2 July 2021

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Friday, 2 July 2021 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are reminded that the Lord remembers all of us and loves each and every one of us without exception, from saints to sinners, and all whether they are rich or poor, powerful or weak, be it whether they belong to that race or having any particular backgrounds. He loves each and every one of us equally, and all of us have a share in His love and grace, provided that we first allow Him to touch our lives and love us.

In our first reading today we heard of the story of the passing of Sarah, the wife of Abraham, our father in faith. Sarah passed away in her old age and was buried in peace by Abraham, who had been blessed with a son, Isaac, the one whom God had promised to him, to be the one to bear his name and to be the father of many descendants who would thereafter call Abraham as their forefather. And God blessed Isaac in the same way that He has blessed Abraham, as we heard how Isaac managed to get a wife from among his own relatives.

We heard how God gave Rebekah to be Isaac’s own wife, to be the one to console Isaac after the loss of his own mother Sarah. Through this, we can see yet again how God had always put each and every one of us foremost in His mind and His care. He sought to console us and help us, whenever He could. He is always concerned about us and wants nothing else but our happiness. Yet, it is often we ourselves who refused Him and distanced ourselves from Him. This is what kept us away from Him and prevented us from being fully reconciled to Him.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard the Lord calling on a tax collector, who was later to be known as Matthew. Matthew would become the Lord’s follower and one of His chosen Twelve, a dramatic turn from once being a tax collector into a most faithful and devoted servant of God. Matthew abandoned everything and followed the Lord, and not just that, but as he was about to follow the Lord, he invited the Lord to have dinner with him and his other fellow tax collectors, who were very eager to meet the Lord and listen to Him.

The tax collectors back then were very hated and reviled by most of the community, especially by the elites such as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. They were seen as traitors and sinners simply because of the nature of their work, as the ones who collected the taxes on behalf of the Roman overlords who ruled over the Jewish peoples. They were hated as a group simply because of the hate that many of the Jews had against the Romans, and their hatred on the tax imposed on them. As a result, they were often ostracised and rejected by the general community.

Yet, the Lord showed what was most unconventional and surprising to all who had witnessed His actions, by not only calling one of these tax collectors to be His own disciple, but to even have a meal in the house of the tax collectors, in the company of the other tax collectors. To the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, this was an act of ultimate defilement, as none of them would even want to come near to the tax collectors, deemed as sinners and unclean, less still to have a meal in their house and dwelling place.

Through this occasion, the Lord wants to remind us all yet again that we are all beloved and precious to Him, without exception. Not even those whom others considered to be great sinners could be far away from God and His love. On the contrary, even if we are separated from God, but if we are willing to seek God and His mercy, and are humble enough to admit our sinfulness and wicked lives, and willing to embrace His mercy and love, we shall be blessed and strengthened, and we shall be forgiven from our sins.

May the Lord continue to love each and every one of us as He has always loved us all these while, and may He awaken in us the love which we ourselves should have for Him. May He bring us all ever closer to Him, and encourage us all to live as faithful Christians, now and always, in all occasions. Let us also never be judgmental or be prejudiced against our fellow brethren, and instead, learn to love one another just as the Lord has loved us, and help each other on the path towards God’s grace and salvation. Amen.

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Friday, 2 July 2021 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Matthew 9 : 9-13

At that time, as Jesus moved on from where He healed the paralytic man, He saw a man named Matthew, at his seat in the custom-house; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And Matthew got up and followed Him.

Now it happened, while Jesus was at table in Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners joined Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is it, that your Master eats with sinners and tax collectors?”

When Jesus heard this, He said, “Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do. Go, and find out what this means : What I want is mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

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Friday, 2 July 2021 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 105 : 1-2, 3-4a, 4b-5

Alleluia! Give thanks to YHVH, for He is good, for His love endures forever. Who can count YHVH’s mighty deeds, or declare all His praises?

Blessed are they who always do just and right. Remember me, o YHVH, when You show favour to Your people.

Rescue me when You deliver them; let me see the triumph of Your faithful; let me share the joy of Your nation; and join Your people in praising You.

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Friday, 2 July 2021 : 13th Week of Ordinary Time (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Genesis 23 : 1-4, 19 and Genesis 24 : 1-8, 62–67

Sarah lived a hundred and twenty-seven years. She died at Kiriatharba – that is Hebron – in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to weep and mourn for Sarah. Abraham left his dead one and spoke to the Hittites, “I am only a stranger among you; give me a burial place among you, so that I may bury my dead.”

After this Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of Machpelah. Abraham was now old and well on in years, and YHVH had blessed him in every way. Abraham said to his senior servant, who was his steward, “Put your hand under my thigh and you will swear to me by YHVH, God of heaven and earth, that you will not choose a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom we live; rather it is to my country and my kinsfolk that you will go to choose a wife for my son, Isaac.”

The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not want to follow me to this country. In that case should I take your son to the country you came from?” Abraham said to him, “In no way will you take my son back. For YHVH, God of heaven and God of earth, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, spoke to me and swore to me that He would give this country to my race.”

“He will send His Angel before you, that you may find a wife for my son. But if the woman is unwilling to follow you, you will be free of this oath. In any case you are not to take my son down there.”

Now Isaac had come from the well of Lahai-roi, for he was living in the Negeb. As Isaac went out in the early evening to meditate in the field, he looked up and saw camels coming. Rebekah also looked up and when she saw Isaac she alighted from her camel and said to the servant, “Who is this man in the field coming to meet us?”

He replied, “It is my master!” She then covered her face with her veil. The servant related to Isaac all that he had done, and Isaac brought Rebekah into the tent of Sarah, his mother. He made her his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.