Sunday Reflection with Fr Terry Tastard - 4 September 2011

Tottenham north London - homes destroyed in recent riots - image ICN

In the aftermath of the recent urban riots there was an anguished debate in Britain, asking questions that we are nowhere near resolving. Much of the national self-questioning revolved around questions of values. What are our national values? How are these reflected in community life, in family life? Do we in fact have any values in common across our diverse nation?

These questions reflect a crisis in the West that has arisen out of a loss of faith. Not only faith in God, but also loss of faith in ourselves as having values, traditions, disciplines that are worth preserving and passing on to others. The loss of faith in ourselves is linked to loss of faith in God. The decline of faith in God means that there is less sense of an overarching goodness and graciousness which reaches into human life to encourage us and shape us, less sense of moral standards that all should observe.

Against this backdrop of British introversion and soul-searching today's readings give us food for thought. In Ezekiel (33.7-9) the prophet tells us that God expects his people to speak up where they see wrongdoing. In fact, the prophet goes further. He tells us that if we are silent in the face of wrong then we share responsibility for it. Challenging words. Difficult words also for us who live in a climate when anybody who believes in a right way of living is at risk of being condemned as a bigot or criticized as repressive.

Ezekiel leaves us with a challenge - that we should condemn bad behaviour and reprove those responsible. We hear this and still we doubt its wisdom for us today. We are afraid of being judgemental, hypocritical even. Who are we to speak to others? The answer is found in our second reading and the gospel.

In Romans 13-8-10 Paul reiterates the message of the commandments: there are things that we must not do. They are quite simply and unequivocally wrong. But he puts these negatives ('What we must not do') in the context of the positive ('What we must do') that is to say, in the context of the commandment to love. Love of neighbour is the context in which we have the courage to set limits for ourselves and for others. The more we speak out of love the less we speak out of rancour. The more we act out of love the less we act out of judgementalism.

In the gospel (Matthew 18.15-20) Jesus gives us practical advice. Have the courage to speak directly to someone with whom you are in profound disagreement. This rules out sniping behind their back; it also means that we should speak directly rather than simmer with resentment. If this still does not work, ask the help of those who command respect. If they speak in support of you then it is more likely that what you are trying to do does not arise out of your own judgement but reflects the discernment of the wider community. Which brings us back to questions of shared values. This makes us realize that such values are not divisive, repressive things, but rather they enable a richer, sounder, more fruitful community life lived in peace and reconciliation.


Fr Terry is Parish Priest at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Brook Green, west London. His latest book: Ronald Knox and English Catholicism is published by Gracewing at £12.99 and is available on Amazon, on ICN's front page. To read Sr Gemma Simmonds' review on ICN see: www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=16114