20200714 FROM BLESSINGS TO WOES
14 July, 2020, Tuesday, 15th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.
First reading
|
Isaiah 7:1-9 ©
|
Isaiah tells the king not to fear
In the reign of Ahaz son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Razon the king of Aram went up against Jerusalem with Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, to lay siege to it; but he was unable to capture it.
The news was brought to the House of David. ‘Aram’ they said ‘has reached Ephraim.’ Then the heart of the king and the hearts of the people shuddered as the trees of the forest shudder in front of the wind. The Lord said to Isaiah, ‘Go with your son Shear-jashub, and meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the Fuller’s Field road, and say to him:
‘“Pay attention, keep calm, have no fear,
do not let your heart sink
because of these two smouldering stumps of firebrands,
or because Aram, Ephraim and the son of Remaliah
have plotted to ruin you, and have said:
Let us invade Judah and terrorise it
and seize it for ourselves,
and set up a king there,
the son of Tabeel.
The Lord says this:
It shall not come true; it shall not be.
The capital of Aram is Damascus,
the head of Damascus, Razon;
the capital of Ephraim, Samaria,
the head of Samaria, the son of Remaliah.
Six or five years more
and a shattered Ephraim shall no longer be a people.
But if you do not stand by me,
you will not stand at all.”’
Responsorial Psalm
|
Psalm 47(48):2-8 ©
|
God upholds his city for ever.
The Lord is great and worthy to be praised
in the city of our God.
His holy mountain rises in beauty,
the joy of all the earth.
God upholds his city for ever.
Mount Zion, true pole of the earth,
the Great King’s city!
God, in the midst of its citadels,
has shown himself its stronghold.
God upholds his city for ever.
For the kings assembled together,
together they advanced.
They saw; at once they were astounded;
dismayed, they fled in fear.
God upholds his city for ever.
A trembling seized them there,
like the pangs of birth.
By the east wind you have destroyed
the ships of Tarshish.
God upholds his city for ever.
Gospel Acclamation
|
Ps118:24
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Train me, Lord, to observe your law,
to keep it with my heart.
Alleluia!
Or:
|
Ps94:8
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel
|
Matthew 11:20-24 ©
|
It will not go as hard with Sodom on Judgement Day as with you
Jesus began to reproach the towns in which most of his miracles had been worked, because they refused to repent.
‘Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. And still, I tell you that it will not go as hard on Judgement day with Tyre and Sidon as with you. And as for you, Capernaum, did you want to be exalted as high as heaven? You shall be thrown down to hell. For if the miracles done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have been standing yet. And still, I tell you that it will not go as hard with the land of Sodom on Judgement day as with you.’
FROM BLESSINGS TO WOES
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISA 7:1-9, MT 11:20-24 ]
In the first reading, King Ahaz of Judah was under threat by the King of Aram (Syria) and the King of Israel. All of them were dealing with the rising Assyrian Empire. The kings of Aram and Israel forged an alliance and wanted Judah to join forces with them so that they can defend themselves from the Assyrians. However, Ahaz was unwilling because his military assessment told him that the Assyrians would defeat them and tear down the country. Instead, he sought alliance with Assyria and eventually became the vassal state of Assyria. This was against the will of God and His plans for Judah. Isaiah was sent to assure the King to remain firm by not joining forces with Israel and Aram, nor seek alliance with Assyria because Judah would not be conquered. The Lord says, “It shall not come true; it shall not be. The capital of Aram is Damascus, the head of Damascus, Razon; the capital of Ephraim, Samaria, the head of Samaria, the son of Remaliah. Six or five years more and shattered Ephraim shall no longer be a people. But if you do not stand by me, you will not stand at all.”
Unfortunately, Ahaz was adamant. He was not willing to change his plans. Instead of trusting God, he trusted in his military calculation. He did not have faith in God. This is understandable. The Lord told him to ask for a sign to confirm the prophecy. “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” His mind was made up. Ahaz replied, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” Then Isaiah said: “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” (Isa 7:11-14) In spite of his refusal to acknowledge the truth of what Isaiah said, the Lord nevertheless still provided a sign.
This same refusal to stand on faith is repeated in the gospel. Jesus reproached “the towns in which most of his miracles had been worked, because they refused to repent. ‘Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida!” These two towns were less than 10km away from Capernaum and they were among the first to receive the Lord’s message and benefitted from the Lord’s ministry but they were unrepentant. So, too, with regard to Capernaum, the hometown of Jesus and His headquarter during His Galilean ministry. Alas, the Lord said, “And as for you, Capernaum, did you want to be exalted as high as heaven? You shall be thrown down to hell’.” They rejected His message of repentance.
Like King Ahaz, they too had the signs to surrender in faith to the Lord. It was not that they had no signs to authenticate the message of Jesus. They had heard Him in person. They saw the way He lived in simplicity and trust in God. They witnessed the miracles He performed, the healings that took place and the evil spirits cast out. So the Lord warned them, “For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. And still, I tell you that it will not go as hard on Judgement day with Tyre and Sidon as with you. For if the miracles done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have been standing yet. And still, I tell you that it will not go as hard as the land of Sodom on Judgement day as with you.”
Indeed, the Jews had all the privileges that not even the Old Testament people or our current generation have. However, they abused their privileges and the blessings they received. They took for granted what the Lord had done for them. They were too proud to listen to the message of repentance. Today, these two towns and the city of Capernaum are in ruins, as the Lord predicted.
What about us as well? We too have seen the wonders of God in our own lives. Although we might not have walked with Jesus in Palestine, we have walked with the Risen Lord in our lives. Throughout the history of the Church, we have seen countless miracles happening since the foundation of the Church. We have heard testimonies of Christians dying for their faith, the power of divine intervention in crises and illnesses. We have heard many stories of saints professing their faith in the Lord and working miracles, especially of healing and deliverance from evil spirits. We have heard of many apparitions of Our Lady and the miracles worked through the powerful intercession of our Lady. Indeed, like the Jews during the time of Jesus, we have encountered the power of God’s glory.
Above all, our faith is strengthened not only by the marvelous deeds of God, but by the faith of millions of Catholics over the last 2000 years of history. The faith of the Church has been enshrined in architecture, in books and in the lives of the saints, theologians, and bishops. With the Church, we can stand firm in our faith because this faith is not just yours or mine but the collective faith of 1.2 billion Catholics and another 1 billion Christians. Through the traditions passed down to the Church from the apostles, we can stand firm in the faith of the apostles of our Lord. So we have no excuse not to stand by our faith.
With such blessings come grave responsibilities. “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.” (Lk 12:48) The Lord demands from us a greater response as He did with the towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida. We have a responsibility to make use of the tradition passed on to us. We should never take for granted our faith. Every Catholic must take the trouble to grow in His faith, to understand the faith of the Church, read and study the scriptures and the teachings of Christ, and then to be a witness to others by the way we stand firm in our faith.
Without developing the gifts given to us, we will eventually lose them. This is the reason why we do not stand firm in our faith in times of crisis, just like King Ahaz. When our faith is weak, and when the trials of life set in, we will shudder like King Ahaz. When “the news was brought to the House of David, the heart of the king and the hearts of the people shuddered as the trees of the forest shudder in front of the wind.”
From blessings, the gifts we receive from God will become woes when we abuse them through indifference. It is not that we do not like the gospel. However, we are no different from those cities that Jesus condemned – they were lackadaisical with regard to His message. They did not reject our Lord or even sought to put Him to death. They were deaf to the call to repentance. By being indifferent, or doing nothing in response to the message, we too will lose whatever we have. Jesus warned us, “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot.” (Mt 5:13)
Indeed, Tyre, Sidon, and even Sodom’s punishment for their sins would not be as hard as that of those towns which our Lord had visited and preached. At least for the pagans, they could be excused according to their degree of ignorance. We do not fault someone who is ignorant and not willful. So the Lord made it clear, the judgement on them would be much more lenient than for the people in those places where He had preached and worked miracles. And this goes for us as well. If we are ignorant, the Lord will excuse us. But if we are complacent, we will lose our faith and join the rest of the world, to perdition and self-destruction and lose all that we have in life. Let us be grateful for the gift of faith!
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment