20240208 CROSSING BOUNDARIES, BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS
08 February 2024, Thursday, 5th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | 1 Kings 11:4-13 © |
For the sake of my servant David, I will leave you one tribe
When Solomon grew old his wives swayed his heart to other gods; and his heart was not wholly with the Lord his God as his father David’s had been. Solomon became a follower of Astarte, the goddess of the Sidonians, and of Milcom, the Ammonite abomination. He did what was displeasing to the Lord, and was not a wholehearted follower of the Lord, as his father David had been. Then it was that Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the god of Moab on the mountain to the east of Jerusalem, and to Milcom the god of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who offered incense and sacrifice to their gods.
The Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned from the Lord the God of Israel who had twice appeared to him and who had then forbidden him to follow other gods; but he did not carry out the Lord’s order. The Lord therefore said to Solomon, ‘Since you behave like this and do not keep my covenant or the laws I laid down for you, I will most surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. For your father David’s sake, however, I will not do this during your lifetime, but will tear it out of your son’s hands. Even so, I will not tear the whole kingdom from him. For the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen, I will leave your son one tribe.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 105(106):3-4,35-37,40 © |
O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.
They are happy who do what is right,
who at all times do what is just.
O Lord, remember me
out of the love you have for your people.
O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.
But instead they mingled with the nations
and learned to act as they did.
They worshipped the idols of the nations
and these became a snare to entrap them.
O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.
They even offered their own sons
and their daughters in sacrifice to demons,
till his anger blazed against his people;
he was filled with horror at his chosen ones.
O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps144:13 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and loving in all his deeds.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jm1:21 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept and submit to the word
which has been planted in you
and can save your souls.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 7:24-30 © |
The astuteness of the Syro-Phoenician woman
Jesus left Gennesaret and set out for the territory of Tyre. There he went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not pass unrecognised. A woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him straightaway and came and fell at his feet. Now the woman was a pagan, by birth a Syrophoenician, and she begged him to cast the devil out of her daughter. And he said to her, ‘The children should be fed first, because it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ But she spoke up: ‘Ah yes, sir,’ she replied ‘but the house-dogs under the table can eat the children’s scraps.’ And he said to her, ‘For saying this, you may go home happy: the devil has gone out of your daughter.’ So she went off to her home and found the child lying on the bed and the devil gone.
CROSSING BOUNDARIES, BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 KGS 11:4-13; PS 106:3-4,35-37,40; MK 7:24-30]
At one period of our history, the world appeared to be going in the right direction with globalization – in trade, in the exchange of technology and in mass communications. But in the past few years, fear, suspicion, competition, and self-interest prevailed. There is growing nationalism in a narrow sense – decoupling of economies, isolation, sanctions, disinformation. As a result, more and more barriers are being put up in the name of so-called national interests. The world has become a more fragmented world, more insecure and divided. Within each community, internally, they are divided; not just politically but also between social classes, tribes, cultures and religions. When discrimination sets in, there will be misunderstanding, suspicion and even violence. Indeed, if we are serious in promoting peace, harmony, progress and prosperity in the world, we need to reduce national, social and religious barriers.
In the light of what is said, how do we assess King Solomon’s reign? The bible is very critical and negative of what Solomon did as he betrayed the religion of his people. The most serious transgression was that he married foreign wives and, together with them, brought in the worship of other gods. He constructed temples for them and even joined them in worship of their gods. The indictment of the bible was that “when Solomon grew old his wives swayed his heart to other gods; and his heart was not wholly with the Lord his God as his father David’s had been. Solomon became a follower of Astarte, the goddess of the Sidonians, and of Milcom, the Ammonite abomination.”
Leaving aside the fact that he had many wives where polygamy was a culture of that time, was he wrong in giving support to his wives who worshipped other gods? Of course, in his days, it was considered abominable for anyone to switch religion or to worship any god other than the God of Israel. God had chosen Israel to be His covenanted people, so abandoning Him for other gods was a betrayal. The first important commandment cannot be compromised. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol. You shall not bow down to them or worship them.” (Ex 20:2-5) This commandment sought to ensure that foreign religions would not take root in Israel, otherwise, it could distract the people and weaken their faith. For that reason, to bring in the gods of other religions would bring harm to the nation.
But perhaps, the real sin of Solomon was not that he supported his wives to worship their own gods, but that he himself even became a follower of their gods. In so doing, Solomon broke his allegiance to God who, as his king, anointed him to deputize Him. He contradicted his very position; not just personally in terms of showing disloyalty to Yahweh, but as king, his actions caused his own people to be confused about their faith and led others to follow him in worshipping the pagan gods as well. Hence, whilst we may forgive him for trying to accommodate his foreign wives’ religions, but by compromising his own faith, and as the King of Israel, he had caused the nation to degenerate in their faith in Yahweh.
Thus, we must be clear of the basic principle in relating to people of other faiths. We should respect them and their faith. There should be no compulsion to belong to our faith, or show disrespect in any way to people of other faiths and practices. We can even support them, since they experience the Sacred in their own ways, even if such experience of God are rays and shadows of the revelation of God. We should of course share our faith with others in a non-intimidating manner, inviting a free response. Most of all, we must demonstrate our faith in a life of charity. But we must always be true to our faith and beliefs. This is non-negotiable.
In the gospel, Jesus shows how we can be true to our faith and yet break down barriers for those who belong to a different culture, race, nationality and faith. Jesus was in pagan territory. Then came a Gentile woman, one who “was a pagan, by birth a Syro-phoenician.” But this woman was desperate. She heard about Jesus and sought His help to deliver her daughter from demonic possession. It is good for us to consider the dilemma of our Lord. Firstly, He wanted to take a break from His hectic ministry to rest. “He went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not pass unrecognised.” As it was, Jesus was inconvenienced. He could have got irritated and dismissed her immediately. Furthermore, she was not a Jew, a woman, and neither a believer. On these counts alone, no one would have faulted Jesus in His time to dismiss the woman from His presence, as it was not appropriate for Him to deal with a woman in public, especially when she was not a Jew. It might have been considered the appropriate thing to do.
But it is good to learn from Jesus and the woman how they broke the barriers between themselves. They were able to go beyond culture, faith, race and nationality. The Lord, in a jest, told her, “The children should be fed first, because it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.” In saying this, Jesus underscored the fundamental principle that He was called not to minister to the Gentiles but that His primary ministry was to bring His own people back to God. He came for the salvation of Israel. Jesus was clear that He should not be distracted by His primary mission. Otherwise, His work of saving His own people could be jeopardized. Jesus was clear of His mission, unlike Solomon. Jesus was faithful to His calling. Thus, we can learn from Jesus that it is important in our interaction with people of other faiths, or without faith, to be clear and firm in our beliefs, moral principles and our mission in life. We must not make compromises in such fundamental principles.
When the woman, also in a jest, replied to our Lord, “Ah yes, sir, but the house-dogs under the table can eat the children’s scraps”, she showed her humility. She demonstrated openness and confidence in our Lord. She had a good disposition towards our Lord. She did not take His words to heart. Rather, she knew the heart of our Lord. She was persistent, humble and trusting in her faith. She could join in the conversation in a light-hearted manner, persuading our Lord to bend His principles and yet left Him free to respond. This kind of friendly conversation helps to break the ice with those who are different from us. Friendship, warmth and playfulness help to break down barriers of mistrust, suspicion and fear. It is only when we are proud, arrogant and suspicious that we tend to misread people even if their intentions are good.
As a consequence, Jesus demonstrated His empathy for the woman and said to her, “‘For saying this, you may go home happy: the devil has gone out of your daughter.’ So she went off to her home and found the child lying on the bed and the devil gone.” Indeed, we are reminded by our Lord that even if we are firm in our principles of faith, it does not mean that we have to be so narrow-minded when it comes to doing good, especially in works of charity and compassion. Indeed, even if we do not agree in faith and in doctrines, at least we can work with people of other faiths in works of charity, justice and compassion. Love is the ultimate principle when it comes to acting. It goes beyond faith in God.
Today, let us learn from our Lord to open the door to people of other faiths and those who do not share in our beliefs. Like the early Church, we are called to be inclusive in Christ, as St Paul wrote, “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 3:28) It also means that we must be welcoming to those Catholics and non-Catholics who cannot fully subscribe to our moral doctrines on gender and marriage. We must be tolerant and patient. Whilst we cannot compromise on our beliefs and moral doctrines, on the pastoral level, we are called to show respect for them. We cannot compromise when it comes to faith and truth, but we need to observe always the principle of love for all, regardless of faith, race, language or nationality. Our love must always be inclusive, kind, patient, tolerant and compassionate.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment