17 August 2015

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Monday, 17 August 2015 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard firstly about how God was angry at His people whom He had cared for so much during their Exodus and journey from Egypt to the Promised Land of Canaan, which He had given to them for them and their descendants to dwell in. He had made a covenant with them, and yet, very quickly, they had broken their parts of the the covenant.

They were not fully faithful, although the Lord was faithful to them. They do not have the love for the Lord in their hearts, and their faith for the Lord was superficial and without strong foundation. They love only themselves and think about only their own security and try to satisfy their own desires, the desires of their stomach and their bodies before they would try to obey the Lord and His commands.

In the Gospel today, Jesus spoke about how someone who have followed the commandments of God, His Law and precepts cannot be fully His disciples if they did not learn to let go of their earthly temptations and the allures of the devil, which he had placed on our path to keep us ensnared and trapped in the darkness of sin. He showed us this truth and fact when He spoke with the young man on what he needs to achieve eternal life.

The young man had followed the Lord in all of His laws and commandments, and if we assume that this is referring to the laws as then practiced by the Jewish community, then we ought to know that this meant a very great accomplishment in some sense, as the Jews, particularly the Pharisees, were very stringent on following the laws to the very latter.

And there were very numerous rules and regulations in place, but the young man had obeyed them all, and yet what was it that hindered him from truly achieving the goal of salvation and eternal life? It was as mentioned, that his attachment and inability to separate himself from the worldly temptations was his undoing. He had a great wealth, and he would rather part with the Lord rather than part with those goods, as what we can imply from the Gospel.

This however does not mean that we ought to literally follow what Jesus had said, namely to sell all of our things and shun all forms of worldly goods. We still need to live in this world and in order to do so, we still need to use the goods of the world to sustain us. What we have to take note is that these goods, the wealth of the world is not inherently evil or bad, but instead, it is how we use them that can be considered as good or bad.

We have to learn to restrain our desires and how to use what we have meaningfully for the good of others around us, and that is what is important. Let us all pray that we will be given wisdom to discern good from bad, and how to love one another ever more, and not just to be concerned about ourselves and our need only. Let us be able to follow our Lord’s way of love, and be less selfish and be less focused on ourselves only.

May Almighty God help us, that we may overcome the temptations of the world, and find our way to His love, that in all of our actions, we may be true disciples and followers of His, and be found worthy of His eternal kingdom. God bless us all. Amen.

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Monday, 17 August 2015 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 19 : 16-22

At that time, it was then that a young man approached Jesus and asked, “Master, what good work must I do to receive eternal life?” Jesus answered, “Why do you ask Me about what is good? One only is good. If you want to enter eternal life, keep the commandments.”

The young man said, “Which commandments?” Jesus replied, “Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honour your father and mother, and love your neighbour as yourself.”

The young man said to Him, “I have kept all these commandments. What is still lacking?” Jesus answered, “If you wish to be perfect, go and sell all that you possess and give the money to the poor, and you will become the owner of a treasure in heaven. Then come back and follow Me.”

On hearing this answer, the young man went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.

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Monday, 17 August 2015 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 105 : 34-35, 36-37, 39-40, 43ab and 44

The people of God dared not destroy the pagans, as the Lord commanded; they mingled with these nations and learnt to do as they did.

In serving the idols of the pagans, they were trapped into sacrificing children to demons.

They defiled themselves by what they did, playing the harlot in their worship. The anger of the Lord grew intense and He abhorred His inheritance.

He delivered them many a time, but they went on defying Him and sinking deeper int their sin. But He heard their cry of affliction and looked on them with compassion.

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Monday, 17 August 2015 : 20th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Judges 2 : 11-19

The Israelites treated YHVH badly for they served the Baals instead. They abandoned YHVH, the God of their ancestors who had brought them out of Egypt, and served other gods, the gods of the neighbouring peoples. They bowed before those gods and offended YHVH.

When YHVH saw that they had abandoned Him to serve Baal and Ashtaroth, He became angry with His people and gave them into the hands of plunderers who left them in misery. He Himself sold them to their enemies who completely surrounded the Israelites, so that these Israelites could no longer withstand them.

Whenever they felt strong for an offensive, YHVH would turn against them and send evil upon them, as He had warned them and sworn to do. And this caused much distress and anguish for the Israelites.

YHVH raised up “judges” or liberators who saved the Israelites from their exploiters. But neither did they obey those “judges” for they still prostituted themselves to other gods and worshipped them. They soon left the way of their fathers who obeyed the commandments of YHVH; they did not follow the way of their fathers.

When YHVH made a judge appear among His people, YHVH was with him and saved them from their enemies. That lasted as long as the judge lived, for YHVH was moved to pity by the lament of His people who were oppressed and persecuted. But when the judge died, they again became worse than their ancestors – worshipping and serving other gods. They would not renounce their pagan practices and stubborn ways.