20180717
PRIDE AND FEAR AS THE CAUSE OF OUR DOWNFALL
17 JULY, 2018, Tuesday, 15th Week,
Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Isaiah 7:1-9 ©
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Isaiah tells the king not to fear
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In the reign of Ahaz son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah,
Razon the king of Aram went up against Jerusalem with Pekah son of Remaliah,
king of Israel, to lay siege to it; but he was unable to capture it.
The news was
brought to the House of David. ‘Aram’ they said ‘has reached Ephraim.’ Then the
heart of the king and the hearts of the people shuddered as the trees of the
forest shudder in front of the wind. The Lord said to Isaiah, ‘Go with your son
Shear-jashub, and meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the
Fuller’s Field road, and say to him:
‘“Pay attention, keep calm, have no fear,
do not let your heart sink
because of these two smouldering stumps of firebrands,
or because Aram, Ephraim and the son of Remaliah
have plotted to ruin you, and have said:
Let us invade Judah and terrorise it
and seize it for ourselves,
and set up a king there,
the son of Tabeel.
The Lord says this:
It shall not come true; it shall not be.
The capital of Aram is Damascus,
the head of Damascus, Razon;
the capital of Ephraim, Samaria,
the head of Samaria, the son of Remaliah.
Six or five years more
and a shattered Ephraim shall no longer be a people.
But if you do not stand by me,
you will not stand at all.”’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 47(48):2-8 ©
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God upholds his city for ever.
The Lord is great and worthy to be praised
in the city of our God.
His holy mountain rises in beauty,
the joy of all the earth.
God upholds his city for ever.
Mount Zion, true pole of the earth,
the Great King’s city!
God, in the midst of its citadels,
has shown himself its stronghold.
God upholds his city for ever.
For the kings assembled together,
together they advanced.
They saw; at once they were astounded;
dismayed, they fled in fear.
God upholds his city for ever.
A trembling seized them there,
like the pangs of birth.
By the east wind you have destroyed
the ships of Tarshish.
God upholds his city for ever.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps118:24
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Train me, Lord, to observe your law,
to keep it with my heart.
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 11:20-24 ©
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It will not go as hard with Sodom on Judgement Day as with you
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Jesus began to reproach the towns in which most of his miracles
had been worked, because they refused to repent.
‘Alas for
you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had
been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and
ashes. And still, I tell you that it will not go as hard on Judgement day with
Tyre and Sidon as with you. And as for you, Capernaum, did you want to be
exalted as high as heaven? You shall be thrown down to hell. For if the miracles
done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have been standing yet. And still,
I tell you that it will not go as hard with the land of Sodom on Judgement day
as with you.’
PRIDE AND FEAR AS THE CAUSE OF OUR DOWNFALL
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISA 7:1-9, MT 11:20-24 ]
In the first
reading, we read of the precarious situation, Judah was in. She was under attack by the
Northern Kingdom of Israel who was in league with the king of Aram to capture
Jerusalem. Remaliah, king of Israel, “lay siege to it; but he was unable
to capture it.” Of course, this brought fear into the hearts of the king
of Judah and his people. They knew that they would not be able to hold
out against their enemies for long. There would be bloodshed and
destruction of the capital. “Then the heart of the king and the hearts of
the people shuddered as the trees of the forest shudder in front of the wind.”
Surely we can
empathize with the Ahaz, the king of Judah in his plight. Necessarily, if we were in
that situation and especially if knowing our decision would affect the lives of
so many people, we would have considered all the possible outcomes and made a
logical and calculated decision to protect the country. If we were the
king of Judah, what decision would we make? Most likely, the same logical
decision as King Ahaz. Life is full of politics. We make use of one
group of people to fight another. Therefore, in the mind of King
Ahaz it would not be long before Judah would fall under siege from the kings of
Israel and Aram. So in order to find military support, he welcomed the
Assyrians to his country. She became affiliated with the powerful empire
of Assyria, paying gold and silver as tribute to the Assyrians. Indeed, they
eventually destroyed the Northern Kingdom. The inhabitants from the Northern
Kingdom of Israel were the first batch of Israelites to be exiled in 722 B.C.
As Isaiah prophesied, “Six or five years more and shattered Ephraim shall
no longer be a people.”
However, by
inviting the Assyrians into his kingdom, Ahaz created more trouble for his
kingdom.
With a foothold in the country, the Assyrians gradually weakened the city,
attacking Judah a few times. However, it would be to the Babylonians that
Judah would fall 250 years later, in 587 B.C. All these happened in
fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, when he said to King Ahaz, “These two
smouldering stumps of firebrands, or because Aram, Ephraim and the son of
Remaliah have plotted to ruin you, and have said: Let us invade Judah and
terrorise it and seize it for ourselves, and set up a king there, the son of
Tabeel. The Lord says this: ‘It shall not come true; it shall not be.’”
Indeed, the
lack of wisdom prevents us from looking further into the implications of what
we do for the future. This is the sadness and the lack of foresight of the world
today. We look for instant benefits and pursue immediate
gratification. But we will eventually suffer, as is already happening
today – birth control, aging population, euthanasia, same-sex union, adoption
of babies by same sex couples, divorce and falling marriages, dysfunctional
families, etc. More and more, society will become dysfunctional.
This explains all the senseless killings and murders in some countries.
Fear drove
King Ahaz to put God outside his decision-making considerations. He did not trust in God
enough to believe that He would be able to help him. He relied on his
might and political maneuvering. He thought he knew better what to do
instead of listening to the Word of God. This was in spite of the
fact that God did not expect him to have pure faith in Him, as demonstrated by
His wanting to authenticate His promise through the sign that He would give
Him, “Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, ‘Ask a sign of
the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven’. But
Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the
test.’” (Isa 7:10-12) Isn’t this what we do as well? When we do not
intend to listen to His word or do His will, we avoid praying or listening to
His Word for fear that His word would prick our conscience and we would
hesitate in carrying out our will.
If it is not
fear that drives us to destruction, then it would be pride. This was certainly the case
of the Jews living in Bethsaida, Chorazin and Capernaum. These were
cities bordering the Sea of Galilee. These cities, Capernaum, Chorazin
and Bethsaida formed what is called the “Evangelical Triangle,” the region
where most of Jesus’ miracles were displayed (Mt. 11:20).
In these three places, Jesus performed His miracles. They were the first
cities that Jesus sought to evangelize and demonstrate the coming of God’s
Kingdom through His miracles of healing and exorcism. Yet, the hearts of
the people remained hardened. Hence Jesus said, “Do not give what is holy
to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them
under foot and turn and maul you.” (Mt 7:6)
Yet, there is
also a warning for those who reject the Lord in their lives because of other
preoccupations. Those of us who have received more, more would be demanded of
us. “For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an
abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken
away.” (Mt 25:29)
Jesus is firm about the consequences for those who reject Him because
they will bring about their own destruction. And as the Lord said, it
would be worse than the punishment inflicted on the cursed cities of Tyre and
Sidon. “Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For
if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have
repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. And still, I tell you that it
will not go as hard on Judgement day with Tyre and Sidon as with you.”
Self-sufficiency makes us proud and arrogant because we think we can do
everything by ourselves. Only those who have suffered much in life know
what humility is.
Indeed, the
sin of pride is truly a great obstacle to anyone who wants to come close to God
or to find the fullness of truth. For when we are proud or self-sufficient, we tend to rely
on ourselves. Even if we pray to God, it is just a routine and at most a
safety measure. But deep in our hearts, we are not too sure that God can
be of real help to us. We take things into our own hands as Ahaz
did. Pride prevents us from listening to others and trusting in our
opinions only. The book of Proverb warns us, “Pride goes before
destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” And to Capernaum, the
Lord pronounced judgement as well. “And as for you, Capernaum, did you
want to be exalted as high as heaven? You shall be thrown down to
hell. For if the miracles done in you had been done in Sodom, it would
have been standing yet. And still, I tell you that it will not go as hard as
the land of Sodom on Judgement day as with you.’”
We need to
pray for the gift of humility, because this is the gateway to faith in God. If many do not trust
or believe in God, it is because they think they know better than God and that
they can resolve all the mysteries of life on their own. Only in humility
can we come to know where we stand as human beings in this world, our
limitations and our total dependence on the blessings of God. We should
be grateful for what we receive. This has always been the case for Mary
and all the great saints in history. It was because of their humility
that the Lord inspired them to do what they did. God always works great
wonders for those who are humble in obeying His word, like the apostles and all
holy men.
In the final
analysis, we can live in peace, free from fear and anxiety only when we place
all our hope in God. This is what the Prophet Isaiah says to us all. “Pay
attention, keep calm, have no fear, do not let your heart sink. But if
you do not stand by me, you will not stand at all.” Standing by the Lord
Jesus is the only way to overcome all things in life. Faith in His saving
grace and cooperating with Him fully is the way to surrendering all our fears
to Him. As it is said, we must do our best and let God take care of the
rest. We must not manipulate people but allow the process to unfold
itself whilst we continue to work for Him. Faith and humility
therefore are two virtues that go together because they are dependent on each
other like brothers.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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