A Bruised Reed God Will Not Break; A Smoldering Wick God Will Not Quench! (Isaiah 42: 1-4)

In today's Gospel, Matthew 12: 14-21, St. Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah's description of Jesus:  "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."

Those are consoling words in contrast to the message from Micah, 2: 1-5, in which the prophet issues a warning against the wicked of our world, saying: "Woe to those who plan iniquity, and work out evil on their couches. In the morning light they accomplish it when it lies within their power. They covet fields, and seize them; houses, and they take them; they cheat an owner of his house, a man of his inheritance. Therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I am planning against this race an evil from which you shall not withdraw your necks; nor shall you walk with head high, for it will be a time of evil." 

In the Gospel of today, Jesus meets evil head on:  "The Pharisees went out and took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place."

None of us will escape the evil that exists in this world. Every night on the news we are reminded of evil persons plotting to hurt another person, so it seems, or actually has brought evil upon another. The responsorial psalm of today's liturgy, Psalm 10,  also speak of this world's evil when the psalmist says: "Proudly the wicked harass the afflicted, who are caught in the devices the wicked have contrived. For the wicked man glories in his greed, (is this not what we see on the news each night) and the covetous blasphemes, sets the Lord at nought. The wicked man boasts, 'he [God] will not avenge it'; 'There is no God,' sums up his thoughts. His mouth is full of cursing, guile and deceit; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.  ...[H]is eyes spy upon the unfortunate."  The psalmist then reminds us that God is not blind to anyone's wickedness or the effects of his/her wickedness upon another person, especially the poor and vulnerable. The Psalmist says of God: "You do see, for you behold misery and sorrow, taking them in your hands. On you the unfortunate [person] depends; of the fatherless [and motherless] you are the helper." God quickly comes to the aid of the poor and vulnerable of this world.

Let us never forget that God sees, God cares and God weeps with us! Though God does not magically destroy wickedness and its effects, God is there to walk through it with us, to carry us, if necessary. God is there to strengthen us, to hold us up, to bless us in ways that confound the wicked! It may seem as though the wicked are getting away with their evil intents and deeds.  However, God is a God of justice and at some point, here or hereafter, justice will be served to those who engage in evil! "A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench until he brings justice to victory." O, the greatness and the mercy and the love of our God! It knows no measure!

Lord, I know that you are at work in the "good Fridays" of our day, though I see you not! Justice will prevail and will triumph, as it did not Calvary. Jesus triumphed in the resurrection from the dead on that day; those who killed him walked away saying: "Truly, this is the Son of God!"

The Compassion of our God!

In today's Gospel, Matthew 14: 13-21,  when Jesus returns from a deserted place where he had been grieving the murder of his cousin John the Baptist, Jesus meets a crowd of people, about 5000 men plus women and children. "When...he saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them."
Jesus is likewise moved with pity for you and me and vast crowds of people that assemble for political rallies, for sport's events or any other kind of entertainment, for religious gatherings or family reunions, weddings, or funerals; those gathered at our borders and in modern-day concentration cams, those detained in cages and locked up in overcrowded prisons!

Jesus, I believe, weeps for all of us and especially for those suffering at our hands. Imagine Jesus looking on when a person faces violence--physical, verbal, emotional abuse--at the hands of an out-of-control policeman/woman, a jealous lover, a clergy person, a corrupt politician, a gun-wielding mentally ill person, an out of-control family member or co-worker. Jesus, I believe, weeps when he witnesses these scenes and especially when a person loses his/her life because of our violent behavior.

In today's responsorial psalm, Psalm 81, the Lord says to us:  "If only my people would hear me, and Israel (you and me and all people) walk in my ways, quickly would I humble their enemies  (especially those within us); against  their foes I would turn my hand."  Each one of us depends totally upon the Lord to "humble our enemies"  and "to turn his hand against our foes". We need God's help, always, to do good and avoid evil. And when we fall into sin, we need to ask God, the other person against whom we have sinned and ourselves for forgiveness.

God forgives us. Do we forgive ourselves and one another?