20210709 HOPE IN HIS PROMISES ENABLES US TO STAND FIRM TO THE END
09 July, 2021, Friday, 14th Week, Ordinary Time
First reading |
Genesis 46:1-7,28-30 © |
'I can die, now that I have seen you alive'
Israel left Canaan with his possessions, and reached Beersheba. There he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. God spoke to Israel in a vision at night, ‘Jacob, Jacob’, he said. ‘I am here’, he replied. ‘I am God, the God of your father’, he continued. ‘Do not be afraid of going down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. I myself will go down to Egypt with you. I myself will bring you back again, and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.’ Then Jacob left Beersheba. Israel’s sons conveyed their father Jacob, their little children and their wives in the waggons Pharaoh had sent to fetch him.
Taking their livestock and all that they had acquired in the land of Canaan, they went to Egypt, Jacob and all his family with him: his sons and his grandsons, his daughters and his grand-daughters, in a word, all his children he took with him to Egypt.
Israel sent Judah ahead to Joseph, so that the latter might present himself to him in Goshen. When they arrived in the land of Goshen, Joseph had his chariot made ready and went up to meet his father Israel in Goshen. As soon as he appeared he threw his arms round his neck and for a long time wept on his shoulder. Israel said to Joseph, ‘Now I can die, now that I have seen you again, and seen you still alive.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 36(37):3-4,18-19,27-28,39-40 © |
The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
If you trust in the Lord and do good,
then you will live in the land and be secure.
If you find your delight in the Lord,
he will grant your heart’s desire.
The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
He protects the lives of the upright,
their heritage will last for ever.
They shall not be put to shame in evil days,
in time of famine their food shall not fail.
The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Then turn away from evil and do good
and you shall have a home for ever;
for the Lord loves justice
and will never forsake his friends.
The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
The salvation of the just comes from the Lord,
their stronghold in time of distress.
The Lord helps them and delivers them
and saves them: for their refuge is in him.
The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | 1P1:25 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of the Lord remains for ever:
What is this word?
It is the Good News that has been brought to you.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn16:13,14:26 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
When the Spirit of truth comes
he will lead you to the complete truth,
and he will remind you of all I have said to you.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 10:16-23 © |
The Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you
Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘Remember, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as serpents and yet as harmless as doves.
‘Beware of men: they will hand you over to sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the pagans. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes; because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you. ‘Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name; but the man who stands firm to the end will be saved. If they persecute you in one town, take refuge in the next; and if they persecute you in that, take refuge in another. I tell you solemnly, you will not have gone the round of the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.’
HOPE IN HIS PROMISES ENABLES US TO STAND FIRM TO THE END
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Gn 46:1-7, 28-30; Ps 37:3-4,18-19,27-28,39-40; Mt 10:16-23]
When sending the apostles out on mission, Jesus was honest and upfront with them with regard to what they would have to go through. He did not promise them a rose garden, career advancement, power and wealth, comfort, luxury, or fame. No, He warned them that they would be handed over to the Sanhedrin and that they would be scourged. They would be dragged before governors and kings, as was the case of St Paul and his collaborators. Indeed, the Lord said, “You will be hated by all men on account of my name.” Persecutions would come from four main groups of people, namely, the State, businesses, their own people, and their family members. These would be the same group of people that continue to persecute the Church today.
Persecution by the State. In the early Church, the Christians were persecuted by the State because of their stand against slavery. It was a threat to a long-established institution of the Roman Empire. Whilst the early Church did not call for an abolishment of slavery, the Church advocated respect for the slaves and treating them as equal to the life of grace. This was why the early Church initially drew many who were marginalized and considered as outcasts by society. The love of Christ demands that Christians are called to love and respect everyone, just as Christ loves us. We see this already in the letter of St Paul to Philemon pleading with him to accept Onesimus, the runaway slave “whose father I have become during my imprisonment” and to have him back “no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother – especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.” (Philemon 10,16) It is notable that in the early Church, a slave could even be elevated to high office. Popes Callixtus and Pius were formerly slaves, and so were many deacons.
Persecution by their own people. They were also accused of causing social disorder as there were rumours that they were cannibals, eating the body and drinking the blood of Christ. They were accused of sexual immorality as the meal they partook was called, “agape.” They were seen as breaking up the family by their refusal to worship other gods, and especially of disloyalty to Caesar for not acknowledging the divinity of the Emperor. It also affected the businesses of those who carved idols for worship to the deities. Indeed, the Christians were seen as a threat to the status quo, the unity of the family, the flourishing trades in idol worship and prostitution, and finally, to the state.
Today, such persecutions by the same groups of people continue in our times. The Church continues to be persecuted by the State because she opposes policies that are against the gospel values, such as war, discrimination of religions and peoples, social injustices, social policies that promote or favour abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, legalizing prostitution, same-sex unions, and drug taking. In many countries, Christians are oppressed and denied freedom of worship. At times, those who are against Christian values see us as a threat to their freedom to do whatever they want, especially for selfish, self-centred reasons. They feel threatened when the Church articulates her position on marriage, family, freedom of worship and the promotion of life. What is more, as the Lord warned His disciples, “Remember, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as serpents and yet as harmless as doves.” Indeed, the world twists and turns the Christian message to suit their interests. When it suits their political and personal interests, they will quote the Church. But otherwise, they will distort or exaggerate the Christian message on liberty that leads to self-indulgence and abuses. They will attack the Church vehemently, expose her sins, especially that of her leaders, so that we lose all credibility as the moral spokesman in the world.
How, then, can we stand firm in the face of persecution? Jesus promised the apostles His Holy Spirit. He assured them, “But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes; because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you.” Assurance of the Lord being with us will give us the strength to persevere till the end. In life, we will all have to struggle, if not for our faith, for our work, our career and family. But we will survive and triumph in the end if we have someone who can support us in good and in bad times, in sickness and in health, in failures and in successes. So long as we have a spouse, a confidante, a boss or a colleague who supports us all the way, we will win the battle even if we come out wounded in the process.
This was what the Lord said to Jacob when he came to the end of his life. God had been with Jacob all through his life though he might not always have been so visible and tangible all the time. He was to be the one who would take the family “into a land that is not theirs.” (Gn 15:13) The family would then become a great nation bearing his God-given name, Israel. Relying on the promises of God, Jacob, in spite of his mistakes, trusted in God who was always faithful. Whatever perils and misadventures he went through, God was always by his side. Yet, in all the turning points of his life, God would appear to him through angels and theophanies. (Gen 28:10-22; 31:11-13; 32:1, 24-30). Similarly, his preparation to leave Canaan for Egypt was also marked by a vision. “Israel left Canaan with his possessions, and reached Beersheba. There he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. God spoke to Israel in a vision at night, ‘Jacob, Jacob,’ he said. ‘I am here,’ he replied. ‘I am God, the God of your father.”
God gave the assurance to Jacob that He would go down to Egypt with him and his family. (Gen 46:4). This makes explicit what God had assured Jacob earlier on when he was fleeing from his brother, Esau. “Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” (Gen 28:15) This protection of God would extend to him all through his journey in life, in his downs and ups. Jacob was not spared from the trials of life, the manipulations of dishonest people like his uncle, Laban, the betrayal of his sons in selling Joseph and not telling him the truth. So in the light of God’s fidelity to him, he was ready to go to Egypt, knowing that he would return again to his homeland as promised by the Lord. Indeed, the Lord said, “I myself will bring you back again, and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.”
Secondly, God assured him that He would make them a great nation. The same promise made to Abraham (Gen 12:2), and reiterated at the birth of Isaac (Gen 17:19; 18:18) that he would have many descendants, was gradually being realized. God would ratify the Covenant with Abraham when they grew to be a nation. However, they would be a great nation in Egypt, not in Canaan. But it would take them 400 years in Egypt, enslaved and ill-treated. Nevertheless, in Egypt, they would grow before God was ready to take them out of Egypt and bring them to the Promised Land. Their sojourn in Egypt was part of God’s plan for the People of Israel.
We too must also persevere like Jacob in all our trials. As the Lord assures us, “the man who stands firm to the end will be saved.” But we must act wisely, not with blind faith. Like Jacob and Joseph, even when we trust in God, we need to plan as well. This was what the Lord said, “If they persecute you in one town, take refuge in the next; and if they persecute you in that, take refuge in another.” Indeed, we must not be fool-hardy and try to be martyrs for Christ when that is not yet required of us to confess our faith in Him. We must be prudent and responsible in discerning the ways of God, walking in faith and in confidence.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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