FAITH AS THE WAY TO DEAL WITH OUR FEARS DURING TIMES OF CRISES

20150720 FAITH AS THE WAY TO DEAL WITH OUR FEARS DURING TIMES OF CRISES

Readings at Mass

First reading

Exodus 14:5-18 ©

When Pharaoh, king of Egypt, was told that the Israelites had made their escape, he and his courtiers changed their minds about the people. ‘What have we done,’ they said ‘allowing Israel to leave our service?’ So Pharaoh had his chariot harnessed and gathered his troops about him, taking six hundred of the best chariots and all the other chariots in Egypt, each manned by a picked team. The Lord made Pharaoh, king of Egypt, stubborn, and he gave chase to the sons of Israel as they made their triumphant escape. So the Egyptians gave chase and came up with them where they lay encamped beside the sea – all the horses, the chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen, his army – near Pi-hahiroth, facing Baal-zephon. And as Pharaoh approached, the sons of Israel looked round – and there were the Egyptians in pursuit of them!

  The sons of Israel were terrified and cried out to the Lord. To Moses they said, ‘Were there no graves in Egypt that you must lead us out to die in the wilderness? What good have you done us, bringing us out of Egypt? We spoke of this in Egypt, did we not? Leave us alone, we said, we would rather work for the Egyptians! Better to work for the Egyptians than die in the wilderness!’

  Moses answered the people, ‘Have no fear! Stand firm, and you will see what the Lord will do to save you today: the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will do the fighting for you: you have only to keep still.’

  The Lord said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to me so? Tell the sons of Israel to march on. For yourself, raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and part it for the sons of Israel to walk through the sea on dry ground. I for my part will make the heart of the Egyptians so stubborn that they will follow them. So shall I win myself glory at the expense of Pharaoh, of all his army, his chariots, his horsemen. And when I have won glory for myself, at the expense of Pharaoh and his chariots and his army, the Egyptians will learn that I am the Lord.’

Canticle

Exodus 15:1-6 ©

I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!

I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!

  Horse and rider he has thrown into the sea!

The Lord is my strength, my song, my salvation.

  This is my God and I extol him,

  my father’s God and I give him praise.

I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!

The Lord is a warrior! ‘The Lord’ is his name.

The chariots of Pharaoh he hurled into the sea,

  the flower of his army is drowned in the sea.

I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!

The deeps hide them; they sank like a stone.

Your right hand, Lord, glorious in its power,

  your right hand, Lord, has shattered the enemy.

I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!

Gospel Acclamation

cf.2Tim1:10

Alleluia, alleluia!

Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death

and he has proclaimed life through the Good News.

Alleluia!

Or

Ps94:8

Alleluia, alleluia!

Harden not your hearts today,

but listen to the voice of the Lord.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 12:38-42 ©

Some of the scribes and Pharisees spoke up. ‘Master,’ they said ‘we should like to see a sign from you.’ He replied, ‘It is an evil and unfaithful generation that asks for a sign! The only sign it will be given is the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the sea-monster for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. On Judgement day the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation and condemn it, because when Jonah preached they repented; and there is something greater than Jonah here. On Judgement day the Queen of the South will rise up with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here.’

FAITH AS THE WAY TO DEAL WITH OUR FEARS DURING TIMES OF CRISES

SCRIPTURE READINGS:  EX 14:5-18; MT 12:38-42

When we embark on a new project, a new job or a new chapter of life, we are full of hope, enthusiasm and vigor.   But along the way, when we meet with difficulties and trials, fear often sets in. This was certainly the situation of the Israelites in today’s first reading.  They were elated at their liberation from the slavery of the Egyptians.  Under the command of Moses, they were euphoric that the Promised Land, flowing with milk and honey, would be given to them.  But as they were leaving Egypt pursued by the Egyptian army and chariots, they allowed their fears to cripple them.

The question is how do we respond to fears in our lives?  How do we face up to difficulties, especially in times of crises?  Like the terrified Israelites, our initial reaction tends to be one of regret.  The Israelites allowed their fears to destroy all their hopes and dreams of their future.  They began to live on their exaggerated glorious past.  They grumbled to Moses, “What good have you done us, bringing us out of Egypt? … Better to work for the Egyptians than die in the wilderness!”  Indeed, like them, when we are faced with trials, we tend to be nostalgic about the good old days.  This is just a means of escapism from confronting challenges in life.

Secondly, in the face of threats and fears, some of us like to exonerate ourselves and shift responsibilities to others.  This was certainly what the Israelites did.  They began to blame Moses for their sufferings.  They accused him of bringing them to die in the wilderness.  Yes, it was all Moses’ fault and fantasy!   Such a reaction is how children normally respond when their mistakes are highlighted.  This tendency to pass the buck is quite common for us as well.  We like to find scapegoats for our misery and sufferings.  We forget, like the Israelites, that we must take responsibility for our actions.

Thirdly, quite often, we are tempted to turn back when the going gets tough.  The Israelites begged Moses, “Leave us alone, we would rather work for the Egyptians.”  Yes, not only did they regret leaving Egypt and held Moses responsible for their misfortunes, they also entertained the thought of going back and continue to be the slaves of the Egyptians.  They wished that they had remained; never mind even if they were slaves!  Yes, some people, when faced with difficulties at work or in relationships, give up at the first thought. They start to regret that they had ever started in the first place and wish that they could return to where they were.  They are afraid of paying the price for their freedom.

Moses however did not give in to such fears in his life.   He must have been a courageous man.  Instead of retreating or giving in, he assured the people, “Have no fear!  Stand firm, and you will see what the Lord will do to save you today … The Lord will do the fighting for you; you have only to keep still.”  Moses was able to say this because of his personal relationship with the Lord.  Based on his past experience, especially in the wonders of the plagues wrought by God through him, he had the confidence to trust in Yahweh that He would deliver them from their enemies.

Alas, although Moses’ faith in God was remarkable, yet his faith in God was not perfect.  For we are also told that God questioned Moses thus, “Why do you cry to me so?”  In other words, although Moses believed that God would protect them and help them to defeat their enemies, yet he remained anxious and frightened.  He did not know how the Lord would exactly help them.  For this reason, he cried to the Lord, fearful that this problem might prove to be too insurmountable.  But the Lord commanded him, “Tell the sons of Israel to march on.”   The dilemma of Moses is also ours as well.  Quite often, whilst we have faith that God will help us through our difficulties, yet deep within us, we continue to be anxious and fearful. There is an element of doubt or at least the lack of confidence.  Like Moses we are concerned about the details as to how God could make good out of a difficult and disastrous situation.  In simple words, we do not have sufficient trust and confidence in the wisdom of God.

How then can we stand firm and not be anxious?  The key to stand firm is to profess our faith in God.  But what kind of faith is needed to deal with our fears?  Firstly, faith means to hear the Word of God and believe Him at His word.  Faith means that we must not act like the Egyptians who relied on their own strength and ingenuity.  Rather, Jesus exhorts us to follow the example of the men of Nineveh who were docile to the preaching of the Prophet Jonah.  As a result, the imminent disasters were averted.  Secondly, faith means to trust and have confidence in the wisdom of God.  Jesus reminded us that the Queen of Sheba “came from the ends of the earth to hear the Wisdom of Solomon” because she recognized him as speaking the wisdom of God.  When we trust in the wisdom of God, then we need not worry too much as to how God would work in our lives.  We only need to cooperate with His plan, do our part and God will do the rest.

But the crux of today’s liturgy is that for us Christians, our faith is not simply founded on the prophets or even the wisdom of the great sages, but on Christ Himself, since He is the eschatological prophet, the word of God in person, someone greater than Prophet Jonah.  He is also the wisdom of God in person for “there is something greater than Solomon here.”  The evangelist justifies such a claim when he elaborated on Jesus’ referral of Jonah as the sign that He is the Word and Wisdom of God in person.  Through His death and resurrection, Jesus is vindicated as the prophet and wisdom of God.  Since He is the Word and Wisdom of God, we must believe in His word and trust in His wisdom.  By listening attentively to Him, we will be strengthened in faith and find wisdom for our life struggles and direction.  Only then can we go through the sea dry shod because in the death and resurrection of Jesus, we can be confident of Christ’s saving grace and redemptive power for us.

Today, when we celebrate the Eucharist, let this Eucharist, which is the true presence of Jesus for us be our strength.  We can be sure that there will be trials before us, just as there were trials for the Israelites in their journey towards the Promised Land.  We too are walking towards the Promised Land.  We will have to be tested like them.  But let us not be intimidated by difficulties along our path. We must take the warning of Jesus not to imitate the scribes and Pharisees for they are “an evil and unfaithful generation that asks for a sign.”  On the contrary, we are called to make an act of faith and surrender to God and trust that He will see us through because as the first reading tells us that through our experience of God’s power in our lives, we will learn that He is the Lord.  Let us then stand firm and be still and know that God is the Lord, especially when we are going through the storms of life.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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