[stephenkhoo]

ipture Reflections
Thursday, 16 February, 2012, 6th Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle 2
OVERCOMING FAVORITISM BY CONTEMPLATING ON THE FACE OF THE SUFFERING CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: JAS 2:1-9; MK 8:27-33

Some time ago, there was a program called “face to face”, which is actually a public forum for open discussion on contemporary issues. In one of the episodes, the topic was, “Do parents have favorites?” The conclusion of the whole discussion was that it is quite normal for anyone to have favorites. It is only being human. We have our preferences, likes and dislikes. Of course, expressing it openly, especially to our loved ones or our subordinates, is a quite different thing. Not only parents, but all of us, according to our circumstances, are always tempted to practise favoritism.

But is favoritism all that wrong? Even the Church apparently advocates favouritism, since we always speak of the preferential option for the poor, the marginalized and the weak. Isn’t this favoritism of sorts? Nay. The special attention given to the poor cannot be seen as discrimination since we are simply righting what is imbalanced. Hence, our compassion for the poor must not be mistaken as favouritism when it is based on justice and fair play. Compassion does not exclude justice but precludes it.

Partiality is seen as such only when it springs from selfishness or self-love. On the surface we appear to love those whom we favor, but it is really the love of self. St James illustrates this reality with a concrete example, namely, making the distinction between the poor who are shabbily dressed and the rich that are well dressed and according them different treatment. Such discrimination based on one’s status is therefore against the gospel.

Indeed, we must ask why we pay more attention to the rich instead of the poor man and give more respect to the educated man than one who is illiterate. Isn’t it true if we search our motives that it is because there is something to gain from that kind of relationship? Of course, favoritism is not always on account of riches but it could be one’s attraction to anything or someone that gives us a nice feeling or make us happy. Whatever it is, we are the ultimate beneficiaries. By so doing, St James asked, “have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil designs?”

This was true also for Peter. Although he got the answer right with regard to the person of Jesus, he got the meaning wrong. When Jesus spoke of His imminent passion and death, he could not accept the suffering Christ. Instead, he took Jesus aside and “began to rebuke him.” Apparently he wanted to protect Jesus because he loved Him, but the underlying motive is fear because he had vested interests. The only Christ that he wanted to follow was the triumphant Christ, not a suffering or crucified Christ. He was repugnant to such a possibility.

Hence the response of Jesus was swift and incisive. “At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.’” Indeed, favouritism is the result of our selfish thinking. It comes from a broken and selfish man, not from God.

Because of selfishness, favoritism leads to blindness. This was the theme of the gospel of the last few days taken from Mark 8 when the evangelist portrayed the blindness of the Pharisees who were unable to see the signs of Jesus; the deaf and dumb man who could not hear; the disciples who, after the miracle of the loaves, were still unable to see the signs, then the cure of the blind man leading to Peter’s profession of faith. The gradual cure of the blind man is a portrayal of how the disciples grew in understanding and acceptance of the suffering Messiah.

Consequently, if we are to overcome our tendency to favoritism, then we must contemplate on the suffering Christ. The suffering Christ reveals to us the face of God. In Peter, the Church expresses her faith in Christ. “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said to Him in reply, “You are the Christ.” But what is the full import of confessing in Jesus as the Suffering Christ.

Firstly, faith in the suffering Christ means to recognize Jesus as the Son of Man, therefore identified with every man in His suffering, humiliation and rejection. To see the face of the Suffering Christ is to see the face of Christ in the poor, those who are rejected, discriminated and ill-treated like Jesus who suffered in the hands of His enemies. By contemplating on the suffering Christ, we learn how to identify ourselves with the poor.

Secondly, faith in the Suffering Christ means that we are called to understand the heart of the Father in Jesus. God has this special love for the poor, as the psalmist tells us in the responsorial psalm. “When the poor one called out, the Lord heard, and from all his distress he saved him. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.” In truth the poor and the common people have much to teach us about faith, love and suffering, especially the sick. St James asked, “Did not God choose those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom that he promised to those who love him?” Today we need to pray for the gift of spiritual sight to see the role of the poor in our lives as gifts of God to us. If there are poor among us, whether spiritually, emotionally or physically poor, they are invites to us to share our love with them. Through them, we learn compassion and empathy.

Thirdly, faith in the Suffering Christ means to know that Jesus loves us unconditionally. As mentioned earlier, favouritism springs from our insecurity and lack of love for self and hence the need for others to fulfill us. Only the realization of God’s unconditional love for us can heal our blindness and insecurity. Hence, St James remarked, “However, if you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” Loving oneself authentically is the presupposition to an authentic love for others without discriminating them since the love flows out from within us and not drawn out from us.

Fourthly, faith in the suffering Christ means to walk the way of Jesus who came to die not just for His friends but His enemies as well. Jesus’ death on the cross manifests His love for us. We too are called to love without self-interest, even when we face rejection and death. Hence, tomorrow, the gospel text speaks on the need of the disciples of Jesus to carry the cross. True love always entails the cross because it is selfless. Indeed, we must search our motives, whether our love and service and treatment of others is based on disinterested or self-centered love. True love is to be like Jesus to accept the cross.

Faith in the suffering Christ means to see life and people through the eyes and heart of God. When we walk the way of Jesus, we will come to realize that favouritism imprisons us and make us slaves to them. In our preferential treatment of the rich and powerful, quite often they control our lives. St James asked, “Are not the rich oppressing you? And do they themselves not haul you off to court? Is it not they who blaspheme the noble name that was invoked over you?” Hence, to be free from the temptation to favoritism is to be free for love and free in love. This is the kind of freedom that enables us to live the transcendent life of God.