Word to the Wise
Saturday, July 21, 2018 - Saturday in the 15th Week in Ordinary Time
[Mic 2:1-5 and Matt 12:14-21]The Pharisees went out and took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place. Many people followed him, and he cured them all, but he warned them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through Isaiah the prophet: Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight; I shall place my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not contend or cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope. [Matthew]
The evangelist Matthew uses the prophecy of Isaiah - one of the "Songs of the Suffering Servant" - to portray Jesus in contrast to the violent opposition of the Pharisees who begin plotting to kill him, as well as to the rejection he was experiencing from his own people. Isaiah portrays the "Suffering Servant" as gentle but powerful and a hope to non-Jewish believers! Jesus' warning to those whom he cures not to make him known seems to be a way of keeping his opposition from getting too widespread and intense.
Christian history, however, has not always been faithful to the non-violent portrait of Jesus. The history of Christian missionary activity at times has included oppression of the kind that Micah portrays in the first scripture. When military force has been used at the same time as the preaching of the gospel, injustice and oppression have been the rule, no matter how loudly the missionaries may have protested. Jesus, Isaiah and Micah all challenge us today about the way in which we should preach the gospel, and care for others. We are called to be a sign of hope, not despair! AMEN