Gospel Reflection

July 20, 2013

Saturday – Year of Faith – Ordinary Time

by Rev. Fr. Ernie M. Cruz, SDB - Rector, St. John Bosco Parish Church, Makati

6:30AM Mass, St. John Bosco Parish Church, Makati

Reading 1 Ex 12:37-42

The children of Israel set out from Rameses for Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, not counting the little ones. A  crowd of mixed ancestry also went up with them, besides their livestock, very numerous flocks and herds. Since the dough they had brought out of Egypt was not leavened, they baked it into unleavened loaves. They had rushed out of Egypt and had no opportunity even to prepare food for the journey.

The time the children of Israel had stayed in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. At the end of four hundred and thirty years, all the hosts of the LORD left the land of Egypt on this very date. This was a night of vigil for the LORD, as he led them out of the land of Egypt; so on this same night all the children of Israel must keep a vigil for the LORD throughout their generations.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 136:1 and 23-24, 10-12, 13-15

R. His mercy endures forever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever;
Who remembered us in our abjection,
for his mercy endures forever;
And freed us from our foes,
for his mercy endures forever.
R. His mercy endures forever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Who smote the Egyptians in their first-born,
for his mercy endures forever;
And brought out Israel from their midst,
for his mercy endures forever;
With a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,
for his mercy endures forever.
R. His mercy endures forever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Who split the Red Sea in twain,
for his mercy endures forever;
And led Israel through its midst,
for his mercy endures forever;
But swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,
for his mercy endures forever.
R. His mercy endures forever.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel Mt 12:14-21

The Pharisees went out and took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.

When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place. Many people followed him, and he cured them all, but he warned them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight; I shall place my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not contend or cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope.

HOMILY

Just before the Gospel of today, Jesus cured a man with a withered hand - just before the story in the Gospel. And Jesus cured the man on a Sabbath. Then comes this line - the Pharisees went out and took counseling to put Jesus to death. How can a people in a counsel decide to put Jesus to death, when He has just done a good deed? The only thing is that it was done on a Sabbath. The man with a withered hand suddenly started moving his hand, and then the Pharisees wanted to condemn Jesus to die. And so, Jesus withdrew from them. He realized na hindi pwedeng kausapin ang mga taong ito. There is no point in discussing with these people. 

May mga ibang taong ang pananaw ay binabaluktot ang matuwid. Kahit ano ang pag-usapan ay walang pupuntahan, because they think differently. Like the Pharisees in the Gospel, they could not but think and act according to their bias. In Ecclesiastes, we read about a quotation saying that there is a time for confrontation. There is a time when confrontation is not to be done. And this is the point why Jesus did not want to confront the Pharisees, even if He could. There have been times when Jesus has confronted them directly and silenced them. But this time, Jesus probably thought it is too much, and so He withdrew from them. But Jesus withdrew, in order to do good in other places. Many people followed Him, and they cured them all. Jesus did not want to run away; He just moved aside, as He did not need to die at that moment, so that He could continue to do good to other people. 

Beautifully, the First Reading of today is just the opposite. God confronted Pharaoh in order to let His people free. He did a lot of punishment on Pharaoh to convince him to let the Hebrews go. And we see them leaving after 400 years that they were in Egypt. That freedom happened because God would not allow Pharaoh to do things his way. That was a good confrontation. 

But in the Gospel today, it was not just a no-confrontation thing for Jesus. More than that, Matthew quoted Isaiah the prophet, "Behold, my servant, whom I have chosen, My beloved in whom I delight....a bruised reed He will not break...." This means that there is the preferential attitude of Jesus not to face violence with violence, not to confront. This is also what we heard in the Gospel last Sunday when Jesus said, "Come to Me, for I am meek and humble of heart." Jesus would want to be seen also as a Lamb to be sacrificed. In the Cross, Jesus died without putting any resistance. He accepted all that, because non-violence also has a place in our day-to-day life. 

We continue our celebration this morning, looking at the way we confront situations, events and people. Sometimes, like Jesus, we just withdraw, not to confront, because it will not lead anywhere. There are certain times when our non-violence will probably be more effective than anything else. Mahatma Gandhi succeeded in freeing the people of India because of his non-violence. In the United States, there was also the non-violence in the 60's. 

Jesus would want us to just be on that line, because we are at a time when violence is now so common in the streets. Minsan tayo ay nagmamaneho and our enemy can come out in the streets, just because of a simple traffic confrontation. Jesus, in the Gospel today, tells us to exercise control, to keep our cool, to be humble, be gentle. There is a place in the heart of God for gentle and humble people, like Jesus Himself, so that we, too, may be called, 'My beloved, in whom I delight'. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.