Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Okami
1st Reading: Isaiah 38:1-6, 21-22,
King Hezekiah is cured of a serious sickness; as a sign of full health God turns the sun’s rays backward
In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.” Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the Lord: “Remember now, O Lord, I implore you, how I have walked before you in faithfulness with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of your ancestor David: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and defend this city.
Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a lump of figs, and apply it to the boil, so that he may recover.” Hezekiah also had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?
Gospel: Matthew 12:1-8
Disciples may eat on the Sabbath, for Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. God desires mercy more than sacrifice
At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. When the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests. Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and yet are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
Often times we set standards for ourselves, our children, our workers, those under our watch. We express our expectations from them- for instance, when our child is resuming higher institutions, we tell him/her things like “you must come back with a good grade, you must not do this and that”.
Some people set expectations for others that are beyond their capacities. For instance, mother-in-law telling the daughter-in-law with indisputable seriousness, “after nine months I want to carry twins and some will even specify- a boy and a girl.”
In the bible also, we have different expectations of God from us. The Ten Commandments for instance is a catalogue of what God expects from us.
However, the greatest expectation in the bible that sums up all other expectations is found in Matthew 5:48 “Be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Meaning, God wants us to aspire to become like Him in character and in holiness.
Let’s examine the first reading and observe what it says about the person and character of God.
The first reading of today tells us about a man named Hezekiah. Hezekiah was the king of Judah. He fell ill and was at the point of death. God sent Isaiah to him that he should prepare for his death, Hezekiah prayed with tears and God granted him a second tenure of fifteen more years on earth.
From the first reading and the gospel, I want to draw our attention to three things we need to observe and imbibe in the character of God.
I. God is not dictatorial.
Even though He has sent Isaiah to tell Hezekiah that he (Hezekiah) would die but then Hezekiah appealed and God listened.
A similar situation is in Exodus 32:10-14, God pronounced judgment on the people of Israel, He is going to destroy them, Moses made God see reasons He should spare them and God listened.
Many of us are so autocratic in character. Whatever we say holds and stands; we do not want to tolerate any other perspective, opinion or suggestion.
When for instance, your wife, friend or children suggests something different, you tell them “You! What do you know?” Even though in the long run, you might discover that their counsel could have yielded better result.
Most times we make hasty pronouncement and ordinances that will make life more unbearable, miserable and unnecessarily challenging for people and yet we remain firm.
The only time some people are firm and resolved is when they issue a decree in fury, they ensure it is irreversible but when they make a resolution to put an end to sin, they reverse it too soon.
God is not autocratic. Do not be autocratic; there is wisdom in paying attention to and considering people’s perspective and feeling.
II. God doesn’t overlook people’s effort and good will.
Hezekiah was one of the most outstanding kings of Judah. He made effort to do what was right in the sight of God (2Kings 18,3, 5-6) despite catalogue of negative precedence.
When the prophet Isaiah told the king that he would die, the first thought that came to him was to pray to the Lord. The Lord heard his prayer.
When in a rage of fury, many of us forget the kindness and sacrifice of others for us. A woman who has been your pillar of support when times are hard, she wrongs you and then you insist you will never forgive her, a worker who has served you diligently because he made a mistake you threatened to fire him and you did fire him and you vindicate your cruelty by saying “I am a no nonsense man” do you know the extent of nonsense God has taken from you without firing you, you tell a friend who stood by you in need “to go to hell” because he didn’t agree with you on a matter.
God considered the effort and labour of love of Hezekiah and spared him. This should be a lesson for us;
Hebrews 6:10 “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and your labour of love for his name.”
Ask yourself today “Am I fair, considerate and just in my dealings with those who have served me and who are serving me sacrificially?”
III. God is merciful:
The experience of Hezekiah testifies to the mercy of God. This mercy is beyond human comprehension. God pronounced sentence, Hezekiah cried and prayed and God had mercy.
This is where I want to draw the connection between the first reading and the Gospel.
In the Gospel, the disciples were picking heads of grains on the Sabbath. The Pharisees were so quick to identify a fault in this, to them, the disciples are supposed to go hungry on a Sabbath because to prepare food to satisfy hunger is unlawful.
Dear friends, it is not every time we should be legalistic, always quoting laws, always finding faults and criticising, punishing everything without sparing anything. Justice without mercy is cruelty.
To our piety, let us add mercy that is the readiness to forgive those who wrong us and are contrite, compassion for those in need of our help, reluctance to judge and condemn others.
Remember what God wants
“I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.”
Repeat after me- Lord Jesus, help me to reflect more and more the mercy, kindness and patience of God.
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Okami at the Catholic Church of the Presentation, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria on Friday July 20, 2018