20260727 PROTECTING OUR RELATIONSHIPS
27 July 2026, Monday, 17th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Jeremiah 13:1-11 |
Let this evil people become good for nothing
The Lord said this to me, ‘Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it round your waist. But do not dip it in water.’ And so, as the Lord had ordered, I bought a loincloth and put it round my waist. A second time the word of the Lord was spoken to me, ‘Take the loincloth that you have bought and are wearing round your waist; up! Go to the Euphrates and hide it in a hole in the rock.’ So I went and hid it near the Euphrates as the Lord had ordered me. Many days afterwards the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go to the Euphrates and fetch the loincloth I ordered you to hide there.’ So I went to the Euphrates, and I searched, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. The loincloth was spoilt, good for nothing. Then the word of the Lord was addressed to me, ‘Thus says the Lord: In the same way I will spoil the arrogance of Judah and Jerusalem. This evil people who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the dictates of their own hard hearts, who have followed alien gods, and served them and worshipped them, let them become like this loincloth, good for nothing. For just as a loincloth clings to a man’s waist, so I had intended the whole House of Judah to cling to me – it is the Lord who speaks – to be my people, my glory, my honour and my boast. But they have not listened.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Deuteronomy 32:18-21 |
You forget the God who fathered you.
You forget the Rock who begot you,
unmindful now of the God who fathered you.
The Lord has seen this, and in his anger
cast off his sons and his daughters.
You forget the God who fathered you.
‘I shall hide my face from them,’ he says
‘and see what becomes of them.
For they are a deceitful brood,
children with no loyalty in them.
You forget the God who fathered you.
‘They have roused me to jealousy with what is no god,
they have angered me with their beings of nothing;
I, then, will rouse them to jealousy with what is no people,
I will anger them with an empty-headed nation.’
You forget the God who fathered you.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.2Th2:14 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Through the Good News God called us
to share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 13:31-35 |
The smallest of all seeds grows into the biggest shrub of all
Jesus put a parable before the crowds: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the biggest shrub of all and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and shelter in its branches.’
He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it was leavened all through.’
In all this Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables; indeed, he would never speak to them except in parables. This was to fulfil the prophecy:
I will speak to you in parables
and expound things hidden since the foundation of the world.
PROTECTING OUR RELATIONSHIPS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JER 13:1-11; DT 32:18-21; MT 13:31-35]
Although we so often hear of betrayals or breakdowns in relationships, we rarely seem to learn from our own mistakes or the mistakes of others. Relationships turn sour and sometimes lead to betrayal because we fail to protect and nurture what we have built. They often begin well, flourishing and deepening until a couple celebrates their bond in marriage or friends build a deep intimacy. Yet, when we look back on our failed relationships, we are left wondering how something so beautiful could turn into hatred and anger.
The answer is simple: we allow external forces to creep in. We fail to stay alert to the temptations around us. The Devil tempts us toward infidelity and complacency. Most of the time, it begins with complacency — taking our friends, spouse, children, or colleagues for granted. When we grow indifferent, we become insensitive to each other’s feelings and needs. This is why many relationships that were once passionate during courtship lose their spark after marriage; we presume that because we are bound by a vow, the relationship is guaranteed and our partner will never leave. While it may be true in some cases that a partner stays, they may no longer know us deeply enough to feel connected or supported.
This is precisely what happened to the Israelites during the time of Jeremiah. God loved Israel as His own, but Israel took her special relationship with Him for granted. Israel was the bride of God — chosen among all nations to enjoy unique intimacy with Him. This intimacy is vividly expressed in Jeremiah’s prophetic action when the Lord told him: “Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it round your waist. But do not dip it in water.” The loincloth worn around the waist was the most intimate piece of clothing, as it touched the body directly and protected its most private parts. God was illustrating that Israel was as close to Him as a loincloth is to the body: “For just as a loincloth clings to a man’s waist, so I had intended the whole House of Judah to cling to me — it is the Lord who speaks — to be my people, my glory, my honour and my boast.”
Alas, “they have not listened.” Instead of preserving the purity of this bond, they tainted it with infidelity, pagan worship, oppression, and dishonesty. Hence, the Lord instructed Jeremiah to act out their sin: “Take the loincloth that you have bought and are wearing round your waist; up! Go to the Euphrates and hide it in a hole in the rock.” After some time, the Lord sent Jeremiah back to retrieve it: “I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. The loincloth was spoilt, good for nothing.” Then came God’s judgment: “In the same way I will spoil the arrogance of Judah and Jerusalem. This evil people who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the dictates of their own hard hearts, who have followed alien gods, and served them and worshipped them, let them become like this loincloth, good for nothing.”
The parable of the leaven in the Gospel serves as a fitting reminder of how we ought to nurture our relationships with others and with God. In Scripture, yeast (or leaven) represents growth and acts as a catalyst. In itself, yeast is neutral — it can be used for good or for evil. Therefore, we must ask ourselves: what kind of yeast are we?
Are we the yeast of malice and evil, as St. Paul warns? “Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Cor 5:6-8). Jesus similarly cautions His disciples: “Watch out — beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” (Mk 8:15). What was this yeast? The pride of the Pharisees blinded them to the truth of Jesus’ teaching, while Herod’s fear of Rome prevented him from recognising Jesus as the Messiah.
In other words, we must be careful not to let evil take root in our hearts. When we allow sin to linger, it grows like a cancer, eventually making us blind and numb to our wrongdoing. Like yeast, a tiny amount is enough to wreak havoc on our lives. A single moment of weakness toward sexual temptation or infidelity can ruin a marriage. Sin and unbelief start small, but they quickly gather strength. Through our indifference, neglect, and complacency, we expose our relationships to the worldly temptations of money, power, and short-term pleasure. In the pursuit of these distractions, we forget our commitment to our loved ones. We forget the need to keep in touch, to communicate not just what’s on our mind, but what’s in our heart as well. When secondary things take priority, relationships inevitably grow cold and distant.
This is equally true of our relationship with God. We also take for granted our relationship with God. Newly baptised Christians, still fresh from the holy oils, often lose their fervour because they assume their salvation is automatically secure. Likewise, Catholics who experience a powerful retreat or mystical encounter may feel on top of the world spiritually, yet lose their faith over time because they neglect prayer, Scripture, the Sacraments, and Christian fellowship. They fail to activate the leaven of God’s grace given to them at baptism.
Fortunately, it is never too late to turn things around. Great things start small, just like the mustard seed. Jesus said: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it is grown it is the biggest shrub of all and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and shelter in its branches.”
We can take baby steps toward rekindling our relationships. If you feel distant from your spouse, children, or colleagues, take intentional action: send a thoughtful message, check in on their day, share a meal, watch a show together, or plan a holiday together. Even better, pray and worship together, encountering Jesus as a family. Just be patient and avoid rushing or overwhelming them.
Nevertheless, we should also be patient. Sometimes we do not seem to get the response we want; it takes time for people to warm up to us. We must not get demoralised and give up easily. When we think that things are not moving, they are actually changing, because nothing ever remains the same.
Indeed, this parable was told to the disciples because they were afraid: Uneducated as they were, how could they help Jesus extend the kingdom of God? This parable helps them see things in perspective. At the end of the day, we only have to do our part and leave the rest to God.
Eventually, by God’s grace — like the mustard seed — we will blossom beyond our expectations. Not only do we grow in our relationship with our loved ones, but we also share the love and joy we have with those outside our circle. We become like the mustard tree: a place where others can find rest in our homes, offices, and communities.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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