[stephenkhoo]

Tuesday, 11September, 2012, 23rd Week, Ordinary Time
SUBORDINATING OUR RIGHTS TO THE CAUSE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1 COR 6:1-11; LK 6:12-19

We cannot but feel consoled and enlightened by today’s scripture readings. We are consoled because we know that we are not alone in facing problems, dissensions, disagreements and quarrels in community living. Already during the time of St Paul, there were Christian communities like those in Corinth, struggling to remain united and faithful to the gospel life. Hence, we should not get discouraged when we find that members in our communities have differences with each other. We are also enlightened because we are given a proper perspective of looking at our community problems so that we need not allow such difficulties to overwhelm us and make us lose sight of our calling. St Paul in his profound analysis gives us the fundamental principle to guide us in the attitude we should adopt, whist Jesus shows us the pre-condition of how this fundamental principle can be followed.

What then is this fundamental principle, that horizon of understanding, we should have with regard to managing differences in community living? For St Paul, his primary focus and framework is that we as Christians are called as Church to be the sign of salvation for all. In the words of Vatican II, we are called to be the budding of the Kingdom of God and the Sacrament of unity and love. As Church, we are to be the test case for all to see so that non-believers would be attracted to the Kingdom. Hence, we must do everything to ensure that we are not counter-witnesses to that ideal Kingdom of God where God and love reign and where the Risen Lord is seen to be triumphant over sin and death. Everything that we do must be subordinated to this objective of making the Church a sign of the Kingdom.

However, we can appropriate this principle only if we are convinced and fired up with this call to share the mission of Jesus in establishing the Kingdom of God. The Gospel reminds us that Jesus has chosen us not only to be His disciples but His apostles. The meaning of apostle means primarily to be sent. So we are sent by the Father to be the ambassadors of Christ, the Good News in person. It is important to note that the emphasis of being an apostle lies in ‘being sent’ and being a representative. Only secondarily, is an apostle to be seen as a messenger to others. Hence, in order that the apostle be a real sign of Christ’s presence, his relationship with Christ is vital. Once these criteria are clear in our mind, we can now consider the implications whenever we encounter some disagreements in the community.

For St Paulthe first implication is that we should never wash dirty linen in public. By so doing, we will cause scandal to others and therefore make our witnessing less credible. By speaking to others outside the community about our problems, unless they are people of authority and therefore can act on their behalf, we will do more harm to the Christian community, as people could lose their faith on account of us. Whilst we might be able to win our cause and interests, the Church suffers both from within and without. So it is important that we keep community problems within the community and not broadcast it to others. In this way, we give deference to the interests of the Church before our personal interests and rights. Alas, there is a tendency for disgruntled parishioners to take their case to the world via facebook and mass media, causing those who do not know the other side of the story to be prejudiced against those accused.

Secondly, for St Paul, it would be a contradiction to bring a civil suit against our brother who has wronged us. This is because as Church, we are supposedly the perfect community of saints on earth. By referring our quarrels to someone who is not a Christian, it implies that a non-believer is the standard of truth. This would mean that the Church is no longer a sign of justice, truth and love. On the contrary because the Church is the budding of the Kingdom, then necessarily, we, as the saints of God, are to “judge the world” by our very lifestyles, not just on the ethical level of human justice. Indeed, Jesus did declare that those who reject Him have already judged themselves. Consequently, the Church is to be that light, exemplar and the standard by which all other peoples are to judge themselves. By submitting ourselves to the civil tribunal, we are giving the impression that people of the world know the truth better than us. This obviously is not the case, as justice in the eyes of God is always tampered by mercy and compassion. Unlike the justice of God, which is that of love, the justice of the world, which is a human and legal justice, seeks revenge and restitution. It is based on the principle of an eye for an eye. Surely, we cannot lower the standards of the gospel to that of the world!

Thirdly, St Paul tells us that if we really wish to seek justice, then we should seek someone from within our community who is filled with the Spirit of Christ to mediate for us. Someone who is filled with the wisdom and love of God surely can do a better job than a non-believer, since it would be done in the light of the gospel and in a Christian Spirit. For this reason, he reprimanded the Corinthians when he said, “You should be ashamed: is there really not one reliable man among you to settle differences between brothers…?”

Fourthly, even if we fail to get justice done for ourselves, St Paulsays that to sue a brother is in itself against the spirit of the gospel. If we resort to litigation against our brother, we are no better than the one who has wronged us. By so doing we are hurting our brother and the whole Christian community. St Paul, echoing the gospel spirituality, says that it is better to be wronged and be cheated than to seek redress at the expense of the good reputation of the Church. After all, Jesus, in the Beatitudes, says, “Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of Man” for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Yes, in the same vein, Jesus also taught that we must turn the left cheek to those who slap us on the right. Indeed, Jesus in His own life was crucified shamelessly on the cross, not because He had done wrong but because He did what was right. In other words, we must suffer for the good of the Kingdom. It is nobler to suffer for doing what is right than for doing what is wrong. In fact, this is the hallmark of a true Christian. There is no real honor to suffer for things we have done wrong because all have to suffer anyway.

Fifthly, St Paul urges us not to think that we are losers simply because we suffer even when we are in the right. On the contrary, by taking legal action, we show ourselves to be losers since it shows that we do not have the spirit of forgiveness and mercy. Like our brother who has wronged us, we would have put ourselves out of the Kingdom. At any rate, St Paul said, “people who do wrong will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Hence, we must allow God to see to justice being done instead of taking it into our own hands.

Of course, the guidelines above might seem impossible to follow. We cannot but feel hurt and the need to seek redress in situations when we have been wronged. So if we are to put the Church above our own interests, then we must depend on grace which comes through prayer. Indeed, this was what Jesus did. We are told that He prayed the whole night, discerning with His Father as to whom He should choose for His apostles. Prayer is the means to help us to cultivate faith and trust in God’s providence and mercy. Prayer empowers us to live amiably with each other, to agree to disagree.

It is important to note that after spending time in prayer the whole night, when the time of selection came, He chose a motley group of apostles, people who came from different backgrounds. He could have chosen a group that shared a common vision and interests. But He did not. Instead, He chose contrasting personalities, for example, Simon the Zealot, a nationalist who could not tolerate the Romans and Matthew the tax collector who worked for the Romans. He knew that so long as they belonged to Him and centered their lives in Him, in spite of their differences, they would be able to work together as a team.

Indeed, the real miracle and power of the gospel is revealed not because we Christians are agreeable in every way but that in spite of our disagreements, we continue to be able to work together because we love the Lord. Out of love for the Lord, we are willing to give in to each other for the greater glory of God and for the good of His Church so as to preserve her as a sign of unity for humankind. Indeed, it is said of Chesterton in his relationship with his brother Cecil, “They always argued but never quarreled.” This too should be our relationship with each other. We can disagree but let not our different views of life lead to personal animosity.