20160801 FINDING STRENGTH FROM THE EUCHARIST TO KEEP US AS TRUE
PROPHETS
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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Jeremiah 28:1-17
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At the beginning of
the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah in the fifth month of the fourth year, the
prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, a Gibeonite, spoke as follows to Jeremiah in the
Temple of the Lord in the presence of the priests and of all the people. ‘The
Lord, the God of Israel, says this, “I have broken the yoke of the king of
Babylon. In two years’ time I will bring back all the vessels of the Temple of
the Lord which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon carried off from this place and
took to Babylon. And I will also bring back Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of
Judah, and all the exiles of Judah who have gone to Babylon – it is the
Lord who speaks. Yes, I am going to break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”’
The
prophet Jeremiah then replied to the prophet Hananiah in front of the priests
and all the people there in the Temple of the Lord. ‘I hope so’ the prophet
Jeremiah said. ‘May the Lord do so. May he fulfil the words that you have
prophesied and bring the vessels of the Temple of the Lord and all the exiles
back to this place from Babylon. Listen carefully, however, to this word that I
am now going to say for you and all the people to hear: From remote times, the
prophets who preceded you and me prophesied war, famine and plague for many
countries and for great kingdoms; but the prophet who prophesies peace can only
be recognised as one truly sent by the Lord when his word comes true.’
The
prophet Hananiah then took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and
broke it. In front of all the people Hananiah then said, ‘The Lord says this,
“This is how, two years hence, I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon and take it off the necks of all the nations.”’ At this, the prophet
Jeremiah went away.
After the
prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke which he had taken off the neck of the
prophet Jeremiah the word of the Lord was addressed to Jeremiah, ‘Go to
Hananiah and tell him this, “The Lord says this: You can break wooden yokes?
Right, I will make them iron yokes instead! For the Lord Sabaoth, the God of
Israel, says this: An iron yoke is what I now lay on the necks of all these
nations to subject them to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. They will be subject
to him; I have even given him the wild animals.”’
The
prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, ‘Listen carefully, Hananiah: the
Lord has not sent you; and thanks to you this people are now relying on what is
false. Hence – the Lord says this, “I am going to throw you off the face
of the earth: you are going to die this year since you have preached apostasy
from the Lord.”’
The
prophet Hananiah died the same year, in the seventh month.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
118:29,43,79-80,95,102 ©
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Lord, teach me
your statutes.
Keep me from the way
of error
and teach
me your law.
Do not take the word
of truth from my mouth
for I
trust in your decrees.
Lord, teach me
your statutes.
Let your faithful
turn to me,
those who
know your will.
Let my heart be
blameless in your statutes
lest I be
ashamed.
Lord, teach me
your statutes.
Though the wicked lie
in wait to destroy me
yet I
ponder your will.
I have not turned
from your decrees;
you
yourself have taught me.
Lord, teach me
your statutes.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Jn14:6
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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!
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Or
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Mt4:4
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Man does not live on
bread alone,
but on every word
that comes from the mouth of God.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 14:13-21
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When Jesus received
the news of John the Baptist’s death he withdrew by boat to a lonely place
where they could be by themselves. But the people heard of this and, leaving
the towns, went after him on foot. So as he stepped ashore he saw a large
crowd; and he took pity on them and healed their sick.
When
evening came, the disciples went to him and said, ‘This is a lonely place, and
the time has slipped by; so send the people away, and they can go to the
villages to buy themselves some food.’ Jesus replied, ‘There is no need for
them to go: give them something to eat yourselves.’ But they answered ‘All we have
with us is five loaves and two fish.’ ‘Bring them here to me’ he said. He gave
orders that the people were to sit down on the grass; then he took the five
loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing. And
breaking the loaves handed them to his disciples who gave them to the crowds.
They all ate as much as they wanted, and they collected the scraps remaining;
twelve baskets full. Those who ate numbered about five thousand men, to say
nothing of women and children.
FINDING
STRENGTH FROM THE EUCHARIST TO KEEP US AS TRUE PROPHETS
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ JER
28:1-17; MT 14:13 -21 ]
We do not mind being
prophets of good news. We are all so desperate for peace at all
costs. We want to be accepted by people and be loved by all. We
want to be known as nice people, amiable and agreeable. As a result, very
few of us dare to speak the truth even when we know that the truth must be
spoken. At most we will try to give some hints, hoping that those
concerned might come to realize what we really want to tell them.
We are afraid that if we say things that are disagreeable to the ears of our
listeners, they would no longer like us or see us as their friends and they
might even marginalize us. This was precisely the way the false prophets in the
Old Testament acted. Hananiah prophesied victory and peace for the
kingdom. He said all that the people and the King were so desperate to
hear. Instead of telling them what God wanted them to hear, he told them
of things that were to their liking.
In contrast, we have the
prophet Jeremiah who was alone in proclaiming the Word of God as it should be
spoken. He spoke against all the false prophets, the King and the
people’s expectations. Jeremiah was brutally honest in his
message. Whilst he wished that the words of the Prophet Hananiah
were true, he knew that this was not the message from God. So he told
them the plain truth, which of course did not sit well with his people.
Instead of welcoming the truth of his message, he was condemned, persecuted and
castigated as a traitor and a wet blanket.
Indeed,
how many of us can be as courageous as the prophet Jeremiah to speak the truth
with such boldness even when all others are against us? Most of us would
succumb under pressure and at the first sign of hostility we would cave in and
submit to the popular wishes of the group even if we know from the depths of
our heart that this is not the truth or what the Lord is asking of us. Such
tendency to gain cheap popularity and acceptance is very common, whether in
politics, in the office or even in Church. Whether we are dealing with
individuals or at meetings, we dare not speak the truth frankly for fear of
losing favour with our friends.
It is
important that we make a distinction between being negative and speaking the
truth. Being positive does not mean that we compromise the truth.
To be positive on the contrary, is to look at the whole situation in
perspective and highlighting the good aspects of a particular situation whilst
not denying the negative aspects as well. Being true does not require us
to be negative in outlook. In fact, to be true is a positive thing, for
by speaking the truth, we can also help a person or the group to face the
problem squarely and find positive means to deal with the situation rather than
to suppress it and pretend that it does not exist.
How, then, can we find the
fortitude to be faithful to the truth that the Lord has planted in our minds
and hearts? Jesus shows us the way in today’s gospel. We read that
“when Jesus received the news of John the Baptist’s death he withdrew by boat
to a lonely place where they could be by themselves.” The death of His
cousin, John the Baptist, surely must have affected Jesus greatly.
Not only was He sad and distressed at the loss of John the Baptist whom He
commended as a great prophet, but He knew that that would likely be his fate as
well, since all prophets in the Old Testament were killed and martyred.
It was in such a bewildered mood that He became pensive and needed some
time to calm His thoughts and heart. Hence, the need to withdraw to a lonely
place so that He could pray to His Father and find enlightenment, encouragement
and strength.
Yes, if
we are confused, insecure and fearful of our future even though we know we are
doing the right thing, like Jesus, we need to withdraw to a lonely place to
pray. In our solitude, the Lord will speak to our hearts and give us the
conviction and the grace to be true to our beliefs and to His Word.
Hence, if there are moments when we are tempted to seek false compromises and
make uneasy alliances with evil, let us quieten ourselves before the Lord and
listen to the prompting of His Holy Spirit. Only in the desert, can we
hear the voice of God clearly. Without withdrawing we can only hear the voice
of our fear and that of the world speaking to us loudly.
To
listen to the Lord requires that we follow the psalmist in deepening our love
for the Word of God. Truly, if we are troubled and lack courage in speaking the
truth, we must, with the psalmist, ask the Lord to teach us His statutes and to
remove us “from the way of falsehood” and instead pay heed to His decrees and
ordinances. So being grounded in the Word of God, listening attentively
to His Word, is the first step in finding courage to remain true to what we
believe. St Paul reminded Timothy, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is
useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so
that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3:16-17
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But for
us Catholics, we are truly privileged, for besides the Word of God, we have the
Eucharist to give us the personal presence of Jesus. The multiplication
of loaves in today’s gospel miracle is an anticipation of the Eucharist that
the Lord would give to the Church at the Last Supper. Jesus, who is the
Word of God, is also the Bread of Life. Just as He multiplied the five loaves
and two fish to feed the five thousand, so too through the Eucharist, He now
makes Himself present to us all in the form of bread and wine. By adoring
and receiving the Eucharist, we remember His passion, death and
resurrection. Contemplating on His love for us on the cross and the power
of His resurrection, we no longer need to fear the possible rejection by our
fellowmen. With the assurance of Christ’s love for us and confident that we too
will share in His victory over sin and death, we can with faith surrender
ourselves and our lives to Jesus.
Today,
we also take consolation that Jesus will be with us in our trials and
difficulties. He will respond to our prayers for help when we are
disheartened and downhearted. For even in His sadness, He put aside His
pain and attended to the sick and the people who were hungry for the Word of
God and His love. We can also be confident that Jesus will stand by us
whenever we need Him. Learning from Jesus, we must also selflessly put
aside our need for comfort and acceptance by people. Instead, like Jesus,
let us serve the people of God with selflessness.
Most of
all, we can rest assure that with Jesus, there is nothing we cannot do.
He will accomplish His work in us. Just as He made use of the meager food
that was given to Him to feed the multitude, so too, by offering Him all that
we have, He will use us mightily to proclaim the Good News which is the Word of
God in its entirety, the Word that sets people free from falsehood, sin and
evil so that they can share in the freedom and truth of God’s kingdom.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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