20170820 CHOSEN AND BLESSED FOR OTHERS
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
|
First reading
|
Isaiah 56:1,6-7 ©
|
Thus says the Lord: Have a care for justice, act with integrity,
for soon my salvation will come and my integrity be manifest.
Foreigners
who have attached themselves to the Lord to serve him and to love his name and
be his servants – all who observe the sabbath, not profaning it, and cling
to my covenant – these I will bring to my holy mountain. I will make them
joyful in my house of prayer. Their holocausts and their sacrifices will be
accepted on my altar, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the
peoples.
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
|
Psalm 66(67):2-3,5-6,8 ©
|
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the
peoples praise you.
O God, be gracious and bless us
and let your face shed its light upon us.
So will your ways be known upon earth
and all nations learn your saving help.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the
peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and exult
for you rule the world with justice.
With fairness you rule the peoples,
you guide the nations on earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the
peoples praise you.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
May God still give us his blessing
till the ends of the earth revere him.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the
peoples praise you.
|
Second reading
|
|
Romans 11:13-15,29-32 ©
|
Let me tell you pagans this: I have been sent to the pagans as
their apostle, and I am proud of being sent, but the purpose of it is to make
my own people envious of you, and in this way save some of them. Since their
rejection meant the reconciliation of the world, do you know what their
admission will mean? Nothing less than a resurrection from the dead! God never
takes back his gifts or revokes his choice.
Just as you
changed from being disobedient to God, and now enjoy mercy because of their
disobedience, so those who are disobedient now – and only because of the
mercy shown to you – will also enjoy mercy eventually. God has imprisoned
all men in their own disobedience only to show mercy to all mankind.
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
Jn10:27
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
|
Or
|
cf.Mt4:23
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the kingdom
and cured all kinds of sickness among the people.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
|
Matthew 15:21-28 ©
|
Jesus left Gennesaret and withdrew to the region of Tyre and
Sidon. Then out came a Canaanite woman from that district and started shouting,
‘Sir, Son of David, take pity on me. My daughter is tormented by a devil.’ But
he answered her not a word. And his disciples went and pleaded with him. ‘Give
her what she wants,’ they said ‘because she is shouting after us.’ He said in
reply, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.’ But the
woman had come up and was kneeling at his feet. ‘Lord,’ she said ‘help me.’ He
replied, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the
house-dogs.’ She retorted, ‘Ah yes, sir; but even house-dogs can eat the scraps
that fall from their master’s table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, you have
great faith. Let your wish be granted.’ And from that moment her daughter was
well again.
CHOSEN AND BLESSED FOR OTHERS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ IS 56:1.6-7; PS 67:2-3,5-6,8; ROM 11:13-15.29-32; MT 15:21-28]
The scripture
readings today speak about the election of Israel as the Chosen People of
God. They were chosen by God to be His Covenanted people. The
call began with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In Egypt, they became a motley
crowd of Hebrews. After leaving Egypt, they were called by God to become
a nation called Israel. Over the long history of Israel came the Messiah
who was a descendant of King David, born of Mary whose husband was named Joseph
of the House of David. This is salvation history in a nutshell.
Some of us
wonder why God is so unfair to choose Israel to be His chosen people, or even
Mary to be the mother of the Messiah. Why did not God choose us
instead? Why not the Chinese or the Indians or the Africans? The
truth is that election is the free choice of God. It remains a mystery
because love is always a mystery. Why did you choose someone to be your
friend or your spouse? Surely it was not a calculated matter, after
weighing all the pros and cons before you decided to choose someone as your
friend or spouse, as if it is a business contract. Falling in love is a
mystery. So too God’s election of His people remains a mystery.
In God’s
awesome plan of salvation for humankind, He decreed that He would come to save
us as man in Jesus Christ. Indeed, we were “once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to
various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by
men and hating one another; but when the goodness and loving kindness of God
our Savior appeared, he saved us.” (Titus 3:3f)
Consequently,
the Second Person of the Trinity needed to be incarnated somewhere and at a
specific time. God’s eternal plan was to send His Son at the appointed
time to save us from sin and the law so that we could be His adopted sons and
daughters. (cf Gal 4:4f) Historically, He chose to be born through Mary 2,000
years ago at Nazareth.
God became
man so that He could be identified with us, to share in our temptations and
pains and so become for us our leader in salvation. “For we have not a
high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in
every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning.” (Heb 4:15)
To see Jesus is to see the Father. “Do you not believe that I am in the
Father and the Father in me?” (Jn 14:10)
Indeed, in Christ, we see who God is, in His love and mercy, especially through
His works of mercy, forgiveness, healing, exorcisms and teaching.
Thus, the
Jews were not chosen for themselves but for the whole of humanity. They
were chosen so that the messiah could come from the tribe of Israel. They were called to be the
light for the nations, not for themselves. “You are my servant, Israel,
in whom I will be glorified.” (Isa 49:3)
“And now the Lord says, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring
Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, – he says:
‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the
tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will give you as a
light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the
earth.’” (Isa 49:5f)
Hence, we
must conclude that all of us are chosen to be God’s people. This is the centrality of
the message of today’s scripture readings. The Lord said, “Foreigners who
have attached themselves to the Lord to serve him and to love his name and be
his servants – all who observe the Sabbath, not profaning it, and cling to my
covenant – these I will bring to my holy mountain. I will make them joyful in
my house of prayer. Their holocausts and their sacrifices will be accepted on
my altar, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”
In the gospel, Jesus responded to the plea of the Canaanite woman to free her
daughter from the torments of the demon. In the same vein, St Paul spoke
of his mission to the Gentiles. “Let me tell you pagans this: I have been
sent to the pagans as their apostle, and I am proud of being sent.”
How then can
we be saved? We need faith and charity. In the gospel, it was
the faith of the Canaanite woman that saved her daughter. Jesus said to her,
“Woman, you have great faith. Let your wish be granted.’ And from that moment
her daughter was well again.” In spite of Jesus testing her faith and
sincerity, she did not give up so easily. She refused to be discouraged
by the disciples who were anti-Canaanites as they were their former enemies of
the land. Instead, she persevered and humbled herself before the
Lord. When Jesus explained to her that He was sent to the House of Israel
to convert His people first, saying, “It is not fair to take the children’s
food and throw it to the house-dogs”, she retorted, “Ah yes, sir; but even
house-dogs can eat the scraps that fall from their master’s table.”
Secondly, we
need integrity and charity. Isaiah wrote, “Thus says the Lord: Have a care for justice,
act with integrity, for soon my salvation will come and my integrity be
manifest.” The way of salvation is faith in the Lord, either explicitly
or implicitly expressed in righteous living in truth, compassion and
charity. We can have faith in God but that faith cannot save us
without good works. “What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he
has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him?” (Jms 2:14) “So
faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You
have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works,
and I by my works will show you my faith.” (Jms 2:17f)
What then can
we draw from today’s scripture readings for our application? Firstly, there is
a tragedy for those who have been blessed with the gift of salvation but do not
treasure it like the Jews. They rejected the gospel and their call to be the light for the
nations. “Since their rejection meant the reconciliation of the world, do you
know what their admission will mean? Nothing less than a resurrection from the
dead!” Indeed, how often, many of us take our faith, the Eucharist and
the sacraments in the Church for granted.
Secondly, we
must never forget that God has chosen us and blessed us, not for ourselves but
for the service of God and humanity. Whatever we have, our talents, resources and our faith are
meant for others. If we hoard them for ourselves, we would have done
ourselves a disfavor because the gifts would have been wasted on us and others
deprived of our blessings. That is why Christians are called to be
evangelizers and missionaries for Christ. The faith that is given to us
is not meant to be kept among ourselves, building an enclave, separating
ourselves like the Jews in Jesus’ time from others. Rather, we must reach
out to those who have no faith in Christ and share with them the Good News of
salvation. St Paul made it clear why the pagans were chosen. “I
have been sent to the pagans as their apostle, and I am proud of being sent,
but the purpose of it is to make my own people envious of you, and in this way
save some of them.”
Thirdly, for
those of us who have been blessed, let us not be too proud of ourselves. Just because we are PhD
holders or have a good career or are making plenty of money, we must not credit
ourselves too much, for without the mercy and kindness of God, we would not be
where we are today. St Paul reminded the Gentile Christians of the mercy
of God and their role in the salvation of the Jews. Just as they have
received mercy from God through the Jews, they must now return that favor to
them by sharing with them the Good News. “Just as you changed from being
disobedient to God, and now enjoy mercy because of their disobedience, so those
who are disobedient now – and only because of the mercy shown to you – will
also enjoy mercy eventually. God has imprisoned all men in their own
disobedience only to show mercy to all mankind.”
In the final
analysis, the mystery of God’s plan is beyond our understanding. This is the
conclusion of St Paul in this chapter of Romans. Indeed, St Paul
marveled at God’s mysterious way at the end of this chapter of Romans
when he exclaimed, “O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! ‘For who has
known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?’ ‘Or who has given a
gift to him that he might be repaid?’” (Rom 11:33-35)
In truth, whether we are the Chosen People of God from the beginning or later,
or whether we reject God now or come to find Him later, the grace of God is operative
in ways beyond our understanding. It is not for us to judge who is saved
or not but rather, we should just play our part in the economy of salvation,
doing what we can from the blessings we have received from Him. For the
rest, we just leave them into the hands of God for He is all merciful and just
as the psalmist says. “O God, be gracious and bless us and let your face
shed its light upon us. Let the nations be glad and exult for you rule
the world with justice.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment