20220213 CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE OF A HUMANISTIC OUTLOOK OF LIFE
13 February, 2022, Sunday, Week 6 in Ordinary Time
First reading | Jeremiah 17:5-8 © |
A blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord
The Lord says this:
‘A curse on the man who puts his trust in man,
who relies on things of flesh,
whose heart turns from the Lord.
He is like dry scrub in the wastelands:
if good comes, he has no eyes for it,
he settles in the parched places of the wilderness,
a salt land, uninhabited.
‘A blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord,
with the Lord for his hope.
He is like a tree by the waterside
that thrusts its roots to the stream:
when the heat comes it feels no alarm,
its foliage stays green;
it has no worries in a year of drought,
and never ceases to bear fruit.’
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 1:1-4,6 © |
Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
Happy indeed is the man
who follows not the counsel of the wicked;
nor lingers in the way of sinners
nor sits in the company of scorners,
but whose delight is the law of the Lord
and who ponders his law day and night.
Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
He is like a tree that is planted
beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due season
and whose leaves shall never fade;
and all that he does shall prosper.
Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
Not so are the wicked, not so!
For they like winnowed chaff
shall be driven away by the wind:
for the Lord guards the way of the just
but the way of the wicked leads to doom.
Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
Second reading |
1 Corinthians 15:12,16-20 © |
If Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins
If Christ raised from the dead is what has been preached, how can some of you be saying that there is no resurrection of the dead? For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins. And what is more serious, all who have died in Christ have perished. If our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people.
But Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt11:25 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
Or: | Lk6:23ab |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Rejoice and be glad:
your reward will be great in heaven.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 6:17,20-26 © |
Happy are you who are poor, who are hungry, who weep
Jesus came down with the Twelve and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and from Jerusalem and from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. Then fixing his eyes on his disciples he said:
‘How happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God.
Happy you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied.
Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh.
Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, for then your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets.
‘But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now.
Alas for you who have your fill now: you shall go hungry.
Alas for you who laugh now: you shall mourn and weep.
‘Alas for you when the world speaks well of you! This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.’
CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE OF A HUMANISTIC OUTLOOK OF LIFE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JER 17:5-8; 1 COR 15:12, 16-20; LK 6:17, 20-26]
The scripture readings today seem to contrast humanism with theism, that is, those who believe in themselves and those who believe in God. In the first reading, it appears that Christianity is totally incompatible with humanism, as Jeremiah prophesied. “The Lord says this: A curse on the man who puts his trust in man, who relies on things of flesh, whose heart turns from the Lord.” Jeremiah seems to be writing off those who rely on themselves or on their fellowmen alone. “He is like dry scrub in the wastelands: if good comes, he has no eyes for it, he settles in the parched places of the wilderness, a salt land, uninhabited.” Such strong words were used against one who does not believe in God. According to Jeremiah, that person lacks vision, insight and would find life unfulfilling and empty.
Such a caricature of humanists would carry a swift response from them as being too narrow-minded and presumptuous. Humanism as practiced today is a philosophy that seeks to help individuals live ethical lives and find personal fulfilment by doing good. They too seek to promote the well-being of humanity, freedom, development of the human person and economic, technological and scientific progress. They seek to improve the lives of their fellowmen, their dignity, self-worth and self-realization through reason, and in the process live a meaningful and happy life. But they believe that all these could be achieved without subscribing to any supernatural beliefs or divine revelation, but solely on human reason and human potential. Morality is not rooted in some divine revelation but in reason, free inquiry. Hence, the importance of education, a strong belief in universal human nature, the “ought to” ethical formula of Emmanuel Kant and individualism. This “ought to” is but another way of speaking about the conscience of man. Their golden rule is, “treat others as you like to be treated. Since they do not believe in God, they do not believe in life hereafter as well. When the brain dies, their life is over, only the physical remains but the person is annihilated. They seek to live their lives as fully as they can on this earth.
In truth, it is not the humanists but the wicked and selfish that are condemned. This is expressly mentioned in the responsorial psalm when the psalmist warns us against living the life of the wicked; a life of sin. “Happy indeed is the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked; nor lingers in the way of sinners nor sits in the company of scorners, but whose delight is the law of the Lord and who ponders his law, day and night. Not so are the wicked, not so! For they like winnowed chaff shall be driven away by the wind for the Lord guards the way of the just but the way of the wicked leads to doom.” By our life, we judge and condemn ourselves. St Paul says, “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Gal 5:19-21) Sinners will eventually reap what they sow as St Paul warns us, “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. (Gal 6:7-9) This is what the humanists believe as well.
When we understand the noble goals of humanism, then Christianity does indeed share many of these goals as well. In that sense, Christianity is not against humanism, since like the gospel, we also seek to promote the well-being of the individual. What the scripture readings condemned are not humanists as such but those who use the world selfishly for their pleasure and purpose only. Only those who live immoral lives or selfish lives are condemned. In the Constitution of the Church in Vatican II, the Church teaches, “Nor does Divine Providence deny the helps necessary for salvation to those who, without blame on their part, have not yet arrived at an explicit knowledge of God and with His grace strive to live a good life. Whatever good or truth is found amongst them is looked upon by the Church as a preparation for the Gospel. She knows that it is given by Him who enlightens all men so that they may finally have life.” (Lumen Gentium 16)
However, from our perspective humanism is an inadequate option for life. Firstly, there is always the danger of being deceived by our intellect and human reasoning. Whilst reason can come to know the truth, which is ultimately God, we can also be deceived as well. Lumen Gentium, citing from the letter to the Romans says, “But often men, deceived by the Evil One, have become vain in their reasonings and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, serving the creature rather than the Creator.” (cf Rom 1:19-21) This is perhaps the most difficult challenge in the modern world today. St Paul warns, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth.” (Rom 1:18) Many so-called intelligent people in the world use their reason to justify everything they do, whether advocating promiscuous relationships, same-sex union, abortion, euthanasia, drugs consumption, gambling, prostitution, etc. Everything today is relative as it is difficult to come to an agreement without faith in God even though humanism seeks to find the right morality through the spirit of reason and free inquiry.
Secondly, the other great danger of humanism is the fear of annihilation. Even those humanists who profess that they do not believe in life after death and that upon death, our lives are completely over and we are left with an empty shell know that such views can lead people to despair. One begins to wonder what is the purpose and meaning of life. What am I living for? Why should I do good? Why should I not just live for myself? And if I do wrong, and I could avoid being caught, why not take the chance and be rich? What is worse is that we can silence our conscience and the “ought to” present in human nature could be so suppressed that we no longer hear the voice of conscience. Humanism cannot offer us the fullness of life because it cannot satisfy the desire of human beings to live on forever, and to fulfil a love that never dies.
For us, Christians, our hope is not just in this life but life hereafter. St Paul said, “If our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people. But Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep.” Christian faith and hope is based on the resurrection of Christ from the dead. His resurrection is clear proof that truth is stronger than falsehood, love is greater than hate, life is stronger than death. It is because of our faith in His resurrection that we seek to live fully in this life, but always in view of the life that is to come. St Paul said, “If Christ raised from the dead is what has been preached, how can some of you be saying that there is no resurrection of the dead? For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins.” We believe there is an essential continuity between this life and the next.
For us believers, Christ in the gospel provides us an enlightened life that leads to eternal life. He offers us the blueprint to live the blessed life in the beatitudes. This blueprint goes beyond reason because He offers us divine wisdom. God sees life not as man sees. We tend to pursue riches, pleasures and a good name. But such things at most can fulfil us in this life for a short time. Afterwards, we will be left empty and unfulfilled. Real blessedness of life is when we are receptive to the kingdom of God and take everything from Him. True blessedness is when we no longer live in fear of what people say and think about us. Only God matters. Only truth and love prevail. Indeed, the ways of the kingdom life are rooted in the heart. We experience deep joy, inner peace and contentment simply because we place our lives in Him. The psalmist says, “A blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord, with the Lord for his hope. He is like a tree by the waterside that thrusts its roots to the stream: when the heat comes it feels no alarm, its foliage stays green; it has no worries in a year of drought, and never ceases to bear fruit.” Hence, the need to dialogue, not condemn others who are different. Evangelization is to offer people a greater purpose and joy in life, here and hereafter, than what they are living by preaching the Gospel to every creature (Mt 28:19) and helping them to encounter the Risen Christ.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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