20201023 THE DIFFICULT PATH TO UNITY
23 October, 2020, Friday, 29th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.
First reading | Ephesians 4:1-6 © |
One Body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God
I, the prisoner in the Lord, implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation. Bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience. Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within all.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 23(24):1-6 © |
Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,
the world and all its peoples.
It is he who set it on the seas;
on the waters he made it firm.
Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who shall stand in his holy place?
The man with clean hands and pure heart,
who desires not worthless things.
Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
He shall receive blessings from the Lord
and reward from the God who saves him.
Such are the men who seek him,
seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps94:8 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt11:25 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 12:54-59 © |
Do you not know how to interpret these times?
Jesus said to the crowds: ‘When you see a cloud looming up in the west you say at once that rain is coming, and so it does. And when the wind is from the south you say it will be hot, and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the face of the earth and the sky. How is it you do not know how to interpret these times?
‘Why not judge for yourselves what is right? For example: when you go to court with your opponent, try to settle with him on the way, or he may drag you before the judge and the judge hand you over to the bailiff and the bailiff have you thrown into prison. I tell you, you will not get out till you have paid the very last penny.’
THE DIFFICULT PATH TO UNITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ EPHESIANS 4:1-6; LUKE 12:54-59 ]
There is no peace in our family, in our organizations, in society and the world at large because of disunity. So long as we are divided, there can be no peace. Yet, fostering unity is the most difficult challenge because the current climate of our times is one of individualism and an exaggerated form of freedom leading to abuse. With the changing landscape because of globalization, migration, mass and digital media, on one hand, there is a greater exchange of ideas and knowledge; on the other hand, the very diverse and often erroneous views have led to much confusion.
Division is often blamed on the religions in the world. Religions have been accused of imposing their faith and beliefs on others thereby causing friction. To avoid religious conflicts, many countries have adopted secularism as the world religion because it does not subscribe to any religion. Although religions could be one of the factors of division in society, political ideology is even more divisive, when countries seek to impose their political systems on other countries. In truth, whether democracy, socialism or monarchy, they are different systems of governments. Democracy does not necessarily bring unity to the country. We just have to look at the so-called democratic countries, the amount of corruption, violence and disunity among the peoples. This is not to say that socialist and monarchical forms of governments are better. It all depends on the situation and the context.
This is why we must look at the signs of the times. This is what the Lord is advising us. Jesus said to crowds, “When you see a cloud looming up in the west you say at once that rain is coming, and so it does. And when the wind is from the south you say it will be hot, and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the face of the earth and the sky. How is it you do not know how to interpret these times?” It is of great importance that we do not react to every situation or have a fixed mindset, closed to the changing trends of time. Leaders must be attentive to the writings on the wall instead of trying just to be pragmatic, ideological and inflexible.
Hence, each organization and country would have to decide for itself what is best for themselves. The criterion is whether there is unity, peace, progress and happiness among the peoples. We need to look at the fruits. What is the use of democracy when it brings about greater disunity and disorder in the country? The Catholic Church has a hierarchical form of government that has withstood 2000 years! Because it is hierarchical, under the leadership of the Pope and the bishops, unity is more visible, not to say that it is easy. So democracy is not always the best way to bring about unity. Whether one adopts a hierarchical, democratic or monarchical system of governance, it does not exclude dialogue. Indeed, dialogue and consultation, regardless of the system of governance we adopt, is critical in fostering unity and bringing about consensus, or at least mutual understanding.
What, then, is the basis for dialogue? St Paul gives us some guidelines on the dispositions for dialogue to take place. He wrote, “I, the prisoner in the Lord, implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation. Bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience. Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together.” In the first place, we all share in one common vocation, which is to promote love, unity and peace, wherever we are. Whether we are Christians or otherwise, what we all desire most in our hearts is peace, unity and love in our homes, offices, organizations, community, nation, and in the world.
To promote sincere dialogue, we need to be charitable, selfless, gentle and patient. Charity is the foundational basis for dialogue. It is our sincere love for the other person that makes us choose to dialogue. The charity that St Paul speaks about is more than just a love based on friendship or family ties, but an agape form of love. When we speak of agape love, it is a love that transcends our emotional response to the person, but we use our will to love the person even when the person is nasty or unkind to us. We continue to love them and desire the best for them, wishing them no evil. This is what Christian love entails. So with those who are different from us, we must choose to dialogue because we care for the other person.
This is why St Paul listed the other quality as “complete selflessness”. Dialogue is not about protecting ourselves, our ego, our pride and our cherished beliefs. It looks to the other person’s interests before our own. It is a sincere desire to help, to understand and to attend to the needs, concerns and difficulties of the other person. Only when dialogue is done with complete selflessness, will our ego and self-centeredness not get in the way. We will not be able to hear the other person speaking or feel with him or her otherwise. Dialogue is not proselytization or indoctrination. It requires sincere openness.
In dialogue, we must also be gentle in our approach. In other words, we must be sensitive to the feelings of others. Gentleness does not mean to say that we do not speak the truth as we should. Sometimes, dialogue becomes false compromise, not based on truth. When decisions are not founded on truth, they cannot last. It does not produce lasting peace. So whilst we must be sensitive to the feelings of others, especially their beliefs and culture, we must proclaim the truth with gentleness, respect and consideration for them. In charity, truth must be said even when it is not pleasant to hear. When we are insensitive or when we use hurtful words, we would only destroy the openness of the other person.
Dialogue requires patience. Unity is not going to be achieved in a day, a month or even a year. It is an ongoing process. Unity is not just an agreement that is signed by both parties. Unity is the union of mind and heart. This will take time. There are different degrees and intensity of unity. Hence, we must be very patient. When we seek to force our views on others when they are not ready, it will cause a rupture in the relationship. When we are truly loving and selfless, we can afford to be patient, waiting for other opportunities to engage in dialogue when the previous one fails. Indeed, as St Paul exhorts us, “Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together.”
Finally, dialogue must underscore what we have in common with others already. St Paul said, “There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within all.” We can have differences and diverse views. But where we are agreeable, we must have a big picture, not just to focus on what divides us. More importantly, we must explore what binds us together. This is true especially when we have differences with fellow Catholics or even with our Protestant brethren. We must remember that we are all one Body in Christ, sharing in the same Spirit of our Lord.
It is our common love and union with the Lord that should help us to accommodate our differences and even to appreciate the diversity of the Church. With other religions, we too share the common hope of love, unity and fullness of life. Having the same hope brings us together to work for it. When we have a common hope, we can accept different approaches. One vision but different missions to realize it. With our separated brethren, we should celebrate that we believe in the same Lord. We might not have the same creed but we have the same faith in God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We might not share in all the sacraments but all Christians have in common one baptism.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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