20141102 HOPE IN GOD’S MERCY AND
RESURRECTION
First
reading Wisdom 3:1-9 ©
The
souls of the virtuous are in the hands of God,
no
torment shall ever touch them.
In
the eyes of the unwise, they did appear to die,
their
going looked like a disaster,
their
leaving us, like annihilation;
but
they are in peace.
If
they experienced punishment as men see it,
their
hope was rich with immortality;
slight
was their affliction, great will their blessings be.
God
has put them to the test
and
proved them worthy to be with him;
he
has tested them like gold in a furnace,
and
accepted them as a holocaust.
When
the time comes for his visitation they will shine out;
as
sparks run through the stubble, so will they.
They
shall judge nations, rule over peoples,
and
the Lord will be their king for ever.
They
who trust in him will understand the truth,
those
who are faithful will live with him in love;
for
grace and mercy await those he has chosen.
OR:
Alternative
First reading Isaiah 25:6-9 ©
On
this mountain,
the
Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoples
a
banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines,
of
food rich and juicy, of fine strained wines.
On
this mountain he will remove
the
mourning veil covering all peoples,
and
the shroud enwrapping all nations,
he
will destroy Death for ever.
The
Lord will wipe away
the
tears from every cheek;
he
will take away his people’s shame
everywhere
on earth,
for
the Lord has said so.
That
day, it will be said: See, this is our God
in
whom we hoped for salvation;
the
Lord is the one in whom we hoped.
EITHER:
Psalm Psalm 22:1-6 ©
The
Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
Or
If
I should walk in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear, for you are
there with me.
The
Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh
and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.
Near
restful waters he leads me,
to revive my drooping spirit.
The
Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
or
If
I should walk in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear, for you are
there with me.
He
guides me along the right path;
he is true to his name.
If
I should walk in the valley of darkness
no evil would I fear.
You
are there with your crook and your staff;
with these you give me comfort.
The
Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
or
If
I should walk in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear, for you are
there with me.
You
have prepared a banquet for me
in the sight of my foes.
My
head you have anointed with oil;
my cup is overflowing.
The
Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
or
If
I should walk in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear, for you are
there with me.
Surely
goodness and kindness shall follow me
all the days of my life.
In
the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for ever and ever.
The
Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
or
If
I should walk in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear, for you are
there with me.
OR:
Alternative
Psalm
Psalm
26:1,4,7,8-9,13-14 ©
The
Lord is my light and my help.
or
I
believe that I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
The
Lord is my light and my help;
whom shall I fear?
The
Lord is the stronghold of my life;
before whom shall I shrink?
The
Lord is my light and my help.
or
I
believe that I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
There
is one thing I ask of the Lord,
for this I long,
to
live in the house of the Lord,
all the days of my life,
to
savour the sweetness of the Lord,
to behold his temple.
The
Lord is my light and my help.
or
I
believe that I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
O
Lord, hear my voice when I call;
have mercy and answer.
It
is your face, O Lord, that I seek;
hide not your face.
The
Lord is my light and my help.
or
I
believe that I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
I
am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
Hope
in him, hold firm and take heart.
Hope in the Lord!
The
Lord is my light and my help.
or
I
believe that I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
EITHER:
Second
reading Romans 5:5-11 ©
Hope
is not deceptive, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by
the Holy Spirit which has been given us. We were still helpless when at his
appointed moment Christ died for sinful men. It is not easy to die even for a
good man – though of course for someone really worthy, a man might be prepared
to die – but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we
were still sinners. Having died to make us righteous, is it likely that he
would now fail to save us from God’s anger? When we were reconciled to God by
the death of his Son, we were still enemies; now that we have been reconciled,
surely we may count on being saved by the life of his Son? Not merely because
we have been reconciled but because we are filled with joyful trust in God,
through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have already gained our
reconciliation.
OR:
Alternative
Second reading Romans 5:17-21 ©
If
it is certain that death reigned over everyone as the consequence of one man’s
fall, it is even more certain that one man, Jesus Christ, will cause everyone
to reign in life who receives the free gift that he does not deserve, of being
made righteous. Again, as one man’s fall brought condemnation on everyone, so
the good act of one man brings everyone life and makes them justified. As by
one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many
will be made righteous. When law came, it was to multiply the opportunities of
failing, but however great the number of sins committed, grace was even
greater; and so, just as sin reigned wherever there was death, so grace will reign
to bring eternal life thanks to the righteousness that comes through Jesus
Christ our Lord.
OR:
Alternative
Second reading Romans 8:14-23 ©
Everyone
moved by the Spirit is a son of God. The spirit you received is not the spirit
of slaves bringing fear into your lives again; it is the spirit of sons, and it
makes us cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’ The Spirit himself and our spirit bear united
witness that we are children of God. And if we are children we are heirs as
well: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, sharing his sufferings so as to
share his glory.
I think that what we suffer in this life can
never be compared to the glory, as yet unrevealed, which is waiting for us. The
whole creation is eagerly waiting for God to reveal his sons. It was not for
any fault on the part of creation that it was made unable to attain its
purpose, it was made so by God; but creation still retains the hope of being
freed, like us, from its slavery to decadence, to enjoy the same freedom and
glory as the children of God. From the beginning till now the entire creation,
as we know, has been groaning in one great act of giving birth; and not only
creation, but all of us who possess the first-fruits of the Spirit, we too
groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies to be set free.
OR:
Alternative
Second reading
Romans
8:31-35,37-39 ©
With
God on our side who can be against us? Since God did not spare his own Son, but
gave him up to benefit us all, we may be certain, after such a gift, that he
will not refuse anything he can give. Could anyone accuse those that God has
chosen? When God acquits, could anyone condemn? Could Christ Jesus? No! He not
only died for us – he rose from the dead, and there at God’s right hand he
stands and pleads for us.
Nothing therefore can come between us and the
love of Christ, even if we are troubled or worried, or being persecuted, or
lacking food or clothes, or being threatened or even attacked. These are the
trials through which we triumph, by the power of him who loved us.
For I am certain of this: neither death nor
life, no angel, no prince, nothing that exists, nothing still to come, not any
power, or height or depth, nor any created thing, can ever come between us and
the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.
OR:
Alternative
Second reading
1
Corinthians 15:51-57 ©
I
will tell you something that has been secret: that we are not all going to die,
but that we shall all be changed. This will be instantaneous, in the twinkling
of an eye, when the last trumpet sounds. It will sound, and the dead will be
raised, imperishably, and we shall be changed as well, because our present
perishable nature must put on imperishability and this mortal nature must put
on immortality.
When this perishable nature has put on
imperishability, and when this mortal nature has put on immortality, then the
words of scripture will come true: Death is swallowed up in victory. Death,
where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? Now the sting of death is
sin, and sin gets its power from the Law. So let us thank God for giving us the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
OR:
Alternative
Second reading
2
Corinthians 4:14-5:1 ©
He
who raised the Lord Jesus to life will raise us with Jesus in our turn, and put
us by his side and you with us. You see, all this is for your benefit, so that
the more grace is multiplied among people, the more thanksgiving there will be,
to the glory of God.
That is why there is no weakening on our
part, and instead, though this outer man of ours may be falling into decay, the
inner man is renewed day by day. Yes, the troubles which are soon over, though
they weigh little, train us for the carrying of a weight of eternal glory which
is out of all proportion to them. And so we have no eyes for things that are
visible, but only for things that are invisible; for visible things last only
for a time, and the invisible things are eternal.
For we know that when the tent that we live
in on earth is folded up, there is a house built by God for us, an everlasting
home not made by human hands, in the heavens.
OR:
Alternative
Second reading
2
Corinthians 5:1,6-10 ©
We
know that when the tent that we live in on earth is folded up, there is a house
built by God for us, an everlasting home not made by human hands, in the
heavens.
We are always full of confidence, then, when
we remember that to live in the body means to be exiled from the Lord, going as
we do by faith and not by sight – we are full of confidence, I say, and
actually want to be exiled from the body and make our home with the Lord.
Whether we are living in the body or exiled from it, we are intent on pleasing
him. For all the truth about us will be brought out in the law court of Christ,
and each of us will get what he deserves for the things he did in the body,
good or bad.
OR:
Alternative
Second reading
Philippians
3:20-21 ©
For
us, our homeland is in heaven, and from heaven comes the saviour we are waiting
for, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will transfigure these wretched bodies of
ours into copies of his glorious body. He will do that by the same power with
which he can subdue the whole universe.
OR:
Alternative
Second reading
2
Timothy 2:8-13 ©
Remember
the Good News that I carry, ‘Jesus Christ risen from the dead, sprung from the
race of David’; it is on account of this that I have my own hardships to bear,
even to being chained like a criminal – but they cannot chain up God’s news. So
I bear it all for the sake of those who are chosen, so that in the end they may
have the salvation that is in Christ Jesus and the eternal glory that comes
with it.
Here is a saying that you can rely on:
If
we have died with him, then we shall live with him.
If
we hold firm, then we shall reign with him.
If
we disown him, then he will disown us.
We
may be unfaithful, but he is always faithful,
for
he cannot disown his own self.
OR:
Alternative
Second reading 1 John 3:1-2 ©
Think
of the love that the Father has lavished on us,
by
letting us be called God’s children;
and
that is what we are.
Because
the world refused to acknowledge him,
therefore
it does not acknowledge us.
My
dear people, we are already the children of God
but
what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed;
all
we know is, that when it is revealed
we
shall be like him
because
we shall see him as he really is.
OR:
Alternative
Second reading 1 John 3:14-16 ©
We
have passed out of death and into life,
and
of this we can be sure
because
we love our brothers.
If
you refuse to love, you must remain dead;
to
hate your brother is to be a murderer,
and
murderers, as you know, do not have eternal life in them.
This
has taught us love –
that
he gave up his life for us;
and
we, too, ought to give up our lives for our brothers.
Gospel
Acclamation Jn6:39
Alleluia,
alleluia!
It
is my Father’s will, says the Lord,
that
I should lose nothing of all he has given to me,
and
that I should raise it up on the last day.
Alleluia!
Gospel
Matthew
11:25-30 ©
Jesus
exclaimed, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these
things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children.
Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been
entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just
as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to
reveal him.
‘Come to me, all you who labour and are
overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for
I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my
yoke is easy and my burden light.’
HOPE
IN GOD’S MERCY AND RESURRECTION
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: ISAIAH 25:6-9; ROMANS 5:5-11; MATTHEW 11:25-30
Why do we fear
death? For most
of us, we fear death not because this life is so great that we are afraid to
let it go, or that we will not be able to enjoy the things of this earth
anymore. In fact, there are so many miseries in this life. The most
part of our life is filled with pains and sorrows, with some short reprieves in
between. Yet, most of us still cling on to dear life when we have
to carry so much suffering and pain.
The real reason why we
fear death is our separation from our loved ones. Love is everlasting and does not
tolerate separation. When we are in love, the most painful experience is
to be separated from those whom we love. This is because love brings
union and death brings not just separation but total separation.
As a consequence, the
only thing that the world fears most is death because it means
annihilation. The world thinks that this is the only life on this
earth. We live without hope for a life beyond this earth. That
being the case, and realizing that we are handicap before the enemy of death,
the only thing we can do is to extend physical life on earth, whether real or
apparent. We are asked to take supplements to live longer. Others
go for a makeover to look young even when they are old. Others try
to prolong their life through cloning even. But we cannot run away from
death. We can try to mask the enemy of death but death will come.
We are helpless. This is what St Paul wrote, “We were still helpless when
at his appointed moment Christ died for sinful men.”
Christians who have
faith in Christ however need not fear death because we know that death is not the final word.
Christ, by His death and resurrection, has conquered both sin and eternal
death. This hope is certain. This, too, is the assurance of
the prophet, “On this mountain he will remove the mourning veil covering all
peoples, and the shroud enwrapping all nations, he will destroy Death for ever.
The Lord will wipe away the tears from every cheek.”
Indeed, Christ has
conquered the last enemy, which is death. Why is death the last enemy to be
overcome? This is because the fear of death is the cause of all
sins. Adam and Eve sinned out of pride because they wanted to live
forever without God having authority over them. Cain killed Abel out of
jealousy. All the seven capital sins of pride, envy, anger, sloth,
gluttony, greed and lust spring from fear of losing power, control, dignity,
food and our possessions including loved ones. But once death is
overcome, fear has no power over the person because as St Paul says in Romans,
the wages of sin is death and death loses its sting because of Christ’s victory
over death.
What does the
resurrection mean? What is this Christian hope that gives us so much
confidence and joy? The
resurrected life is the attainment of the fullness of a life. The
glorified life of Christ transcends time and space. The glorified body of
Christ can walk through close doors and is full of the Spirit. It
is a life of communion and joy as described in the first reading when we are
reunited with our loved ones and with God. That is why heaven is often
portrayed as a wedding banquet, which is a symbol of life, love and union.
The prophet said, “On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will prepare for all
peoples a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines, of food rich and
juicy, of fine strained wines.” One thing is certain; the glorified life
is full and complete, body and soul, united with the Father and the Son in the
Spirit and in communion with the Body of Christ. It is a life lived with
God and others. It is the fullness of life that the earthly life cannot
give.
So, in the face of
death, we need not fear.
Like the psalmist, we pray, “The Lord is my light and my help; whom shall I
fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; before whom shall I shrink?
There is one thing I ask of the Lord, for this I long, to live in the house of
the Lord, all the days of my life, to savour the sweetness of the Lord, to
behold his temple. I believe that I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the
land of the living.” Death for us is not the end but a
transition. It is not ended but transformed. We do not
believe only in immortality of the soul but a resurrected body on last
day. So filled with the Holy Spirit that our life is but a participation
in the life of God.
How do we know our hope
is real? We have
the first fruits of the Spirit. St Paul wrote, “Hope is not deceptive,
because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit
which has been given us.” We all experience the love of God in our
hearts. We see the power of the Spirit at work in miracles and in
healing. We see the power of the Spirit uniting us all in love and unity
and forgiveness. Most of all, we know that Jesus was raised in the power
of the Spirit.
However sharing in
Christ’s resurrected life presupposes we share in His death. We must die to our sins. We must
first repent of our sins. We must cling to His forgiveness. God is
all merciful, as St Paul says, “It is not easy to die even for a good man –
though of course for someone really worthy, a man might be prepared to die –
but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were
still sinners. Having died to make us righteous, is it likely that he would now
fail to save us from God’s anger? When we were reconciled to God by the death
of his Son, we were still enemies; now that we have been reconciled, surely we
may count on being saved by the life of his Son?”
So with confidence we
turn to God for forgiveness of our sins. He has forgiven us and now we must accept this
forgiveness for ourselves. We are not merely reconciled with Him but we
are also “filled with joyful trust in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have already gained our reconciliation.” He has
taken away our shame as the prophet says. “He will take away his people’s
shame everywhere on earth, for the Lord has said so. That day, it will be said:
See, this is our God in whom we hoped for salvation; the Lord is the one in
whom we hoped.”
Besides praying for
ourselves, in a special way, we want to show our solidarity with the departed
souls by praying with and for them. We pray that they too can let go of those
attachments, hurts and sins that hold them back from being totally surrendered
to God. We pray that they have the grace to accept God’s
forgiveness so that they can forgive those who have hurt them. By showing
our love for the souls in purgatory, we give them the courage to let go and let
God take over.
Finally, for those of
who are still grieving, let us place our entire hope and trust in the Lord. The psalmist encourages us, “I
am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. Hope in him,
hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord!’ Jesus exhorts us, “Come to
me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder
my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will
find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.” Let
us put on Christ and meditating on His passion, death and resurrection, we find
new hope and life. Sharing in Christ’s sonship, we will know the Father’s
love as Jesus did when He said, “Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you
to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the
Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those
to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” With the Father’s love in our
hearts, we have nothing to fear but only hope and security.
Indeed, we know for
certain that our lives will not end in nihilism but that we will live forever
in a new way with our loved ones whom we will meet again. But most of all, we will be
together with God, sharing in His life and fullness of love. Indeed, “he
will destroy Death for ever. The Lord will wipe away the tears from every
cheek.”
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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