20180710
HERALDS OF THE GOSPEL
10 JULY, 2018, Tuesday, 14th Week,
Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Hosea 8:4-7,11-13 ©
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They have sown the wind; they will reap the whirlwind
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Thus says the Lord:
They have set up kings, but not with my consent,
and appointed princes, but without my knowledge.
Out of their own silver and gold they have made idols,
which are doomed to destruction.
I spurn your calf, Samaria,
my anger blazes against it.
(How long will it be before they purge themselves of this,
the sons of Israel?)
A workman made the thing,
this cannot be God!
Yes, the calf of Samaria shall go up in flames.
They sow the wind, they will reap the whirlwind;
their wheat will yield no ear,
the ear will yield no flour,
or, if it does, foreigners will swallow it.
Ephraim has built altar after altar,
they have only served him as occasion for sin.
Were I to write out the thousand precepts of my Law for him,
they would be paid no more attention than those of a stranger.
They love sacrificing; right, let them sacrifice!
They love meat; right, let them eat it!
The Lord takes no pleasure in these.
He is now going to remember their iniquity
and punish their sins;
they will have to go back to Egypt.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 113B(115):3-10 ©
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Sons of Israel, trust in the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Our God, he is in the heavens;
he does whatever he wills.
The idols of the heathen are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
Sons of Israel, trust in the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
They have mouths but they cannot speak;
they have eyes but they cannot see;
they have ears but they cannot hear;
they have nostrils but they cannot smell.
Sons of Israel, trust in the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
With their hands they cannot feel;
with their feet they cannot walk.
Their makers will come to be like them
and so will all who trust in them.
Sons of Israel, trust in the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Sons of Israel, trust in the Lord;
he is their help and their shield.
Sons of Aaron, trust in the Lord;
he is their help and their shield.
Sons of Israel, trust in the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Ep1:17,18
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Alleluia, alleluia!
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our mind,
so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Jn10:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my own sheep and my own know me.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 9:32-37 ©
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The harvest is rich but the labourers are few
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A man was brought to Jesus, a dumb demoniac. And when the devil
was cast out, the dumb man spoke and the people were amazed. ‘Nothing like this
has ever been seen in Israel’ they said. But the Pharisees said, ‘It is through
the prince of devils that he casts out devils.’
Jesus made a
tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and
sickness.
And when he
saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected,
like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is
rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send
labourers to his harvest.’
HERALDS OF THE GOSPEL
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [HOS 8:4-7, 11-13; MT 9:32-37
]
“Jesus made a
tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and
sickness.” This one sentence, sums up the whole ministry of Jesus, which
is the proclamation of the Good News through words and deeds.
This vision and mission statement was promulgated by the Lord (cf Lk 4:18f),
citing His mission in line with the Suffering Servant of Isaiah. (Isa 61:1-7)
As the herald
of the Good News, Jesus was conscious that He was called to be the face of
God’s mercy and love. A herald is a messenger and an ambassador of the one who sent
him. Indeed, the messenger, in his entire being, in his words and deeds,
represents the one who sent him or her. That is what a saint is, someone
who reveals the love and mercy of God in himself or herself. To the
extent that we mediate God’s love to others, to that extent, we are His heralds
of the gospel.
For this
reason, we must be careful that we do not reduce the proclamation of the gospel
to teaching alone. This was the tragedy of the scribes. They were concerned about the
preservation of the Laws at all costs. Fidelity to the Law is all they
were concerned about, regardless of the situation and the context of those
observing the laws. They had no regard for the person who was suffering
and placed in a context where the laws could not be observed. Instead of
adapting the laws without compromising the principles of the laws, they were
more concerned with the meticulous observation of all laws and customs.
This is also
true for some of us. We are too obsessed with the observance of the laws
of the Church, the liturgical laws, the customary practices and even the
doctrinal laws. We can be implementing the laws without compassion, without
love, without any feelings for those who find the laws oppressive and
demanding. Indeed, some have all the time to quibble over the
observance of certain liturgical rules, as if the mass would not be valid if
such details were not followed. There are weightier matters to consider
in the Church than such things, such as love, sensitivity, compassion and
service. What is important is that these laws must effectively serve our
people. Let us never forget that unity does not mean conformity to all
the rules and customs peculiar to a culture. We must never forget to
distinguish between the substance of the laws and the accidentals. This
is where Pope Francis is asking us to seek a pastoral solution, on one hand,
not to deny the doctrines of the Church, and on the other, to help people apply
these doctrines concretely in their lives and offering them mercy and
compassion even when they fail because of human weakness. Laws are neat
and perfect in themselves but human beings are complex!
Secondly, the
proclamation of the gospel is not just about offering sacrifices. This was the
temptation of the priests. In the first reading, the leaders of the
Northern Kingdom, Samaria, was condemned because they led the people to
idolatry by setting up the golden calves for political reasons, so that their
inhabitants would not travel down to Jerusalem to offer the true worship to
God. “Out of their own silver and gold they have made idols, which are
doomed to destruction. I spurn your calf, Samaria, my anger blazes against it.
A workman made the thing, this cannot be God! Ephraim has built altar after
altar, they have only served him as occasion for sin. Were I to write out
the thousand precepts of my law for him, they would be paid no more attention
than those of a stranger.”
Indeed, we
are also like them, keeping God in our statues and taking Him out of our lives! Moses forbade the
carving of images of God precisely because God is the “I Am.” He is a
living God who walks, travels, feels and is always with His people. He is
not domesticated in some structures or idols. To give reverence to the
idols, whilst good in itself, can also be a temptation to separate God from the
world; God from life. So we will keep “God” in our statues and shrines,
but when we are in the world, we live as if He were not present.
Like them, we
too love to offer sacrifices. The Lord said, “They love sacrificing;
right, let them sacrifice! They love meat; right, let them eat it!” We come for daily mass even
and we give our meagre donations for the upkeep of the church, but not for its
mission to extend the good news to the poor through the evangelization of the
gospel in words and deeds. We are contented with some rituals that we
perform to seek God’s protection for our daily life, good health, career and
business. It is all about ourselves and not about others.
The
proclamation of the gospel is precisely the proclamation of true freedom. “He has sent me to
proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to
let the oppressed go free.” We are called to release our people from
blindness to their sins and how they are hurting themselves because they choose
the values of the world, which is greed, power, immorality, dishonesty,
violence and even killing. Such attachments to the world, addiction to
our passions and a selfish way of life makes us even more insecure. It is
the freedom to love, to put others before self and freedom from the fear of
suffering and even death. This was what Jesus did when He exorcised
someone under the possession of a dumb demoniac.
Jesus
proclaimed the gospel not just by His teaching but in healing and reaching out
to those who were suffering and those who were marginalized. Pope Francis invites
the Church to break out of its comfort zone and reach out to those in the
peripheries, those who are divorced, burdened by same-sex orientation,
prisoners, drug addicts, sick, elderly, abandoned. These were the same
people that Jesus reached out to as well. Jesus went “through all the
towns and villages curing … all kinds of diseases and sickness.”
And we read
about the reaction of the people and the Pharisees. They “were
amazed. ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel’ they said.
But the Pharisees said, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he casts out
devils.’” Why the different reactions to the miracles and the teachings
of Jesus? The simple, ordinary and desperate people who sought God’s
presence found Him in Jesus and were inspired by Him. The Pharisees and
the Scribes on the other hand were self-sufficient. They did not need any
help from anyone. They were well-off and they had their positions in
society. They found Jesus a threat to their popularity, their
credibility, their status quo; and so whilst recognizing the power of Jesus in
healing and in the work of exorcism, they attributed His works to His alignment
with the devil. This is so true even in the religious world, when
we do good, people who are jealous of us will allow themselves to be used by
the Devil to attack us and destroy our good works.
Jesus did all
these good works not to draw attention to Himself but simply for the good of
the people.
He came to rescue them, as “he felt sorry for them because they were harassed
and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd.” Jesus showed us the
compassionate heart of the Good Shepherd who seeks His lost, wounded, hurting,
bruised and broken sheep. He did not stay in His office, planning and
clearing emails all day! He was out teaching, preaching, ministering to
those who sought the face of God in Him, and those who needed to feel the
healing touch of God. He was there for the people. He was
available.
Today, we are
all called to join Jesus in being heralds of the Good News. Jesus said, “The
harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to
send labourers to his harvest.” We are called to pray for more
labourers, but not just to send others to the vineyard but that we ourselves
might be the ones to say, like Isaiah, “Here I am! Send me!” (Isa 6:8)
All of us in our own ways can proclaim the gospel, in words, in deeds, in our
whole being, by serving the people of God, especially the poor and the
marginalized in works of charity and mercy.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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