20241111 LACK OF A REVERENTIAL FAITH IN GOD AS THE CAUSE OF SCANDAL
First reading | Titus 1:1-9 |
Appoint elders of irreproachable character
From Paul, servant of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ to bring those whom God has chosen to faith and to the knowledge of the truth that leads to true religion; and to give them the hope of the eternal life that was promised so long ago by God. He does not lie and so, at the appointed time, he revealed his decision, and, by the command of God our saviour, I have been commissioned to proclaim it. To Titus, true child of mine in the faith that we share, wishing you grace and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our saviour.
The reason I left you behind in Crete was for you to get everything organised there and appoint elders in every town, in the way that I told you: that is, each of them must be a man of irreproachable character; he must not have been married more than once, and his children must be believers and not uncontrollable or liable to be charged with disorderly conduct. Since, as president, he will be God’s representative, he must be irreproachable: never an arrogant or hot-tempered man, nor a heavy drinker or violent, nor out to make money; but a man who is hospitable and a friend of all that is good; sensible, moral, devout and self-controlled; and he must have a firm grasp of the unchanging message of the tradition, so that he can be counted on for both expounding the sound doctrine and refuting those who argue against it.
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 | Ph2:15-16 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
You will shine in the world like bright stars
because you are offering it the word of life.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 17:1-6 |
If your brother does wrong, reprove him
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Obstacles are sure to come, but alas for the one who provides them! It would be better for him to be thrown into the Sea with a millstone put round his neck than that he should lead astray a single one of these little ones. Watch yourselves!
If your brother does something wrong, reprove him and, if he is sorry, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times a day and seven times comes back to you and says, “I am sorry,” you must forgive him.’
The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’ The Lord replied, ‘Were your faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you.’
11 November 2024, Monday, 32nd Week in Ordinary Time
LACK OF A REVERENTIAL FAITH IN GOD AS THE CAUSE OF SCANDAL
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [TIT 1:1-9; LK 17:1-6]
As the responsorial psalm says, many are yearning to see the face of the Lord. To seek His face is to encounter eternal truth as an event. Indeed, like St Paul, we too have been chosen and commissioned to bring “the knowledge of the truth that leads to true religion; and to give them the hope of the eternal life that was promised so long ago by God.” This call is given to all Christians, but in a special way, to those of us who are Church leaders and ministry members. As Church leaders and ministry members, we are called to make Christ known through our words and deeds.
What, then, is the greatest obstacle or scandal that prevents us from manifesting Christ in our lives and ministry? Very often, we think that it is the scandals caused by our inappropriate conduct and behaviour that make us less of a sign of the presence of God’s love and life. Indeed, this seems to be the case because we know that many Catholics have been scandalized by the un-Christian behaviour, especially the lack of charity, of Church leaders and ministry members. As a result, they lose the little faith they have in Christ and His Church, whose face we are supposed to reflect. Once their confidence in us is shaken, they lose faith completely.
But to locate the scandals in our lives would not be pinpointing the situation. In the final analysis, there is only one scandal, that is, the scandal of all scandals, namely, the lack of a reverential faith in God. There is a lack of religious piety in our lives. This is the real scandal that we must pay attention to. All other scandals, whether it is competition, dishonesty, misuse of Church funds, division, backbiting, envy and unforgiveness, can be traced to the lack of faith we have in Christ.
Why is this so? The truth is that all other scandals arise only because we are not right in our relationship with God. This in turn is due to our lack of faith in Christ as our Saviour. Indeed, in today’s gospel, when Jesus condemned those who put obstacles in the way of faith, He was referring to the religious leaders of His time because they refused to listen to Him, or to recognize Him as the Messiah. For such people, Jesus reserved the harshest words, saying, “It would be better for him to be thrown into the Sea with a millstone put round his neck than that he should lead astray a single one of these little ones.”
Indeed, the warning of Jesus to His disciples is also for all of us when He said, “Watch yourselves!” We too might be the cause of obstacles to faith for many of our Catholics and those who are searching for Christ because of the lack of integrity in our lives. Consequently, we must take the exhortation of St Paul to Titus and the pastors seriously. Although not all the criteria mentioned are applicable to us, the point is that we must recognize our high calling to be the witnesses of Christ and our lives must be exemplary.
What are some of these criteria? As Church leaders, lay or clerical, we must seek to be “a man of irreproachable character; he must not have been married more than once, never an arrogant or hot-tempered man, nor a heavy drinker or violent, nor out to make money; but a man who is hospitable and a friend of all that is good; sensible, moral, devout and self-controlled; and he must have a firm grasp of the unchanging message of the tradition, so that he can be counted on for both expounding the sound doctrine and refuting those who argue against it.” Besides these criteria, we must also include the psalmist words, that those who wish to climb the mountain of the Lord and stand in His holy place, must have hands that are sinless, a heart that is clean and who desires not what is vain. By living out our lives in holiness, we show forth that our faith in Christ has an effect in our lives. These criteria in themselves are not the cause of our efficacy, rather, they are manifestations of a living faith in Christ.
This does not mean that we must be perfect as Christian leaders. We are all sinners. We are not yet canonized. We are on the way to sainthood. We recognize that we have our human frailties. What is necessary is the humility of leaders to ask for forgiveness when we have sinned against the Lord and His people. For those who have been hurt by Church leaders and ministry members, we are called to forgive. Yes, Jesus urges us to seek for forgiveness and impart forgiveness. He said, “If your brother does something wrong, reprove him and, if he is sorry, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times a day and seven times comes back to you and says, “I am sorry”, you must forgive him.'” Indeed, the Church is always compassionate with those who have failed in their responsibility and conduct. The Church never condemns anyone as incorrigible. So long as there is grace, there is hope for repentance.
However, forgiveness is not the same as condoning the wrong doings or unbecoming behaviour of the person. Forgiveness is given but it must also be received. The reception of forgiveness is manifested in the conversion of life, the readiness to submit in obedience to God’s laws and the Church. Faith in Christ’s forgiveness must be demonstrated in a good life and the willingness to change. Without any manifested conversion, it cannot be said that a person has received forgiveness. In such a situation, that person may not continue in the ministry, for he still lacks faith. To allow him to do so would cause further damage both to himself and to the people of God.
Hence, we can understand why the disciples, after Jesus’ exhortation, immediately said, “Increase our faith!“ Yes, we need to ask the Lord to give us confidence in His grace to change us and never to give up hope on our fellow brothers and sisters, just as He does not give up hope in us. To this request, Jesus responded, “‘Were your faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea”, and it would obey you”. In this response, He is saying that if we surrender in faith to Him and His saving love, we will be able to uproot all sins from our lives. Truly, if we have faith in Christ, then we will, not by our power but by His grace, weed out all our sins from our lives. If we are sincere and humble in growing in faith, then God will give us the grace to transform our lives and live a life of holiness.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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