20150718 CONFRONT OR WITHDRAW
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Exodus 12:37-42 ©
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The sons of Israel
left Rameses for Succoth, about six hundred thousand on the march – all
men – not counting their families. People of various sorts joined them in
great numbers; there were flocks, too, and herds in immense droves. They baked cakes
with the dough which they had brought from Egypt, unleavened because the dough
was not leavened; they had been driven out of Egypt, with no time for dallying,
and had not provided themselves with food for the journey. The time that the
sons of Israel had spent in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And on the
very day the four hundred and thirty years ended, all the array of the Lord
left the land of Egypt. The night, when the Lord kept vigil to bring them out
of the land of Egypt, must be kept as a vigil in honour of the Lord for all
their generations.
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Psalm
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Psalm
135:1,10-15,23-24 ©
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O give thanks to the
Lord for he is good.
His
love is everlasting!
He remembered us in
our distress.
His
love is everlasting!
And he snatched us
away from our foes.
His
love is everlasting!
The first-born of the
Egyptians he smote.
His
love is everlasting!
He brought Israel out
from their midst.
His
love is everlasting!
Arm outstretched,
with power in his hand.
His
love is everlasting!
He divided the Red
Sea in two.
His
love is everlasting!
He made Israel pass
through the midst.
His
love is everlasting!
He flung Pharaoh and
his force in the sea.
His
love is everlasting!
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Ps118:27
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Make me grasp the way
of your precepts,
and I will muse on
your wonders.
Alleluia!
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Or
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2Co5:19
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Alleluia, alleluia!
God in Christ was
reconciling the world to himself,
and he has entrusted
to us the news that they are reconciled.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 12:14-21
©
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The Pharisees went
out and began to plot against him, discussing how to destroy him.
Jesus
knew this and withdrew from the district. Many followed him and he cured them
all, but warned them not to make him known. This was to fulfil the prophecy of
Isaiah:
Here is my servant
whom I have chosen,
my beloved, the
favourite of my soul.
I will endow him with
my spirit,
and he will proclaim
the true faith to the nations.
He will not brawl or
shout,
nor will anyone hear
his voice in the streets.
He will not break the
crushed reed,
nor put out the
smouldering wick
till he has led the
truth to victory:
in his name the
nations will put their hope.
CONFRONT
OR WITHDRAW
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SCRIPTURE
READINGS: EX 12:37-42;
MT 12:14-21
Meeting
with opposition in whatever we do, whether in doing good or evil, at Church,
society, work or home, is inevitable. Dealing with opposing views or,
worse still, with our enemies who are out to get us, harm us physically or our
integrity, is very emotionally and intellectually draining. Indeed, it is
not easy to manage disputes, disagreements and conflicting views among family
members, colleagues and Church members. In such moments, we cannot but feel
misunderstood, lonely, uncertain, disappointed, disillusioned, angry, hurt and
even vindictive.
This
was certainly the feelings of the characters presented in today’s scripture
readings. Pharaoh must have been angered by the rebellion of the Hebrews
and the upheaval caused by Moses’ demands, backed up by the actions of
God. On the other side, Moses must also have been exasperated at
Pharaoh’s stubbornness in refusing to let his people go in spite of the signs
that God worked through him. In the same vein too, the Pharisees were
incensed at Jesus’ audacity in breaking the Sabbath Law by healing the sick and
even supporting His disciples for picking corn on the Sabbath. From Jesus’
standpoint He, too, must have felt so misunderstood, unappreciated, frustrated
at the hardened hearts and blindness of the religious leaders who, because of
jealousy and fear, were unable to see the real intent of the Law.
How,
then, do we react against those who oppose us and those who threaten our
lives? The first way is to retaliate. This was what Pharaoh
did. He responded by imposing more hardships on the Hebrews every time
Moses threatened him. Then when he realized he was losing, he
relented. He never learnt his lesson and, as a consequence, lost his
chariots, horses and soldiers in pursuit of Moses and his people. He
acted in a confrontational manner without thinking. So, too, the
Pharisees acted in an aggressive way. They did so by not only
discrediting Jesus but even plotting to destroy Him. Unfortunately the
way of action and retaliation is not the way to solve a problem.
Jesus
took a different approach. He “withdrew from the district.” Such an
action could have caused dismay to His disciples and followers. After
all, their popular understanding of the Messiah was that of a mighty hero, a
warrior, invincible and powerful savior and king. Perhaps when St Matthew
wrote this incident, it was meant to assuage the disappointments of the
disciples. Indeed, Christ saves us not by using power to crush His enemies but
by the power of love and sacrifice. He rules not from His throne but on
the cross. He wears not a golden crown but a crown of thorns.
Indeed,
the ways of God are not man’s ways. God comes to us in a gentle, humble
and non-violent manner. He does not force us but only invites. He
comes to us on our own terms, not on His terms. For our sake He became one of
us even though He was equal with God. St Paul says, “For your sake he
became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty, you might become
rich.” (2 Cor 8:9)
The
withdrawal of Jesus was therefore important to help Him to come to terms with
the way God the Father wanted Him to act. Any action that He took must be
tempered with God’s love and mercy. In God’s eyes everyone is important,
including the Pharisees and the enemies of God. This is underscored in
the first reading when we read that not only the Hebrews but “people of various
sorts joined them in great numbers; there were flocks, too, and herd in immense
droves. “ God wants to save all, even the non-Hebrews! So it was
important that Jesus did not react negatively or bitterly against them.
His mission was not to condemn or take violent measures to restore
justice. Rather, it was to save as many souls as possible for His Father.
It was
thus also necessary for Jesus to withdraw so that He could come to terms with
His natural and human feelings. Before we can reach out and heal the
rifts in our lives we must attend to our own heart, especially if we are hurt
and wounded. Jesus, being a man like us, surely must have felt deep
disappointment, rejection and sadness at the way the religious leaders reacted,
conniving and contriving to eliminate Him simply because He extolled justice,
love and mercy.
Withdrawal
was also necessary for Jesus not only to keep in touch with God and His own
feelings, but to feel with His opponents. Jesus needed to understand and
assess the situation as to why His adversaries were reacting thus, and how He
could win them over to the love of God. So Jesus needed to rethink His
approach in ministry and mission, and perhaps re-strategize the modus operandi.
But
withdrawal does not mean doing nothing in the meantime. The gospel tells
us that He withdrew from the tense situation, but moved on to another district
to continue His work of healing and preaching. Motivated by love, nothing
and no one could stop Jesus from continuing to do good and to proclaim God’s
mercy and love. Guided by prudence, He avoided the area of conflict and
went to those who could accept and welcome Him. So we must be careful
that we do not allow the period of withdrawal to lead us to self-pity,
depression and discouragement. Rather, we must continue to love and serve
in other ways.
Withdrawal
therefore is always temporary. We cannot escape from confronting the situation
at the end of the day. So whilst we flee from our enemies, we would have
to confront them eventually. However, any confrontation must be decisive
and focused. This was what Jesus did at the end of His mission when He
realized that there was no other way for Him to bring about the Kingdom of God
except to meet His enemies in Jerusalem. When He was clear that
that was what God wanted of Him, He resolutely took the road to
Jerusalem. (cf Luke 9:51)
It is significant that this decision was taken only after Peter’s confession of
faith at Caesarea Philippi (cf Lk 9:18-21) and the Transfiguration
(cf Lk 9:28-36),
where His decision was affirmed.
We have
much to learn from Jesus in dealing with conflicts, differences of opinion and
divergent views. Before we take any decisive action, withdrawal is
absolutely necessary. We need to withdraw and come before the
Heavenly Father to ask Him for His wisdom and direction. We need not fear
confrontation or disagreements. Such events should force us to retreat and
to rethink our approach and plans. Crisis of this sort becomes an
opportunity to come to terms with the essentials and the motives of what we are
doing. Through the cross, we will arrive at victory because we will be purified
of our selfish motives, ambition, pride, envy, anger, hatred and be healed of
our wounds and pain.
Truly,
Jesus is there for us as God was with the Hebrews in Egypt. How poignant
it is to know that the Lord keeps vigil for us as on that night of liberation
for the Hebrews, “The night, when the Lord kept vigil to bring them out of the
land of Egypt, must be kept as a vigil in honour of the Lord for all their
generations.” Let us therefore never become discouraged. Instead, let us
trust the Lord. If the Hebrews could wait for 430 years in Egypt for
God’s plan to take effect, so too, let us wait on the Lord, since He is keeping
vigil for us, watching over us and guiding us. In prayer and in silence, we
find strength, wisdom, love and refreshment from Him. And once we are
clear as to what He wants us to do, then with renewed strength and power, we
charge ahead in accomplishing the mission the Lord has given to us, with faith
and confidence.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
©
All Rights Reserved
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