20200715 INSTRUMENTS OF GOD
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: White.
These are the readings for the feria
First reading
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Isaiah 10:5-7,13-16 ©
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Assyria's arrogance and coming ruin
The Lord of hosts says this:
Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger,
the club brandished by me in my fury!
I sent him against a godless nation;
I gave him commission against a people that provokes me,
to pillage and to plunder freely
and to stamp down like the mud in the streets.
But he did not intend this,
his heart did not plan it so.
No, in his heart was to destroy,
to go on cutting nations to pieces without limit.
For he has said:
‘By the strength of my own arm I have done this
and by my own intelligence, for understanding is mine;
I have pushed back the frontiers of peoples
and plundered their treasures.
I have brought their inhabitants down to the dust.
As if they were a bird’s nest, my hand has seized
the riches of the peoples.
As people pick up deserted eggs
I have picked up the whole earth,
with not a wing fluttering,
not a beak opening, not a chirp.’
Does the axe claim more credit than the man who wields it,
or the saw more strength than the man who handles it?
It would be like the cudgel controlling the man who raises it,
or the club moving what is not made of wood!
And so the Lord of Hosts is going to send
a wasting sickness on his stout warriors;
beneath his plenty, a burning will burn
like a consuming fire.
Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 93(94):5-10,14-15 ©
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The Lord will not abandon his people.
They crush your people, Lord,
they afflict the ones you have chosen
They kill the widow and the stranger
and murder the fatherless child.
The Lord will not abandon his people.
And they say: ‘The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob pays no heed.’
Mark this, most senseless of people;
fools, when will you understand?
The Lord will not abandon his people.
Can he who made the ear, not hear?
Can he who formed the eye, not see?
Will he who trains nations not punish?
Will he who teaches men, not have knowledge?
The Lord will not abandon his people.
The Lord will not abandon his people
nor forsake those who are his own;
for judgement shall again be just
and all true hearts shall uphold it.
The Lord will not abandon his people.
Gospel Acclamation
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Mt11:25
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
Gospel
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Matthew 11:25-27 ©
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You have hidden these things from the wise and revealed them to little children
Jesus exclaimed, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’
INSTRUMENTS OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ISA 10:5-7, 13-16; MT 11:25-27]
In the first reading, we read of the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The population was deported to Assyria. The sanctuaries were destroyed. They lost all their wealth and property. In such times, the arrogance, the pride and the self-sufficiency of the Israelites gave way to humility. Once again, they turned to God saying, “‘They crush your people, Lord, they afflict the ones you have chosen. They kill the widow and the stranger and murder the fatherless child. The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed.’ Mark this, most senseless of people; fools, when will you understand?”
Indeed, we, too, when we suffer the consequences of our sins, we feel that the Lord has abandoned us. We imagine the Lord is taking revenge on us. Yet this is far from the truth. The psalmist says, “The Lord will not abandon his people. Can he who made the ear, not hear? Can he who formed the eye, not see? Will he who trains nations not punish? Will he who teaches men, not have knowledge? The Lord will not abandon his people nor forsake those who are his own; for judgement shall again be just.”
When God permits the punishments that come from our sins, He is doing us a favour just as He did to Israel. It is the only way to make us come to realization that we are not so great or powerful after all. The book of Proverbs says, “Do not withhold discipline from your children; if you beat them with a rod, they will not die. If you beat them with the rod, you will save their lives from Sheol.” (Prov 23:13-15) Even Job who suffered much came to this realization. “How happy is the one whom God reproves; therefore do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he binds up; he strikes, but his hands heal.” (Job 5:17f) God allows the sufferings of life to discipline and form us. We must accept these sufferings positively as the means for us to grow in our spiritual life, faith and trust in Him.
Only those who have a relationship of trust as a child has with his father can accept such discipline from Him. This is what the Lord said in the gospel. “I bless you Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children.” In another place, the Lord said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 18:3f) Children do not understand many things their parents tell them to do but they do it because they trust in the wisdom and love of their parents. They believe that their parents will also do everything for their good and interest. So they might not understand or like it, but they will obey simply because they trust in their parents’ authority and goodwill.
Not only do children trust in their parents’ guidance, they also accept discipline from their parents, believing that their parents punish them because they love them and want to save them from greater evil in the future. This, too, should be our relationship with God as the scriptures exhort us. “My child, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves the one he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.” (Prov 3:11) The author of Hebrews wrote, “Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline? If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and not his children. Moreover, we had human parents to discipline us, and we respected them.” Therefore, should we not be even more willing to be subject to the Father? “He disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share his holiness. Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Heb 12:7-11)
Even when evil people or our enemies threaten our peace and happiness, we must take them as God’s instruments to purify us, just as He sent Assyria to teach Israel a lesson. Assyria was only the rod of God’s anger. Indeed, God said, Assyria was the “the club brandished by me in my fury! I sent him against a godless nation; I gave him commission against a people that provokes me, to pillage and to plunder freely and to stamp down like the mud in the streets.” Without God’s permission, our enemies cannot do us harm just as Satan could not inflict sufferings on Job without God’s consent.
However, those who are instruments of God themselves will suffer punishment if they themselves do not recognize their place in life and in the world. This was the case of Assyria. Although employed by God as the rod to discipline Israel, they thought they were all powerful. They did not know that they were merely God’s instruments to purify Israel. As the Lord said, “But he did not plan it so.” They were ignorant where their power came from. The king of Assyria attributed his might to himself. “By the strength of my own arm I have done this and by my own intelligence, for understanding is mine; I have pushed back the frontiers of peoples and plundered their treasures. I have brought their inhabitants down to the dust.'”
So the Lord said, “Woe to Assyria! Does the axe claim more credit than the man who wields it or the saw more strength than the man who handles it? It would be like the cudgel controlling the man who raises it, or the club moving what is not made of wood! And so the Lord of hosts is going to send a wasting sickness on his stout warriors; beneath his plenty, a burning will burn like a consuming fire.” The truth is that God is the power behind all the powers of humanity. Without Him, we have no power, no strength and incapable of doing anything. Pride is the downfall of every man and certainly as was in the case of the King of Assyria, all earthly powers, kings, rulers and government. Those countries who take pride in their political, military and economic might will one day be brought down. Like the earthly kingdoms and powers before them, they will only exist in history if at all.
So, too, for us as well. Intellectual pride is the cause of every man’s downfall. When one thinks so highly of himself, he seeks autonomy and independence. He makes himself the reference point for everything, makes himself a little god, doing what he likes. He seeks to control others and make others subject to him. What we need is the humility and simplicity of a child to be receptive, dependent and docile to God. When we are humble, we know our limitations. This keeps us receptive to the voice of God coming from Him directly or through others. Like the Jews during the time of Jesus, they were clinging to their privileged exalted position just like Bethsaida, Chorazin and Capernaum, which the Lord reprimanded just earlier on. They will be brought down! (Mt 11:23) The judgement of God will be “more tolerable for the land of Sodom.” (Mt 11:24) Intellectual and spiritual pride leads to complacency and self-sufficiency.
Let us imitate the remnants and the disciples of our Lord because they were the children that the Lord blessed, and Jesus who related with His Father as a child and His Beloved Son. Otherwise, He would not have been able to surrender His entire life and mission to the providence of His Father. It was Jesus’ total dependence on His Father that enabled Him to receive everything from Him. “Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” If we want to grow in relationship and intimacy so that we can trust God, then like Jesus, let us be humble and obedient, knowing that God as our Father always knows best for us. A childlike faith is the key to true knowledge of God and self.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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