20190808
FAITH
IN CHRIST’S FIDELITY TO HIS CHURCH
08 AUGUST, 2019,
Thursday, 18th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
White.
These are the readings
for the feria
|
First reading
|
Numbers 20:1-13 ©
|
|
Moses makes water flow from the rock at Meribah
|
The sons of Israel, the whole community,
arrived in the first month at the desert of Zin. The people settled at Kadesh.
It was there that Miriam died and was buried.
There
was no water for the community, and they were all united against Moses and
Aaron. The people challenged Moses: ‘We would rather have died,’ they said ‘as
our brothers died before the Lord! Why did you bring the assembly of the Lord
into this wilderness, only to let us die here, ourselves and our cattle? Why
did you lead us out of Egypt, only to bring us to this wretched place? It is a
place unfit for sowing, it has no figs, no vines, no pomegranates, and there is
not even water to drink!’
Leaving
the assembly, Moses and Aaron went to the door of the Tent of Meeting. They
threw themselves face downward on the ground, and the glory of the Lord
appeared to them. The Lord spoke to Moses and said, ‘Take the branch and call
the community together, you and your brother Aaron. Then, in full view of them,
order this rock to give water. You will make water flow for them out of the
rock, and provide drink for the community and their cattle.’
Moses
took up the branch from before the Lord, as he had directed him. Then Moses and
Aaron called the assembly together in front of the rock and addressed them,
‘Listen now, you rebels. Shall we make water gush from this rock for you?’ And
Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the branch; water gushed
in abundance, and the community drank and their cattle too.
Then
the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe that I could
proclaim my holiness in the eyes of the sons of Israel, you shall not lead this
assembly into the land I am giving them.’
These
are the waters of Meribah, where the sons of Israel challenged the Lord and he
proclaimed his holiness.
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
|
Psalm 94(95):1-2,6-9 ©
|
O that today you would
listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;
hail the rock who saves us.
Let us come before him, giving thanks,
with songs let us hail the
Lord.
O that today you would
listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
Come in; let us bow and bend low;
let us kneel before the God
who made us:
for he is our God and we
the people who belong to his
pasture,
the flock that is led by his
hand.
O that today you would
listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
O that today you would listen to his
voice!
‘Harden not your hearts as at
Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in
the desert
when your fathers put me to the test;
when they tried me, though
they saw my work.’
O that today you would
listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
Ps144:13
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and loving in all his deeds.
Alleluia!
|
Or:
|
Mt16:18
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
You are Peter,
and on this rock I will build my Church.
And the gates of the underworld can never
hold out against it.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
|
Matthew 16:13-23 ©
|
|
You are Peter and on this rock I will build my
Church
|
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea
Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of
Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and
others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I
am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said, ‘the Son of the
living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because
it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.
So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And
the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the
keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered
bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in
heaven.’ Then he gave the disciples strict orders not to tell anyone that he
was the Christ.
From
that time Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to
go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief
priests and scribes, to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day.
Then, taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him. ‘Heaven preserve
you, Lord;’ he said ‘this must not happen to you.’ But he turned and said to
Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because the way
you think is not God’s way but man’s.’
FAITH IN
CHRIST’S FIDELITY TO HIS CHURCH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ NUM 20:1-13; PS 95:1-2,6-9. R. v.8; MT 16:13-23 ]
As bishop, priests,
deacons and religious, we all seek to be the face of God in the world. Whenever we pray the Lord’s Prayer,
“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name”, we are asking that we
show forth the holiness of God in our daily life, especially in our
ministry. And the holiness of God is His justice, mercy and compassion.
Moses instructed the people of the need to observe the moral laws, beginning
with the word of the Lord, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your
God am holy.” (cf Lev 19:1-35) Yet, we all know that we are also
weak and imperfect as leaders. Often, by our sinfulness and our
foolishness and ignorance, we hide the holiness of God from the people of
God. Pope Leo the Great on his anniversary as a bishop so humbly wrote,
“Brothers, when it comes to fulfilling my duties as bishop, I discover that I
am weak and slack, weighed down by the weakness of my own condition, while
at the same time, I want to act generously and courageously.”
Of course, not only are bishops and
priests called to display the holiness of God, all parents and all of us,
especially those in authority, including corporate and civil leaders, are to
display the holiness of God in their lives and conduct by doing the right thing
for the community under their charge. They are to make sure that as
leaders their first welfare and concern is for the greater good of their sheep
and not their own interests. Again, we know so well that as parents,
teachers and leaders, we are imperfect. We are impatient, intolerant, judgemental
and at times care more for our security, convenience and peace than working for
the good of all, especially the weak and those who need more of our attention.
This was the case of
Moses as the leader of Israel as well. God had chosen him to lead the
people out of the slavery of Egypt and to bring them to the Promised Land. But the people were still a motley
crowd of individuals, caring more about themselves rather than working together
as the People of God and a nation. They were individualistic, inward-looking
and lacking faith in the leaders appointed by God, thereby also rejecting
God. They only knew how to complain and lament. They were
ungrateful for what God had done for them. They even apostatized and
worshipped false gods instead of the God who liberated them from
Egypt. So the people needed formation and be strengthened as God’s
People and evolve as a united nation before they could enter the Promised Land.
However, Moses was
impatient and angry with them. Instead of showing forth the holiness of
God by displaying mercy and compassion, he became angry with the people and
also agitated with God. When
he turned to the Lord at the Tent of Meeting in utter desperation and
frustration as a leader, the Lord instructed Moses, “Take the branch and call
the community together, you and your brother Aaron. Then, in full view of
them, order this rock to give water. You will make water flow for them
out of the rock, and provide drink for the community and their
cattle.” Instead of obeying the Lord, when he met the people, he
allowed his anger and bitterness in his heart to consume him. Instead of
rendering present the mercy of God, he allowed his bitterness to be displayed
instead. He addressed the people, “”Listen now, you rebels. Shall
we make water gush from this rock for you?’ And Moses raised his hand and
struck the rock twice with the branch; water gushed in abundance, and the
community drank and their cattle too.” He called them rebels in a
fit of anger. He struck the rock twice instead of ordering the rock to
give water. In other words, he was allowing his anger to take control of
him. Indeed, any leader that allows anger and bitterness to consume him
will not be able to lead his people. He would only retaliate and condemn
instead of helping those under his care to grow. This is the reason
why leaders fail to command respect.
As a consequence, Moses
was penalized for his lack of faith in God. The Lord said to Moses, “‘Because you did not
believe that I could proclaim my holiness in the eyes of the sons of Israel,
you shall not lead this assembly into the land I am giving them.’ These
are the waters of Meribah, where the sons of Israel challenged the Lord and he
proclaimed his holiness.” Only those who were purified and tested in faith
could enter the Promised Land. This is what the responsorial psalm says.
“Come, ring out our joy to the Lord; hail the rock who saves us. Let us
come before him, giving thanks, with songs let us hail the Lord. Come in; let
us bow and bend low; let us kneel before the God who made us for he is our God
and we the people who belong to his pasture, the flock that is led by his
hand. O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your
hearts as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the desert when your fathers
put me to the test; when they tried me, though they saw my work.”
In the gospel, we have a
similar situation as well in the way Peter conducted himself as a leader of the
apostles. Peter, the chief
among the apostles, confessed that Jesus is the Christ, “the Son of the Living
God.” He got his answer right. And so the Lord said to him, “Simon
son of Jonah, you are a happy man!” Yet, in spite of his profession of
faith in Jesus as the Son of the Living God, he had his own ideas of what a Messiah
should be, rather than submit to God’s plan. And so when Jesus “began to
make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and
suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, to
put to death and to be raised up on the third day”, “taking him aside, Peter
started to remonstrate with him. ‘Heaven preserve you, Lord,’ he said
‘this must not happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get
behind me Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because the way you
think is not God’s way but man’s.'” Peter’s thinking was not God’s way
and if Jesus were to follow the way of Peter, the kingdom of God would not have
been accomplished because it is God’s will that the kingdom will come through
the lowliness and death of Christ, so that God’s power could be seen and felt
in the resurrection of our Lord.
We, too, as leaders,
must learn from the Lord not to rely on ourselves. He said to Peter, “It was not flesh
and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say
to you; You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the
gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you
the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth shall be considered
bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in
heaven.” Jesus made it clear to Peter that his confession of faith in Him
is the work of divine revelation, not because of his intelligence. If the
Church were to last, it cannot be merely a human endeavor, but she must rely on
the power of God. Christ Himself will ensure that the Church will
withstand the trials, tribulations, persecutions and ravages of wars and
natural disasters. Do we have the faith that God will see us
through, especially during this difficult period of the Church’s history, when
the integrity of our religious leaders is in question and the shocking scandals
that are being unfolded day after day? If our faith is placed in God, not
in men, then our faith will stand, for we believe that the Church founded by
Christ will withstand even the gates of hell. Satan will not overcome the
Church established by Christ.
This was what Pope Leo
also shared, “I draw my strength from the untiring intercession of the almighty
and eternal Priest who,
like us but equal to the Father, lowered his divinity to the level of man and
raised humankind to the level of God. The decisions he made give me a just and
holy joy. For when he delegated many pastors to care for his flock, he did not abandon
watching over his beloved sheep. Thanks to that fundamental and eternal help, I
in turn have received the protection and support of the apostle Peter, who also
does not abandon his function. This solid foundation, on which the whole of the
Church is built, never grows tired of carrying the whole weight of the building
that rests on it.” (Anniversary of His Episcopal Ordination) We too
must learn from Peter who, when he fell, repented and became a strength to his
brothers as the Lord said to him, “I have prayed for you that your own faith
may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your
brothers.” (Lk 22:32)
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment