Actions
Speak Louder Than Words
(A Reflection on Mt 11:2-11)
By
Fr. Francis Nguyen, O.P.
Pope Paul VI in an admonition to those
teaching catechism in all over the world reminds them of this reality that
people of today are willing to believe not teachers but witnesses, and if they
happen to believe teachers simply because those teachers are also witnesses.
The Vietnamese people say that “Trăm nghe không bằng một thấy”, meaning
“actions speak louder than words.”
In Our Lord Jesus’ time, people were waiting for
the Messiah, the Savior, Who would bring salvation to Israel. However, the salvation which they wished to
receive was not that promised by the Lord God through the prophets.
As Israel had for years been invaded and
ruled by the Romans, people longed for freedom from slavery to the Roman
Empire. In other words it was a
political salvation that they wanted. Our
Lord Jesus told them the truth that all forms of suffering and injustice were
consequences of sin. When man committed
a sin, he was separated from God’s love and care and became a slave in the
hands of the Evil One. Political and
economic liberation is really necessary for human persons to live with dignity
and rights. Human persons are, however,
not only political and economic beings, they are also and above all spiritual
and religious persons. Not only do
people need food, work, love, peace and happiness, they need being satisfied in
their hunger for God as well. Sacred
Scripture says “man does not live by
bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”[1] Freedom of religion is, therefore, essential
and vital to all people.
The message by Our Lord Jesus in this
Sunday’s Gospel is very clear: the healing of people from all forms of sickness
is the sign of the coming of God’s kingdom.
Physical freedom brought by the Messiah is the sign of spiritual freedom
granted by the Son of God. Without
freedom of religion political and economic freedom may end up in other forms of
slavery, much more evil and destructive. Being freed from slavery to political and economic powers is always a
burning desire of all peoples everywhere and every time. Being healed from suffering and sickness is
an unquenchable fire in the heart of all who have been victims of all forms of
evil. But as long as you do not give up
your sinful life, get rid of your hatred, pride, greed, you are still
imprisoned by the Evil One.
Only when you feel truly sorry for your
wrongdoing and determined to go back to God and from the bottom of your heart
say to Him: “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned against you Who so love me”,
can you deserve God’s mercy and forgiveness.
Once having been forgiven your sins, you are reconciled to God, and as a
result, you are definitely and absolutely freed from all forms of slavery. In short, only by denouncing your sinfulness
are you worthy of true and complete freedom.
It is obviously hard to fight for political
and economic freedom. Oftentimes in
order to obtain freedom people have to pay so high a price: the price of their
blood and their own lives.
In the fight for spiritual and religious
freedom, human persons have no power to achieve their goal. It was Our Lord Jesus Christ Who did
everything necessary for us to be saved.
He did this with so high a cost: the cost of His own Blood and Life on
the cross.
Our Lord Jesus Christ’s message of repentance
is, for the above mentioned reasons, very trustworthy and convincing because
not only did He announce the coming of God’s kingdom, urge people to repent of
their sins, He also performed signs to ensure them that what he said would
remain true for all ages. Finally, as
though He sealed His message of salvation with the seal of His Blood, He went
up to Jerusalem, there He suffered, died, was buried, and rose from the dead.
This was the reason why Our Lord Jesus Christ
advised the disciples of Saint John the Baptist to go home and tell all that
they not only heard but saw as well.
Words sometimes speak not loud enough.
Actions are much mightier to clear the way of any form of hindrance—doubt,
fear, for people to freely enter the kingdom of God.
