20180702 LEADERS SET THE STANDARDS BY WALKING THE TALK
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Amos 2:6-10,13-16 ©
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Because of your crimes I will crush you into the ground
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The Lord says this:
For the three crimes, the four crimes, of Israel
I have made my decree and will not relent:
because they have sold the virtuous man for silver
and the poor man for a pair of sandals,
because they trample on the heads of ordinary people
and push the poor out of their path,
because father and son have both resorted to the same girl,
profaning my holy name,
because they stretch themselves out by the side of every altar
on clothes acquired as pledges,
and drink the wine of the people they have fined
in the house of their god...
Yet it was I who overthrew the Amorites when they attacked,
men tall as cedars and strong as oaks,
I who destroyed them,
both fruit above ground
and root below.
It was I who brought you out of the land of Egypt
and for forty years led you through the wilderness
to take possession of the Amorite’s country.
See then how I am going to crush you into the ground
as the threshing-sledge crushes when clogged by straw;
flight will not save even the swift,
the strong man will find his strength useless,
the mighty man will be powerless to save himself.
The bowman will not stand his ground,
the fast runner will not escape,
the horseman will not save himself,
the bravest warriors will run away naked that day.
It is the Lord who speaks.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 49(50):16-23 ©
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Mark this, you who never think of God.
‘How can you recite my commandments
and take my covenant on your lips,
you who despise my law
and throw my words to the winds?
Mark this, you who never think of God.
‘You who see a thief and go with him;
who throw in your lot with adulterers,
who unbridle your mouth for evil
and whose tongue is plotting crime.
Mark this, you who never think of God.
‘You who sit and malign your brother
and slander your own mother’s son.
You do this, and should I keep silence?
Do you think that I am like you?
Mark this, you who never think of God.
‘Mark this, you who never think of God,
lest I seize you and you cannot escape;
a sacrifice of thanksgiving honours me
and I will show God’s salvation to the upright.’
Mark this, you who never think of God.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jn8:12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light of life.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Ps94:8
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 8:18-22 ©
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The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head
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When Jesus saw the great crowds all about him he gave orders to
leave for the other side. One of the scribes then came up and said to him,
‘Master, I will follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes
and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his
head.’
Another man,
one of his disciples, said to him, ‘Sir, let me go and bury my father first.’
But Jesus replied, ‘Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their dead.’
02 JULY, 2018, Monday, 13th Week,
Ordinary Time
LEADERS SET THE STANDARDS BY WALKING THE TALK
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ AMOS 2:6-10, 13-16; MT 8:18-22 ]
In the first
reading, we read of the indictments of the prophet Amos against Israel. The people of the Northern
Kingdom of Israel had become prosperous and wealthy. Business and trading
were good. The people were living in luxury and comfort. But
as in all countries, the rich got richer and the poor became poorer.
Instead of
distributing their wealth to the poor and the under-privileged, greed set
in. The rich grabbed and used dishonest means to increase their
wealth. The poor were at their mercy. They were exploited, over-taxed and
subjected to illegal collaterals for their loans. The helpless and the widows
were taken advantage of.
The people
became complacent in their spiritual life. Although the rich, who belonged to the
Upper Class, were apparently faithful in observing the rituals, offering
worship and sacrifices, their hearts were far from God. It was just for
show, like many of our faithful today. We attend mass on Sundays just to
show that we are good Catholics. However, behind all these expressions of
piety, we take advantage of the weak and the vulnerable. We cheat and divide
people. We are unjust towards our colleagues and employees. We
engage in politics, manipulating each other for promotion and benefits.
We shout and scream at our staff and colleagues, humiliating them in public, as
if they have no feelings and no dignity. How can we who profess so much
love for God act contrary to what God has done for us and how God would like to
be loved in His people?
Such behavior
saddened God who chose Israel to be a model nation of love and compassion. God reminded them that
they were nobody when they were in Israel. “Yet it was I who overthrew
the Amorites when they attacked, men tall as cedars and strong as oaks, I who
destroyed them, both fruit above ground and root below. It was I who brought
you out of the land of Egypt and for forty years led you through the wilderness
to take possession of the Amorite’s country.” They were once slaves
themselves, so how could they make others their slaves now? They were
once poor and without food and luxury, how could they allow the poor to suffer
now that they were rich? Israel was given the laws of Moses so that they
could govern themselves and live a covenanted life based on justice, charity
and compassion for one another.
But the truth
is that they had forgotten and hence were ungrateful. This is the tragedy
of life’s common mistakes. We forget what we were before, now that we are
well-off and living a comfortable life. We have no thought for those who
are suffering like us before. We forget the love and mercy of God.
Instead, we think that we earned the blessings through our hard
work. We forget that all we have today, including our health and
opportunities, were given by God, without which we would be nowhere and
nobody. We become arrogant and self-sufficient, thinking that we
can do without God. This is the real mistake of the world today.
Many of us have become prosperous and think highly of ourselves. We feel
that we do not need God. At most we pay lip service to Him. We hardly
pray to Him for wisdom. Only when we reach a stage where no money, power
or status can save us from our desperation – because of illness, a lost
relationship, bankruptcy or caught by the arm of the law for a crime committed
– do we then turn to God.
Jesus in the
gospel shows us what it means to be grateful for the love and gifts we have
received. He set Himself as an example for us to follow. One of the most
important things about Jesus is that He practiced what He preached. That
is why He could tell the people, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’
seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do
as they do, for they do not practice what they teach.” (Mt 23:2f)
Indeed, whatever He taught, He made sure that He Himself did it. “For to
this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an
example, so that you should follow in his steps.” (1 Pt 2:21)
So when “one
of the scribes then came up and said to him, ‘Master, I will follow you
wherever you go”, Jesus’ reply was, “Foxes have holes and the birds of the air
have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” He did not tell the
prospective disciple that following Him would cost him much in personal
sacrifices, his comfort and his security. Rather, He pointed to Himself
as an example because as the Son of Man and as an itinerant preacher, He was
always on the move, walking, talking and living among His people, especially
those who were poor, the marginalized and the sick. He was reaching out
to them. He was at sea with the disciples, sleeping on the boat or in the
desert praying. He did not live a life of comfort. That was why He
instructed His apostles to do likewise, “You received without payment; give
without payment. Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your
belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for
laborers deserve their food.” (Mt 10:8-10)
Secondly,
when the other would-be disciple said to Jesus, “’Sir, let me go and bury my
father first.’ But Jesus replied, ‘Follow me, and leave the dead to bury
their dead.’” Again, this man was concerned about his security and
attachment. Most probably he was asking Jesus to wait until his elderly
parents had passed on. He had to do his filial duty as the son, and if he
was the first born son, he would have been entitled to the inheritance.
So this man was telling Jesus that when his life was more secure and when he
was freed of his responsibilities, then he would follow Jesus. In
itself, it is not wrong to fulfill our responsibilities. Indeed, it is the
right thing to fulfill the commandment to honour our parents.
But if the
Lord is the One who is calling us to follow Him, then we cannot wait but
respond in faith. We must put the Lord before any human being. In this case,
it was Jesus who was calling the man. When God calls, the answer expected
of us is immediate obedience, as Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the
Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” (Lk 1:38)
Abraham did the same thing when he was told to sacrifice his only son, Isaac.
“So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his
young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering,
and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown
him.” (Gn 22:3)
If we trust in the Lord, He will provide for the needs of our loved ones.
This was what Abraham said to Isaac, “God himself will provide the lamb for a
burnt offering, my son.” (Gn 22:8) True enough, God provided a ram for the
offering. “So Abraham called that place ‘The Lord will
provide’; as it is said to this day, ‘On the mount of
the Lord it shall be provided.’” (Gn 22:14)
This was the
life of Jesus Himself. When His Father called Him, He could not wait; even as a young child,
He told His parents who had searched for Him everywhere and finally found Him
in the Temple, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be
in my Father’s house?” (Lk 2:49) It appears that by the time Jesus left for the
ministry, Joseph had already died. Mary, His mother, would have been in
her mid-forties. She was a widow. It must have been hard for Jesus
to leave His mother alone while He went out for His mission and even unto
death. It must have been difficult for the Lord to be detached from
Mary because as her Son, He too wanted to take good care of her. And this
was in the mind of our Lord because one of the last things He did for His
mother was to entrust her to the care of His beloved disciple, John. (Cf Jn 19:26f)
Today, as
leaders and elders, we must remember that what our younger generation will turn
out to be is dependent on the kind of examples we set for them. They will follow what
we do and what we say. If we do not lead by example, then together with
them, we will face the consequences of our actions, just as the prophet Amos
warned the people. “See then how I am going to crush you into the ground
as the threshing-sledge crushes when clogged by straw; flight will not save
even the swift, the strong man will find his strength useless, the mighty man
will be powerless to save himself.” The psalmist warns us as well,
“Mark this, you who never think of God, lest I seize you and you cannot escape;
a sacrifice of thanksgiving honours me and I will show God’s salvation to the
upright.” Let us therefore offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving by returning
to the Lord and His people what He has blessed us with, our resources and
health and loved ones.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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