20180707 A TIME FOR EVERYTHING
07 JULY, 2018, Saturday, 13th Week,
Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Amos 9:11-15 ©
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I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel
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It is the Lord who speaks:
‘That day I will re-erect the tottering hut of David,
make good the gaps in it, restore its ruins
and rebuild it as it was in the days of old,
so that they can conquer the remnant of Edom
and all the nations that belonged to me.’
It is the Lord who speaks, and he will carry this out.
‘The days are coming now – it is the Lord who speaks –
when harvest will follow directly after ploughing,
the treading of grapes soon after sowing,
when the mountains will run with new wine
and the hills all flow with it.
I mean to restore the fortunes of my people Israel;
they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them,
plant vineyards and drink their wine,
dig gardens and eat their produce.
I will plant them in their own country,
never to be rooted up again
out of the land I have given them,
says the Lord, your God.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 84(85): 9,11-14 ©
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The Lord speaks peace to his people.
I will hear what the Lord God has to say,
a voice that speaks of peace,
peace for his people and his friends
and those who turn to him in their hearts.
The Lord speaks peace to his people.
Mercy and faithfulness have met;
justice and peace have embraced.
Faithfulness shall spring from the earth
and justice look down from heaven.
The Lord speaks peace to his people.
The Lord will make us prosper
and our earth shall yield its fruit.
Justice shall march before him
and peace shall follow his steps.
The Lord speaks peace to his people.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps118:135
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Let your face shine on your servant,
and teach me your decrees.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Jn10:27
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 9:14-17 ©
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When the bridegroom is taken from them, then they will fast
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John’s disciples came to him and said, ‘Why is it that we and the
Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?’ Jesus replied, ‘Surely the
bridegroom’s attendants would never think of mourning as long as the bridegroom
is still with them? But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away
from them, and then they will fast. No one puts a piece of unshrunken cloth on
to an old cloak, because the patch pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets
worse. Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; if they do, the skins
burst, the wine runs out, and the skins are lost. No; they put new wine into
fresh skins and both are preserved.’
A TIME FOR EVERYTHING
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Amos 9:11-15, Mt 9:14-17 ]
This world is
made up of all sorts of people. We have different characters and
different mindsets. Very often, it is the fixed mindsets that cause much
division and misunderstanding among peoples. Some people are comfortable
with rules and structures. Everything must be organized and work like
clockwork. They cannot tolerate changes and modifications. They
would get very upset if anyone were to change the system or the schedule.
For this group of people, they need to be in control of their lives and the situation.
They do not like surprises.
This was the
case of John’s disciples when they came to Jesus and asked, “Why is it that we
and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?” Indeed, they were
brought up in a religious tradition where they were taught to fast. In itself,
fasting is good for the soul and the body. Even Jesus Himself fasted 40
days and nights in the desert after His baptism before He entered into the
ministry. He also advocated fasting and prayer when the disciples could
not exorcise an evil spirit from the boy suffering from epilepsy. (cf Mk 9:28f)
But there is a time for everything. This is the point of today’s gospel
reading. Just because fasting is good, it does not mean that we should be
fasting day and night. This will rob us of the joy of living and the
beauty of creation. God created the world for us to enjoy, not for us to
shun. In the book of Genesis, the Lord gave man dominion over the earth,
and the right to use what the earth produced for food. (cf Gn 1:27-29)
However,
because the things of this earth are plentiful, man needs to discipline himself
and not allow the things of this world to dominate him. He is called to be the
steward of creation, to multiply and steer creation to its
fullness. He must not destroy or abuse creation, otherwise he would
suffer the backlash of the natural forces of creation. If he does not
control his diet, he would fall sick and die. Hence, in the Book of
Genesis, immediately after speaking about creation and its use for man’s pleasure
in chapter 1, Chapter 2 tells of the story of how the Lord put man in the
Garden of Eden. There, He planted many fruit trees but in the middle of
the Garden, there was this tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It was
this tree that man was told not to eat of its fruits. Man was put to the
test to see whether he had grown in maturity to make proper choices in life for
his well-being and that of the good of others. In other words, man must
learn to practise self-control.
Consequently,
for Jesus, fasting is just a means, not the end itself. We do not fast for the
sake of fasting. It is meant to be a discipline for us to strengthen our
will to do the right things by controlling our sensual appetites. In this
way, we will not be a slave to the world. A man of God must have
self-control over his appetite, whether it be for food, sex or pleasure.
Otherwise, if he is addicted to the pleasures of life, he will lose his
perspective. Fasting is useful to help a person to transcend the world so
that he could be in touch with his spiritual hunger. It is helpful for a
good prayer life and to live a life of wisdom and self-awareness.
Hence, Jesus
gave three examples of when it would be the right time to fast. Jesus replied, “Surely the
bridegroom’s attendants would never think of mourning as long as the bridegroom
is still with them? But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away
from them, and then they will fast. No one puts a piece of unshrunken cloth on
to an old cloak, because the patch pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets
worse. Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; if they do, the skins
burst, the wine runs out, and the skins are lost. No; they put new wine into
fresh skins and both are preserved.”
Indeed, it
would be incongruous and odd for the bridegroom’s attendants and guests to fast
on their wedding day. It should be celebrated as a day of joy. Life is not always
gloom and doom. God wants us to celebrate and be happy. So we
should not be afraid to celebrate. This explains why even in the Church,
we do not fast or abstain from meat on Sundays and all Solemnities because they
are days of celebration. We should not be so robotic and fall into
routine and custom of fasting because we are used to doing so.
This is the
real problem of the rule of abstinence from meat on Fridays. Many Catholics were
practising it and observing the rule out of routine. Unfortunately, they
forgot the real spirit of fasting, which is to remember the passion of Christ,
so that we too will rekindle His love and mercy for us as we contemplate on His
sufferings, and in turn love our neighbours the same way He has loved us and
forgiven us. So whilst Catholics were observing the canonical law of
abstinence on Fridays, they were not observing the spirit of the fasting.
It becomes even more ludicrous when Catholics use it as an occasion to dine in
luxury on Fridays by going for seafood, which by far is more expensive than
eating meat!
Another
reason for fasting is to long for God. We fast because we have lost our bridegroom. Through
fasting and prayer, we hope to focus our hearts on God and on heavenly things,
as St Paul urges us. “Set your minds on things that are above, not on
things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with
Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be
revealed with him in glory.” (Col 3:2-4)
Because of our sins and sullen hearts, we can no longer hear what God is saying
to us. That is why fasting always goes with prayer, otherwise it becomes merely
an act of discipline of the will. Instead of making us humble, we could
end up like the Pharisees, self-righteous and proud of our achievements.
If fasting does not help us to pray better and identify with the suffering of
Christ, we have missed the point of fasting.
But this
basic principle of fasting applies to every area of life as well. We should not be a
slave to rules and customs. Rather, we must observe the spirit and intent of
the law. We are called to live a life of freedom in Christ. The
only law, as St Paul says, is the law of love. “Owe no one anything, except to
love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. Love
does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.” (Rom 13:8,10)
We must be consistent with what we do and why we do what we do. If not,
we are acting hypocritically. So whilst we must act in freedom with
respect to the observance of the laws and customs, it also presupposes that we
are mature, wise and enlightened enough to act with purity of heart and with
sincere intentions. Many in the name of freedom disregard all laws when they
are in truth using freedom for self-indulgence. Unless we are spiritually
mature, it would be wiser to observe the rules if we are not sure. It is
always better to err on the side of the law than falsehood.
Yet, another
truth in life is that we are ignorant. Like the Israelites, they turned away from God,
then suffered the consequences of their sins of complacency, injustice and
superficial religiosity. God allowed the natural development of history to
unfold itself. They were punished by the Assyrians. We, too, often
come to self-realization only when we are punished by the sins and wrongs we
have committed. If we are lustful, we suffer the consequences of a broken
marriage and family, or being blackmail by others. If we are not eating
healthily, we fall sick and develop all kinds of illnesses. If we are
ambitious, we create many enemies and have no peace. Indeed, most of our
sufferings are the consequences of our folly.
But God is
great. He is patient with us. He knows when is the right time to
act and how to help us come back to our senses. When the time is
right, He will call us back. Conversion is always the grace of God.
As the prophet says, “The days are coming now – it is the Lord who speaks –
when harvest will follow directly after ploughing, the treading of grapes soon
after sowing, when the mountains will run with new wine and the hills all flow
with it. I mean to restore the fortunes of my people Israel; they will rebuild
cities and live in them, plant vineyards and drink their produce. I will plant
them in their own country, never to be rooted up again out of the land I have
given them, says the Lord, your God.” Indeed, God acts in His time.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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