20180807 GOD HELPS US IN OUR DESPERATION

7 AUGUST, 2018, Tuesday, 18th Week, Ordinary Time

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading

Jeremiah 30:1-2,12-15,18-22 ©

Your wound is incurable but I will heal you

The word addressed to Jeremiah by the Lord: the Lord, the God of Israel says this: Write all the words I have spoken to you in a book.

Yes, the Lord says this:

Your wound is incurable,

your injury past healing.

There is no one to care for your sore,

no medicine to make you well again.

All your lovers have forgotten you,

they look for you no more.

Yes, I have struck you as an enemy strikes,

with harsh punishment

so great is your guilt, so many your sins.

Why bother to complain about your wound?

Your pain is incurable.

So great is your guilt, so many your sins,

that I have done all this to you.

The Lord says this:

Now I will restore the tents of Jacob,

and take pity on his dwellings:

the city shall be rebuilt on its ruins,

the citadel restored on its site.

From them will come thanksgiving

and shouts of joy.

I will make them increase, and not diminish them,

make them honoured, and not disdained.

Their sons shall be as once they were,

their community fixed firm in my presence,

and I will punish all their oppressors.

Their prince will be one of their own,

their ruler come from their own people.

I will let him come freely into my presence and he can come close to me;

who else, indeed, would risk his life

by coming close to me? – it is the Lord who speaks.

And you shall be my people and I will be your God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 101(102):16-21,29,22-23 ©

The Lord shall build up Zion again and appear in all his glory.

The nations shall fear the name of the Lord

and all the earth’s kings your glory,

when the Lord shall build up Zion again

and appear in all his glory.

Then he will turn to the prayers of the helpless;

he will not despise their prayers.

The Lord shall build up Zion again and appear in all his glory.

Let this be written for ages to come

that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord;

for the Lord leaned down from his sanctuary on high.

He looked down from heaven to the earth

that he might hear the groans of the prisoners

and free those condemned to die.

The Lord shall build up Zion again and appear in all his glory.

The sons of your servants shall dwell untroubled

and their race shall endure before you

that the name of the Lord may be proclaimed in Zion

and his praise in the heart of Jerusalem,

when peoples and kingdoms are gathered together

to pay their homage to the Lord.

The Lord shall build up Zion again and appear in all his glory.

Gospel Acclamation

Jn8:12

Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the light of the world, says the Lord;

anyone who follows me will have the light of life.

Alleluia!

Or:

Jn1:49

Alleluia, alleluia!

Rabbi, you are the Son of God,

you are the King of Israel.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Jesus walks on the water

Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he would send the crowds away. After sending the crowds away he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, while the boat, by now far out on the lake, was battling with a heavy sea, for there was a head-wind. In the fourth watch of the night he went towards them, walking on the lake, and when the disciples saw him walking on the lake they were terrified. ‘It is a ghost’ they said, and cried out in fear. But at once Jesus called out to them, saying, ‘Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.’ It was Peter who answered. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘if it is you, tell me to come to you across the water.’ ‘Come’ said Jesus. Then Peter got out of the boat and started walking towards Jesus across the water, but as soon as he felt the force of the wind, he took fright and began to sink. ‘Lord! Save me!’ he cried. Jesus put out his hand at once and held him. ‘Man of little faith,’ he said ‘why did you doubt?’ And as they got into the boat the wind dropped. The men in the boat bowed down before him and said, ‘Truly, you are the Son of God.’

Having made the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret. When the local people recognised him they spread the news through the whole neighbourhood and took all that were sick to him, begging him just to let them touch the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched it were completely cured.

GOD HELPS US IN OUR DESPERATION

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ JER 30:1-2, 12-15, 18-22; MT 14:22-36 OR MT 15:1-2, 10-14 ]

All of us have gone through many desperate situations in life. It could be because of an incurable illness. It could be a failed relationship because of infidelity or misunderstanding or cheating. It could be a project undertaken that has gone awry. It could be failure in our studies or opposition we faced at work and in our community. It could even be an offence that we committed and are liable for penalty, like drink-driving, resulting in an accident or even death. In all these situations, we can identify with the characters in today’s scripture readings.

In the first reading, the people of Israel were in exile. They were stripped of everything, land, kingdom and temple. They lost everything because of sin and pride. “Your wound is incurable, your injury past healing. There is no one to care for your sore, no medicine to make you well again. All your lovers have forgotten you; they look for you no more.” The people were beyond redemption and they were incorrigible. Therefore, the Lord permitted Israel to be struck down to its lowest level to humble them and awaken them to consciousness of their evil. The Lord said, “Yes, I have struck you as an enemy strikes; with harsh punishment (so great is your guilt, so many your sins). Why bother to complain about your wound. Your pain is incurable. So great is your guilt, so many your sins, that I have done all this to you.”

Many of us are in such pathetic situations because of the mistakes we have made. We are paying the price of our sins. We have been unfaithful to our spouse and as a result, the house is in turmoil because of constant bickering, arguments and fighting. The marriage can no longer continue because of deep mistrust and resentment. Those of us who are addicted to gambling have lost all our friends including our loved ones. In order to pay off our debts we commit more sins by getting involved in illegal syndicates, drugs and other crimes. One sin leads to another until the law catches up with us.

In the gospel too, we find the disciples struggling with the headwind and the storm in the sea. They were “battling with a heavy sea, for there was a head-wind.” They thought they could do without Jesus. Indeed, this is true for us in life. When we try to manage our life without God, the trials of life will make us even more confused. We begin to do things that are irrational and foolish. Like the disciples, we begin to imagine things as well because of fear and anxiety. Instead of dealing with the issues calmly and objectively, we allow our greed, anger, fear and pride to cloud our sense of judgement.

Peter too was struggling in the waters. “’Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you across the water.’ ‘Come’ said Jesus. Then Peter got out of the boat and started to walk towards Jesus across the water, but as soon as he felt the force of the wind, he took fright and began to sink.” Indeed, he began well like many of us in our faith. We are excited and passionate in our faith. After baptism, we join church ministries. Some of us get involved in NGO activities, humanitarian works, community services, etc. However, along the way, we forget our goals and the reason why we are involved. From service, it became pride, honour and power. Some use the church and the community services for our own interests. When that happens, we start to sink, like Peter. We become worldly-minded, greedy, manipulative and political. When faced with so many challenges and temptations, oppositions and enemies, we start to lose faith.

Today, the scripture readings seek to assure us that we can turn to God in our helplessness. He is ever ready to restore us to fullness of life. “The Lord says this: Now I will restore the tents of Jacob, and take pity on his dwellings: the city shall be rebuilt on its ruins, the citadel restored on its site. Their prince will be one of their own, their ruler come from their own people. I will let him come freely into my presence and he can come close to me. And you shall be my people and I will be your God.” This prophecy came true after the exile, and completely fulfilled in Christ who is the Prince of life, the King of Kings. In Christ, we become God’s people and His adopted sons and daughters. Through Christ, we can now come to the heavenly Father because He has removed all barriers to His Father.

This was the anticipated joy of the psalmist with regard to God’s intervention in their moments of desperation. “The nations shall fear the name of the Lord and all the earth’s kings your glory, when the Lord shall build up Zion again and appear in all his glory. Then he will turn to the prayers of the helpless; he will not despise their prayers. The sons of your servants shall dwell untroubled and their race shall endure before you that the name of the Lord may be proclaimed in Zion and his praise in the heart of Jerusalem, when peoples and kingdoms are gathered together to pay their homage to the Lord.”

The Lord too came to the help of the disciples. In our sufferings and trials, the Lord calls out to us, saying, “Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.” Indeed, when we think we are going through difficult times and helpless situations, the Lord is there. He knows that we are struggling. When He was at prayer, Jesus must have had the intuition that something had gone amiss with His disciples. “He went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, while the boat, by now out on the lake, was battling with a heavy sea, for there was a head-wind. In the fourth watch of the night he went towards them, walking on the lake.” Even without them crying out to the Lord, He heard them and came to their rescue. So we must not think that in our struggles, the Lord is not with us. He is there watching and waiting for the right time to stretch out His hands to save us.

But how can He save us? We must learn from Peter to surrender in faith. However, it is not enough to say to the Lord, “If it is you, tell me to come to you across the water.” We need to hold on to His hands as well. We must not presume that we can walk by ourselves in faith. We need the courage and the support of the Lord even when we say “yes’ to Him. Otherwise, in the face of a storm, like Peter, we will take flight and sin. Like Peter, we too must cry out, “Lord! Save me!” And “Jesus put out his hand at once and held him.” Faith means to focus our eyes on the Lord, not on our problems, because when we focus on our fears, we will become doubtful and lose courage. Rather, it means to have our eyes on Jesus, knowing that He will lead us by holding our hands.

Secondly, we are told that when they brought Jesus into the boat, the sea was calm again. “And as they got into the boat the wind dropped.” If we want help from the Lord, we need to bring Him into our lives. We all have storms to battle in life like the disciples. But if we have Jesus with us, we can find peace and calmness amidst the storm because we no longer fear death or failure. We can surrender everything to God in faith and trust. And we do, we will be able to think through our issues clearly, and make appropriate and wise judgement and decisions as inspired by the Lord.

Finally, we must allow the Lord to touch us. We read, they “took all that were sick to him, begging him just to let them touch the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched it were completely cured.” The Lord wants to touch us when we receive Him in Holy Communion, in the Sacrament of reconciliation and in the Christian community when we gather together in prayer, worship and in the sharing of the Word of God. It is at prayer, worship and fellowship that God comes to touch us, to speak to us and to assure us that He is with us. “It is I. Do not be afraid!”

Scripture Reflection and Prayer : Journeying together

Monday, 6 August 2018

GOD HELPS US IN OUR DESPERATION

Readings at Mass

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