20150326 LASTING LIFE CAN ONLY COME FROM GOD
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Genesis 17:3-9 ©
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Abram bowed to the
ground and God said this to him, ‘Here now is my covenant with you: you shall
become the father of a multitude of nations. You shall no longer be called
Abram; your name shall be Abraham, for I make you father of a multitude of
nations. I will make you most fruitful. I will make you into nations, and your
issue shall be kings. I will establish my Covenant between myself and you, and
your descendants after you, generation after generation, a Covenant in
perpetuity, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. I will
give to you and to your descendants after you the land you are living in, the
whole land of Canaan, to own in perpetuity, and I will be your God.’
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Psalm
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Psalm 104:4-9 ©
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The Lord remembers
his covenant for ever.
Consider the Lord and
his strength;
constantly
seek his face.
Remember the wonders
he has done,
his
miracles, the judgements he spoke.
The Lord remembers
his covenant for ever.
O children of
Abraham, his servant,
O sons of
the Jacob he chose.
He, the Lord, is our
God:
his
judgements prevail in all the earth.
The Lord remembers
his covenant for ever.
He remembers his
covenant for ever,
his
promise for a thousand generations,
the covenant he made
with Abraham,
the oath
he swore to Isaac.
The Lord remembers
his covenant for ever.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Jn6:63,68
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Glory and praise to
you, O Christ!
Your words are
spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message
of eternal life.
Glory and praise to
you, O Christ!
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Or
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Ps94:8
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Glory and praise to
you, O Christ!
Harden not your
hearts today,
but listen to the
voice of the Lord.
Glory and praise to
you, O Christ!
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Gospel
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John 8:51-59 ©
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Jesus said to the
Jews:
‘I tell you most
solemnly,
whoever keeps my word
will never see
death.’
The Jews said, ‘Now
we know for certain that you are possessed. Abraham is dead, and the prophets
are dead, and yet you say, “Whoever keeps my word will never know the taste of
death.” Are you greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? The prophets are
dead too. Who are you claiming to be?’ Jesus answered:
‘If I were to seek my
own glory
that would be no
glory at all;
my glory is conferred
by the Father,
by the one of whom
you say, “He is our God”
although you do not
know him.
But I know him,
and if I were to say:
I do not know him,
I should be a liar,
as you are liars yourselves.
But I do know him,
and I faithfully keep his word.
Your father Abraham
rejoiced
to think that he
would see my Day;
he saw it and was
glad.’
The Jews then said,
‘You are not fifty yet, and you have seen Abraham!’ Jesus replied:
‘I tell you most
solemnly,
before Abraham ever
was,
I Am.’
At
this they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself and left the
Temple.
LASTING
LIFE CAN ONLY COME FROM GOD
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: GEN 17:3-9; JN 8:51-59
The
fifth week of Lent was formerly called Passion Week because this is the week
that the Church highlights the mounting tensions against Jesus leading to His
death as a result of His boldness in declaring His identification with
God. Yet for the Church, it is because Jesus is the “I am” that He could
give us life, life even in death. This then is the theme of today’s
scripture readings.
The irony of life is
that there is
nothing more fearful in life than death. People are frightened of
death simply because in death we are isolated. We are frightened of
physical death because it means to depart from our friends and from the world
that we are so attached to. But not only are we fearful of physical
death, we are even more afraid of a living death. That is to say that we
are physically alive but are rejected by our fellow human beings. In
other words, we fear the death of our ego – a theme highlighted in yesterday’s
readings. The question that calls for our reflection today is how we
can overcome the fear of death, be it physical or a personal death?
The key to liberation from death is relationship.
In the first reading,
Abraham was promised perpetuity for his family and his land provided he
remained faithful to the covenant that God had established with him.
Indeed, in the first place, if Abram could step out of his own country and go
to an unknown place that God promised him, it was because Abram must have had a
deep relationship with God, a relationship so intimate that is expressed by his
faith. Without a deep relationship, it is impossible to have such a
faith. Conversely, without faith, there cannot be a deep
relationship. Hence, in the case of Abram, he conquered
all his fears because of his relationship with God in faith.
What is said of Abraham is
even truer for Jesus. Jesus was not fearful of death. According
to Him, one could never die if we only know who the Father is. This
is true on both levels. Firstly, because if we know God intimately,
then we know that physical death is not really death. In the eyes of
God, there is no death. God is the “I am who am.” He always
lives. Rightly so, Jesus could confidently declare Himself as the “I
am”. He knew the Father so intimately and personally that He also knew
that death is but an illusion. Not only for Him, but all those who
know God, including Abraham, will not die. That is why Jesus could say
that “Abraham rejoiced to think that he would see my Day.”
Secondly, those who know
God will also not die a living death. So long as we do not seek the
glory of the world and the glory from our fellow human beings, there is no
question of fear. Fear of the death of our ego comes about only when
we seek to please so as to win acceptance and recognition. But those
who give us the glory and so-called love at the same time also have the power
to take away our glory and love.
Hence, most of us are so
miserable and confused. We live under the manipulation of people.
One day they say that we are great and we feel so great. Next day, they
say we are terrible and then we feel terrible. When that happens, our
happiness is always so short-lived, always under threat, not knowing how long
it is going to last. So, we cannot really be happy in the final
analysis.
For Jesus, His personal
freedom comes from the fact that He knows that the only glory that will last
is the glory that comes from God Himself. Only that kind of glory, no
one can take away from Him. Indeed, He declared that “If I were to seek
my own glory that would be no glory at all.” “My glory” he said, “is conferred
by the Father.” What is this glory that is conferred by the Father?
It is but His glory of sonship, His sonship that was fully confirmed in His
death and resurrection. Hence, because Jesus knew that He was forever the
Son of the Father, He could live His life in full confidence of His love.
There was no need then for Him to seek to please people. He only needed
to be simply Himself. Truly, Jesus was so true to Himself that even when
people wanted Him to deny His own identity, He remained firm to His
convictions.
Yes, we too can
find real freedom if only we realize that God has given us each one His own
glory. We are all called to live out our own sonship accordingly to
the plan that He has for us. Instead of trying to please people, we only
need to be true to ourselves. But to be true to self presupposes the
thing that is absolutely necessary. We must be in a deep relationship
with God first. Unless we know Him, how can we know ourselves? Unless
we truly believe from the depth of our hearts that He loves us, how can we not
avoid seeking the love and honour that comes from our fellow human
beings? But if we have a deep covenantal relationship with God and can
declare with Jesus that we know the Father as well, then we will also be
liberated like Him. Lent is therefore the invitation to come to know
ourselves, and knowing God as our life.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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