20260527 PURIFICATION OF LOVE THROUGH LOVE AND TRUTH
27 May 2026, Wednesday, 8th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | 1 Peter 1:18-25 |
You were ransomed by the precious blood of Christ, the spotless lamb
Remember, the ransom that was paid to free you from the useless way of life your ancestors handed down was not paid in anything corruptible, neither in silver nor gold, but in the precious blood of a lamb without spot or stain, namely Christ; who, though known since before the world was made, has been revealed only in our time, the end of the ages, for your sake. Through him you now have faith in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory for that very reason – so that you would have faith and hope in God.
You have been obedient to the truth and purified your souls until you can love like brothers, in sincerity; let your love for each other be real and from the heart – your new birth was not from any mortal seed but from the everlasting word of the living and eternal God. All flesh is grass and its glory like the wild flower’s. The grass withers, the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains for ever. What is this word? It is the Good News that has been brought to you.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 147:12-15,19-20 |
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
or
Alleluia!
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Zion, praise your God!
He has strengthened the bars of your gates
he has blessed the children within you.
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
or
Alleluia!
He established peace on your borders,
he feeds you with finest wheat.
He sends out his word to the earth
and swiftly runs his command.
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
or
Alleluia!
He makes his word known to Jacob,
to Israel his laws and decrees.
He has not dealt thus with other nations;
he has not taught them his decrees.
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | 1Jn2:5 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Whenever anyone obeys what Christ has said,
God’s love comes to perfection in him.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mk10:45 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Son of Man came to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 10:32-45 |
The Son of Man came to give his life as a ransom for many
The disciples were on the road, going up to Jerusalem; Jesus was walking on ahead of them; they were in a daze, and those who followed were apprehensive. Once more taking the Twelve aside he began to tell them what was going to happen to him: ‘Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the pagans, who will mock him and spit at him and scourge him and put him to death; and after three days he will rise again.’
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached him. ‘Master,’ they said to him ‘we want you to do us a favour.’ He said to them, ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ They said to him, ‘Allow us to sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.’ ‘You do not know what you are asking’ Jesus said to them. ‘Can you drink the cup that I must drink, or be baptised with the baptism with which I must be baptised?’ They replied, ‘We can.’ Jesus said to them, ‘The cup that I must drink you shall drink, and with the baptism with which I must be baptised you shall be baptised, but as for seats at my right hand or my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted.’
When the other ten heard this they began to feel indignant with James and John, so Jesus called them to him and said to them, ‘You know that among the pagans their so-called rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all. For the Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’
PURIFICATION OF LOVE THROUGH LOVE AND TRUTH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 Pt 1:18-25; Ps 147:12-15, 19-20; Mk 10:32-45]
Like the apostles, we think we truly love Christ because we have chosen Him in baptism. But if we are to be honest, we must examine our real motives for praying to Jesus and spending time with Him. When we come to Him in prayer and worship, is it because we love Him and enjoy His company, or because we want to get something from Him?
Indeed, in many instances, some people choose a particular religion because of the privileges and security it offers in terms of work, business, or politics. They choose a religion not because they believe in it, but because it helps to enhance their position in life. This was the case for the apostles, as they all harboured ambitions of power by following Jesus. This was seen in the request of James and John when they said to the Lord, “Master, we want you to do us a favour. Allow us to sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.” And when the others heard of it, “they began to feel indignant with James and John.”
Sadly, even in the religious world – among the clergy, the religious, and in church organisations – this desire for power, control, and prestige is also present. In some churches, the politicking of priests and parishioners for power and position is too scandalous even to mention! Although all claim they want to serve Christ, they often have no respect for legitimate authority. Despite their claims that they are acting for the good of the Church, they are destroying the unity of the community by politicking, manipulating, and being conniving. They spread rumours and half-truths, utter threats to intimidate, and write nasty letters to everyone. So the truth remains: while we profess publicly that we love Christ and that we are Christians, it is but a lie. The real reason, then, is that there is something to gain from it. Our love for Christ is more for the love of self than of Him.
How then can we purify our love for Christ? Firstly, we must remember the ransom that was paid for us. Be grateful for His love and sacrifice! St Peter wrote, “Remember, the ransom that was paid to free you from the useless way of life your ancestors handed down was not paid in anything corruptible, neither in silver nor gold, but in the precious blood of a lamb without spot or stain, namely Christ.” This ‘ransom’ refers to the price and the cost of the sacrifice that the Lord ensues to set us free from a life of sin, boredom, and slavery. Jesus saved us not simply through a miracle, but at the price of His life, suffering, and death on the cross.
To love the Lord more, we need to contemplate His passion on the Cross and the suffering He endured. Jesus foretold His Passion to the disciples so that when it happened, they would not lose hope completely. He said, “Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the pagans, who will mock him and spit at him and scourge him and put him to death; and after three days he will rise again.” By anticipating the disciples about His Passion and His Resurrection, Jesus hoped that it would help them understand the scandal of the cross when the time came. When we become conscious of how much Christ suffered for us, we will cease dividing the Church and, causing the name of Christ to be tarnished and faith to be lost in the Christian community. When we allow power, ambition, and self-love to control our lives, we do a disservice to the Lord and His Church. We become guilty of crucifying Him all over again today, just as it was done 2000 years ago.
Secondly, to love the Lord means that we must purify our love for Him each day by loving our brothers and sisters sincerely and from our hearts. The Lord is patient with us, just as He was with the apostles who aspired to the wrong things in life. He said to them, “You do not know what you are asking.” He did not reprimand them; rather, He felt sorry for them because they were ignorant. So, St Peter also urges Christians to purify our love for our brothers and sisters within our Christian community. He wrote, “You have been obedient to the truth and purified your souls until you can love like brothers, in sincerity; let your love for each other be real and from the heart – your new birth was not from any mortal seed but from the everlasting word of the living and eternal God.”
A sincere love is to love like Christ, who died for us; this involves the selfless giving of oneself and focusing on the needs of others rather than our own. Sincerity of love comes from service and the willingness to die for others like Christ. Sincere love is never for oneself or one’s own interests, but for the service of the community. Those of us in power and in office must ensure that we never use our positions for personal gain. We must avoid using our influence to get privileges, money, and things for ourselves. Our office and position must only be used for the good of others. As leaders and influential people, whatever we do must not be for our own vested interests. We must be like Christ, who paid for our redemption not “in anything corruptible, neither in silver nor gold, but in the precious blood of a lamb without spot or stain.” Sincere love means being willing to give of our lives to ransom others. If we are not ready to act in ways that benefit others rather than ourselves, then our love lacks sincerity.
Are we ready to suffer and die for Christ and His people? Jesus asked the disciples, “Can you drink the cup that I must drink, or be baptised with the baptism with which I must be baptised?’ They replied, ‘We can.'” Like the disciples we also say we can. Yet when there is suffering in love and service, we begin to complain and lament. We cannot withstand the irritations and inconvenience of service and love. We want things our way. We cannot tolerate others who are slow or weak. We have no perseverance in love and service. We are vindictive, and when we feel helpless, we resign. How, then, can we die with Christ if we do not begin by dying to the small struggles of daily life – the misunderstandings, forgiving those who hurt us, making attempts at reconciliation, serving without counting the cost, and even helping the ungrateful? We know that after the Resurrection, James eventually died as a martyr (cf Acts 12:2), and John was forced to live in exile. (cf Rev 1:9) So, let us begin with small deaths before we attempt to die completely with the Lord.
Thirdly, we must never forget that greatness comes from humble and unassuming service to the community. For most people, greatness depends on achievements in academics, in business, and sports. But for Christ, greatness does not lie in being celebrated or in being outstanding, but in being small and humble in service. This is how He instructed the disciples, “You know that among the pagans their so-called rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all. For the Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
To ensure that we do not deceive ourselves into thinking that we are truly serving the Lord and His people, St Ignatius of Loyola, in his Spiritual Exercises, requires the retreatant to make a decision to make God the Foundation of his or her life. He is to surrender his entire life and everything to God. To prove that this choice is real, the retreatant must choose poverty over riches, humility over glory. This is why Jesuits are called to live a life of simplicity, humility in service, and poverty, unless they are called by God for a higher office for the greater good of the Church. We must choose to be servants to others rather than seeking higher positions in the Church and society. This act of self-effacement is necessary because even religious and priests can be lured into seeking glory and riches instead of serving God humbly.
Finally, Christians do not live for this world alone. We live for the future and from the future by living fully in the present. We do not work for what cannot last. St Peter wrote, “All flesh is grass and its glory like the wild flowers. The grass withers, the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. What is this word? It is the Good News that has been brought to you.” Indeed, what will last is the Word of God – the Good News of our Lord. We must, therefore, set our sights on heaven, on what is transcendent, eternal, and permanent. The disciples were short-sighted. What will last are peace, joy, love, generosity, truth and goodness. The world is transient but Truth and Love will last forever. Hence, St Peter exhorts us, be “obedient to the truth.”
In the final analysis, the basis of Christian Hope is the Resurrection gained for us in Christ. The Christian is always mindful of the close relationship between the Cross and the Resurrection. We never speak of the Cross without the Resurrection; and we do not detach the Resurrection from the Cross. The Cross without the Resurrection would be a tragedy; and the Resurrection without the Cross would be without love. This was how St Peter gave hope to the Christians who were persecuted when he wrote, “Through him you now have faith in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory for that reason – so that you would have faith and hope in God.”
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
