20240817 PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
17 August 2024, Saturday, 19th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Ezekiel 18:1-10,13,30-32 |
You, not your children, will suffer for your sins: so repent, and live
The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows:
‘Why do you keep repeating this proverb in the land of Israel: “The fathers have eaten unripe grapes; and the children’s teeth are set on edge”?
‘As I live – it is the Lord who speaks – there will no longer be any reason to repeat this proverb in Israel. See now: all life belongs to me; the father’s life and the son’s life, both alike belong to me. The man who has sinned, he is the one who shall die.
‘The upright man is law-abiding and honest; he does not eat on the mountains or raise his eyes to the idols of the House of Israel, does not seduce his neighbour’s wife or sleep with a woman during her periods. He oppresses no one, returns pledges, never steals, gives his own bread to the hungry, his clothes to the naked. He never charges usury on loans, takes no interest, abstains from evil, gives honest judgement between man and man, keeps my laws and sincerely respects my observances – such a man is truly upright. It is the Lord who speaks.
‘But if anyone has a son prone to violence and bloodshed, then this son shall certainly not live; having committed all these appalling crimes he will have to die, and his blood be on his own head.
House of Israel, in future I mean to judge each of you by what he does – it is the Lord who speaks. Repent, renounce all your sins, avoid all occasions of sin! Shake off all the sins you have committed against me, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why are you so anxious to die, House of Israel? I take no pleasure in the death of anyone – it is the Lord who speaks. Repent and live!’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 50(51):12-15,18-19 |
A pure heart create for me, O God.
A pure heart create for me, O God,
put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
nor deprive me of your holy spirit.
A pure heart create for me, O God.
Give me again the joy of your help;
with a spirit of fervour sustain me,
that I may teach transgressors your ways
and sinners may return to you.
A pure heart create for me, O God.
For in sacrifice you take no delight,
burnt offering from me you would refuse,
my sacrifice, a contrite spirit.
A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.
A pure heart create for me, O God.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Col3:16a,17 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Let the message of Christ, in all its richness,
find a home with you;
through him give thanks to God the Father.
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 |
Matthew 19:13-15 |
Do not stop the little children coming to me
People brought little children to Jesus, for him to lay his hands on them and say a prayer. The disciples turned them away, but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children alone, and do not stop them coming to me; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’ Then he laid his hands on them and went on his way.
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [EZEKIEL 18:1-10,13,30-32; MATTHEW 19:13-15]
The first reading from Prophet Ezekiel focuses on personal responsibility in our decisions and actions over collective responsibility. This is a necessary reminder to us, especially when we tend to put the blame on our parents and society for the predicament we are in. Many of us are affected by decisions and actions made by our parents, elders, community, the country and the world at large. We are living in a global village. Today, even if we are not personally responsible for something in our community, family or office, we will be affected by what others do. This is particularly true of the Church or any religion. When a member of the community counter-witnesses to the faith, or commits a scandal, the entire community is tainted. Often too, when some members of the community abuse their freedom, rules and policies are instituted to prevent a reoccurrence, making life more inconvenient for others. Take for example, travelling on a plane. Before the threat of terrorism became a reality, clearing immigration and check-points was a breeze. Now one has to go through multiple screenings of persons and luggage to prevent an incident that could endanger the lives of other travellers. So it is true that the sins and negligence of our fellowmen do have consequences for the community at large.
Realising that the actions of one could have impact on others, we must all the more assume a greater responsibility for the decisions and actions we take. We must not conveniently, as some do, shirk our responsibility to make things right by blaming others for the situation we are in. We can wallow in self-pity because our parents had been irresponsible in the way they raised us up. We can blame our failures and who we are today by pointing fingers at them because of their constant bickering and quarrelling over money, gambling, drinking and infidelity in relationships. Or we could blame them for our failures today or the inability to find a right partner because they have been too strict or over-protective of us.
This is precisely the context of today’s first reading. The people of Israel had a strong sense of collective responsibility. God called them to be His people, to be a nation. The ties between the members of the People of God were very strong. The sin of one would affect the circumstances of others. The sin of a leader would have impacted the entire nation. This should hold true today, especially for those in leadership. Their failure to act rightly would cause harm to the people they lead, whether as a nation or as a church or organization. Leaders have even more responsibility towards the community because they do not live or work for themselves alone but for the entire community under their charge.
However, the Lord, through prophet Ezekiel, is reminding us that we must also take our personal responsibility seriously and not just assign blame on our ills to the sins of our forefathers or the community. The Lord said, “Why do you keep repeating this proverb in the land of Israel: The fathers have eaten unripe grapes; and the children’s teeth are set on edge? As I live there will no longer be any reason to repeat this proverb in Israel. See now: all life belongs to me; the father’s life and the son’s life, both alike belong to me. The man who has sinned, he is the one who shall die.” Each of us must account for our own actions, and suffer the consequences of our sins or negligence. Indeed, the greater is the guilt when more people suffer innocently on account of our irresponsibility in our actions or words. This is why when we are awakened to our past sins, many of us cannot forgive ourselves when we realize the immense sufferings we have caused, not just to ourselves but also the people we love. For drunk driving, we lost our job, and our family suffers as a result. For the sin of adultery, we caused the marriage and family to break up and our children to suffer for our sins. For gambling, we caused our family to live in fear in their own homes because of the harassment from the loan sharks.
Consequently, we are called to examine ourselves. This is what the Lord is inviting us through his prophet. “Repent, renounce all your sins, avoid all occasions of sin! Shake off all the sins you have committed against me, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why are you so anxious to die, House of Israel? I take no pleasure in the death of anyone – it is the Lord who speaks. Repent and live!” As the psalmist says, “A pure heart create for me, O God, put a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, nor deprive me of your holy spirit.” How, then, should we examine our lifestyle so that we can live justly?
When we consider the challenges the world is facing, especially with regard to a lifestyle that is amoral, individualistic and self-centred, all in the name of freedom, we must ask whether we have exercised our personal rights with responsibility. The world today seeks freedom based on self, not on their responsibility to society or to the community. Whilst it is true that everyone has the freedom to exercise their personal rights, it cannot be absolute to the extent that we abdicate our responsibility for the common good of the community. Today, we have an over-emphasis on personal rights that we do not consider that the actions and decisions we make would impact the greater good of the community. It is about myself, my interest, my desires, my happiness, my needs – often at the expense of the rest of the community.
Take the case of marriage, singlehood and procreation. Whilst not all are called to marriage life or singlehood, we must be honest about our choices. What are the criteria that influence our choices to get married or be single? Are we motivated truly by love of others besides love of self? We can get married to escape from loneliness, at least we think we could, even though it is an illusion. Some remain single because they do not want to share their life with others, especially their time and resources. They want to enjoy a life of freedom to pursue whatever they like. The same arguments apply to having children. Do we have children as an investment for old age, or to get away from loneliness, or do we desire children so that we can share our love with them and that they could contribute to the building of the community and the perpetuation of the human race?
At the end of the day, the ultimate criterion in whatever choices we make, must not be just a self-centred love. It must also be for the greater good of our loved ones and society at large. For instance, a man chooses to be single because he is the eldest child and the parents cannot afford to provide for the rest of the children, so he sacrifices marriage to support the rest of his siblings. Of course there are those who remain single simply because they cannot find the right partner in marriage. Regardless, whether we are single or married, to live a happy and fulfilling life, we cannot be living for oneself but for others, and especially for society. Getting married, having children, or even remaining single must be directed towards the greater good of the community. Only then can we truly say that we have exercised personal responsibility conscientiously.
The Lord presents us the righteous life that we should be living, and the consequences of acting irresponsibly. “The upright man is law-abiding and honest; does not seduce his neighbour’s wife. He oppresses no one, returns pledges, never steals, gives his own bread to the hungry, his clothes to the naked. He abstains from evil, gives honest judgement between man and man, keeps my laws and sincerely respects my observances. But if anyone has a son prone to violence and bloodshed, who commits one of these misdeeds, then this son shall certainly not live; having committed all these appalling crimes he will have to die, and his blood be in his own head.” This is particularly true with respect to children, which means all those people we have influence over. The Lord asks us to bless them and to bring them closer to Him and the Kingdom of heaven. This is our task. May what we do truly be an inspiration for others and be truly good for the community. Let us not exercise our personal freedom and rights in such a way that cause others to suffer, or the community to be divided because of injustices, oppression and selfishness. Let us exercise our freedom and rights for the greater good of all, which ultimately is for our own good as well.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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