SEPTEMBER 5, 2021, TWENTY THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
IS THERE ANY HOPE OF DELIVERANCE FROM THE TROUBLES OF OUR TIME?
Yes, there is. Today’s first reading says, "Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you" (Isaiah 35:4).
This message of deliverance came at the time of trouble and hopelessness. Like ours, it was a calamitous time. Eight century BC in the Northern kingdom of Israel was a period of much unrest and uncertainty. Assyria had besieged the Northern Kingdom of Israel and it collapsed under Assyria’s merciless blows just as the pandemic brought the whole world to its knees. The southern kingdom of Israel suffered a similar fate with the Northern Kingdom but in the hands of the King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The soldiers of Babylon burned the temple and the city of Judah and carried off to exile all healthy people they laid their hands on.
In a situation like this, where shall our help and healing come? The Lord sent the Prophet Isaiah who announced the message of hope and healing we read in today's first reading. Say to the fearful of heart: Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God, he comes with vindication;With divine recompense he comes to save you.Then the eyes of the blind shall see,and the ears of the deaf be opened;Then the lame shall leap like a stag, and the mute tongue sing for joy" (Isaiah 35:4-6). How would this happen? Doesn’t that sound too good to be true? And, what dimension would its fulfillment take?
God does not promise what he will not fulfill. He promised deliverance and restoration. He followed through beyond the wildest imagination of the people of Isaiah's time. He sent Jesus, his son born of a woman. God came in the person of Jesus to deliver the people. This is the message we find in today's gospel. The healing of the man with a speech impediment happened in the district of Decapolis, the name means 10 cities.), in a gentile region that had known the awful silence of death and despair. That healed man represents the ten tribes of Israel and, indeed, the totality of the people of God. From the tribe of Judah, a city that had also known the silence of death and despair, came the messiah who fulfilled the prophecy of deliverance and restoration.
The gospel according to St. Matthew gives a vivid picture of the Messiah's mission. "Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the mute and many others. The Messiah, Jesus Christ, cured them. The crowds were amazed when they saw the lame walking, the blind seeing and the mute speaking. The people saw all this and glorified the God of Israel, who is God of all nations.
Like the people in the time of Isaiah and Jeremiah, we face great social and political unrest, and with militant secularism taking over our lives we can rightfully ask, what is our hope? Can God intervene in our lives again as he did in the past? Yes, he can and he does. The same answer he gave to the people of ancient times is ours today."I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope. When you call me, when you go to pray to me, I will listen to you. When you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart, you will find me with you, says the Lord, and I will change your lot" (Jeremiah 29:12-13).
Dear brothers and sisters, our part is simple. It is to seek the Lord with all our heart and to call upon him. We can honestly cry out to God with the Psalmist. "We are brought down low to the dust; our body lies prostrate on the earth. Stand up and come to our help! Redeem us because of your love!"( Psalm 44:24-27). Will God answer us? Yes, he will. He has promised and he never fails.
What one way we can seek the face of God? From today's second reading, one way we can seek his face is to treat everybody right. The Word of God says, "My brothers and sisters, show no partiality as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ"( James 2:1).
Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord bares his mind on how we shall receive healing and hope in our time of trouble.
Is it not sharing your bread with the hungry, bringing the afflicted and the homeless into your house; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; Your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: "Here I am!"(Isaiah 58:7-9). Does this sound too much for us to do? No. We can do it.
Is there any hope for the deliverance from the troubles of our time? Yes, our help shall come from the Lord who made heaven and earth. "They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar on eagles' wings; They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint" (Isaiah 40:31)
IS THERE ANY HOPE OF DELIVERANCE FROM THE TROUBLES OF OUR TIME?
Yes, there is. Today’s first reading says, "Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you" (Isaiah 35:4).
This message of deliverance came at the time of trouble and hopelessness. Like ours, it was a calamitous time. Eight century BC in the Northern kingdom of Israel was a period of much unrest and uncertainty. Assyria had besieged the Northern Kingdom of Israel and it collapsed under Assyria’s merciless blows just as the pandemic brought the whole world to its knees. The southern kingdom of Israel suffered a similar fate with the Northern Kingdom but in the hands of the King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The soldiers of Babylon burned the temple and the city of Judah and carried off to exile all healthy people they laid their hands on.
In a situation like this, where shall our help and healing come? The Lord sent the Prophet Isaiah who announced the message of hope and healing we read in today's first reading. Say to the fearful of heart: Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God, he comes with vindication;With divine recompense he comes to save you.Then the eyes of the blind shall see,and the ears of the deaf be opened;Then the lame shall leap like a stag, and the mute tongue sing for joy" (Isaiah 35:4-6). How would this happen? Doesn’t that sound too good to be true? And, what dimension would its fulfillment take?
God does not promise what he will not fulfill. He promised deliverance and restoration. He followed through beyond the wildest imagination of the people of Isaiah's time. He sent Jesus, his son born of a woman. God came in the person of Jesus to deliver the people. This is the message we find in today's gospel. The healing of the man with a speech impediment happened in the district of Decapolis, the name means 10 cities.), in a gentile region that had known the awful silence of death and despair. That healed man represents the ten tribes of Israel and, indeed, the totality of the people of God. From the tribe of Judah, a city that had also known the silence of death and despair, came the messiah who fulfilled the prophecy of deliverance and restoration.
The gospel according to St. Matthew gives a vivid picture of the Messiah's mission. "Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the mute and many others. The Messiah, Jesus Christ, cured them. The crowds were amazed when they saw the lame walking, the blind seeing and the mute speaking. The people saw all this and glorified the God of Israel, who is God of all nations.
Like the people in the time of Isaiah and Jeremiah, we face great social and political unrest, and with militant secularism taking over our lives we can rightfully ask, what is our hope? Can God intervene in our lives again as he did in the past? Yes, he can and he does. The same answer he gave to the people of ancient times is ours today."I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope. When you call me, when you go to pray to me, I will listen to you. When you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart, you will find me with you, says the Lord, and I will change your lot" (Jeremiah 29:12-13).
Dear brothers and sisters, our part is simple. It is to seek the Lord with all our heart and to call upon him. We can honestly cry out to God with the Psalmist. "We are brought down low to the dust; our body lies prostrate on the earth. Stand up and come to our help! Redeem us because of your love!"( Psalm 44:24-27). Will God answer us? Yes, he will. He has promised and he never fails.
What one way we can seek the face of God? From today's second reading, one way we can seek his face is to treat everybody right. The Word of God says, "My brothers and sisters, show no partiality as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ"( James 2:1).
Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord bares his mind on how we shall receive healing and hope in our time of trouble.
Is it not sharing your bread with the hungry, bringing the afflicted and the homeless into your house; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; Your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: "Here I am!"(Isaiah 58:7-9). Does this sound too much for us to do? No. We can do it.
Is there any hope for the deliverance from the troubles of our time? Yes, our help shall come from the Lord who made heaven and earth. "They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar on eagles' wings; They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint" (Isaiah 40:31)
