20180705
YOU RECEIVED
WITHOUT CHARGE GIVE WITHOUT CHARGE
05 JULY,
2018, Thursday, 13th Week, Ordinary Time
Hosea 11:1-4,
8-9
1 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and
out of Egypt I called my son.
2 The more Iy called them,
the
more they went from me;*
they
kept sacrificing to the Baals,
and
burning incense to idols.
3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
I
took them up in mya arms;
but
they did not know that I healed them.
4 I led them with cords of compassion,b
with
the bands of love,
and
I became to them as one,
who
eases the yoke on their jaws,
and
I bent down to them and fed them.
8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim!
How
can I hand you over, O Israel!
How
can I make you like Admah!
How
can I treat you like Zeboiim!
My
heart recoils within me,
my
compassion grows warm and tender.
9 I will not execute my fierce anger,
I
will not again destroy Ephraim;
for
I am God and not man,
the
Holy One in your midst,
and
I will not come to destroy.e
Matthew 10:7-15
7 And
preach as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,
cast out demons. You received without paying, give without pay. 9 Take no gold, nor silver, nor copper in your
belts, 10 no bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor
sandals, nor a staff; for the laborer deserves his food. 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find
out who is worthy in it, and stay with him until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, salute it. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace
come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And if any one will not receive you or listen
to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or
town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it shall be more
tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for
that town.
YOU RECEIVED WITHOUT CHARGE, GIVE
WITHOUT CHARGE
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ HOSEA 11:1-4. 8-9; MT 10:7-15 ]
In the first reading, we read of the gracious love of God for Israel. “When
Israel was a child I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. I led
with reins of kindness, with leading-strings of love. I was like someone who
lifts an infant close against his cheek; stooping down to him I gave him his
food.” God has chosen us unconditionally, not because of any merit of
ours. He treats us like His sons and daughters. He loves us as our
Father and mother. He provides for all our needs. We are what we
are today because of His divine providence. Indeed, when we look at our lives,
we know that the Lord has always been there for us, otherwise, we would not be
where we are today. We only have His love to thank for. But often
we fail to realize that without His love, we would not be where we are.
“I myself taught Ephraim to walk, I took them in my arms; yet they have not
understood that I was the one looking after them.”
But God is also a faithful and merciful God. We
betray His love for us again and again. Like little children, we tend to
take the love of our parents for granted. We make promises to be true to
God and be obedient to Him if He grants us our petition. But in a short
while, we forget our promises. We go back to the old way of life, not
obeying His will. We are forgetful of His love for us. This is what
the Lord experienced in His people. “But the more I called to them, the
further they went from me; they have offered sacrifice to the Baals and set
their offerings smoking before the idols.” Instead of worshipping God, we
worship the idols of our lives. We get attached to the world like the
rest of humanity instead of serving God alone.
Most of all, God is a forgiving God. “My
heart recoils from it, my whole being trembles at the thought. I will not give
rein to my fierce anger, I will not destroy Ephraim again, for I am God, not
man: I am the Holy One in your midst and have no wish to destroy.” This
God is a God who always forgives. He does not take into account our
sins. He is ever ready to show mercy and clemency to us when we are
repentant. God knows us because His Son became man and He could identify
with us in our temptations and struggles. That is why Christ is our
compassionate High Priest who continuously intercedes for us before our
heavenly Father.
In the face of such a loving and merciful God, what must we do? We
must continue the mission of Jesus in proclaiming the Good News in words and
deeds. “Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘As you go,
proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick,
raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. You received without
charge, give without charge.” Just as we have received freely His love
and mercy, we desire to extend what we have undeservedly received to
others. This is the beginning of our mission. We are to produce the signs
of faith. Curing the sick, healing the lepers and setting people free
from the bondage of the devil are means to proclaim the continued presence of
God in our midst, lest we think that He is no longer present in the world.
But this proclamation of the gospel must be given freely. How can
we always love freely and give freely? The truth is that
after some time, we begin to be calculating in what we do for others. Our
love is no longer free but given conditionally. We serve those who are
helpful or good to us. We serve those who support us. We give our
time and services only to our friends, our benefactors. We are not easily
available to those whom we do not know or are not supportive of us and our
programs. If that is the case, then we are no better than the pagans
because they too care for each other. That is why we must always be
watchful of preachers and teachers who are out to enrich themselves and who
show themselves to be equally attached to the world. Just by using God’s
name to get what they want does not mean that they come from God. We must
be wary of them if they always talk about money and their needs. They should be
the least concerned about money. Instead, their priority should be to make the
Good News heard and seen through their works of mercy and compassion.
To give without charge, we need to be constantly receiving without
charge. We need to continue to receive His
love. This can happen only if we do not depend on ourselves and hard work
alone. That is why true preachers of the gospel live simply because
their only concern is to alleviate the sufferings of their fellowmen and not to
fall into desire for worldly things. By living simply, we know that our lives
are dependent on God alone. It is the experience of helplessness and
uncertainty of our needs tomorrow that we can receive everything from the Lord
with gratitude and wonderment. And God often surprises us when we least
expect. How often in times of difficulty and challenges, when we felt so
helpless, that God sent HIs angels to help us out. We only need to trust in
Him.
This dependence on divine providence is what the Lord wanted His
disciples to go through so that they would know His love and power. Hence,
He said, “Provide yourselves with no gold or silver, not even with a few
coppers for your purses, with no haversack for the journey or spare tunic or
footwear or a staff, for the workman deserves his keep.” The more we
experience His marvellous works in our lives, the greater is our trust in
Him. The greater the confidence in Him, the stronger is our faith when we
reach out to those who need the healing grace of God. Our prayers will be
more fervent and faith-filled and our works will be more effective. With
the psalmist we pray with faith. “O shepherd of Israel, hear us, shine forth
from your cherubim throne. O Lord, rouse up your might, O Lord, come to our
help. God of hosts, turn again, we implore, look down from heaven and
see. Visit this vine and protect it, the vine your right hand has
planted.”
But it is not enough to be free in giving the Good News. We must
also allow the freedom of response. Because
the Good News is given freely, it must be freely received. It cannot be
imposed. “And if anyone does not welcome you or listen to what you have
to say, as you walk out of the house or town shake the dust from your
feet. I tell you solemnly, on the day of Judgement it will not go as hard
with the land of Sodom and Gomorrah as with that town.” We should not be
offended if people reject the Good News. If we do, it is because our
pride is hurt. This is the way God regards us as He did with Israel who
rejected Him for the idols. Instead, we should love them even more.
Indeed, by being peacemakers and life-bringers, we bring life to
ourselves and to our beneficiaries. “Whatever town
or village you go into, ask for someone trustworthy and stay with him until you
leave. As you enter his house, salute it, and if the house deserves it,
let your peace descend upon it; if it does not, let your peace come back to
you.” Peace begets peace, love begets love. This is the rule of
life. What we give to others, we receive in return. In blessing
others, we are blessed in return.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh,
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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