NO ONE IS EXCLUDED FROM THE LOVE OF GOD AND HIS KINGDOM EXCEPT THOSE WHO ARE AFRAID TO PAY THE PRICE OF FREEDOM

20150701 NO ONE IS EXCLUDED FROM THE LOVE OF GOD AND HIS KINGDOM EXCEPT THOSE WHO ARE AFRAID TO PAY THE PRICE OF FREEDOM

Readings at Mass

First reading

Genesis 21:5,8-20 ©

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.

Psalm

Psalm 33:7-8,10-13 ©

The 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.

The 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.

The 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?

The 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 ©

When Jesus reached the country of the Gadarenes on the other side, 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.

NO ONE IS EXCLUDED FROM THE LOVE OF GOD AND HIS KINGDOM EXCEPT THOSE WHO ARE AFRAID TO PAY THE PRICE OF FREEDOM

SCRIPTURE READINGS: GN 21:5.8-20; MT 8:28-34

The scripture readings present to us two cases of social sins.  In the first reading, Hagar and Ishmael, according to permissible custom, were sent away.  There seems to be an injustice in such a practice, for neither Hagar nor Ishmael deserves to suffer simply because of the jealousy of Sarah and Abraham’s inability to deal with the jealousy of his wife.  In the first place, it was the lack of faith in God that Abraham and Sarah, in their impatience, found their own way to realize the promise of God.

In the gospel too, two men apparently possessed and thought to be mad were ostracized from their families and left at the tombs to fend for themselves.  We can imagine how much they suffered, not only from the power Satan had over their faculties but the loneliness that went with their affliction.  They were shunned and avoided by people.

Fortunately, today, the scripture readings show that God writes straight in crooked lines.  Whilst not allowing His promise and plan to be jeopardized by the sin of man, God at the same time does not allow even people who are not of the chosen race to suffer.  God loves all men regardless whether they have been chosen to play an important role in the plan of salvation.

So in the case of Hagar and Ishmael, God assured them of His protection and grace.  Indeed, “God heard the boy wailing.”  God sent His angel to encourage them saying, “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 also provided food and water for them.  We read that “God was with the boy. He grew up and made his home in the wilderness, and he became a bowman.”  Indeed, even though Ishmael was not the promised son, but on the margin of salvation, God is equally compassionate to all his creatures.

Similarly, in the gospel, we have Jesus who did not shun the possessed men.  He gave them His time and attention by delivering them from their illegal occupants and the destructive forces in their lives.  Jesus understood their loneliness and misery.  By so doing, God once again shows His power over evil.  No destructive force or evil in this world, even if it were a legion of evil spirits, 6000 of them, can prevent the Lord from overcoming them.  God continues to offer peace and safety to those who seek His help.  As the Psalmist says, “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand; but it will not come near you … Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your habitation (Psalm 91:7,9).

In the light of the two readings, we can pray with the Psalmist and sing God’s praise saying, “The Lord hears the cry of the poor. When the poor one called out, the Lord heard, and from all his distress he saved him. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.”

Indeed, good can come out of evil.  This is true even in the case of the pigs which were possessed by the devils and then drowned in the sea.  Whether it actually happened historically or not, or whether it is symbolic of the devils being cast into the abyss of hell, the point remains that through such an unfortunate incident, the people in the town came to be aware of the power of Jesus.  Of course, we cannot see the good that can come out of evil unless we are detached from our will; only then will we be able to see the will of God in all things.  Good comes out of evil when we look at them with eyes of faith and see God in them.  God works with those who love Him.  It is said, that every Saint has a past, every sinner has a future.   In this pilgrimage of life, we have our ups and downs, mistakes and successes.  Nevertheless, even in our failures, we can be certain that there is a future for us with God’s infinite love and mercy.  If we have faith in Him and remain open to His grace, God will lead us out of our sinful situation and bring us into this kingdom of grace.

In contrast we have those who rejected Jesus. These were people who missed the opportunity of coming to Jesus because of fear. Instead of surrendering and welcoming Jesus, they asked Him to leave.  They were not willing to pay the price for being liberated from the power of sin and evil.  Jesus is ready to free us from anything that binds us.

Yes, in all situations in life, let us surrender ourselves to the Lord.  Let us pray that we might be attentive to the presence of His Spirit.  God will help us provided we are willing to cooperate with Him, just as the possessed men and Hagar did.  For those who love Him, everything will work in his favour.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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