20170724
FAITH OVERCOMES FEAR AND DOUBT
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Exodus 14:5-18 ©
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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.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Exodus 15:1-6 ©
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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!
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.2Tim1:10
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death
and he has proclaimed life through the Good News.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Ps94:8
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 12:38-42 ©
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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 OVERCOMES FEAR AND DOUBT
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Ex 14:5-18; Ex 15:1-6; Mt 12:38-42]
We live our
lives in fear. It is natural to fear for our safety and our needs. We all have an
instinct for survival. We fear pain, suffering and death. So in the
face of danger, we panic. When we become anxious and frightened, we
become irrational and say or do things without thinking. This was the
case of the Israelites. We can imagine their fears. Hence, they
began to complain and lament. “Were there no grave 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!” They started to blame Moses and
accuse him of leading them to their death. They even preferred to live in
slavery than to suffer in the desert or die in the hands of the Egyptians.
In our
straits, we tend to forget all the great things that happened to us before. How true, in bad times, we
forget the good times. Even in friendship, when there is a
misunderstanding, we forget all the other good times we have had. We
cannot forgive the person for the one mistake he has made when he had done many
good things for us. We just pick on the fault, disregarding all the good
the person has done. This is also true in times of adversity. We
begin to doubt His love for us when we are going through difficult times or
trials in life. In good times, we praise and thank God for His love but
in bad times, we forget all His blessings.
Fear drives
us to hopelessness. But doubt will cause us to be unresponsive. This was the situation
of the scribes and the Pharisees. They had doubts about Jesus as the
Messiah. “Master, we should like to see a sign from you.” Again,
this request was not unreasonable. It is necessary that there be signs
for credibility before we commit ourselves to belief. All throughout the
scriptures, a true prophet must be able to give signs that his prophecy is from
God. So it was not wrong for them to ask Jesus for a sign that they
should believe in Him.
Perhaps, we
must ask whether our doubts come from the sincere desire to know the truth or
from pride or obstinacy. This too was the obstinacy of Pharaoh. “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 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.” He saw the miracles worked by Moses. He relented and let them go
but his pride and ego was hurt. He could not accept defeat. So he
changed his mind about letting the Israelites go.
God is not
against us seeking signs because the act of faith must be responsible. When Jesus remarked, “It is
an evil and unfaithful generation that asks for a sign!” He was not
reprimanding the people for seeking a sign but for their refusal to be
receptive and open to the signs that He had given. The religious leaders were
not asking for signs for verification but signs to disprove the claims of
Jesus. They came with a closed mind. They lacked openness,
sincerity to find the truth. Their minds were already made up.
Even in the
case of Moses when he demanded faith from the people, he had already given them
some signs. He worked the miracles of the Ten plagues. But the
greatest of all signs was yet to come. It was the crossing of the Red
Sea. “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 horseman. 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.'”
Jesus too, as
the New Moses, had given them signs through His miracles of healing and
exorcism. He had showed them the love and mercy of God. He is the
wisdom of God in person. “On Judgement day the Queen of the South will
rise up with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of
earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than
Solomon here.” In other words, He is the true prophet of God.
But the
greatest of all signs will be His passion, death and resurrection. This was already
anticipated in the Exodus experience. But it is also given in the sign of
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 the generation and condemn it, because when Jonah preached they repented;
and there is something greater than Jonah here.” In His passion and
resurrection, He is vindicated by the Father as His Son.
So the Lord
is not asking us to make an irrational act of faith. The signs have been
given. Now we must make an act of faith to see the fullness of the power
of God. This was what was asked of the Israelites. “Have no fear!
Stand firm, and you will see what the Lord will do to save you to-day: the
Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will do the
fighting for you: you have only to keep still.” And God showed His power and
fidelity. Thus the people sang for joy. “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. 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.”
So too by His
death and resurrection, Jesus shows forth His glory as He leads us through the
waters of baptism, from death to sin and new life in His spirit. Jesus
shows Himself to be the New Moses by His preaching and feeding us with the
bread of life. He conquered sin and death by His victory in the
resurrection. So we are called to have faith in Jesus on account of the
resurrection.
What about
us? We have seen all the signs. We have seen how Jesus is the fulfillment of
the prophets. We have seen how the apostles witnessed to His resurrection
by signs and powers, of healing and exorcism, and most of all the testimony of
life, even unto death. We continue to see His mighty works even in our
days. We see the miracles of the sacraments which bring about effects in
our lives. Hence, we do not live in fear or doubt but in faith in Christ
our Saviour. Our faith in Christ is real and well substantiated.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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