20220802 REGRETS AND HOPES
02 August, 2022, Tuesday, 18th Week in Ordinary Time
The word addressed to Jeremiah by the Lord: the Lord, the God of Israel says this: Write all the words I have spoken to you in a book.
Yes, the Lord says this:
Your wound is incurable,
your injury past healing.
There is no one to care for your sore,
no medicine to make you well again.
All your lovers have forgotten you,
they look for you no more.
Yes, I have struck you as an enemy strikes,
with harsh punishment
so great is your guilt, so many your sins.
Why bother to complain about your wound?
Your pain is incurable.
So great is your guilt, so many your sins,
that I have done all this to you.
The Lord says this:
Now I will restore the tents of Jacob,
and take pity on his dwellings:
the city shall be rebuilt on its ruins,
the citadel restored on its site.
From them will come thanksgiving
and shouts of joy.
I will make them increase, and not diminish them,
make them honoured, and not disdained.
Their sons shall be as once they were,
their community fixed firm in my presence,
and I will punish all their oppressors.
Their prince will be one of their own,
their ruler come from their own people.
I will let him come freely into my presence
and he can come close to me;
who else, indeed, would risk his life
by coming close to me? – it is the Lord who speaks.
And you shall be my people and I will be your God.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 101(102):16-21,29,22-23 © |
The Lord shall build up Zion again and appear in all his glory.
The nations shall fear the name of the Lord
and all the earth’s kings your glory,
when the Lord shall build up Zion again
and appear in all his glory.
Then he will turn to the prayers of the helpless;
he will not despise their prayers.
The Lord shall build up Zion again and appear in all his glory.
Let this be written for ages to come
that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord;
for the Lord leaned down from his sanctuary on high.
He looked down from heaven to the earth
that he might hear the groans of the prisoners
and free those condemned to die.
The Lord shall build up Zion again and appear in all his glory.
The sons of your servants shall dwell untroubled
and their race shall endure before you
that the name of the Lord may be proclaimed in Zion
and his praise in the heart of Jerusalem,
when peoples and kingdoms are gathered together
to pay their homage to the Lord.
The Lord shall build up Zion again and appear in all his glory.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn8:12 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light of life.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn1:49 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Rabbi, you are the Son of God,
you are the King of Israel.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 14:22-36 © |
Jesus walks on the water
Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he would send the crowds away. After sending the crowds away he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, while the boat, by now far out on the lake, was battling with a heavy sea, for there was a head-wind. In the fourth watch of the night he went towards them, walking on the lake, and when the disciples saw him walking on the lake they were terrified. ‘It is a ghost’ they said, and cried out in fear. But at once Jesus called out to them, saying, ‘Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.’ It was Peter who answered. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘if it is you, tell me to come to you across the water.’ ‘Come’ said Jesus. Then Peter got out of the boat and started walking towards Jesus across the water, but as soon as he felt the force of the wind, he took fright and began to sink. ‘Lord! Save me!’ he cried. Jesus put out his hand at once and held him. ‘Man of little faith,’ he said ‘why did you doubt?’ And as they got into the boat the wind dropped. The men in the boat bowed down before him and said, ‘Truly, you are the Son of God.’
Having made the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret. When the local people recognised him they spread the news through the whole neighbourhood and took all that were sick to him, begging him just to let them touch the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched it were completely cured.
REGRETS AND HOPES
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JER 30:1-2,12-15,18-22; MT 14:22-36]
When we look at our past, we cannot but regret. We regret for the mistakes we have made, the wrong decisions and follies of our life. Sometimes, it is due to our imperfections and lack of wisdom. At times, it is because of our selfishness and sinfulness. Quite often, they are due to fears and anxieties.
As a result, we suffer the consequences of our sins. We must not see them as punishments from God although the first reading presented it in an anthropomorphic manner. Rather, the punishments from God are but the harvest of our sinful and unenlightened actions. “Yes, the Lord says this: Your wound is incurable, your injury past healing. There is no one to care for your sore, no medicine to make you well again. All your lovers have forgotten you; they look for you no more. Yes, I have struck you as an enemy strikes; with harsh punishment (so great is your guilt, so many your sins).”
So we should not push the blame to others, trying to find a scapegoat. “Why bother to complain about your wound. Your pain is incurable. So great is your guilt, so many your sins, that I have done all this to you.” And worst of all, blaming God for our woes. Pushing our mistakes to others will not help us to grow. Instead of confronting our weaknesses and acknowledging them humbly and squarely, we blame others for our mistakes. This is but escapism. We cannot grow and heal ourselves in this manner. So the beginning of growth and new life is when we acknowledge our faults without any excuses and “buts” and “ifs”.
Indeed, as the first reading tells us, God allows us to suffer our mistakes not so much to punish us but to restore us. He cannot rebuild our lives unless we recognize where we have gone wrong. So long as we think others are wrong, then no correction and learning process is possible. The consequences of our sins and the sufferings that come with them are but the expressions of God’s mercy for us in this life on earth to prepare us not just for our future on earth but for eternal life.
Indeed, life is a pedagogy. God is patient, forgiving and always seeking opportunities to rebuild our lives. This is the message of the prophet Jeremiah. Although known as the prophet of doom and bad news, cursed by his countrymen, he was actually a prophet of hope. In these last chapters of Jeremiah, beginning from chapter 29, the prophet began to give the people hope that after their punishment and exile, they would be restored by the Lord. He spoke of the New Covenant that will take place, replacing the Old Covenant, the Laws of Moses written in tablet.
This is what the psalmist declares, “The Lord shall build up Zion again and appear in all his glory. The nations shall fear the name of the Lord and all the earth’s kings your glory, when the Lord shall build up Zion again and appear in all his glory. Then he will turn to the prayers of the helpless; he will not despise their prayers. Let this be written for ages to come that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord; for the Lord leaned down from his sanctuary on high. He looked down from heaven to the earth that he might hear the groans of the prisoners and free those condemned to die.”
Most of all, he foretold the coming of the Messiah who would lead us to the fullness of life and restore our fortunes. “Their prince will be one of their own, their ruler come from their own people. I will let him come freely into my presence and he can come close to me; who else, indeed, would risk his life by coming close to me? – it is the Lord who speaks. And you shall be my people and I will be your God.” Indeed, as it happened, “The sons of your servants shall dwell untroubled and their race shall endure before you that the name of the Lord may be proclaimed in Zion and his praise in the heart of Jerusalem, when peoples and kingdoms are gathered together to pay their homage to the Lord.”
Jesus in the gospel is the fulfilment of this promise of the Messiah who will redeem us and restore the fortunes of Jacob. He has come to enlighten us in our blindness. Unlike the leaders of our times, they were blind. This is what Jesus said, “Leave them alone. They are blind men leading blind men; and if one blind man leads another, both will fall into a pit.”
Indeed, we are called to purify ourselves, to go beyond externals to what really matters. For this reason, Jesus condemned the human tradition of the Pharisees and scribes. They were making life difficult for others but not changing hearts. When questioned, “Why do your disciples break away from the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands when they eat food”, He replied, “Listen and understand. What goes into the mouth does not make a man unclean; it is what comes out of the mouth that makes him unclean.”
So today, let us be honest and courageous. Let us enter into ourselves and face the ugly side in us. Jesus warns us, “Any plant my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.” So let us pray for sincerity and wisdom to admit our faults and begin the process of purification and uprooting all that destroy our happiness and those under our care. Otherwise, we too would be condemned for being blind and leading the blind into the ditch. We must therefore come to Jesus, the Messiah, the Light and the Truth who will lead us to true freedom and liberation.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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