20190720 THE
PATIENCE OF A TENDER LOVING GOD
20 JULY, 2019,
Saturday, 15th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Exodus 12:37-42 ©
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The sons of Israel leave Egypt hurriedly
by night
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The sons of Israel left Rameses for
Succoth, about six hundred thousand on the march – all men – not
counting their families. People of various sorts joined them in great numbers;
there were flocks, too, and herds in immense droves. They baked cakes with the
dough which they had brought from Egypt, unleavened because the dough was not
leavened; they had been driven out of Egypt, with no time for dallying, and had
not provided themselves with food for the journey. The time that the sons of
Israel had spent in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And on the very
day the four hundred and thirty years ended, all the array of the Lord left the
land of Egypt. The night, when the Lord kept vigil to bring them out of the
land of Egypt, must be kept as a vigil in honour of the Lord for all their
generations.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm
135(136):1,10-15,23-24 ©
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O give thanks to the Lord for he is good.
His love is everlasting!
He remembered us in our distress.
His love is everlasting!
And he snatched us away from our foes.
His love is everlasting!
The first-born of the Egyptians he smote.
His love is everlasting!
He brought Israel out from their midst.
His love is everlasting!
Arm outstretched, with power in his hand.
His love is everlasting!
He divided the Red Sea in two.
His love is everlasting!
He made Israel pass through the midst.
His love is everlasting!
He flung Pharaoh and his force in the sea.
His love is everlasting!
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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 PATIENCE OF
A TENDER LOVING GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Exodus 12:37-42; Matthew 12:14-21 ]
Patience is what we lack
in the modern world. We
are living in a fast-moving world. In a digital world, everything moves
instantly. We can have information on anything in the world in seconds
through the internet and on our mobile phones. Communication is also instant
through mobile phone, SMS, FaceTime, etc. We also have instant food as
well, precooked food that just requires heating up. Today, with the Mass
Rapid Transport system, travelling is made faster and easier.
But the toil and the
downside of a fast-moving world is impatience. We want things to be done quickly
and fast. We cannot wait. We have become intolerant of those who
are slow, dull or inefficient. We demand perfection and precision in
everything, as in the case of technology. We have also become impatient
and annoyed when people make mistakes. We want to make decisions fast and
action to be taken immediately.
Fortunately, this is not
the way God works. The
truth is that God is a patient, long suffering and loving God. The
psalmist says, “For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it
is past, or like a watch in the night.” Man cannot wait, but He can wait,
and is still waiting for man to repent and turn to the New Life He is offering
us. St Peter wrote, “beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a
thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is
not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you,
not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.” (2 Pt 3:8f) This is the message of
today’s scripture readings.
In the book of Exodus,
we read that “The time the sons of Israel had spent in Egypt was four hundred
and thirty years,
and on the very day the four hundred and thirty years ended, all the array of
the Lord left the land of Egypt.” That was certainly a very long
time. Singapore is only 54 years old as an independent nation! And
we are just celebrating the founding of Singapore 200 years ago. But if
we think that is long, we just have to see the time-line in which God fulfills
His salvific plan for humanity. From the call of Abraham to the
Patriarchs arriving in Egypt was more than 200 years. Then they spent 430
years in Egypt, followed by 40 years of wandering in the desert. By the
time the promise to Abraham was fulfilled, when David became king in 1050, it
was more than 1000 years. Then it took almost another 1000 years before
Christ the Saviour of the world was born! Indeed, the plan of God
unfolded gradually in time. God is patient and will wait for humanity to
respond to His call.
Secondly, Israel took
time to become a nation.
God had to wait for the people to grow in number and strength before they could
become a nation. We read earlier on that “all the persons belonging to
Jacob who came into Egypt, who were his own offspring, not including the wives
of his sons, were sixty-six persons in all. The children of Joseph, who
were born to him in Egypt, were two; all the persons of the house of Jacob who
came into Egypt were seventy.” (Gn 46:26f) By the time they left Egypt
430 years later, the number had grown to six hundred thousand men not counting
their families. So we can imagine how big they had grown, to more
than two million people including their families. Of course, if we consider
the length of 430 years, it might look small. Singapore over the
last 50 years has grown three- fold in spite of population controls and strict
immigration laws.
Thirdly, we cannot
imagine how the sons of Israel could wander in the desert for forty years
without much provisions for the journey. “They baked cakes with the dough which they had
brought from Egypt, unleavened because the dough was not leavened; they had
been driven out of Egypt, with no time for dallying, and had not provided
themselves with food for the journey.” It was truly an act of faith
in God. How could they survive the harsh weather, the heat and the cold
in the desert? Over and above these hardships, they had to deal with
tribal attacks and wild animals as well. But God showed Himself to be truly
their savior and deliverer. He gave them water from the rocks,
manna from heaven and sent quails to them for meat. Such was the
mercy and care of God.
Fourthly, we also note
that besides the sons of Israel who were the chosen people of God, those not
belonging to them were not left out.
“People of various sorts joined them in great numbers; there were flocks, too,
and herd in immense droves.” God loves each and every one of us
regardless who we are. And so even those who belonged to other tribes
were welcomed to join them as well. Israel was chosen for a mission, not
for themselves. “And now the Lord says, who formed me in the
womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might
be gathered to him, for I am honored in the sight of the Lord, and my God
has become my strength – he says, ‘It is too light a thing that you should
be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors
of Israel. I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation
may reach to the end of the earth.'” (Isa 49:5f) Moses instructed the
Israelites thus, “When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not
oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the
citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in
the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” (Lev 19:33f)
This tender mercy of God
is seen in Jesus in the gospel today. “The
Pharisees went out and began to plot against Jesus, discussing how to destroy
him.” This was because Jesus was breaking the Sabbath Law as
interpreted by them. They were incensed that he even healed the
sick on the Sabbath. They were judgmental and impatient with Jesus.
They sought to take action to destroy Jesus, which itself was against the
Law. But they could no longer tolerate Jesus who they felt was
destabilizing their customs and laws and potentially divisive of the community.
But instead of reacting
to the hostility of the religious leaders, we read that “Jesus knew this and
withdrew from the district.” Jesus did not allow His ego or pride or even
insecurity to retaliate and to prove Himself. Jesus was never rash in His
actions or decisions. He reacted calmly to challenges, opposition and
false accusations against Him. He never faltered or succumbed to pressure
to respond without calculation. Indeed, the way Jesus handled
Himself at the trial before the Chief Priests, Pilate and Herod showed His
fortitude, equanimity and mindfulness. Jesus knew that it was not yet the
time to go head-on to fight against His opponents. He still needed to
preach the Good News and form His disciples.
So He withdrew quietly
and worked without publicity. “Many
followed him and he cured them all, but warned them not to make him
known.” He felt the need to spread the Good News of God’s love and mercy
in words and deeds. So instead of creating a scene at the synagogues, He
transferred His pulpit to the seashore, the countryside and the hills.
There He taught the people about God’s love and mercy; and He performed His
healing work as well. In this way, He continued to manifest the
tender mercy of a loving God.
As the evangelist says,
“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.” Indeed, the way of Christ was one of patience,
tolerance and self-control. To the weak and broken, He was compassionate,
forgiving and encouraging. He did not destroy or say things to bring a
person down completely, unlike what many people do in the social media, using
it as a weapon to expose and destroy the character of those who have made
mistakes in life.
So like Jesus, let us be
the hope and consolation of the nations. Let us learn patience with those who are slow,
forgiving with those who have failed, tolerant of those who are
incorrigible. Through our patience, God will give them the grace to
change. We must never give up hope in life. Sometimes, God seems to
be slow in answering to our prayers; or people are slow to change, or we
ourselves find it difficult to overcome our weaknesses. We must learn the
patience of God towards us. Ironically, God is more patient and forgiving
towards us than we are with ourselves and with our fellowmen.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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