20150110 KNOWING OUR PLACE IN GOD’S PLAN
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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1 John 5:14-21 ©
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We are quite
confident that if we ask the Son of God for anything,
and it is in
accordance with his will,
he will hear us;
and, knowing that
whatever we may ask, he hears us,
we know that we have
already been granted what we asked of him.
If anybody sees his
brother commit a sin
that is not a deadly
sin,
he has only to pray,
and God will give life to the sinner
– not those who
commit a deadly sin;
for there is a sin
that is death,
and I will not say
that you must pray about that.
Every kind of
wrong-doing is sin,
but not all sin is
deadly.
We know that anyone
who has been begotten by God
does not sin,
because the begotten
Son of God protects him,
and the Evil One does
not touch him.
We know that we
belong to God,
but the whole world
lies in the power of the Evil One.
We know, too, that
the Son of God has come,
and has given us the
power
to know the true God.
We are in the true
God,
as we are in his Son,
Jesus Christ.
This is the true God,
this is eternal life.
Children, be on your
guard against false gods.
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Psalm
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Psalm 149:1-6,9 ©
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The Lord takes
delight in his people.
or
Alleluia!
Sing a new song to
the Lord,
his
praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel rejoice in
its Maker,
let
Zion’s sons exult in their king.
The Lord takes
delight in his people.
or
Alleluia!
Let them praise his
name with dancing
and make
music with timbrel and harp.
For the Lord takes
delight in his people.
He crowns
the poor with salvation.
The Lord takes
delight in his people.
or
Alleluia!
Let the faithful
rejoice in their glory,
shout for
joy and take their rest.
Let the praise of God
be on their lips:
this
honour is for all his faithful.
The Lord takes
delight in his people.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Lk7:16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
A great prophet has
appeared among us;
God has visited his
people.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Mt4:16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The people that lived
in darkness
has seen a great
light;
on those who dwell in
the land and shadow of death
a light has dawned.
Alleluia!
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Or
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cf.Mt4:23
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus proclaimed the
Good News of the kingdom
and cured all kinds
of diseases among the people.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Lk4:17
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord has sent me
to bring the good news to the poor,
to proclaim liberty
to captives.
Alleluia!
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Or
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cf.1Tim3:16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Glory to you, O
Christ,
proclaimed to the
pagans;
glory to you, O
Christ,
believed in by the
world.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 3:22-30 ©
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Jesus went with his
disciples into the Judaean countryside and stayed with them there and baptised.
At the same time John was baptising at Aenon near Salim, where there was plenty
of water, and people were going there to be baptised. This was before John had
been put in prison.
Now some
of John’s disciples had opened a discussion with a Jew about purification, so
they went to John and said, ‘Rabbi, the man who was with you on the far side of
the Jordan, the man to whom you bore witness, is baptising now; and everyone is
going to him.’
John
replied:
‘A man can lay claim
only to what is given
him from heaven.
‘You yourselves can
bear me out: I said: I myself am not the Christ; I am the one who has been sent
in front of him.
‘The bride is only
for the bridegroom;
and yet the
bridegroom’s friend,
who stands there and
listens,
is glad when he hears
the bridegroom’s voice.
This same joy I feel,
and now it is complete.
He
must grow greater, I must grow smaller.’
KNOWING
OUR PLACE IN GOD’S PLAN
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: 1 JN 5:14-21; JN 3:22-30
“Now
some of John’s disciples had opened a discussion with a Jew about purification,
so they went to John and said, “Rabbi, the man who was with you on the far side
of the Jordan, the man to whom you bore witness, is baptising now; and everyone
is going to him.” We can imagine how most of us would react if someone
comes and gossips to us that there are some people challenging our status quo
and are competing with us for attention and popularity. Those of us who
are in authority sometimes feel threatened by our subordinates who have become
more popular than us and upstage us in what we do. Most of us would feel
jealous, angry or reactive to such perceived threats. Our first reaction
would be to curb and curtail their growing influence and popularity. Such
a response of course stems from fear of our security and the need for
recognition and love of the world. This is a normal human reaction.
Even King Herod felt the same way and sought to kill the baby Jesus, the Infant
King of the Jews, for fear of losing his crown.
Yet, in
the case of St John the Baptist, we have a positive reaction rather than a
negative one. There was certainly no apparent fear of
competition. John the Baptist showed himself to be truly a man of God who
was so self-assured. He did not need any approval of men, not even kings
and nobilities or those in power. He reprimanded without mincing his
words when Herod committed adultery. He scolded the religious leaders as
“brood of vipers” and exhorted the soldiers to practise justice. Such a
man who had no fear of other men certainly did not feel threatened by Jesus’
baptizing at the river Jordan.
What is the secret of St
John the Baptist’s magnanimity and calm response? One must be a man of
God! His focus
was never on himself but on God and the extension of His kingdom. His
only desire was to serve God and never himself. As long as God and His
kingdom were proclaimed and conversion took place, he was contented. This
man did not seek power, for God was His only power. He did not seek to
live a life of luxury since his palace was the desert. A man who wanted
nothing for himself has nothing to lose but everything to gain. St John
the Baptist was the freest man in this world.
This explains why he was
more than happy to let go of his prophetic office. He was a man who
knew his place in the history of God’s plan. His role was that of
precursor. He was absolutely aware of himself and true to himself.
He had no desire to be what he was not. He could have easily passed
himself off as the Messiah, since the people after all thought he was the
one. Instead, he made it clear in no uncertain terms that he was not the
one. He put to rest speculations on his identity when he said, “A man can
lay claim only to what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can bear me
out: I said: I myself am not the Christ; I am the one who has been sent in
front of him.”
Indeed, St John the
Baptist was contented just to be the precursor. He did not view Jesus as a
threat but only sought to verify that He was truly the Messiah whose way he was
to prepare. Once that was assured, he was ready to depart from the scene and
let the Messiah take over the proclamation of the Kingdom of God. His
conscience was clear and he was at peace. His greatest joy was not to be
in the limelight but to prepare the way for the Messiah to come and be ready to
welcome Christ, like the bride her bridegroom, when He came. Again,
he said, “The bride is only for the bridegroom; and yet the bridegroom’s
friend, who stands there and listens, is glad when he hears the bridegroom’s
voice. This same joy I feel, and now it is complete. He must grow greater, I
must grow smaller.” Such was the joy of John the Baptist to know
that the bridegroom whom he had been preparing the people for was in their
midst. Knowing that meant that he was also ready to go and let Christ
assume His office.
Today, we have much to
learn from the example of John the Baptist. Firstly, we must resign
ourselves to the plan of God for us. Each one of us has been given a
role in the history of salvation. We must discern the calling of God for
us. Our task on this earth is to fulfill what we have been called to
do. There is no question of competing with others over positions and
honour. It is God who allots to each one of us according to the gifts of
the Spirit for the good of His Church. If we only seek to do His will,
like John the Baptist, we will find integrity in life, peace and joy.
Otherwise, we will forever be uneasy, restless and jumping from one interest to
another without finding ground.
Secondly, if we are envious
of others who are appointed over us, or fearful of promising leaders in our
midst, we must learn to let go. Leaders must not cling to their
position. Truly, the first task of a leader is to identify and groom a
successor to take over from him. We must not be afraid that there are
others who are more capable and talented than us. If we truly seek the
greater glory of God, then we would desire to find the best person to do the
job. Like John the Baptist, we must be gracious enough that when such a
person comes, we are ready to give up our position and not continue to hang on
to power. When God appoints, we must respect His choice. St
John made it clear that “a man can lay claim only to what is given him from
heaven.” Envy will only lead us to misery and resentment. What man
proposes, God disposes. We must respect God’s election and trust in His divine
wisdom. As the Lord said to the prophet Samuel, “Do not consider his
appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at
the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord
looks at the heart.” (1 Sm 16:7)
Thirdly, if we rid
ourselves of our egotism and fear, we will realize that the greatest joy of
life is not in holding office. It is a burden in fact, because it
demands sacrifices and responsibilities. Those who desire to hold office
are often insecure and use their position of authority to feed their ego.
If we need titles, positions and status to make us feel good about ourselves,
our lives will be forever at the mercy of people as we will always be worried
about what they say and think about us. What we should glory in is the
fact that we are the children of God, adopted sons and daughters of God, the
bride of Christ. This realization of our identity is even more satisfying
than any office we hold, since the gift of sonship is a privilege not
earned. Once we come to know our identity and the joy of being loved by
God then we do not need any worldly honour. Just knowing that we are
loved by God will give us the joy, peace and security that the world cannot
give, and no one on earth can satisfy.
Indeed, the responsorial
psalm celebrates God’s love for us. The psalmist rejoices and
prays, “The Lord takes delight in his people. Sing a new song to the Lord, his
praise in the assembly of the faithful. Let Israel rejoice in its Maker, let
Zion’s sons exult in their king.” St John reminds us of our dignity as
children of God when he wrote, “We know that we belong to God, but the whole
world lies in the power of the Evil One. We know, too, that the Son of God has
come, and has given us the power to know the true God. We are in the true God,
as we are in his Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God, this is eternal life.
Children, be on your guard against false gods.” This consciousness
that we are loved, not for what we do but for who we are, heals us of our fears
and insecurity. Fear is the cause of all sins. It leads to
other sins. Being loved for our sake is the antidote to all sins.
St John says our sins can be overcome if we recognize our dignity as those born
of God.
As a result of our sonship
too, we find true security as His children. Experience of sonship is
the basis of confidence in prayer, as St John remarked, “We are quite
confident that if we ask the Son of God for anything, and it is in accordance
with his will, he will hear us; and, knowing that whatever we may ask, he hears
us, we know that we have been granted what we ask of him.” We can
live in perfect confidence in the Lord who will protect us from all harm and
danger. If we experience God as Abba Father in the way Jesus did, then we
need not worry about our daily needs but rest assured that our heavenly Father
will look after us.
Finally, like John the
Baptist, we are happy as long as Christ is known and loved. It does not
matter who brings them to Christ. Hence, no one is a threat to us. All we
desire is that our beloved is known and loved by the whole world. The
only ones who are a threat to us are those anti-Christs who work for the Evil
One consciously or unconsciously and are used by him. So together we must take
heed of St John’s exhortation in our fight against the Evil One. For these
reasons, those who are leaders or those serving the Lord must consciously
examine themselves and check their motives for serving the Lord. We must
free ourselves from vanity and ask ourselves sincerely whether we are leading
people to Christ or to ourselves, and whether what we do is really in the
interest of the Church or for ourselves.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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