20210724 GOD’S FIDELITY TO HIS COVENANT
24 July, 2021, Saturday, 16th Week, Ordinary Time
First reading | Exodus 24:3-8 © |
This is the blood of the Covenant that the Lord has made with you
Moses went and told the people all the commands of the Lord and all the ordinances. In answer, all the people said with one voice, ‘We will observe all the commands that the Lord has decreed.’ Moses put all the commands of the Lord into writing, and early next morning he built an altar at the foot of the mountain, with twelve standing-stones for the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he directed certain young Israelites to offer holocausts and to immolate bullocks to the Lord as communion sacrifices. Half of the blood Moses took up and put into basins, the other half he cast on the altar. And taking the Book of the Covenant he read it to the listening people, and they said, ‘We will observe all that the Lord has decreed; we will obey.’ Then Moses took the blood and cast it towards the people. This’ he said ‘is the blood of the Covenant that the Lord has made with you, containing all these rules.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 49(50):1-2,5-6,14-15 © |
Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.
The God of gods, the Lord,
has spoken and summoned the earth,
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Out of Zion’s perfect beauty he shines.
Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.
‘Summon before me my people
who made covenant with me by sacrifice.’
The heavens proclaim his justice,
for he, God, is the judge.
Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.
Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God
and render him your votive offerings.
Call on me in the day of distress.
I will free you and you shall honour me.’
Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.
Gospel Acclamation | Heb4:12 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jm1:21 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept and submit to the word
which has been planted in you
and can save your souls.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 13:24-30 © |
Let them both grow till the harvest
Jesus put another parable before the crowds: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everybody was asleep his enemy came, sowed darnel all among the wheat, and made off. When the new wheat sprouted and ripened, the darnel appeared as well. The owner’s servants went to him and said, “Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? If so, where does the darnel come from?” “Some enemy has done this” he answered. And the servants said, “Do you want us to go and weed it out?” But he said, “No, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it. Let them both grow till the harvest; and at harvest time I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn.”’
GOD’S FIDELITY TO HIS COVENANT
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Ex 24:3-8; Ps 50:1-2,5-6,14-15; Mt 13:24-30 ]
In the first reading, God established a covenant with His people through a ritual ceremony. God had shown His love and fidelity to the Chosen People, fulfilling the promise He made to their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He had freed them from the slavery of the Egyptians and they had grown to a huge number, on the way to nationhood. Moses sealed the covenant with God by offering holocausts and “immolate bullocks to the Lord as communion sacrifices.” This Covenant was sealed with the blood of the bullocks as Moses cast the blood on the altar and towards the people. The people on their part promised to obey all that the Lord has decreed. “Taking the Book of the Covenant he read it to the listening people, and they said, ‘We will observe all that the Lord has decreed; we will obey.'”
But we know that Israel was never faithful to the Covenant. Although they said that they would obey, Israel repeatedly broke the covenant. Not only did they break the commandments but they turned from the Lord to worship false gods of the Ancient Near East. From Moses right down to the time of Jesus, Israel failed to observe the Covenant. Even though prophet after prophet were sent to them, the people and their leaders did not take heed of their warnings. Instead they killed them. As a result, they were exiled and punished. But God was always faithful to His covenant and never gave up on them. Through Jeremiah, the Lord said, “The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jer 31:31,33)
This Covenant was eventually fulfilled in Christ. He is the New Covenant for He gave His blood and body as the Sacrifice for the atonement of our sins and our redemption. At the Last Supper, celebrating the Passover Meal, He said, “‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.'” (Mt 26:26-28) The Letter of Hebrews says, “He entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God! For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, because a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant.” (Heb 9:12-15)
Yet, even though we might be baptized Christians, the truth is that we all remain imperfect and are certainly not sinless. The sacrifice of Christ on the cross is our assurance that our sins have been taken away and atoned for. There is no fear even when we sin because God has eternally forgiven us in Christ. But forgiveness although in principle is always given, we need to receive it, otherwise it is just like the sun shining but we are asleep in the day. When we wake up in the night, we will complain there is no sun. Hence, St John exhorts the Christians, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 Jn 2:1f) So we are guaranteed of God’s forgiveness provided we are repentant and willing and humble enough to accept His forgiveness.
This is the message of our Lord in today’s gospel as well when He spoke of the parable of the darnel and the wheat. The Lord had just told the disciples the Parable of the Sower and the Seed. In this parable, the Lord spoke of the different responses to the Word of God. In truth, we do not belong to just one category of disciples that respond to the Lord. We are all the pathway, the rocky ground, the thorns and the fertile soil receiving the Word of God. Some days we are indifferent to the Word of God because we cannot accept the truth of what is taught. Some days we are inspired by the Word, but once our feelings die down, we forget our commitments. Some days we are so preoccupied by the anxieties and demands of this world, we are caught up by them and so neglect the Word of God. But there will be days when we truly listen and interiorize the Word of God, and we bear fruits in our life.
It is for this reason that the Lord told the parable of the darnel and the wheat to urge us all to be patient in our growth and the growth of others. Rome was never built in a day. The mission of Christ cannot be fulfilled in our lifetime. We are all just sowing the seeds, but someone will do the harvesting. We must not be rash in judgment and impatient with the conversion of people. Rather, like the farmer in the gospel, we must wait and discern when to act. When the servant said, “‘Do you want us to weed it out?’ But he said, ‘No, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it.'”
Indeed, most of us are good people but with evil in us. This is partly due to our fallen nature and the work of the Evil One. Firstly, because of our fallen nature, even after baptism, concupiscence remains in us, that is our orientation towards the flesh. We are easily tempted by sensuality and pleasures in life because our body, our flesh is weak and is inclined to seek physical comfort. So we are all tempted by lust, greed, envy and gluttony. We want to look good before others and be admired. Secondly, this weakness of our will is further complicated by the seductive temptation of the Evil One. The owner’s servants went to the master and said, “‘Sir was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? If so, where does the darnel come from?’ ‘Some enemy has done this’ he answered.” Satan is all out to tempt us to sin and go against the commandments of God. St Peter warns us, “Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.” (1 Pt 5:8)
Discernment between good and evil is also not easy. Today, Satan and the World entice us with all kinds of fake news, evil things masquerade as good, use all kinds of scientific and lofty argument to convince us that divorce, abortion, euthanasia, same-sex union, promiscuity, pornography, drugs consumption, war, nuclear weapons, terrorism is the right thing to do because we are all adults and know what is best for us. Each one must decide what is good for him or her and no one should dictate to us. This is precisely why the master was careful in his judgment. He told his servant who said, “‘Do you want us to weed it out?’ But he said, ‘No, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it.'”
Our life, therefore, is a constant struggle against sin and the temptation of the Evil One. Even Jesus Himself was tempted by the Devil throughout His ministry. (Mt 4:1-11) Sometimes we will overcome the temptation to sin, sometimes we will succumb. But whenever we fail, the Lord understands us. He knows how weak we are. He showed the same compassion for Peter and the apostles. He told Peter, “Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Lk 22:31f)
However, judgement will come. Judgement is inevitable as the master told the servant. “At harvest time I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn.” Of course, God does not judge us based on one single act in our life. God takes into consideration all the things we had done or failed to do, good or evil, grave or just serious, the circumstances we were in, the intentions we have in our hearts. Judgment will be based on our entire life and the consequences of what we do.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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