20150419
REDEMPTIVE SUFFERING IN THE LIGHT OF CHRIST’S
PASSION AND RESURRECTION
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Acts
3:13-15,17-19 ©
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Peter said to the
people: ‘You are Israelites, and it is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the
God of our ancestors, who has glorified his servant Jesus, the same Jesus you
handed over and then disowned in the presence of Pilate after Pilate had
decided to release him. It was you who accused the Holy One, the Just One, you
who demanded the reprieve of a murderer while you killed the prince of life.
God, however, raised him from the dead, and to that fact we are the witnesses.
‘Now I
know, brothers, that neither you nor your leaders had any idea what you were
really doing; this was the way God carried out what he had foretold, when he
said through all his prophets that his Christ would suffer. Now you must repent
and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out.’
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Psalm
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Psalm 4:2,4,7,9 ©
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Lift up the light
of your face on us, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
When I call, answer
me, O God of justice;
from
anguish you released me, have mercy and hear me!
Lift up the light
of your face on us, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
It is the Lord who
grants favours to those whom he loves;
the Lord
hears me whenever I call him.
Lift up the light
of your face on us, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
‘What can bring us
happiness?’ many say.
Lift up
the light of your face on us, O Lord.
Lift up the light
of your face on us, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
I will lie down in
peace and sleep comes at once
for you
alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.
Lift up the light
of your face on us, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
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Second reading
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1 John 2:1-5 ©
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I am writing this, my
children,
to stop you sinning;
but if anyone should
sin,
we have our advocate
with the Father,
Jesus Christ, who is
just;
he is the sacrifice
that takes our sins away,
and not only ours,
but the whole
world’s.
We can be sure that
we know God
only by keeping his
commandments.
Anyone who says, ‘I
know him’,
and does not keep his
commandments,
is a liar,
refusing to admit the
truth.
But when anyone does
obey what he has said,
God’s love comes to
perfection in him.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Lk24:32
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Lord Jesus, explain
the Scriptures to us.
Make our hearts burn
within us as you talk to us.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 24:35-48 ©
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The disciples told
their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised Jesus
at the breaking of bread.
They were
still talking about all this when Jesus himself stood among them and said to
them, ‘Peace be with you!’ In a state of alarm and fright, they thought they
were seeing a ghost. But he said, ‘Why are you so agitated, and why are these
doubts rising in your hearts? Look at my hands and feet; yes, it is I indeed.
Touch me and see for yourselves; a ghost has no flesh and bones as you can see
I have.’ And as he said this he showed them his hands and feet. Their joy was
so great that they still could not believe it, and they stood there
dumbfounded; so he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ And they
offered him a piece of grilled fish, which he took and ate before their eyes.
Then
he told them, ‘This is what I meant when I said, while I was still with you,
that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and in
the Psalms has to be fulfilled.’ He then opened their minds to understand the
scriptures, and he said to them, ‘So you see how it is written that the Christ
would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that, in his name,
repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all the nations,
beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses to this.’
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REDEMPTIVE
SUFFERING IN THE LIGHT OF CHRIST’S PASSION AND RESURRECTION
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SCRIPTURE
READINGS: Acts 3:13-15,
17-19; 1 John 2:1-5; Luke 24:35-48
We can
imagine the disappointment of the disciples of Jesus. They could not
accept the injustices committed against their master. They had high hopes
of Jesus becoming their political messiah. But with His death, all their
aspirations were crushed. They were left discouraged, disillusioned and
disheartened. We can detect the pain expressed in the words of St
Peter, “You are Israelites, and it is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the
God of our ancestors, who has glorified his servant Jesus, the same Jesus you
handed over and then disowned in the presence of Pilate, after Pilate had decided
to release him. It was you who accused the Holy One, the Just One, you who
demanded the reprieve of a murderer while you killed the prince of life.”
We too
cannot accept the injustices in our lives. We cannot let go of the past,
especially when we have been hurt and suffered injustices.
Understandably, it is difficult to let go of such hurts in our
lives. The memories of the past continue to live vividly in our
minds. We want revenge and demand justice and punishment.
But
this was not the way of the Lord. He forgave His enemies and even
interceded for them, for “they knew not what they were doing.” He did not
bring them to account. Even towards His apostles who betrayed Him and
abandoned Him in His moment of need, He did not reprimand them. He also
forgave them and granted them His peace at the first moment of their meeting
after His resurrection. He did not harbor grudges. In the same vein, St
Peter, after the resurrection of our Lord, could also say the same thing to the
Jews, “Now I know, brothers, that neither you nor your leaders had any idea
what you were really doing.” Indeed, he understood that those who
killed Jesus were ignorant. They were driven by fear, by anxiety or by
their sins. For this reason, St Peter could also forgive them the
way Jesus forgave.
What is
the secret of letting go? Christ saw everything in the light of
God’s plan. “So you see how it is written that the Christ would suffer
and on the third day rise from the dead, and that, in his name, repentance for
the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all the nations, beginning with
Jerusalem.” St Peter said the same thing, “Now I know, brothers, that
neither you nor your leaders had any idea what you were really doing; this was
the way God carried out what he had foretold, when he said through all his
prophets that his Christ would suffer.” He trusted in the Father’s
will. He saw the big picture. He knew that there was nothing that
was outside the Father’s will.
More
importantly, He understood the meaning of redemptive suffering. Through
His innocent suffering, people will be converted because of the love of God
shown in His passion. He knew that no matter what happened, He could
commend His life to His Father. He trusted in God who would vindicate
Him. Indeed, as St Peter said, “it is written that the Christ would
suffer and on the third day rise from the dead.” Through innocent
suffering too, Jesus learnt obedience and it was the way He perfected His love
for us. Through such suffering, Jesus truly became one with us and thus
is worthy to be acclaimed as the compassionate High priest. So in
suffering injustices, we need to understand our suffering in the light of God’s
plan for us.
Thus,
we need to let go and integrate our suffering within the bigger picture of the
plan of God. Once we can connect our pains with the sufferings of Christ
and most of all for the redemption of the world, we do not mind
suffering. We all suffer. This is a fact. No one is exempted
from suffering. Only when we suffer meaninglessly or suffer for self, do
we become bitter and resentful. But when we suffer for love, such
suffering is transformed to joy because it is meaningful and healing. We
can forgive our enemies because we know that our suffering will bear fruit one
day. The just will be vindicated not by human effort but by the justice
of God. We do not feel the need to justify ourselves. Christ did
not defend Himself but He trusted in the justice of God. With the
psalmist, we say, “when I call, answer me, O God of justice; from anguish you
released me, have mercy and hear me!”
So in
our suffering, we must not keep going back to the past. To go back to the
past is to let the ghosts haunt us. We read what happened to the
apostles. They were still living in their guilt and shame. “In a
state of alarm and fright, they thought they were seeing a ghost. But he said,
‘Why are you so agitated, and why are these doubts rising in your hearts? Look
at my hands and feet; yes, it is I indeed. Touch me and see for yourselves; a
ghost has no flesh and bones as you can see I have.’” It was important
for Jesus to show Himself to them so that with His resurrection, He could put
their ghosts of fear and guilt to rest.
Instead
of allowing the past to cripple us, we must look to the future instead.
St Peter told the people, “Now you must repent and turn to God, so that your
sins may be wiped out.” He had no intention to harp on the past and their
mistakes. What was more important for St Peter was that they repent and
turn to God for the forgiveness of sin, now that God has vindicated Jesus by
raising Him from the dead. Indeed, St John assures us of the forgiveness of our
sins when he wrote, “I am writing this, my children, to stop you sinning; but
if anyone should sin, we have our advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, who
is just; he is the sacrifice that takes our sins away, and not only ours, but
the whole world’s.”
More
importantly, we must now live the new life of Christ by obeying the
commandments of God. St John wrote, “We can be sure that we know God only
by keeping his commandments. Anyone who says, ‘I know him’, and does not keep
his commandments, is a liar, refusing to admit the truth.” If we
claim that we know God, we must obey His will. Obedience is the
perfection of love. St John wrote, “But when anyone does obey what he has
said, God’s love comes to perfection in him.” True knowledge of God is
more than an intellectual exercise or an emotional experience of His
love. The proof of knowing God is manifested in a moral life. If we
come to know God, it is natural that we will surrender our lives completely to
Him.
Where
do we find strength to forgive? Where can we find the strength to live
this life of perfection in love by obeying the Lord? We need to have the
joy of encountering the Risen Lord. “And as he said this he showed them
his hands and feet. Their joy was so great that they could not believe it, and
they stood dumbfounded.” An intellectual knowledge alone cannot change
our lives, unless, we have a real encounter with the Risen Lord. The
truth remains that many of us do not have a personal encounter with the Risen
Lord and thus we have no real personal relationship or fellowship with Him.
The
privileged place to encounter the Risen Lord is in the Eucharist and the Word
of God. This is what the scripture tells us. “The disciples told
their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognized Jesus
at the breaking of bread.” Jesus cited the scriptures to explain to them
why He had to suffer for the salvation of humanity and the forgiveness of
sin. Like the apostles, we need to read the Word of God and share
the Word with fellow Catholics so that we can strengthen and inspire each other
with our faith stories. We encounter the Risen Lord not just in the
Eucharist, but in the sacrament of reconciliation as well. We need
to come to Jesus for forgiveness. St John wrote, “I am writing this, my
children, to stop you sinning; but if anyone should sin, we have our advocate
with the Father, Jesus Christ, who is just; he is the sacrifice that takes our
sins away, and not only ours, but the whole world’s.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
©
All Rights Reserved
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