20210713 LOST OPPORTUNITIES
13 July, 2021, Tuesday, 15th Week, Ordinary Time
First reading | Exodus 2:1-15 © |
Pharaoh's daughter finds Moses among the bulrushes
There was a man of the tribe of Levi who had taken a woman of Levi as his wife. She conceived and gave birth to a son and, seeing what a fine child he was, she kept him hidden for three months. When she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him; coating it with bitumen and pitch, she put the child inside and laid it among the reeds at the river’s edge. His sister stood some distance away to see what would happen to him.
Now Pharaoh’s daughter went down to bathe in the river, and the girls attending her were walking along by the riverside. Among the reeds she noticed the basket, and she sent her maid to fetch it. She opened it and looked, and saw a baby boy, crying; and she was sorry for him. ‘This is a child of one of the Hebrews’ she said. Then the child’s sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and find you a nurse among the Hebrew women to suckle the child for you?’ ‘Yes, go,’ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her; and the girl went off to find the baby’s own mother. To her the daughter of Pharaoh said, ‘Take this child away and suckle it for me. I will see you are paid.’ So the woman took the child and suckled it. When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter who treated him like a son; she named him Moses because, she said, ‘I drew him out of the water.’
Moses, a man by now, set out at this time to visit his countrymen, and he saw what a hard life they were having; and he saw an Egyptian strike a Hebrew, one of his countrymen. Looking round he could see no one in sight, so he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. On the following day he came back, and there were two Hebrews, fighting. He said to the man who was in the wrong, ‘What do you mean by hitting your fellow countryman?’ ‘And who appointed you’ the man retorted, ‘to be prince over us, and judge? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?’ Moses was frightened. ‘Clearly that business has come to light’ he thought. When Pharaoh heard of the matter he would have killed Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and made for the land of Midian.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 68(69):3,14,30-31,33-34 © |
Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive.
I have sunk into the mud of the deep
and there is no foothold.
I have entered the waters of the deep
and the waves overwhelm me.
Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive.
This is my prayer to you,
my prayer for your favour.
In your great love, answer me, O God,
with your help that never fails.
Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive.
As for me in my poverty and pain
let your help, O God, lift me up.
I will praise God’s name with a song;
I will glorify him with thanksgiving.
Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive.
The poor when they see it will be glad
and God-seeking hearts will revive;
for the Lord listens to the needy
and does not spurn his servants in their chains.
Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:24 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Train me, Lord, to observe your law,
to keep it with my heart.
Alleluia!
Or: | Ps94:8 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 11:20-24 © |
It will not go as hard with Sodom on Judgement Day as with you
Jesus began to reproach the towns in which most of his miracles had been worked, because they refused to repent.
‘Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. And still, I tell you that it will not go as hard on Judgement day with Tyre and Sidon as with you. And as for you, Capernaum, did you want to be exalted as high as heaven? You shall be thrown down to hell. For if the miracles done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have been standing yet. And still, I tell you that it will not go as hard with the land of Sodom on Judgement day as with you.’
LOST OPPORTUNITIES
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Ex 2:1-15; Ps 69:3,14,30-31,33-34; Mt 11:20-24 ]
Quite often in life, when we look back, we live in regret because of missed opportunities. In other words, we missed out on the grace of God that was offered to us. This happens for many reasons, because of pride, indifference, inaction, or it could be that we took things into our own hands instead of relying on the grace of God because of impatience, anger and the lack of discernment of God’s will in our lives. Either way, we will suffer the consequences of lost opportunities because we either did not or could not see the grace of God at work in our lives. This was the case of Moses and the countrymen of Jesus.
The first reading from the book of Exodus narrated the preparation for the call of Moses. Without doubt, Moses was destined to be the deliverer of his people from the Egyptians. He was the one who would give birth to a new nation called Israel. Hence, the narration of his birth took the form of a creation and redemption theme. Like Noah, Moses was rescued from the threatening waters that would have drowned him. But he was drawn out of the water, saved and delivered by God from destruction. And just like Noah, Moses was saved by the “ark”, a papyrus basket. The irony is that the water that threatened to destroy them would be the waters that saved them. This was again repeated when Moses led the people through the red sea when the waters separated for them to walk through dry shod. It was as if they passed from death to new life.
Of course, Moses as the deliverer anticipated Jesus, the New Moses who would save us by the waters of baptism, symbolized by His death and resurrection. St Paul wrote, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore, we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” (Rom 6:3f) St Paul added, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.” (Gal 4:4-7)
However, Moses missed his opportunity to save his people the first time. This was because, instead of waiting for God to act, he took the deliverance of his people into his own hands. He failed to realize that we are saved by grace, not by human effort. He was impatient. He acted out of impulse when he saw one of the fellowmen struck by an Egyptian. Thinking that no one was in sight, he “killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.” He overreacted in his defence of his countryman. It was still not the opportune time to begin his role as the deliverer of his people. How could he deliver his people from Pharaoh and his mighty army alone, without the help of his people and more importantly, the power of God? He was foolish and presumptuous that he would be able to do it himself. He was not even recognized as a leader of his people yet, as seen in the next incident when he tried to settle a quarrel between two of his countrymen. “He said to the man who was in the wrong, ‘What do you mean by hitting your fellow countryman?’ ‘And who appointed you’ the man retorted ‘to be prince over us, and judge? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?’ Moses was frightened. ‘Clearly that business has come to light’ he thought.” It was obvious he was not regarded as a leader and thus the time was not yet right for him to act.
As a consequence, his work was delayed by another forty years. “When Pharaoh heard of the matter he would have killed Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and made for the land of Midian.” When he left Egypt, he was forty years old and he had to spend another forty years in Midian tending after the sheep and learning how to be a true shepherd after the heart of God. He had to be formed and learn patience in waiting for the call of God. Yet, God is gracious. Even in our mistakes, the plan of God would not be derailed. We might slow down His plan but His plan is inexorable. As St Paul wrote, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28)
In the gospel, Jesus, the New Moses, was also very much identified with His people, just as Moses was. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb 4:15) The evangelist noted earlier, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.'” (Mt 9:36-38) He, too, came to deliver His people from every sickness, disease, sin and from the Evil One.
Unfortunately, the people did not respond to the message of the Good News. They did not take advantage of the opportunities of grace offered to them. This was why “Jesus began to reproach the towns in which most of his miracles had been worked, because they refused to repent. ‘Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! And as for you, Capernaum, did you want to be exalted as high as heaven? You shall be thrown down to hell.” These three towns were privileged to have Jesus ministering to them. Miracles were performed in their sight. The Good News was preached.
But the privileges they received did not meet with a positive response. Those from Chorazin and Bethsaida lacked faith in Jesus and did not repent from their sin. When Jesus prefaced His judgment on the towns, He began with the word “alas”, a word of pity and sorrow that they did not recognize their sinfulness. They would be more condemned than Sodom and Gomorrah, the most notorious cities in the bible infamous for sexual immorality and wickedness. The Lord remarked, “For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. And still, I tell you that it will not go as hard on Judgement day with Tyre and Sidon as with you.” They had been told what was wrong by our Lord and they did not repent. Those who know what is right and continue to do evil would be more condemned than those who are ignorant of their sins and their conscience is not enlightened. God does not condemn a man who is ignorant or was brought up in a sinful environment because his capacity to distinguish good from evil is mitigated. But if we have been instructed in the truth and still walk the way of evil, then the judgment would be more severe. Ezekiel had the same warning for the righteous man who commit sins. (Ezk 18:26f)
In Capernaum, it was the sin of pride. “And as for you, Capernaum, did you want to be exalted as high as heaven? You shall be thrown down to hell. For if the miracles done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have been standing yet. And still, I tell you that it will not go as hard as the land of Sodom on Judgement day as with you.” Again, it is the sin of self-reliance, thinking that we are better than anyone else. They were not humble and docile to the invitation of our Lord in spite of the many miracles performed before their eyes.
We, too, are called to reflect on the lost opportunities of God’s grace in our lives because of our attachment to our sins, until we suffer the consequences of our rebellion against God. So too, because of pride and self-will, we take things into our own hands. God will humble us. We will pay the price of our arrogance as Moses did for not listening to God’s word and His call before we take things into our own hands. Jesus warns us against pride and sin that hinder us from allowing God’s grace to enter into our lives and then flow out to others whom we are called to bless with what we have received.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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