20250709 RELYING ON GOD’S GRACE TO FULFIL OUR TASKS
09 July 2025, Wednesday, 14th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Genesis 41:55-57,42:5-7,17-24 |
Joseph's brothers in his power
When the whole country of Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread. But Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, ‘Go to Joseph and do what he tells you.’ There was famine all over the world. Then Joseph opened all the granaries and sold grain to the Egyptians. The famine grew worse in the land of Egypt. People came to Egypt from all over the world to buy grain from Joseph, for the famine had grown severe throughout the world.
Israel’s sons with others making the same journey went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan. It was Joseph, as the man in authority over the country, who sold the grain to all comers. So Joseph’s brothers went and bowed down before him, their faces touching the ground. When Joseph saw his brothers he recognised them. But he did not make himself known to them, and he spoke harshly to them. Then he kept them all in custody for three days.
On the third day Joseph said to them, ‘Do this and you shall keep your lives, for I am a man who fears God. If you are honest men let one of your brothers be kept in the place of your detention; as for you, go and take grain to relieve the famine of your families. You shall bring me your youngest brother; this way your words will be proved true, and you will not have to die!’ This they did. They said to one another, ‘Truly we are being called to account for our brother. We saw his misery of soul when he begged our mercy, but we did not listen to him and now this misery has come home to us.’ Reuben answered them, ‘Did I not tell you not to wrong the boy? But you did not listen, and now we are brought to account for his blood.’ They did not know that Joseph understood, because there was an interpreter between them. He left them and wept.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 32(33):2-3,10-11,18-19 |
May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
Give thanks to the Lord upon the harp,
with a ten-stringed lute sing him songs.
O sing him a song that is new,
play loudly, with all your skill.
May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
He frustrates the designs of the nations,
he defeats the plans of the peoples.
His own designs shall stand for ever,
the plans of his heart from age to age.
May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
The Lord looks on those who revere him,
on those who hope in his love,
to rescue their souls from death,
to keep them alive in famine.
May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
Gospel Acclamation | 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!
Or: | Mk1:15 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The kingdom of God is close at hand:
repent and believe the Good News.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 10:1-7 |
'Go to the lost sheep of the House of Israel'
Jesus summoned his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to cast them out and to cure all kinds of diseases and sickness.
These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, the one who was to betray him. These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows:
‘Do not turn your steps to pagan territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town; go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.’
RELYING ON GOD’S GRACE TO FULFIL OUR TASKS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Gn 41:55-57; 42:5-7, 17-24; Ps 33:2-3,10-11,18-19; Mt 10:1-7]
God has called each of us in our own way to fulfil His plan in salvation history. This was true of Joseph, whom God had anointed to save his father and brothers from famine. Through him, the family grew from strength to strength in Egypt over four hundred years, until they were ready to move out and form a nation of their own. However, this plan was unfolded through many twists and turns. Joseph had to endure the jealousy of his brothers, who plotted to kill him; he was sold into slavery and later falsely accused of having an affair with his master’s wife. When we consider how Joseph eventually rose to become the second-highest political figure in Egypt – despite being a foreigner – it is unimaginable.
Despite all of Joseph’s weaknesses – his pride, his boastfulness in God’s choice of him as the leader of the family, and his vindictiveness in seeking revenge on his brothers for betraying him and nearly getting him killed – he was faithful to God and His plan for him. Joseph never gave up; he persevered through all the trials and challenges of life. Even when everything seemed to be against him and he lost almost everything, he never lost hope. Truly, if we were in his place – having been rejected and nearly killed by our own siblings – how many of us would be willing to forgive them, or even find the will to go on, especially after being sold into slavery? In those days, a slave had no freedom and no identity of his own. He belonged entirely to his master, to be disposed at his whim and fancy. Yet Joseph persevered.
However, we know that this was only possible because God’s grace was with him even in his mistakes. God was faithful to Joseph and blessed him with wisdom, the gift of prophecy, leadership skills, foresight, and discernment. The Lord gave him opportunities, which he made good use of – such as when he used his gift of interpretation of dreams in prison to help the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. Later, when the chief cupbearer was restored to his position, he introduced Joseph to Pharaoh to interpret his dreams. As a result, Joseph gained Pharaoh’s confidence and gradually rose in rank and power within the kingdom. Such is the grace of God – His fidelity to us even when, in our human weakness, we are not always faithful to Him. But God reads our hearts and recognizes our humanity and frailty. All He asks of us is our desire to serve Him. God always qualifies those whom He has chosen. He does not expect them to be perfect, but to be faithful according to the grace given to them. He works through our strengths and weaknesses, and ultimately, it is God who will accomplishes His plans in us.
This too was the case for the selection of the Twelve apostles. “Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, with power to cast them out and to cure all kinds of diseases and sickness.” God called them and shared with them His authority and power over the evil spirits and illness. Those He chose were ordinary people, not individuals of status or wealth – except perhaps Matthew. The rest were fishermen, and some were revolutionaries. They represented a wide spectrum of personalities and characters, and certainly did not share the same views on life, on what was to be done for Israel, or on the meaning of service. They were not living like “brothers”, for among them we often see bickering about who was the greatest. Surely, they must have felt uneasy with each other, coming as they did from different backgrounds. Who, for example, would want to have anything to do with a former tax-collector? And then, of course, there was Judas Iscariot, who, as the evangelist noted, was “the one who was to betray him.” Yet despite their shortcomings, Jesus chose them to be His apostles. They were not worthy, but Jesus counted them worthy, knowing they could be used for greater things once the Holy Spirit came upon them.
The saving grace, however, was that despite their differences, they all had one thing in common: they loved the Lord. They came together not because they liked each other, but because they believed in the Lord. They enjoyed listening to Him, learning from His teachings, and being part of His mission. They saw how He treated people – with love and compassion – and were deeply moved. Indeed, they were so impressed by the Lord that, as we read at the Last Supper, all of them were ready to lay down their lives for Him. It was this love for the Lord that bound them together in a common mission.
We too, who have been chosen by the Lord in our own ways – whether as bishops, priests, religious or lay – to be co-responsible in the Church’s mission, must also have this same love for the Lord. Without intimacy with the Lord and a deep love for Him, we will not be able to work together or collaborate together for the good of the Church and the glory of Christ. The deeper our love for Him, the deeper is our love for the Church of Christ. For the sake of Christ, we will be willing to do anything and everything for the Church – because it is Christ’s Church. He is the head, and we are His members. This is why the Lord told His disciples, “Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” (Jn 15:4f) Union with our Lord is the key to communion in mission and mission in communion.
At the same time, we must be conscious of our own weaknesses and inadequacies, like Joseph and the apostles were. This means that in the first place, we must acknowledge that we are not perfect in every way. As leaders and collaborators in the Lord’s vineyard, we must be humble enough to realize that we will fail each other from time to time, just like the apostles did. As leaders, we might not always be understanding, open to the views of others, or free from resentment when others work against us. Likewise, those who work with us may not always serve the Lord with purity of intention or generosity of heart but motivated by ambition, glory, power and self-interests. This is where we need to realize all the more our dependence on God and His grace. Like the apostles, we will have to seek repentance when we fail as leaders or disciples.
We should not allow past failures to haunt us, as was the case of Joseph’s brothers who said, “Truly we are being called to account for our brother. We saw his misery of soul when he begged our mercy, but we did not listen to him and now this misery has come home to us.” So too with Peter and Judas, who betrayed the Lord. The difference lay in their response. There is such a thing as good guilt and bad guilt. Good guilt, like Peter’s, leads us to recognise our sins and seek repentance. Bad guilt, like Judas Iscariot’s, leads to despair and fear.
Indeed, like the apostles and Joseph, we must trust that God’s grace will work in and through our inadequacies. As St Paul wrote. “Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.” (2 Cor 1, 7-10)
At the same time, we must also accept the weaknesses of others working with us. We must give the same compassion and understanding to them that we hope to receive ourselves. God is also working through their weaknesses. We must learn to accept one another, and encourage each other when we fail. We cannot be looking for perfect leaders, perfect workers and members in our ministry. Rather, with compassion and encouragement, let us work and journey with each other. This is what a synodal Church is like. God will help us to fulfil His mission if we allow His grace to work in us. God will transform us and our inadequacy for His purpose. Just as He transformed five loaves and two fish to feed thousands, so too He will make use of whatever we have to achieve His purpose so that none of us can boast about ourselves. Like the psalmist, we can only pray, “May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.” Indeed, faith in our Lord, compassion for one another, and humble acceptance of both our strengths and limitations will go a long way in helping us find joy and hope as we give ourselves to the Lord in service and in ministry.
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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