20220630 THE COURAGE TO SPEAK THE TRUTH
30 June, 2022, Thursday, 13th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Amos 7:10-17 © |
The Lord took me from herding the flock and sent me to prophesy
Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel as follows. ‘Amos is plotting against you in the heart of the House of Israel; the country can no longer tolerate what he keeps saying. For this is what he says, “Jeroboam is going to die by the sword, and Israel go into exile far from its country.”’ To Amos, Amaziah said, ‘Go away, seer;’ get back to the land of Judah; earn your bread there, do your prophesying there. We want no more prophesying in Bethel; this is the royal sanctuary, the national temple.’ ‘I was no prophet, neither did I belong to any of the brotherhoods of prophets,’ Amos replied to Amaziah ‘I was a shepherd, and looked after sycamores: but it was the Lord who took me from herding the flock, and the Lord who said, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.” So listen to the word of the Lord.
‘You say:
‘“Do not prophesy against Israel,
utter no oracles against the House of Isaac.”
‘Very well, this is what the Lord says,
‘“Your wife will be forced to go on the streets,
your sons and daughters will fall by the sword,
your land be parcelled out by measuring line,
and you yourself die on unclean soil
and Israel will go into exile far distant from its own land.”’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 18(19):8-11 © |
The decrees of the Lord are truth and all of them just.
The law of the Lord is perfect,
it revives the soul.
The rule of the Lord is to be trusted,
it gives wisdom to the simple.
The decrees of the Lord are truth and all of them just.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
they gladden the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear,
it gives light to the eyes.
The decrees of the Lord are truth and all of them just.
The fear of the Lord is holy,
abiding for ever.
The decrees of the Lord are truth
and all of them just.
The decrees of the Lord are truth and all of them just.
They are more to be desired than gold,
than the purest of gold
and sweeter are they than honey,
than honey from the comb.
The decrees of the Lord are truth and all of them just.
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.
THE COURAGE TO SPEAK THE TRUTH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Amos 7:10-17; Ps 19:8-11; Mt 9:1-8]
It is inevitable that when we speak the truth, we will be confronted by opposition. This is because speaking the truth challenges those walking in falsehood to change their lives. This was the case of the Israelites when they heard the warnings of the Prophet Amos. His prophecy did not sit well with them because it was perceived as discouraging and negative. Most of all, it hurt those who were in positions of power. In the case of Amaziah who was the high priest of the sanctuary of Bethel, his influence and luxurious life was threatened by Amos’ prophecy as it might make the people question the status quo. Hence, out of fear Amaziah informed the King that the prophet said, “Jeroboam is going to die by the sword, and Israel go into exile far from its country.” In truth, Amos did not say that Jeroboam would die by the sword, but that Israel would go into exile. The intention of Amaziah was to accuse Amos of treason and brand him as a traitor. Amaziah told Jeroboam, King of Israel that “Amos is plotting against you in the heart of the House of Israel; the country can no longer tolerate what he keeps saying.”
That Amos was not welcomed is understandable. No one likes to hear bad news. This is true even in our day. It is extremely difficult to tell those under our charge, our children, our subordinates and even our friends, that they are wrong. They will react with hostility and resentment. No one wants to be told that they are wrong because we all have our views on what is good or bad. In such a situation today, we would choose the way of compromise, to accommodate both views so that there is peace, albeit an uneasy and superficial peace. It is always difficult to speak the truth today because when the interests of those involved are affected, we can be sure that they will rise up to defend their interests.
In the gospel, Jesus was also not appreciated and often misunderstood. We read of the growing opposition against Him in chapter 9 of St Matthew’s gospel. In spite of the miracles and good works He performed, He was perceived as a deviant. The religious leaders felt threatened by Him. So they sought to remove the irritant from their community. In the case of the healing of the paralytic, they were scandalized by Jesus who acted in the name of God in forgiving the sins of the paralytic. Instead of recognizing the power of God at work in Jesus through His preaching, reconciliation and healing, they saw Him as one who broke the Law.
Yet, both Amos and our Lord continued with their ministry undeterred by the opposition they were facing. They did not give up as easily as we do when we find ourselves facing our critics. Most of us would just shake the dust off our feet and leave them alone. We are afraid of hardship and opposition. But Amos and Jesus remained firm in their convictions and ministry. They did not give in to opposition or succumb to threats and false accusations. They were resolute in doing what they had been sent for.
What could be the reason for their fortitude and perseverance? Simply, it was because they were convinced that they were sent by God. They did not choose this. They were sent. The defence of Amos was this, “I was a shepherd, and looked after sycamores: but it was the Lord who took me from herding the flock, and the Lord who said, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.” He could have remained a shepherd and lived a contented life. He was not making money from the Prophetic ministry as suggested by Amaziah when he sneered at him saying, “Go away, seer; get back to the land of Judah; earn your bread there, do your prophesying there.” But since the Lord took him from being a shepherd to his flock of sheep and called him to be a prophet, he could not go against the Lord. He said, “So listen to the word of the Lord.”
Consequently, the confidence with which we serve the Lord and speak the truth is dependent on our own inner conviction of what the Lord is telling us. If we are certain that what we are saying is from the Lord and not from ourselves, we know that it will bear fruit. Clearly, the prophet Amos was not trying to sell his ideas or propagate his ideology, but he was sent to communicate a message from the Lord. It was not about his interests but the good of the nation. This was also the situation of the Lord. He had been called to proclaim the Good News to the poor. Like Jesus, we will speak with the authority of God because we have heard what the Lord wants of us and what He wants us to say. This explains why it is so important that those of us who are preachers, teachers or visionaries must be people of prayer who are very much in contact with the Lord, especially through the Word of God. When we preach or teach from our intellectual knowledge, we cannot go far in changing lives, unless we speak from our inner convictions. Only when we speak in truth and from the Lord, are our words efficacious.
In the gospel, when Jesus told the paralyzed man, “Courage, my child, your sins are forgiven”, the man did not react, unlike the scribes who were scandalized. This was because the paralyzed man knew himself better than others. He was fully aware of his sins and therefore did not deny the fact. In truth, he needed to hear the words of forgiveness desperately. He could not forgive himself and his past, which was the cause of his paralysis. He took the words of Jesus positively. Only the sinner knew how much he needed to let go and to be assured of God’s forgiveness of his sinful past and the many mistakes he had made. It was the truth revealed to him by the Lord that helped him to find healing.
In the final analysis, it is not difficult to distinguish between a false and true prophet. The false prophet speaks from his own interests and he has a hidden agenda of which he might or might not be conscious of, due to the lack of self-awareness. This could spring from fear and selfishness. A true prophet has no ambition and no self-interests. He says what needs to be said because he has heard the message from the Lord. When we become resentful because our plans are not accepted and retaliate in anger, most likely our ego and interests are affected. In the case of Amos, it came to a stage when he had to say the sad truth that repentance was too late because it would be a matter of time when Assyria would conquer Israel and they would be sent into exile. A prophet is sad for those who live in darkness, but he is not reactive.
If we want to be true prophets, let us examine our own motives and be sure that we have prayed deeply so that we can distinguish the voice of God from our own voice. No one can be so presumptuous to say “the Lord says” unless we have heard Him clearly in prayer, contemplation and reflection. The true prophet remains focused and suffers with his people in their sins and the consequences of their folly.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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