20150324 CONTEMPLATION ON THE LORD’S PASSION IS THE ANTIDOTE TO
SIN
Readings at Mass
|
First reading
|
Numbers 21:4-9 ©
|
The Israelites left
Mount Hor by the road to the Sea of Suph, to skirt the land of Edom. On the way
the people lost patience. They spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why did
you bring us out of Egypt to die in this wilderness? For there is neither bread
nor water here; we are sick of this unsatisfying food.’
At this
God sent fiery serpents among the people; their bite brought death to many in
Israel. The people came and said to Moses, ‘We have sinned by speaking against
the Lord and against you. Intercede for us with the Lord to save us from these
serpents.’ Moses interceded for the people, and the Lord answered him, ‘Make a
fiery serpent and put it on a standard. If anyone is bitten and looks at it, he
shall live.’ So Moses fashioned a bronze serpent which he put on a standard,
and if anyone was bitten by a serpent, he looked at the bronze serpent and
lived.
|
Psalm
|
|
Psalm
101:2-3,16-21 ©
|
O Lord, listen to
my prayer and let my cry for help reach you.
O Lord, listen to my
prayer
and let
my cry for help reach you.
Do not hide your face
from me
in the
day of my distress.
Turn your ear towards
me
and
answer me quickly when I call.
O Lord, listen to
my prayer and let my cry for help reach you.
The nations shall
fear the name of the Lord
and all
the earth’s kings your glory,
when the Lord shall
build up Zion again
and
appear in all his glory.
Then he will turn to
the prayers of the helpless;
he will
not despise their prayers.
O Lord, listen to
my prayer and let my cry for help reach you.
Let this be written
for ages to come
that a
people yet unborn may praise the Lord;
for the Lord leaned
down from his sanctuary on high.
He looked
down from heaven to the earth
that he might hear
the groans of the prisoners
and free
those condemned to die.
O Lord, listen to
my prayer and let my cry for help reach you.
|
Gospel
Acclamation
|
Jn8:12
|
Praise to you, O
Christ, king of eternal glory!
I am the light of the
world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me
will have the light of life.
Praise to you, O
Christ, king of eternal glory!
|
Or
|
|
Praise to you, O
Christ, king of eternal glory!
The seed is the word
of God, Christ the sower;
whoever finds this
seed will remain for ever.
Praise to you, O
Christ, king of eternal glory!
|
Gospel
|
John 8:21-30 ©
|
Again Jesus said to
the Pharisees:
‘I am going away;
you will look for me
and you will die in
your sin.
Where I am going, you
cannot come.’
The Jews said to one
another, ‘Will he kill himself? Is that what he means by saying, “Where I am going,
you cannot come”?’ Jesus went on:
‘You are from below;
I am from above.
You are of this
world; I am not of this world.
I have told you
already:
You will die in your
sins.
Yes, if you do not
believe that I am He,
you will die in your
sins.’
So they said to him,
‘Who are you?’ Jesus answered:
‘What I have told you
from the outset.
About you I have much
to say
and much to condemn;
but the one who sent
me is truthful,
and what I have
learnt from him
I declare to the
world.’
They failed to understand
that he was talking to them about the Father. So Jesus said:
‘When you have lifted
up the Son of Man,
then you will know
that I am He
and that I do nothing
of myself:
what the Father has
taught me is what I preach;
he who sent me is
with me,
and has not left me
to myself,
for I always do what
pleases him.’
As
he was saying this, many came to believe in him.
CONTEMPLATION
ON THE LORD’S PASSION IS THE ANTIDOTE TO SIN
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: NUMBERS 21:4 – 9; JOHN 8:21 – 30
“You will die in your
sins.” This
warning of Jesus to the Jews is relevant for us all as well. Those who
live in sin will die by their sins. Death of course is more than merely
biological death but the death of the soul. One can be physically alive and yet
dead in one’s soul. Death in our soul means that one is incapable
of love and who lives a life of anger, hatred, envy, greed, lust, loneliness
and guilt. Sin ultimately destroys us, alienates us from our fellowmen
and causes us to be divided within ourselves. The conscience will
not be at peace or at rest. Even if we could suppress it during the day,
at night in sleep, it will come in the form of nightmares to disturb us.
There is no rest for those who live in sin. Indeed, we are killed by our
own sins and folly.
This
was certainly the case of the Israelites in the first reading. In a
dramatic way, the author shows how sin killed the Israelites. In spite of
having seen God’s works and His mighty outstretched arms at work in their lives
especially in Egypt, yet they were still ungrateful and demanding. They
were never satisfied with what they had. They lost their patience and
even “spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt
to die in this wilderness? For there is neither bread nor water here; we are
sick of this unsatisfying food.’” So easily did they forget how they were ill
treated in Egypt! So quickly did they forget the wonders God demonstrated
to them by helping them to flee from their enemies. They still lacked trust in
God’s divine providence and His power to lead them to the Promised Land.
As a consequence, “God sent fiery serpents among the people; their bite brought
death to many in Israel.” Whether this happened historically or
otherwise, the truth remains that by sinning, they have brought misery and pain
upon themselves.
Nevertheless,
God continued to remain merciful and compassionate because He knew they were
but men. What the Lord wanted from them was to be awakened from their
self-centered preoccupation and see the bigger picture ahead of them. And
in many cases, the punishment that comes from sin often pushes people to
realization because of the sufferings they had brought upon themselves. The
people of Israel were no different. They realized their wrong doing and
turned to Moses saying, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and
against you. Intercede for us with the Lord to save us from these
serpents.” In our own lives, many of us come to realize the gravity of
our sins only when we suffer its consequences. Of course, instead of listening
to the prophets that God sends into our lives to ask us to repent, many of us
choose to listen to ourselves and the world. And as a consequence we are
now reaping what we have sown.
In His
mercy and compassion God told Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and put it on a
standard. If anyone is bitten and looks at it, he shall live.”
And “so Moses fashioned a bronze serpent which he put on a standard, and
if anyone was bitten by a serpent, he looked at the bronze serpent and
lived.” Why did God ask Moses to make them looked at the serpent that bit
them? The serpents were symbols of their sins and a reminder of the
consequences of their sins. Indeed, the only way to stop sinning is to reflect
on our sinful actions and the consequences of what we have done or failed to
do. The reason why many of us continue sinning is not only because of our
stubbornness and self-will. Many of us are also ignorant of what we are
doing and how we are hurting ourselves, our loved ones and those who love us.
Because of our pride, we are unable to know our true self and the full
implications of what we do.
That is
why an examination of conscience is the first step towards repentance.
Indeed, the Church encourages us Christians to daily, if not three times a day,
make an Examen. We cannot grow in our spiritual life, increase in our
sensitivity towards the presence of God at each moment of our lives and in our
relationships with our fellowmen unless we pause sometime during the day to
recollect God’s presence and consider those times when we missed hearing Him
speak to us in our daily activities and in our interactions with people.
Are we conscious of how many people we have hurt by our gossiping, harsh
remarks, curt replies and arrogance? Do we know how many suffer because
of our irresponsible behavior, actions or laziness in our work?
Consciousness of our sins will help us to become more aware of the depth of our
misery. Have you spent time daily to go through the day’s events and
examine where you have failed in love and in your responsibility towards God
and your fellowmen? Have you counted the cost and the risks you are
taking by acting in an irresponsible and selfish manner? But examining
our conscience is not sufficient to help us come out of our sinful
situation. At most we might stop sinning, because it is hurting our
interests, or at least the people whom we love.
More
importantly, the motive and strength to stop sinning must come from our
contemplation of the Passion of God because of our sins. This
explains why Jesus invites us to go further than simply looking at our sins to
contemplating on the heart of God, His suffering and love for us. He
prophesied His impending death and resurrection by speaking of the passion
ahead of Him. He alluded to this event when He told his disciples, “When
you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He and that I
do nothing of myself: what the Father has taught me is what I preach; he who
sent me is with me, and has not left me to myself, for I always do what pleases
him”. This lifting up of course has a double theological
significance, namely, the lifting up of Jesus on the cross and the raising of
Jesus from the dead.
In
other words, by meditating on His death and resurrection, we will come to
know the horror of our sins and what our sins have done to God who loves us so
much. Only when we know the depth of the Father’s love for us in His
Son, will we be moved to repent, not out of fear because of the pains we suffer
on account of our sins, but out of love for the Father who suffers for us in
Christ. Only a repentance that comes from a contrite heart filled with
remorse at one’s selfishness is true repentance. It is for this reason
that the Church exhorts us throughout the season of Lent to contemplate on the
passion of Christ on the cross, particularly through the laudable devotion to
the Stations of the Cross. If fear does not awaken us to repentance, then
love will! Only love can change the hearts of evil men when they look at
the One whom they have pierced!
But this presupposes
faith in Jesus as the Son of God and that He comes from the Father. Indeed, this is the same question we
must pose to ourselves as the Jews posed to Jesus, “So they said to him, ‘Who
are you?’” Do we know Jesus’ identity? That is why Jesus said, “You
are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this
world. I have told you already: You will die in your sins.
Yes, if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” Faith in
Jesus as the Son of God is the fundamental requirement for true
repentance. If we believe in Jesus, that He is the “I Am”, the only
begotten Son of the Father, then we will take His words seriously and do His
will, just as He did His Father’s will. If we love the Father just as
Jesus loves His Father, then we will not do anything that will hurt Him,
knowing how much He loves us as His own. If we love someone, we would not
want to do anything to displease him or her. As we move towards Holy
Week, let us continue to reflect deeply on Christ’s Passion for us so that we
will be moved towards true repentance of heart and a deep appreciation for His
love for us.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No comments:
Post a Comment