15th Week, Friday, July 15
Isaiah 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8 / Matthew 12:1-8
Hezekiah prays to God: God answered his prayer.
Alexis Carrel was a French physician who did much of his work in the United States. He eventually won the Nobel prize for his contributions to the field of medicine. After a period of religious doubt and skepticism, Carrel underwent a profound conversion.
He also became a great man of prayer. He wrote in an article
for the Reader’s Digest: “Too many people regard prayer . . . as a refuge
for weaklings or a childish petition for material things. Properly understood,
prayer is a mature activity indispensable to the fullest development of
personality.”
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How do we look upon prayer? What role does prayer play in
our daily lives? “When we pray, we link ourselves with the inexhaustible motive
power that spins the universe. We ask that a part of this power be apportioned
to our needs.” Alexis Carrel
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We may wonder what it is like to have a close shave with
death. From the little that we might have read, it is like one's whole life
would flash before one's eyes or something like that. Whatever it may be, a
close shave with death would certainly jolt us and make us think about life and
not to take it for granted, besides the fact that it will also make us think
about death. For king Hezekiah, he did not have a close shave with death. He
fell ill and was at the point of death. And the prophet Isaiah came to confirm
for him that his time was running out and to put his affairs in order. King
Hezekiah was not ready for death and he pleaded to the Lord God for his life
and he shed many tears. Maybe he also had not put his affairs in order yet. But
the Lord God heard his prayer and cured his illness and even gave him another
fifteen years of life. It was not just to give him time to put his affairs in
order, but the Lord God also had things for him to do.
We do not know when
our time on earth will be up or when the Lord will call us home. But we don't
need close shaves with death to remind us that we need to always put our
affairs in order. More importantly, while we still have life with us, let us
know what the Lord God wants of us. Our affairs must the affairs of the Lord
and our life must be at the service of the Lord.
Jesus is not just the
Master of the Sabbath; He is the Master of our life and we must do what He
wants of us. Otherwise, we will live in fear and become slaves of death.
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THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB; THE SABBATH IS FOR PEOPLE
Introduction
In response to the
insistent prayer of King Hezekiah God heals the king and postpones his death so
that he can finish what he intended to do in the service of his people.
Laws are not above the service to people, for the service of
God does not contradict the love and mercy to be shown to people. Laws,
commandments are based on the freedom God has brought to us in Christ.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God, you want us to seek security not in observing
the letter of the law but to seek the insecurity of committing ourselves to you
and to people in mercy and service. Give us the courage to take the risk and,
like Jesus, to make the sacrifice of giving ourselves to you in our neighbor in
need, of sharing in their joys and sorrows, their problems and their protests, that
we may know and serve them as you know and serve us in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Commentary
Law is necessary for life in any well-ordered society. But
laws are not all of equal value; at times they can even be bypassed for good
reason. They may be divine or human, social or ritual, some having greater
value than others. In today’s Gospel, Jesus’ opponents object that his
disciples are violating the Sabbath by plucking and eating grain on the
Sabbath. Jesus objects. The law of necessity has greater value than a law of
abstinence. There are other exceptions to the abstinence law that are found
even in the scriptures. Moreover, the overriding issue is rooted in the person
of Jesus. The Son of Man as God’s personal emissary has authority over the
Sabbath laws. It is well to keep the lesson in mind. We at times feel a certain
conflict in the law. But the overriding law is that of love. If the urgent
needs of my neighbor require that I miss Sunday Mass, there is certainly no sin
involved. This may seem quite clear, but many Catholics fail to see the
difference. How often people confess that they missed Mass because they were
ill. This is not and cannot be a sin. Hezekiah, repenting of his sins, is told
that in three days he shall go up to the temple. But he wants even further
assurance. We trust in the word of our God. “Say but the word and my soul shall
be healed.” That word has been said; we must have confidence in it.
Points to Ponder
Distinguishing types of law
The supreme law of love
Christ as lord of the Sabbath
Intercessions
– That people everywhere be given the time to rest, to
recover from the pressure of their work, and have the opportunity to worship
God, we pray:
– That the faithful who go to Mass on Sundays will behave as
Christians also on weekdays, we pray:
– That Sunday may be to all of us a special occasion to grow
in love for those who are dear to us, to visit the sick and to serve the needy,
we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God, this bread and this wine will become the Lamb
of God, Jesus, your Son. We remember that he shed his blood that our sins may
be forgiven. Let him be our food and drink today that we may pass with him from
death to life and that we may truly be your people, born to be free and to make
one another free in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord, God of the living, we have eaten the Passover meal of
your people of the new covenant. Let Jesus help us to live the great
commandment of love not so much as an order to be obeyed but as a free gift to
people of our time, our attention and our very selves, by the strength of Jesus
Christ our Lord.
Blessing
Of course, there are commandments. But the Lord himself
tells us that they may never stand in the way of mercy and of the loving
service of people. May almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit.
