20190730
THE
DELICATE BALANCE BETWEEN JUSTICE AND COMPASSION
30 JULY, 2019,
Tuesday, 17th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Exodus
33:7-11,34:5-9,28 ©
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'They are a headstrong people; but
forgive us our faults'
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Moses used to take the Tent and pitch it
outside the camp, at some distance from the camp. He called it the Tent of
Meeting. Anyone who had to consult the Lord would go out to the Tent of
Meeting, outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the Tent, all the people
would rise. Every man would stand at the door of his tent and watch Moses until
he reached the Tent; the pillar of cloud would come down and station itself at
the entrance to the Tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. When they saw
the pillar of cloud stationed at the entrance to the Tent, all the people would
rise and bow low, each at the door of his tent. The Lord would speak with Moses
face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would turn back to
the camp, but the young man who was his servant, Joshua son of Nun, would not
leave the Tent.
And
the Lord descended in the form of a cloud, and Moses stood with him there.
He
called on the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The
Lord, a God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in kindness and
faithfulness; for thousands he maintains his kindness, forgives faults,
transgression, sin; yet he lets nothing go unchecked, punishing the father’s
fault in the sons and in the grandsons to the third and fourth generation.’ And
Moses bowed down to the ground at once and worshipped. ‘If I have indeed won
your favour, Lord,’ he said ‘let my Lord come with us, I beg. True, they are a
headstrong people, but forgive us our faults and our sins, and adopt us as your
heritage.’
Moses
stayed there with the Lord for forty days and forty nights, eating and drinking
nothing. He inscribed on the tablets the words of the Covenant – the Ten
Words.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 102(103):6-13 ©
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The Lord is compassion
and love.
The Lord does deeds of justice,
gives judgement for all who
are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses
and his deeds to Israel’s
sons.
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.
He does not treat us according to our sins
nor repay us according to our
faults.
For as the heavens are high above the
earth
so strong is his love for
those who fear him.
The Lord is compassion
and love.
As far as the east is from the west
so far does he remove our
sins.
As a father has compassion on his sons,
the Lord has pity on those who
fear him.
The Lord is compassion
and love.
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Gospel Acclamation
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1P1:25
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of the Lord remains for ever:
What is this word?
It is the Good News that has been brought
to you.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The seed is the word of God, Christ the
sower;
whoever finds this seed will remain for
ever.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 13:36-43 ©
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As the darnel is gathered up and burnt,
so it will be at the end of time
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Leaving the crowds, Jesus went to the
house; and his disciples came to him and said, ‘Explain the parable about the
darnel in the field to us.’ He said in reply, ‘The sower of the good seed is
the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed is the subjects of the
kingdom; the darnel, the subjects of the evil one; the enemy who sowed them,
the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels.
Well then, just as the darnel is gathered up and burnt in the fire, so it will
be at the end of time. The Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather
out of his kingdom all things that provoke offences and all who do evil, and
throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding
of teeth. Then the virtuous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their
Father. Listen, anyone who has ears!’
THE DELICATE
BALANCE BETWEEN JUSTICE AND COMPASSION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Ex 33:7-11; 34:5-9. 28; Ps 103:6-13; Mt 13:36-43 ]
The world we live in is
a merciless world that does not give us a second chance. If one makes a mistake in life, or worse,
commits an offence or a crime, he or she is not only punished by the courts but
by society. Social media is used today to sentence, condemn, shame,
destroy and punish the offender more than what even imprisonment can do.
It is not so much the physical suffering but the emotional pain, disgrace and
destructive words that will eventually drive such people to commit suicide.
This is so
ironical. This is because those who condemn others are not free from sin
or from weaknesses themselves.
This is why Jesus in the gospel warns us, “Do not judge, so that you may not be
judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure
you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your
neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?” (Mt 7:1-3) To the crowd who condemned the
woman, Jesus said, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to
throw a stone at her.” (Jn 8:7) To the adulterous woman, the Lord
assured her, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin
again.” (Jn 8:11)
How do we balance
justice and compassion together?
On one hand, we feel that justice must be done, the wrongs must be righted, so
that the innocent and the poor will not suffer the injustices of those who
cheat, destroy property, slander the character of others, and even kill.
On the other hand, we are called to be compassionate, forgiving and tolerant of
the sins of others, not taking revenge but to seek their conversion and
repentance. Obviously, compassion does not and should not lead to greater
injustice to those who have already suffered from the violations of
others. This would be adding oil into the fire.
Indeed, today, we are
called to learn from the compassion of God, a compassion that is merciful and
yet just. The Lord revealed
Himself to Moses as “The Lord, the Lord, a God of tenderness and compassion,
slow to anger, rich in kindness and faithfulness; for thousands he maintains
his kindness, forgives faults, transgression, sin, yet he lets nothing go unchecked,
punishing the father’s fault in the sons and in the grandsons to the third and
fourth generation.” Right from the outset, this self-proclamation of God
entails two apparently contradictory statements. In the first part, God
describes Himself as a God of compassion and forgives us all our
wrongdoings. However, it also makes it clear that there will be
punishment as well because of our transgressions.
To appreciate this
conundrum between justice and compassion, we must begin by saying that the
heart of God is one of compassion and forgiveness. This is because He
understands us more than we understand ourselves and one another. God is much more compassionate
towards us than we are towards ourselves and our fellowmen. We do
not really understand who we are and the depth of our sinfulness and
brokenness. That is why we are so quick to judge others. We
fail to realize, as the psalmist says, “For I know my transgressions, and my
sin is ever before me. Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done
what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and
blameless when you pass judgment. Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.” We are born not just as sinners from birth, but we are also ignorant of our sins before God and others. We are blind to our own faults and weaknesses, always thinking that we are holy, righteous and perfect compared to others. In truth, we are all sinners in different ways. So if anyone thinks he is perfect and without sin, then he can cast the first stone. Even Jesus who is sinless does not cast any stone on sinners.
blameless when you pass judgment. Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.” We are born not just as sinners from birth, but we are also ignorant of our sins before God and others. We are blind to our own faults and weaknesses, always thinking that we are holy, righteous and perfect compared to others. In truth, we are all sinners in different ways. So if anyone thinks he is perfect and without sin, then he can cast the first stone. Even Jesus who is sinless does not cast any stone on sinners.
Secondly, as Moses said,
we are “a headstrong people.” We
are impetuous, rash, impulsive, reckless, undiscerning and willful in what we
do. We are proud and arrogant, always wanting things our
way. Our pride is the cause of our downfall. Because we think we
know everything, we lack a discerning spirit. This is what the parable of
the darnel in today’s gospel is illustrating. It is very difficult to
distinguish between the wheat and the weeds, especially when they are almost
identical when young. We will not know whether they are wheat or weeds
until they are fully grown. This is true for many of us in the world
today. With so much information on the internet and social media, we find
it even more challenging to filter out what is truth and what is
falsehood. Many of us are deceived by the arguments of the world
proposing values contrary to the gospel. What is evil is presented as
good and attractive. What is destructive for us in the long run is made
to be good for now.
Thirdly, the Lord also
knows that we are always under the temptation of the Evil One. Jesus explained, “The sower of the
good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed is the
subjects of the kingdom; the darnel, the subjects of the evil one; the enemy
who sowed them, the devil.” Satan, therefore, is always seeking to
destroy the Kingdom of God, of truth, love, peace and joy. Indeed, Paul
makes it clear that our battle is not just against human flesh. “Put on
the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of
the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but
against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this
present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly
places.” (Eph 6:11f)
In the light of the
situation we are in, the Lord knows that the path to holiness remains a
struggle for us. After
all, the author to the Hebrews wrote, “For we do not have a high priest who is
unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect
has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the
throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to
help in time of need.” (Heb 4:15-16) Jesus understands our
temptations and weaknesses more than anyone of us since He Himself had been
tempted.
So the Lord gives us
more than a second chance. He gives us endless chances so long as we are
on earth. He told Peter that
we should forgive “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.”
(Mt 18:22) This is why the psalmist could
so confidently proclaim that “he 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. He
does not treat us according to our sins nor repay us according to our faults.
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.
As a father has compassion on his sons, the Lord has pity on those who fear
him.”
Indeed, the Lord is
always patient with us. He knows that we need time to grow and to learn
from our mistakes.
This is the reason why the Church does not believe that death penalty is the
way to save a person. Rather, the Church believes that everyone must be
given another chance so long as he is alive. Some might take a longer
time to come to self-realization, others shorter. But the Church, like
our Lord, with patient endurance, hopes the sinner will make amends and change
his life. In the final analysis, it is not just about saving lives but
most of all, eternal life. For God and the Church, the soul of a person
is priceless and we must do all we can to save the soul of the person.
Until the final judgement, God gives us the opportunity to change. “Well then,
just as the darnel is gathered up and burnt in the fire, so it will be at the
end of time.”
But that does not mean
that we will not suffer the consequences of our sins already in this
life. These consequences are permitted by the Lord but they do not come
from Him. God does not
take revenge but human beings do. So when we do wrong, human beings
demand justice, or rather revenge. This is what St Paul wrote, “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.” (Gal 6:7f) Then again, we must understand
that such consequences of sin are meant to give us the opportunity to reflect
on our lives so that we can come to repentance rather than further
resentment. If we are humble enough, we will take these sufferings
positively as a wakeup call for us to change. They are not
punishments as such, but means to help us see the truth of what we are doing,
and how they are hurting people, including ourselves.
Through our sufferings,
we come to realize that we are loved by God and chosen by Him to be His living
Tabernacle, not just in the
Eucharist but in our very own body. We are the Temple of the Holy Spirit
and the abiding presence of God. So let our lives be the Meeting Place
where our brothers and sisters can meet God in us. But before we can meet
God in us, like Moses, let us meet God in the Temple, in the Tabernacle, and
most of all, in the Eucharist because He wants to speak to us, comfort us,
enlighten us in truth and love. He wants to speak to us as He did “with
Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
