03-20-2021, 02:31 PM
INEVITABLE DIVISION IN HUMANITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JER 11:18-20; PS 7:2-3,9-12; JN 7:40-52 ]
Why is there division in humanity? This is simply because there will always be an ongoing battle between light and darkness. Earlier on before going to Jerusalem for the Festival of Tabernacles, the Lord told His disciples, “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil.” (Jn 7:7) Indeed, since the beginning of creation, darkness has always sought to overcome the light. The world seeks to resolve this division by masking division in the name of relativism. In other words, both darkness and light must co-exist. Neither is good or bad, true or false. This is the most deceptive philosophy today because it pretends to be living in unity with all but in truth, we are sowing greater division as there is no real agreement among peoples except a superficial agreement to disagree.
Jesus brought about division by His coming to humanity. He wanted to bring peace but darkness cannot tolerate the light. Indeed, already at his birth, Simeon prophesied, “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.” (Lk 2:34f) Jesus Himself declared, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Mt 10:34) Like Jeremiah, Jesus too was opposed by His enemies. They too sought to destroy him as Jeremiah said of his enemies, “I for my part was like a trustful lamb being led to the slaughter-house, not knowing the schemes they were plotting against me, ‘Let us destroy the tree in its strength, let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name may be quickly forgotten!'”
Jesus’ teaching and works divided the people in the first place. “Several people who had been listening to Jesus said, ‘Surely he must be the prophet’, and some said, ‘He is the Christ’, but others said, ‘Would the Christ be from Galilee? Does not scripture say that the Christ must be descended from David and come from the town of Bethlehem?’ So the people could not agree about him.” Jesus had earlier on multiplied bread to feed the 5000 (Jn 6) and then called Himself to be the one who would give living water. “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” (Jn 7:37f) These two incidents stirred in the minds of the people that Jesus could be the promised Prophet that Moses told the people to listen to when he came. He would be the New Moses giving them bread from heaven and living water. Moses said, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.” (Dt 18:15,18) This prophet was thought to be Elijah coming again to prepare the way for the Messiah, which Jesus confirmed to be John the Baptist. (Mt 17:12f)
These were the ordinary and common people not schooled in scriptures and the law thoroughly. Indeed, this is true as well for many of our Catholics. Many of us have very shallow knowledge of the scriptures and the teachings of the Church. Our knowledge of our faith is very superficial. When it comes to professional knowledge of technology, work, business or science and medicine, we know much. But most Catholics just have bare minimum knowledge of what they believe and much lesser still of why they believe, until when they are challenged, as Jeremiah and our Lord were. Unfortunately, because our faith is not well grounded, many are easily misled or are confused by their opponents, especially from hostile secularism or even when challenged by those who profess different beliefs from ours. St Peter exhorts us, “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened. But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” (1 Pt 3:14f)
But most of all, the authorities were divided over Him. The police who were sent by the chief priests and Pharisees to arrest Him came back without apprehending Him because they were impressed by our Lord. They sensed that Jesus was speaking the truth for they said, “There has never been anybody who has spoken like him.” Jesus’ words must have stirred their conscience because they had no vested interest. They were there to arrest Him only because they were told to do so. But what was the response of the Jewish leaders? “So you have been led astray as well? Have any of the authorities believed in him? Any of the Pharisees? This rabble knows nothing of the Law – they are damned.” Instead of trying to show proof from authoritative sources especially the scriptures, they made sweeping statements to silence those who disagreed with them.
What can we learn from their reaction to the teaching of our Lord? Firstly, it brings to mind the importance of the Sensus Fidei in arriving at the truth. Sensus Fidei is the active capacity to grasp and adhere to the faith through the work of the Holy Spirit who “arouses and sustains in believers a supernatural appreciation of the faith especially in matters of faith and morals. Scriptures have always taught that believers receive an anointing that equips them to know and confess the truth of the Gospel (1Jn 2:20,27), and that the Church as a whole, taught by the Holy Spirit, cannot err in matters of belief (cf. Jn 16:13: 1Tim 3:15). (Confer Lumen Gentium, 12, Dei Verbum 8) However, one must be careful that the Sensus Fidei is not identified with public opinion, which is often the case today, especially in social and digital media where people are given fake news and distorted truths, stirring them to act against or for a particular opinion. To be clear what Sensu Fidei is and not just some popular opinion, the Church understands that this exercise of Sensus Fidei requires a living faith, a faith that is animated by charity; which corresponds to one’s holiness of life, one’s experiential knowledge of spiritual realities and receptivity to the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Secondly, it also warns those who hold power and office to be cautious in the way they exercise their authority. The Jewish leaders sought to use their institutional or religious power to suppress the alternative voice when under threat. Not only did they seek to silence the Police, but when Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees who went to see Jesus by night asked an objective question, they turned on him; “But surely the Law does not allow us to pass judgement on a man without giving him a hearing and discovering what he is about?’ To this they answered, ‘Are you a Galilean too? Go into the matter, and see for yourself: prophets do not come out of Galilee.'” They were not true to the observance of the Law that required investigation and hearing, nor did they realize that there were prophets that came from Galilee, such as Jonah and Nahum. Such snobbish appeal to their superior authority is still used by political and religious authorities to write off those whose views differ from theirs. We think that we have the right answers and we know everything, after all, we are the elite of society and members of the Church. The rest are all ignorant and stupid. This kind of attitude unfortunately exists among priests, religious and lay leaders as well. Their superior complex makes them disdain the views of others.
Today, we are invited to make our stand for Jesus. Is Jesus our Savior and Messiah? We must therefore study the scriptures and Catholic doctrines so that our faith is well founded and we are able to stand up to the challenges of the world to our faith. We cannot engage in real dialogue with humanists, secularists and people of other religions if we do not know our faith well enough to explain and defend it. But this does not mean that in our relationship with those who disagree with us, we have to be defensive and engage in apologetics and polemics. Rather, we must come with an open mind and heart seeking to find the truth and to be ready to be challenged by others so that we can understand our faith better. It is when we are challenged and asked by others about our beliefs that we are forced to search and clarify for ourselves what we truly believe and why we believe. We must not always view negatively those who oppose us, but see them as God’s instruments to strengthen and purify our faith in Him. Indeed, we can be confident that if we are sincere and humble, God will always be on our side.
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JER 11:18-20; PS 7:2-3,9-12; JN 7:40-52 ]
Why is there division in humanity? This is simply because there will always be an ongoing battle between light and darkness. Earlier on before going to Jerusalem for the Festival of Tabernacles, the Lord told His disciples, “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil.” (Jn 7:7) Indeed, since the beginning of creation, darkness has always sought to overcome the light. The world seeks to resolve this division by masking division in the name of relativism. In other words, both darkness and light must co-exist. Neither is good or bad, true or false. This is the most deceptive philosophy today because it pretends to be living in unity with all but in truth, we are sowing greater division as there is no real agreement among peoples except a superficial agreement to disagree.
Jesus brought about division by His coming to humanity. He wanted to bring peace but darkness cannot tolerate the light. Indeed, already at his birth, Simeon prophesied, “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.” (Lk 2:34f) Jesus Himself declared, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Mt 10:34) Like Jeremiah, Jesus too was opposed by His enemies. They too sought to destroy him as Jeremiah said of his enemies, “I for my part was like a trustful lamb being led to the slaughter-house, not knowing the schemes they were plotting against me, ‘Let us destroy the tree in its strength, let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name may be quickly forgotten!'”
Jesus’ teaching and works divided the people in the first place. “Several people who had been listening to Jesus said, ‘Surely he must be the prophet’, and some said, ‘He is the Christ’, but others said, ‘Would the Christ be from Galilee? Does not scripture say that the Christ must be descended from David and come from the town of Bethlehem?’ So the people could not agree about him.” Jesus had earlier on multiplied bread to feed the 5000 (Jn 6) and then called Himself to be the one who would give living water. “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” (Jn 7:37f) These two incidents stirred in the minds of the people that Jesus could be the promised Prophet that Moses told the people to listen to when he came. He would be the New Moses giving them bread from heaven and living water. Moses said, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.” (Dt 18:15,18) This prophet was thought to be Elijah coming again to prepare the way for the Messiah, which Jesus confirmed to be John the Baptist. (Mt 17:12f)
These were the ordinary and common people not schooled in scriptures and the law thoroughly. Indeed, this is true as well for many of our Catholics. Many of us have very shallow knowledge of the scriptures and the teachings of the Church. Our knowledge of our faith is very superficial. When it comes to professional knowledge of technology, work, business or science and medicine, we know much. But most Catholics just have bare minimum knowledge of what they believe and much lesser still of why they believe, until when they are challenged, as Jeremiah and our Lord were. Unfortunately, because our faith is not well grounded, many are easily misled or are confused by their opponents, especially from hostile secularism or even when challenged by those who profess different beliefs from ours. St Peter exhorts us, “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened. But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” (1 Pt 3:14f)
But most of all, the authorities were divided over Him. The police who were sent by the chief priests and Pharisees to arrest Him came back without apprehending Him because they were impressed by our Lord. They sensed that Jesus was speaking the truth for they said, “There has never been anybody who has spoken like him.” Jesus’ words must have stirred their conscience because they had no vested interest. They were there to arrest Him only because they were told to do so. But what was the response of the Jewish leaders? “So you have been led astray as well? Have any of the authorities believed in him? Any of the Pharisees? This rabble knows nothing of the Law – they are damned.” Instead of trying to show proof from authoritative sources especially the scriptures, they made sweeping statements to silence those who disagreed with them.
What can we learn from their reaction to the teaching of our Lord? Firstly, it brings to mind the importance of the Sensus Fidei in arriving at the truth. Sensus Fidei is the active capacity to grasp and adhere to the faith through the work of the Holy Spirit who “arouses and sustains in believers a supernatural appreciation of the faith especially in matters of faith and morals. Scriptures have always taught that believers receive an anointing that equips them to know and confess the truth of the Gospel (1Jn 2:20,27), and that the Church as a whole, taught by the Holy Spirit, cannot err in matters of belief (cf. Jn 16:13: 1Tim 3:15). (Confer Lumen Gentium, 12, Dei Verbum 8) However, one must be careful that the Sensus Fidei is not identified with public opinion, which is often the case today, especially in social and digital media where people are given fake news and distorted truths, stirring them to act against or for a particular opinion. To be clear what Sensu Fidei is and not just some popular opinion, the Church understands that this exercise of Sensus Fidei requires a living faith, a faith that is animated by charity; which corresponds to one’s holiness of life, one’s experiential knowledge of spiritual realities and receptivity to the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Secondly, it also warns those who hold power and office to be cautious in the way they exercise their authority. The Jewish leaders sought to use their institutional or religious power to suppress the alternative voice when under threat. Not only did they seek to silence the Police, but when Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees who went to see Jesus by night asked an objective question, they turned on him; “But surely the Law does not allow us to pass judgement on a man without giving him a hearing and discovering what he is about?’ To this they answered, ‘Are you a Galilean too? Go into the matter, and see for yourself: prophets do not come out of Galilee.'” They were not true to the observance of the Law that required investigation and hearing, nor did they realize that there were prophets that came from Galilee, such as Jonah and Nahum. Such snobbish appeal to their superior authority is still used by political and religious authorities to write off those whose views differ from theirs. We think that we have the right answers and we know everything, after all, we are the elite of society and members of the Church. The rest are all ignorant and stupid. This kind of attitude unfortunately exists among priests, religious and lay leaders as well. Their superior complex makes them disdain the views of others.
Today, we are invited to make our stand for Jesus. Is Jesus our Savior and Messiah? We must therefore study the scriptures and Catholic doctrines so that our faith is well founded and we are able to stand up to the challenges of the world to our faith. We cannot engage in real dialogue with humanists, secularists and people of other religions if we do not know our faith well enough to explain and defend it. But this does not mean that in our relationship with those who disagree with us, we have to be defensive and engage in apologetics and polemics. Rather, we must come with an open mind and heart seeking to find the truth and to be ready to be challenged by others so that we can understand our faith better. It is when we are challenged and asked by others about our beliefs that we are forced to search and clarify for ourselves what we truly believe and why we believe. We must not always view negatively those who oppose us, but see them as God’s instruments to strengthen and purify our faith in Him. Indeed, we can be confident that if we are sincere and humble, God will always be on our side.