17 July 2021
Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
“…for His mercy endures forever.” (Ps 136:1)
In the first reading we hear that the People of Israel left Egypt after 430 years, to return to the land of promise. To have been in the generation that was at the end of that captivity, that took the steps out of Egypt, must have brought great joy and relief (at least at first). It is certainly a moment that generations upon generations have remembered and reflected upon, down to the present day: the first taste of a new freedom! In that rememberance, what is remembered is not solely the change from suffering slavery in Egypt to leaving all that behind. Rather, it is remembering this as a change wrought by the Lord, seeing in this change the workings of God’s mercy, a mercy which is there at that moment and which endures for all ages after as well.
The Gospel proclaims that Jesus, though facing a growing conspiracy that sought to have Him killed, nevertheless continues His gentle ministry of healing while seeking for quiet anonymity. The Evangelist then tells us that this is in fulfillment of the prophecy of God’s servant who was to come and proclaim justice to the nations who would then hope in His name. This servant (described in the first ‘Servant Song’ of Isaiah) “will not contend nor cry out” when faced with those who seek to discredit or harm Him. “A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench,” images of one whose gentleness inspires hope for even those who consider themselves to be lost causes. Jesus is this gentle servant, who brings the justice for which those who suffer long, in whose gentleness we all may hope! Let us turn to this Lord, especially seeking help in prayer and forgiveness in confession, and so come to know the truth of the words that His mercy, so deeply seen in the Exodus and the Gospels, “endures forever.”