Scripture Reflection and Prayer : Journeying together

Saturday, 6 August 2022

WHAT HAS A MAN TO OFFER IN EXCHANGE FOR HIS LIFE?

20220805 WHAT HAS A MAN TO OFFER IN EXCHANGE FOR HIS LIFE?

05 August, 2022, 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!

Or:

Mt5:10

Alleluia, alleluia!

Happy those who are persecuted

in the cause of right,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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.’

WHAT HAS A MAN TO OFFER IN EXCHANGE FOR HIS LIFE?

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [NAHUM 2:1,3,3:1-3,6-7; MT 16:24-28]

“What has a man to offer in exchange for his life?” This is perhaps the most important question we all need to answer for ourselves. We all want to find life and we want to live forever. Yet, very often, we search for life in the wrong places and end up in death. We have a herd mentality, following what most people in the world seek. But because we listen to the world, our lives are in ruins. We live a dishonest life, seeking to destroy our competitors. We cheat and grab for power, and wealth, and compete for positions. But as the Lord says, “What, then, will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins his life?”

This was the case with the Assyrians in Nineveh. In today’s reading, we hear the prophet Nahum assuring Judah that God was with them. God would restore the two vineyards of Israel and Judah plundered by Assyria. They had become proud and arrogant. But they got their just dessert when the Lord sent the Babylonians to destroy Assyria. “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?”

Lest we destroy our life which is what we all seek, we must reflect on what truly brings happiness in life and the way we should attain it. The first principle our Lord gave us is this, “Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.” To find life, we must use our life for the service of others. We must give up our life for others. The more we use our life, our talents, and resources for others, the more meaningful and fulfilling life becomes. Indeed, we come alive when we feel that we are making a difference in the lives of others, when we put a smile on their faces and when we give them hope and encouragement.

But this calls for self-sacrifice and not being absorbed in oneself and in one’s security. So long as we are protecting our interests, we will not be able to share with others what we have. We will always feel we do not have enough or are not secured sufficiently. We will always be thinking of expanding our wealth, influence, and power. When we are busy trying to build up our wealth and empire, we will have no time to think of others. Even when we serve others or give to others, it is never pure but a stunt to get good publicity so that we have better prospects for promotion or experience. For this reason, Jesus is asking us whether we are willing to lose our life for others, and whether we are serious about giving up our life for others.

The opposite of trying to save our life is to lose it. In fact, Jesus is not giving us a choice. He is telling us the truth and reality of life. When we act selfishly, we can preserve our physical life, but we lose the fullness of life. Indeed, when we do not exercise and burn our energy, we will fall sick. If we do not use our brains, the cells will die, and soon we become demented. If we do not keep up with our musical instruments, we will not be able to play them. If we stop writing, we will find great difficulty even to compose a letter because ideas and words will not flow easily. If we do not reach out to others and just stay by ourselves, very soon, as we have experienced during the Covid restrictions, we will be unable to relate well with people. By keeping our money for ourselves, we will have few friends in life. By enjoying the pleasures of life by ourselves, we will deprive ourselves of a greater fellowship when we are one with others. Love is stronger and longer when we love each other as a community, supporting and caring for each other.

Consequently, we must focus on the mission of life, which is to give life to others so that we might find life for ourselves. We must not misunderstand the context of renunciation that 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.” This must not be misunderstood as an invitation to discipline, mortification, and ascetical practices. In themselves, fasting, mortification, and disciplining the body cannot make us happy and cannot give life. They are means, not the ends themselves. Indulging in ascetical practices can boost our ego perhaps but not give us happiness.

Happiness entails true love of oneself, including our body and not just our soul. So, destroying our body, depriving ourselves of comfort or of food, or even of pleasures is to despise the gifts of God’s creation. God wants us to prosper, have good food and enjoy the gifts of creation. God did not create us to suffer and make us miserable. So ascetical discipline in themselves, when done for the wrong reasons, make life a chore and a burden. We must be free in the fullest sense of the term. Freedom is not just a question of doing what we like but freedom from all attachment and addictions to food and pleasure as well. Ascetical practices are meant to help us to be interiorly free.

But most of all, when Jesus advocated renunciation, it is in the context of fulfilling our mission. This text must be seen in connection with the earlier text when Jesus prophesied His imminent passion, death, and resurrection as He carried out His mission of being the Messiah. However, St Peter could not accept that Jesus would have to die to be the Messiah. But such a rejection is tantamount to a rejection of God’s plan when salvation is given through the death of His Son. Jesus knew that if He were to save His people, it would be by His passion and death on the cross.

As His disciples, we too are called to renounce ourselves, renounce our will, and take up the cross to walk after Him. We must be ready to make sacrifices for the service of others. At times, we will be misunderstood, taken for granted, made use of by others, and even betrayed and slandered by those we have served. But for the sake of the mission, we must be ready to carry the cross of self-denial. We must not labour under the illusion that helping and serving society and the poor is always appreciated. There will be some who are extremely difficult to please or to love. We can also be misunderstood.

But we should not be too overly concerned about how people respond to our offer of love and life. Jesus in the gospel made it clear that our task is to offer but it is up to them to respond. “As you enter the house, greet it. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.” (Mt 10:12-14) Ultimately, we are only the servants and messengers of the Lord. God is the One who, as the responsorial psalm says, is the judge. “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.”

Our task is to make the Kingdom of God present in our life. Jesus said what we do today will be rewarded, not just at the end of time but even now. What we sow is what we reap. “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.” Indeed, those of us who love have life today. St John wrote, “We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death.” (1 Jn 4:14) Hence, in a certain sense, we do not taste death when we love. So long as we love, we are alive. And even if we die, we are even more alive in the Lord. A person who loves is always alive, dead or alive on earth. This is why the Lord says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.’ (JN 11:25f)

Wednesday, 3 August 2022

A PERSONAL AND ECCLESIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST

20220804 A PERSONAL AND ECCLESIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST

04 August, 2022, Thursday, 18th Week in Ordinary Time

First reading

Jeremiah 31:31-34 ©

I will write my Law in their hearts

See, the days are coming – it is the Lord who speaks – when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel (and the House of Judah), but not a covenant like the one I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant of mine, so I had to show them who was master. It is the Lord who speaks. No, this is the covenant I will make with the House of Israel when those days arrive – it is the Lord who speaks. Deep within them I will plant my Law, writing it on their hearts. Then I will be their God and they shall be my people. There will be no further need for neighbour to try to teach neighbour, or brother to say to brother, ‘Learn to know the Lord!’ No, they will all know me, the least no less than the greatest – it is the Lord who speaks – since I will forgive their iniquity and never call their sin to mind.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 50(51):12-15,18-19 ©

A pure heart create for me, O God.

A pure heart create for me, O God,

put a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from your presence,

nor deprive me of your holy spirit.

A pure heart create for me, O God.

Give me again the joy of your help;

with a spirit of fervour sustain me,

that I may teach transgressors your ways

and sinners may return to you.

A pure heart create for me, O God.

For in sacrifice you take no delight,

burnt offering from me you would refuse,

my sacrifice, a contrite spirit.

A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.

A pure heart create for me, O God.

Gospel Acclamation

Ps144:13

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Lord is faithful in all his words

and loving in all his deeds.

Alleluia!

Or:

Mt16:18

Alleluia, alleluia!

You are Peter,

and on this rock I will build my Church.

And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 16:13-23 ©

You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said, ‘the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.’ Then he gave the disciples strict orders not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

From that time Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day. Then, taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him. ‘Heaven preserve you, Lord;’ he said ‘this must not happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.’

A PERSONAL AND ECCLESIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Jer 31:31-34; Mt 16:13-23]

Why did the first covenantal relationship with God fail? Did not God establish a personal relationship with the people of Israel beginning with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses? He did! Abraham was known to be the friend of God. “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness, and he was called the friend of God.” (Jms 2:23) “The Lord used to speak to Moses, face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” (Ex 33:11) When Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, the Lord was angry. He said, “When there are prophets among you, I the Lord make myself known to them in visions; I speak to them in dreams. Not so with my servant Moses; he is entrusted with all my house. With him I speak face to face – clearly, not in riddles; and he beholds the form of the Lord.” (Num 12:6-8)

The people themselves had seen the power of God at work in their lives. God told the Hebrews, “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.” (Ex 19:4-6) Moses instructed the people, “But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children.” (Dt 4:9) For these reasons, Moses commanded the people to teach their children to do the same. ^“Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Dt 6:4-9)

Then what happened? The truth is that generations later as is true even in our days, people lose faith. It seems that faith stays in the first generation and then as each generation comes and goes, the faith is diminished because their children did not appreciate their faith since they did not pay a price for it. Unfortunately, an inherited faith cannot be sustained for long. What we do not see or experience, we will lack conviction. So when we do not search for our faith and make efforts to understand and grow in our relationship with God, that faith will become a mere intellectual faith and eventually just a nominal faith. We will die only for what we believe. This is true for the people of Israel and for our generation of Catholics as well. This explains why the Christian faith is dying in Europe whilst the faith in Asia and Africa is growing because many of us, including our parents, are adult converts from our native religions. We paid a price for it and we studied our faith, deepened our relationship with God, knew that He is real before we converted.

In other words, the Old Covenant was cast in stone whereas the New Covenant is written in the hearts of men. St Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” (2 Cor 3:3) St Paul said, God “has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Cor 3:6) Jeremiah said of the New Covenant, “See, the days are coming when I will make a new covenant but not a covenant like the one I made with their ancestors on the day. They broke that covenant of mine. No, this is the covenant I will make with the House of Israel when those days arrive. Deep within them, I will plant my law, writing it on their hearts. Then I will be their God and they shall be my people. There will be no further need for neighbour to try to teach neighbour, or brother to say to brother, ‘Learn to know the Lord!’ No, they will all know me, the least no less than the greatest since I will forgive their iniquity and never call their sin to mind.” In other words, the new covenant is carved in our hearts, not on stones. Ezekiel prophesied, “A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances. Then you shall live in the land that I gave to your ancestors; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.” (Ez 36:26-28)

This was certainly the case with the apostles in today’s gospel when it came to confessing their faith in the Lord. The Lord began by asking them, “‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said, ‘who do you say I am?'” Indeed, the Lord did not want hearsay knowledge of who He was to them. Instead, He asked for a personal commitment from them. How did they see Him and who was He to them? Jesus knew that knowledge from a second-hand source would not make them give up their lives for Him. That also explains why after Peter’s confession of faith Jesus “gave the disciples strict orders not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.” Why? For the same reason. They might know His identity from a second-hand source but they would not know Him personally. As a consequence, they would think they know Jesus because they could name Him but they would not know what that title really meant. Such was the situation of St Peter as well.

However, such personal knowledge of our Lord is also a gift. For when Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.'” It is a divine revelation. So coming to know Jesus’ true identity cannot be from mere study and research alone. We require the assistance of grace and divine revelation. Only God can give us the grace of encountering Him deeply and radically as in the case of St Paul. Even for the apostles, after having been revealed the identity of our Lord, they did not fully grasp the meaning of it until after His passion, death and resurrection. St Peter fell from his height when he remonstrated with our Lord for speaking about His imminent passion and death. Peter said “‘Heaven preserve you, Lord, this must not happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.'” At that moment, Peter spoke from his ignorance.

Hence, it is also true that personal faith in the Lord is also not sufficient unless that faith is also an ecclesial faith. There is the danger today that individual Christians who claim to have a personal faith in our Lord and a personal relationship with Him may have a faith that differs from the faith of the Church. Their interpretation of the person and identity of Jesus differs from the interpretation of the Church. So this emphasis on personal knowledge of our Lord can lead to a subjective interpretation of Christ that differs from the ecclesial confession of faith. So we can make Jesus a figment of our imagination and make Him out to be a political Messiah, a revolutionary, a social transformer and a liberator.

This is what the Lord meant when He said to Peter, “So I now say to you; You are Peter and on this rock, I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.” In other words, every Christian must confess the same faith as Peter. The Church is not just built on Peter as a person, as a vicar of Christ but also in his confession of Christ as the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Peter was articulating his confession not just for himself but on behalf of the Church. This is why, we believe and confess in Peter and his successor as the chief teacher and shepherd of the universal Church. Hence, the faith as taught by the Holy Father in his capacity as the Vicar of Christ, when proclaimed solemnly is infallible. We trust that just as Jesus assured us that He would build His church on Peter, the rock, so too when the church is one with Peter and his successors, the Church would remain strong and united against the gates of hell and every onslaught of the world. Our personal faith must be aligned with the ecclesial faith for it to be strong and firm.

BEING FOCUSED AND YET FLEXIBLE

20220803 BEING FOCUSED AND YET FLEXIBLE

03 August, 2022, 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.

BEING FOCUSED AND YET FLEXIBLE

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JER 31:1-7; JER 31:10-12,13; MT 15:21-28]

As a leader, one must be focused to get things done. A leader who has his hands on everything and is distracted by all kinds of demands on him will not succeed in what he has set out to do. When a leader lacks a centre and the ability to focus on what is important and what his priorities are, he will be driven by others instead. Trying to please everyone will only result in him diluting his energy and losing sight of his vision and mission for the organization. Indeed, some leaders are all over the place, more pleasers than leaders.

In the gospel, we see that Jesus was very focused. Already at the very beginning of His ministry, He was very popular because many saw Him as a healer and a leader. They even wanted to make Him king. His disciples told the Lord, “Everyone is searching for you.” He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” (Mk 1:37f) He refused to be constrained by popularity or be domesticated in one place, even if they were to make Him king. In John’s gospel, after the multiplication of loaves, the evangelist noted, “when Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.” (Jn 6:15)

In today’s gospel, it appeared that He was unbending with respect to His mission towards the Gentiles. When the Syrophoenician woman came to Him “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.” She was a Canaanite and therefore the enemy of the Jews. They were the ones that contaminated the faith of Israel, leading the people and the kings into idolatry. She was unclean. Therefore, the Jews did not want to have anything to do with them. But Jesus’ attitude towards the Gentiles had always been different. He healed the Centurion’s servant and the Samaritan leper. In fact, just before this incident, Jesus was teaching the disciples what was clean and what was unclean. He made it clear to them that “what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.” (Mt 15:18-20) So if Jesus did not want to attend to the woman, it could not be because she was considered unclean.

Secondly, as a woman she was considered insignificant in society at that time. By not answering the woman, it could be taken as a sign of indifference to her request. But it could also be Jesus’ way of soliciting faith in her. We will see later how Jesus drew her to faith in Him, to recognize Him as the Lord and the special position of the Jews. When the woman came up and knelt at His feet, she said, “‘Lord, 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.” Jesus appeared to be indifferent towards her but in fact He was helping her to see how Israel was chosen to lead humanity to salvation through Him.

It is also important to distinguish the different reasons for sending the woman away. For Jesus, it was because He wanted to focus on His mission, which was to the House of Israel. That was what He told the disciples. “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” Jesus was clear that He was sent to save His people first and form the disciples after Him. It was not because He was disinterested in reaching out to the Gentiles. This was always at the back of His mind because the gospel is given to all. He came for the sinners, the poor, the sick, and even the Gentiles. But for the present, He had to direct His attention to His fellow Jews.

His vision statement is clear. Citing from the Prophet Isaiah, He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Lk 4:18f) However, His focus was directed at the chosen people of God, Israel. The message was directly addressed to them so that they would be the messengers of the Good News. In fact, Isaiah had envisioned that “a day would come, the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it.” (Isa 2:2) The Lord said to Israel, “I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations.” (Isa 42:6)

But the disciples were not focused. They were reactive. The reason why his disciples went and pleaded with him to give her what she wanted was that she was shouting after them. It was not a focused strategy or even wanting to help the poor woman. She was becoming a nuisance and so they wanted the Lord to get rid of her so that they could find some rest and peace, for that was the reason why Jesus “left Gennesaret and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.” At least Jesus had a good reason for declining to attend to the woman earlier on.

Here we see the flexibility of our Lord. Although He was clear of His mission and priority, Jesus was flexible enough to give in when it was appropriate. He was a man of compassion and was willing to bend for the greater good. But He remained singular-minded in His mission. Since the woman had shown humble faith and deep love for her daughter, Jesus was willing to forgo His principles and accommodate her request. This is what leadership is all about. Leaders must be compassionate and ready to be flexible in the application of the laws and rules governing the organization. Some leaders, instead of using the laws to make the organization more effective, are ruled by the laws. They forget what the Lord taught us, that “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.” (Mk 2:27f)

We must be ready to adapt. St Paul gives us a good example of what it takes to be accommodating to the weaknesses and the peculiar situations of others. He wrote, “in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel. For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.” (1 Cor 9:18-23)

In the first reading, we saw how God worked as well. Although Israel was unfaithful to Him, God was merciful to them. God allowed them to be punished by the consequences of their own sins. “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.” God’s love for Israel was faithful. He was focused in His love and devotion to Israel. But He would find ways to bring Israel back to Him, even abandoning Israel for a while to her enemies so that they could learn their lessons and repent. God is forever faithful and constant in His love. He never gave up on Israel regardless of their infidelity after infidelity. But He is not reactive either. He does not punish Israel and condemns them to rot and ruin forever. He is patient, kind, forgiving, always keeping the goal in mind, which is to bring Israel back to Him. This was the same love that Jesus had for His people and His disciples who also betrayed Him. He never gave up on them. So too Paul, who until the end of his life, would always preach to the Jews before others.

REGRETS AND HOPES

20220802 REGRETS AND HOPES

02 August, 2022, Tuesday, 18th Week in Ordinary Time

The word addressed to Jeremiah by the Lord: the Lord, the God of Israel says this: Write all the words I have spoken to you in a book.

Yes, the Lord says this:

Your wound is incurable,

your injury past healing.

There is no one to care for your sore,

no medicine to make you well again.

All your lovers have forgotten you,

they look for you no more.

Yes, I have struck you as an enemy strikes,

with harsh punishment

so great is your guilt, so many your sins.

Why bother to complain about your wound?

Your pain is incurable.

So great is your guilt, so many your sins,

that I have done all this to you.

The Lord says this:

Now I will restore the tents of Jacob,

and take pity on his dwellings:

the city shall be rebuilt on its ruins,

the citadel restored on its site.

From them will come thanksgiving

and shouts of joy.

I will make them increase, and not diminish them,

make them honoured, and not disdained.

Their sons shall be as once they were,

their community fixed firm in my presence,

and I will punish all their oppressors.

Their prince will be one of their own,

their ruler come from their own people.

I will let him come freely into my presence

and he can come close to me;

who else, indeed, would risk his life

by coming close to me? – it is the Lord who speaks.

And you shall be my people and I will be your God.

Responsorial Psalm

The Lord shall build up Zion again and appear in all his glory.

The nations shall fear the name of the Lord

and all the earth’s kings your glory,

when the Lord shall build up Zion again

and appear in all his glory.

Then he will turn to the prayers of the helpless;

he will not despise their prayers.

The Lord shall build up Zion again and appear in all his glory.

Let this be written for ages to come

that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord;

for the Lord leaned down from his sanctuary on high.

He looked down from heaven to the earth

that he might hear the groans of the prisoners

and free those condemned to die.

The Lord shall build up Zion again and appear in all his glory.

The sons of your servants shall dwell untroubled

and their race shall endure before you

that the name of the Lord may be proclaimed in Zion

and his praise in the heart of Jerusalem,

when peoples and kingdoms are gathered together

to pay their homage to the Lord.

The Lord shall build up Zion again and appear in all his glory.

Gospel Acclamation

Jn8:12

Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the light of the world, says the Lord;

anyone who follows me will have the light of life.

Alleluia!

Or:

Jn1:49

Alleluia, alleluia!

Rabbi, you are the Son of God,

you are the King of Israel.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Jesus walks on the water

Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he would send the crowds away. After sending the crowds away he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, while the boat, by now far out on the lake, was battling with a heavy sea, for there was a head-wind. In the fourth watch of the night he went towards them, walking on the lake, and when the disciples saw him walking on the lake they were terrified. ‘It is a ghost’ they said, and cried out in fear. But at once Jesus called out to them, saying, ‘Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.’ It was Peter who answered. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘if it is you, tell me to come to you across the water.’ ‘Come’ said Jesus. Then Peter got out of the boat and started walking towards Jesus across the water, but as soon as he felt the force of the wind, he took fright and began to sink. ‘Lord! Save me!’ he cried. Jesus put out his hand at once and held him. ‘Man of little faith,’ he said ‘why did you doubt?’ And as they got into the boat the wind dropped. The men in the boat bowed down before him and said, ‘Truly, you are the Son of God.’

Having made the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret. When the local people recognised him they spread the news through the whole neighbourhood and took all that were sick to him, begging him just to let them touch the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched it were completely cured.

REGRETS AND HOPES

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JER 30:1-2,12-15,18-22; MT 14:22-36]

When we look at our past, we cannot but regret. We regret for the mistakes we have made, the wrong decisions and follies of our life. Sometimes, it is due to our imperfections and lack of wisdom. At times, it is because of our selfishness and sinfulness. Quite often, they are due to fears and anxieties.

As a result, we suffer the consequences of our sins. We must not see them as punishments from God although the first reading presented it in an anthropomorphic manner. Rather, the punishments from God are but the harvest of our sinful and unenlightened actions. “Yes, the Lord says this: Your wound is incurable, your injury past healing. There is no one to care for your sore, no medicine to make you well again. All your lovers have forgotten you; they look for you no more. Yes, I have struck you as an enemy strikes; with harsh punishment (so great is your guilt, so many your sins).”

So we should not push the blame to others, trying to find a scapegoat. “Why bother to complain about your wound. Your pain is incurable. So great is your guilt, so many your sins, that I have done all this to you.” And worst of all, blaming God for our woes. Pushing our mistakes to others will not help us to grow. Instead of confronting our weaknesses and acknowledging them humbly and squarely, we blame others for our mistakes. This is but escapism. We cannot grow and heal ourselves in this manner. So the beginning of growth and new life is when we acknowledge our faults without any excuses and “buts” and “ifs”.

Indeed, as the first reading tells us, God allows us to suffer our mistakes not so much to punish us but to restore us. He cannot rebuild our lives unless we recognize where we have gone wrong. So long as we think others are wrong, then no correction and learning process is possible. The consequences of our sins and the sufferings that come with them are but the expressions of God’s mercy for us in this life on earth to prepare us not just for our future on earth but for eternal life.

Indeed, life is a pedagogy. God is patient, forgiving and always seeking opportunities to rebuild our lives. This is the message of the prophet Jeremiah. Although known as the prophet of doom and bad news, cursed by his countrymen, he was actually a prophet of hope. In these last chapters of Jeremiah, beginning from chapter 29, the prophet began to give the people hope that after their punishment and exile, they would be restored by the Lord. He spoke of the New Covenant that will take place, replacing the Old Covenant, the Laws of Moses written in tablet.

This is what the psalmist declares, “The Lord shall build up Zion again and appear in all his glory. The nations shall fear the name of the Lord and all the earth’s kings your glory, when the Lord shall build up Zion again and appear in all his glory. Then he will turn to the prayers of the helpless; he will not despise their prayers. Let this be written for ages to come that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord; for the Lord leaned down from his sanctuary on high. He looked down from heaven to the earth that he might hear the groans of the prisoners and free those condemned to die.”

Most of all, he foretold the coming of the Messiah who would lead us to the fullness of life and restore our fortunes. “Their prince will be one of their own, their ruler come from their own people. I will let him come freely into my presence and he can come close to me; who else, indeed, would risk his life by coming close to me? – it is the Lord who speaks. And you shall be my people and I will be your God.” Indeed, as it happened, “The sons of your servants shall dwell untroubled and their race shall endure before you that the name of the Lord may be proclaimed in Zion and his praise in the heart of Jerusalem, when peoples and kingdoms are gathered together to pay their homage to the Lord.”

Jesus in the gospel is the fulfilment of this promise of the Messiah who will redeem us and restore the fortunes of Jacob. He has come to enlighten us in our blindness. Unlike the leaders of our times, they were blind. This is what Jesus said, “Leave them alone. They are blind men leading blind men; and if one blind man leads another, both will fall into a pit.”

Indeed, we are called to purify ourselves, to go beyond externals to what really matters. For this reason, Jesus condemned the human tradition of the Pharisees and scribes. They were making life difficult for others but not changing hearts. When questioned, “Why do your disciples break away from the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands when they eat food”, He replied, “Listen and understand. What goes into the mouth does not make a man unclean; it is what comes out of the mouth that makes him unclean.”

So today, let us be honest and courageous. Let us enter into ourselves and face the ugly side in us. Jesus warns us, “Any plant my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.” So let us pray for sincerity and wisdom to admit our faults and begin the process of purification and uprooting all that destroy our happiness and those under our care. Otherwise, we too would be condemned for being blind and leading the blind into the ditch. We must therefore come to Jesus, the Messiah, the Light and the Truth who will lead us to true freedom and liberation.