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Saturday – Nineteenth Week – OT2
Readings: Eze 18:1-10, 13b, 30-32; Mt 19:13-15.
Reading 1 (Eze 18:1-10, 13b, 30-32):
The word of the LORD came to me:
Son of man, what is the meaning of this proverb
that you recited in the land of Israel:
“Fathers have eaten green grapes,
thus their children’s teeth are on edge?”
As I live, says the Lord GOD:
I swear that there shall no longer be anyone among you
who will repeat this proverb in Israel.
For all lives are mind;
the life of the father is like the life of the son, both are mind;
only the one who sins shall die.
If a man is virtuous–if he does what is right and just,
if he does not eat on the mountains,
nor raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel;
if he does not defile his neighbor’s wife,
nor have relations with a woman in her menstrual period;
if he oppresses no one,
gives back the pladge received for a debt,
commits no robbery;
if he gives food to the hungry and clothes to the naked;
if he does not lend at interest nor exact usury;
if he holds off form evildoing,
judges fairly between a man and his opponent;
if he lives by my statutes and is careful to observe my ordinances,
that man is virtuous–he shall surely live, says the Lord GOD.
Bur if he begets a son who is a thief, a murderer,
or lends at interest and exacts usury–
this son certainly shall not live.
Because he practiced all these abominations, he shall surely die;
his death shall be his own fault.
Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel,
each one according to his ways, says the Lord GOD.
Turn and be converted from all your crimes,
that they may be converted from all your crimes,
that they may be no cause of guilt for you.
Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed,
and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.
Why should you die, O house of Israel?
For I have no pleasure in death of anyone who dies,
says the Lord GOD. Return and live!
Gospel (Mt 19:13-15):
Children were brought to Jesus
that he might lay his hands on them and pray.
The disciples rebuked them, but Jesus said,
“Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them;
for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
After he placed his hands on them, he went away.
Fr. Anthony Dinh Minh Tien, O.P.
I. THEME: Everyone must be responsible for their acts.
According to the principle “cause-effect” of Buddhism, if the effect is good, the cause must be good; if the effect is bad, the cause must be bad. In the Gospel, Jesus said a similar sentence, “By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit” (Mt 7:16-18). Some people also apply this principle to human beings and interpret further: if the children are good, their parents must be good; and if children are bad, their parents must be bad. Such a cycle continues from generation to generation. When one falls to a bad cycle, he shall be bad and there is no chance for him to escape this cycle. Is this true to human beings?
Today readings concentrate on the principle, “Everyone must be responsible for their acts.” In the first reading, the prophet Ezekiel reported that God condemned people who applied the “cause-effect” to people and commanded people not to preach this principle. The “cause-effect” is only the secondary cause, the primary cause depends on the actor. In God’s providence, everyone must be responsible for their acts; however, both good acts and bad acts can cause results for both actor and others. In the Gospel, Jesus rebuked his disciples because they prevented children from coming to him.
II. ANALYSIS:
1/ Reading I: I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies.
1.1/ The “cause-effect” principle: A Vietnamese adage said, “if the father eats salt, his chidren shall feel thirsty.” This adage means that if the father did a wicked thing, his children shall also endure bad results of his act. The Jews also have a similar adage, “Fathers have eaten green grapes, thus their children’s teeth are on edge.”
God condemns this belief in the first reading by saying, “As I live, says the Lord God: I swear that there shall no longer be anyone among you who will repeat this proverb in Israel. For all lives are mine; the life of the father is like the life of the son, both are mine; only the one who sins shall die.”
1.2/ The danger of this principle: It easily leads to predeterminism and causes people to blame on God for their unlucky fate. As said above, the cause-effect principle is only the secondary, not the principle cause. God gives people hope to escape this bad cycle even from the father’s generation. He can repent and receive God’s forgiveness and try to compensate for his sins. If he didn’t repent, his children can still escape the cycle by living a righteous life. In a word, according to God’s forgiving plan, there is no obstacle to prevent people to come back to God, except their hardness of heart. God gives the simple reason for this: “Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies, says the Lord God. Return and live!”
2/ Gospel: For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these children.
2.1/ Why did the disciples rebuke them? Children are often noisy and running around; their acts affect adult’s conversation and prevent them to sleep or to rest. The disciples noticed Jesus are so busy with his mission all day to teach and to heal people; wherever he goes, a big crowd follows him, children are running around and causing all kinds of problem; so they prevented them to come to Jesus. Understanding the disciples’ good intention, Jesus didn’t rebuke them, only said to them, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” After he placed his hands on them, he went away.
Through this act, Jesus wanted to teach leaders an important lesson when facing of the crowd’s needs. When they choose to appear in public place, they choose to be with people. Don’t insult and avoid them because their mission and success largely depend on them. There are many leaders, after became well-known, protect themselves by avoiding people; so they gradually fade and not many people shall remember them.
However, Jesus didn’t spend all of his time with the crowd and forget about praying and resting. He reminded his disciples, ““Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat” (Mk 6:31). On another incident, Jesus “made the disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds” (Mt 14:22). And many times, he left the crowd and the disciples to come to mountain to pray alone (Mt 14:23, Lk 9:18, Jn 6:15). Jesus knew how to control his time and to behave in all situations.
2.2/ What do the adult need to learn from the children? Jesus certainly didn’t require us to be like children in all aspects because the children also need to learn from the adult to become more matured. Some of the children’s characters are needed for the adults’ relationship with God, such as:
(1) Children completely believe in their parents, not in them or others. We also need to completely believe in God, not in any worldly power or ourselves.
(2) Whatever their parents teach, they obey; they don’t rebel against their parents. We also need to have that kind of attitude when we listen to God’s teaching. Don’t argue or find a reason to protect our sinful act.
(3) Whatever children need, they ask, whenever they run out, they ask for more; they don’t know how to store up. God asks us to do the same. We ask Him for our daily food, not for our lifetime. Don’t store up when many don’t have enough to eat.
III. APPLICATION IN LIFE:
– We must be responsible for our acts and life. Don’t find a cause for our sins in our ancestors and don’t depend on the good deeds of our children.
– We need to have a strong faith in God as the children believe in their parents. Don’t let the difficulties of life weaken our faith in God.