TENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Disappointed , but not hopeless First Reading ( Hos 6:3-6 ) : God desires steadfast love more than sacrifice.
Second Reading (Rom 4:18-25 ) : Abraham is the father of faith.
Gospel ( Mt 9:9-13 ) : Matthew was called to be an apostle
Chinese Classics:
“Do, knowing it cannot be done.” (1)
“Heaven blessed me with virtue. Huan Tui – what can he do to me?” (2) As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax-collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax-collectors and sinners?’ But when he heard this, he said, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’ ( Mt 9:9-13 ) Tax collectors collected taxes from the Jews for the Roman the conquerors. In the eyes of Jews, tax collectors were the “running dogs” of the Romans. When Jesus said to Matthew, “Follow me!”, this “calling” was truly our faith. Our faith basically is about callings and response to callings. God calls each and every one of us, regardless of race, class or profession. We sometime will say, “It makes no difference what or who we believe in. All religions teach us to seek after the good, or provide us a place to rely on.or a way to ask for good fortune and blessings and to avoid disaster. The Catholic teaching of course also teaches us to seek after the good . It can become that which we rely on, and a surety that God will answer our prayers when we ask. However, none of that is the core of the Catholic faith. The core of the Catholic faith is calling and response. “Follow me!” that is Catholicism. Catholicism is a God-centered religion. Once we accept God into our lives, we no longer belong to ourselves. We belong to God and must become what God want us to be. Deep inside our hearts, we know that God has a plan for us, or even a set of plans. He continues to call us, while I continue to respond. I must be open to God, like the young Samuel who said, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening!” That only is Catholicism. God calls every one of us, including sinners. No one is excluded from God's love and care, no one needs to have a low self-esteem or be afraid. Jesus said that he did not come for the righteous but for sinners. It is exactly because we are sinners, and because we are not perfect, that we have a greater need to respond to God's call. If God loves me, I must love myself; if God affirms me I have no excuse but to affirm myself, because God is greater than I. Since God calls me, I must respond to God. No matter how I feel about myself, I must have total confidence in God. Having total confidence in God is one of the qualities that Abraham possessed as described by St. Paul the Apostle in his letters to the Romans. ‘Hoping against hope, Abraham believed that he would become ‘the father of many nations’, according to what was said, ‘So numerous shall your descendants be.’ He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Therefore his faith ‘was reckoned to him as righteousness.’ ( Rom 4:18-25) Abraham's life of faith was a life of hope. When he was young God called him and said to him,
Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father's house to a land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you.” (Gen 12: 1-3).
Abraham rose and went to the land God had designated. Abraham did not have any children of his own but he believed in what God had said. “I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars in the heavens and the sand of the earth.” Abraham did not know what he should do in order to fulfill this promise, and yet he believed it would be realized. Not long after he was given a son, his only son Isaac. However, another greater test came. God told Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice to God. Abraham was puzzled. There was a movie in which Abraham was portrayed as becoming furious as soon as he heard this command from God. He went in front of a big rock next to his tent, and hit it as hard as he could. He could not understand why God who had promised that his offspring would be like the stars in the heaven and the sand of the earth would ever ask for the death of his only son. But when the next day came, Abraham still obeyed God completely and went to do as God had commanded. In his despair Abraham still was filled with hope and faith. If we wish to respond to God's calling, we must be like Abraham, full of faith and hope. Even in despair we must still have hope and faith in God. We are able to do this because we know clearly that this is true – “When God closes a door, He will open a window.” Confucius was not a Christian but many of us know that he had the courage and perseverance to “Do, knowing it cannot be done.”(1) When people persecuted him, he responded nonchalantly, “Heaven blessed me with virtue. Huan Tui – what can he do to me?”(2) What he had was faith, hope and ambition for his country, his people and himself. We believe that God who gave Abraham faith and hope also gave Confucius courage and power to overcome the challenges of life. (1)知其不可而為之。
(2)天生德於予，桓魋其如予何？
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