20240719 A LIVING FAITH IS ABOUT RIGHT RELATIONSHIPS
19 July 2024, 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 LIVING FAITH IS ABOUT RIGHT RELATIONSHIPS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [IS 38:1-6,21-22,7-8; MT 12:1-8]
What is faith? What does it mean when we say that we have faith? It is primarily concerned with trust and confidence in someone. If that someone is God, then we speak about one’s relationship with God. But faith in God has also much to do with our relationship with our fellowmen as well. Faith in God is a pre-requisite in establishing right relationship with our fellowmen. A man of true faith in God would be in right relationship with his fellowmen because the love of God must be manifested in our love for our brothers and sisters. St James wrote, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.” (Jms 2:14,17f)
In the first reading, we have the faith of Hezekiah. Today’s text comes on the heels of the previous day’s reading when we read of the arrogance of the King of Assyria who claimed all credit to himself and boasted of his might and power. He had no faith in God. In contrast, we have Hezekiah, the King of Judah, who turned to God in faith. He was one of the more faithful kings of Judah, a believer of God, and strived to be faithful to the Covenant. In his illness, he turned to the Lord, when he was told that he would die soon. “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.”
This was not the only time that he turned to God in prayer for help. He would once again turn to God when his country was facing the wrath of Assyria who was about to subdue Judah. Hezekiah prayed, “O Lord the God of Israel, who are enthroned above the cherubim, you are God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. So now, O Lord our God, save us, I pray you, from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone.” (2 Kg 19:15,16,19) And God punished the Assyrians by sending an epidemic that killed many soldiers and they had to return to Assyria. Eventually, the King was murdered by his own sons. (2 Kg 19:35-37)
So, fervent and unqualified faith in the God of Israel saved him from harm. God heard his prayer. Hezekiah appeared to have a deep relationship with God. He prayed and spoke to God like someone who knows the heart of God. He was obedient to the prophet of God in the person of Isaiah. He trusted more in God than the ingenuity and strategy of his army. It is a personal faith. This is expressed so beautifully in the canticle which King Hezekiah prayed. He said, ‘So I must go away, my life half spent, assigned to the world below for the rest of my years.’ 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. 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. For you, Lord, my heart will live, you gave me back my spirit; you cured me, kept me alive, changed my sickness into health.'” Indeed, he said, “You have held back my life, O Lord, from the pit of doom.”
In the gospel, the faith of the Pharisees was a legalistic faith. There was no relationship with God. It had become a professional, theoretical and calculative approach to God. This is a real danger indeed for those of us who are theologians, canon lawyers and church workers. We can become so professional in what we teach and what we do, that our relationship with God can become so distant. We reduce religion to an ideology and a set of rules that we abide in. It is reducible to observance of rituals and customs and obedience to a set of laws. When that happens, religion become a burden imposed on people. This was what the Lord said earlier, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Mt 11:28-30)
Jesus came to set His people free from a religion of rules and observances to one of an authentic relationship with God and our fellowmen. Jesus goes to the heart of religion, which is being one with God and with our fellowmen. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus underscored that God is the Father of all, irrespective of whether we are sinners or not. Jesus urges us to love even our enemies and to pray for them. (cf Mt 5:46-48) Consequently, for Jesus, observance of rituals and the laws must be at the service of mercy and compassion. He said, “if you had understood the meaning of the words: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the blameless.” This is true even when it comes to the observance of the Sabbath Law.
He demonstrated this principle firstly by citing from the incident “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”. The law was bent because of a greater need as they were hungry. Indeed, in the gospel of Mark, Jesus remarked, “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath.” (Mk 2:27) We do not observe the commandments blindly for the sake of keeping them. It is for a greater good. Observance of the Sabbath is of course important as it helps us to keep in mind that God is our creator and we depend on Him for our needs. He is the source of all blessings, and therefore we are called to be stewards of His creation by collaborating with Him; and to use His gifts to glorify Him and for the common good. In the case of the disciples, as Matthew pointed out, they did nothing wrong in the first place by plucking the corns and ate them as they were hungry. The act of picking the ears of corn and eating them could not be considered as work as it was a basic human need. More than that, it was an emergency.
Secondly, Jesus cited another example where a higher duty overrides the Sabbath law. This was the case of the work rendered by the Temple priests. Technically, the priests would have broken the Sabbath law as they had to prepare the sacrifices by slaughtering the animals, preparing them for the sacrifice and putting them at the altar. It was a necessary task to be performed, otherwise how would the people offer worship? It is the same too for us priests who have to “work” on Sundays because this is the day when worshippers turn up for worship. Not only priests, but all those who do essential services on Sundays, whether at church or in the community. Many public services cannot be closed on Sundays, including hospitals, police stations, public utilities, etc. Those who work in essential services are exempted from the Sabbath law although they are required to observe it in some ways or at some other time. The principle is clear: Sabbath is made for man!
Thirdly, the most important argument which surpasses the earlier two examples is rooted in the fact that Jesus, the Son of Man, is the master of the Sabbath. Jesus said, “Now here, I tell you, is something greater than the Temple. For the Son of Man is master of the Sabbath.” In other words, more than just the examples that He cited, Jesus was saying that being the Son of Man, He has authority to change the law or to interpret the law according to His understanding. Being the Lord of the Sabbath, He would have the authority to interpret it rightly and to dispense with the Sabbath regulation as He sees fit. Incidentally, the Church today has the authority also to do the same. Of course, accepting Him as the Lord of the Sabbath is but a veiled recognition of His divinity, which would require humility to accept the plan of God. He said earlier, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (Mt 11:27) In the final analysis, faith is about a right relationship with God and our fellowmen.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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