Scripture Reflection and Prayer : Journeying together: June 2021

Wednesday 30 June 2021

GOD WILL PROVIDE

20210701 GOD WILL PROVIDE

01 July, 2021, Thursday, 13th Week, Ordinary Time

First reading

Genesis 22:1-19 ©

The sacrifice of Isaac

God put Abraham to the test. ‘Abraham, Abraham’ he called. ‘Here I am’ he replied. ‘Take your son,’ God said ‘your only child Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him as a burnt offering, on a mountain I will point out to you.’

Rising early next morning Abraham saddled his ass and took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. He chopped wood for the burnt offering and started on his journey to the place God had pointed out to him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. Then Abraham said to his servants, ‘Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there; we will worship and come back to you.’

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering, loaded it on Isaac, and carried in his own hands the fire and the knife. Then the two of them set out together. Isaac spoke to his father Abraham, ‘Father’ he said. ‘Yes, my son’ he replied. ‘Look,’ he said ‘here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’ Abraham answered, ‘My son, God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.’ Then the two of them went on together.

When they arrived at the place God had pointed out to him, Abraham built an altar there, and arranged the wood. Then he bound his son Isaac and put him on the altar on top of the wood. Abraham stretched out his hand and seized the knife to kill his son.

But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven. ‘Abraham, Abraham’ he said. ‘I am here’ he replied. ‘Do not raise your hand against the boy’ the angel said. ‘Do not harm him, for now I know you fear God. You have not refused me your son, your only son.’ Then looking up, Abraham saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. Abraham took the ram and offered it as a burnt-offering in place of his son. Abraham called this place ‘The Lord Provides’, and hence the saying today: On the mountain the Lord provides.

The angel of the Lord called Abraham a second time from heaven. ‘I swear by my own self – it is the Lord who speaks – because you have done this, because you have not refused me your son, your only son, I will shower blessings on you, I will make your descendants as many as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants shall gain possession of the gates of their enemies. All the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants, as a reward for your obedience.’

Abraham went back to his servants, and together they set out for Beersheba, and he settled in Beersheba.

The first psalm shown here is used in the whole world except the USA, and the second one is used in the USA because of a clerical error.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 114(116):1-6,8-9 ©

I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living.

I love the Lord for he has heard

the cry of my appeal;

for he turned his ear to me

in the day when I called him.

I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living.

They surrounded me, the snares of death,

with the anguish of the tomb;

they caught me, sorrow and distress.

I called on the Lord’s name.

O Lord, my God, deliver me!

I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living.

How gracious is the Lord, and just;

our God has compassion.

The Lord protects the simple hearts;

I was helpless so he saved me.

I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living.

He has kept my soul from death,

my eyes from tears

and my feet from stumbling.

I will walk in the presence of the Lord

in the land of the living.

I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living.

Gospel Acclamation

Mt11:25

Alleluia, alleluia!

Blessed are you, Father,

Lord of heaven and earth,

for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom

to mere children.

Alleluia!

Or:

2Co5:19

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

Matthew 9:1-8 ©

'Your sins are forgiven; get up and walk'

Jesus got in the boat, crossed the water and came to his own town. Then some people appeared, bringing him a paralytic stretched out on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, ‘Courage, my child, your sins are forgiven.’ And at this some scribes said to themselves, ‘This man is blaspheming.’ Knowing what was in their minds Jesus said, ‘Why do you have such wicked thoughts in your hearts? Now, which of these is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Get up and walk”? But to prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,’ – he said to the paralytic – ‘get up, and pick up your bed and go off home.’ And the man got up and went home. A feeling of awe came over the crowd when they saw this, and they praised God for giving such power to men.

GOD WILL PROVIDE

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Genesis 22:1-19; Ps 116:1-6,8-9; Mt 9:1-8 ]

Maturity in Faith is not something that we arrive at in a short while. Faith, like trust, takes time to build up. This was surely the case of Abraham. When the Lord called Abram out of Ur, he responded. It was a step by step journey to the unknown. When the Lord said to him, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him.” (Gn 12:1-4) Although he went in faith, he did not understand how God’s promise would be fulfilled. He was already 75 years old when God called him to leave Haran.

Instead of allowing God to provide for him, Abram took things into his own hands. When he left Canaan, which was in famine, for Egypt, for fear of his life, he lied to the Egyptians that Sarah, his wife, was his sister. Because she was so beautiful, Pharaoh took her as his wife, only to suffer punishment from God. Abram did not trust God sufficiently that He would protect him and his family. (Gn 12:10-20) By his dishonesty, he caused others to suffer on his account, especially when Pharaoh treated him and his family well.

But he did not stop here. Abraham was always trying to save his life, not in accordance with God’s plan. While residing in Gerar as an alien, Abraham lied to King Abimelech that Sarah was his sister. And the king took her only to be revealed by God that she was a married woman and disaster would befall on his kingdom for taking her from Abraham. (Gn 20:1-7) Apparently Abraham never learnt his lesson of trusting God. But using his manipulative and worldly ways, he sought to protect his interests. He could have caused misfortunes to King Abimelech and his people.

Finally, at 85 years old, and impatient for the fulfillment of God’s promise of an offspring to him, he listened to Sarai who suggested that he took Hagar, the Egyptian slave girl, to be the surrogate mother for Abram’s offspring. Sarai said to Abram, “You see that the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my slave-girl; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” (Gn 16:2) As a consequence, he brought division into his family and complicated the plans of God for him. Hagar the slave-girl conceived a child for Abram and began to despise Sarai. (Gn 16:1-6) Later it led to sibling conflict and jealousy. (Gn 21:8-14) All because Abraham took things into his own hands and did not wait for God to fulfill His plan for him.

But Abraham was learning from his failures in trusting the Lord absolutely. On hindsight, if he had trusted in the Lord, he would have been spared of so much family squabbles and heart-ache, seeing his biological son, Ishmael and his mother, Hagar banished with just “a skin of water.” As the biological father of both children, it must have pained and grieved Abraham much to see the rivalry between Hagar and Sarah, then between Ishmael and Isaac, come to this end. (Gn 21:8-20)

By the time Isaac grew up, we can see how Abraham’s faith in God had grown from strength to strength. It is said that faith increases when we exercise it through the trials of life. Abraham passed the ultimate test of surrendering his entire life and all that he cherished to the Lord, which was his only son, Isaac. God appeared to him “‘Abraham, Abraham’ he called. ‘Here I am’ he replied. ‘Take your son,’ God said ‘your only child Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him as a burnt offering, on a mountain I will point out to you.'” As the scriptures said, it was a test.

But it truly revealed the deep faith of Abraham. We can be sure that Isaac, who was his lifeline and only son, was most precious to him. Yet, when the Lord called him to “take, go and sacrifice” his son, he did not hesitate or bargain with God. “Rising early next morning Abraham saddled his ass and took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. He chopped wood for the burnt offering and started on his journey to the place God had pointed out to him.” It was unimaginable that he did not even consult Sarah but immediately left when the Lord commanded.

Yet, we can feel the pain in his heart even when he surrendered in faith, especially when Isaac asked, “‘Father’ he said. ‘Yes, my son’ he replied. ‘Look,’ he said ‘here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’ Abraham answered, ‘My son, God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering’.” Until this stage, he did not know how God would provide but he simply believed that God would fulfill His promise of blessing him with “descendants as many as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore.” Lacking knowledge of how God would act, he could only say that God would provide.

Until the last moment of sacrifice, Abraham was ever ready to do what the Lord instructed. This was the ultimate act of faith for Abraham, not to even withhold his only son from the Lord. “Abraham built an altar there, and arranged the wood. Then he bound his son Isaac and put him on the altar on top of the wood. Abraham stretched out his hand and seized the knife to kill his son.” And God did not intervene until the last moment when “the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven. ‘Abraham, Abraham’ he said. ‘I am here’ he replied. ‘Do not raise your hand against the boy’ the angel said. ‘Do not harm him, for now I know you fear God. You have not refused me your son, your only son.'” God stretched the faith of Abraham until the end.

As a consequence, God replaced the sacrifice of Isaac with a lamb. “Then looking up, Abraham saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. Abraham took the ram and offered it as a burnt-offering in place of his son. Abraham called this place ‘The Lord Provides’, and hence the saying today: On the mountain the Lord provides.” And God now swore in His own name, “because you have done this, because you have not refused me your son, your only son, I will shower blessings on you, I will make your descendants as many as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants shall gain possession of the gates of their enemies. All the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants, as a reward for your obedience.”

Indeed, we are scandalized by this command of the Lord to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. But we must understand this command from the Lord in context. During the days of Abraham who lived in the midst of a Canaanite culture, where they worshipped the god of fertility, offering child sacrifice was acceptable as a means to appease the deity. So, when viewed in our context, we are shocked at the monstrosity of the act, yet for the ancient people, it was the way to earn God’s blessings. Yet in God’s plan, this command served to underscore that child sacrifice was not acceptable, for we know that in the final analysis, God rejected the sacrifice of Isaac and instead provided a ram for the animal sacrifice.

But more importantly, it foreshadowed the death of God’s only Son as the substitution for the salvation of the world. What God did not demand of Abraham, He demanded of Himself. Isaac foreshadowed Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”, as John the Baptist proclaimed. (Jn 1:29) This is why He could forgive the sins of the paralytic even without him offering the atonement sacrifice. Jesus is that atonement sacrifice offered for our salvation on the cross, because of our sins.

Tuesday 29 June 2021

GRAVE RESPONSIBILITY OF PARENTS AND LEADERS

20210630 GRAVE RESPONSIBILITY OF PARENTS AND LEADERS

30 June, 2021, Wednesday, 13th Week, Ordinary Time

First reading

Genesis 21:5,8-20 ©

Hagar and Ishmael, expelled for Sarah's sake, saved by the Lord

Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham gave a great banquet on the day Isaac was weaned. Now Sarah watched the son that Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. ‘Drive away that slave-girl and her son,’ she said to Abraham; ‘this slave-girl’s son is not to share the inheritance with my son Isaac.’ This greatly distressed Abraham because of his son, but God said to him, ‘Do not distress yourself on account of the boy and your slave-girl. Grant Sarah all she asks of you, for it is through Isaac that your name will be carried on. But the slave-girl’s son I will also make into a nation, for he is your child too.’ Rising early next morning Abraham took some bread and a skin of water and, giving them to Hagar, he put the child on her shoulder and sent her away.

She wandered off into the wilderness of Beersheba. When the skin of water was finished she abandoned the child under a bush. Then she went and sat down at a distance, about a bowshot away, saying to herself, ‘I cannot see the child die.’ So she sat at a distance; and the child wailed and wept.

But God heard the boy wailing, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven. ‘What is wrong, Hagar?’ he asked. ‘Do not be afraid, for God has heard the boy’s cry where he lies. Come, pick up the boy and hold him safe, for I will make him into a great nation.’ Then God opened Hagar’s eyes and she saw a well, so she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

God was with the boy. He grew up and made his home in the wilderness, and he became a bowman.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 33(34):7-8,10-13 ©

This poor man called; the Lord heard him.

This poor man called, the Lord heard him

and rescued him from all his distress.

The angel of the Lord is encamped

around those who revere him, to rescue them.

This poor man called; the Lord heard him.

Revere the Lord, you his saints.

They lack nothing, those who revere him.

Strong lions suffer want and go hungry

but those who seek the Lord lack no blessing.

This poor man called; the Lord heard him.

Come, children, and hear me

that I may teach you the fear of the Lord.

Who is he who longs for life

and many days, to enjoy his prosperity?

This poor man called; the Lord heard him.

Gospel Acclamation

Jn14:6

Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;

No one can come to the Father except through me.

Alleluia!

Or:

James1:18

Alleluia, alleluia!

By his own choice the Father made us his children

by the message of the truth,

so that we should be a sort of first-fruits

of all that he created.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 8:28-34 ©

The Gadarene swine

When Jesus reached the country of the Gadarenes on the other side of the lake, two demoniacs came towards him out of the tombs – creatures so fierce that no one could pass that way. They stood there shouting, ‘What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before the time?’ Now some distance away there was a large herd of pigs feeding, and the devils pleaded with Jesus, ‘If you cast us out, send us into the herd of pigs.’ And he said to them, ‘Go then’, and they came out and made for the pigs; and at that the whole herd charged down the cliff into the lake and perished in the water. The swineherds ran off and made for the town, where they told the whole story, including what had happened to the demoniacs. At this the whole town set out to meet Jesus; and as soon as they saw him they implored him to leave the neighbourhood.

GRAVE RESPONSIBILITY OF PARENTS AND LEADERS

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Gn 21:5.8-20; Ps 34:7-8,10-13; Mt 8:28-34 ]

How often have we created more problems for ourselves and our loved ones because of our lack of foresight and faith in God. Indeed, many of our sufferings are due to ignorance and sin because of selfishness and fear. We cause suffering not just to ourselves but to our loved ones as well, and those who have been good to us. This was the case of Abraham, who was supposed to be the Patriarch of the family. He was supposed to protect the family and lead them in the way of truth and love but he fared badly initially. If the world is so fragmented and society so dysfunctional, it is because parents do not know how to raise their children or unite their family. There is so much family division and family squabbles; there is no peace or unity at home between couples and among children. This is the result of poor leadership.

Both Abram and Sarai were growing in years, and due to their lack of faith and patience in waiting for God to unfold His plan, Abram gave in to Sarai’s simplistic solution to have their Egyptian slave-maid bear a child for Abram. (Gn 16:1-4) For taking the short cut to faith in God, and trusting in their own ingenuity, Abram brought a host of problems to himself, to Sarai and also to Hagar and their children. This is what we read in today’s first reading.

Trouble started when Hagar conceived a child for Abram, and she became arrogant towards Sarai. Sarai complained to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my slave-girl to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt.” (Gn 16:15) Notice how she blamed Abram for the mistake she made; after all, she was the one who proposed that Abram takes her slave-girl in the first place. Anger, jealousy and resentment had built up in her. This is why it is difficult to unite the family in a polygamous household, as there will be rivalry between the wives and their children. We have seen this again and again in history. Marriage is exclusive and love demands everything from the other person. This is why the Church advocates monogamy, so that the stability of the family is protected, and peace and unity prevail. It is in man’s nature to feel insecure. And what is even truer is that all women desire the absolute love for her husband. They are easily envious and insecure when their men show interest in other women.

But of course, the mistake was not only Abram’s and Sarai’s, it was also Hagar’s. As I mentioned earlier, women are envious of each other when they have the same husband. Hagar who was all her life a slave, began to assert herself, her power and authority because she was with the child of Abram whilst Sarai was childless. When given some power and authority, a person can become vicious and arrogant, like Hagar. If she had humbly submitted to Sarai and remained humble, perhaps she would not have been driven out in the end. But she never learnt her lesson. The first time, she had to run away because Sarai was given permission by Abram to treat her as she liked, and this meant harshly. This became worse when Isaac was born.

She did not teach Ishmael to behave himself, instead he learnt arrogance and ingratitude from his mother, Hagar. “Sarah watched the son that Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. ‘Drive away that slave-girl and her son,’ she said to Abraham; ‘this slave-girl’s son is not to share the inheritance with my son Isaac.'” Ishmael was taunting Isaac and making fun of him, which made Sarah furious. Understandably, with the focus of the festivity on Isaac, Ishmael who was all the while the centre of attention, became insecure and jealous.

Consequently, the inevitable outcome was a split. This is so true in marriage life today. That is why divorce is so common because when both parties are so wounded, with many bad memories of past conflicts, it becomes very difficult to reconcile the couple, and even if they do, they end up living their own lives, as love has turned cold, and trust is gone. Indeed, when both parties cannot be reconciled, the Church, whilst not recognizing divorce, permits a separation for the good of both parties and their children. It is not the ideal of course, but the best we can do to help the couple and their children to move on instead of fighting with each other day after day.

Yet in all these mistakes of ours, God is truly kind and merciful. He tries to salvage the situation and render justice to all parties. God is gracious and seeks to help us to adjust to life and use our mistakes as graces. So, the Lord said to Abraham, “Do not distress yourself on account of the boy and your slave-girl. Grant Sarah all she asks of you, for it is through Isaac that your name will be carried on. But the slave-girl’s son I will also make into a nation, for he is your child too.” Indeed, God’s hands were on Ishmael too, even though he was not the chosen one. God heard the boy wailing, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven. “‘Do not be afraid, for God has heard the boy’s cry where he lies. Come, pick up the boy and hold him safe, for I will make him into a great nation.’ God was with the boy. He grew up and made his home in the wilderness, and he became a bowman.”

Abraham must have learnt the biggest lesson of his life in not trusting God to unfold His plans. It must have been very difficult for Abraham to let Hagar and Ishmael go. He was distressed. But then, to allow them to stay meant there would be no peace. How true it is when someone commits adultery as well. Many do not know the price of adultery until they fall into this sin. All hell breaks loose when such a thing happens. Our relationship with our spouse would be extremely difficult. There will be constant quarrels, accusations, suspicions and shouting. The family would be under tremendous strain. Our innocent children will suffer the most. Their studies would be affected. They would not want to stay at home. They might fall into wrong company. They might start taking drugs and do wild things. Their careers might be compromised.

But God is always faithful to His promises. We must trust Him. When the time came, “The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised. Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him.” (Gn 21:1-3) The conception of Isaac and his birth was certainly a miracle of grace. With the birth of Isaac, Abraham knew for certain that God would be faithful to every word of His. From that day onwards, Abraham believed in God totally. This would be seen in the next chapter when Abraham believed that God would somehow provide even when he had to sacrifice his only son. He no longer doubted the omnipotence and faithfulness of God.

The power of God and His mercy is once again manifested in the gospel when the Lord liberated the two demoniacs. Jesus felt pity for the two possessed men. In spite of their power, they submitted to the Lord. It is significant that though the evil spirits recognized Jesus as the Son of God, they did not believe in Him. Consequently, Jesus had to pass judgment on them by sending them to the pigs. On the surface it might be seen as an act of mercy by the Lord, but in truth, it was God’s judgment on them because together with the herd of pigs, they were all drowned. Pigs in those days were seen as unclean animals by the Jews. But the swineherds were incredulous as well, although they saw the power of our Lord. Unlike Abraham who submitted in faith to our Lord, the whole town “implored him to leave the neighbourhood.” Faith, in the final analysis, is an act of the will and not of the mind. One can see the miracles and power of God and yet not believe. One can know God and yet not believe. Hence, Hebrews tells us, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Heb 11:1)

Monday 28 June 2021

FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT BY KEEPING THE FAITH

20210629 FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT BY KEEPING THE FAITH

29 June, 2021, Tuesday, Ss Peter and Paul, Apostles

First reading

Acts 12:1-11 ©

'Now I know the Lord really did save me from Herod'

King Herod started persecuting certain members of the Church. He beheaded James the brother of John, and when he saw that this pleased the Jews he decided to arrest Peter as well. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread, and he put Peter in prison, assigning four squads of four soldiers each to guard him in turns. Herod meant to try Peter in public after the end of Passover week. All the time Peter was under guard the Church prayed to God for him unremittingly.

On the night before Herod was to try him, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, fastened with double chains, while guards kept watch at the main entrance to the prison. Then suddenly the angel of the Lord stood there, and the cell was filled with light. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him. ‘Get up!’ he said ‘Hurry!’ – and the chains fell from his hands. The angel then said, ‘Put on your belt and sandals.’ After he had done this, the angel next said, ‘Wrap your cloak round you and follow me.’ Peter followed him, but had no idea that what the angel did was all happening in reality; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed through two guard posts one after the other, and reached the iron gate leading to the city. This opened of its own accord; they went through it and had walked the whole length of one street when suddenly the angel left him. It was only then that Peter came to himself. ‘Now I know it is all true’ he said. ‘The Lord really did send his angel and has saved me from Herod and from all that the Jewish people were so certain would happen to me.’

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 33(34):2-9 ©