20190802
WHERE
DID THIS MAN GET HIS WISDOM AND THESE MIRACULOUS POWERS?
02 AUGUST, 2019,
Friday, 17th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
|
First reading
|
|
Leviticus
23:1,4-11,15-16,27,34-37 ©
|
|
The law of the festivals of the Lord
|
The Lord spoke to Moses. He said:
‘These
are the Lord’s solemn festivals, the sacred assemblies to which you are to
summon the sons of Israel on the appointed day.
‘The
fourteenth day of the first month, between the two evenings, is the Passover of
the Lord; and the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of Unleavened
Bread for the Lord. For seven days you shall eat bread without leaven. On the
first day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you must do no heavy work. For
seven days you shall offer a burnt offering to the Lord. The seventh day is to
be a day of sacred assembly; you must do no work.’
The
Lord spoke to Moses. He said:
‘Speak
to the sons of Israel and say to them:
‘“When
you enter the land that I give you, and gather in the harvest there, you must
bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest, and he is to present it to
the Lord with the gesture of offering, so that you may be acceptable. The
priest shall make this offering on the day after the sabbath.
‘“From
the day after the sabbath, the day on which you bring the sheaf of offering,
you are to count seven full weeks. You are to count fifty days, to the day
after the seventh sabbath, and then you are to offer the Lord a new oblation.
‘“The
tenth day of the seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. You are to hold a
sacred assembly. You must fast, and you must offer a burnt offering to the
Lord.
‘“The
fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of Tabernacles for the
Lord, lasting seven days. The first day is a day of sacred assembly; you must
do no heavy work. For seven days you must offer a burnt offering to the Lord.
On the eighth day you are to hold a sacred assembly, you must offer a burnt
offering to the Lord. It is a day of solemn meeting; you must do no heavy work.
‘“These
are the solemn festivals of the Lord to which you are to summon the children of
Israel, sacred assemblies for the purpose of offering burnt offerings,
holocausts, oblations, sacrifices and libations to the Lord, according to the
ritual of each day.”’
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
|
Psalm 80(81):3-6,10-11 ©
|
Ring out your joy to God
our strength.
Raise a song and sound the timbrel,
the sweet-sounding harp and
the lute;
blow the trumpet at the new moon,
when the moon is full, on our
feast.
Ring out your joy to God
our strength.
For this is Israel’s law,
a command of the God of Jacob.
He imposed it as a rule on Joseph,
when he went out against the
land of Egypt.
Ring out your joy to God
our strength.
Let there be no foreign god among you,
no worship of an alien god.
I am the Lord your God,
who brought you from the land
of Egypt.
Open wide your mouth and I
will fill it.
Ring out your joy to God
our strength.
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
cf.1Th2:13
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept God’s message for what it really
is:
God’s message, and not some human
thinking.
Alleluia!
|
Or:
|
1P1:25
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of the Lord remains for ever:
What is this word?
It is the Good News that has been brought
to you.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
|
Matthew 13:54-58 ©
|
|
A prophet is only despised in his own
country
|
Coming to his home town, Jesus taught the
people in their synagogue in such a way that they were astonished and said,
‘Where did the man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? This is the
carpenter’s son, surely? Is not his mother the woman called Mary, and his
brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Jude? His sisters, too, are they not
all here with us? So where did the man get it all?’ And they would not accept
him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is only despised in his own country and
in his own house’, and he did not work many miracles there because of their
lack of faith.
WHERE DID THIS
MAN GET HIS WISDOM AND THESE MIRACULOUS POWERS?
“Coming to his home
town, Jesus taught the people in their synagogue in such a way that they were
astonished and said, ‘Where
did this man get his wisdom and these miraculous powers? This is the
carpenter’s son, surely? Is not his mother the women called Mary and his
brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Jude? His sisters, too, are they
not all here with us? So where did the man get it all?'” Indeed,
this same question that they asked of Jesus should also be posed to themselves.
Where did they get their food, accommodation, health, talents, work and money
from? Have we often not taken our blessings for granted? We tend to
take full credit for our achievements in life. It is due to our
hard work, our ingenuity, our planning, etc. At most, we give credit to
the team that helped us to accomplish our projects.
But do we give credit to
God? How often have we failed to realize that our wisdom and powers come
from God alone? Indeed,
all that we have comes from God alone. Without the grace of God, we would
not even be alive, much less accomplish what we seek to do. Good health
comes from God even if it is dependent on our genes. This is because
inheriting good genes is a grace of God. Where we are born, who gives
birth to us, which family we are born into, our financial ability, the
opportunities that come our way, the people we meet, are all dependent on the
grace of God.
This is true for Jesus
as well. His being is one with the Father. The source of His wisdom and
miraculous powers clearly come from God and no one else. He came from the
Father who is the origin of life and love. As the Son of God, He was
eternally with the Father. As the Son of Man, He came from God, was
conceived in the womb of Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. He grew in age
and wisdom like the rest of us. (cf Lk 1:30-35; 2:40) Although, He was God, He emptied Himself
of His divinity and assumed our humanity even unto death. (Phil 2:6-8) All the works He did was done with
the Father. “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is
in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who
dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the
Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works
themselves.” (Jn 14:10f)
What about us?
Where do our wisdom and powers come from? There is a danger that some of
us are using worldly and evil powers to increase our powers. When Jesus casted out a demon from a
dumb man, some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of
the demons.” (Lk 11:15) Whilst this is
not true for our Lord, it could indeed be true for some people today.
Many are using evil means to get what they want, regardless whether it is
power, wealth or positions in life, through cheating, slandering, manipulation,
oppression or even using sex, money and power to buy people over to work for
their selfish interests. Some are even in league with the spirits through
occult activities, worshipping Satan and his fallen angels so that they can
manipulate nature, events, people and other spirits. So long as we
worship Satan and make use of the spirits or are engaged in sinful and evil
activities, we are colluding with Beelzebul in fact, even if not in name.
If we know that
everything comes from God, there is no reason to be envious of others. We read that it was not because
what Jesus taught was wrong or the works that He did were from the Evil One but
He was rejected simply because He was one of them. The terse remark by
the evangelist, “And they would not accept him. But Jesus said to them,
‘A prophet is only despised in his own country and in his own house,’ and he did
not work many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” Indeed,
without faith in God at work in our lives and in the lives of others, we
deprive ourselves of how God wants to touch us and to heal us and give us life.
It is for this reason,
that the first commandment is always to love God above everything else. God said, “I am
the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of
the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall
not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in
heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under
the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I
the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity
of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject
me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who
love me and keep my commandments.” (Ex 20:1-6) Moses reiterated this
reminder when they were about to enter the Promised Land. “Hear, O Israel:
The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love
the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and
with all your might.” Jesus affirmed this truth by quoting this text in
His reply to the scribe who asked our Lord, “Which commandment is the first of
all?” (cf Mk 12:28-31)
It is within this
context that the solemn festivals were instituted by Moses to help the people
to remember that God is the source of all life. The different rituals and festivals
were celebrated so that the people would constantly call to mind the God of
Israel who journeyed with them from Egypt through the desert to the Promised
Land. It was important that later generations do not forget what the Lord
had done for them, lest they turn to false gods and worship themselves.
It was also the way they strengthened their fellowship and unity among
themselves by celebrating common traditions.
Among the most important
festivals is the Feast of the Passover and the Unleavened Bread. Moses instructed, “The fourteenth
day of the first month, between the two evenings, is the Passover of the Lord;
and the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of Unleavened Bread for
the Lord.” This feast commemorates the Exodus from Egypt when they were
set free from their slavery and given freedom to be the Chosen People of
God. Whenever they celebrate the Passover, they recall and relive the
redemptive experience of their forefathers in their own lives. Together
with the Feast of the Passover is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is to
remind them of the need to remove sins and the wounds and hurts of their past
and live a new life in God. The leavened bread is a symbol of sin
and the unleavened bread a symbol of moral purity.
Another important feast
is the feast of the First fruits. This celebration is sometimes called by various names,
such as Pentecost, the Feast of Weeks or feast of tabernacles. Moses
commanded, “‘When you enter the land that I give you, and gather in the harvest
there, you must bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest, and he is
to present it to the Lord with the gesture of offering, so that you may be
acceptable. The priest shall make this offering on the day after the
sabbath.” The Feast of Weeks was an occasion to give thanks to God for a
bountiful harvest, for as they entered the Promised Land, they changed their
livelihood from being nomads to agriculturalists.
There is another
important feast that the Israelites celebrated, namely, the Day of Atonement. Moses said, “Now, the tenth day of
this seventh month is the day of atonement; it is a day of atonement, to make
atonement on your behalf before the Lord your God.” (cf Lev 23:27f) On this day, the Jews pray for
forgiveness of their sins against God and their fellowmen. It is day of
fast and penance.
Following the feast of
the Atonement is The Feast of Tabernacles, which is also called the Feast of
the Ingathering.
This feast commemorates their exodus from Egypt and how the Lord provided for
them during the forty years in the wilderness. The Feast of Pentecost is
also celebrated as the feast of the first fruits and the Feast of Tabernacles
of the Final Harvest.
Regardless of the number
of feasts celebrated by the Israelites or the Jews, the primary purpose of the
Solemn festivals as Moses said, is “for the purpose of offering burnt
offerings, holocausts, oblations, sacrifices and libations to the Lord.” In this way, we will remember that it is
the Lord our God who makes possible for us to live happy and meaningful
lives. Remembering that God is the creator and provider of all things,
help us to be humble and grateful for what we receive, and be less anxious
about our future needs. Instead, we can trust in His divine providence,
and also share with those who are in need.
For us, Catholics, we
too have our religious celebrations as well. The Season of Advent reminds us of the hope of
the coming of the Messiah 2000 years ago, and on the last day. Christmas
celebrates the Emmanuel of God when He assumed our humanity and became one of
us to show us the Way to the truth and life. Lent invites us to repent of
our sins and be more available to the Word of God calling us to live a virtuous
life. Easter celebrates our definite hope in the New Life here and
hereafter guaranteed by Christ’s resurrection. Pentecost celebrates the
giving of the Holy Spirit and the eventual harvest of all humanity for God’s
glory. Besides these main feasts, there are other celebrations.
Again, the goal of liturgical celebrations is to commemorate God’s saving works
in our history and life, so that we can continue to trust in Him, cooperate
with His divine plan, find salvation in this life and hereafter. In
this way, we can live our lives in peace, love, harmony and with purpose.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment