Saturday of the 15th week in ordinary time
Micah 2: 1-5 Mathew 12: 14-21
Theme: Good and evil
In our liturgy today, we see the struggle between the good and evil at play. This can be referred to as two sides of the same coin. This stems from the fact that you can find both sides in every individual, it is the choice we make that eventually places us in one side of the divide. However, over time we have seen that the good will always triumph over evil, no matter the time it takes, that is why our liturgy today invites us in a very special way to embrace what is good and right in our daily life. We have nothing to lose when we stand on the side of what is good and right, just like Jesus did in the gospel reading of today; and the message of the prophet Micah in the 1st reading of today. Never allow yourself to be attracted by what is wrong and evil; this is because the end is always disastrous and not good.
In the gospel reading of today, we see the plan of the Pharisees to destroy Jesus; simply because his presence is becoming a threat to them because of their ways. Jesus had to withdraw from them, but it did not stop him from doing his work of ministering to the needs of the people. Sometimes in our life, we need wisdom to handle the deceptions of evil people. This is exactly what Jesus did in today’s gospel reading. Sometimes their aim may be to ensure that they stop you from carrying out the work of God, we must not allow such evil devices to stop us from doing the work of God. The work of God must continue to go on, irrespective of the challenges that are employed by those who have embraced evil and allow themselves to be used like the Pharisees. One thing that is worthy of note, is the fact that we must always stand with God on the side of what is good and right. However, there will be a price to pay from embracing this option, but the grace of God will never fail you.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, in the 1st reading from the prophet Micah we also see a similar message from God. He was angry because of the oppression and exploitation that was going on in the society. The wealthy people from the Southern part of Israel, was exploiting the poor and less privileged, and this greatly angered God. This same situation is not farfetched in our own time, the exploitation of the less privileged by the privileged. The judgement of God today is saying something to all of us as Christians. If we are involved in such practices, we must stop, lest we attract the anger of God to ourselves. We can choose to be friends to the less privileged like Jesus.
May God bless his words in our hearts in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Peace be with you.