20220225 THE LIMITS OF OATHS AND LAWS
25 February, 2022, Friday, Week 7 in Ordinary Time
First reading | James 5:9-12 © |
Do not ask for judgement, or you may receive it
Do not make complaints against one another, brothers, so as not to be brought to judgement yourselves; the Judge is already to be seen waiting at the gates. For your example, brothers, in submitting with patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord; remember it is those who had endurance that we say are the blessed ones. You have heard of the patience of Job, and understood the Lord’s purpose, realising that the Lord is kind and compassionate.
Above all, my brothers, do not swear by heaven or by the earth, or use any oaths at all. If you mean ‘yes’, you must say ‘yes’; if you mean ‘no’, say ‘no.’ Otherwise you make yourselves liable to judgement.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 102(103):1-4,8-9,11-12 © |
The Lord is compassion and love.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.
The Lord is compassion and love.
It is he who forgives all your guilt,
who heals every one of your ills,
who redeems your life from the grave,
who crowns you with love and compassion.
The Lord is compassion and love.
The Lord is compassion and love,
slow to anger and rich in mercy.
His wrath will come to an end;
he will not be angry for ever.
The Lord is compassion and love.
For as the heavens are high above the earth
so strong is his love for those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west
so far does he remove our sins.
The Lord is compassion and love.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps110:7,8 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your precepts, O Lord, are all of them sure;
they stand firm for ever and ever.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn17:17 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O Lord:
consecrate us in the truth.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 10:1-12 © |
What God has united, man must not divide
Jesus came to the district of Judaea and the far side of the Jordan. And again crowds gathered round him, and again he taught them, as his custom was. Some Pharisees approached him and asked, ‘Is it against the law for a man to divorce his wife?’ They were testing him. He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ ‘Moses allowed us’ they said ‘to draw up a writ of dismissal and so to divorce.’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘It was because you were so unteachable that he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. This is why a man must leave father and mother, and the two become one body. They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.’ Back in the house the disciples questioned him again about this, and he said to them, ‘The man who divorces his wife and marries another is guilty of adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another she is guilty of adultery too.’
THE LIMITS OF OATHS AND LAWS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JAMES 5:9-12; PS 103:1-4,8-12; MK 10:1-12]
In the first reading, St James wrote, “Above all, my brothers, do not swear by heaven or by the earth, or use any oaths at all. If you mean ‘yes’, you must say ‘yes’; if you mean ‘no’, say ‘no’. Otherwise you make yourselves liable for judgement.” St James was perhaps alluding to our Lord’s teaching to the Sermon on the Mount in St Matthew’s gospel. (Mt 5:33-37) But it is important to recognize that the context of our Lord’s statement is different from that of James.
In the gospel, Jesus was confronting the Pharisees who were abusing the practice of oaths because they used different formulae to establish different levels of oaths. Those that were considered less important could be overridden by graver oaths. As a consequence, while appearing religiously pious, they made a mockery of the oaths as they could excuse themselves from keeping their commitments made with lesser oaths. For this reason, Jesus told His disciples not to take any oaths but simply say “yes” or “no” with complete integrity.
In the context of St James, he had just appealed to his readers to be patient and persevering in the midst of trials. He was concerned that in their suffering, there would be a temptation to compromise their values and moral standards. Immediately, after speaking about the need for patience in suffering, St James offered prayer as a recourse for those who are tempted to give up. However, the danger is that some might be tempted to strike a bargain with God, promising Him to undertake some actions if the prayers were answered, and later unable to do it, making them feel guiltier than ever, just like many of us do in moments of desperation, like taking an oath to go for Mass or say a rosary daily.
Rather, we must practise patience in times of trial. Instead of passing judgment on those who hurt us, we must leave judgment to the Lord. “Do not make complaints against one another, brothers, so as not to be brought to judgement yourselves; the Judge is already to be seen waiting at the gates.” Let God be the judge, as St Paul told the community at Corinth as well. “I do not even judge myself. I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive commendation from God.” (1 Cor 4:3-5)
Indeed, the responsorial psalm invites us to have a heart of thanksgiving because the Lord is compassion and love. He will see justice done for us. “My soul, give thanks to the Lord. All my being, bless his holy name. My soul, give thanks to the Lord, and never forget all his blessings. It is he who forgives all your guilt who heals every one of your ills; who redeems your life from the grave, who crowns you with love and compassion. The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy. His wrath will come to an end; He will not be angry forever.”
The case in point St James drew from is that of Job. “For example, brothers, in submitting patience, take the prophet who spoke in the name of the Lord; remember it is those who had endurance that we say are the blessed ones. You have heard of the patience of Job, and understood the Lord’s purpose, realizing that the Lord is kind and compassionate.” Job suffered patiently when he was put to the test, when God allowed the Devil to inflict evil in his body causing him to suffer tremendously, physically from sores all over his body, the rejection of his friends, the accusation of having committed sins against God; and the loss of his property and the death of his children. Yet, in all these, Job did not offend God but accepted his fate patiently and humbly. He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.” (Job 1:21f)
When we apply this theme to those who are married, we can also appreciate the challenges today when couples are called to tolerate, or better still, to accept each other unconditionally. Misunderstandings and tensions happen because of differences in the way they look at life, assess values, raise up children, relating with in-laws and between themselves. Communication is a major issue between many married couples today, made more difficult because couples are too busy to make time for each other as they have their own work, circle of friends, entertainment and business. So the ideal vision of marriage as a couple deeply in love, united in mind and heart, enjoying each other’s company, supporting each other in their career and life is not always possible. In fact, it is much more challenging in today’s world to have a couple loving, caring for each other unto death because men and women today are more educated, have a mind of their own and enjoy financial independence.
As a consequence, the ideal goals of marriage as taught in the scriptures, whilst certainly desirable, are not attainable for many couples today. How many marriages today can remain indissoluble when the differences are irreconcilable? And even if they are not divorced, the chances of living in unity and love would be slim because of deep wounds and hurts they had inflicted on each other, and trust has been lost completely. How, then, can we continue to be true and faithful to scriptures which Jesus reiterated in today’s gospel? “But from the beginning or creation God made them male and female. This is why a man must leave father and mother, and the two become one body. They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.”
In the light of these challenges, how do the marriage vows play out in modern day life? Whilst the Catholic Church remains adamant in wanting their faith believers to be faithful to the teaching of Christ on the indissolubility of marriage, many Christian churches have accepted that some marriages simply cannot work, and they permit divorce against the very command of our Lord, of course, by interpreting the law of indissolubility of marriage widely. Can observance of the laws alone bring about fidelity and union in marriage life? And if they cannot, why then take vows that many couples cannot keep and then make them feel guilty for the rest of their lives, instead of releasing them to begin life anew, instead of living in the past, in regret and in pain? Truly, the oaths or vows taken at marriage are taken in such a way as the couples meant them on that day, but when troubles and trials come, they would break the vows.
Once again, those who are in difficult relationships in marriage and therefore under trials and temptations to break the union should, as St James urge us, pray for wisdom and strength. Unless the couple prays together, just mere counselling alone is difficult to bring about reconciliation and healing. Sometimes the wounds are too deep because the fear and trauma they had suffered remain deep in their psyche. Only God can heal them and release them from their pain and forgiveness when they themselves realize, as the psalmist says, God’s forgiveness and compassion for them. “For as the heavens are high above the earth, so strong is his love for those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our sins.” Only God can enlighten us and find the way to heal us. It is for the couple to pray and discern together the will of God with a spiritual guide.
As for the rest of us, let us not be too quick to pass judgement on those who fail in their marriage. We must have sympathy for them. No one marries in order to divorce. Most are divorced simply because they could not find a better solution to save the family because of irreconcilable differences which sometimes can lead to violence. Let us be compassionate like our Lord and continue to give them the support, help them to be reconciled in their relationships, and even if it is not possible, to assist them in whatever way we can.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment