20190723
BEING
MEMBERS OF GOD’S FAMILY
23 JULY, 2019,
Tuesday, 16th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Exodus 14:21-15:1 ©
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The crossing of
the Red Sea
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Moses
stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove back the sea with a strong
easterly wind all night, and he made dry land of the sea. The waters parted and
the sons of Israel went on dry ground right into the sea, walls of water to
right and to left of them. The Egyptians gave chase: after them they went,
right into the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
In the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the army
of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and of cloud, and threw the army into
confusion. He so clogged their chariot wheels that they could scarcely make
headway. ‘Let us flee from the Israelites,’ the Egyptians cried. ‘The Lord is
fighting for them against the Egyptians!’
‘Stretch out your hand over the sea,’ the Lord said to
Moses, ‘that the waters may flow back on the Egyptians and their chariots and
their horsemen.’
Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and, as day
broke, the sea returned to its bed. The fleeing Egyptians marched right into
it, and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the very middle of the sea. The
returning waters overwhelmed the chariots and the horsemen of Pharaoh’s whole
army, which had followed the Israelites into the sea; not a single one of them
was left. But the sons of Israel had marched through the sea on dry ground,
walls of water to right and to left of them.
That day, the Lord rescued Israel from the Egyptians,
and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. Israel witnessed the
great act that the Lord had performed against the Egyptians, and the people
venerated the Lord; they put their faith in the Lord and in Moses, his servant.
It was then that Moses and the sons sang this song in
honour of the Lord:
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Exodus 15 ©
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I
will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!
At
the breath of your anger the waters piled high;
the
moving waters stood up like a dam.
The
deeps turned solid in the midst of the sea.
The
enemy said: ‘I will pursue and overtake them,
I
will divide my plunder, I shall have my will.
I
will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.’
I
will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!
You
blew with your breath, the sea closed over them.
They
went down like lead into the mighty waters.
You
stretched forth your hand, the earth engulfed them.
I
will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!
You
will lead your people and plant them on your mountain,
the
place, O Lord, where you have made your home,
the
sanctuary, Lord, which your hands have made.
I
will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!
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Gospel
Acclamation
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1Jn2:5
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
Whenever
anyone obeys what Christ has said,
God’s
love comes to perfection in him.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Jn14:23
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
If
anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and
my Father will love him,
and
we shall come to him.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 12:46-50 ©
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My mother and
my brothers are anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven
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Jesus
was speaking to the crowds when his mother and his brothers appeared; they were
standing outside and were anxious to have a word with him. But to the man who
told him this Jesus replied, ‘Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?’ And
stretching out his hand towards his disciples he said, ‘Here are my mother and
my brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother
and sister and mother.’
BEING MEMBERS OF
GOD’S FAMILY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Ex 14:21-15:1; Exodus 15; Mt 12:46-50]
In the gospel, Jesus
made it clear that obedience to the will of God is paramount in being included
in the family of God.
“Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother and sister
and mother.” Doing God’s will implies that we are in union in mind and
heart with God. That is why spiritual relationship is much higher than
blood relationship. Whilst it is true that people often say that “blood
is thicker than water”, meaning that blood relations surpass all other forms of
friendship, it might be so when it comes to fulfilling one’s obligations
towards members of the family. But in terms of intimacy and friendship,
sharing of one’s life and love, many of us find such relationships outside of
our family simply because they are non-judgmental, non-obligatory, free and
unconditional. The union of mind and heart is often greater and more
intense between friends than family members.
The first reading from
the book of Exodus, which is read during the Easter Triduum, prefigures
Christian Baptism, when
we, too, are liberated from our slavery to sin and brought to new life in
Christ. The crossing of the red sea symbolizes our death to sin and
rising to new life as in the rite of baptism. It was after leaving the
desert, witnessing the powers of God in the Ten Plagues afflicted on the
Egyptians, climaxing in the crossing of the Red Sea, that the people rendered
their faith in God and became the People of God, pledging obedience and
allegiance to Him. Only because of a common faith, the motley crowd of
people became a nation under the God of Israel. Once formed into a nation
called Israel, they were called to live under the covenant of God. The
laws were given through Moses so that they could live together in peace and
harmony among themselves and their neighbours.
That is why Christians
are bound together as a family.
Being a Christian is never being alone. When we are baptized, we belong
to the larger family of God. The spiritual family takes precedence over
the blood family because ultimately, in the next life, we will all be one
family of God, brothers and sisters in Christ. Our love will be
inclusive and we will love each one, including our loved ones, as much as
Christ loves each one of us. This is what baptism does for us. This
explains why the Lord Jesus replied, “‘Who is my mother? Who are my
brothers?’ And stretching out his hand towards his disciples he said,
‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of my
Father in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.'”
This, however, is more
than mere words and nice sayings; it is truly in fact, not just in name. Jesus is truly our brother and
therefore we are brothers and sisters in the Lord. When the hour
of glorification came, just before He died, Jesus entrusted His mother to be
the mother of all Christians, symbolized in the perfect disciple, John who took
her into his home. “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he
loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then
he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple
took her into his own home.” (Jn 19:26f) After His resurrection,
He told the women, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee;
there they will see me.” (Mt 28:10) In the letter to the Hebrews,
the author wrote, “For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all
have one Father. For this reason, Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers
and sisters, saying, ‘I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters, in
the midst of the congregation I will praise you.'”
We who are baptized and
now belong to the family of God must begin to live as members of God’s
family. This
is often forgotten. It is not enough to say that we are brothers and
sisters in Christ but live as aliens to each other. We do not treat
each other as brothers and sisters. We only pay lip service to this
fact. Indeed, many Catholics live as individuals. They do not
relate with the family of God. They are uninvolved in the Christian
community. They know very few members. They do not bother to reach
out beyond their family circle or their circle of friends. They become
cliquish, inward-looking and strangers to the rest of the faith community.
That is why, during times of trials and confusion, they have no one to turn go
except their non-Catholic friends. So, what can they expect but end up
more confused, alienated from God and from the Faith. Indeed, those who
do not belong to the Faith community risk losing their faith as they have no
one to support them in their loneliness, their struggles and disillusionment.
It is important that as
disciples, we must belong to the inner circle of Jesus’ family. The narration of this episode in
Matthew is not as explicit as St Mark’s when he wrote, “Then his mother and his
brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called
him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, ‘Your
mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.’ And he
replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking at those who sat
around him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the
will of God is my brother and sister and mother.'” (Mk 3:31-35) St Mark underscored those
who were outside and those who were inside. Ironically, it appears that
His own family and relatives were outside, even though they were related by
blood ties, whereas His disciples were on the inside because they listened to
the Word of God and obeyed it. It is not enough to stay on the fringe of
the Catholic community. By remaining on the outside, we become observers,
guests and spectators, not family members.
To be members of a family,
it presupposes communication, intimacy, sharing of mind and heart, and sharing
of fellowship and meals, of values and culture. This is why the Exodus story, particularly
the triumph of Israel over Egypt as they fled into the desert, bound the people
together. They shared a common experience of how they were once slaves,
and how the Lord delivered them from their enemies through works of power and
might, in the Ten Plagues, the Passover, in the spectacular crossing of the Red
Sea as they were pursued by the Egyptian army, guided by the Pillar of light
and Cloud and in the theophany at Mount Sinai. All these significant
moments captured the minds of the fathers of Israel and remained deeply
embedded in their hearts and minds. “That day, the Lord rescued Israel
from the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore.
Israel witnessed the great act that the Lord had performed against the
Egyptians, and the people venerated the Lord; they put their faith in the Lord
and in Moses, his servant.” Having seen the mercy and the power of God, they
reenacted the memorial of the Passover to recall and to make present the
salvific events they witnessed, so that the future generation could also enter
into this saving event.
As the family of God, it
is therefore crucial that we, too, celebrate our Christian salvific experience
in Christ’s death and resurrection. The sacrament of baptism, which is our entry into the
family of God, needs to be renewed through the sacrament of the
Eucharist. It is the celebration of the Eucharist that we recall Christ’s
memorial, His passion, death and resurrection, so that we too can partake of
this salvific event. This explains why the Church commands that every
Catholic must fulfill the Sunday obligation of attending mass on Sunday.
But it is more than an obligation, a duty. Rather, it is to remind us of
the importance of being connected with Christ at communion and with the Church
as the family of God. Unless, we are in communion with Christ and His
body, the Church, our family, we will not be truly disciples of our Lord.
Receiving communion means to receive our brothers and sisters too!
It is therefore
important that we find ways and means to be more and more integrated into the
Christian family.
We cannot wait for things to happen. Let us take heed of the advice of
the author of Hebrews, “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without
wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to
provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet
together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the
more as you see the Day approaching.” (Heb 10:23-25)
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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