20210622 THE JOURNEY OF FAITH
22 June, 2021, Tuesday, 12th Week, Ordinary Time
First reading |
Genesis 13:2,5-18 © |
Abram settles in the land of Canaan and builds an altar to the Lord
Abram was a very rich man, with livestock, silver and gold. Lot, who was travelling with Abram, had flocks and cattle of his own, and tents too. The land was not sufficient to accommodate them both at once, for they had too many possessions to be able to live together. Dispute broke out between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and those of Lot’s. (The Canaanites and the Perizzites were then living in the land.) Accordingly Abram said to Lot, ‘Let there be no dispute between me and you, nor between my herdsmen and yours, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land open before you? Part company with me: if you take the left, I will go right; if you take the right, I will go left.’
Looking round, Lot saw all the Jordan plain, irrigated everywhere – this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah – like the garden of the Lord or the land of Egypt, as far as Zoar. So Lot chose all the Jordan plain for himself and moved off eastwards. Thus they parted company: Abram settled in the land of Canaan; Lot settled among the towns of the plain, pitching his tents on the outskirts of Sodom. Now the people of Sodom were vicious men, great sinners against the Lord.
The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted company with him, ‘Look all round from where you are towards the north and the south, towards the east and the west. All the land within sight I will give to you and your descendants for ever. I will make your descendants like the dust on the ground: when men succeed in counting the specks of dust on the ground, then they will be able to count your descendants! Come, travel through the length and breadth of the land, for I mean to give it to you.’
So Abram went with his tents to settle at the Oak of Mamre, at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 14(15):2-5 © |
The just will live in the presence of the Lord.
Lord, who shall dwell on your holy mountain?
He who walks without fault;
he who acts with justice
and speaks the truth from his heart;
he who does not slander with his tongue.
The just will live in the presence of the Lord.
He who does no wrong to his brother,
who casts no slur on his neighbour,
who holds the godless in disdain,
but honours those who fear the Lord.
The just will live in the presence of the Lord.
He who keeps his pledge, come what may;
who takes no interest on a loan
and accepts no bribes against the innocent.
Such a man will stand firm for ever.
The just will live in the presence of the Lord.
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: | Jn8:12 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light of life.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 7:6,12-14 © |
Treat others as you would like them to treat you
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls in front of pigs, or they may trample them and then turn on you and tear you to pieces.
‘So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.
‘Enter by the narrow gate, since the road that leads to perdition is wide and spacious, and many take it; but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it.’
THE JOURNEY OF FAITH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Gn 13:2.5-18; Ps 15:2-5; Mt 7:26,12-14 ]
When God calls and we respond in faith, it does not mean that we will always have complete trust in God and surrender ourselves to His divine providence. On the contrary, faith is never stagnant; it either grows or it deteriorates. Faith is not a possession which we can claim for ourselves, as in a fixed asset like gold or land. This explains why those who have been baptized but do nothing to grow their faith will lose it. To speak of a stagnant faith is a deception, as if a relationship can be stagnant. In any relationship, whether with God or with our fellowmen, it either grows or it weakens.
Abraham’s faith too had to mature. He was given an early test of faith in which he failed miserably, but that changed his attitude towards God. After leaving Haran, Abram and Lot left for the land of Canaan. But because there was a famine in the land, they had to go down to Egypt to reside there. Fearing the danger of losing his life, he presented Sarai as his beautiful sister to Pharaoh who took her as his wife. When the plagues struck Pharaoh’s house, he realized that it was because he took Abram’s wife. And so he dismissed them with all that he had and all the flocks that Pharaoh had given to him on account of having Sarai. (Gn 12:10-20) Abram by lying showed his lack of trust in God’s providence and also set a bad example of greed for his nephew, Lot.
Following this incident, we see how Abram’s faith grew. He must have recognized his mistake and made a radical commitment to trust in God rather than in wealth and property. In today’s first reading, we read how Abram and Lot went on separate ways out of necessity and for the good of everyone. “Abram was a very rich man, with livestock, silver and gold. Lot, who was travelling with Abram, had flocks and cattle of his own, and tents too. The land was not sufficient to accommodate them both at once, for they had too many possessions to be able to live together. Dispute broke out between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and those of Lot’s.” Understandably, even if the fight was not between Abram and Lot but their children and servants, it would ultimately have affected their relationship as well because they needed to protect those under their charge.
We see the magnanimity of Abram, so different from the previous chapter when we saw how scheming, manipulative and greedy he was when he was in Egypt. Now a changed man, he told his nephew, Lot, “Let there be no dispute between me and you, nor between my herdsmen and yours, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land open before you? Part company with me: if you take the left, I will go right; if you take the right, I will go left.” As an elder and uncle, he had a right to choose which land he wanted and leave to Lot whatever he did not want. But he was detached from his wealth. All he wanted was to protect their good relationship above everything else. For Abram, he valued relationship over things, unlike many of us who put things over relationship. How often do we see siblings squabbling over their parents’ property! Many beautiful relationships have been marred because of greed and envy over material wealth.
This was because Abram had learnt what it meant to have faith in God’s promises and to just hang on to them. That gave him the courage to let go and let God take control. He allowed Lot to choose the most favored part of the territory. Lot chose the fertile Jordan plain which was good for agriculture and left Canaan to his uncle. Without squabbling or argument, Abram took what his nephew did not want. By so doing, Abram lived out what the Lord taught us in today’s gospel, “So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.”
In contrast, Lot did not have faith like Abram. The reason was simply because he did not receive the Lord’s call and promise. It was Abram who did. He followed Abram only because he was his uncle and he had confidence in him. This is an important lesson, that followers who themselves have not encountered God would not make great disciples. We have many of these in our Catholic communities. We call them grandchildren of God rather than children of God. The reason why they are involved in Church activities is because they like the priest, the retreat master, their friends or they enjoy a particular form of service. They are not there primarily because of Jesus but because their friends and heroes are there. Their commitment is not to the Lord but to a human being. This was the case of Lot.
Hence Lot, following the bad example set by Abram earlier on, became materialistic and worldly. Instead of walking in faith, Lot walked by sight. “Looking around, Lot saw all the Jordan plain, irrigated everywhere like the garden of the Lord or the land of Egypt, as far as Zoar. So Lot chose all the Jordan plain for himself and moved off eastwards.” In his worldly judgment, he was attracted, so to speak, by the bright light of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The people were wealthy but they were living a sinful life. Instead of avoiding the temptations, we are told that “Lot settled among the towns of the plain, pitching his tents on the outskirts of Sodom. Now the people of Sodom were vicious men, great sinners against the Lord.” He was unwittingly leading his family and his people into sin simply because he thought that was where he could make more money.
Abram walked by faith, not by sight. Because he trusted in God, he was rewarded with a preview in faith of what God wanted to give to him and his descendants. “Look all round from where you are towards the north and the south, towards the east and the west. All the land within sight I will give to you and your descendants for ever. I will make your descendants like the dust on the ground: when men succeed in counting the specks of dust on the ground, then they will be able to count your descendants! Come, travel through the length and breadth of the land, for I mean to give it to you.” The author of Hebrews concluded, “All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.” (Heb 11:13f)
In the gospel the Lord asks us to choose what is truly good for us. The Lord wants us to be discerning, unlike Lot who was not. Jesus said to His disciples, “Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls in front of pigs, or they may trample them and then turn on you and tear you to pieces.” Indeed, we must seek God’s way and find happiness following the way of the Lord. The responsorial psalm says, “Lord, who shall dwell on your holy mountain? He who walks without fault; he who acts with justice and speaks the truth from his heart; he who does not slander with his tongue. He who does no wrong to his brother, who casts no slur on his neighbour, who holds the godless in disdain, but honours those who fear the Lord. The just will live in the presence of the Lord.”
This is why we must enter through the narrow gate as the Lord warns us. “Enter by the narrow gate, since the road that leads to perdition is wide and spacious, and many take it; but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” To enter via the narrow gate is to enter through Jesus who is the Gate and the door. “I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (Jn 10:7-10) This is the gate that Abram entered as well, by walking in faith and living the life of a just man. It is this gate that will help us to walk the path that leads to fullness of life. So we must not enter the wrong gate just as Lot did and that gate led to perdition eventually. Jesus who is the Way and the Truth will lead us to life.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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