20210121 WITHDRAW TO FIGHT
21 January, 2021, Thursday, 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Hebrews 7:25-8:6 © |
He has offered sacrifice once and for all by offering himself
The power of Jesus to save is utterly certain, since he is living for ever to intercede for all who come to God through him.
To suit us, the ideal high priest would have to be holy, innocent and uncontaminated, beyond the influence of sinners, and raised up above the heavens; one who would not need to offer sacrifices every day, as the other high priests do for their own sins and then for those of the people, because he has done this once and for all by offering himself. The Law appoints high priests who are men subject to weakness; but the promise on oath, which came after the Law, appointed the Son who is made perfect for ever.
The great point of all that we have said is that we have a high priest of exactly this kind. He has his place at the right of the throne of divine Majesty in the heavens, and he is the minister of the sanctuary and of the true Tent of Meeting which the Lord, and not any man, set up. It is the duty of every high priest to offer gifts and sacrifices, and so this one too must have something to offer. In fact, if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are others who make the offerings laid down by the Law and these only maintain the service of a model or a reflection of the heavenly realities. For Moses, when he had the Tent to build, was warned by God who said: See that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.
We have seen that he has been given a ministry of a far higher order, and to the same degree it is a better covenant of which he is the mediator, founded on better promises.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 39(40):7-10,17 © |
Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings,
but an open ear.
You do not ask for holocaust and victim.
Instead, here am I.
Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
In the scroll of the book it stands written
that I should do your will.
My God, I delight in your law
in the depth of my heart.
Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
Your justice I have proclaimed
in the great assembly.
My lips I have not sealed;
you know it, O Lord.
Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
O let there be rejoicing and gladness
for all who seek you.
Let them ever say: ‘The Lord is great’,
who love your saving help.
Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Jn6:63,68 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.2Tim1:10 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death
and he has proclaimed life through the Good News.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 3:7-12 © |
He warned them not to make him known as the Son of God
Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lakeside, and great crowds from Galilee followed him. From Judaea, Jerusalem, Idumaea, Transjordania and the region of Tyre and Sidon, great numbers who had heard of all he was doing came to him. And he asked his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, to keep him from being crushed. For he had cured so many that all who were afflicted in any way were crowding forward to touch him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he warned them strongly not to make him known.
WITHDRAW TO FIGHT
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [HEB 7:25-8:6; PS 40:7-10,17; MK 3:7-12 ]
In a world of pluralism and relativism, as leaders, we will face opposition to the work we do, the programs we propose and the good we seek to do. What most leaders would do in the face of opposition is to fight back and defend their position. This is the downside in many democratic countries because lawmakers spend more time trying to bring each other down than to do what is best and good for the country. They seek to find fault with each other so that they can be seen in a better light. So much so, all the energy is directed inward, seeking to defend rather than being proactive in non-partisan politics, seeking to do good for the country. This leads to great frustration and some leaders eventually give up because they feel they are not getting anywhere.
In the gospel today, Jesus also faced tremendous opposition from the religious leaders. In the last episode, the Pharisees and the Herodians got together to see how to get rid of Jesus, even though between themselves, they were enemies. Jesus could have continued to battle with them in the synagogues. But instead, today’s gospel tells us that “Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lakeside.” Was He retreating because He was afraid of the authorities who were colluding to destroy Him? Not at all. Jesus knew His time was not yet near. Jesus was in command of Himself. He would pick the right time and occasion to confront His enemies head-on. But this was not the right time because He had just begun His ministry and mission. The gospel had yet to be preached and His mission of revealing God’s mercy and compassion had yet to be accomplished. So Jesus withdrew not because He lacked courage, but He wanted to choose His battles and when to fight. He did not allow His enemies to determine his schedule.
This is because, as the letter to the Hebrews tells us, Jesus is the ideal High Priest who is holy and innocent. Jesus was a man who was true to Himself and one with God. He was blameless because He had hurt no one and done no wrong. St Peter wrote, “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” (1 Pt 2:22) He was also uncontaminated and beyond the influence of sinners. Jesus did not act out of ignorance, anger, fear or selfishness, unlike the religious leaders who were sinners themselves. Jesus could transcend the challenges and opposition to His ministry simply because He was a man without vested interests. He cared for His people and sought only to help them. There was no ambition of any sort. He had nothing to gain but everything to give.
Since the synagogues were closing on Him, He sought to bring the gospel to the masses. Indeed, because of His clarity and disinterested motives in serving the people, He refused to stay back to fight against the religious leaders just to protect His ego. Instead of using the pulpit to preach, Jesus went to the lakeside. In fact, the lakeside and the hills were better places to preach the gospel because more people could come and listen to Him. He was not bound by any religious structures that would delimit His capacity to preach or confine His ministry of healing. In fact, it was a blessing in disguise. Not only could He preach to more people, He could even reach out to the Gentiles and non-Jews as they were able to listen to Him. Indeed, we read that “great crowds from Galilee followed him. From Judaea, Jerusalem, Idumaea, Transjordania and the region of Tyre and Sidon, great numbers who had heard of all he was doing came to him. And he asked his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, to keep him from being crushed.” His audience not only grew bigger, but they came from all classes of people and different tribes and cultures as well. What was supposedly a setback for Him became an opportunity for the Lord to take the gospel to every human person. Nothing could stop the mission of Jesus.
So too, when we are faced with opposition to the good we do, we should not have a one-track mind and insist on fighting tooth and nail with our enemies until we all die together. We should just withdraw and re-strategize. Every obstacle must be used as a stepping stone for us to grow. We should seek creatively to circumvent the problem or make use of it to our advantage. Being creative and proactive is what is needed for us to achieve our goals. Of course, there will come a time when we need to draw our battle lines. But that is provided it is a worthwhile battle and necessary for us. We should reserve our energy for the big battles ahead of us and not spend too much time brooding and mulling over small battles.
What was this big battle for Jesus? It was to make the gospel available to all through His preaching, teaching and wonderful works of God performed with power and mercy. “He had cured so many that all who were afflicted in any way were crowding forward to touch him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God!'” Jesus’ message and ministry were meant to be life-giving and not destroy peoples’ lives, unlike the religious leaders. Jesus came to heal and restore people to true freedom. He came to exorcise those who were possessed and under the bondage of the Evil One.
Indeed, through His preaching, His works of wonder and mercy He revealed to the people that He was the Son of God. The title “Son of God” may not necessarily mean divine but it certainly meant that Jesus was seen by the devil as someone who represented God. This title in the Old Testament is given to the angels who were called “sons of god”. (Gn 6:2) It was given to the kings and God’s messengers as well. In other words, the unclean spirits upon seeing Jesus immediately perceived His holiness and His identification with God. Hence, they perceived Jesus as their enemy who came to destroy them.
But it was His death and resurrection that best described Jesus as our High Priest of the New Covenant, as explained by the author to the Hebrews. A priest is one who is a bridge to God. Jesus by His sacrifice on the cross, by His death, has made it possible for us to have access to His Father. “The power of Jesus to save is utterly certain, since he is living for ever to intercede for all who come to God through him. He has his place at the right of the throne of divine Majesty in the heavens, and he is the minister of the sanctuary and of the true Tent of Meeting which the Lord, and not any man, set up.” Jesus who was sinless and blameless is the perfect High Priest because He offered Himself once and for all for our salvation.
But unfortunately, the unclean spirits who might have recognized Jesus as the Son of God did not submit to Him in love. They only submitted to Him in fear. “The unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him.” What Jesus wants from us is a submission of love and faith in Him. Or we might be like those who touched the Lord during the time of Jesus and yet did not have faith. Touching the Lord physically does not mean we are closer to the Lord. It is only when we are touched in our hearts. We must therefore surrender our fears and our life to the Lord if we are to transcend our enemies and those who oppose us for doing good.
Let us not get discouraged or give up doing the right thing. We should entrust all our efforts and plans to the Lord. He will know when to intervene. What is even more important is to do His will. This is what the psalmist says, “You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings, but an open ear. You do not ask for holocaust and victim. Instead, here am I. In the scroll of the book it stands written that I should do your will.” Let us continue to live out our priesthood in the Lord by being bridges to Him in our love and faith. We must be like our Lord never give up even in the face of trials in touching lives, healing hearts and setting people free to love and to serve.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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