REMEMBERING THE LOVE AND WONDERS OF THE LORD

20150807 REMEMBERING THE LOVE AND WONDERS OF THE LORD

Readings at Mass

First reading

Deuteronomy 4:32-40 ©

Moses said to the people: ‘Put this question to the ages that are past, that went before you, from the time God created man on earth: Was there ever a word so majestic, from one end of heaven to the other? Was anything ever heard? Did ever a people hear the voice of the living God speaking from the heart of the fire, as you heard it, and remain alive? Has any god ventured to take to himself one nation from the midst of another by ordeals, signs, wonders, war with mighty hand and outstretched arm, by fearsome terrors – all this that the Lord your God did for you before your eyes in Egypt?

  ‘This he showed you so that you might know that the Lord is God indeed and that there is no other. He let you hear his voice out of heaven for your instruction; on earth he let you see his great fire, and from the heart of the fire you heard his word. Because he loved your fathers and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out from Egypt, openly showing his presence and his great power, driving out in front of you nations greater and more powerful than yourself, and brought you into their land to give it you for your heritage, as it is still today.

  ‘Understand this today, therefore, and take it to heart: the Lord is God indeed, in heaven above as on earth beneath, he and no other. Keep his laws and commandments as I give them to you today, so that you and your children may prosper and live long in the land that the Lord your God gives you for ever.’

Psalm

Psalm 76:12-16,21 ©

I remember the deeds of the Lord.

I remember the deeds of the Lord,

  I remember your wonders of old,

I muse on all your works

  and ponder your mighty deeds.

I remember the deeds of the Lord.

Your ways, O God, are holy.

  What god is great as our God?

You are the God who works wonders.

  You showed your power among the peoples.

I remember the deeds of the Lord.

Your strong arm redeemed your people,

  the sons of Jacob and Joseph.

You guided your people like a flock

  by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

I remember the deeds of the Lord.

Gospel Acclamation

1S3:9,Jn6:68

Alleluia, alleluia!

Speak, Lord, your servant is listening:

you have the message of eternal life.

Alleluia!

Or

Mt5:10

Alleluia, alleluia!

Happy those who are persecuted

in the cause of right,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 16:24-28 ©

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it. What, then, will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins his life? Or what has a man to offer in exchange for his life?

  ‘For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and, when he does, he will reward each one according to his behaviour. I tell you solemnly, there are some of these standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming with his kingdom.’

REMEMBERING THE LOVE AND WONDERS OF THE LORD

SCRIPTURE READINGS: DT 4:32-40; MT 16:24-28

What are the conditions for discipleship and vocation?  Three convictions are required if we are to take discipleship seriously. These three questions must be carefully thought through if we are to arrive at a definite conviction.

The first question that is asked of us is this:  Do we agree with Jesus when He remarked, “What, then, will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins his life?”  In other words, have we come to the realization, as St Ignatius of Loyola did, that nothing in this world is truly pleasing or satisfying?  St Ignatius came from a rich and noble family and was very successful in his career until he was seriously wounded in battle.  Unless we come to a realization and conviction that the things of this world have no lasting value, we will continue to hanker after them. This is especially so for those of us who have not yet attained the height of success in life, or made enough money or wealth. This explains why the poor crave for the goods of the world, some even to the extent of using spiritual means to acquire them. The irony is that those who have finally come to acquire worldly success, power and luxury, after spending their whole life, resources and energy pursuing them, now desire to let go of them, because they find them empty and meaningless.

Secondly, Jesus said, “what has a man to offer in exchange for his life?”  This question challenges us to consider whether we are desperate for the fullness of life, or whether we are contented with what is second best.  If we are truly looking for fullness of life, then we must seek life beyond this world.  This is true for so many people in the world.  They live on the superficial level, never going beyond ‘doing’ to ‘meaning’. They do not ask the essential questions but instead drift through life blindly without understanding what they are doing or knowing why they are doing what they are doing.  At the same time, this question invites us to consider whether we are ready to pay any price for this life.  If we are not ready to pay the price of eternal life, then we can never attain the fullness of life.

Thirdly, finding life presupposes that we believe that it is only in giving up our life for Jesus that the fullness of life can be ours.  As Jesus said, “for anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.”  But why would Jesus demand that we lose our life for Him? Certainly, it is not because He needs us to die for Him.  Rather, it is for our sake, than His!  Without losing our life, it would be impossible for us to share in the life of Jesus.  Following Jesus entails that we give up our own personal life so that we can share in the life of Jesus so that His life can become ours.

For this to happen concretely, Jesus said, “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me.”  Clearly then, losing one’s life for the sake of Jesus is the way to make Jesus’ life our own.  What is the life of Jesus if not one of total self-emptying and carrying the cross?

Thus, to follow Jesus means that we are called to undertake the task of renunciation.  If we do not renounce ourselves, then we cannot be said to have the life of Jesus. The question is, how much have we renounced ourselves?  Have we renounced our rights, privileges, the need to have our opinions heard and accepted all the time; the things that we have, etc. Have we followed Jesus to suffer innocently for the sake of love as St Peter exhorts us? “But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened …It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.” (1 Pt 3:14, 17)   So long as we do not renounce some things every day in life, even our desire to be acquitted of slander, then we would not have really assumed the life of Jesus in us.

Besides renunciation, we are to carry the cross as well.  Of course the cross we are called to carry is not even others’ cross but our own.  So, the life of grace is to accept the crosses graciously and patiently in our lives. We must realize that at every Mass we join Jesus in the sacrificial sacrifice.  So it would be an illusion to think that once we become Christians, there is no suffering, as preached by those who subscribe to the prosperity gospel.  This is not the royal priesthood we are baptized into.  Our priesthood is a constant participation in the cross of Jesus unto death, so that we can truly die with Him. The daily problems, struggles, misunderstandings and difficulties we have with each other and in our work is the way we carry the crosses of life, but always in union with Jesus.

In the final analysis, to find life is not to follow any program. It is to follow Jesus as a person.  It is our personal relationship with Jesus that will empower us to live the life of discipleship.  The regret we have is that although we all might be quite clear what sharing in the priesthood entails, namely, renunciation and suffering, yet, much as we are convinced that the life of Christ is the way to eternal life, we find it so difficult to make His life our own.  Why is this so?

The first reading gives us the key to how we can live a life of self-emptying and sacrifice generously.  We are told that if the Israelites came to conclude that the life of the Covenant was the life that they were called to live and that the commandments given by the Lord had to be observed, it was because they came to realize that Yahweh is the Lord in a very real and personal way.  It was the experience of His love and His power at work in their lives that convinced them that God was for them. This necessity of remembering His deeds of love is re-echoed in the responsorial psalm when we pray, “Remember the deeds of the Lord.”

Indeed, that was what Moses told the people: “This he showed you so that you might know that the Lord is God indeed and that there is no other.  He let you hear his voice out of heaven for your instruction; on earth he let you see his great fire, and from the heart of the fire you heard his word.  Because he loved your fathers and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out from Egypt, openly showing his presence and his great power, driving out in front of you nations greater and more powerful than yourself, and brought you into their land to give it you for your heritage, as it is still today.”

It is based on the concrete historical intervention and presence of the Lord in the lives of the people that Moses could say to the people, “Understand this today, therefore, and take it to heart: the Lord is God indeed, in heaven above as on earth beneath, he and no other. Keep his laws and commandments as I give them to you today, so that you and your children may prosper and live long in the land that the Lord your God gives you for ever.”

Yes, “remember the deeds of the Lord.”  This is an important exhortation.  If we want to be faithful to our vocation and be enthusiastic in following Jesus in spite of the crosses we have to bear in life, then we must remember that the Lord is with us in a special way in Jesus.  We must remember those occasions when we experienced His personal love. Such occasions would necessarily be those specific historical events in our own lives.  If we are unable to pinpoint those moments when we experienced the love of the Lord and the wonders He worked in our lives, it would be difficult to commit ourselves totally to His service and to Him.

But if we do, then eternal life is already ours, since Jesus told His disciples that those who follow Him, would find life in this world and in the Second Coming:  “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and, when he does, he will reward each one according to his behaviour.  I tell you solemnly, there are some of these standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming with his kingdom.”

Written by The Most Rev William Goh

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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