20260626 IF WE ONLY KNEW
26 June 2026, Friday, 12th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | 2 Kings 25:1-12 |
The sack of Jerusalem and the final deportation
In the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with his whole army to attack Jerusalem; he pitched camp in front of the city and threw up earthworks round it. The city lay under siege till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. In the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, when famine was raging in the city and there was no food for the populace, a breach was made in the city wall. At once, the king made his escape under cover of dark, with all the fighting men, by way of the gate between the two walls, which is near the king’s garden – the Chaldaeans had surrounded the city – and made his way towards the Arabah. The Chaldaean troops pursued the king and caught up with him in the plains of Jericho, where all his troops deserted. The Chaldaeans captured the king and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, who passed sentence on him. He had the sons of Zedekiah slaughtered before his eyes, then put out Zedekiah’s eyes and, loading him with chains, carried him off to Babylon.
In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month – it was in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon – Nebuzaradan, commander of the guard, an officer of the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. He burned down the Temple of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses in Jerusalem. The Chaldaean troops who accompanied the commander of the guard demolished the walls surrounding Jerusalem. Nebuzaradan, commander of the guard, deported the remainder of the population left behind in the city, the deserters who had gone over to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the common people. The commander of the guard left some of the humbler country people as vineyard workers and ploughmen.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 136(137):1-6 |
O let my tongue cleave to my mouth if I remember you not!
By the rivers of Babylon
there we sat and wept,
remembering Zion;
on the poplars that grew there
we hung up our harps.
O let my tongue cleave to my mouth if I remember you not!
For it was there that they asked us,
our captors, for songs,
our oppressors, for joy.
‘Sing to us,’ they said,
‘one of Zion’s songs.’
O let my tongue cleave to my mouth if I remember you not!
O how could we sing
the song of the Lord
on alien soil?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
let my right hand wither!
O let my tongue cleave to my mouth if I remember you not!
O let my tongue
cleave to my mouth
if I remember you not,
if I prize not Jerusalem
above all my joys!
O let my tongue cleave to my mouth if I remember you not!
Gospel Acclamation | Ps144:13 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and loving in all his deeds.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 8:1-4 |
'If you want to, you can cure me'
After Jesus had come down from the mountain large crowds followed him. A leper now came up and bowed low in front of him. ‘Sir,’ he said ‘if you want to, you can cure me.’ Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said, ‘Of course I want to! Be cured!’ And his leprosy was cured at once. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Mind you do not tell anyone, but go and show yourself to the priest and make the offering prescribed by Moses, as evidence for them.’
IF WE ONLY KNEW
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [2 KGS 25:1-12; MT 8:1-4]
The tragic downfall of Judah and its final king is most pitiful. A kingdom that had been the envy of many during the reigns of King David and King Solomon had sunk to a truly pathetic state. The destruction of Jerusalem was the most humiliating event in the history of Israel. King Zedekiah was captured by the king of Babylon, who “had the sons of Zedekiah slaughtered before his eyes, then put out Zedekiah’s eyes and, loading him with chains, carried him off to Babylon.” The year 587 B.C. marked the dark moment when the Israelites were forced into exile in Babylon, their Temple burned, and the city’s massive walls torn down.
The downfall of Judah taught the Israelites, and us all, a primary lesson: the betrayal of God and His Covenant causes catastrophes that could have been prevented. Unfortunately, the sins of injustice, idolatry, and rebellion against God led the country into total disarray. Internally, there was no unity or trust in either the religious or political leadership; externally, they were too fractured to face their enemies. Indeed, most of the suffering and failures we experience in life are caused by our failure to live according to the commandments of God. When evil triumphs, the ultimate consequence is annihilation.
If only the king had known the outcome of his actions, he would have taken a different path. The hard truth of life is that most of us possess hindsight, not foresight. We learn through our mistakes–if we learn at all. Left to ourselves, we are ignorant; we lost the preternatural gift of infused knowledge and wisdom as a result of the sin of Adam. Yet, we are not only ignorant, but also proud and stubborn, constantly demanding our own way just as Adam and Eve did. The price of this ignorance, of course, is suffering the consequences of our sins. Worse still, we often fail to learn from our missteps. We test the patience of God just as the people of Israel and Judah did. Despite the repeated warnings and admonitions of the prophets, they refused to listen. Similarly, in spite of the many chances and opportunities given to us, we often refuse to repent and instead persist down the wrong paths.
Furthermore, if the king had realised that his sins would bring suffering not only upon himself but also upon his loved ones and his people, he might have acted differently. Our sins never affect us in isolation; they impact everyone connected to us and entrusted to our care. The problem is that we often believe our sins are entirely private. We might think we are ready to face the consequences alone, but our actions have a far-reaching ripple effect. This was true for the king and his subjects, who were all ultimately banished to Babylon and made to suffer together.
This stands as a timely reminder to all who hold positions of authority and influence: we never sin or suffer alone. Every decision we make carries serious implications for those under our care. When superiors, parents, or teachers fail to act justly and rightly, those entrusted to them suffer innocently. Many children today become dysfunctional, rebellious, resentful, and bitter because they were not raised in a loving family by caring, compassionate parents. Frequently, children bear the brunt of their parents’ constant quarrels, inheriting their anger, hostility, and resentment. Then, when these parents find their children growing up to be resentful, rebellious, abusive, or rude, they blame the children rather than recognising that the youth are simply perpetuating the very sins committed against them. Much of the confusion and unhappiness seen in young people stems directly from how they were raised. If they do not grow up in an environment of love, compassion, and forgiveness, we cannot expect them to be forgiving and tolerant of others.
The insidious nature of sin is portrayed through the leper in today’s Gospel. All sin eventually reduces us to the state of a leper, gradually eating away at us from the inside out. One does not become a leper or die overnight; leprosy is a slow, agonising death. Similarly, our sins destroy us and hold us in bondage gradually rather than immediately. No one becomes a great sinner overnight. Because the progression is so gradual, we fail to notice it until we are so deeply mired in sin that we find ourselves unable to break free. The history of Israel in the Book of Kings demonstrates how easily leaders and officials lose their direction once their consciences have been desensitised.
We must also face the inherent punishments that spring from sin. When we sin, we inevitably pay a price. A person who commits adultery may suffer for the rest of their life because their family has been broken up and reconciliation is no longer possible; they must carry that heavy guilt forever. Not only the spouse but the children may never find it in their hearts to forgive, especially if their own lives were derailed by that choice. Similarly, if we gamble and fall into debt, our family’s peace and unity are shattered. If we drink and drive, we risk losing our jobs, going to prison, and destroying our careers. These consequences endure, and our loved ones are forced to suffer alongside us.
Most painful of all, sin alienates us from the people we love, mirroring the isolation of the leper. This is the most agonising emotional dimension of sin. A leper separated from loved ones, cut off from the community, and isolated from God lives out a foretaste of hell itself–for hell is ultimately total loneliness and abandonment. To be excommunicated from our own people causes the deepest human pain: living entirely alone with no one to share our burdens. Yes, sin inevitably drives us toward this isolation.
Yet, we do not have to remain trapped in this state. Jesus desires to heal and reconcile us. When the leper pleaded, “‘Sir, if you want to, you can cure me.’ Jesus stretched out His hand, touched him, and said, ‘Of course I want to! Be cured!’ And his leprosy was cured at once.” We may have sinned and betrayed those under our care, but God remains faithful. He wants to give us a fresh start. So long as we are ready to repent and start afresh, the Lord will help us restore our lives. He wants to heal us as He did with the leper.
God’s desire is to save and to heal. In touching the leper, He disregarded ritual contamination and personal safety. Jesus’ love for us is so immense that He would go to extremes to demonstrate that our God is a God of compassion and tender love. He knows we all need to be touched and loved–not just with words, but through concrete action. By physically touching a man who was alienated, unloved, and untouched, Jesus brought him instant, holistic healing. Truly, when we find ourselves trapped in sin or struggling in our relationships, it is often because we feel as unloved and isolated as that leper. Our anger, bitterness, and selfishness frequently spring from a lack of love in our own lives. We cannot give what we have not received, and loving others presupposes that we have first experienced love ourselves.
The question Jesus poses to each of us is this: Do we want to get out of sin? After healing the man, Jesus instructed him, “Mind you do not tell anyone, but go and show yourself to the priest and make the offering prescribed by Moses, as evidence for them.” We must actively cooperate with His grace. Like the leper, we must approach Jesus in complete humility to ask for forgiveness and healing, and we must avail ourselves of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
The reason why Jesus asked the man to present himself to the priest even though he was already healed, was because he needed to be reconciled not only with God but also with his community. The priest, as a representative of the community, welcomes the outcast back into the fold. When we go to a priest for confession, it is because we need to hear the words of forgiveness and absolution. We know that God forgives a truly contrite heart, but as human beings, we need this forgiveness mediated through someone authorised to speak on God’s behalf. Just as we do not baptise ourselves, we seek God’s forgiveness through His appointed earthly representatives. Because we are human, we need to see, hear, and be touched–just like the leper–to experience integral healing.
Therefore, let us consider the consequences of our sins and repent. If only we could see where our bad choices lead, we would stop. Too often, we witness these tragedies happen to our friends, neighbours, and loved ones, yet we fail to learn from their suffering. We repeat the same foolish mistakes. Today, let us hold fast to Christ’s desire to save us. Let us pray for enlightenment, and awareness of His love, and divine wisdom, lest we fall into greater sins and the pit of misery of sin. Let us turn to the Lord with the words of the Psalmist: “Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!” For if we forget the Lord, we lose our ability to speak–which means losing our ability to remain in communion with God and with one another.
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.
