20170726
SURRENDERING TO THE MYSTERY OF GRACE
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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Exodus 16:1-5,9-15 ©
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From Elim they set out, and the whole community of the sons of
Israel reached the wilderness of Sin – between Elim and Sinai – on
the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt. And the whole
community of the sons of Israel began to complain against Moses and Aaron in
the wilderness and said to them, ‘Why did we not die at the Lord’s hand in the
land of Egypt, when we were able to sit down to pans of meat and could eat
bread to our heart’s content! As it is, you have brought us to this wilderness
to starve this whole company to death!’
Then the
Lord said to Moses, ‘Now I will rain down bread for you from the heavens. Each
day the people are to go out and gather the day’s portion; I propose to test
them in this way to see whether they will follow my law or not. On the sixth day,
when they prepare what they have brought in, this will be twice as much as the
daily gathering.’
Moses said
to Aaron, ‘To the whole community of the sons of Israel say this, “Present
yourselves before the Lord, for he has heard your complaints.”’ As Aaron was
speaking to the whole community of the sons of Israel, they turned towards the wilderness,
and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the form of a cloud. Then the
Lord spoke to Moses and said, ‘I have heard the complaints of the sons of
Israel. Say this to them, “Between the two evenings you shall eat meat, and in
the morning you shall have bread to your heart’s content. Then you will learn
that I, the Lord, am your God.”’ And so it came about: quails flew up in the
evening, and they covered the camp; in the morning there was a coating of dew
all round the camp. When the coating of dew lifted, there on the surface of the
desert was a thing delicate, powdery, as fine as hoarfrost on the ground. When
they saw this, the sons of Israel said to one another, ‘What is that?’ not
knowing what it was. ‘That’ said Moses to them ‘is the bread the Lord gives you
to eat.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 77(78):18-19,23-28 ©
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The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
In their heart they put God to the test
by demanding the food they craved.
They even spoke against God.
They said: ‘Is it possible for God
to prepare a table in the desert?’
The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
Yet he commanded the clouds above
and opened the gates of heaven.
He rained down manna for their food,
and gave them bread from heaven.
The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
Mere men ate the bread of angels.
He sent them abundance of food;
he made the east wind blow from heaven
and roused the south wind by his might.
The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
He rained food on them like dust,
winged fowl like the sands of the sea.
He let it fall in the midst of their camp
and all around their tents.
The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps118:36,29
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Bend my heart to your will, O Lord,
and teach me your law.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The seed is the word of God, Christ the sower;
whoever finds this seed will remain for ever.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 13:1-9 ©
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A sower went out to sow
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Jesus left the house and sat by the lakeside, but such large
crowds gathered round him that he got into a boat and sat there. The people all
stood on the beach, and he told them many things in parables.
He said,
‘Imagine a sower going out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell on the edge of
the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on patches of rock
where they found little soil and sprang up straight away, because there was no
depth of earth; but as soon as the sun came up they were scorched and, not
having any roots, they withered away. Others fell among thorns, and the thorns
grew up and choked them. Others fell on rich soil and produced their crop, some
a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Listen, anyone who has ears!’
SURRENDERING TO THE MYSTERY OF GRACE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Ex 16:1-5. 9-15; Ps 78:18-19,23-28; Mt 13:1-9]
In the first
reading, we read of the trials of the sons of Israel in the wilderness of
Sin. They had left Egypt for 45 days, wandering in the desert. The provisions would
have run out and thus they “began to complain against Moses and Aaron in the
wilderness.” In their frustrations they began to exaggerate how good
their life was in Egypt. They said, “Why did we not die at the Lord’s
hand in the land of Egypt, when we were able to sit down to pans of meat and
could eat bread to our heart’s content! As it is, you have brought us to this
wilderness to starve this whole company to death!”
Before we
condemn them, it is important to put ourselves in their shoes. Life in the
desert was certainly not easy. They had to combat the extreme heat and cold and strong
winds. They had to look for water. Nothing can grow in the
desert. The land is rocky and sandy. They had to protect themselves
from wild beasts and from peoples from other tribes. So leaving the
sheltered life in Egypt and going to a land of nowhere must have been extremely
trying for them. They were not too sure when they would ever reach the
Promised Land. At the same time, they had to contend with their daily
needs.
We too are
often like them. But their situation is much worse than ours! We have food,
clothing and lodging. We might not have as much luxury as we want, but
most of all, we have our basic needs in life. Most of us can be gainfully
employed if we are not choosy over the work we do. Health wise, we are
quite well taken care of. We might be able to afford the most advanced
medical treatment, but we can get by in our sickness. Yet, we are also
not happy. Whether we are earning lots of money, having a great career,
we remain dissatisfied, always lamenting and comparing. Rich or
poor, healthy or sick, famous or ordinary, smart or average, we are never
happy. We are envious of others and we want more and more. When we
get what we want, we desire something more. We are never
contented. This is the reality of life. This was the case of the
Israelites. They asked for water and that was given. They asked for
bread and it was also given. Then they asked for meat, which was also
given. But they remained a people that were always grumbling, complaining
and testing the patience of Moses and the Lord.
Indeed, we
often lament why our life is this way and not that way. The parable of
the Sower in today’s gospel illustrates the mystery of the grace of God. The
sower sowed the seeds. Unfortunately, not all the seeds fell at the right
place. Some “fell on the edge of the path, and the birds came and ate
them up. Others fell on patches of rock where they found little soil and
sprang up straight away, because there was no depth of earth; but as soon as
the sun came up they were scorched and, not having any roots, they withered
away. Others fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked
them. Others fell on rich soil and produced their crop, some a
hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” Indeed, the question is, why did
not all the seeds fall on good soil. If they did, then all the seeds
would have attained their ends, which is to grow and to flourish.
The parable
of the Sower and the seeds tells us that life is a mystery. It is but the
grace of God. Why some seeds fell on poor ground and some on good ground is not
for us to ask. It just happens and this is not within our control.
Why are our children not as smart as others? Why is it that the other
person who is less capable or intelligent promoted over me? Why am I not
born into a rich family? Why am I not given the opportunities to further
my studies or career? Why am I born with poor health? These are
questions that we often ask but these are vain questions as there is no
answer. God has made us all different kinds of soils. He gives His
seed, that is, His grace, equally to all. So it is about the soil, which
is us.
In the final
analysis, regardless whether we are the path, the rocky ground, a patch of
thorns or fertile soil, we can make the best of the situation we are in. It is self-defeating
and destructive to adopt an attitude of envy and resentment at the situation we
are in. Whining and lamenting over the so-called disadvantages of life will get
us nowhere except make us vindictive and self-pitying. Such attitudes towards
life will not make us grow.
Hence, we are
called to turn our disadvantages into moments of opportunities and grace. Those of us who are
born on the path, the edge of society, can rise above others because we know
what it is to be marginalized. That should help us to struggle against
where we are so that when we are able to get out of the situation, we too can
help those who are on the margins of society. Similarly, if we are
that rocky patch, hardened by life’s suffering and trials, we need not be
closed to the grace that comes from God and the many opportunities in life that
people offer us. Rather, we should use the bad experiences of life, the
failures, the mistakes and the injustices we have suffered to help us reach out
to others who are still hardened to the grace of God. And if we come from
the thorny patch of life, choked by the burden of responsibilities, the demands
of daily life and our work, the temptations of the world to dishonesty, power,
wealth and glory, then we should make use of these thorns that choke us to make
us see life in perspective. When we feel choked, we should free ourselves
from these thorns by finding what the essentials of life are and what the real
happiness that we are seeking in life is all about.
Conversely,
it does not mean that only those who are blessed with fertile soil can produce
good harvest. In
fact, quite often, those blessed with opportunities, talents, wealth and
resources take them for granted. They do not recognize the blessings that
they receive. It is just like the Israelites. They prayed for food
and God sent them manna. “And so it came about: quails flew up in the
evening, and they covered the camp: in the morning there was a coating of dew
all round the camp. When the coating of dew lifted, there on the surface
of the desert was a thing delicate, powdery, as fine as hoarfrost on the
ground.” Observe their reaction to the miracle. They “said to one
another, ‘What is that?’ not knowing what it was. ‘That’ said Moses to
them ‘is the bread the Lord gives you to eat.’” They failed to recognize
the grace of God when it was given. This is the tragedy of life.
Truly, we are
called to surrender our lives to the Lord. As the Lord said, “Now I will rain down
bread for you from the heavens. Each day the people are to go out and
gather the day’s portion; I propose to test them in this way to see whether
they will follow my law or not.” The Lord wants to test whether we will
follow His ways, trust in His divine providence, and stay focused. The
Lord is not deaf to our pleas. He knows our pains and our
struggles. But He wants us to let Him be the Lord of our lives. We
should not presume that we have the last word and are able to manage our lives
without Him. They did not trust Him. “In their heart they put God
to the test by demanding the food they craved. They even spoke against
God. They said: ‘Is it possible for God to prepare a table in the
desert?” Hence, “the Lord spoke to Moses and said, ‘I have heard the
complaints of the sons of Israel. Say this to them, ‘Between the two
evenings you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have bread to your
heart’s content. Then you will learn that I, the Lord, am your God.’”
To trust in
the Lord is to let the Lord be our God! The psalmist urges us to rely on
the goodness of God instead of putting Him to the test. “Yet he commanded the clouds
above and opened the gates of heaven. He rained down manna for their
food, and gave them bread from heaven. Mere men ate the bread of angels.”
God has given us Jesus the bread of life, the bread from Heaven.
This is the greatest blessing we can have. Jesus shows us the way
to live a life of fecundity, by giving ourselves in love and service to others
and by walking in faith and in obedience to the Father’s will. We too can
share in this life if we follow Jesus, cooperating with God’s grace as He did,
walking by faith and not by sight.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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