20260807 READY TO FACE JUDGEMENT
07 August 2026, Friday, 18th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Nahum 2:1,3,3:1-3,6-7 |
Israel restored; Nineveh ruined
See, over the mountains the messenger hurries!
‘Peace!’ he proclaims.
Judah, celebrate your feasts,
carry out your vows,
for Belial will never pass through you again;
he is utterly annihilated.
Yes, the Lord is restoring the vineyard of Jacob
and the vineyard of Israel.
For the plunderers had plundered them,
they had broken off their branches.
Woe to the city soaked in blood,
full of lies,
stuffed with booty,
whose plunderings know no end!
The crack of the whip!
The rumble of wheels!
Galloping horse,
jolting chariot,
charging cavalry,
flash of swords,
gleam of spears...
a mass of wounded,
hosts of dead,
countless corpses;
they stumble over the dead.
I am going to pelt you with filth,
shame you, make you a public show.
And all who look on you will turn their backs on you and say,
‘Nineveh is a ruin.’
Could anyone pity her?
Where can I find anyone to comfort her?
Responsorial Psalm |
Deuteronomy 32:35-36,39,41 |
It is the Lord who deals death and life.
It is close, the day of their ruin;
their doom comes at speed.
For the Lord will see his people righted,
he will take pity on his servants.
It is the Lord who deals death and life.
See now that I, I am He,
and beside me there is no other god.
It is I who deal death and life;
when I have struck it is I who heal.
It is the Lord who deals death and life.
When I have whetted my flashing sword
I will take up the cause of Right,
I will give my foes as good again,
I will repay those who hate me.
It is the Lord who deals death and life.
Gospel Acclamation | 1S3:9,Jn6:68 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Speak, Lord, your servant is listening:
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 16:24-28 |
Anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it. What, then, will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins his life? Or what has a man to offer in exchange for his life?
‘For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and, when he does, he will reward each one according to his behaviour. I tell you solemnly, there are some of these standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming with his kingdom.’
READY TO FACE JUDGEMENT
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [NAHUM 2:1-3:7; MT 16:24-28]
The Assyrians were known to be a barbaric people with a cruelty beyond all telling. They were deeply feared, which explains why Jonah did not want to save the inhabitants of Nineveh from destruction: he wanted God to destroy them. Perhaps the repentance of the people was short-lived, and eventually they had to face divine judgment. God would send the Babylonians to overthrow them. Hence, the prophecy: “Woe to the city soaked in blood, full of lies, stuffed with booty, whose plunderings know no end! I am going to pelt you with filth, shame you, make you a public show. And all who look on you will turn their backs on you and say, ‘Nineveh is a ruin.'”
As such, Judah was called to celebrate: “See, over the mountains the messenger hurries! ‘Peace!’ he proclaims. Judah, celebrate your feasts, carry out your vows, for Belial will never pass through you again; he is utterly annihilated. Yes, the Lord is restoring the vineyard of Jacob and the vineyard of Israel. For the plunderers had plundered them, they had broken off their branches.” This was sweet news to Judah because Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, was about to suffer the same fate that she had delivered to the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
Indeed, the message is clear: the Lord is the ultimate master of our history. The Responsorial Psalm reminds us that “It is the Lord who deals death and life.” He will protect His people and bring justice to the world in His time: “It is close, the day of their ruin; their doom comes at speed. For the Lord will see his people righted, he will take pity on his servants. See now that I, I am He, and beside me there is no other god. It is I who deal death and life; when I have struck it is I who heal. When I have whetted my flashing sword I will take up the cause of Right, I will give my foes as good again; I will repay those who hate me.”
In the Gospel, Jesus offers us life and death. He asks, “What, then, will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins his life? Or what has a man to offer in exchange for his life?” We are all seeking life, but the irony is that we often end up in death. This is because we are ignorant of the way to life and do not really understand what true life entails. In other words, we do not know what we should be searching for or how to obtain it. Of course, we can all agree that every person seeks happiness in life.
According to St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), human beings are created with a natural, innate, and insatiable desire to seek happiness.By our very nature, we desire happiness, which is the final end of every human person. However, what most of us seek is temporary, imperfect happiness–such as wealth, power, glory, and pleasure. Such external, worldly things cannot fully satisfy the human heart simply because they do not last. Wealth is only a means to an end; in itself, it cannot give happiness because we cannot eat the gold and money we possess. Power might seem great to have, but in truth, it causes anxiety and creates enemies and competitors around us. Honour, fame, and glory might seem to make us secure, but in reality, these things are fleeting and can be taken away easily because they depend on the perception of others. And finally, pleasure is merely a foretaste of the eternal good.
Consequently, perfect happiness cannot be found in this life through created goods like wealth, power, fame, and pleasure. Perfect happiness is found in God alone. In the final analysis, true happiness consists in returning to our Creator, because only in God is our soul at rest.
Accordingly, Jesus says to His disciples, “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.” This is the paradox of life: we find life when we die to ourselves. To the extent that we are ready to lose our life, we will find it.
The truth is that we are called to be like the grain of wheat that falls into the earth and dies, as the Lord said. Otherwise, it remains “just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour.” (Jn 12:24-26)
To truly live, we must die for a cause–and even more so, for God and for others. Giuseppe Garibaldi was a charismatic Italian general and nationalist who played a vital role in the unification of Italy. He summoned his people to join his revolutionary cause by saying, “He that loves Italy, let him follow me! I promise him hardship… suffering… death. But he that loves Italy, let him follow me!” Only a cause worth dying for is truly worth living for.
Perhaps in today’s world, people have lost their zeal for the perfection of life in terms of truth, beauty, goodness, joy, and compassion. The only remaining zeal is to make more money, enjoy life, go on holidays, and be famous and honoured. When our goals are reduced to the mere mundane things of this world, we become restless and disillusioned. This explains why those who reach the top of the ladder often regret that all their achievements have come to naught; those things failed to fulfil the promise of real and lasting happiness. However, when we love God, we become willing to lay down our lives for Him, because love is what compels us to give up our lives for others.
Truly, the Lord makes it clear that losing one’s life is a small price to pay for eternal life–a life with God. Jesus reminds us that life extends far beyond this world; it would be foolish to think that everything simply ends at death. The truth is that the soul lives on. In the Gospel, Jesus assures us: “‘For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and, when he does, he will reward each one according to his behaviour. I tell you solemnly, there are some of these standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming with his kingdom.”
God will reward us for what we have done, which is why eternal life matters far more than our short, temporary existence in this age. Eternal life is a gift of infinitely greater significance than anything offered to us in this world. If we truly consider the eternal riches that await us, we will seek to be true disciples of Christ.
Being a true disciple of the Lord does not merely mean going to church every Sunday, putting a few dollars in the offertory basket, or observing a set of rituals and laws. Rather, it means being willing to pay the price of discipleship. We are called to follow Christ by taking up our cross. It means losing our life to save it; we cannot have it both ways. Taking up the cross calls for self-sacrifice, self-denial, and spiritual death–nothing less.
To deny ourselves is to enthrone Jesus in our lives and to make ourselves servants of God and of all. It means saying “yes” to God and “no” to self, requiring sacrifice and humble service. We must be willing to abandon personal ambition and choose to serve wherever God needs us, even when the earthly reward is small.
By losing all, we find ourselves. Some people fear that giving up their ambitions for worldly wealth, power, and fame will make their lives mediocre. On the contrary, by risking everything for Christ, we live with passion and purpose. When we are willing to take risks for Him, God reveals greater horizons–a life rich with meaning. We may not enjoy every physical luxury, but we will find love, joy, and meaningful relationships. Our security is not found in material possessions, but in God and in service of others.
When we spend our lives for others, we receive God’s reward and share in His joy. Ultimately, what gives us true joy is belonging to a community where everyone cares for, loves, and serves one another. Happiness, in the final analysis, is having a foretaste of the eternal life we share with God: a life of perfect love and joy. The more we give our lives to Christ, losing ourselves in Him, the more we find true freedom. In doing so, we make a real difference in the lives of others and discover true friendship in Christ. This is a truly blessed life–a life of love, generosity, and genuine fellowship; a life of harmony, both here and hereafter.
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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