20260630 CAUSE AND EFFECT OVERCOME BY GRACE
30 June 2026, Tuesday, 13th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Amos 3:1-8,4:11-12 |
It is for all your sins that I mean to punish you
Listen, sons of Israel, to this oracle the Lord speaks against you, against the whole family I brought out of the land of Egypt:
You alone, of all the families of earth, have I acknowledged,
therefore it is for all your sins that I mean to punish you.
Do two men take the road together
if they have not planned to do so?
Does the lion roar in the jungle
if no prey has been found?
Does the young lion growl in his lair
if he has captured nothing?
Does the bird fall to the ground
if no trap has been set?
Does the snare spring up from the ground
if nothing has been caught?
Does the trumpet sound in the city
without the populace becoming alarmed?
Does misfortune come to a city
if the Lord has not sent it?
No more does the Lord do anything
without revealing his plans to his servants the prophets.
The lion roars: who can help feeling afraid?
The Lord speaks: who can refuse to prophesy?
I overthrew you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
and you were like a brand snatched from the blaze;
and yet you never came back to me.
It is the Lord who speaks.
This therefore, Israel, is what I plan to do to you,
and because I am going to do this to you,
Israel, prepare to meet your God!
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 5:5-8 |
Lead me, O Lord, in your justice.
You are no God who loves evil;
no sinner is your guest.
The boastful shall not stand their ground
before your face.
Lead me, O Lord, in your justice.
You hate all who do evil;
you destroy all who lie.
The deceitful and bloodthirsty man
the Lord detests.
Lead me, O Lord, in your justice.
But I through the greatness of your love
have access to your house.
I bow down before your holy temple,
filled with awe.
Lead me, O Lord, in your justice.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps147:12,15 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
He sends out his word to the earth.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 8:23-27 |
Jesus rebuked the winds and the seas, and all was calm
Jesus got into the boat followed by his disciples. Without warning a storm broke over the lake, so violent that the waves were breaking right over the boat. But he was asleep. So they went to him and woke him saying, ‘Save us, Lord, we are going down!’ And he said to them, ‘Why are you so frightened, you men of little faith?’ And with that he stood up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and all was calm again. The men were astounded and said, ‘Whatever kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey him.’
CAUSE AND EFFECT OVERCOME BY GRACE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Amos 3:1-8; 4:11-12; Ps 5:5-8; Mt 8:23-27]
When something goes wrong, we tend to assign blame. We look for scapegoats for our misfortunes, mistakes, and failures in life. We blame our parents, our teachers, and our guardians. Otherwise, we blame the government, society, and the Church. Finally, we blame God for being uncaring, unjust, and indifferent toward us. When we refuse to take ownership of our failures and mistakes, and instead assign the blame to others, we will never learn or be able to overcome our situations. Pointing fingers at others will only augment our resentment, hatred, and desire for revenge, while reinforcing our rigid positions and negative views toward life. This is the way of a defeatist, and it leads only to anger, depression, and despair. This is a negative way of dealing with life and its struggles.
Rather, we must take a good look at ourselves and examine our faults. Instead of blaming others for our follies, we must squarely face our own failures, mistakes, and sins. The first and foremost thing we need to do is to admit and acknowledge our mistakes. If we do not acknowledge that we are responsible, we cannot make any progress. If we do not say, “Yes, I have sinned,” then the devil will make us look for other scapegoats. Furthermore, this acknowledgement must be done humbly, sincerely, existentially, and doctrinally. That is to say, it cannot be just a general awareness of the fact that we are sinners. Rather, we must be able to pinpoint exactly where our failings are, what they are, and why they are wrong. Otherwise, there is no true repentance. We can repent with a contrite heart only when we know that we have done wrong, and when we realise we have hurt our fellow human beings–especially those whom we love or those who love us dearly.
What are these sins and the causes that have resulted in where we are today? Firstly, one of the most dangerous sins is the sin of sloth!As the proverb says, “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” When we are complacent and lazy, our minds are tempted to sin. This was the mistake of the Israelites; they were complacent about themselves. Just because the Lord had chosen them to be His Covenanted People, they took that privilege for granted and were not faithful to the Covenantal promise of obeying the commandments of the Lord. Indeed, as the Oracle of the Lord says, “Listen, sons of Israel. You alone, of all the families of the earth, have I acknowledged.” But it is not enough to be called sons and daughters of God and be His people if we do not live like His children. We are called not for ourselves, but for others. Israel was chosen by the Lord not to be a privileged nation, but to serve others so that all peoples of the earth would come to know how great and loving our God is.
The second cause of our fall is always wrong company. The Lord asked, “Do two men take the road together if they have not planned to do so?” Indeed, the proverb says, “Birds of a feather flock together.” Quite often, the people we associate with in life influence the way we think, speak, and act. We cannot be wise unless we mix with the wise. Therefore, when we keep unhealthy company, we cannot help but be sucked into their sinful and wasteful way of life. Indeed, when we look at ourselves today, we are a reflection of who our friends are. So, choose carefully the people you walk and associate with. This does not mean that we should not reach out to those who are living sinful or destructive lives, provided we do so to help them and not to learn how to be evil from them. This presupposes that we ourselves are enlightened. Only the healthy can help the sick, not the other way around. We need to choose the right company so that, walking together, we find strength and direction.
The third reason for our fall is that we do not avoid the occasions of sin, thereby allowing ourselves to fall into temptation. The Lord says, “Does the lion roar in the jungle if no prey has been found?” More often than not, if only we learned to be humble and cautious, we could avoid becoming prey for others. There are many dishonest, evil, and selfish people in the world who want to harm and destroy us, our families, and our lives. Consequently, we must be wary of people who use us as prey to feed their ambitions, greed, and power. If we do not expose ourselves to evil, then evil cannot harm us. No matter who we are, we can be tempted to sin, and temptations are everywhere. Even the Lord was tempted by the Evil One. Unless we are strong, we cannot defeat temptations when they come. Knowing that we are weak, let us avoid the occasions of sin and not allow ourselves to be trapped by them.
The fourth reason for our fall is greed. Again, the prophet says, “Does the young lion growl in his lair if he has captured nothing?” We desire to have more. We want power, status, and sex. When we are greedy and lustful, we look for victims to satisfy us. Indeed, most of us get into trouble because of greed. We will never have all we want in this life; even God cannot satisfy our worldly desires. God can only fulfill our needs, not our wants, because our desires are fathomless. If we do not know contentment, then no matter what we have, it will never be enough. Happiness is dependent not on what we have, but on how little we need to be content. Happiness is not what we own, but who we are.
So today, Scripture invites us to examine our motives. The prophet says, “Does the bird fall to the ground if no trap has been set? Does the snare spring up from the ground if nothing has been caught?” We need to purify our motives and do the right thing.
Otherwise, we will only reap what we sow. Indeed, the Lord reminds us that judgment is inevitable. Justice will be served at the end of the day, and truth will triumph. “I overthrew you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a brand snatched from the blaze; and yet you never came back to me. It is the Lord who speaks. This, therefore, Israel, is what I plan to do to you, and because I am going to do this to you, Israel, prepare to meet your God!”
God has served us notice, and therefore we have no excuse when judgment is rendered. If Israel was punished, it was not because the Lord took revenge, as He is all compassion and forgiveness. Rather, it was because their evil actions brought about the necessary consequences. As the psalmist says, “You are no God who loves evil; no sinner is your guest. The boastful shall not stand their ground before your face. You hate all who do evil; you destroy all who lie. The deceitful and bloodthirsty man the Lord detests.” Saying this does not mean that God condemns us. It simply means that God and evil do not mix. Holiness and sin, truth and falsehood, are incompatible. Therefore, those who do evil necessarily bring evil upon themselves. It is not God who punishes them, but their own evil that punishes them. Indeed, as St. Augustine often noted, the punishment for iniquity is more iniquity. We are punished by the very sins we commit!
Yet, if we are already in such a mess, all we need to do is repent and turn to Him for forgiveness and healing. The sufferings that come from our sins and mistakes are not meant to be vindictive punishments. Rather, they are the means by which the Lord wakes us up to the greater reality before us, which is eternal life. It is better to forfeit the joys of this world than to be condemned to death for all eternity. This is what the Lord means when He says, “And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.” (Mt 5:30) The moment we repent, we are set free. Indeed, when we repent, new life is ours, and He will restore us to the fullness of life.
Therefore, in our misery, in our fear of the future, and in our problems and sufferings, let us not lose hope, but let us cling to Jesus in our storms. This is what the Gospel asks of us. The disciples, too, were afraid when the storm beat against the boat. The fact that they were afraid despite being professional fishermen meant that this was no ordinary storm, and they fully understood the dangers ahead of them. For this reason, they cried out to the Lord, “Save us, Lord, we are going down!” Indeed, like the disciples, in our times of fear, we often think that the Lord is sleeping. He seems not to be helping us fight the storms of our lives, appearing indifferent to our fears and anxieties.
But in truth, He is with us in the boat. So long as we are in the same boat as our Lord, we will never drown. He will see to it that we remain safe and calm. All He asks of us is to have faith in Him. He said, “Why are you so frightened, you men of little faith?” And with that, He rebuked the winds and the seas, and all was calm again. So, in the storms of our lives, we must turn to Jesus to find strength, courage, and inspiration. In every storm, let us put Christ at the centre of our lives. In this way, we can find peace–not outside the storm, but inside it. We cannot stop the storms from manifesting or temptations from coming, but we can be strong enough to resist them when they do arrive.
How can we do this if not by finding faith in the Lord? Like the disciples, we need to ask ourselves: do we have faith in the Lord? Where is this faith found if not in surrendering our lives to Him? We must learn to accept the will of God and not fight against it. We must learn to accept the price of our mistakes–not as a punishment, but as a grace from God to help us grow in love and character. Instead of fighting against the means of purification through the sufferings we endure, we must use them as opportunities for growth in holiness, truth, and love. When we are resigned to His will, we will find peace in the storm. The world outside us might still be stormy, but in our hearts there will be peace, and in our minds calmness, because our conscience is clear and our will is aligned with God’s will. In His will is our peace.
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
