20220818 RESTORING THE HOLINESS OF HIS NAME
18 August, 2022, Thursday, 20th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Ezekiel 36:23-28 © |
I will remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh
The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows: ‘I mean to display the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. And the nations will learn that I am the Lord – it is the Lord who speaks – when I display my holiness for your sake before their eyes. Then I am going to take you from among the nations and gather you together from all the foreign countries, and bring you home to your own land. I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed; I shall cleanse you of all your defilement and all your idols. I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead. I shall put my spirit in you, and make you keep my laws and sincerely respect my observances. You will live in the land which I gave your ancestors. You shall be my people and I will be your God.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 50(51):12-15,18-19 © |
I shall pour clean water over you and all your sins will be washed away.
A pure heart create for me, O God,
put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
nor deprive me of your holy spirit.
I shall pour clean water over you and all your sins will be washed away.
Give me again the joy of your help;
with a spirit of fervour sustain me,
that I may teach transgressors your ways
and sinners may return to you.
I shall pour clean water over you and all your sins will be washed away.
For in sacrifice you take no delight,
burnt offering from me you would refuse,
my sacrifice, a contrite spirit.
A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.
I shall pour clean water over you and all your sins will be washed away.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:27 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Make me grasp the way of your precepts,
and I will muse on your wonders.
Alleluia!
Or: | Ps94:8 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 22:1-14 © |
Invite everyone you can to the wedding
Jesus began to speak to the chief priests and elders of the people in parables: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son’s wedding. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. Next he sent some more servants. “Tell those who have been invited” he said “that I have my banquet all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding.” But they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. The king was furious. He despatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town. Then he said to his servants, “The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, go to the crossroads in the town and invite everyone you can find to the wedding.” So these servants went out on to the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests. When the king came in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment, and said to him, “How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?” And the man was silent. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’
RESTORING THE HOLINESS OF HIS NAME
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [EZEKIEL 36:23-28; MATTHEW 22:1-14]
In the first reading, we read how Israel had brought dishonour to the name of the Lord by their infidelity to the covenant. Israel was called to be the people of God. They were to demonstrate to people how wise and great their God was. Moses told the people, “You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!’ For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to him? And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?” (Dt 4:6-8) But they did not keep the laws and therefore brought disrepute to the God of Israel. As a consequence, the glory of the Lord left the Temple since the people did not honour Him from their hearts. (Ezk 10-12)
In other words, they profaned the holiness of His name. The Lord said, “I mean to display the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. And the nations will learn that I am the Lord – it is the Lord who speaks – when I display my holiness for your sake before their eyes.” Protecting one’s name is very important because the name signifies the person, his integrity, his identity, and his work. This is why in the scriptures, the choice of one’s name is important because it spells out the identity and the mission of the person. When Abram and Peter were given a new office or a new role, they were also given a new name. So too when it comes to the holiness of God’s name.
In the Lord’s Prayer, one of the petitions is to keep the name of the Lord holy. How does one keep His name holy? Isn’t God’s name already holy? It is but because we are created in His image and likeness, and because we call Him, “Our Father”, then as His children, we must reflect His holiness as well. In other words, we must live a life of integrity, a life of compassion, a life of charity reflecting the mercy, compassion, and goodness of God. The Israelites dishonoured His name because they were not living out the covenanted life according to the commandments. Instead, they oppressed their fellowmen, cheated them, and paid lip service to God in worship. As a consequence, the morale of the people was low, and they were divided and hence too powerless to resist the attacks of their enemies.
In the gospel, the Lord told us the parable of the wedding banquet. Again, this parable speaks of our responsibility to give honour to God’s name. He said, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son’s wedding. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. Next he sent some more servants.” Although this parable is not an allegory, nevertheless there are some hints of who the characters represent in the story. The King in this instance refers to God Himself who is inviting us to Jesus’ His Son’s wedding with Israel, the People of God. Jesus is the bridegroom and God’s people His bride.
This parable was addressed to the chief priests and the elders, and they were the invited guests who refused to come for the wedding feast. All of them had their reasons for not coming to the wedding banquet. And apparently, they all had good reasons. “One went off to his farm, another to his business.” In the gospel of Luke, he delineated the reasons. “The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.'” (Lk 14:18-20) So they were busy with their duties and responsibilities. Doing their task and fulfilling their responsibility was more important than making themselves available to the Lord or celebrating the joy of the Lord. In refusing the invites, they insulted the dignity of the king which is tantamount to ignoring the dignity of God. They made light the invitation of God in spite of His persistence in sending His servants to persuade them to come.
We too, in spite of the exhortations of the need to repent and come to the Lord and share intimacy with Him, many of us reject the call of God to repentance and intimacy. We place our concerns, even if they are valid, above the call of our Lord. We do not know our priorities. So long as God does not come first in our lives, we have not honoured His Holy Name. This is why the petition, “Holy be your name” is followed by “Your kingdom come, your will be done.” Only when we seek to do His will, can we be said to have kept His name holy. This means putting God and His will in the first place in our lives. Even valid human concerns and mundane needs must not take priority over our relationship with God.
Worst still, when we reject God’s invitation outright as the political and religious leaders of Israel did. We are told, “the rest seized his servants, maltreated them, and killed them.” This is even more serious and warrants grave consequences for rejecting God’s prophets and particularly, His only Son, the Word of God in person. When we reject God’s servants and His word, we will ultimately pay the price of our ignorance, arrogance, and pride. This was what St Paul warned us in his letter to the Romans. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.” (Rom 1:18f) Hence, the parable said, “The king was furious. He dispatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town.”
Yet, there is also another group that accepted the invitation of the Lord but did not respect Him by not observing the requirements and commitments that came with the invitation. “So these servants went out onto the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests. When the king came in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment, and said to him, ‘How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?'” When we take our Christian commitment too lightly, just coming for the Eucharist without preparing and purifying our hearts and minds, we will not gain anything by receiving it. When we are baptized without a firm foundation and knowledge of our faith and without continuing to deepen our faith in Christ, we are like the man without the wedding garment. We take our baptism as an external garment without a real change in our hearts and lives. In fact, we become counter-witnesses to the gospel through our bad behaviour. We scandalize others and weaken their faith because of our bad examples. “Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth,’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” Complacency in our faith will lead us to lose our faith eventually.
Indeed, the Lord would not allow His name to be profaned for long. He would show forth the power of His arms. He would not allow the pagans to think that the God of Israel was a puny god and a weakling less powerful than the gods of the neighbouring countries. It is for this reason, that the Lord said, “And the nations will learn that I am the Lord – it is the Lord who speaks – when I display my holiness for your sake before their eyes.” The Lord wanted to restore His name, His sovereignty and power, otherwise other nations might think that the Lord is not the almighty God. How does the Lord do this if not by making use of the King of Persia, Emperor Cyrus the Great who defeated the Babylonians in 539 BC and then allowed the Jewish captives to return to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple? (Ezra 1:1-4)
This is what Ezekiel prophesied, “I am going to take you from among the nations and gather you together from all the foreign countries and bring you home to your own land.” Not only would they return to their homeland, God would renew them and give them a new heart and a new spirit. He would forgive their sins and allow them to repent and return to grace. He said, “I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed; I shall cleanse you of all your defilement and all your idols. I shall give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead. I shall put my spirit in you, and make you keep my laws and sincerely respect my observances. You will live in the land which I gave your ancestors. You shall be my people and I will be your God.” This was the promise of God to the people of Israel. Indeed, with the return of the exiles, He showed Himself to be the Lord and God. We must pray anew for the Holy Spirit.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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