Bible Readings: Isaiah 10:5-7, 13-16; Psalm 94; Matthew 11:25-27
The whole life and story of Judas Iscariot is still very confusing to many of us. Many advocates of Judas still think it is wrong to blame Judas because He was used by God to carry out a purpose, He was destined or fatally determined to be who he became.
The first reading of today may help us to understand something about that and in fact about our lives too.
The Assyrians attacked and conquered Syria, Judah and Israel and they boasted because of this, they attributed their success to their military might.
Today, the Lord gave his own explanation of the situation:
The Assyrians succeeded because He permitted them. He used them as a rod to correct His people. They didn’t succeed because they were strong, they succeeded because God permitted them.
I think we need to pause and reflect on this. There are two points for us to ponder further on.
Message 1
Nothing can happen unless the Lord permits it.
Nothing can happen unless God permits it. No one can succeed in anything, unless God permits it and whatever God permits has a purpose.
We read in Lamentations 3:37
“Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it?”
This again should teach us two things:
I. Trust that God is in control of everything.
II. Humility that we can do nothing without God.
It is this humility, this awareness of our absolute dependence that disposes us to be taught, enlightened, used and blessed by God as we have in today’s gospel.
Message 2.
God turns evil to good without justifying the evildoer
Even though the Lord used the Assyrians to further His purpose, He doesn’t approve their wickedness and evil intention, neither did he absolve them from punishment. Their intention was to destroy and cut off many nations. For this, they must be held accountable.
God permitted Judas to carry out his evil plan. God used his malice for His own purpose, God was not the cause of his evil intention, it was his misuse of freedom and malicious intention, and so the fact that his evil served a divine purpose doesn’t exonerate him. God turns evil to good without justifying the evildoer. There will be proper correction and justice against those who do evil and this will happen according to God’s perfect will and timing.
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Gukena Okami on July 15, 2020