20170715
LETTING GOD TAKE OVER MEANS LETTING GO
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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Jacob gave his sons these instructions, ‘I am about to be gathered
to my people. Bury me near my fathers, in the cave that is in the field of
Ephron the Hittite, in the cave in the field at Machpelah, opposite Mamre, in
the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a
burial-plot. There Abraham was buried and his wife Sarah. There Isaac was
buried and his wife Rebekah. There I buried Leah. I mean the field and the cave
in it that were bought from the sons of Heth.’
When Jacob
had finished giving his instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the
bed, and breathing his last was gathered to his people.
Seeing that
their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers said, ‘What if Joseph intends to treat
us as enemies and repay us in full for all the wrong we did him?’ So they sent
this message to Joseph: ‘Before your father died he gave us this order: “You
must say to Joseph: Oh forgive your brothers their crime and their sin and all
the wrong they did you.” Now therefore, we beg you, forgive the crime of the
servants of your father’s God.’ Joseph wept at the message they sent to him.
His brothers
came themselves and fell down before him. ‘We present ourselves before you’
they said ‘as your slaves.’ But Joseph answered them, ‘Do not be afraid; is it
for me to put myself in God’s place? The evil you planned to do me has by God’s
design been turned to good, that he might bring about, as indeed he has, the
deliverance of a numerous people. So you need not be afraid; I myself will
provide for you and your dependants.’ In this way he reassured them with words
that touched their hearts.
So Joseph
stayed in Egypt with his father’s family; and Joseph lived a hundred and ten
years. Joseph saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children, as also the
children of Machir, Manasseh’s son, who were born on Joseph’s lap. At length
Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am about to die; but God will be sure to
remember you kindly and take you back from this country to the land that he
promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ And Joseph made Israel’s sons
swear an oath, ‘When God remembers you with kindness be sure to take my bones
from here.’
Joseph died
at the age of a hundred and ten; they embalmed him and laid him in his coffin
in Egypt.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts
will revive.
Give thanks to the Lord, tell his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
O sing to him, sing his praise;
tell all his wonderful works!
Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts
will revive.
Be proud of his holy name,
let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice.
Consider the Lord and his strength;
constantly seek his face.
Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts
will revive.
O children of Abraham, his servant,
O sons of the Jacob he chose.
He, the Lord, is our God:
his judgements prevail in all the earth.
Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts
will revive.
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Gospel Acclamation
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1Jn2:5
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Whenever anyone obeys what Christ has said,
God’s love comes to perfection in him.
Alleluia!
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Or
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1P4:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
It is a blessing for you
when they insult you for bearing the name of Christ,
for the Spirit of God rests on you.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘The disciple is not
superior to his teacher, nor the slave to his master. It is enough for the
disciple that he should grow to be like his teacher, and the slave like his
master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, what will they
not say of his household?
‘Do not be
afraid of them therefore. For everything that is now covered will be uncovered,
and everything now hidden will be made clear. What I say to you in the dark,
tell in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim from the housetops.
‘Do not be
afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who
can destroy both body and soul in hell. Can you not buy two sparrows for a
penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why,
every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you
are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.
‘So if
anyone declares himself for me in the presence of men, I will declare myself
for him in the presence of my Father in heaven. But the one who disowns me in
the presence of men, I will disown in the presence of my Father in heaven.’
LETTING GOD TAKE OVER MEANS LETTING GO
This life is
full of challenges. So long as we are on this earth, we cannot avoid the crosses in
daily life. We will have our joys and sorrows, successes and failures,
delights and disappointments, friends and foes. Jesus said, “The disciple
is not superior to his teacher, nor the slave to his master. It is enough
for the disciple that he should grow to be like his teacher, and the slave like
his master.”
Indeed, even
Jesus Himself faced much opposition in His life, not because He did anything
wrong but because He did what was good. Jesus said, “If they have
called the master of the house Beelzebul, what will they not say of his
household?” Our master Himself had to carry His cross; of being rejected
by His own family, betrayed by His apostles, abandoned at His passion,
slandered by His enemies, and condemned for a political crime He did not
commit, all because Pilate was afraid of displeasing the Jewish authorities.
This was true
of Joseph as well. Partly his own doing, for boasting, and his father’s
doing, for showing favoritism and making his brothers jealous of him. He was sold by his brothers
to the Midianite merchants. (cf Gn 37) Whilst working for one of Pharaoh’s officials,
Potiphar, he did well and was put in charge of the master’s household.
But Potiphar’s wife wanted to seduce him, and he resisted. Out of
revenge, she falsely accused him of outraging her modesty and was put in
prison. (cf Gn 39) Later on, he helped
to interpret the dream of the Chief Cupbearer. (Gn 40) When Pharaoh needed someone to interpret his dream, as none of
his advisers could, the cupbearer remembered Joseph and introduced him to
Pharaoh who later made him in charge of Egypt. (Gn 41)
When we look
at the life of Jesus and Joseph, we see history as a series of twists and
turns.
This is the reality of life. Prosperity is followed by adversity; health
is followed by illness; life is followed by death, union is followed by
separation. This process just goes on and on. The last will
of Joseph, asking for his remains to be brought back to Canaan, sets the stage
for the Exodus saga. “At length Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am about
to die; but God will be sure to remember you kindly and take you back from this
country to the land that he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob.’ And Joseph made Israel’s sons swear an oath, ‘When God remembers
you with kindness be sure to take my bones from here.’” The Exodus story
would be another long chapter in the history of salvation where again we see
the fortunes and misfortunes, the victories and failures of the Hebrews.
Their stay in Egypt spanned more than 400 years, before they came out of Egypt
into the desert and gradually conquered the Promised Land, which took another
40 years. By the time Israel became a united kingdom, it took another 400
years! So from the promise made to Abraham (2091 B.C) to the
fulfillment of the Kingdom of David (1010 B.C), it took more than a 1000 years!
In the light
of the mystery of God’s inexorable plan of salvation for humanity, we are
called to trust in the Lord like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and down through
the centuries to Christ Himself. This is what the Lord is asking of us in the
gospel. He said, “Do not be afraid of them therefore. For
everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden
will be made clear. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the daylight;
what you hear in whispers, proclaim from the house tops.” From hindsight,
we will appreciate the unfolding wisdom of God’s plan. This is what the
psalmist says, “O children of Abraham, his servant, O sons of the Jacob he
chose. He, the Lord, is our God: his judgements prevail in all the earth.”
Indeed, God
is faithful to His promises. In the first reading, we see again and again how God
remained faithful to His promise. Before Jacob died, he asked to be
buried among his peoples. “Bury me near my fathers, in the cave that is
in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave in the field at Machpelah,
opposite Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought from Ephron the
Hittite as a burial-plot. There Abraham was buried and his wife Sarah.
There Isaac was buried and his wife Rebekah. There I buried Leah. I
mean the field and the cave in it that were bought from the sons of
Heth.’” This field was the beginning of the possession of the Promised
Land that was to come. With the psalmist, we “give thanks to the Lord,
tell his name, make known his deeds among the peoples. O sing to him,
sing his praise; tell all his wonderful works!”
This is what
the Lord is also assuring us. God will provide for us and will protect
us. “Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one
falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your
head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth
more than hundreds of sparrows.” This promise of God taking care of us
does not of course dispense us from having to struggle and cooperate with His
plan. It does not mean that we sit and do nothing, and wait for God to
provide. What Jesus meant was that the Lord will give us the grace to work
through our struggles in life. He will not abandon us and He will not
allow our soul to be overwhelmed. Hence, He said, “Do not be afraid of
those that kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can
destroy both body and soul in hell.” Even if our body is killed, our soul
is saved for eternal life. That is why we should not be afraid of
anything in life.
All we need
is to seek His face. The psalmist exhorts us. “Seek the Lord, you who are poor,
and your hearts will revive. Be proud of his holy name,
let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice. Consider the Lord and his strength;
constantly seek his face.” We need to acknowledge Him as the Lord and our
God. Jesus said, “So if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of
men, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in
heaven. But the one who disowns me in the presence of men, I will disown
in the presence of my Father in heaven.” To acknowledge Him is to
surrender our lives to Him in faith and trust like the biblical men and
women. This is what it means to let God take over.
But to let
God take over also means not just to let go of wanting things our way, but also
to let go of those who hurt us, especially our enemies. This was what Joseph
was asked to do. He was asked to forgive his brothers. “So they
sent this message to Joseph: ‘Before your father died he gave us this order:
‘You must say to Joseph: Oh forgive your brothers their crime and their sin and
all the wrong they did you.’ Now therefore, we beg you, forgive the crime
of the servants of your father’s God.’ Joseph wept at the message they
sent to him.” It was immaterial whether it was concocted by the brothers
or truly from his father, but he took the message in the right spirit. He
forgave.
But he could
forgive only because he knew that God was in control and that all things happen
for our good, pleasant and unpleasant events. “Joseph answered them, ‘Do not be
afraid; is it for me to put myself in God’s place? The evil you planned to do
me has by God’s design been turned to good, that he might bring about, as
indeed he has, the deliverance of a numerous people. So you need not be
afraid; I myself will provide for you and your dependents.’ In this way
he reassured them with words that touched their hearts.” Truly, God
allows things to happen to us for our good. As St Paul wrote, “We know that all
things work together for good for those who love God, who are called
according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28) “O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of
God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Rom 11:33)
In letting go
of our enemies as Joseph did, and Jesus who also did likewise on the cross, we
are taught to let God take over. This is what St Paul exhorts us. “Beloved,
never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is
written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ No, ‘if your
enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to
drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ Do
not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Rom 12:19-21) When we act like Joseph and Jesus, then it truly means to
let God take over because we have truly let go.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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