WE are familiar
with this group of leading Jews in the
times of Christ. They could not believe that Christ was
the promised
Messiah, and they did their best to discredit him, always
finding
fault in him, setting traps for him, until they managed,
with their
instigation, to put Christ to death.
They were
actually a very religious people, the holders of
religious tradition and of doctrinal and moral orthodoxy.
The problem
was that, perhaps without them fully realizing it, they
fell into a
kind of religiosity and orthodoxy that were self-made,
self-developed
and self-proclaimed.
They got so
imprisoned in their self-righteousness that
they could not recognize the Redeemer when he finally
presented
himself right in front of them. As such, their
religiosity and
orthodoxy were actually rooted on hollow ground. Thus,
there was
inconsistency in their lives. We are familiar with those
descriptions
Christ made of them:
- “Practice and obey whatever they
tell you, but do not follow
their example. For they do not practice what they teach.”
(Mt 23,3)
- “You let go of the commands of God
and are holding on to human
traditions.” (Mk 7,8)
And in Mt
23,13-29, we have a long list of “Woe to you,
scribes and Pharisees..” that Christ hurled on them,
accusing them
precisely of inconsistency and hypocrisy.
The Pharisees
of old have their modern version these days.
They are usually commentators on religious and Church
issues, whose
main business seems to be in questioning Church doctrine,
unearthing
Church scandals and exposing them to the whole world.
Of course, it’s
good that these issues are aired out not
only to inform the people about them but also and more
importantly, to
help find the proper answer and solutions for them. But
that does not
seem to be the case.
What is
unfortunate in this otherwise good modern
development is that many of these commentators
practically clothe
themselves with infallibility. When they give their
opinions, analyses
and judgments on these issues, they give the impression
that they know
everything and that they have the last word.
They treat
religious issues as if they are merely
political or social ones. Very sensitive spiritual and
moral cases,
confidential matters, deeply steeped in the world of
mysteries, are
recklessly dragged into the open, exposing them to all kinds
of
inappropriate reactions from the public. They like to
raise scandals
to further scandalize more people. And minor faults and
mistakes are
sensationalized.
Obviously, they
have some facts and data to back their
claims. We can also presume that their motives are good.
But we have
to ask if this way of treating and resolving religious
and Church
issues is the right one.
We need to find
a better way of addressing the challenge
of how to resolve our religious and Church issues. In the
gospel,
Christ talked about fraternal correction. “If your
brother sins, go
and show him his fault in private,” Christ said. “If he
listens to
you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not
listen to you,
take one or two more with you so that by the mouth of two
or three
witnesses every fact may be confirmed.
“If he refuses
to listen to them, tell it to the church.
And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him
be to you as a
Gentile and a tax collector.” (Mt 18,15-17)
Given the
current circumstances in the world, we obviously
have to update these words of Christ that lay the
foundation for the
practice of fraternal correction. But nowhere in these
words can be
found traces of lack of charity and due process.
The Church has
her Canon Law that provides ways of how to
resolve problems in the doctrinal, spiritual and
ecclesiastical
spheres. We need to follow the rule of law to insure that
justice is
pursued in the context of charity and mercy.
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