20170710
SEEKING ASSURANCE FROM THE LORD
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Genesis 28:10-22 ©
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Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he had reached a
certain place he passed the night there, since the sun had set. Taking one of
the stones to be found at that place, he made it his pillow and lay down where
he was. He had a dream: a ladder was there, standing on the ground with its top
reaching to heaven; and there were angels of God going up it and coming down.
And the Lord was there, standing over him, saying, ‘I am the Lord, the God of
Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. I will give to you and your
descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants shall be like the
specks of dust on the ground; you shall spread to the west and the east, to the
north and the south, and all the tribes of the earth shall bless themselves by
you and your descendants.
Be sure that
I am with you; I will keep you safe wherever you go, and bring you back to this
land, for I will not desert you before I have done all that I have promised
you.’ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Truly, the Lord is in this
place and I never knew it!’ He was afraid and said, ‘How awe-inspiring this
place is! This is nothing less than a house of God; this is the gate of
heaven!’ Rising early in the morning, Jacob took the stone he had used for his
pillow, and set it up as a monument, pouring oil over the top of it. He named
the place Bethel, but before that the town was called Luz.
Jacob made
this vow, ‘If God goes with me and keeps me safe on this journey I am making,
if he gives me bread to eat and clothes to wear, and if I return home safely to
my father, then the Lord shall be my God. This stone I have set up as a
monument shall be a house of God.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 90(91):1-4,14-15 ©
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My God, in you I trust.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
and abides in the shade of the Almighty
says to the Lord: ‘My refuge,
my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!’
My God, in you I trust.
It is he who will free you from the snare
of the fowler who seeks to destroy you;
he will conceal you with his pinions
and under his wings you will find refuge.
My God, in you I trust.
Since he clings to me in love, I will free him;
protect him for he knows my name.
When he calls I shall answer: ‘I am with you,’
I will save him in distress.
My God, in you I trust.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Jn6:63,68
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
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Or
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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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Gospel
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Matthew 9:18-26 ©
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While Jesus was speaking, up came one of the officials, who bowed
low in front of him and said, ‘My daughter has just died, but come and lay your
hand on her and her life will be saved.’ Jesus rose and, with his disciples,
followed him. Then from behind him came a woman, who had suffered from a
haemorrhage for twelve years, and she touched the fringe of his cloak, for she
said to herself, ‘If I can only touch his cloak I shall be well again.’ Jesus
turned round and saw her; and he said to her, ‘Courage, my daughter, your faith
has restored you to health.’ And from that moment the woman was well again.
When Jesus
reached the official’s house and saw the flute-players, with the crowd making a
commotion he said, ‘Get out of here; the little girl is not dead, she is
asleep.’ And they laughed at him. But when the people had been turned out he
went inside and took the little girl by the hand; and she stood up. And the
news spread all round the countryside.
SEEKING ASSURANCE FROM THE LORD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Gn 28:10-22; Ps 90:1-4,14-15; Mt 9:18-26]
We can
imagine how fearful and uncertain Jacob was about his future. Firstly, he was
fleeing from his brother who wanted to kill him. He was on the run and
there was always a possibility that he might catch up with him. He was in
danger of death. Secondly, he knew he cheated Esau of his
birthright. Was he the one whom God would choose to be the descendant of
Abraham and be the father of many nations? Could he not be the one, since he
cheated himself into that position. Perhaps, it was just his own will and
not part of God’s plan. Thirdly, he was travelling alone to a distant
land. Haran was 5340 Km from Beersheba. Would he be safe from brigands
and enemies? Would he be able to find his way there safely? These
were the questions confronting Jacob as he fled for his life.
So too was
the fear of the woman with the hemorrhage. She was desperate but she felt guilty for
touching a holy man and contaminating Him. But she had spent all her
money on doctors and there was no cure. As a result, she felt unworthy
and an outcast because she was considered unclean. She was seeking
healing of her illness which was causing her much inconvenience. She was
also embarrassed to let people know of her illness otherwise she would be
ostracized. She was in a dilemma. But she took courage. She
said to herself, ‘If I can only touch his cloak I shall be well again.'”
The relatives
of the girl who died must have been distraught. Which father or mother
would not feel sad to have her child die young? It must have been very sad
for them to lose a child. “While Jesus was speaking, up came
one of the officials, who bowed low in front of him and said, ‘My daughter has
just died, but come and lay your hand on her and her life will be saved.’
Jesus rose and, with his disciples, followed him.” He must have been
extremely sad. But Jesus gave him hope by immediately following him to
his house.
In all these
cases, God showed Himself to be supportive and consoling. God assured
Jacob by confirming His promises and divine protection from all
harm. God said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the
God of Isaac. I will give to you and your descendants the land on which
you are lying. Your descendants shall be like the specks of dust on the
ground; you shall spread to the west and the east, to the north and the south,
and all the tribes of the earth shall bless themselves by you and your
descendants. Be sure that I am with you; I will keep you safe wherever
you go, and bring you back to this land, for I will not desert you before I
have done all that I have promised you.” This was all that Jacob needed
to know, that he was the chosen one to realize the promise made to Abraham and
that God would protect him from all harm and evil.
Christ
assured the mourners that the child was not dead but sleeping. “When Jesus reached
the official’s house and saw the flute-players, with the crowd making a
commotion he said, ‘Get out of here; the little girl is not dead, she is
asleep.'” Indeed, Jesus gave hope to all those who were desperate. He
never spoke to them in a way that made them feel hopeless. He assured the
woman that she was healed of her ailment because of her faith. “Jesus
turned round and saw her; and he said to her, ‘Courage, my daughter, your faith
has restored you to health.'” It was a necessary affirmation because she
might have doubted that she was healed as she had touched Jesus’ cloak without
His permission. To remove any doubt of the healing grace of God that
flowed to her, Jesus assured that she was healed. We read that “from that
moment the woman was well again.”
We too need
assurance in the different moments of our lives. We need confirmation in our
weaknesses, especially in trials and sickness. We need assurance when we
receive a new appointment or an office in which we feel inadequate. We
need assurance when we are faced with opposition to our plans and we doubt
whether our plans are from Him. All of us need assurance. Even
Jesus needed assurance before He began His mission. It was at His
baptism, that the voice came from heaven to affirm Him. “And a voice from
heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
(Mt 3:17).
Then again, before His final entry to Jerusalem for His passion, the Father
reassured the Lord of the direction He was taking when at the Transfiguration
He was seen conversing with Moses and Elijah, representatives of the Law and
the Prophets; and finally, “while he was still speaking, suddenly a bright
cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, ‘This is my Son, the
Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!'”
How does God
assure us? God
assures us through dreams. This was how the Lord spoke to Jacob
and to Joseph, the son of Jacob and also the spouse of Mary. Dreams
remain an important vehicle by which God conveys His message to us. In
the Bible, God spoke to the prophets through visions and dreams. And He
continues to speak to us through dreams and visions today. We should pay
attention to our dreams. However, we must be careful that not all dreams
are from God but could be from our subconscious desires. So we need
to discern carefully whether such dreams are from God. I have seen many
who, after “resting in the Spirit”, found closure for some painful events
in the past when they received images and visions of their loved ones whom they
needed to hear or see.
Secondly, God
appears to us through shrines and monuments like Bethel. “Then Jacob
awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Truly, the Lord is in this place and I never
knew it!’ He was afraid and said, ‘How awe-inspiring this place is! This is
nothing less than a house of God ; this is the gate of heaven!’ Rising early in
the morning, Jacob took the stone he had used for his pillow, and set it up as
a monument, pouring oil over the top of it. He named the place Bethel,
but before that the town was called Luz.” Bethel means House of God.
Bethel became an important shrine later in the history of Israel. Upon
the death of King Solomon, the kingdom of Israel was split into two
kingdoms. Jeroboam, the first king of the northern Kingdom of Israel,
made two calves of gold and set one up in Bethel, and the other in Dan in the
far north of his kingdom. This was to deter the people from having to go to
Jerusalem to worship in the temple there. Like us, we make pilgrimages to
Holy Land and shrines of apparitions and saints. Such monuments and
shrines remain sacred and useful for people to remember the love and mercy of
God and His messages to humanity through the saints. So there is a
purpose for us to promote pilgrimages to shrines because lives are touched.
Thirdly, God
gives us assurance through healing miracles. There is nothing like
a personal healing touch from the Lord. We read that Jesus “went inside
and took the little girl by the hand; and she stood up.” He could
have healed her by a word. He did not even need to go to the house, just
as he healed the servant of the centurion. But Jesus wanted to give them
assurance of His presence and His support. So not only did He go to the
house, He even took the girl by the hand. Indeed, in the New
Testament, Jesus proclaimed the Good News not just with words but with deeds,
especially miracles. After commissioning His disciples, Jesus said, “And
these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast
out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in their
hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay
their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mk 16:7f)
Fourthly, God
gives us His assurance through the scriptures, especially in the psalms where
we hear the testimonies of biblical persons. When we hear the psalmist
praising God for deliverance, we find strength and hope as well. We
too must testify to God’s love in our lives. After healing the girl, we
read that “the news spread all round the countryside.” We too must thank
God by testifying to how He has worked in our lives. Through our stories
of faith, we can assure others that God will hear their prayers as well.
We need to testify to God’s love in our lives and how he has helped us.
Finally, God
can assure us through positive signs. In the Bible, we often hear of
biblical persons asking the Lord for a sign to confirm their vision or their
mission. “Jacob made this vow, ‘If God goes with me and keeps me safe on this
journey I am making, if he gives me bread to eat and clothes to wear, and if I
return home safely to my father, then the Lord shall be my God. This
stone I have set up as a monument shall be a house of God.'” So too we
read in the book of Judges, like Gideon, Moses and the prophets where God gave
them signs to confirm the authenticity of their call or vision. It
is not wrong to ask for signs to confirm His call for us. We should ask
so that we can be confident of our calling and direction in life.
But in the
final analysis, we need faith like the woman, first and foremost. Only with the faith of the
woman can we be restored and be healed. God desires that we have faith in
Him. We must therefore be like Jacob who, after receiving the vision in a
dream, went forth courageously to realize the dream that God had for him.
We too must not be discouraged. Once we have heard His call and received
affirmation from the Lord through His angels, messengers or directly in prayer,
we must with confidence pursue our mission to the end.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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