20220704 REBUILDING YOUR HOUSE IN THE LORD
04 July, 2022, Monday, 14th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Hosea 2:16,17-18,21-22 © |
I will betroth you to myself and you will come to know the name of the Lord
It is the Lord who speaks:
I am going to lure her
and lead her out into the wilderness
and speak to her heart.
I am going to give her back her vineyards,
and make the Valley of Achor a gateway of hope.
There she will respond to me as she did when she was young,
as she did when she came out of the land of Egypt.
When that day comes – it is the Lord who speaks –
she will call me, ‘My husband’,
no longer will she call me, ‘My Baal.’
I will betroth you to myself for ever,
betroth you with integrity and justice,
with tenderness and love;
I will betroth you to myself with faithfulness,
and you will come to know the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 144(145):2-9 © |
The Lord is kind and full of compassion.
I will bless you day after day
and praise your name for ever.
The Lord is great, highly to be praised,
his greatness cannot be measured.
The Lord is kind and full of compassion.
Age to age shall proclaim your works,
shall declare your mighty deeds,
shall speak of your splendour and glory,
tell the tale of your wonderful works.
The Lord is kind and full of compassion.
They will speak of your terrible deeds,
recount your greatness and might.
They will recall your abundant goodness;
age to age shall ring out your justice.
The Lord is kind and full of compassion.
The Lord is kind and full of compassion,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
How good is the Lord to all,
compassionate to all his creatures.
The Lord is kind and full of compassion.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Jn6:63,68 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.2Tim1:10 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death
and he has proclaimed life through the Good News.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 9:18-26 © |
'Your faith has restored you to health'
While Jesus was speaking, up came one of the officials, who bowed low in front of him and said, ‘My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her and her life will be saved.’ Jesus rose and, with his disciples, followed him. Then from behind him came a woman, who had suffered from a haemorrhage for twelve years, and she touched the fringe of his cloak, for she said to herself, ‘If I can only touch his cloak I shall be well again.’ Jesus turned round and saw her; and he said to her, ‘Courage, my daughter, your faith has restored you to health.’ And from that moment the woman was well again.
When Jesus reached the official’s house and saw the flute-players, with the crowd making a commotion he said, ‘Get out of here; the little girl is not dead, she is asleep.’ And they laughed at him. But when the people had been turned out he went inside and took the little girl by the hand; and she stood up. And the news spread all round the countryside.
REBUILDING YOUR HOUSE IN THE LORD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Hosea 2:16,17-18,21-22; Mt 9:18-26]
In the first reading, the prophet Hosea warned the people of the Northern Kingdom, Israel, of their eventual destruction and ruin because they were unfaithful to the covenant. In the gospel, we read of two persons, one suffering from an incurable illness and another who apparently had already died. What about us? What is the state of the house we are in? Is our personal life in order, or have we messed up our life? Is our relationship with our spouse and family members strong, affirming, empowering and loving? What about the house where we work in, what kind of climate and culture do we live by?
If our lives are in a mess and our house is in ruins, what could be the reasons? Firstly, it is because of the sin of infidelity. Israel abandoned the Covenant and trusted in themselves instead of God, especially during the days of prosperity and success. Often, when we are doing well in life and things seem to be fine, we hardly come to God. We trust more in ourselves and our plans than on God. This was the situation with Israel; their prosperity led them to be unfaithful to God. The temptations of this world, power, lust, money, status, are truly seductive and will make us turn away from God and true love.
Secondly, their house came to be destroyed because they mixed their worship of God with the pagan god of fertility, Baal. They were not true to their beliefs and faith. We too do not give ourselves entirely to our faith. We pick and choose what we want to believe. It is a faith of convenience, that is, so long as it suits me. It is an adulterated faith. When we do not focus on God, we are diverted to other false gods in our lives. This is true of physical adultery as it begins with diverting attention from one object of devotion to another. This is but the first step to sin and adultery. We must realize that adultery is a process. It does happen overnight and often we do not realize what is happening until it is too late. So, too, in our relationship with God! We do not lose faith immediately but the moment we worship false gods, we begin the dangerous process of focusing our devotion to the things of the world and ourselves, blinding us from the truth and a hardening of the heart to sin.
How, then, can we restore our house so that there will be peace and happiness? Firstly, we need to go to the wilderness to find God. This was what happened to Israel. “I am going to lure her and lead her out into the wilderness and speak to her heart. There she will respond to me as she did when she was young, as she did when she came out of the land of Egypt.” Very often, like the Israelites, we forget the good days and the blessings we have received from the Lord until they are taken away. This is true for everything in life. We do not treasure our health until we fall sick. Indeed, it is through suffering, like the Israelites who were exiled, that we begin to come to a deep appreciation of God’s love and kindness for us. This is true for the younger brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son.
So today, we must return to our wilderness so that in the silence of our hearts, freed from all forms of inordinate attachment, we can listen to the voice of God speaking to us. The easiest way is to spend time in prayer daily, contemplating on the Word of God or attend a retreat. Otherwise, the price of not coming to realization of ourselves would be the consequences of our sins. The sufferings that come from our sins are not to be misunderstood as punishment from God, but they are meant to awaken us to the truth of ourselves. Unfortunately, most of us are like the Israelites until we are in exile and in ruins; then we turn to the Lord. This seems to be the case for the woman with haemorrhage and the official. Both were desperate, and they came to Jesus only when everything else failed. For twelve years, she suffered the illness and exhausted all her money to find a cure. For the official, albeit too late, for his daughter had already died.
Secondly, we need to have faith in Jesus. We need to make an act of faith in coming to Jesus for healing. We are told that we will not be disappointed. We are to follow the example of the woman who was considered ‘unclean” because of her menstrual flow and therefore prohibited from mixing with the crowd lest she contaminated others and caused them to be ritually unclean. She was living in shame and isolation. Yet, she took the leap of faith in mixing with the crowd and the courage to touch the fringe of Jesus’ cloak to find a cure. So too the official who came to Jesus to save his daughter’s life. Both the woman and the official placed their faith in Jesus.
What is this faith that we are called to have? It is faith in Jesus as our Saviour. The responsorial psalm assures us that our God is a God of compassion and love. “The Lord is kind and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in love. How good is the Lord to all, compassionate to all his creatures.” God is ever ready to forgive us. Not only to pardon our sins but to restore us to fullness of life. Hence, no matter how much we have strayed away from the Lord, He is ever ready to accept us. God wants to save us, not just to heal us.
Jesus is also our resurrection. The gospel underscores this truth when the evangelist wrote, “Jesus rose and, with his disciples, followed him” and “he went inside and took the little girl by the hand; and she stood up.” Both are symbols of the resurrection. Truly, as the psalmist declares, “Age to age shall proclaim your works, shall declare your mighty deeds, shall speak of your splendour and glory, tell the tale of your wonderful works. They will speak of your terrible deeds, recount your greatness and might. They will recall your abundant goodness; age to age shall ring out your justice.”
In the final analysis, it is the Lord who can strengthen us and restore us by His love. Love is the only healing antidote of life. Hence, the prophet announced, “When that day comes – it is the Lord who speaks – she will call me, “My husband”, no longer will she call me, “My Baal.” I will betroth you to myself for ever, betroth you with integrity and justice, with tenderness and love; I will betroth you to myself with faithfulness, and you will come to know the Lord.” Indeed, this was the case of the prophet Hosea. He was asked to marry an adulterous woman by the name of Gomer. His life with her became the prophetic illustration of the history of Israel’s infidelity to the covenantal relationship with God. His wife was unfaithful, spurned God’s love and turned to false gods. Like God, Hosea remained constant and persistent in his love for her. He never gave up on her. He eventually brought her back by his love. God’s love for us is tender, forgiving, faithful and unchanging. When we know how much God loves us, we will truly be changed and transformed. On that day, we will call God our only spouse, not Baal, which is one of the many gods. How great indeed, was Hosea’s love for his adulterous wife. Let us pray that God’s undying love for us will also heal and transform us.
So let us come to the Lord Jesus. It is never too late. The woman came to Jesus late. The official came to Jesus only after his daughter had died. It was too late in the eyes of the world. But for Jesus, it is never too late. Jesus can make a difference in our lives. He can free us from our sins, our addictions, anger, hatred and wounds. If we feel hopeless, then turn to Jesus, the source of life and love. He will raise us from the dead and do the impossible for us. God can change the impossible, as in the case of the woman who was about to give up, or the mourners who laughed at Jesus as they were sceptical that anything else could be done. Nay, for God nothing is impossible.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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