20200816 VALUING OUR FAITH
16 August, 2020, Sunday, 20th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.
First reading | Isaiah 56:1,6-7 © |
I will bring foreigners to my holy mountain
Thus says the Lord: Have a care for justice, act with integrity, for soon my salvation will come and my integrity be manifest.
Foreigners who have attached themselves to the Lord to serve him and to love his name and be his servants – all who observe the sabbath, not profaning it, and cling to my covenant – these I will bring to my holy mountain. I will make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their holocausts and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 66(67):2-3,5-6,8 © |
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
O God, be gracious and bless us
and let your face shed its light upon us.
So will your ways be known upon earth
and all nations learn your saving help.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and exult
for you rule the world with justice.
With fairness you rule the peoples,
you guide the nations on earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
May God still give us his blessing
till the ends of the earth revere him.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
Second reading |
Romans 11:13-15,29-32 © |
With Israel, God never takes back his gifts or revokes his choice
Let me tell you pagans this: I have been sent to the pagans as their apostle, and I am proud of being sent, but the purpose of it is to make my own people envious of you, and in this way save some of them. Since their rejection meant the reconciliation of the world, do you know what their admission will mean? Nothing less than a resurrection from the dead! God never takes back his gifts or revokes his choice.
Just as you changed from being disobedient to God, and now enjoy mercy because of their disobedience, so those who are disobedient now – and only because of the mercy shown to you – will also enjoy mercy eventually. God has imprisoned all men in their own disobedience only to show mercy to all mankind.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn10:27 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.Mt4:23 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the kingdom
and cured all kinds of sickness among the people.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 15:21-28 © |
The Canaanite woman debates with Jesus and saves her daughter
Jesus left Gennesaret and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. Then out came a Canaanite woman from that district and started shouting, ‘Sir, Son of David, take pity on me. My daughter is tormented by a devil.’ But he answered her not a word. And his disciples went and pleaded with him. ‘Give her what she wants,’ they said ‘because she is shouting after us.’ He said in reply, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.’ But the woman had come up and was kneeling at his feet. ‘Lord,’ she said ‘help me.’ He replied, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ She retorted, ‘Ah yes, sir; but even house-dogs can eat the scraps that fall from their master’s table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, you have great faith. Let your wish be granted.’ And from that moment her daughter was well again.
VALUING OUR FAITH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [IS 56:1,6-7; PS 67:2-3, 5-6, 8; ROM 11:13-15, 29-32; MT 15:21-28]
The scripture readings today present to us the wisdom of God’s plan for the salvation of humanity. The first reading from Isaiah envisaged that non-Jews would also come to worship the true God. They too will serve the Lord and be His servants. They too will offer worship to the Lord and their prayers and sacrifices would be accepted. However, the salvation of the Gentiles, the non-Jews, was to come through the people of Israel, the chosen people of God. It was in God’s plan that Israel would be the nation that God would see through His plan for the salvation of humanity. Beginning with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Lord saw through His plan to form the People of God. With Moses leading the people out of Egypt and eventually through King David, the Kingdom was established. And it would be from the line of David that the future Messiah would be born.
However, Israel forgot why they were chosen! They failed to realize that they were chosen not for themselves but for the rest of humanity. They were to be the instruments of God’s love and message for people outside Israel so that they too could come to know that God is their Lord. Not only did they become an exclusive, snobbish and self-righteous nation, many did not observe the laws of the covenant. They did not show themselves to be God’s people, living a life of love for each other and worshipping God alone. They contradicted themselves as the People of God by living a life of oppression, self-centeredness and cheating.
It is within this context that we can understand why Jesus confined His ministry to the Jews in Palestine. He did not venture beyond Palestine as His mission was to restore the People of God so that they could become the agent of God’s salvation. Hence, He was reluctant to help the Canaanite woman saying, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” Jesus needed to find focus in His mission and not be distracted by being all over the place. It was not because He did not want to save the rest of the people, but He knew He could not do it alone. His plan was to form the Jews to be His apostles to reach out to the Gentiles.
But unfortunately, the Jews rejected the Good News as St Paul mentioned in the second reading. They were given the great privilege of welcoming the Messiah but they did not recognize Him or accepted Him. However, the plan of God for the salvation of humanity would not be jeopardized by man’s sin. As St Paul said, “their rejection meant the reconciliation of the world.” Indeed, in the early Church, it was because the Christian Jews, who were the first converts, were persecuted by their fellow Jews that they were forced to spread the Good News of Christ outside Palestine. They brought the gospel to the Greek world as far as Rome. And from Rome, Christianity spread to all the peoples of the world.
Nevertheless, St Paul believed that the Jews would eventually come back to God through the conversion of the pagans. He said, “I have been sent to the pagans as their apostle, and I am proud of being sent, but the purpose of it is to make my own people envious of you, and in this way save some of them. Since their rejection meant the reconciliation of the world, do you know what their admission will mean? Nothing less than a resurrection from the dead! God never takes back his gifts or revokes his choice. Just as you changed from being disobedient to God, and now enjoy mercy because of their disobedience, so those who are disobedient now – and only because of the mercy shown to you – will also enjoy mercy eventually. God has imprisoned all men in their own disobedience only to show mercy to all mankind.” Indeed, this is the grandiose plan of God for the salvation of all.
Today, we are in the same situation as the Jews. History repeats itself. Christians are the New Chosen People of God. We have been given the privilege of knowing Christ as our Saviour and Lord. We have received the Good News. But some of us, like the Jews, are nominal Christians. We do not treasure our faith. We might have some faith in Christ but our faith is not a living faith. We have no real personal relationship with the Lord. We come to church maybe once or twice a year, or occasionally. We hardly pray except to recite a few formula prayers that we were taught. We are counter-witnesses of our faith as we live a life contrary to the gospel. Like the Israelites and the Jews, we fail to realize that we have been chosen and blessed for others. We are called to be witnesses of the gospel to the whole world and not to keep it in among ourselves, or hide it in our lives.
Why is this so? Like the Jews, we have taken our faith for granted. We lack a personal experience of the Lord. We do not reflect on the gift of faith that we have received. Hence, we do not make the effort to develop this gift of faith, to ensure that it grows each day as in any relationship. Without being conscious of the price that our forefathers paid for their faith in martyrdom, we lack gratitude. This is the danger of being cradle Catholics. Most of us do not have to pay a price for our faith. It is a given since birth. It is often said that what is given free is seldom appreciated. Because we did not search for it, we do not own it.
In contrast, most converts are generally much more fervent in their faith. This is because they paid a price for their faith. Some are rejected by their own loved ones because they accepted Christ. Some, because of their faith, are discriminated at work. Some spent their whole life looking for meaning and purpose in life before they finally found Christ. The difference between converts and cradle Catholics is the zeal for their faith. When converts get themselves baptized, it is a conscientious decision on their part, taking into consideration all the implications the choice of Christ would bring in their lives. Hence, they take the trouble to deepen their understanding of the faith and come to know Christ personally before they make the act of faith. Because they discovered the Lord, they become powerful witnesses in their lives. They are zealous and active in their faith.
Today, we are called to imitate the faith of the Canaanite woman. Are we desperate enough for the Lord to come into our lives? She was persistent in her faith for Christ to heal her daughter who was being tormented by a devil. She would not accept ‘No’ for an answer. She was confident that the Lord would hear her plea. She was not discouraged by those people around her for they were asking Jesus to “give her what she wants because she is shouting after us.” It was not out of compassion but irritation that the disciples asked Jesus to help her so that they could get rid of her. She was persevering in her faith and humble in accepting whatever little the Lord would do for her as she said, “Ah yes, sir; but even house-dogs can eat the scraps that fall from their master’s table.” To such a person, the Lord said, “‘Woman, you have great faith. Let your wish be granted.’ And from that moment her daughter was well again.”
If we are serious about finding the fullness of life, then we must come back to the Lord with renewed fervor. We must be consistent in what we believe. The Lord said through the prophet Isaiah, “Have a care for justice, act with integrity, for soon my salvation will come and my integrity be manifest.” Integrity between what we believe and what we do. Otherwise, like the Jews, we would remain outside the ambit of God’s grace. But this is not what the Lord wants for us all. As St Paul says, “God never takes back his gifts or revokes his choice.” His grace is available to all who are willing to accept it. If we have turned away from the Lord, come back to Him. So with the psalmist, we pray, “O God, be gracious and bless us and let your face shed its light upon us. So will your ways be known upon earth and all nations learn your saving help. Let the nations be glad and exult for you rule the world with justice. With fairness you rule the peoples, you guide the nations on earth.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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