20190925
RELIANCE
ON THE UNDESERVING MERCY OF GOD
25 SEPTEMBER,
2019, Wednesday, 25th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Ezra 9:5-9 ©
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At the evening sacrifice I, Ezra, came out
of my stupor and falling on my knees, with my garment and cloak torn, I
stretched out my hands to the Lord my God, and said:
‘My
God, I am ashamed, I blush to lift my face to you, my God. For our crimes have
increased, until they are higher than our heads, and our sin has piled up to
heaven. From the days of our ancestors until now our guilt has been great; on
account of our crimes we, our kings and our priests, were given into the power
of the kings of other countries, given to the sword, to captivity, to pillage
and to shame, as is the case today. But now, suddenly, the Lord our God by his
favour has left us a remnant and granted us a refuge in his holy place; this is
how our God has cheered our eyes and given us a little respite in our slavery.
For we are slaves; but God has not forgotten us in our slavery; he has shown us
kindness in the eyes of the kings of Persia, obtaining permission for us to
rebuild the Temple of our God and restore its ruins, and he has found us safety
and shelter in Judah and in Jerusalem.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Tobit 13:2,4,6-8 ©
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Blessed be God, who
lives for ever.
God punishes, he also has mercy,
he leads men to the depths of the grave,
he restores men from the great
destruction.
No man can escape his hand.
Blessed be God, who
lives for ever.
It is he who scattered us among the
nations.
Among them must we show forth our
greatness
and exalt him in the presence of all
living;
for he is our Lord and our God,
our Father and our God for ever.
Blessed be God, who
lives for ever.
Now think what he has done for you,
give thanks to him with all your voice.
Give praise to the Lord for his justice
and exalt the king of all ages.
Blessed be God, who lives
for ever.
In this land of exile I will thank him,
and show forth his greatness
and might
to the race of sinful men.
Blessed be God, who
lives for ever.
Sinners, come back to him,
do what is right before him.
Who knows but he will receive
you with pity?
Blessed be God, who
lives for ever.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Col3:16a,17
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Let the message of Christ, in all its
richness,
find a home with you;
through him give thanks to God the Father.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Mk1:15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The kingdom of God is close at hand:
repent and believe the Good News.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 9:1-6 ©
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Jesus called the Twelve together and gave
them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases, and he sent them
out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. He said to them, ‘Take nothing
for the journey: neither staff, nor haversack, nor bread, nor money; and let
none of you take a spare tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there; and when
you leave, let it be from there. As for those who do not welcome you, when you
leave their town shake the dust from your feet as a sign to them.’ So they set
out and went from village to village proclaiming the Good News and healing
everywhere.
RELIANCE ON THE
UNDESERVING MERCY OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [EZRA 9:5-9; LK 9:1-6 ]
Many are hardened to
receiving God’s mercy. They
cannot feel God’s love and mercy. What could be the reasons? We could he
hardened by sin. Through years of living in sin, we have closed our
hearts to God’s love and our ears to His words. The devil has won us
over. What is evil and wrong is justified as good and permissible.
If we want to repent, he will tell us that God will not forgive us and He will
not listen to our prayers. This makes us stay further away from God and
from praying lest we be converted to hearing the voice of God. Sometimes
we cannot receive His mercy because we suffer the wounds of sins, ours and
those who trespassed against us. We become resentful of them and
ultimately of God for our sufferings, even if we are suffering the
consequences. We feel that God is unfair and that He does not care for us
or is taking revenge on us. The bitterness in our hearts hinder us from
listening to God.
However, Ezra shows us
the way to receive God’s mercy. He began by acknowledging and owning the
sins. He prayed, “My
God, I am ashamed, I blush to lift my face to you, my God. For our crimes
have increased, until they are higher than our heads, and our sin has piled up
to heaven.” He expressed contrition of heart, not just for his own sins
but the sins of the nation. He recognized the many grievous sins they had
committed. He felt ashamed of what he and his people had done. He
knew how much they had offended God. Until we come to understand the
seriousness and gravity of our sins and how much we hurt God and our fellowmen,
including ourselves and our loved ones, there can be no real repentance and
contrition of heart. The only sin that cannot be forgiven is the sin
against the Holy Spirit, the sin of a hardened heart.
The problem of the world
today is our numbness to sin.
Through publicity, especially in the social media and entertainment world, what
is sinful has been promoted as a way of life so much so that it has become a
norm. Infidelity, divorce, abortion, same-sex relationships are portrayed
as something acceptable by society. Very soon, what was frowned upon is
gradually accepted as a fact of life. Today, people even take pride in
engaging in same-sex union, committing infidelity and taking the path of
suicide. In a world of relativism, conscience is dead because there are
no objective standards of what is good and evil.
Secondly, we must be
humble enough to accept the punishment of God, which is for our correction,
purification and strengthening. Ezra said, “From the days of our ancestors
until now our guilt has been great; on account of our crimes we, our kings and
our priests, were given into the power of the kings of other countries, given
to the sword, to captivity, to pillage and to shame, as is the case
today.” Many of us are not ready to accept the consequences of our
sins. We fail to realize that what we reap is from what we have
sowed. Instead of putting the blame on someone else, especially God, for
the consequences of our sins, we must accept humbly and acknowledge the pains
we have caused, learn from them, and move on. We should use our
punishments as lessons for purification. They should not make us bitter
but better.
Thirdly, to give us
strength, we must find consolation in recounting His endless mercy. Ezra praised God for preserving a remnant
by His grace. “But now, suddenly, the Lord our God by his favour has left
us a remnant and granted us a refuge in his holy place; this is how our God has
cheered our eyes and given us a little respite in our slavery.” God never
abandons us totally, even when we sin. As St. Paul says, “Where sin
increases, grace abounds all the more.” He always gives us the hope of
returning. He did this during Noah’s wicked generation. He did this
by sparing Lot when He destroyed Sodom and Gormorrah. He did this for the
Jews when they were in exile. He picked some anawim like John the Baptist
and Mary to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. He did this for His
apostles who betrayed Him. Indeed, He will give us ample opportunities to
return to Him, if only we heed His invitations. He never gives up on
us. It is we who give up on Him.
Fourthly, we give thanks
for His kindness shown to us by sending messengers and people to help us
rebuild our lives. “For
we are slaves: but God has not forgotten us in our slavery; he has shown us
kindness in the eyes of the kings of Persia, obtaining permission for us to
rebuild the Temple of our God and restore its ruins, and he has found us safety
and shelter in Judah and in Jerusalem.” Such is the kindness and graciousness
of our God. Not only did He give the Jews a second chance, but He helped
them to rebuild their lives. We should not be surprised that God is
reaching out to us as a good shepherd looks for his lost sheep. He finds
all means and all ways. He comes in a most amazing and surprising way,
sometimes unexpectedly, through people we least expect to help us. Just as He
chose Cyrus, He will choose different people to inspire us and edify us.
He can come through an email, words of inspiration, a friend, a stranger or
even our enemy.
However, we must be
receptive to His grace given to us through the prophets of peace that He
sends. Unfortunately,
the Jews did not respond either during the time of Ezra or the time of Jesus.
This was most unfortunate. The exiled Jews were settled somewhat
comfortably in Babylon. Some were doing well and the next generation had
forgotten their homeland in Israel. Many were not keen to give up all
that they had built in Babylon. They did not want to go back and start to
rebuild from scratch the ruins of Jerusalem. They were more concerned
about themselves than the fate of the nation and the Temple. Indeed, they
were less than enthusiastic about rebuilding the Temple and Jerusalem.
The task was too daunting and costly in spite of the financial assistance and
moral support given by the King. Ezra and Haggai had a hard time
appealing to the Jews to return or to help in the reconstruction. So,
too, were the Jewish leaders who had too much to lose if they accepted Jesus,
their status, privileges, and security in the laws and traditions. They
were not receptive to the good news of our Lord. They felt threatened by
Jesus and His teaching. His attack on their hypocritical conduct
incensed them. So much so, instead of repenting, they resented Him all
the more.
A clear indication that
we are open to His mercy is when we in turn extend His mercy to others. In the gospel, when Jesus sent
forth His apostles for mission, He said, “Freely received, freely give.”
Indeed, after calling them to be His disciples, unworthy as they were, He “gave
them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases, and he sent them
out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.” We must be like St Paul
who saw himself as an apostle of mercy for God has shown him much mercy. Those
of us who have been forgiven must now extend forgiveness to those who have hurt
them. One cannot receive God’s mercy and yet not be merciful to
others. If God’s mercy is received, we will be able to pass it on.
Otherwise, it means that we have not yet even received His mercy. In the
gospel, Jesus makes it clears that those who have been forgiven much will
forgive more.
To do this apostolic
work of mercy, we must rely only on His power and providence. He said to them, “Take nothing for the
journey: neither staff, nor haversack, nor bread, nor money; and let none of
you take a spare tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there; and when
you leave, let it be from there.”. The Lord wants us to depend on Him alone who
is the One who will ensure fruitfulness in our mission. We must never
think that we can do this work of mercy without His grace. So the
invitation to travel light is in order that we might trust in His divine grace
so that we will never think that we are worthy. Most of all, especially
in the face of rejection and failure, we do not react with anger but with
sorrow for those who reject us. Instead, we surrender to His mercy those
who reject the message. In fact, we should feel sorry for them and like Christ
weep for them for their ignorance. This was what the Lord said to the
apostles, “As for those who do not welcome you, when you leave their town shake
the dust from your feet as a sign to them.’ So they set out and went from
village proclaiming the Good News and healing everywhere.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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