20220715 A NEW LEASE OF LIFE THROUGH THE MERCY OF GOD
15 July, 2022, Friday, 15th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Isaiah 38:1-6,21-22,7-8 © |
The Lord hears Hezekiah's prayer and heals him
Hezekiah fell ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, ‘The Lord says this, “Put your affairs in order, for you are going to die, you will not live.”’ Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and addressed this prayer to the Lord, ‘Ah, Lord, remember, I beg you, how I have behaved faithfully and with sincerity of heart in your presence and done what is right in your eyes.’ And Hezekiah shed many tears.
Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, ‘Go and say to Hezekiah, “The Lord, the God of David your ancestor, says this: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will cure you: in three days’ time you shall go up to the Temple of the Lord. I will add fifteen years to your life. I will save you from the hands of the king of Assyria, I will protect this city.”’
‘Bring a fig poultice,’ Isaiah said, ‘apply it to the ulcer and he will recover.’ Hezekiah said, ‘What is the sign to tell me that I shall be going up to the Temple of the Lord?’ ‘Here’ Isaiah replied ‘is the sign from the Lord that he will do what he has said. Look, I shall make the shadow cast by the declining sun go back ten steps on the steps of Ahaz.’ And the sun went back the ten steps by which it had declined.
Responsorial Psalm |
Isaiah 38:10-12,16 © |
The canticle of Hezekiah
You have held back my life, O Lord, from the pit of doom.
I said, ‘So I must go away,
my life half spent,
assigned to the world below
for the rest of my years.’
You have held back my life, O Lord, from the pit of doom.
I said, ‘No more shall I see the Lord
in the land of the living,
no more shall I look upon men
within this world.
You have held back my life, O Lord, from the pit of doom.
‘My home is pulled up and removed
like a shepherd’s tent.
Like a weaver you have rolled up my life,
you cut it from the loom.
You have held back my life, O Lord, from the pit of doom.
‘For you, Lord, my heart will live,
you gave me back my spirit;
you cured me, kept me alive,
changed my sickness into health.’
You have held back my life, O Lord, from the pit of doom.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Ps26:11 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Instruct me, Lord, in your way;
on an even path lead me.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn10:27 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 12:1-8 © |
The Son of Man is master of the sabbath
Jesus took a walk one sabbath day through the cornfields. His disciples were hungry and began to pick ears of corn and eat them. The Pharisees noticed it and said to him, ‘Look, your disciples are doing something that is forbidden on the sabbath.’ But he said to them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he and his followers were hungry – how he went into the house of God and how they ate the loaves of offering which neither he nor his followers were allowed to eat, but which were for the priests alone? Or again, have you not read in the Law that on the sabbath day the Temple priests break the sabbath without being blamed for it? Now here, I tell you, is something greater than the Temple. And if you had understood the meaning of the words: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the blameless. For the Son of Man is master of the sabbath.’
A NEW LEASE OF LIFE THROUGH THE MERCY OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [IS 38:1-6,21-22,7-8; MT 12:1-8]
God gave us the commandments so that we can find life. This was what Moses exhorted the people, “Now, Israel, hear the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.'” (Dt 4:1,6) The psalmist says, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” (Ps 119:105)
However, legalism, instead of giving life, destroys life. This was the case with the religious leaders during the time of our Lord. The Pharisees and the Scribes meant well in wanting to observe the Mosaic Law meticulously. They truly believed that observance of the laws would ensure their purity of faith and fidelity to the Lord. In order to keep the Law faithfully, they extrapolated from the Law every situation in which it was to apply concretely. So they formulate laws based on the principles given by Moses and help the people to observe them faithfully. Unfortunately, the strict and rigid interpretation of the Law of Moses with respect to application caused difficulties to those who wished to observe them in spirit, division among those who could and those who could not observe the laws, comparison, and inferiority complex. Indeed, the religious leaders during the time of Jesus interpreted the Law narrowly. Whilst it is not wrong to extrapolate the laws to help the people to apply them to their situation, they often forgot the true intention and spirit of the law. For example, the Sabbath Law was applied in such a way that it detailed exactly the circumstances under which the Law would be broken.
But we can also observe the laws hypocritically. One can manipulate and make use of the loopholes in the laws as the Lord charged them. “You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? You give a tenth of your spices–mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law–justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” (Mt 23:16-24)
This is true in our churches as well. Some of us have a narrow interpretation of the Bible and the Church’s laws, especially the liturgical laws, just like the Pharisees and the Scribes. We discriminate against those who are divorced and worse still, if they are remarried. We lack compassion for those who belong to the LGBTQ community. We can be very strict when it comes to observance of the Church’s laws on fasting, abstinence, fulfilment of the Sunday obligation, and some even on what is considered appropriate dressing. We judge our people on whether they observe the laws, not how much they try to observe the laws, their struggles, and the peculiar predicament they are in. We do not consider their special circumstances and their true desire and love for God. We exclude them simply because they do not meet the full requirements of the law.
But we are also hypocritical because we also try to find loopholes not to observe the laws. We try to find excuses. Although we say we must observe penance on Friday by not eating meat, we would enjoy a sumptuous meal of seafood. Canon lawyers, like the scribes, can try to circumvent the laws or impose them. There is a wide interpretation of the laws and a narrow interpretation, depending on how we want to interpret them. We can be lenient, or we can be strict, so long as the interpretation benefits us. But is that according to the Spirit?
In the understanding of Jesus, the Spirit of the law is clear, our observance of them must give life. The laws are not meant to take away life but to give life. We remember the incident when His enemies were watching closely to see whether he would heal the man with the shrivelled hand. Jesus asked them, “‘Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?’ But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts.” (Mk 3:4f) God comes to give us life.
For this reason, mercy prevails over the strict application of the Law. This is the intent of today’s scripture readings. In the gospel, Jesus underscored that the context of the situation should determine how the Spirit of the Law should be applied accordingly. He substantiated this by using the scriptures. “His disciples were hungry and began to pick ears of corn and eat them. The Pharisees noticed it and said to him, ‘Look, your disciples are doing something that is forbidden on the Sabbath.'” Jesus replied by giving the example of David and his men who were hungry, “how he went into the house of God and how they ate the loaves of offering which neither he nor his followers were allowed to eat, but which were for the priests alone?” (cf 1 Sm 21:1-5) So the law was bent because of a greater need to feed the hungry men. For a greater human need, even the most sacred liturgical laws could be broken because as the Lord citing the prophet Hosea said, “if you had understood the meaning of the words: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the blameless.” (cf Hosea 6:6) This is why the Lord reprimanded the religious leaders for being hypocrites.
At any rate, there are always exceptions in applying the law for the greater good of the community. Jesus provided another example. “Again, have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbath day the Temple priests break the Sabbath without being blamed for it? Now here, I tell you, is something greater than the Temple.” Obviously, the priests had lots of work to do on the Sabbath as they had to prepare the sacrifices, clean the animals, slaughter them and offer them. So someone had to break the law for the greater good of the people, if by breaking the law, it meant doing work. So it is the spirit of the law that counts, not the letter of the law. So too for us priests as well, our busiest day of the week is on Sunday and on Days of Obligation because we have to conduct services for worship, preach the homilies, hear confessions and attend to the needs of the parishioners. In this case, priests have to break the Sabbath Law of rest as well. So too, all those in essential services, like medical personnel and those in charge of public utilities.
In the first reading, we read of how God was merciful to King Hezekiah. He fell ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah said to him, “The Lord says this, ‘Put your affairs in order, for you are going to die, you will not live.’ “Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and addressed this prayer to the Lord, ‘Ah, Lord, remember, I beg you, how I have behaved faithfully and with sincerity of heart in your presence and done what is right in your eyes.’ And Hezekiah shed many tears.” But the Lord heard his sincere prayers and granted him not just a new lease of life but also saved him from the Assyrians. The Lord said, “I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will cure you: in three days’ time you shall go up to the Temple of the Lord. I will add fifteen yours to your life. I will save you from the hands of the king of Assyria, I will protect this city.”‘
We too must follow the way of the Lord. Just as He always gives us an opportunity to start a new life whenever we sin against Him or when we are sick or when we fail in life, we too must be compassionate and merciful to those who are suffering or have limitations in living up to the ideals of the gospel. Compassion and mercy are greater than the mere observance of the laws. This does not mean we compromise the laws. They remain ideals to be attained. But God is full of understanding. He does not expect us to be perfect immediately. Holiness of life is a life-long struggle. We are always sinners and we are always imperfect in observing the laws of God. This is why St Paul makes it clear that we are not justified by the observance of the laws. We are ultimately justified by Christ, His passion, death, and resurrection. God forgives us our sins in Christ for He has paid the debt of our sins. Then as a sign of being forgiven and our gratitude, we observe the laws by His grace.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment