THE MERCY OF GOD IN CARRYING OUT HIS PLANS

20160226 THE MERCY OF GOD IN CARRYING OUT HIS PLANS

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Violet.

First reading

Genesis 37:3-4,12-13,17-28 ©

Israel loved Joseph more than all his other sons, for he was the son of his old age, and he had a coat with long sleeves made for him. But his brothers, seeing how his father loved him more than all his other sons, came to hate him so much that they could not say a civil word to him.

  His brothers went to pasture their father’s flock at Shechem. Then Israel said to Joseph, ‘Are not your brothers with the flock at Shechem? Come, I am going to send you to them.’ So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

  They saw him in the distance, and before he reached them they made a plot among themselves to put him to death. ‘Here comes the man of dreams’ they said to one another. ‘Come on, let us kill him and throw him into some well; we can say that a wild beast devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams.’

  But Reuben heard, and he saved him from their violence. ‘We must not take his life’ he said. ‘Shed no blood,’ said Reuben to them ‘throw him into this well in the wilderness, but do not lay violent hands on him’ – intending to save him from them and to restore him to his father. So, when Joseph reached his brothers, they pulled off his coat, the coat with long sleeves that he was wearing, and catching hold of him they threw him into the well, an empty well with no water in it. They then sat down to eat.

  Looking up they saw a group of Ishmaelites who were coming from Gilead, their camels laden with gum, tragacanth, balsam and resin, which they were taking down into Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, ‘What do we gain by killing our brother and covering up his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let us not do any harm to him. After all, he is our brother, and our own flesh.’ His brothers agreed.

  Now some Midianite merchants were passing, and they drew Joseph up out of the well. They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty silver pieces, and these men took Joseph to Egypt.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 104:16-21 ©

Remember the wonders the Lord has done.

The Lord called down a famine on the land;

  he broke the staff that supported them.

He had sent a man before them,

  Joseph, sold as a slave.

Remember the wonders the Lord has done.

His feet were put in chains,

  his neck was bound with iron,

until what he said came to pass

  and the word of the Lord proved him true.

Remember the wonders the Lord has done.

Then the king sent and released him

  the ruler of the people set him free,

making him master of his house

  and ruler of all he possessed.

Remember the wonders the Lord has done.

Gospel Acclamation

Jn3:16

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son:

everyone who believes in him has eternal life.

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

Gospel

Matthew 21:33-43,45-46 ©

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people, ‘Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third. Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them. “They will respect my son” he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance.” So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They answered, ‘He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him when the season arrives.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures:

It was the stone rejected by the builders

that became the keystone.

This was the Lord’s doing

and it is wonderful to see?

‘I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.’

  When they heard his parables, the chief priests and the scribes realised he was speaking about them, but though they would have liked to arrest him they were afraid of the crowds, who looked on him as a prophet.

THE MERCY OF GOD IN CARRYING OUT HIS PLANS

SCRIPTURE READINGS: Gen 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28; Mt 21:33-43, 45-46

Most of us have ambitions and plans in life.  For those of us who are very ambitious and want to succeed in life or get what we want, we would use every means available at our disposal to achieve our goals.  Some would even use unscrupulous ways to get things our way.  This has always been the selfishness of human beings.  The scripture readings illustrate the basic instinct of human beings to protect their interests in the face of opposition, even if they have to use violent means.

In the first reading, the brothers of Joseph sought to kill him because of their jealousy over the favoritism practiced by their father, Jacob.  We can feel with them in their envy of being discriminated by their father.  No children want to be considered as second class in the family.   If they sense that their parents favour their other siblings over them, they would feel insecure and resentful.   Such practices by parents and superiors, which are so common in family life and in the office, breed competition, anger and even violence.  Human beings already are insecure because of their fallen nature.  But when they feel slighted or threatened, they cannot but instinctively seek to protect themselves.  So we should not be surprised that the brothers of Joseph sought to get rid of their competitor.

Of course Joseph and his father, Jacob, should not be exonerated.  They were the cause of such jealousy.  They were the ones that released the monster of envy lying latent in the heart of the brothers.  If Jacob were to keep his special love for Joseph to himself and not show it publicly, and if Joseph was more discreet and humble about the dreams of his future role as leader, then perhaps, the brothers may have been able to live peaceably with Joseph.  But they did not.  One demonstrated openly by bestowing favours and the other by his boasting and arrogance.  So why should we be surprised that the brothers would gang up against Joseph and hit at the heart of their father’s weakness by engineering and staging his disappearance?

So too, the political and religious leaders of Israel before and during the time of Jesus were indignant with the prophets sent by God calling them to repentance and justice.  They were annoyed by the prophets who challenged them in the way they ruled the people, especially when they practiced injustice and enriched themselves. They were intolerant of the prophets, one after another, as Jesus said in His parable of the Tenants in the Vineyard. “When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third. Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way.”

Leaders and those in authority, including parents, often forget that the vineyard does not belong to them.  “There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad.” Clearly, we are not the owners.  We are only the tenants and the stewards of the vineyard and those whom the Lord has entrusted to us to look after.  We are all called to be responsible leaders, parents and superiors.  Our task is to nurture and form them so that they could walk in the way of the Lord, living a righteous life of integrity and altruistic life of service, especially to the poor.  But unfortunately, like most leaders, instead of seeing ourselves as servants of God, we use our children, even our spouse and workers, for our own benefit and interests, not theirs.   Such irresponsible leadership, as Jesus remarked in the gospel, would ultimately destroy them.  He warned, “I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.”

What can we learn from today’s liturgy of the Word?  Firstly, we cannot but marvel as the divine wisdom of God.  Regardless of man’s sins and the evils he committed, God transcends all our sins.   No one can thwart the divine plans of God, not even our sins and not least Satan, who seems to have a hold over humanity in the world.  Nay, God is not only wise but He is omnipotent.  He will ensure that everything, good or evil, will cooperate for the greater good of the Kingdom of God.  He will use our sins for our growth and for the fulfillment of His plans for us.  Like the psalmist, we cannot but marvel at the wisdom and wonders of God.

The refrain in the responsorial psalm says, “Remember the wonders the Lord has done.”  In the first place, we know that Jacob stole the birthright from Esau.  He was certainly no saint and yet God chose him to be the Father of the Chosen Race.  He was even given the name, Israel.   So too Joseph was no humble man.  He was boastful, arrogant and thought highly of himself.   This is true for all the leaders of Israel.  King David, the greatest of all kings in the history of Israel, had his faults, especially when he committed adultery and murder. The apostles too had their human frailties.  They were also jealous of each other and were fighting for position and power.  So let us be clear that God did not choose saints to lead His people or His Church.  He chose sinners whom He would give the grace to gradually grow in holiness and in faith through trials, errors, mistakes and challenges.

Indeed, such is the compassion and mercy of God.  This is what today’s readings wish to underscore.  If we marvel at God’s wisdom, we should marvel more at His mercy and patience on the ignorance of humanity.  The gospel illustrates the patience and forgiveness of God.  After sending all His servants, who were either rejected, thrashed, stoned or even killed, God sent His only Son, Jesus, to bring them to realization and forgiveness.  “’They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance.’ So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.”   God the Father, knowing that such would be the outcome, yet sought to prove His love for them by allowing Jesus to go through the passion and death in order to bring about something greater and more powerful than hatred and death.  By raising Jesus from the dead, the Father demonstrated that forgiveness, love and life in the final analysis can overcome the evil of humanity and the snares of Satan.

So today, instead of taking things into our own hands and using dishonest and unethical means to pursue success or get things done, we must be patient like God with sinners and broken people working with us or in our family.  Instead of cutting them off, we must, like Reuben and Judah, show some compassion to those who are hurting and seek to mediate and help others who are vindictive and violent to learn forgiveness and compassion.   The trouble is that people want success, they cannot stand failure.  They seek to have a good image and reputation.  They are concerned about what others say or think of them.  They want to put up a good show.  It is all due to pride, which leads to anger, impatience and intolerance.

But the way of the gospel is to walk the way of forgiving love and long suffering patience with those who are weak and sinful.   Like the prophets and the Lord Jesus, we must learn how to forgive and to see that all things are permitted for their good.  As St Paul says, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28) Again, he wrote, “O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!  ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord?    Or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him, to receive a gift in return?”  (Rom 11:33-35)  To trust in His wisdom and mercy is to surrender our lives and our loved ones into His divine plan.  We might not understand now but He will unfold His plans to us as He did for Israel and particularly Joseph.  He would be the one that God would use to build the nation of Israel.

The future belongs to God.  We cannot control the future but we have confidence in His wisdom and plans for us.  “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord.  (Jer 29:  11-14)  Like Joseph who was sold for 20 silver pieces and had his coat taken away from him, but later made the leader of Egypt, so too Jesus, who similarly was sold by Judas for 30 silver pieces and had his coat taken by one of the soldiers, became the cause of the New Covenant.  We too must not be ungrateful to Christ who is the Son of God given to us so that we can find life.  Like Him, we must cooperate with the divine plan and leave the details of how our lives are to be unfolded to divine providence.   So with St Paul, “we walk by faith, not by sight.” (Rom 5:7)

Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved