20191111
OVERCOMING
THE SCANDALS OF SIN
11 NOVEMBER,
2019, Monday, 32nd Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
White.
These are the readings
for the feria
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First reading
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Wisdom 1:1-7 ©
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Love virtue, you who are judges on earth,
let honesty prompt your thinking about the
Lord,
seek him in simplicity of heart;
since he is to be found by those who do
not put him to the test,
he shows himself to those who do not
distrust him.
But selfish intentions divorce from God;
and Omnipotence, put to the test,
confounds the foolish.
No, Wisdom will never make its way into a
crafty soul
nor stay in a body that is in debt to sin;
the holy spirit of instruction shuns
deceit,
it stands aloof from reckless purposes,
is taken aback when iniquity appears.
Wisdom is a spirit, a friend to man,
though she will not pardon the words of a
blasphemer,
since God sees into the innermost parts of
him,
truly observes his heart,
and listens to his tongue.
The spirit of the Lord, indeed, fills the
whole world,
and that which holds all things together
knows every word that is said.
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
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Psalm 138(139):1-10 ©
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Lead me, O Lord, in the
path of life eternal.
O Lord, you search me and you know me,
you know my resting and my
rising,
you discern my purpose from
afar.
You mark when I walk or lie down,
all my ways lie open to you.
Lead me, O Lord, in the
path of life eternal.
Before ever a word is on my tongue
you know it, O Lord, through
and through.
Behind and before you besiege me,
your hand ever laid upon me.
Too wonderful for me this knowledge,
too high, beyond my reach.
Lead me, O Lord, in the
path of life eternal.
O where can I go from your spirit,
or where can I flee from your
face?
If I climb the heavens, you are there.
If I lie in the grave, you are
there.
Lead me, O Lord, in the
path of life eternal.
If I take the wings of the dawn
and dwell at the sea’s
furthest end,
even there your hand would lead me,
your right hand would hold me
fast.
Lead me, O Lord, in the
path of life eternal.
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Gospel Acclamation
|
Ph2:15-16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
You will shine in the world like bright
stars
because you are offering it the word of
life.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 17:1-6 ©
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Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Obstacles
are sure to come, but alas for the one who provides them! It would be better
for him to be thrown into the Sea with a millstone put round his neck than that
he should lead astray a single one of these little ones. Watch yourselves!
If
your brother does something wrong, reprove him and, if he is sorry, forgive
him. And if he wrongs you seven times a day and seven times comes back to you
and says, “I am sorry,” you must forgive him.’
The
apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’ The Lord replied, ‘Were your
faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be
uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you.’
OVERCOMING THE
SCANDALS OF SIN
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Wis 1:1-7; Ps 139:1-10; Lk 17:1-6 ]
Sin is more destructive
than people realize. St Paul wrote, “The wages of sin is death.” (Rom 6: 23) Sin hurts us first and foremost.
We will have to pay for the consequences of our sins. When we hurt
people, we can expect others to retaliate because it is the natural reaction of
most people. When we cheat, we will live in fear that we will be
caught. When we commit sexual crimes, we live in fear that we will be
exposed. When we are too rich and living only for ourselves, we are
fearful others will steal from us. When we eat, drink and drink
excessively, we will hurt our bodies and destroy our health.
When we sin, we lose our
perspective and direction in life. This is because we cut ourselves off
from God and rely more and more on ourselves and our sensual needs. The book of Wisdom has this to
advise us. “But selfish intentions divorce from God; and Omnipotence, put
to the test, confounds the foolish. No, Wisdom will never make its way into a
crafty soul nor stay in a body that is in debt to sin; the holy spirit of
instruction shuns deceit, it stands aloof from reckless purposes, is taken
aback when iniquity appears.” The sinner is ultimately a fool. “Fools say
in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
there is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven
on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God.”
(Ps 14:1f)
Unfortunately, sin not
only hurts the offender or the sinner but it hurts innocent people, especially
our loved ones. That
is why sin is said to be a scandal. It is an obstacle and a stumbling
block to love and growth in maturity. Sin hinders our spiritual growth
and prevents us from becoming wholesome and the glory of God. Thus,
St Paul remarked, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
And this is not just us but others as well because of our sins. We become
obstacles of growth to others who depend on us for help, encouragement and our
example. Jesus said to His disciples, “Obstacles are sure to come, but
alas for the one who provides them!” It is difficult enough
to know that we have our fair share of challenges, suffering and difficulties
in life. But to be the one who makes others’ life more difficult is
adding salt to the wounds. The inevitable truth is that when we sin, we
will hurt others because they will suffer the effects of our sins directly or
indirectly.
Secondly, they will in
turn allow the effects of our sins on them to hurt others. We are in solidarity with sin.
Those who have been wounded by us will in turn hurt others when they grow
up. As the saying goes, once a victim, now an oppressor. Before
someone can be an aggressor, he was once a victim of injustices and
oppression. So we are in this vicious cycle of solidarity in sin.
Our sins hurt others, and their hurts in turn will cause them to sin and hurt
others as well. This explains why sin increases and the world becomes
more and more evil each day as evil breeds evil. When world leaders allow
sin to thrive and promote selfishness, society becomes more divided,
intolerant, inward-looking and exclusive.
Thirdly, when good
people sin, or when leaders do not live exemplary lives, lives of integrity,
honesty and charity, they will cause some to lose their faith in God and in
their leaders. Isn’t
this the reality in the world today? People have lost faith in the moral
authority of their leaders, be they political, corporate or religious leaders,
because of the scandalous things they have been found guilty of doing.
When leaders lose their moral authority because of the lack of righteous
living, they are only left with the economic value they bring to society.
They are no longer looked upon as models of right living because some of them
have been found to be lacking in morality.
Furthermore, the Lord
warns us that if we as leaders live a careless and irresponsible life, or even
directly cause our young people to be hurt and scandalized, then He said, “It would be better for
him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone put round his neck than that he
should lead astray a single one of these little ones.” Truly,
adults must think carefully the implications of what they do that will impact
the holistic formation and development of our children. When parents are
always fighting and quarreling in front of their children, they only strike
fear and uncertainty in the hearts of their children, making them feel
insecure. What could be worse than the sin of pedophile when the
children suffer unimaginable psychological consequences because of sexual
abuse? Their whole future and life is destroyed! When these abuses are
committed by trusting guardians such as relatives, priests, religious and lay
leaders, they cause irreparable damage to the children’s life.
So what must we
do? We must rebuke and correct. Jesus
said, “If your brother does something wrong, reprove him.” But it must be
done quite tactfully and sensitively and personally. In another place,
the Lord gave us the guidelines for correction. “If another member of the
church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of
you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that
one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with
you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three
witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church;
and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to
you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” (Mt 18:15-17)
Unfortunately, the way
the world corrects a person is itself a punishment worse than
imprisonment! The
world uses social media to judge and execute someone deemed to have done wrong
without investigation and clarification of facts. The self-appointed
judges of this world are even more merciless and harsh than the judges in the
strictest court of law! Their intention is not to rebuke and correct but
to shame and destroy the perceived offender. So much so some have been
pushed into committing suicide because of depression that came from shame and
rejection. Social shaming of offenders will only cause them to hate
society even more. Some resort to violence as the way to articulate their anger
against the injustice and cruelty of society. By social shaming, we
inflict more hurts on those who offend, since those who sin are already in the
first place, reacting out of their old wounds and past hurts. Social
shaming only destroys people. It does not redeem or save them or restore
them to live a dignified and just life.
Hence, the Lord urges
us, “If he is sorry, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times a day and
seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I am sorry,’ you must forgive
him.” For
God, everyone is important, whether it is the victim or the oppressor.
Both need healing and salvation. Forgiveness is the way to heal
sin, especially the sinner himself. When we forgive, the sinner will come
to realize his evil even more profoundly, otherwise, he would seek to defend
himself and react to retaliation. The only way to overcome sin is
forgiveness. This is not just a teaching of our Lord but that was the way
He took on our sins. He conquered sin and death by His unconditional love
and mercy, and suffering an unjust death. He forgave His enemies on the
cross and prayed for them for forgiveness. (Lk 23:34)
But can one muster
enough strength to forgive? Like the apostles, we must turn to God and say,
“Increase our faith.” The Lord replied, “Were your faith the size of a
mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in
the sea’, and it would obey you.” Indeed, on our own strength, we cannot
find the capacity to forgive. This is why, to err is human, to forgive
divine. Only by trusting and relying on God’s mercy and forgiveness for
us in our lives, can we find the grace to forgive others who have hurt
us. And we take the first step to forgive by asking for this grace.
Then like the Mustard Seed, the Lord assures us, it will grow from strength to
strength into a big tree! With faith, we will uproot all the lack of
forgiveness in our hearts like the mulberry tree with its network of roots.
With faith, we see sin
and suffering in the light of faith. Jesus warns us, “Watch yourselves!” We
must learn from their mistakes. We will use our pains and their sins to
prevent further incidents of such nature from repeating. We will
use our pains to help others who have been victims of oppression and abuses
through our compassion that come from past experiences. Like Jesus, we
will use our wounds to heal others so that we do not suffer in vain. So
we need to pray to the Holy Spirit for wisdom and enlightenment. “Wisdom
is a spirit, a friend to man, though she will not pardon the words of a
blasphemer, since God sees into the innermost parts of him, truly observes his
heart, and listens to his tongue. The Spirit of the Lord, indeed, fills the
whole world, and that which holds all things together knows every word that is
said.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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