Monthly Archives: July 2014

Some people are very good at finding fault with others. Even the slightest mistake could be used as ammunition for such people to belittle or accuse another. Some people find fault because they think they themselves are faultless and blameless, and they think that that gives them the right to teach others to be like them. Some people find fault because they are trying to hide something about themselves, and by finding fault with others, they hope that their own shortcomings would not be noticed. Have you been finding fault with others in one way or another?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus admonishes us: “Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, “Brother, let me take out the splinter that is in your eye,” when you cannot see the plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter that is in your brother’s eye.” When it seems so easy for us to find fault with others, are we being proud, conceited, arrogant or aloof towards others? Let us be reminded that we are not perfect and look honestly at ourselves, since there may be many areas of improvement which we could discover. Are we willing to change our attitude and behaviour, while admitting and addressing our failures and shortcomings?

Sometimes people come up to me and ask: “Is it ok to eat food offered to ancestors?” Some, especially if they come from a Taoist background may also ask: “What about food offered to a deity or an idol? Is it ok to eat such food?” St Paul in today’s reading reminds us: “we know that idols do not really exist in the world and that there is no god but the One. And even if there were things called gods, either in the sky or on earth – where there certainly seem to be ‘gods’ and ‘lords’ in plenty – still for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things come and for whom we exist; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things come and through whom we exist.” What this basically means is for us Christians, we believe that there is no other gods but one God the Father and one Lord Jesus Christ.

So, since Paul states that idols do not really exist in the world and there is one God, is it then ok to eat food offered to these idols? Here again Paul gives the answer: “Some people, however, do not have this knowledge. There are some who have been so long used to idols that they eat this food as though it really had been sacrificed to the idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled by it. In this way your knowledge could become the ruin of someone weak, of a brother for whom Christ died. By sinning in this way against your brothers, and injuring their weak consciences, it would be Christ against whom you sinned. That is why, since food can be the occasion of my brother’s downfall, I shall never eat meat again in case I am the cause of a brother’s downfall.” We know that the food being offered to an idol is not food being offered to a god, since we believe that there is no other god but one God. However, there are some who do not grasp this understanding or who are weak in their faith and they may be present with us. If we eat such food, we may be causing such persons who are weak in their faith to possibly become weaker or lose their faith altogether. So, given the circumstances, we should be mindful of who is with us when such food is served. Do we want to be the cause of a brother’s downfall?

At some point in our life, we may have heard of the words: “don’t go looking for trouble.” In Malay, the approximate translation is “jangan cari pasal.” What these words basically mean is we should not be reckless or trying to be a bravado. Instead, whatever we do and whatever state of life we may be in or we may be thinking of getting into, we should consider the consequences and weigh the costs. Some questions which may come to mind are: “Is this worthwhile?” “Do I want to be in this situation for the long term?” “Is this what I really want in life?”

In today’s reading, St. Paul advises us: “About remaining celibate, I have no directions from the Lord but give my own opinion as one who, by the Lord’s mercy, has stayed faithful. Well then, I believe that in these present times of stress this is right: that it is good for a man to stay as he is. If you are tied to a wife, do not look for freedom; if you are free of a wife, then do not look for one. But if you marry, it is no sin, and it is not a sin for a young girl to get married. They will have their troubles, though, in their married life, and I should like to spare you that.” What Paul is trying to tell us is basically this: be faithful, contend, responsible, dedicated, and committed to the way of life you are presently in or chosen and soon to be in. Don’t go “looking for trouble” by trying to run away or shirk from your duties and responsibilities in whatever way of life you have chosen. In today’s world where some people prefer to live in a “touch and go” or “use and throw” mentality, we should be witnesses by showing others that it is possible to stay in a particular state of life, whatever that may be.

As Christians, we sometimes come into conflict with a fellow brother or sister. Sometimes the conflict could be a small matter. Other times, it could be a serious matter. But whatever the matter may be, we should follow Jesus’ advice as mentioned in last Sunday’s Gospel, that our dealing with someone who has done something wrong should be done gradually. At first, alone with him or her, then get two or three witnesses, then get the community involved. This means that, as Christians, we should settle issues among ourselves, within our community.

However, some of us are still stubborn and insisting that we bring such matters, no matter how trivial it may be, to court, such as the local magistrate, or even high court. This is why St. Paul in today’s reading admonishes us: “How dare one of your members take up a complaint against another in the law courts of the unjust instead of before the saints? As you know, it is the saints who are to ‘judge the world’; and if the world is to be judged by you, how can you be unfit to judge trifling cases? Since we are also to judge angels, it follows that we can judge matters of everyday life; but when you have had cases of that kind, the people you appointed to try them were not even respected in the Church. You should be ashamed: is there really not one reliable man among you to settle differences between brothers and so one brother brings a court case against another in front of unbelievers?”

The church has got a tribunal which has priests and lay people as judges and lawyers. People sometimes think that the tribunal is only for marriage cases, but it is much more than that. Cases between Catholics concerning an issue could also be heard. Why do we stubbornly and vehemently insist in getting unbelievers to judge our cases, as St. Paul questions us, when we have a tribunal which could do the same in a Christian way?