud minority voice in the world that shouts for secularism. We must seek to promote a
multi-religious and multi-racial State where all live in peace, respecting each
other’s beliefs and customs, accommodating and being sensitive to each other’s
feelings; and together work for the common good, which is stability in family
life, progress for our country, compassion for the weak and the
vulnerable. A multi-religious and racial society in truth enriches us all.
We will be better off, learning the riches from each other’s customs and
beliefs. In this way, we become truly a gracious people and a gracious
country because we have shared values based on truth and love.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment