20250702 GRAVE RESPONSIBILITY OF PARENTS AND LEADERS
02 July 2025, Wednesday, 13th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Genesis 21:5,8-20 |
Hagar and Ishmael, expelled for Sarah's sake, saved by the Lord
Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham gave a great banquet on the day Isaac was weaned. Now Sarah watched the son that Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. ‘Drive away that slave-girl and her son,’ she said to Abraham; ‘this slave-girl’s son is not to share the inheritance with my son Isaac.’ This greatly distressed Abraham because of his son, but God said to him, ‘Do not distress yourself on account of the boy and your slave-girl. Grant Sarah all she asks of you, for it is through Isaac that your name will be carried on. But the slave-girl’s son I will also make into a nation, for he is your child too.’ Rising early next morning Abraham took some bread and a skin of water and, giving them to Hagar, he put the child on her shoulder and sent her away.
She wandered off into the wilderness of Beersheba. When the skin of water was finished she abandoned the child under a bush. Then she went and sat down at a distance, about a bowshot away, saying to herself, ‘I cannot see the child die.’ So she sat at a distance; and the child wailed and wept.
But God heard the boy wailing, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven. ‘What is wrong, Hagar?’ he asked. ‘Do not be afraid, for God has heard the boy’s cry where he lies. Come, pick up the boy and hold him safe, for I will make him into a great nation.’ Then God opened Hagar’s eyes and she saw a well, so she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
God was with the boy. He grew up and made his home in the wilderness, and he became a bowman.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 33(34):7-8,10-13 |
This poor man called; the Lord heard him.
This poor man called, the Lord heard him
and rescued him from all his distress.
The angel of the Lord is encamped
around those who revere him, to rescue them.
This poor man called; the Lord heard him.
Revere the Lord, you his saints.
They lack nothing, those who revere him.
Strong lions suffer want and go hungry
but those who seek the Lord lack no blessing.
This poor man called; the Lord heard him.
Come, children, and hear me
that I may teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is he who longs for life
and many days, to enjoy his prosperity?
This poor man called; the Lord heard him.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn14:6 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;
No one can come to the Father except through me.
Alleluia!
Or: | James1:18 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
By his own choice the Father made us his children
by the message of the truth,
so that we should be a sort of first-fruits
of all that he created.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 8:28-34 |
The Gadarene swine
When Jesus reached the country of the Gadarenes on the other side of the lake, two demoniacs came towards him out of the tombs – creatures so fierce that no one could pass that way. They stood there shouting, ‘What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before the time?’ Now some distance away there was a large herd of pigs feeding, and the devils pleaded with Jesus, ‘If you cast us out, send us into the herd of pigs.’ And he said to them, ‘Go then’, and they came out and made for the pigs; and at that the whole herd charged down the cliff into the lake and perished in the water. The swineherds ran off and made for the town, where they told the whole story, including what had happened to the demoniacs. At this the whole town set out to meet Jesus; and as soon as they saw him they implored him to leave the neighbourhood.
GRAVE RESPONSIBILITY OF PARENTS AND LEADERS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Gn 21:5.8-20; Ps 34:7-8,10-13; Mt 8:28-34]
How often have we created more problems for ourselves and our loved ones because of our lack of foresight and faith in God. Indeed, many of our sufferings stem from ignorance and sin, rooted in selfishness and fear. We not only cause suffering to ourselves but also to our loved ones and to those who have been good to us. This was the case with Abraham, who was meant to be the Patriarch of the family – called to protect and lead them in the way of truth and love – yet he initially failed in his role. If the world is so fragmented and society so dysfunctional today, it is often because parents lack the wisdom to raise their children well, or foster unity within their family. Widespread family division and constant squabbles, and the absence of peace and harmony between couples and among children are all signs of poor leadership at home.
Both Abram and Sarai were getting on in years, and due to their lack of faith and patience in waiting for God to unfold His plan, Abram gave in to Sarai’s simplistic solution to have their Egyptian slave-maid bear a child for him. (Gn 16:1-4) By taking a shortcut instead of trusting in God, and relying on their own ingenuity, Abram brought a host of problems upon himself, Sarai, Hagar and their descendants. This is what we read in today’s first reading.
Trouble started when Hagar conceived a child for Abram and grew arrogant towards Sarai. Sarai then complained to Abram, saying, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my slave-girl to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt.” (Gn 16:15) Notice how she blamed Abram for a decision she herself made – after all, it was Sarai who proposed that Abram take her maidservant. Anger, jealousy and resentment had taken root in her heart. This is why unity is difficult to maintain in a polygamous household: rivalry between wives and children is almost inevitable. We have seen this again and again in history. Marriage, by its nature, is exclusive, and love demands the total gift of oneself to the other. This is why the Church advocates monogamy, so that the stability of the family is protected, and peace and unity prevail. It is in man’s nature to feel insecure, and it is especially true that a woman desires the undivided love of her husband. Understandably, she becomes easily hurt and insecure when her husband’s affections are shared with another.
But of course, the mistake was not Abram’s and Sarai’s alone – it was also Hagar’s. As mentioned earlier, women can become envious of one another when they share the same husband. Hagar, who had lived her life as a slave, began to assert herself with pride and arrogance once she conceived Abram’s child, while Sarai remained barren. When given some power and authority, a person can become vicious and arrogant. If Hagar had humbly submitted to Sarai and remained humble, perhaps she would not have been driven out in the end. But she never learnt her lesson. The first time, she had to run away because Abram gave Sarai permission to treat her as she saw fit – which meant harshly. Matters became worse when Isaac was born.
Hagar also failed in her role as mother by not teaching Ishmael to behave humbly and with respect; instead, he learnt arrogance and ingratitude from his mother. “Sarah watched the son that Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. ‘Drive away that slave-girl and her son,’ she said to Abraham; ‘this slave-girl’s son is not to share the inheritance with my son Isaac.'” Ishmael was mocking Isaac, which made Sarah furious. Understandably, with the focus of the festivity on Isaac, Ishmael who was all the while the centre of attention, became insecure and jealous.
Consequently, the inevitable outcome was a split. This is often true in marriages today. Divorce has become so common because when both parties are deeply wounded and burdened with painful memories of past conflicts, reconciliation becomes extremely difficult. Even if they do reconcile, they may end up living separate lives, as love has turned cold and trust has been lost. Whilst the Church does not recognise divorce, it does permit separation when reconciliation is no longer possible, for the good of both parties and their children. It is not the ideal of course, but it is sometimes the most compassionate solution – to help the couple and their children to move on instead of fighting with each other day after day.
Yet in all these mistakes of ours, God is truly kind and merciful. He tries to salvage the situation and render justice to all parties. God is gracious and seeks to help us to adjust to life and use our mistakes as graces. So, the Lord said to Abraham, “Do not distress yourself on account of the boy and your slave-girl. Grant Sarah all she asks of you, for it is through Isaac that your name will be carried on. But the slave-girl’s son I will also make into a nation, for he is your child too.” Indeed, God’s hands were on Ishmael too, even though he was not the chosen one. “God heard the boy wailing, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven. ‘Do not be afraid, for God has heard the boy’s cry where he lies. Come, pick up the boy and hold him safe, for I will make him into a great nation.’ God was with the boy. He grew up and made his home in the wilderness, and he became a bowman.”
Abraham must have learnt the biggest lesson of his life for not trusting God to unfold His plans in His time. It must have been very distressing for Abraham to let Hagar and Ishmael go. But to allow them to stay would mean no peace at home. This is often the case when someone commits adultery. Many do not know the price of such a sin until they suffer its consequences. When adultery enters a marriage, all hell breaks loose. The relationship between spouses becomes extremely strained, with constant quarrels, accusations, suspicion and shouting. The whole family would be under tremendous strain. Innocent children, in particular, bear the brunt. Their studies may be affected, they may not want to stay at home, and in their search for escape or acceptance, they might fall into wrong company, experiment with drugs, or engage in reckless behaviour, jeopardising their future.
But God is always faithful to His promises. We must trust Him. When the time came, “The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised. Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him.” (Gn 21:1-3) The conception of Isaac and his birth was certainly a miracle of grace. With the birth of Isaac, Abraham knew for certain that God would be faithful to His every word. From that day onwards, Abraham believed in God totally. This is seen in the next chapter when Abraham believed that God would somehow provide even when he had to sacrifice his only son. He no longer doubted the omnipotence and faithfulness of God.
The power and mercy of God are once again manifested in the Gospel, as the Lord liberated the two demoniacs. Jesus had pity on these two possessed men. Despite the demons’ strength, they submitted to the authority of the Lord. It is significant that although the evil spirits recognized Jesus as the Son of God, they did not believe in Him. As a result, Jesus had to pass judgment on them by sending them to the pigs. While this might appear to be an act of mercy, it was in fact God’s judgment, as the entire herd was drowned. For the Jews, pigs were considered unclean animals, underscoring the severity of the judgement. Interestingly, even the swineherds, despite witnessing the Lord’s power, remained incredulous. Unlike Abraham, who submitted in faith to our Lord, the whole townspeople “implored him to leave the neighbourhood.” Faith, in the final analysis, is an act of the will and not of the mind. One may witness miracles and the power of God and still not believe. One may even know God and yet choose not to believe. As Hebrews tells us, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Heb 11:1)
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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