20th Week, Tuesday, Aug 22
Judges 6:11-24 / Matthew 19:23-30
Gideon protests; God's call to him; He said, "l am the lowest of the low. "
A 185-foot jet was preparing to land at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The pilot pushed the button for the nose gear to lower to landing position, but it didn't respond. He tried again, but nothing happened. The co-pilot ran a quick check and traced the problem to a faulty relay switch. He thought for a minute and then looked around for something to bypass the relay. You guessed it; he found a paper clip. Bending it out straight, he reshaped it to carry the current around the bad relay. It worked like a charm. The huge jet was saved by a tiny paper clip.***
What kind of self-image do we have? Do we look upon ourselves as a "paper clip," the "lowest of the low," to paraphrase Gideon? "God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who account for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something." 1 Corinthians 1:28
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Israel is once again in difficulties on account of their infidelity to Yahweh. The Midianites were descendants of Abraham. The country lay East of Aqabah, where Moses had spent 20 years and had married Zipporah. They were Bedouins and lived by robbing neighbouring countries. Gideon, a rich farmer and businessman, had to thresh his corn in the winepress for fear of these marauders. God called him. We read today about his vocation. The Bible is eager to tell us that God took the initiative. Just as in the exodus. This follows the pattern of vocation stories. God calls, he entrusts a definite task The called person pleads he is not fit and worthy, which plea God rejects. He assures the person of his help and gives a sign to confirm the call. We saw this pattern in the vocation of Moses and many others and finally at the Annunciation and other vocations since. Gideon was true to his vocation; he routed the Midianites. They never returned.
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There are many lessons that we can learn from the sufferings of Jesus, especially from the Last Supper till He died on the Cross. One profound learning point is in the agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsamane, which was between the Last Supper and Jesus being betrayed. At the Garden of Gethsamane, Jesus prayed that if it was possible, the cup of suffering would pass Him by, but in the end, He accepted that God's will be done, and with that He went on to face His sufferings. It was a critical moment as Jesus struggled with making that decision, but when He decided for God's will, He was at peace with Himself and He accepted the sufferings to come.
In the 1st reading, Gideon was struggling to accept the mission from God. He needed some signs and God gave him the sign.And the Lord said to him, "Peace be with you; have no fear; you will not die." And Gideon built an altar to the Lord and called it "The-Lord-is-Peace."
In life, we will also have our share of doubts, difficulties and fears. We doubt if God listens to our prayers and we find life's difficulties piling. God's will becomes another difficulty for us. Yet like Jesus let us accept the will of God and do it. Accepting and doing God's will brings us peace of heart. Only then what seemed impossible will now be possible.
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Yesterday's reading about the rich young man has its sequel today. "It is hard for a rich man to go to heaven. " The simile is meant to provoke, to excite. The exaggeration of the camel going through the eye of a needle, is to show how impossible it is, naturally speaking, for a rich man to go to heaven. "For men this is impossible; for God everything is possible. " Regarding the way of the counsels, Peter offers to give himself in all generosity, fully, completely, but for a reward. He would like to how what this will be. Nobody can surpass God in generosity. The reward is a hundredfold. What Peter did not expect was that the apostles are going to be the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem, the Church. Just as the twelve tribes were the foundation of Israel when the Jews took over the promised land. So, the apostles will rule the people of God in the kingdom Jesus is going to establish.
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In today’s gospel Peter asks, “What about us, Lord?” and Jesus answers that it is difficult for those who are attached to things to enter the kingdom of heaven. We want to follow him. Have we given up everything for his sake? Where do we stand? What is our situation? Jesus promises eternal life. The poor shall be rich. Those who follow Jesus throughout, even losing their life, will live with God.
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Prayer
Lord our God, we hold you to your promise to those who have left everything for the sake of your kingdom and who are willing to follow your Son wherever he leads them. Let them be men and women poor in the things that count on this earth but rich with your love and your grace and with a wealth of friends to whom they can bring our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
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