20240807 CONSTANT AND EVERLASTING LOVE
07 August 2024, Wednesday, 18th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Jeremiah 31:1-7 |
You shall be rebuilt, virgin of Israel
I will be the God of all the clans of Israel – it is the Lord who speaks – they shall be my people.
The Lord says this:
They have found pardon in the wilderness,
those who have survived the sword.
Israel is marching to his rest.
The Lord has appeared to him from afar:
I have loved you with an everlasting love,
so I am constant in my affection for you.
I build you once more; you shall be rebuilt,
virgin of Israel.
Adorned once more, and with your tambourines,
you will go out dancing gaily.
You will plant vineyards once more
on the mountains of Samaria
(the planters have done their planting:
they will gather the fruit).
Yes, a day will come when the watchmen shout
on the mountains of Ephraim,
‘Up! Let us go up to Zion,
to the Lord our God!’
For the Lord says this:
Shout with joy for Jacob!
Hail the chief of nations!
Proclaim! Praise! Shout:
‘The Lord has saved his people,
the remnant of Israel!’
Responsorial Psalm |
Jeremiah 31:10-12,13 |
The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
O nations, hear the word of the Lord,
proclaim it to the far-off coasts.
Say: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and guard him as a shepherd guards his flock.’
The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
For the Lord has ransomed Jacob,
has saved him from an overpowering hand.
They will come and shout for joy on Mount Zion,
they will stream to the blessings of the Lord.
The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
Then the young girls will rejoice and will dance,
the men, young and old, will be glad.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console them, give them gladness for grief.
The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
Gospel Acclamation | James1:18 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
By his own choice the Father made us his children
by the message of the truth,
so that we should be a sort of first-fruits
of all that he created.
Alleluia!
Or: | Lk7:16 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
A great prophet has appeared among us;
God has visited his people.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 15:21-28 |
The Canaanite woman debates with Jesus and saves her daughter
Jesus left Gennesaret and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. Then out came a Canaanite woman from that district and started shouting, ‘Sir, Son of David, take pity on me. My daughter is tormented by a devil.’ But he answered her not a word. And his disciples went and pleaded with him. ‘Give her what she wants,’ they said ‘because she is shouting after us.’ He said in reply, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.’ But the woman had come up and was kneeling at his feet. ‘Lord,’ she said ‘help me.’ He replied, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ She retorted, ‘Ah yes, sir; but even house-dogs can eat the scraps that fall from their master’s table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, you have great faith. Let your wish be granted.’ And from that moment her daughter was well again.
CONSTANT AND EVERLASTING LOVE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Jer 31:1-7; Jer 31:10-12,13; Mt 15:21-28]
The first reading from the prophet is most consoling. After all the doom prophesied, there is a change of tone from one of despair to one of hope. Jeremiah might have been labelled a prophet of doom for Judah, but he was certainly not a prophet of despair. He announced the future of Judah to warn them of the consequences for being disobedient to the Lord. He was a true prophet who did not hide the truth from them. But since they refused to listen, their country would be conquered by their enemies and they would be sent into exile. However, this is not the end of the story. Sin and punishment are always followed by mercy and grace. This is the message of Jeremiah, providing hope for the nation.
Indeed, it is very heartening to know that God is always faithful to His people. He never abandons His people even when they abandon Him. This is what the Lord told Jeremiah, “I have loved you with an everlasting love, so I am constant in my affection for you.” God’s love for His people is everlasting. He has never withdrawn or revoked His love for His people, even when the people were unfaithful to the covenant. God’s love is faithful and constant. He never stops loving and caring for His people. But this love of God can also come in a purifying way. If God allowed His people to suffer the consequences of their betrayal, it was not so much to punish them but to awaken them to their folly. As a father, God does not spare the rod and spoil the child, unlike our parents nowadays. When God allows His people to suffer tragedy, it is out of love for them. Indeed, God said, “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my fierce anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and no mortal, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.” (Hos 11:8f)
Once the Israelites recognized their sinfulness and their mistakes, the Lord was more than happy to pardon them and restore their fortunes. For He said, “I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, they shall be my people. The Lord says this: They have found pardon in the wilderness, those who have survived the sword. Israel is marching to his rest.” In their exile in Babylon, God would help them to come to their senses. When the purification was completed, the Lord said, “I build you once more; you shall be rebuilt, virgin of Israel. Adorned once more, and with your tambourines, you will go out dancing gaily. You will plant vineyards once more on the mountains of Samaria (the planters have done their planting; they will gather the fruit). Yes, a day will come when the watchmen shout on the mountains of Ephraim, ‘Up! Let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God!’ For the Lord says this: Shout with joy for Jacob! Hail the chief of nations! Proclaim! Praise! Shout: ‘The Lord has saved his people, the remnant of Israel!'”
Truly, God is the shepherd of Israel, the faithful shepherd. He would gather the divided people together once again. He would turn their sorrows into joy. The psalmist says, “O nations, hear the word of the Lord, proclaim it to the far-off coasts. Say: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, and guard him as a shepherd guards his flock.’ For the Lord has ransomed Jacob, has saved him from an overpowering hand. They will come and shout for joy on Mount Zion, they will throng stream to the blessings of the Lord. Then the young girls will rejoice and will dance, the men, young and old, will be glad. I will turn their mourning into joy, I will console them, give them gladness for grief.”
What about us? Is our love for God everlasting and constant? We know very well that although we do love God, our love for God is weak and never constant. There are times when we feel very much in love with God. There are times when we do not feel His presence and love. There are times when we are excited to proclaim His word and there are times when we lose our zeal to do His work. Indeed, our love for God is not only unpredictable but lacking constancy. If this is true in our relationship with God, it is even more true when it comes to our relationship with our spouse, children, family, and the people we serve. We begin our relationship well but along the way, we are tempted by the world. We seek after our own interests. We forget that we are called to love them and be faithful to them. No wonder, the wisdom of the psalm reminds us, “Do not put your trust in princes,
in mortals, in whom there is no help. When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish. (Ps 146:3f) Indeed, Jeremiah knew that even his own relatives could not be relied on. Hence, he said, “Thus says the Lord: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord. They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.” (Jer 17:5f)
Today, we are called to rely on the love of God, His mercy and compassion. The constant and everlasting love of God must be reciprocated by a constant and everlasting faith. Indeed, we are called to learn from the Canaanite woman. She came to Jesus out of desperation because her daughter was tormented by a devil. In spite of the apparent disinterested reaction of Jesus to her request, she did not stop pleading with Jesus. So much so, the disciples “went and pleaded with him. ‘Give her what she wants,’ they said ‘because she is shouting after us.'” But the sincere reply of our Lord was not because she was an irritant to His peace and solitude but simply because it could compromise or distract Him from His primary mission to “the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” Jesus showed Himself truly to be the Good Shepherd even when His initial reaction was a “No” to her request. His ultimate concern was that He be faithful to His mission and not allow other things to distract Him. He was not easily swayed by popularity, power, glory or attention. Jesus was totally focused on His mission, which was to display God’s everlasting and constant love for Israel even in their infidelity.
But what is also inspiring about this Good Shepherd is that He was not oblivious to the larger mission of saving all the Gentiles. He was open to dialogue, and He had to be certain that He was not doing something perfunctory, without real conversion of those who came to Him for assistance. And so when the Lord said to the woman in jest, “‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ She retorted, ‘Ah, yes, sir, but even house-dogs can eat the scraps that fall from their master’s table.'” With that earnest reply, Jesus knew that this woman’s faith, which was expressed with humility and confidence, deserved an answer. Whilst not yet a proselyte, this woman demonstrated a faith greater than that of His own people. She recognized right from the start that Jesus was the Son of David, a messianic title. She even called him “Lord”, an implicit recognition of His divine authority. Most of all, she never gave up on her faith in the Lord. In spite of initial rejection, she did not give up hope. Her faith was constant, like the love of God for Israel.
Today, we too are called to respond to God’s constant and everlasting love with a constant and persevering faith in Him. We must not lose faith in Him even when we have sinned and turned against Him. We must not ever think that God does not love us anymore. And even when we suffer the consequences of our sins, let us be constant in faith, knowing that God’s wisdom and His plans for us is always the best. We must never give up hope, like Jeremiah in today’s first reading – even when the people rejected his call to repentance. He knew that God’s love, which is constant and everlasting, will see His people through even in apparently hopeless situations. He never doubted that God would not withdraw His love for His people. We too must learn from Jeremiah and from the Canaanite woman when we are in difficult straits. We must cling to His love and mercy. We should just continue to trust in His divine wisdom, and pray for mercy and compassion. When the time is opportune, the Lord will know what to do, and when to respond accordingly. Only such unswerving and persevering faith will help us to be sustained by the constant and everlasting love of God. The Lord will hear our petitions if we never give up hope in Him. He will surprise us with His love and mercy as He did with Israel and with the Canaanite woman whose daughter was healed. With that constant faith in His everlasting love, we will find peace in life.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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