20180721
THE LAW OF RETALIATION
21 JULY, 2018, Saturday, 15th Week,
Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Micah 2:1-5 ©
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The plotters of evil will not escape
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Woe to those who plot evil,
who lie in bed planning mischief!
No sooner is it dawn than they do it
– their hands have the strength for it.
Seizing the fields that they covet,
they take over houses as well,
owner and house they confiscate together,
taking both man and inheritance.
So the Lord says this:
Now it is I who plot
such mischief against this breed
as your necks will not escape;
nor will you be able to walk proudly,
so evil will the time be.
On that day they will make a satire on you,
sing a dirge and say,
‘We are stripped of everything;
my people’s portion is measured out and shared,
no one will give it back to them,
our fields are awarded to our despoiler.’
Therefore you will have no one
to measure out a share
in the community of the Lord.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 9B(10):1-4,7-8,14 ©
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Lord, do not forget the poor.
Lord, why do you stand afar off
and hide yourself in times of distress?
The poor man is devoured by the pride of the wicked:
he is caught in the schemes that others have made.
Lord, do not forget the poor.
For the wicked man boasts of his heart’s desires;
the covetous blasphemes and spurns the Lord.
In his pride the wicked says: ‘He will not punish.
There is no God.’ Such are his thoughts.
Lord, do not forget the poor.
His mouth is full of cursing, guile, oppression,
mischief and deceit under his tongue.
He lies in wait among the reeds;
the innocent he murders in secret.
Lord, do not forget the poor.
His eyes are on the watch for the helpless man.
But you have seen the trouble and sorrow,
you note it, you take it in hand.
The helpless trusts himself to you;
for you are the helper of the orphan.
Lord, do not forget the poor.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps118:27
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Make me grasp the way of your precepts,
and I will muse on your wonders.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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2Co5:19
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Alleluia, alleluia!
God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself,
and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 12:14-21 ©
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He cured them all but warned them not to make him known
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The Pharisees went out and began to plot against Jesus, discussing
how to destroy him.
Jesus knew
this and withdrew from the district. Many followed him and he cured them all,
but warned them not to make him known. This was to fulfil the prophecy of
Isaiah:
Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved, the favourite of my soul.
I will endow him with my spirit,
and he will proclaim the true faith to the nations.
He will not brawl or shout,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
He will not break the crushed reed,
nor put out the smouldering wick
till he has led the truth to victory:
in his name the nations will put their hope.
THE LAW OF RETALIATION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ MICAH 2:1-5; MT 12:14-21 ]
We all face
oppositions in life, whether we do good or evil. How do we respond to our
enemies?
One way is to retaliate. That was the way of the Pharisees. They
were incensed by Jesus’ blatant breaking of the Sabbath Law. Earlier on,
He defended His disciples who were reprimanded for plucking corn on the
Sabbath, saying that circumstances alter the application of the Law. (cf Mt 12:1-8)
Later on at the Synagogue, He healed a man with a withered hand on the
Sabbath. Again, He challenged them on whether it was lawful to do good on
the Sabbath. As a consequence, “the Pharisees went out and began to plot
against Jesus, discussing how to destroy him. Jesus knew this and withdrew from
the district.”
It is
significant that Jesus withdrew instead of entering into a confrontation with
the religious leaders. Jesus did not feel the need to retaliate over His
convictions. At the same time, He was not willing to allow His opponents
to end His mission before the appointed time. He did not allow His pride
to take control of His actions. Indeed, this was the same advice He also
gave to His disciples. “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) There was no point arguing with those who were
unreasonable or too blind to see the truth of what He was saying and
doing. In giving instructions to the Twelve, He advised them thus, “If
the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let
your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen
to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or
town.” (Mt 10:13f)
As a further
precaution not to allow His enemies to jeopardize and short circuit His mission
prematurely, Jesus was careful to instruct those who had faith in Him to be
reticent in proclaiming Him. We read that “Many followed him and he cured them all, but
warned them not to make him known.” After healing the two blind men,
Jesus sternly ordered them, “’See that no one knows of this.’ But they
went away and spread the news about him throughout that district.” (Mt 9:30f)
He gave the same instructions to His disciples after revealing to them that He
was the Messiah. (cf Mt 16:15-20) Again after the Transfiguration, “As they
were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, ‘Tell no one about the
vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.’” (Mt 17:9)
Jesus was in no hurry to prove Himself and His identity. He would allow
God to unfold the events in faith and in His Father’s time.
This was also
the case of the Prophet Micah in the first reading. He condemned the
evils committed by the rich and the greedy. “Woe to those who plot evil, who lie in
bed planning mischief! No sooner is it dawn than they do it – their hands
have the strength for it. Seizing the fields that they covet, they take over
houses as well, owner and house they confiscate together, taking both man and
inheritance.” They evicted the owners of the houses and took away their
property and wealth. This is still happening in our world today, where
the rich and powerful often take advantage of the weak and the
vulnerable. Just because they have money, power and influence, they
manipulate the poor for their personal gain. For fear of their jobs and
livelihood, such people often cave in to the unscrupulous decisions and demands
of their superiors. Being nobody in the eyes of the world, they know that
they cannot fight against the dishonesty and injustices perpetrated by the rich
and the powerful as they can be removed easily. So they keep quiet out of
fear for their safety and wellbeing. This unfortunately sometimes happens
within the church as well, such as in the scandals and the cover up of sexual
crimes, especially pedophilia.
But lest they
think they could get away for the crimes they had committed, Micah warned them
of the consequences of their evil deeds. “So the Lord says
this: Now it is I who plot such mischief against this breed as your necks will
not escape; nor will the time be. On that day they will make a satire on you,
sing a dirge and say, ‘We are stripped of everything; my people’s portion is
measured out and shared, no one will give back to them, our fields are awarded
to our despoiler.’ Therefore you will have no one to measure out a share in the
community of the Lord.” Indeed, this was what happened to the
wealthy and those who practiced dishonesty in business and corruption in
government. Samaria was destroyed and the people sent into exile.
Jerusalem and Judah followed suit. All the wealth was re-distributed.
Nature will
respond according to how we live our lives. Indeed, as it is said, chickens come home
to roost. What we do, we will reap the fruits, whether from good deeds or
evil deeds. Let us not think that we can escape the punishment for the
wrongs we do in this life. Somehow, our bad deeds will catch up with
us. We will have to pay for our crimes sooner or later. Even if
they are not publicly known, they will affect our health, relationships and
peace of mind. We cannot avoid the retribution that comes from our
sins. A crime stops only when the perpetuator is brought to task.
There is a close connection between what we do and what happens later.
However, all these will take place according to God’s time.
We need not force the hand of God to right the wrongs. We should entrust justice
to the work of God. He knows when to act.
Jesus Himself
left it to God to act instead of righting it Himself. God has His
time. It is not man who decides. His time is not dependent on
the plotting of His enemies. Hence, the Lord wisely withdrew from
confrontation with the authorities. He did not feel the need to defend
Himself at that point of time. Prudence won the day. Otherwise, His
ministry would have been short-circuited before the time is ripe for God to
act. The prayer of the psalmist would also have been the prayer of our
Lord, “The poor man is devoured by the pride of the wicked: he is caught in the
schemes that others have made. For the wicked man boasts of his heart’s
desires; the covetous blasphemes and spurns the Lord. In his pride the wicked says:
‘He will not punish. There is no God.’ Such are his thoughts. His mouth
is full of cursing, guile, oppression, mischief and deceit under his tongue. He
lies in wait among the reeds; the innocent he murders in secret. His eyes are
on the watch for the helpless man. But you have seen the trouble and
sorrow, you note it, you take it in hand. The helpless trusts himself to you;
for you are the helper of the orphan.”
Indeed, even
when He was crucified, He did not defend Himself against the sarcasm of His
enemies and detractors. Before King Herod, He ignored his questions of
curiosity. (cf Lk 23:7-9) “The leaders scoffed at him, saying, ‘He
saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen
one!’ The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour
wine, and saying, ‘If you are the King of the Jews, save
yourself!” “One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding
him and saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’” (Lk 23:35-37, 39)
On the
contrary, Jesus was true to His identity as the Suffering Servant. He was the suffering
Messiah. The citation from the prophecy of Isaiah was chosen to confirm
the identity of Jesus revealed as the Servant of God, the Beloved Son of the
Father at His baptism (Mt 3;17) and at the Transfiguration. (cf Mt 17:5)
“Here is my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved, the favorite of my soul. I
will endow him with my spirit, and he will proclaim the true faith to the
nations. He will not brawl or shout, nor will anyone hear his voice in the
streets. He will not break the crushed reed, nor put out the smoldering wick
till he has led the truth to victory: in his name the nations will put their
hope.” (cf Isa 42:1-4)
Jesus will
bring justice to the nations, but according to the divine plan of His Father. It would not be by
violence or an armed revolution, but it would be through humility, innocent
suffering and fidelity to the Father’s will. It would be through mercy
for the weak, forgiveness of one’s enemies and liberation of the
oppressed. As a consequence, God raised Jesus from the dead.
“Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the
name that is above every name.” (Phil 2:9)
Let us take heed of the advice of the psalmist. “Which of you desires
life, and covets many days to enjoy good? Keep your tongue from
evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil, and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the
righteous, and his ears are open to their cry. The face of
the Lord is against evildoers, to cut off the remembrance of them
from the earth.” (Ps 34:12-16)
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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