20191007
SHOWING
MAGNANIMITY TO OUR ENEMIES
07 OCTOBER,
2019, Monday, 27th Week, Ordinary Time
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First reading
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Jonah 1:1-2:1,11 ©
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The word of the Lord was addressed to
Jonah son of Amittai:
‘Up!’ he said ‘Go to Nineveh,
the great city, and inform them that their wickedness has become known to me.’
Jonah decided to run away from the Lord, and to go to Tarshish. He went down to
Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish; he paid his fare and went aboard, to
go with them to Tarshish, to get away from the Lord. But the Lord unleashed a
violent wind on the sea, and there was such a great storm at sea that the ship
threatened to break up. The sailors took fright, and each of them called on his
own god, and to lighten the ship they threw the cargo overboard. Jonah,
however, had gone below and lain down in the hold and fallen fast asleep. The
boatswain came upon him and said, ‘What do you mean by sleeping? Get up! Call
on your god! Perhaps he will spare us a thought, and not leave us to die.’ Then
they said to each other, ‘Come on, let us draw lots to find out who is
responsible for bringing this evil on us.’ So they cast lots, and the lot fell
to Jonah. Then they said to him, ‘Tell us, what is your business? Where do you
come from? What is your country? What is your nationality?’ He replied, ‘I am a
Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the
land.’ The sailors were seized with terror at this and said, ‘What have you done?’
They knew that he was trying to escape from the Lord, because he had told them
so. They then said, ‘What are we to do with you, to make the sea grow calm for
us?’ For the sea was growing rougher and rougher. He replied, ‘Take me and
throw me into the sea, and then it will grow calm for you. For I can see it is
my fault this violent storm has happened to you.’ The sailors rowed hard in an
effort to reach the shore, but in vain, since the sea grew still rougher for
them. They then called on the Lord and said, ‘O Lord, do not let us perish for
taking this man’s life; do not hold us guilty of innocent blood; for you, the
Lord, have acted as you have thought right.’ And taking hold of Jonah they
threw him into the sea; and the sea grew calm again. At this the men were
seized with dread of the Lord; they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made
vows.
The Lord had arranged that a
great fish should be there to swallow Jonah; and Jonah remained in the belly of
the fish for three days and three nights. The Lord spoke to the fish, which
then vomited Jonah on to the shore.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Jonah 2:3-5,8 ©
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You lifted my life from
the pit, O Lord.
Out of my distress I cried to the Lord
and he answered me;
from the belly of Sheol I cried,
and you have heard my voice.
You lifted my life from
the pit, O Lord.
You cast me into the abyss, into the heart
of the sea,
and the flood surrounded me.
All your waves, your billows,
washed over me.
You lifted my life from
the pit, O Lord.
And I said: I am cast out
from your sight.
How shall I ever look again
on your holy Temple?
You lifted my life from
the pit, O Lord.
While my soul was fainting within me,
I remembered the Lord,
and my prayer came before you
into your holy Temple.
You lifted my life from
the pit, O Lord.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Jn6:63,68
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are
life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Jn13:34
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I give you a new commandment:
love one another just as I have loved you,
says the Lord.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 10:25-37 ©
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There was a lawyer who, to disconcert
Jesus, stood up and said to him, ‘Master, what must I do to inherit eternal
life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? What do you read there?’ He
replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your
soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as
yourself.’ ‘You have answered right,’ said Jesus ‘do this and life is yours.’
But
the man was anxious to justify himself and said to Jesus, ‘And who is my
neighbour?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was once on his way down from Jerusalem to
Jericho and fell into the hands of brigands; they took all he had, beat him and
then made off, leaving him half dead. Now a priest happened to be travelling
down the same road, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. In
the same way a Levite who came to the place saw him, and passed by on the other
side. But a Samaritan traveller who came upon him was moved with compassion
when he saw him. He went up and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on
them. He then lifted him on to his own mount, carried him to the inn and looked
after him. Next day, he took out two denarii and handed them to the innkeeper.
“Look after him,” he said “and on my way back I will make good any extra
expense you have.” Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a
neighbour to the man who fell into the brigands‘ hands?’ ‘The one who took pity
on him’ he replied. Jesus said to him, ‘Go, and do the same yourself.’
SHOWING
MAGNANIMITY TO OUR ENEMIES
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JON 1:1 – 2:1.11; JON 2:3-5, 8; LK 10:25-37 ]
Today’s first reading from the book of Jonah is
more than just the story of a prophet who disobeyed the call of God and ran
away from Him to do his own bidding. Instead of going eastward to the
great city of Nineveh to preach repentance, he went westward to Tarshish.
What was the real crux of the disobedience of Jonah? He could not
come to terms with himself that he should save the people of Nineveh, the most
important city and later the capital of Assyria from the wrath of God.
Nineveh, we read from
the prophet Nahum, was a powerful but wicked and godless city. They practiced idolatry, prostitution and
witchcraft. The rich were exploiting the poor and the helpless.
There was cruelty towards their enemies. Most of all they were a threat
to the existence of Israel as the empire was growing in might and
strength. Jonah, like the rest of the Israelites, knows the atrocities
committed by the Assyrians and hated them. Understandably, the last thing he
wanted to do was to save the Ninevites. In fact, he would have been
happier if only the threats of the punishments of God to destroy and punish the
inhabitants would come true. Deep in his heart, he wanted the
people to suffer. He was afraid that if they repented, they would be
saved. So Jonah’s selfishness was representative of Israel’s exclusivity
in their religion. They would not want others who were non-Israelites to
receive God’s mercy and love or enjoy His favour.
Isn’t this the way we regard
our enemies and those whom we do not like? Many of us would curse our enemies and
those who do not treat us well. We wish them evil and that they
would suffer the consequences of their sins. Even if we do not curse
them, we receive with malicious joy news that they suffered some misfortune in
their lives. In our hearts, we believe that they are just receiving their
just desserts and that God is vindicating us. Even if we do not wish all
these or enjoy seeing our enemies suffer, few of us would desire good and
blessings to befall on them. We would be angry in fact if God blessed
them more than us. Least of all, few of us would pray for the well-being
of our enemies. Why should we be concerned about their happiness when
they are hurting us? So we are no better than Jonah and we can
understand how he felt when God sent him to save his enemies, the people he
hated. It went against his grain to bow down to his enemies and see them
saved from destruction.
It is within this
context that we can appreciate the parable of the Good Samaritan in today’s
gospel. The question
asked by the scribe, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” captures the
message of today’s scripture readings. To inherit eternal life is to
share in the life of God, His love and mercy. Hence, the response of
Jesus is clear, “What is written in the Law? What do you read there?” As
a scribe, he knew the answer of course. So he replied, “You must love the
Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength,
and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.” Thus,
Jesus who outwitted him said, “You have answered right, do this and life is
yours.” In other words, love of God, neighbour and of self is the summary
of the whole law. When we love, we share in the life of God. This
is already a foretaste of eternal life.
However, it is significant that
the scribe “was anxious to justify himself and said to Jesus, ‘And who is my
neighbour?'” Deep in his heart, he knew that something was not quite
right. Love of neighbour in the understanding of the Jews, is simply to
love their own kind, people of their race, people who love God. So he
wanted Jesus’ confirmation that this was enough. He could not bear to
love non-Jews, especially the Gentiles.
But Jesus told him the
story of the Good Samaritan instead to illustrate what it means to love our
neighbour and who this neighbour is.
We know of the deep hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans. The Jews
saw themselves as the original descendants of Abraham whereas the Samaritans
who lived in the Northern Kingdom were a mixed race because of inter-marriages
between the Jews and the natives. Hence, they were despised by the Jews
and considered unclean. But the irony of the story is that it was the
Samaritan above all others that came to the assistance of the man, presumably a
Jew since he “was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho” when he fell into the
hands of robbers. All his fellow Jews did not offer to lift a hand to
help this dying man who was stripped naked and badly wounded. He “came
upon him was moved with compassion when he saw him. He went up and
bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He then lifted him on
to his own mount, carried him to the inn and looked after him.” Such was
the kindness and magnanimity of the Good Samaritan who helped not his own kind
but anyone, even if he were his enemy, so long as he needed help.
Truly, the moral of the
story is clear, namely, we cannot justify ourselves from not loving our
neighbour, especially when he is in need, regardless of race, language or
culture. No
matter what excuse we have, it only shows the lack of love and generosity in
our hearts. The story brings out in a poignant manner that the scribe
could not come to terms with the good deed of the Good Samaritan for he could
not even mentioned him. To the question, “Which of these three, do you
think, proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the brigands’ hands?”
the scribe answered, “The one who took pity on him.” This precisely was
the same feeling of Jonah. He would not help or pray for his
enemies.
Jesus in no uncertain terms says to us
all, “Go, and do the same yourself.” If we are
serious in sharing the life of God, then we are called to be like Him in mercy
and love. The fact remains that God loves all of us. No one
deserves God’s love. Not the Assyrians, surely, but neither the Jews nor
anyone of us. God loves us freely and graciously. God was also merciful
to Jonah by sending a big fish to swallow him and save him. Indeed, the
responsorial psalm expressed the gratitude of Jonah to God’s mercy and
forgiveness. “Out of my distress I cried to the Lord and he answered me;
from the belly of Sheol I cried, and you have heard my voice.”
So we too should be
grateful. Jesus died for us
all not because we are good. St Paul wrote, “For by grace you have been
saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God
– not because of works, lest any man should boast.” (Eph 2:9f) And to Timothy, he reminded
him of his calling when he said, that he “saved us and called us with a holy
calling, not in virtue of our works but in virtue of his own purpose and the
grace which he gave us in Christ Jesus ages ago.” (2 Tim 1:9) We must never forget that the
blessings we have received from God are always for others. God has chosen
us all for a missionary purpose, which is to share His love with others.
There is also a
warning. If we disobey God and choose to follow our own selfish ways, we
will not only destroy others but ourselves. Jonah in turning away from God endangered
the lives of those who were with him in the boat. When we, like Jonah,
reject the call of God and refuse to obey Him, we can cause others to suffer
with us, especially our loved ones. When God gives us the direction, we
must be docile and submit to His will. At any rate, no matter how
much we try to run away from the call of God and His divine will, we will
eventually have to put up with His divine decree, just like Jonah did. We
cannot run away from the will of God. But he had to pay a costly price
and went through unnecessary sufferings to learn the wisdom of His holy
will. So, too, it is better that we submit to God’s will than to deny it
or escape from His will and bring greater misery to ourselves.
Let us seek God’s love
and mercy today by not running away from Him. Let us, like Jonah, return to God and stop
walking in the opposite direction. If we desire to share in His love and
mercy, then we are called to act like Him and in turn we will receive His
mercy. St James wrote, “Talk and behave like people who are going to be
judged by the law of freedom, because there will be judgment without mercy for
those who have not been merciful themselves; but the merciful need have no fear
of judgement.” (Jms 2:12f) If we are merciful towards others, we
need not fear God’s judgment because we will see in God’s judgment towards us,
the way we see and judge others. If we are merciful towards others, we
can be confident of His mercy towards us as well. If some of us fear the
judgment of God it is because we think that God will be harsh towards us just
as we act harshly towards others. Let us learn from the example of the pagans,
the Ninevites and the Good Samaritan of how to love God through repentance and
through mercy for indeed, they were much more merciful and sincere than Jonah
and the rest of the Jews.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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