Twelfth Week of Ordinary Time
25th June 2024 (Tuesday)
Psalter: Week 4
Reading of the Day
First Reading: 2 Kings 19:9b-11, 14-21, 31-35a, 36
At those days: Sennacherib king of Assyria sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered? Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said: “O Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. So now, O Lord our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone.” Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Your prayer to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. This is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him: “She despises you, she scorns you—the virgin daughter of Sion; she wags her head behind you—the daughter of Jerusalem. For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Sion a band of survivors. The zeal of the Lord will do this. “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the Lord. For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.” And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went home and lived at Nineveh.
Psalm 48:2-3ab, 3cd-4, 10-11, (R. see 9cd)
R/. God establishes his city forever.
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. I am the light of the world, says the Lord; Whoever follows me will have the light of life.
R/. Alleluia.
Gospel : Matthew 7:6, 12-14
At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
Daily Gospel Reflection
Tuesday – Twelfth Week of Ordinary Time
Guidelines: Many fail to make the right decisions and implement them into the right actions. It is because they fail to discern between right and wrong. Further, this is because they lack wisdom
1. One dominant theme in today’s word of God is divine discernment. Sennacherib, the king of Assyria does not realise and discern between God’s unsurpassable might and his own limited human resources and army capacities. He does not discern that the God of Israel is the supreme warrior, victor, and protector of His people.
2. Consequently, he ridicules Hezekiah, the king of Israel that there is no rescue for him other than surrendering to the hands of Assyria. God thwarts his plans and frustrates his human capacities. He declares explicitly, “I will defend the city and save it”. Failure in discernment brings humiliation and destruction.
3. In the gospel, 3 further cases call for discernment: not throwing what is holy to the dogs, and pearls before the pigs; doing to others what we want them to do to you; entering through the narrow gate and way and not the broader.
4. What is holy and precious like a pearl may be our faith, our life. They are so sacred and valuable. So we must always safeguard and preserve them intact. We should not tamper with them or taint them.
5. We should not expose them to dogs and pigs, meaning evil forces or pressures. We should not deal with our faith and life thoughtlessly and carelessly. This is also a caution against evil to be careful and not be taken for a ride.
6. The second aspect of discernment is to opt for altruism. In Jesus’ words, it is to “do to others what you want them to do to you”. Accordingly, it would mean that we always think, feel, speak and do only what is good and positive toward others. No one would wish bad or harm for one’s own self. This in fact is the “Golden Rule”.
7. The third aspect of discernment is between the narrow gate and way and the broader gate and way. The former is difficult but leads to salvation. But the latter, the broader is easier but leads to destruction.
Practice: The man of today lacks this power of discernment. That is why he easily falls to the fierce attacks of the evil, the dogs and pigs. He is not able to preserve intact his life and faith. He fails in altruism. He is prone and eager to walk the broader way and meets with discernment
