20190820
DON’T
CURSE THE DARKNESS, LIGHT THE CANDLE
20 AUGUST, 2019,
Tuesday, 20th Week, Ordinary Time
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First reading
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Judges 6:11-24 ©
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'Peace be with you; have no fear; you
will not die'
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The angel of the Lord came and sat under
the terebinth at Ophrah which belonged to Joash of Abiezer. Gideon his son was
threshing wheat inside the winepress to keep it hidden from Midian, when the
angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘The Lord is with you, valiant
warrior!’ Gideon answered him, ‘Forgive me, my lord, but if the Lord is with
us, then why is it that all this is happening to us now? And where are all the
wonders our ancestors tell us of when they say, “Did not the Lord bring us out
of Egypt?” But now the Lord has deserted us; he has abandoned us to Midian.’
At this the Lord turned to him
and said, ‘Go in the strength now upholding you, and you will rescue Israel
from the power of Midian. Do I not send you myself?’ Gideon answered him, ‘Forgive
me, my lord, but how can I deliver Israel? My clan, you must know, is the
weakest in Manasseh and I am the least important in my family.’ The Lord
answered him, ‘I will be with you and you shall crush Midian as though it were
a single man.’ Gideon said to him, ‘If I have found favour in your sight, give
me a sign that it is you who speak to me. I beg you, do not go away until I
come back. I will bring you my offering and set it down before you.’ And he
answered, ‘I will stay until you return.’
Gideon went away and prepared
a young goat and made unleavened cakes with an ephah of flour. He put the meat
into a basket and the broth into a pot, then brought it all to him under the
terebinth. As he came near, the angel of the Lord said to him, ‘Take the meat
and unleavened cakes, put them on this rock and pour the broth over them.’
Gideon did so. Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff in
his hand and touched the meat and unleavened cakes. Fire sprang from the rock
and consumed the meat and unleavened cakes, and the angel of the Lord vanished
before his eyes. Then Gideon knew this was the angel of the Lord, and he said,
‘Alas, my Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!’ The Lord
answered him, ‘Peace be with you; have no fear; you will not die.’ Gideon built
an altar there to the Lord and called it The-Lord-is-Peace.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 84(85):9,11-14 ©
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The Lord speaks peace to
his people.
I will hear what the Lord God has to say,
a voice that speaks of peace,
peace for his people and his friends
and those who turn to him in
their hearts.
The Lord speaks peace to
his people.
Mercy and faithfulness have met;
justice and peace have
embraced.
Faithfulness shall spring from the earth
and justice look down from
heaven.
The Lord speaks peace to
his people.
The Lord will make us prosper
and our earth shall yield its
fruit.
Justice shall march before him
and peace shall follow his
steps.
The Lord speaks peace to
his people.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps24:4,5
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Teach me your paths, my God,
make me walk in your truth.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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2Co8:9
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus Christ was rich,
but he became poor for your sake,
to make you rich out of his poverty.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 19:23-30 ©
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It is easier for a camel to pass through
the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven
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Jesus said to his disciples, ‘I tell you
solemnly, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Yes, I
tell you again, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.’ When the disciples heard
this they were astonished. ‘Who can be saved, then?’ they said. Jesus gazed at
them. ‘For men’ he told them ‘this is impossible; for God everything is
possible.’
Then
Peter spoke. ‘What about us?’ he said to him ‘We have left everything and
followed you. What are we to have, then?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I tell you
solemnly, when all is made new and the Son of Man sits on his throne of glory,
you will yourselves sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.
And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children
or land for the sake of my name will be repaid a hundred times over, and also
inherit eternal life.
‘Many
who are first will be last, and the last, first.’
DON’T CURSE THE
DARKNESS, LIGHT THE CANDLE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Jdg 6:11-24; Mt 19:23-30]
We are all seeking peace
in the world, in our community and in our hearts. There can be no peace without
justice. Peace is the fruit of justice. Yet, in the world today and
in our lives, there is so much division, misunderstanding, injustices and
sufferings. We hear of merciless and senseless terrorists’ attacks on the
lives of innocent people. We hear of wars, discrimination and
oppression. We seek peace and happiness but we carry so much pain,
sorrows, burdens and disappointments that life does not seem to have meaning.
Is the Lord with us? This is our question in
times like these. Like Gideon, whose tribe was suffering under the
oppression of the Midianites, who said to the angel who assured him, “”The Lord
is with you, valiant warrior!’ Gideon answered him, ‘Forgive me, my lord, but
if the Lord is with us, then why is it that all this is happening to us
now?'” Indeed, where is God in all these sufferings? How can we
continue to believe in the power and love of God when we are suffering
injustices and pain? How can we continue to believe in a God who did not
protect us from the terrorists who killed our loved ones when they were
innocently worshipping in church or at the Mall? If God were with us, how could
He let all these evil people triumph and wreck fear and destruction in the
lives of so many people?
What has happened to all
the promises of freedom and peace?
This was what Gideon said, “And where are all the wonders our ancestors tell us
of when they say, ‘Did not the Lord bring us out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord
has deserted us; he has abandoned us to Midian.” So it was all a dream.
Maybe the ancient testimonies about God delivering Israel from Egypt might not
be real. This could perhaps be our thinking as well. Maybe all that
we have been taught about God in our religion is mere superstition and nice
stories. If God is real, why is it that He does not seem to be bothered
with us in our sorrows and sufferings?
However, the truth is
that God is always with us, even in our trials. But God wants us to cooperate with
His grace and power. Just lamenting and bemoaning is not what the Lord
wants us to do. This is counterproductive and only causes more negativity
and disillusionment. The truth is that like Gideon, we hide behind our
fears, insecurities and low self-esteem. We expect God to do all things
for us without our cooperation with His grace. Instead of facing his
enemies and winning them for God, he was hiding in the winepress, threshing the
wheat for fear of the Midianites. There he was, lamenting and whining
away. He was engaging in self-pity like most of us when we feel lost or
depressed. We like to lick our wounds, blame people for our misfortunes,
get angry with God for not acceding to our prayers.
But God wants us to move
out and be a champion for Him. “The
Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in the strength now upholding you, and you
will rescue Israel from the power of Midian. Do I not send you myself?’
Gideon answered him, ‘Forgive me, my lord, but how can I deliver Israel? My
clan, you must know, is the weakest in Manasseh and I am the least important in
my family.'” As a result, Gideon hid in self-pity. He was
afraid. He was complaining to God and giving up faith in Him.
He was suffering from low self-esteem, thinking that he was not strong enough
to fight the Midianites. He felt he was too insignificant for God
to make use of him. But we are also diffident like Gideon. We
feel we cannot do it. We feel the challenges would be too much for
us. We feel that we are not good enough or qualified enough to do the
job. Indeed, because of fear and the lack of self-confidence, many good
people fail to respond to God’s call to change the world, to save humanity from
corruption by the evil trends promoted by so-called intelligent, famous and
successful people in the world. By failing to take up God’s calling to
put the world right, we allow the world to destroy itself.
The reason for our
hesitancy is that we think we have only ourselves to rely on. We fail to realize that only in the
strength of God can we do what He has called us to do. That was why the
Lord assured Gideon. “I will be with you and you shall crush Midian as
though it were a single man.” Indeed, the victory over his enemies will
not be on his own strength and the army’s might but the power of God. In
the next chapter, we read that God reduced the strength of Gideon’s army from
32000 to 300 men to conquer the Midianites. (cf Judges 7)
This was why the Lord
told His disciples earlier on that those who are proud or rely on their own
resources cannot enter the Kingdom of God. He told the disciples that the kingdom of
heaven belongs to those who are childlike. (cf Mt 19:14) Then He explained why it was
difficult for the rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. “‘Again
I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for
someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ When the disciples heard
this, they were greatly astounded and said, ‘Then who can be saved?’ But Jesus
looked at them and said, ‘For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things
are possible.'” (Mt 19:24-26)
Truly, for those who are rich, they tend to rely on themselves. Those who
are intelligent rely on their ingenuity. They depend on human wisdom and
knowledge. For those who are weak and are aware of their limitations,
they tend to be more receptive to the power and grace of God. St Paul
wrote that the Lord said to him, “‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is
made perfect in weakness.’ So, I will boast all the more gladly of my
weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” (2 Cor 12:9f)
Today’s responsorial
psalm invites us to look for peace not in us or outside of us but in God. “I will hear what the Lord God has to say,
a voice that speaks of peace, peace for his people and his friends and those
who turn to him in their hearts. Mercy and faithfulness have met; justice and
peace have embraced. Faithfulness shall spring from the earth and justice look
down from heaven.” We must turn to the Lord for direction, strength and
power. It is the Lord who will make justice possible and it is He
alone who can give us peace. Indeed, it was only when the disciples
left everything to follow Jesus that He could surprise them with the generosity
of God. “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or
father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a
hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life.” (Mt 19:29) In giving up their livelihood,
their family and their life for the sake of Jesus, they were rewarded a hundred
fold and most of all, eternal life.
This was what happened
to Gideon as well when he took the risk of giving all that he had to the Lord. After hearing from the Lord, he
took the risk of surrendering his life to Him. “Gideon went away and
prepared a young goat and made unleavened cakes with an ephah of flour.
He put the meat into a basket and the broth into a pot, then brought it all to
him under the terebinth.” He was then hiding from the Midianites but
after hearing from the angel, he was no longer keeping the little food for
himself. Instead he took the goat he had and prepared a meal for his
guest. He was no longer hiding from his enemies. By making a
sacrifice of whatever he had to serve the guest, it was a gesture that he was
willing to trust in the Lord.
By his act of faith, the
Lord showed His face to Gideon. “Then
the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff in his hand and touched
the meat and unleavened cakes. Fire sprang from the rock and consumed the
meat and unleavened cakes, and the angel of the Lord vanished before his
eyes. Then Gideon knew this was the angel of the Lord, and he said,
‘Alas, my Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.’ The Lord
answered him, ‘Peace be with you; have no fear; you will not die.’ Gideon built
an altar there to the Lord and called it The-Lord-is Peace.” So, too, for
us as well. We need to surrender in faith to the Lord before He would
reveal His face to us. It is in trusting Him that our prayers are
answered. We are called to have the same faith as Mary who said “Yes” to
the Lord. Like the Centurion, we must believe in what the Lord says
to us even before we see the miracle. Claiming His love and fidelity to
us opens the door for the Lord to work in and through us so that we know it is
the Lord’s grace and power and not ours that enables us to do all things and
overcome our trials. So let us work together with His grace to
overcome the evil and suffering of this world.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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