Today, our third and last reading from the Letter to Titus (Titus 3:1‑7) consists of some general instruction for church members. The living of a full Christian life touches not only on our direct relations with God but also permeates even the smallest actions of our day and the role we play in the everyday world. It is not right for us to make a division between what is ‘religious’ and what is ‘secular’ in our lives. Everything around us is touched by God.
Today’s Letter urges the Christian community to obey government officials and representatives. As citizens of heaven, some of the early Christians had problems about this, and it seems to be reflected in the scene where Jesus is asked whether it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not. The answer is ‘Yes’ to both: give to God what belongs to God and to Caesar what belongs to Caesar (the ruling authorities). Although believers are citizens of heaven, they should also submit themselves to the moral and legitimate demands of an earthly government and co-operate actively in promoting the well-being of the community.
Everything belongs to God and that is the bottom line. We love and serve God when we work with conscientious people in promoting the overall well-being of the community, including the responsible paying of taxes. In fact, we have a Christian duty to do so. For Christians to abdicate their responsibilities to the wider community and lock themselves into an isolated ghetto would not be consistent with the love we are asked to have for all.
At the same time, we need to adopt what Cardinal Jaime Sin of Manila once described as “critical cooperation” with any government or its officials. All forms of injustice and corrupt use of power must be resisted and denounced. Obedience here would be tantamount to cooperation. As has been said, for evil to prevail all that is needed is that good people remain silent.
Some of the other pieces of advice Paul gives Titus are fairly general:
- to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,
- to speak evil of no one: (even if true),
- to avoid quarreling,
- to be gentle,
- to show every courtesy to everyone.
This is “love your neighbor” being carried out in practice and the advice is as relevant as it ever was. Sometimes we are not very different from non-Christians in this area.
The Christians are reminded that there was a time, before they became Christian, when their own behavior left much to be desired, when they shared many of the vices of their fellow-Cretans: “…we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another.”
Paul tells us to look into our own lives and see if any of these things are in ourselves:
- Ignorance in the content and meaning of our Christian faith: How many Christians, especially Catholics, have very little familiarity with the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments? How many could, if asked by a non-Christian, give a coherent and persuasive account of what Christianity really is?
- Disobedience, in the sense of lacking in real respect for authority, both in civil and church society: Obedience does not mean subservience; it means working together with civil and religious leaders for the well-being of all. As we mentioned, working together may mean at times challenging and calling in question those in authority.
- Slaves to various passions and pleasures: We live today in a very materialist, consumerist and hedonistic society. It has become fashionable to live in this way. But, as we see again and again, pleasure is not a real source of happiness; it is often quite the contrary. As Christians we need to be able to show a viable alternative where happiness is to be found in other ways of living.
- Hating and being hateful: Many people’s lives that are consumed by hatred, resentment, anger and even violence towards others. Such people are not attractive and can only really find company in others equally full of hate and rancor. At the bottom of such feelings there is fear. In the New Testament, the opposite of love is not hatred, it is fear. True love casts out fear; love and fear are incompatible states.
Let us then try to be more loving people, allowing God’s love to work in us and through us so that the deep-down fear gradually seeps away.
In the second half of the reading, we are reminded that all that God has done for us in Jesus Christ was in no way a reward for our faithfulness to him. We have been saved and liberated for no other reason than the deep compassion that God had for us when we were still immersed in our sin. Our liberation came, rather: “…when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared…he saved us…not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy…” We were washed clean by the waters of Baptism and made a new person in the power of God’s Spirit working in and through us: “This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
We have been made right with God by a purely gratuitous display of his love. We have now become the Father’s heirs, sharing with Jesus, our Brother and Lord, life without end. To remain in that state, it is up to us to remain totally open to God’s love and allow him to transform us to become daily more like him in all our words, actions and relationships.
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!