20200718 NON-CONFRONTATIONAL
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.
First reading
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Micah 2:1-5 ©
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The plotters of evil will not escape
Woe to those who plot evil,
who lie in bed planning mischief!
No sooner is it dawn than they do it
– their hands have the strength for it.
Seizing the fields that they covet,
they take over houses as well,
owner and house they confiscate together,
taking both man and inheritance.
So the Lord says this:
Now it is I who plot
such mischief against this breed
as your necks will not escape;
nor will you be able to walk proudly,
so evil will the time be.
On that day they will make a satire on you,
sing a dirge and say,
‘We are stripped of everything;
my people’s portion is measured out and shared,
no one will give it back to them,
our fields are awarded to our despoiler.’
Therefore you will have no one
to measure out a share
in the community of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 9B(10):1-4,7-8,14 ©
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Lord, do not forget the poor.
Lord, why do you stand afar off
and hide yourself in times of distress?
The poor man is devoured by the pride of the wicked:
he is caught in the schemes that others have made.
Lord, do not forget the poor.
For the wicked man boasts of his heart’s desires;
the covetous blasphemes and spurns the Lord.
In his pride the wicked says: ‘He will not punish.
There is no God.’ Such are his thoughts.
Lord, do not forget the poor.
His mouth is full of cursing, guile, oppression,
mischief and deceit under his tongue.
He lies in wait among the reeds;
the innocent he murders in secret.
Lord, do not forget the poor.
His eyes are on the watch for the helpless man.
But you have seen the trouble and sorrow,
you note it, you take it in hand.
The helpless trusts himself to you;
for you are the helper of the orphan.
Lord, do not forget the poor.
Gospel Acclamation
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Ps118:27
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Make me grasp the way of your precepts,
and I will muse on your wonders.
Alleluia!
Or:
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2Co5:19
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Alleluia, alleluia!
God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself,
and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled.
Alleluia!
Gospel
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Matthew 12:14-21 ©
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He cured them all but warned them not to make him known
The Pharisees went out and began to plot against Jesus, discussing how to destroy him.
Jesus knew this and withdrew from the district. Many followed him and he cured them all, but warned them not to make him known. This was to fulfil the prophecy of Isaiah:
Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved, the favourite of my soul.
I will endow him with my spirit,
and he will proclaim the true faith to the nations.
He will not brawl or shout,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
He will not break the crushed reed,
nor put out the smouldering wick
till he has led the truth to victory:
in his name the nations will put their hope.
18 July, 2020, Saturday, 15th Week, Ordinary Time
NON-CONFRONTATIONAL
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [MICAH 2:1-5; MT 12:14-21 ]
In the gospel, we read about the withdrawal of Jesus from a possible conflict with the religious leaders. After having clashed with the Pharisees over the observance of the Sabbath, they “went out and began to plot against Jesus, discussing how to destroy him. Jesus knew this and withdrew from the district.” Indeed, as leaders or prophets, we will always have opposition in whatever we do. It is not enough for a leader is intelligent, wise, resourceful and able to resolve issues, but he or she should be able to handle opponents and enemies as well.
Why do we face resistance in leadership? Firstly, those who are not in leadership could be jealous and envious of the position we hold. They want to be the leader themselves. Their think they make better leaders. They believe that they have the best solutions to bring progress to an organization or the country. This was the case of the Jewish leaders. Their status quo, their position, their respect was being eroded by Jesus’ ministry and preaching. They perceived Jesus as a threat to their interests.
Secondly, some are threatened by what we do or say because their hypocritical life is exposed. Micah in the first reading was sounding out to the people, especially the rich and the powerful, on the crimes they were committing, such as debauchery, greed, oppressing the poor, acquiring land and property through exploitation of the weak and vulnerable. So too Jesus exposed the hypocritical observance of the Jewish religion. The Jewish leaders were more concerned about the religious system than faith in God expressed in a life of charity and humble service. So when leaders make changes to improve transparency, integrity and accountability, those whose privileges are affected would fight to protect their turf.
Thirdly, leaders face opposition because the people do not know them or their intentions. This is particularly so today because if the world does not like our message, they will use social media to tarnish our image, sow doubts in the minds of our people, and twist and turn our words. This was the case of the Jewish leaders. They did not know the identity of Jesus. They thought He was a deviant rabbi, a heretic and a rebel. However, Jesus knew Himself better. St Matthew spelt out the identity of Jesus as the Suffering Servant of Isaiah. Citing from Isaiah 42, the Lord said, “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved, the favorite of my soul. I will endow him with my spirit, and he will proclaim the true faith to the nations.” (Isa 42:1-4; cf Isa 49:5f) At Jesus’ baptism, the Father confirmed the identity of Jesus when He said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” (Mt 3:16f)
So in the face of opposition and persecution, what should a leader do? Firstly, we should never retaliate. This has always been the fundamental principle of our Lord. He taught it and He lived by it. “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.” (Mt 5:38-41) Retaliation will cause more harm than good. Like the Suffering Servant, “He will not brawl or shout, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.” Jesus remained meek and calm, unshaken.
Instead of entering into a headlong confrontation with them, Jesus withdrew. It was not an act of cowardice but an act of prudence. Jesus saw the big picture and He did not allow Himself to be trapped by secondary obstacles. The time for Jesus to confront His enemies had not yet come. He was just at the beginning of His mission. It would be foolish of Him to allow His mission to be prematurely cut short by His enemies. Jesus still had much to teach His disciples and to reveal His Father’s love and mercy through His works of mercy. So it was a tactical move by the Lord to withdraw from the synagogues. In the next chapter, Jesus, ousted from the synagogue, brought the pulpit to the houses, at the seashore, on the streets and even in the desert.
We, too, must be like Jesus when confronted by our enemies. Fighting with them might cause more casualties. So it is better to withdraw, run away and come back to fight another day. What we must do is to remain focused in our mission. When opposed in one direction, we must circumvent them by using our creativity and initiative in finding other means to realize our vision and mission for those organizations under our charge. The trouble with some leaders is that they spend all their energy fighting with their enemies that they have no more energy left to do the things that can change life and make the organization grow. We must channel our energy rightly and find other ways to get things done.
Secondly, Jesus avoided unnecessary publicity. “Many followed him and he cured them all, but warned them not to make him known.” Jesus did not want to attract the wrong attention. He did not want to make the religious leaders feel insecure and jealous, or attract those who come to Him for miracles only but are not ready to accept Him as the Messiah and His teachings on living the gospel of mercy, compassion and love. Indeed, Jesus never performed miracles to become famous or to get attention. He helped the sick and the poor simply to demonstrate the love and mercy of God out of compassion for those who were suffering. Jesus never asked for publicity. He was not seeking fame or honour. He was only concerned about leading people back to God. As the Suffering Servant, “He will not break the crushed reed, nor put out the smoldering wick till he has led the truth to victory: in his name the nations will put their hope.” Jesus only wanted to bring hope and encouragement into the lives of His people. It was never about Himself.
So too a leader should not seek publicity for himself. What a leader should be concerned with is the good of the people that he serves. He does not focus on himself or become overly preoccupied with what people think of Him, like many celebrities and political leaders do. They are always preoccupied with their public image, Gallup polls, popularity and attention. In fact, too much publicity will distract us from doing our work because we will invite jealous people to find trouble with us. They will seek to put us down. We will end up using our time to defend our work and reputation. Whilst some publicity might be needed to speak about one’s vision and mission, one should never blow one’s own trumpet. We must be clear that publicity is not to boost the image of the leader himself but the causes he champions for the benefit of others. Focus must always be on God and on the greater good of humanity.
Finally, a leader must surrender everything into the hands of God. We must remain meek and humble before God. He will put things right for us. The responsorial psalm says that the Lord will not forget the poor. He is the helper of the orphan. The prophet Micah warned the people that they would receive the just desserts from God because of what they did to the poor in their own country. Their enemies would one day seize their lands and they would then cry out the same way the poor cried out. “On that day they will make a satire on you, sing a dirge and say, ‘We are stripped of everything; my people’s portion is measured out and shared, no one will give back to them, our fields are awarded to our despoiler.'” This happened when the Assyrians attacked and destroyed the kingdom of Israel. St Paul says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Rom 12:21) We must continue to do good even in the face of opposition. Where possible, avoid direct confrontation. A time will come as it did for Jesus, when we will need to confront our enemies without fear and resolutely. But until then, we should just do our work quietly.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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