Scripture Reflection and Prayer : Journeying together

Sunday, 4 July 2021

IMPERFECT FAITH IS PERFECTED BY GRACE

20210705 IMPERFECT FAITH IS PERFECTED BY GRACE

05 July, 2021, Monday, 14th Week, Ordinary Time

First reading

Genesis 28:10-22 ©

Jacob's dream of the ladder at Bethel

Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he had reached a certain place he passed the night there, since the sun had set. Taking one of the stones to be found at that place, he made it his pillow and lay down where he was. He had a dream: a ladder was there, standing on the ground with its top reaching to heaven; and there were angels of God going up it and coming down. And the Lord was there, standing over him, saying, ‘I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. I will give to you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants shall be like the specks of dust on the ground; you shall spread to the west and the east, to the north and the south, and all the tribes of the earth shall bless themselves by you and your descendants.

‘Be sure that I am with you; I will keep you safe wherever you go, and bring you back to this land, for I will not desert you before I have done all that I have promised you.’

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Truly, the Lord is in this place and I never knew it!’ He was afraid and said, ‘How awe-inspiring this place is! This is nothing less than a house of God; this is the gate of heaven!’ Rising early in the morning, Jacob took the stone he had used for his pillow, and set it up as a monument, pouring oil over the top of it. He named the place Bethel, but before that the town was called Luz.

Jacob made this vow, ‘If God goes with me and keeps me safe on this journey I am making, if he gives me bread to eat and clothes to wear, and if I return home safely to my father, then the Lord shall be my God. This stone I have set up as a monument shall be a house of God.’

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 90(91):1-4,14-15 ©

My God, in you I trust.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

and abides in the shade of the Almighty

says to the Lord: ‘My refuge,

my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!’

My God, in you I trust.

It is he who will free you from the snare

of the fowler who seeks to destroy you;

he will conceal you with his pinions

and under his wings you will find refuge.

My God, in you I trust.

Since he clings to me in love, I will free him;

protect him for he knows my name.

When he calls I shall answer: ‘I am with you,’

I will save him in distress.

My God, in you I trust.

Gospel Acclamation

cf.Jn6:63,68

Alleluia, alleluia!

Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;

you have the message of eternal life.

Alleluia!

Or:

cf.2Tim1:10

Alleluia, alleluia!

Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death

and he has proclaimed life through the Good News.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 9:18-26 ©

'Your faith has restored you to health'

While Jesus was speaking, up came one of the officials, who bowed low in front of him and said, ‘My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her and her life will be saved.’ Jesus rose and, with his disciples, followed him. Then from behind him came a woman, who had suffered from a haemorrhage for twelve years, and she touched the fringe of his cloak, for she said to herself, ‘If I can only touch his cloak I shall be well again.’ Jesus turned round and saw her; and he said to her, ‘Courage, my daughter, your faith has restored you to health.’ And from that moment the woman was well again.

When Jesus reached the official’s house and saw the flute-players, with the crowd making a commotion he said, ‘Get out of here; the little girl is not dead, she is asleep.’ And they laughed at him. But when the people had been turned out he went inside and took the little girl by the hand; and she stood up. And the news spread all round the countryside.

IMPERFECT FAITH IS PERFECTED BY GRACE

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Gn 28:10-22; Ps 91:1-4,14-15; Mt 9:18-26 ]

In the first reading, Jacob was running away from Esau for fear of his life. He had cheated his brother of his birthright. He was told by his mother to go to his kinsfolk in Haran to seek refuge till his brother could forgive him. Haran was about 900km from Beersheba. It was a long and risky journey, and he would be alone without anyone to accompany him. All his hopes of the promise of land and descendants and wealth were dashed. And yet, in spite of his deceitfulness, God was merciful to Jacob. Such is the graciousness of God.

God did not abandon him without any support. In His kindness, God appeared to him in a dream. And in the dream, God renewed His promises to him and his Fathers. The Lord standing over him said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. I will give to you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants shall be like the specks of dust on the ground. Be sure that I am with you; I will keep you safe wherever you go, and bring you back to this land, for I will not desert you before I have done all that I have promised you.” This is pure grace. God continued to protect Jacob even though he did wrong. He did not deserve God’s divine protection. But God is faithful to His promises.

Indeed, the faith of Jacob was far from perfect. He still had much to learn about what it meant to trust in God completely. The mystical experience of God’s revelation of His presence and support for him was just the beginning of his faith formation. In his gratitude, he renamed the place Bethel, which means the house of God, the gate of heaven. After erecting the shrine in His honour, he unilaterally made a vow. “If God goes with me and keeps me safe on this journey I am making, if he gives me bread to eat and clothes to wear, and if I return home safely to my father, then the Lord shall be my God. This stone I have set up as a monument shall be a house of God.” Again, we see how imperfect his faith in God was. In spite of the religious experience he just had, he was still unsure and not ready to surrender himself without conditions for the Lord. He placed conditions for God before he would submit himself completely to Him. Of course, no one can set conditions for God to love him or be faithful to him. God’s love for us is freely given without conditions.

This story shows us the patience of God and His willingness to accept the imperfect faith of Jacob and all of us. There are many people in the world, even Catholics, who place conditions for God before they would worship Him, trust Him or give donations to the Church or help the poor. Their prayers are similar to Jacob’s. If God grants them their petitions, then they will return the favour by going for Church services, read the bible more often, give to the Church or the poor. But if God does not grant them their petitions, they would give up on Him and maybe turn to other gods or deities, or just rely on themselves. We think we can threaten God by our refusal to honour Him or help the poor. We fail to realize that all we have come from Him and not from ourselves. Yet, God is willing to wait for us to grow and mature in our faith.

This same theme is also illustrated in today’s two healing miracles in the gospel. The first was the imperfect motive of the Synagogue Official. He came to Jesus, “bowed low in front of him and said, ‘My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her and her life will be saved.’ Jesus rose and, with his disciples, followed him.” The Synagogue ruler was someone who had full authority in administering the Synagogue. He was elected by the elders and therefore presumably someone who was strict in observing the laws and customs of Moses. He was a strict orthodox Jew and who would not compromise anything. The Jewish officials were against Jesus and saw Him as a deviant and had nothing to do with Him.

But in his desperation, all doctrines of faith and the laws did not matter anymore. In the face of a concrete and desperate need, we do not debate with words and beautiful theology. We need God to help us in that dire situation. This is why those who sit in the comfort of their arm chairs can speculate and intellectualize many lofty thoughts about God, or justify that God does not exist, etc. I am reminded of a monk who was a great professor and an erudite thinker. He did not believe in evil spirits and argued why evil spirits cannot exist, until he himself saw one! So, too, for this synagogue official, coming to Jesus in all humility was his last resort. Regardless of his opinions and rejection of what Jesus taught, he knew that only Jesus could save his daughter. So swallowing his pride, he came to the Lord, worshipped Him and asked for help.

Again, we see the graciousness of our Lord. He could have rejected his request, after all, he and his fellow officials had never been nice to Him. They had been slandering Him and making people go against Him. But Jesus was not a petty person. The Lord put aside all these personal hurts and focused on the sorrow and grief of the father. Jesus identified Himself with his loss and immediately, without question or delay, followed him to his house to save the daughter. Unlike our Lord, how many of us would bear grudges against those who have done us wrong? Few of us would help those who have hurt us deeply. But Jesus was gracious in helping someone who came from a selfish or defective motive. Jesus would save his daughter, regardless how he and the other officials had treated Him previously.

Then there was the case of the woman suffering “from a hemorrhage for twelve years.” She, too, was desperate due to a blood disorder that caused her to be unclean. It was not just a physical and medical inconvenience but it had religious and social repercussions. She was not able to enter the Temple for worship because the law forbade a woman who was menstruating to do so as she was considered unclean. (Lev 15:19-30) Everything she touched would also be made unclean and hence she had to stay away from people, lest they too would be contaminated by her. But most of all, she would not have security in her life for she would not be able to marry and have children and even if she were married, the man would have divorced her. Without any children or husband, who would look after her in her old age? This was why a woman who was childless or barren was despised by society and seen as a curse.

In her shame and embarrassment, she dared not approach Jesus directly. Instead, in a superstitious manner, “she touched the fringe of his cloak, for she said to herself, ‘If I can only touch his cloak I shall be well again.'” This might appear to us as rather superstitious, just as some people seek healing by touching the relics of saints or blessed medals especially by holy people, or even statues, etc. In truth, even if one’s faith was inadequate or deficient, the Lord does not penalize us. He allows us to touch Him through sacramentals so that we can feel His love and power. So long as we do not believe that the sacramental itself has saving and healing power, but merely a tangible means for the Lord to heal us, this is not considered superstition. This is why when we pray over people, we pray aloud using words and extend our hands over them so that we can mediate God’s love and power. This was certainly the case for the woman. “Jesus turned round and saw her; and he said to her, ‘Courage, my daughter, your faith has restored you to health.’ And from that moment the woman was well again.” Indeed, whether we have imperfect faith or inadequate motives, the Lord heals us.

Truly, we must not delimit the power of God to act and to save. He is our healer and He can restore us to life. Everything is pure grace alone and God has the power to do everything. It does not mean that God will give us what we want only if we observe all the laws. Merits are expressions of our love for God and gratitude for Him, not conditions to receive God’s favour. Rather, we are called to exercise faith in Him just like the synagogue official and the woman suffering from hemorrhage. But even if our faith is weak, all we need to do is to imitate the father whose child was suffering from epilepsy. He said to Jesus, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mk 9:24) Indeed, we pray, “My God, in you I trust.”

THE MEASURE OF SUCCESS

20210704 THE MEASURE OF SUCCESS

04 July, 2021, Sunday, 14th Week, Ordinary Time

First reading

Ezekiel 2:2-5 ©

These rebels shall know that there is a prophet among them

The spirit came into me and made me stand up, and I heard the Lord speaking to me. He said, ‘Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to the rebels who have turned against me. Till now they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me. The sons are defiant and obstinate; I am sending you to them, to say, “The Lord says this.” Whether they listen or not, this set of rebels shall know there is a prophet among them.’

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 122(123) ©

Our eyes are on the Lord till he shows us his mercy.

To you have I lifted up my eyes,

you who dwell in the heavens;

my eyes, like the eyes of slaves

on the hand of their lords.

Our eyes are on the Lord till he shows us his mercy.

Like the eyes of a servant

on the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes are on the Lord our God

till he show us his mercy.

Our eyes are on the Lord till he shows us his mercy.

Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.

We are filled with contempt.

Indeed all too full is our soul

with the scorn of the rich,

with the proud man’s disdain.

Our eyes are on the Lord till he shows us his mercy.

Second reading

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 ©

The Lord's power is at its best in weakness

In view of the extraordinary nature of these revelations, to stop me from getting too proud I was given a thorn in the flesh, an angel of Satan to beat me and stop me from getting too proud! About this thing, I have pleaded with the Lord three times for it to leave me, but he has said, ‘My grace is enough for you: my power is at its best in weakness.’ So I shall be very happy to make my weaknesses my special boast so that the power of Christ may stay over me, and that is why I am quite content with my weaknesses, and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and the agonies I go through for Christ’s sake. For it is when I am weak that I am strong.

Gospel Acclamation

Jn1:14,12

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Word was made flesh and lived among us:

to all who did accept him

he gave power to become children of God.

Alleluia!

Or:

Lk4:18

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Lord has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,

to proclaim liberty to captives.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Mark 6:1-6 ©

'A prophet is only despised in his own country'

Jesus went to his home town and his disciples accompanied him. With the coming of the sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue and most of them were astonished when they heard him. They said, ‘Where did the man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been granted him, and these miracles that are worked through him? This is the carpenter, surely, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joset and Jude and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here with us?’ And they would not accept him. And Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is only despised in his own country, among his own relations and in his own house’; and he could work no miracle there, though he cured a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.

THE MEASURE OF SUCCESS

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Ezk 2:2-5; Ps 123:1-5; 2 Cor 12:7-10; Mk 6:1-6]

How do we measure success in our life? The world measures success by KPIs, that is, Key Performance Indicators. The measurement of success in the world today is basically external observable indicators, such as size of membership, funds generated, impact on humanity and the laurels given by the world. Public image, perception and impression is what moves the world today. Today, people unashamedly boast of their achievements, their talents, their academic degrees and their contacts with influential persons to gain credibility and confidence.

That was the context of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. Today’s reading is the conclusion of Paul’s letter in his defence against the criticisms of the “super-apostles” who challenged his authority as an apostle of Christ. The “super-apostles” denigrated Paul for lacking the qualifications to be an apostle because he did not measure up to the standards of the world. (2 Cor 11:18) They claimed that he lacked competency, training and he was not eloquent enough. (2 Cor 11:5f) Similarly, Jesus was also rejected in today’s gospel because he was perceived only to be the son of a carpenter. His townsfolk said, “Where did the man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been granted him, and these miracles that are worked through him? This is the carpenter, surely, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joset and Jude and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here with us?’ And they would not accept him.” Although they admitted that he could preach well, was knowledgeable and able to perform miracles, yet they could not accept Him.

The Lord said, “A prophet is only despised in his own country, among his own relations and in his own house.” As a consequence, because of the people’s lack of reception to the gospel, “he could work no miracle there, though he cured a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.” This was equally true of the Prophet Ezekiel in today’s first reading. The Lord sent him on a mission and yet, at the same time, He held no secret from him on what the outcome would be, a failure! “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to the rebels who have turned against me. Till now they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me. The sons are defiant and obstinate; I am sending you to them to say, “The Lord says this”. Whether they listen or not, this set of rebels shall know there is a prophet among them.'” It is not insignificant that Jesus identified Himself too as the Son of Man.

Does it mean, therefore, that Paul, Ezekiel and our Lord were failures in their mission? If we measure according to the standards of the world using KPIs, they would be deemed to be failures. The Christians in Corinth were not an easy community to rein in. They were rich, talented and endowed with the gifts of the Spirit. But they were divisive, competitive, judgmental, claiming superiority of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, taking law suits against each other, and compromising the values of the gospel with sexual immorality and idolatry. Ezekiel was sent to a rebellious people who rejected his call to conversion. They were disloyal to the Covenant. Their transgression lies in their rejection of God’s sovereignty over them. They did not like the message of Ezekiel and remained defiant, stubborn, refusing to listen. His message rebuking their lifestyle and prophecy of destruction were unwelcomed because it demanded change. So, too, was Jesus a failure. The rejection of Jesus at the beginning of His ministry only foreshadowed the eventual rejection by His own people at the end of His ministry. No matter what Jesus said and did, the authorities and the people were blind to His call to repentance and faith in Him. As St John poignantly wrote, He was in the world, “He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.” (Jn 1:11)

But isn’t this the way we also measure success in the ministry and in the work of evangelization as well? What are the KPIs we use to measure effectiveness in our ministry and mission? We use the same ones that the world uses. If that is the way we measure success, then we must say that our early missionaries were failures, like the prophets and Jesus. They only sowed the seed of faith. The Catholic Church has taken 2000 years to arrive at where we are today. Christianity began to grow only in 315 AD, after the conversion of Emperor Constantine. We are just like the Mustard Seed that Jesus spoke about in the gospel. (Mt 13:31f) The seed of faith we sow today will only bear fruits many years down the road. We will never know the outcome of the part we play today when sowing the seed of faith.

Ezekiel, St Paul and our Lord are our models of what in the eyes of the world were seen as failures. They challenged the notion of what success in ministry and mission really means. Success does not always mean just because the church is larger, the members are greater, the crowds are bigger, conversions are taking place. The argument for this form of accountability is that we measure success by the fruits or the harvest we have. Ezekiel was a failure as the people were unresponsive in his time. So too in many instances, St Paul’s outreach to the Jews was unsuccessful most of the time. Jesus ended His mission by being crucified on the cross. So what can we learn from them?

The intangible work of God is beyond human calculation. St Paul wrote, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” (1 Cor 3:6f) To measure success according to the standards of the world implies that success is basically due to our hard work, ingenuity, techniques and skills, as if we can change the hearts of people without the need for the Holy Spirit to open their minds and hearts. Indeed, even in preaching, the best preachers might draw crowds but it does not mean that there is conversion of hearts and souls. Sometimes, just a simple and sincere homily can touch the lives of people without the awareness of the preacher.

Success in God’s eyes, is our fidelity to Him. The primary goal of ministry is to give glory to the Father, just as Jesus did in His entire life. Success is the work of the Holy Spirit. Our task is to be faithful to our calling. Obedience to His call is how we define success. That does not mean to say that failure is always the desire of God in our ministry. We have to make sure that we are not the ones who put obstacles by the way we communicate our message or the way we live our lives. St Paul wrote, “We are putting no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute.” (2 Cor 6:3-8)

Indeed, as St Paul wrote today, God is not constrained by our weaknesses. He can, if He chooses, make use of us for His greater glory even when we are incompetent or lack creativity. We can only do our best and leave the results to God. Like Ezekiel, we are called to provide an alternative model for success, which is to live a life in obedience to the Word of God. Like Ezekiel and St Paul, we are given mystical visions so that we can be filled with the Holy Spirit to carry out His mission with a strong and personal conviction. Just as the Holy Spirit inspired and empowered Ezekiel and, Paul, we too must depend on Him alone for strength. Instead of boasting about our strength, we must boast about God. St Paul wrote, “I shall be very happy to make my weaknesses my special boast so that the power of Christ may stay over me, and that is why I am quite content with my weaknesses, and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and the agonies I go through for Christ’s sake. For it is when I am weak that I am strong.” No matter how busy we are, we must give more importance to the power and centrality of prayer and the Word of God over the importance of witnessing and mission.

Saturday, 3 July 2021

THE DYNAMISM OF FAITH

20210703 THE DYNAMISM OF FAITH

03 July, 2021, Saturday, St Thomas, Apostle

First reading

Ephesians 2:19-22 ©

In Christ you are no longer aliens, but citizens like us

You are no longer aliens or foreign visitors: you are citizens like all the saints, and part of God’s household. You are part of a building that has the apostles and prophets for its foundations, and Christ Jesus himself for its main cornerstone. As every structure is aligned on him, all grow into one holy temple in the Lord; and you too, in him, are being built into a house where God lives, in the Spirit.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 116(117):1-2 ©

Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News.

Alleluia!

O praise the Lord, all you nations,

acclaim him all you peoples!

Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News.

Alleluia!

Strong is his love for us;

he is faithful for ever.

Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News.

Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation

Jn20:29

Alleluia, alleluia!

Jesus said: ‘You believe because you can see me.

Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.’

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 20:24-29 ©

'My Lord and my God!'

Thomas, called the Twin, who was one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. When the disciples said, ‘We have seen the Lord’, he answered, ‘Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe.’ Eight days later the disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. The doors were closed, but Jesus came in and stood among them. ‘Peace be with you’ he said. Then he spoke to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side. Doubt no longer but believe.’ Thomas replied, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him:

‘You believe because you can see me.

Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.’

THE DYNAMISM OF FAITH

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [EPH 2:19-22; PS 117:1-2; JN 20:24-29 ]

The feast of St Thomas brings much consolation to all of us who are struggling in faith. How often have we doubted God, not just His love and care for us but even His existence? Sometimes, we wonder whether Jesus is truly risen, as our Faith teaches us. Like Thomas, we have not seen the Risen Lord for ourselves. And so like Thomas, we say the same thing, “Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe.”

Some of us might feel guilty for not simply believing in the Lord. Yet, Thomas reminds us that we must be sincere in what we believe. Many of us also declare and recite our Creed every Sunday, not many of us really understand what we articulate or even think of the implications of what we confess. We merely go through the ritual Sunday after Sunday. We pretend to believe even in the Eucharist when our faith in the Eucharist also varies in degree. Otherwise, we would have been radically transformed and show profound reverence before the presence of our Lord. As it is, quite a number of us receive the Eucharist in a perfunctory manner, not knowing or understanding what we are truly receiving. If we truly did, then like Thomas, before the Eucharist, we too would have said, “My Lord and my God!”

Indeed, Thomas assures us that the Lord journeys with us in our honest and sincere doubts. Thomas sincerely had difficulties believing in the resurrection of our Lord even though, earlier on, he was the one who said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” (Jn 11:16) How could one so ready to die for Jesus not accept His death when it came? Once again, a good reminder for us all. Saying is one thing but living out is another thing all together. In good times, we make promises of love and fidelity, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, all the days of our life with our spouse, but when it comes to living out the marriage in daily life, it is a different matter altogether. Thomas was so overwhelmed by the death of our Lord that he could not overcome his grief.

The second mistake that Thomas made was to withdraw from the community in his sadness. This is often what we do as well. When we fail in life or when we have made a big mistake, or when facing a sad and tragic event in our life, or the life of our loved ones, we withdraw from the community. We drown ourselves in our sorrows, in our grief by ourselves. When that happens, we become more inward- looking, licking our wounds and growing in resentment and in despondency. What we should do, and what Thomas should have done, is to find strength and support from the community. But he did not. “Thomas, called the twin, who was one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.”

However, that is life as well. God is patient with us in our growth in faith. There is a dynamism in spiritual growth. We must not forget that our faith in God, just like any relationship, is dynamic. Some days it grows, other days, relatively stagnant and at times, we retrogress. Our faith moves up and down, high and low. Faith is not something we secure once and for all, just like any relationship. Precisely, when we take our faith in God or our relationship with our loved ones for granted, this is where our love grows tepid, our union with our loved ones is weakened. We stop sharing our minds and feelings. Eventually, we begin to misunderstand each other. We quarrel and the relationship becomes one of suspicion and resentment. This can either lead to a decision to renew the relationship or a break in the relationship. So too is our faith in God as well.

In the case of Thomas, he was a late bloomer in faith. He thought his faith in the Lord was indefatigable. But he was proven wrong when his faith was put to the test with the death of his master. He decided to take courage to return to the community of apostles and threw down the gauntlet saying, “unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe.” When the Lord appeared to him, he was radically transformed. He did not allow his skepticism to hinder him from opening himself to our Lord. The gospel never said that Thomas literally touched the wounds of our Lord, much less still to think that he could put his hand into the sides of our Lord! Without touching the body of our Lord, Thomas immediately exclaimed, “My Lord and my God!”

Once again, we see the progression of faith. From a state of unbelief, he went beyond simply believing that Jesus has been raised from the dead. His faith now far exceeded the rest of the apostles, for Thomas confessed the faith of the entire Church, “”My Lord and my God!” This is the conviction that the Church took some time to arrive at. The early Church had always believed that Jesus is Lord, but to confess Him as God was a cautious and gradual development because of monotheism. But Thomas already articulated the essence of the faith of the Church in declaring that Jesus is Lord and God. This was what Peter confessed, albeit not knowing the depth and full meaning of what he confessed when he said, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Mt 16:16)

However, the confession of Thomas in Jesus as Lord and God was not sufficient for the Lord. He looked forward to those who would believe through the witness of the apostles and disciples who had seen Him. Jesus said to him: “You believe because you can see me. Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.” In saying this, Jesus was reversing what most of us tend to think, that the process of faith is to see and then believe. But the Lord is saying, believing is also seeing. In fact, believing sees more. The case in point is the apostles. All of them had seen Him, but only Thomas could confess that Jesus is Lord and God. So just seeing the Risen Lord itself does not mean that our faith will be strong. Many have seen miracles, yet their faith remains weak and fragile.

Rather, it is in believing that we see more. This is also true in most relationships. When we believe in someone, we expect more and we hope for more. When we surrender in faith, we are totally receptive to what the person says, and not say. But when we are looking for proofs, we are looking only for external signs. This explains why it is relationship that establishes faith. This faith is more than just an intellectual assent to some truth or even just an emotional feeling of love, but it is one of openness and trust in God. What we can learn from Thomas is the need for us to open ourselves in trust to the Lord if we want to see more. Did not the Lord say to us, “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” (Jn 14:11f)

But this faith in Jesus for us is dependent on the faith of the apostles and their witnessing. St Paul wrote, “You are part of a building that has the apostles and prophets for its foundations, and Christ Jesus himself for its main cornerstone.” Our faith in the Church, the Magisterium is founded on the fact that the Lord has built His Church on the rock of Peter’s faith. (Mt 16:16-19) Our faith comes from the apostolic Church. This same faith in Jesus as the Son of the Living God as transmitted to us by the apostles and his successors, is what we must hold today. In believing Jesus as the Son of the Living God, we will enter into His promises for us. Hence, we must learn from the mistake of Thomas, never to seek growth in our faith without the Church. After all, Paul reminds us, “You are no longer aliens or foreign visitors: you are citizens like all the saints, and part of God’s household.” So let us align “on him, all grow into one holy temple in the Lord where God lives, in the Spirit.”

GOD’S PROVIDENTIAL WORKING IN DAILY LIFE

20210702 GOD’S PROVIDENTIAL WORKING IN DAILY LIFE

02 July, 2021, Friday, 13th Week, Ordinary Time

First reading

'Choose a wife for my son Isaac'

The length of Sarah’s life was a hundred and twenty-seven years. She died at Kiriath-arba, or Hebron, in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn and grieve for her.

Then leaving his dead, Abraham spoke to the sons of Heth: ‘I am a stranger and a settler among you,’ he said. ‘Let me own a burial-plot among you, so that I may take my dead wife and bury her.’

After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field of Machpelah opposite Mamre, in the country of Canaan.

By now Abraham was an old man well on in years, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. Abraham said to the eldest servant of his household, the steward of all his property, ‘Place your hand under my thigh, I would have you swear by the Lord, God of heaven and God of earth, that you will not choose a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live. Instead, go to my own land and my own kinsfolk to choose a wife for my son Isaac.’ The servant asked him, ‘What if the woman does not want to come with me to this country? Must I take your son back to the country from which you came?’ Abraham answered, ‘On no account take my son back there. The Lord, God of heaven and God of earth, took me from my father’s home, and from the land of my kinsfolk, and he swore to me that he would give this country to my descendants. He will now send his angel ahead of you, so that you may choose a wife for my son there. And if the woman does not want to come with you, you will be free from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there.’

Isaac, who lived in the Negeb, had meanwhile come into the wilderness of the well of Lahai Roi. Now Isaac went walking in the fields as evening fell, and looking up saw camels approaching. And Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac. She jumped down from her camel, and asked the servant, ‘Who is that man walking through the fields to meet us?’ The servant replied, ‘That is my master’; then she took her veil and hid her face. The servant told Isaac the whole story, and Isaac led Rebekah into his tent and made her his wife; and he loved her. And so Isaac was consoled for the loss of his mother.

Responsorial Psalm

O give thanks to the Lord for he is good.

Alleluia!

O give thanks to the Lord for he is good;

for his love endures for ever.

Who can tell the Lord’s mighty deeds?

Who can recount all his praise?

O give thanks to the Lord for he is good.

Alleluia!

They are happy who do what is right,

who at all times do what is just.

O Lord, remember me

out of the love you have for your people.

O give thanks to the Lord for he is good.

Alleluia!

Come to me, Lord, with your help

that I may see the joy of your chosen ones

and may rejoice in the gladness of your nation

and share the glory of your people.

O give thanks to the Lord for he is good.

Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation

Ps24:4,5

Alleluia, alleluia!

Teach me your paths, my God,

make me walk in your truth.

Alleluia!

Or:

Mt11:28

Alleluia, alleluia!

Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened,

and I will give you rest, says the Lord.

Alleluia!

Gospel

It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick

As Jesus was walking on, he saw a man named Matthew sitting by the customs house, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.

While he was at dinner in the house it happened that a number of tax collectors and sinners came to sit at the table with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ When he heard this he replied, ‘It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. Go and learn the meaning of the words: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice. And indeed I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.’

GOD’S PROVIDENTIAL WORKING IN DAILY LIFE

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [GN 23:1-4, 19, 24:1-8, 62-67; PS 106:1-5; MT 9:9-13]

Very often, people have faith only when they see the powerful hand of God at work in spectacular events such as miracles of healing and His power over nature. This explains why people are often attracted to such events. But in truth, not all who see the miraculous events will come to faith. A case in point is Jesus’ opponents in the gospel. In spite of the miracles of healing and exorcism He performed, they became more resistant than ever, rather than finding faith in Him. It is often in the ordinary circumstances of life that God reveals His presence, His love and mercy. But we need eyes of faith and humility to be attentive to His presence in these ordinary events.

This was surely the case of Matthew and his fellow tax-collectors who gathered at a meal with Jesus. In the first place, God called Matthew where he was. He came to him when he was busy collecting taxes at the customs house. There was no vision of any sort, no mystical encounter. He simply said to Matthew, “‘Follow me!’ And he got up and followed him.” Matthew responded to God’s call through Jesus. He knew he was unworthy since he was a tax-collector. But at the word of our Lord, he obeyed. Such is the simplicity of many who do not know Christ as well. Sometimes, we try so hard trying to convert the unconverted in our churches where our preaching on conversion often fall on deaf ears, especially on those who are self-righteous like the Pharisees and the Scribes. But when the Word is preached to sinners, who recognize themselves as such, they respond more readily to the proclamation of the Good News of repentance and new life.

Indeed, conversion need not take place in a miracle but the ordinariness of life. In the case of the tax-collectors, it took place over a meal. That was what Jesus did. “While He was at dinner in the house it happened that a number of tax collectors and sinners came to sit at the table with Jesus and his disciples.” He did not treat them like out-casts or untouchables. He did not wait for them to approach Him. He came to them in their midst and ate and drank with them. He did not criticize or condemn them. So much so, “when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?'” Jesus’ response was a slap on the face of the learned theologians, “It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. Go and learn the meaning of the words: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice. And indeed I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.” Jesus was quoting from Hosea and by telling them they did not know the scriptures well and thus must go and search, it implied that they had a shallow understanding of scriptures.

Indeed, people see the goodness of God more in ordinary events of life, simple gestures of kindness, acceptance and love, or even in very solemn liturgies and anointed worship services, rather than in great spectacular events. God of course could touch such people in these events as well, but more often than not, we encounter God’s love through the kind actions of others, their encouraging words and compassion. It is the kindness of people that touches us deeply and we remember for a long time. Miracles that we see, we tend to forget easily. Things that are sensational tend to be passing. But a personal act of kindness, mercy and compassion stays with us throughout our life and transforms us also to do the same to others.

That God works in and through our ordinary life is also demonstrated in the life of Abraham. After being called by God to go to Canaan, in faith, he went with his family. He uprooted himself from Haran where his family lived after moving there from the land of Ur. Although he left in faith, God had to wait for his faith to mature. He was not so trusting in God’s fulfillment of His promises. He lied to Pharaoh about Sarah as being his sister and to King Abimelech as well so that he could save his own life. He did not trust God totally.

Then again, instead of waiting for the opportune time for God to unfold His plans, he and Sarah took the matter of bearing an offspring into their own hands. They brought in Hagar to bear the child for Abraham. This created more problems for them as Hagar became arrogant and refused to submit to Sarah when she knew she was carrying the child of Abraham. Later on, when Isaac was born, Ishmael was jealous of the attention given to Isaac. He began to taunt him. It resulted in division and eventually separation of the two mothers and their children. From that day onwards, Abraham knew what it was to place his entire faith in God’s divine providence and to allow God to work gradually but surely. This was what the Lord taught us in the Parable of the Growing Seed. “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.” (Mk 4:26-29)

Today’s reading from Genesis shows how the promises of God were gradually fulfilled even though Abraham could only have a glimpse of it from afar. But he continued to cling to the promises of God which were fulfilled in a very small way. Sometime after the attempted sacrifice of Isaac, we read of the passing of Sarah. What is significant is that Sarah was buried in a plot of land purchased from the Hittites at an exorbitant price of four hundred shekels of silver, and before everyone to see and hear, so that there would not be a dispute about the title deed of Abraham to that land. So Sarah was buried in the field of Ephron in Machpelah, facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. (Gen 23:1-20) In so doing, Abraham was laying his hands on the land of Canaan, not yet possessed by him entirely but in due course even though it was not within his time.

Then again, we see how God’s providence was at work in the marriage between Isaac and Rebekah. Abraham was worried that if Isaac left Canaan and went back to his family homeland, he might not return. On the other hand, he had to ensure that Isaac would find a wife from within his own family to preserve the purity of the family lineage. So he asked his servant who went in faith to look for a wife for Isaac. Abraham held on to his firm faith that God would fulfill His promise somehow. He said, “The Lord, God of heaven and God of earth, took me from the land of my kinsfolk, and he swore to me that he would give this country to my descendants. He will now send his angel ahead of you, so that you may choose a wife for my son there. And if the woman does not want to come with you, you will be free from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there.”

Again, we read in God’s providence, the chief servant met Rebekah at the well and observing her kindness in giving water to his fellow servant and to the camels to drink, he knew that she was the right person chosen for Isaac. So after meeting her family, he brought her back and Isaac who met her, immediately fell for her. He took her as his wife and most of all, the bible said, “he loved her!” Through Rebekah, two sons were born to Isaac, namely, Esau and Jacob. Notably, Abraham did not see his grandchildren. Still, he trusted in God that he would be the father of generations to come.

The author of Hebrews praised Abraham, summing up his faith in God’s divine providence in his life, saying, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents. By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old–and Sarah herself was barren — because he considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born.’ All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them.” (Heb 11:8,9,11,13) Indeed, our life is in God’s hands. His plan will unfold gradually. St Paul says, “all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28) Let us walk by faith, not by sight! (2 Cor 5:7)