How does our Gospel today (Mt 7:1-5) tie up with our first reading about the tragic fall of Israel to foreign rule, under the Assyrian empire? Two expressions come to mind, in answer to the question. First, the expression, “Give them a dose of their own medicine.” And secondly, the saying, “Those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it.”
But let’s start immediately with the second. In our first reading, I imagine the writer of the Book of Kings shaking his head and saying to himself, “Israel, how could you possibly have forgotten so quickly?” This writer knew they had been adequately warned by their prophets. But they never listened. And they murdered their prophets.
They had the prophets to remind them of the important lessons of the past. They, of all nations, should know, because they had been through those miserable years of slavery under the Egyptians. Their ancestors had even taken pains to write down their beautiful epic story for posterity, in their Sacred Scriptures. They know the price that their heroes like Moses and Joshua had to pay for their liberation from slavery so that they could enjoy freedom, peace and prosperity in the land of milk and honey that eventually became their homeland. God never stopped sending them more prophets to constantly remind them of their past. They were instructed never to oppress slaves because they were once upon a time slaves themselves.
When they grew into a strong nation, their leaders were also warned by the prophets about the danger of power. In the 8th century, they were warned about the steady advances of a new world power that was acting like a bully in the whole Ancient Near East. Their attention had been called about the way Assyrian Empire had been greedily occupying the territories of the neighboring nations, with no respect for human lives, and no regard for their sovereignty. But the kings of Israel and Judah would not listen.
Instead, they cozied up too much with this new economic and political empire; they behaved like flies that thought they too were giants just because they were allowed to perch on the elephant’s head. The writer calls them “stiff-necked”, proud and arrogant rulers “who had not believed in the Lord their God and rejected his statutes.”
Perhaps the writer was regretting the fact that Israel had been given many chances to build a better society, one that was more just and equitable, more merciful and compassionate to the poor and vulnerable as Yahweh their God so desired. But no, they ended up trying desperately to mimic the ruthless kingdoms around them, because they too wanted their little nation to become a global power. They lorded it over arrogantly and trampled on the rights of the poor with impunity. They used the law as weapon, imposing it as a burden on people while they routinely violated it themselves. It was back to the same olden days when the poor cried out again to God. Only, this time their oppressors were their own leaders.
But the writer also knew that it was the people themselves who had put these leaders in power, supported them, and allowed them to demolish what their ancestors had built through the years. So what does the Lord do? That brings us now to the second expression: “Give them a dose of their own medicine.”
This expression should make it easier for us to understand the Gospel’s more archaic saying, “The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.” Even in today’s morning prayers, the reading from the book of Judith seems to complement this message well. “Not for vengeance did the Lord put them in the crucible to try their hearts, nor has he done so with us. It is by way of admonition that he chastises those who are close to him.” (Judith 8:25-27)
Sometimes, the Lord will give us a dose of our own medicine, especially when we do to others what we ourselves hate, or do not want others to do unto us, such as when we deal with others with no regard for their humanity or when we treat the poor like trash. Precisely because he cares for us, he will sometimes allow us to suffer the consequences of our own actions, of our own stupidity and forgetfulness. It is what they call “having to learn things the hard way.”
The Gospel today teaches us to value self-criticism. In Christian tradition, every night, before we go to bed, during the night prayers, we are taught by the Church to make a consciousness examination as a regular routine. It is the only way we can avoid the path of self-righteousness and develop a clearer vision, a better view of where we should be heading on to. It is the only way for us to avoid the path that leads towards self-destruction.
This article is a homily delivered by Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan for Monday, June 22, the 12th Week in Ordinary Time of the Church Calendar.
