20180720
MERCY TAKES INTO CONSIDERATION THE PERSON’S
SITUATION
20 JULY, 2018, Friday, 15th Week,
Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Isaiah 38:1-6,21-22,7-8 ©
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The Lord hears Hezekiah's prayer and heals him
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Hezekiah fell ill and was at the point of death. The prophet
Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, ‘The Lord says this, “Put your affairs
in order, for you are going to die, you will not live.”’ Hezekiah turned his
face to the wall and addressed this prayer to the Lord, ‘Ah, Lord, remember, I
beg you, how I have behaved faithfully and with sincerity of heart in your
presence and done what is right in your eyes.’ And Hezekiah shed many tears.
Then the
word of the Lord came to Isaiah, ‘Go and say to Hezekiah, “The Lord, the God of
David your ancestor, says this: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I
will cure you: in three days’ time you shall go up to the Temple of the Lord.”
I will add fifteen years to your life. I will save you from the hands of the
king of Assyria, I will protect this city.”’
‘Bring a fig
poultice,’ Isaiah said, ‘apply it to the ulcer and he will recover.’ Hezekiah
said, ‘What is the sign to tell me that I shall be going up to the Temple of
the Lord?’ ‘Here’ Isaiah replied’’ ‘is the sign from the Lord that he will do
what he has said. Look, I shall make the shadow cast by the declining sun go
back ten steps on the steps of Ahaz.’ And the sun went back the ten steps by
which it had declined.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Isaiah 38:10-12,16 ©
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The canticle of Hezekiah
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You have held back my life, O Lord, from the pit
of doom.
I said, ‘So I must go away,
my life half spent,
assigned to the world below
for the rest of my years.’
You have held back my life, O Lord, from the pit
of doom.
I said, ‘No more shall I see the Lord
in the land of the living,
no more shall I look upon men
within this world.
You have held back my life, O Lord, from the pit
of doom.
‘My home is pulled up and removed
like a shepherd’s tent.
Like a weaver you have rolled up my life,
you cut it from the loom.
You have held back my life, O Lord, from the pit
of doom.
‘For you, Lord, my heart will live,
you gave me back my spirit;
you cured me, kept me alive,
changed my sickness into health.’
You have held back my life, O Lord, from the pit
of doom.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Ps26:11
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Instruct me, Lord, in your way;
on an even path lead me.
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 12:1-8 ©
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The Son of Man is master of the sabbath
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Jesus took a walk one sabbath day through the cornfields. His
disciples were hungry and began to pick ears of corn and eat them. The
Pharisees noticed it and said to him, ‘Look, your disciples are doing something
that is forbidden on the sabbath.’ But he said to them, ‘Have you not read what
David did when he and his followers were hungry – how he went into the
house of God and how they ate the loaves of offering which neither he nor his
followers were allowed to eat, but which were for the priests alone? Or again,
have you not read in the Law that on the sabbath day the Temple priests break
the sabbath without being blamed for it? Now here, I tell you, is something
greater than the Temple. And if you had understood the meaning of the words: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice,
you would not have condemned the blameless. For the Son of Man is master of the
sabbath.’
MERCY TAKES INTO CONSIDERATION THE PERSON’S SITUATION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISA 38:1-6,21-22,7-8; MT 12:1-8 ]
We read of
God’s mercy in response to the fervent prayer of Hezekiah when he was told of
his imminent death. “The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, ‘The
Lord says this, “Put your affairs in order, for you are going to die, you will
not live.”‘ Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and addressed this prayer to
the Lord, ‘Ah, Lord, remember, I beg you, how I have behaved faithfully and
with sincerity of heart in your presence and done what is right in your
eyes.’ And Hezekiah shed many tears.”
God heard the
cries of Hezekiah. Taking into consideration what King Hezekiah had done and
how faithfully he had served Him, God said to him. “I have heard your
prayer and seen your tears. I will cure you: in three days’ time you
shall go up to the Temple of the Lord. I will add fifteen years to your
life. I will save you from the hands of the king of Assyria, I will
protect this city.” Not only did God extend his life for his sake but He
did it for the sake of the nation as well. Over and above the extension
of his life for a further 15 years, God also promised to save him from Assyria
and protect the city.
God is indeed
a God of mercy and compassion. He puts the needs of His people before the
laws. For Christ, the Sabbath Law was clearly made for man, not man for
the Sabbath. “Jesus
took a walk one Sabbath day through the cornfields. His disciples were
hungry and began to pick ears of corn and eat them. The Pharisees noticed
it and said to him, ‘Look, your disciples are doing something that is forbidden
on the Sabbath.'” The Pharisees were right in judging the disciples of
breaking the Sabbath Law.
But Jesus
defended their action thus: “If you had understood the meaning of the words: What I want is
mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the blameless. For the
Son of Man is master of the Sabbath.” In these words, Jesus asked for two
considerations in applying the Sabbath Law. In other words, we need to
understand the situation of the person before we pass judgment. The first
principle is one of need. Hence, mercy prevails over the strict
application of the laws. The second principle concerns an action that
serves the common good. Unless we understand these principles in applying the
Sabbatical Laws, we would be accused of condemning the blameless.
To help us to
understand how that is so, Jesus gave two concrete examples. In the first
instance, we have the example of human need. When David was fleeing
from the persecution of Saul with his men, they were hungry and thus David
approached the priest, Ahimelech for the holy bread from the tabernacle to feed
his men. (cf 1 Sm 21:3-6) Because it was a situation of need, the holy
bread could be eaten by them. Clearly, the needs of man take precedence
over the Sabbath Law.
Secondly,
Jesus gave the example of the necessity of service. “Or again, have you
not read in the Law that on the Sabbath day the Temple priests break the
Sabbath without being blamed for it?” This is certainly a principle that
is obvious. For the greater good of the needs of the community, the
Sabbath Law is dispensed with. In this case, in attending to the worship
and rituals of the Temple they had to break the Sabbath Law concerning
work. This also applies to all religious personnel and public service
personnel. The busiest day for priests is on the Sabbath because they
have to conduct the services for the people. They have to preach, teach
and counsel. In fact, priests work the most on Sundays, more than any
other day. Would we consider them to be breaking the Sabbath Law?
Of course not. This is also the case for those in public service, for
example, doctors, police officers, soldiers, transport workers, food caterers
and restaurants chef and waiters. These people cannot observe the Sabbatical
law because they have to serve the community.
This is what
Pope Francis is asking of us; not to apply the laws in a legalistic manner. In his encyclical,
“Amoris Laetitia” he asked for a more pastoral approach to dealing with those
who are divorced and remarried. Instead of just excluding them from the
sacraments completely, the Holy Father asks that each case be treated
differently. The pastor must journey and accompany the couple to see
whether they have truly repented and that their faith in Christ is strong and
their marriage is now a loving marriage before they could be admitted to the
sacraments. Of course, this does not mean the marriage laws of the Church
with regard to indissolubility and the need to be sacramentally married before
they can receive Holy Communion is abrogated. In a particular case, where
the circumstance shows that the divorced couple, who is now remarried, regret
the mistakes made in the previous marriage, and in which the situation was
beyond their control, and that they are now sincere in living out the gospel
life and the current marriage is bearing the fruits of love, stability and joy,
we could take it as God giving them a second chance.
If this is
true of such an important matter as giving communion to those divorced and
remarried, more so for the other Church and liturgical laws. There are some
Catholics who behave like the Pharisees, policing the Church as to whether the
Church laws, especially the liturgical laws, are strictly adhered to by the
priests, the ministers and the congregation. Some Catholics are so afraid
of breaking the law of abstinence on Fridays, or the one hour fast before
communion, or going to mass late, that they forget the spirit and the
intentions of the laws. They are more worried whether they fulfill the
letter of the laws than observing the spirit of the laws. Indeed, some
squabble over the observance of some liturgical laws instead of worshipping
from their hearts. Which is more important? Encountering God deeply in
worship or observing the minute details of the laws?
But we must
be careful of going to the extreme of lawlessness. While we should not be too
legalistic in the way we apply the laws, we should avoid justifying ourselves
in breaking the laws too easily, just to satisfy our whims and fancies. This
would be disastrous for us. We will fall into the sin of laxity.
The laws are good and should never be done away with without good
reasons. Before we make exceptions to the laws, we must first understand
the laws and its intentions. Often, people reject the laws because of
ignorance of what the laws seek to do. Hence, it must be for a greater
good and not just to satisfy our preferences and our desires.
So if we seek
to break the laws, we must do it only with prayerful discernment, personal
detachment and in the right spirit for a greater good, especially if it is for
the good of the larger community. Laws are at the service of humanity, for
the promotion of life, love, justice, charity and unity. In so far as these
objectives are observed, the laws must adapt to circumstances, if necessary to
achieve the spirit of the laws. A blind and legalistic application of the
laws cause more harm than good. In the final analysis, we must ask this
question that the Lord posed to us, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on
the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?” (Mk 3:4)
Let us take
note who asked this question. It was Jesus, the Son of Man who is
the master of the Sabbath. We have Jesus who showed us the way in applying the laws
intelligently, wisely and compassionately. He had no qualms in breaking
the laws if it were to help the people. But He never broke the laws for
His own convenience, but only for the good of others. This principle must
be observed so that we will never be tempted to make the laws suit our
self-indulgence. If we are sincere, the Lord is on our side even when the
laws have to be broken for the sake of love and charity.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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