History shows us how many Christians in the past, especially those in power, have justified their cruel actions by claiming they were doing God’s will. You can see and hear me give this Homily on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufCg9iIUwi0
Here in the UK, we only have to think of those killed brutally during the Reformation period, on either side, in the conflict between Catholics and Protestants; or further back in history of those who called themselves “Crusaders” and went out to butcher people in the Middle East: yes, we only have to think of such horror stories in order to realise how often the claim to be doing something in the name of God has been a false one. But - and it is quite a big but – Christians who go to the other extreme and say that hurting people in any way can never be the will of God are, in my opinion, equally misguided.
In today’s 2nd Reading (Romans 13:8-10) St Paul seems to suggest that I have got this wrong, for he writes “Love is the one thing that can never hurt your neighbour.” Shocked by this, and in a minute I will explain why, I decided to look up St Paul’s original words in Greek, and there discovered that what he wrote is more accurately translated as “Love does no wrong to a neighbour.” Now that’s very different from not ever hurting someone - a parent or nurse would be stupid if they told a child before they have an injection that “This won’t hurt.” – better to be truthful and say it will only hurt a little. A Surgeon pulling a broken leg back into alignment has to admit that “This may hurt.” – I watched it happen on TV the other night! There are also all sorts of other situations where we may not hurt someone physically for their own good, but we might have to say things that might hurt them. Notice Ezekiel is told in our 1st Reading (Ezek 33:7-9) that if he fails to speak out against things that are wrong, and maybe hurt someone in the process, then he would be failing God. Jesus too in our Gospel (Matt 18:15-20) tells us that we must speak out against things that are wrong, and he certainly didn’t pull his punches when dealing with the hypocrites of his day, did he? So we all know that these, and all sorts of other situations, may require us to hurt other people, but only, of course, if we are sure it is God’s will.
So we’re back where we started, trying to work out how we can know what God’s will is; and of course there is no easy answer. Yes, there are some things that are so good that they must be God’s will, and there are some things that are so bad that they are surely not God’s will. The problem lies with everything in between! Remember that even Jesus as he prays in Gethsemane and struggles with his fear of pain and death says “Not my will, but thine be done.” And he knows how often we need to remind ourselves to do this, because he leaves with us a prayer that has at its heart “Father … Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” How easily we say that prayer without remembering the struggle that is implied in those few words?
Today’s Gospel gives an example of the difficult case of how to deal with someone who has done something wrong. Jesus tells us that, in a situation like this, unless we can get that person to admit their wrong privately, judgement must be given by the community not by any one individual; but the problem with this example is that when it was written, each church was a small community of people who could act together whereas the Church today is not like that. But the principle remains that when we are struggling with a knotty problem, about whether something we are thinking of doing is God’s will or not, then sharing the problem with others we trust is a very good idea. It is so easy for us as individuals to get things out of proportion and to think our will is what God wants. Thus Jesus speaks of the “Two or three” gathered in his name being a place where God’s will may more easily be found.
Nonetheless, each of us has to face quite a few situations where we have to decide fast and alone what is the best thing to do, or to advise others to do. There are so many situations where there really isn’t time to consult others that we trust, so what do we do then? I think there are two answers here.
The first answer is to consult and to know the teaching of the Church as it has been developed down through the ages basedon the Bible. We find this most clearly laid out for us in the Catechism of the Catholic Church promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 1992. The online version www.scborromeo2.org/catechism-of-the-catholic-church is good because you can easily search for a particular topic. It might surprise you! For example, it teaches that executing people, the death penalty, is wrong, but admits that the Church did not always teach this. The development of proper prisons, and the realisation that most murderers are not entirely evil and that killing them does not give them a chance to repent, has led the Church to a different and more caring conclusion. (Para 2267)
The second answer is prayer informed by this Teaching. The Church wants all of us to have what is called a “well-formed conscience.” And why does the Church want this? Because, the Catechism says, “The education of conscience is indispensable for human beings who are subjected to negative influences and tempted by sin to prefer their own judgment and to reject authoritative teachings.” (Para 1783) The Catechism goes on to say that we get this first by the way we are taught as children. It says that “Prudent education teaches virtue; it prevents or cures fear, selfishness and pride, resentment arising from guilt, and feelings of complacency, born of human weakness and faults” (Para 1784) It then goes on to say “In the formation of conscience the Word of God is the light for our path, we must assimilate it in faith and prayer and put it into practice. We must also examine our conscience before the Lord's Cross. We are assisted by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, aided by the witness or advice of others, and guided by the authoritative teaching of the Church.” (Para 1785). Knowing God’s will is not simple, but whoever thought it would be?
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