20180713
PATIENT AND LONG SUFFERING LOVE OVERCOMES ALL
THINGS
13 JULY, 2018, Friday, 14th Week,
Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Hosea 14:2-10 ©
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A call to conversion and promise of safety
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The Lord says this:
Israel, come back to the Lord your God;
your iniquity was the cause of your downfall.
Provide yourself with words
and come back to the Lord.
Say to him, ‘Take all iniquity away
so that we may have happiness again
and offer you our words of praise.
Assyria cannot save us,
we will not ride horses any more,
or say, “Our God!” to what our own hands have made,
for you are the one in whom orphans find compassion.’
– I will heal their disloyalty,
I will love them with all my heart,
for my anger has turned from them.
I will fall like dew on Israel.
He shall bloom like the lily,
and thrust out roots like the poplar,
his shoots will spread far;
he will have the beauty of the olive
and the fragrance of Lebanon.
They will come back to live in my shade;
they will grow corn that flourishes,
they will cultivate vines
as renowned as the wine of Helbon.
What has Ephraim to do with idols any more
when it is I who hear his prayer and care for him?
I am like a cypress ever green,
all your fruitfulness comes from me.
Let the wise man understand these words.
Let the intelligent man grasp their meaning.
For the ways of the Lord are straight,
and virtuous men walk in them,
but sinners stumble.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 50(51):3-4,8-9,12-14,17 ©
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My mouth shall declare your praise.
Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.
In your compassion blot out my offence.
O wash me more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.
My mouth shall declare your praise.
Indeed you love truth in the heart;
then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom.
O purify me, then I shall be clean;
O wash me, I shall be whiter than snow.
My mouth shall declare your praise.
A pure heart create for me, O God,
put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
nor deprive me of your holy spirit.
My mouth shall declare your praise.
Give me again the joy of your help;
with a spirit of fervour sustain me,
O Lord, open my lips
and my mouth shall declare your praise.
My mouth shall declare your praise.
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Gospel Acclamation
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1P1:25
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of the Lord remains for ever:
What is this word?
It is the Good News that has been brought to you.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Jn16:13,14:26
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Alleluia, alleluia!
When the Spirit of truth comes
he will lead you to the complete truth,
and he will remind you of all I have said to you.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 10:16-23 ©
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The Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you
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Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘Remember, I am sending
you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as serpents and yet as harmless
as doves.
‘Beware of
men: they will hand you over to sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues.
You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness
before them and the pagans. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how
to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time
comes; because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father
will be speaking in you. ‘Brother will betray brother to death, and the father
his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death.
You will be hated by all men on account of my name; but the man who stands firm
to the end will be saved. If they persecute you in one town, take refuge in the
next; and if they persecute you in that, take refuge in another. I tell you
solemnly, you will not have gone the round of the towns of Israel before the
Son of Man comes.’
PATIENT AND LONG-SUFFERING LOVE OVERCOMES ALL THINGS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ HOS 14:2-10, MT 10:16-23 ]
We meet all
sorts of difficult people in our lives. We have our loved ones who are living
wayward, selfish and immoral lives. Some are addicted to womanizing and
gambling, some drugs or drinking, some pornography and some doing illegal
business. Our children are irresponsible, unmotivated in their studies,
keep on failing and yet doing nothing to redeem themselves. They continue
to waste their time on the phone, internet or clowning around with their
friends. What do we do with such people? They are incorrigible and
we feel like giving up on them. We gave them chances repeatedly, we tried
to be patient with them but they keep falling and going back to their old ways
of life.
At times we
have to deal with our opponents, detractors and our persecutors. They are always
fighting with us. Whatever ideas we have, they will find some grounds to
hinder our plans. This is indeed the case even in the proclamation of the
gospel. Jesus in the gospel warned His disciples. “Beware of men:
they will hand you over to Sanhedrins and scourge you in their
synagogues. You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake,
to bear witness before them and the pagans. Brother will betray brother to
death, and the father his child; children will rise against their parents and
have them put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my
name.” Indeed, this is the price of standing up for our convictions,
whether in religious, moral or political matters. Fighting with them can
be rather tiring because they are always finding fault with whatever we
propose. Even after explaining to them, they seem to enjoy opposing for
the sake of opposing, simply because their ideas were not the ones adopted.
How do we
handle such people? Most of us have short fuse. We will retaliate and fight
with them. We plan and strategize how best to circumvent them or demolish
their opposition. Otherwise, we take flight. We just write
them off and give up on them. This is what most people do, especially
when dealing with our loved ones. If they are not willing to change, and
after repeated failures, we just let them be and don’t bother with them
anymore. We let them rot and destroy themselves. We harden our
hearts, although we know deep down we are also hurting when we see them hurting
themselves. But then we feel so powerless and helpless.
Today, in the
scripture readings, we are told that God is very different from us in dealing
with rebellious children and nasty enemies. Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows:
“Remember, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as
serpents and yet as harmless as doves.” There are two things we
need to cultivate, the gentleness of a dove and wisdom of a serpent.
Like a dove,
we must be gentle in love. That is how the Lord loves us. To the unrepentant
Israelites, the Lord was patient and gentle in calling them to turn back to
Him. He appealed to them with words of love and hope. He did not threaten
them but warned them of the consequences of their disobedience. He
invited them to come back and to rely not on their own strength and the false
gods of military might, power and wealth. “The Lord says this: Israel,
come back to the Lord your God; your iniquity was the cause of your downfall.
Provide yourself with words and come back to the Lord. Say to him, ‘Take all
iniquity away so that we may have happiness again and offer you our words of
praise. Assyria cannot save us, we will not ride horses any more, or say, ‘Our
God!’ to what our own hands have made, for you are the one in whom orphans find
compassion.’”
Secondly, the
Lord gave assurance of forgiveness and healing. He appealed to them
not using fear but love. “I will heal their disloyalty, I will love them with
all my heart, for my anger has turned from them.” God assures us that we
are forgiven and He continues to love us even when we betray His love. He
does not stop loving us. His love is irrevocable. This was the
experience of the psalmist too. He said, “Indeed, you love truth in the
heart; then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom. O purify me, then I
shall be clean; O wash me, I shall be whiter than snow. A pure heart
create for me, O God, put a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away
from your presence, nor deprive me of your holy spirit. Give me again the
joy of your help; with a spirit of fervor sustain me, O Lord, open my lips and
my mouth shall declare your praise.”
Thirdly, the
Lord promises us a better life ahead of us if only we walk the way of truth and
love. “I
will fall like dew on Israel. He shall bloom like the lily, and thrust out
roots like the poplar, his shoots will spread far; he will have the beauty of
the olive and the fragrance of Lebanon. They will come back to live in my
shade; they will grow corn that flourishes, they will cultivate vines as
renowned as the wine of Helbon.” If we desire to live fruitful lives,
then we must take our point of departure from our union with God. If we
bring God with us in whatever we do, we will be fruitful because we will do all
things with sincerity, with love and with truth. Those who deal with us
therefore know that we are people with integrity and responsibility. It
is better to work with God-fearing people than those without values and a
conscience. This is because they can use their talents and their
resources to destroy us and rob us of whatever we have since they cannot tell
the difference between right and wrong, or the values of loyalty and honesty.
But it is not
enough to love tenderly and walk humbly before God. We must also learn to
act wisely. “Let
the wise man understand these words. Let the intelligent man grasp their
meaning. For the ways of the Lord are straight, and virtuous men walk in them,
but sinners stumble.” With regard to our enemies and those who are difficult
to manage, we must seek the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Jesus assures us of
divine assistance in our trials and challenges. “But when they hand you
over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will
be given to you when the time comes; because it is not you who will be
speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking on you.” Turning to
the Lord for guidance and for strength is what we must do, rather than just
using our strength alone, like the Israelites. This is what the Prophet
said, “What has Ephraim to do with idols any more when it is I who hear his
prayer and care for him? I am like a cypress evergreen, all your fruitfulness
comes from me.”
Secondly, we
must take such challenges positively. We must not allow ourselves to fall into discouragement,
resentment and frustration. Being negative will not help us.
Rather, we must see the good that we can bring out of evil. “Do not be
overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Rom 12:21)
Such difficulties are meant to help us to witness to Christ. “You will be
dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and
the pagans.” When we are challenged, we must use them as occasions for
growth, for love, for witnessing. These are the necessary trials of life
to help us go beyond ourselves, recognize our limitations, explore our
strengths and most of all, the power of God’s love and mercy.
Finally, be
wise, the Lord said, “If they persecute you in one town, take refuge in the
next; and if they persecute you in that, take refuge in another. I tell you solemnly,
you will have gone the round of the towns of Israel before the Son of Man
comes.” In other words, flee if necessary and do not allow your pride to
make you suffer a premature martyrdom. We still have much work to
do. If we are rejected in one place, we can spread the message
elsewhere. When God closes the door, He always open a window. So,
instead of letting our ego mislead us into thinking that we are called to
martyrdom, we should instead seek opportunities elsewhere to do good and spread
the Good News.
In the final
analysis, the Lord assures us, “the man who stands firm to the end will be
saved.”
This does not mean that we need to earn our salvation by proving that we are
faithful to Jesus. On the contrary, if we can stand firm to the end, it
means that we are saved because of our love for the Lord. The test of
faith is in our fidelity. Only because we love the Lord so much that we
are ready to stand by Him till the end. So we are saved by His love, and
our death and sacrifices are fruits of that love He has for us.
Hence, we must ground our loyalty in the Lord and His good news by the love He
has for us.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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