NEVER FORGET THE DEEDS OF THE LORD

20150914 NEVER FORGET THE DEEDS OF THE LORD

Readings at Mass

First reading

Numbers 21:4-9 ©

On the way through the wilderness 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 77:1-2,34-38 ©

Never forget the deeds of the Lord.

Give heed, my people, to my teaching;

  turn your ear to the words of my mouth.

I will open my mouth in a parable

  and reveal hidden lessons of the past.

Never forget the deeds of the Lord.

When he slew them then they would seek him,

  return and seek him in earnest.

They would remember that God was their rock,

  God the Most High their redeemer.

Never forget the deeds of the Lord.

But the words they spoke were mere flattery;

  they lied to him with their lips.

For their hearts were not truly with him;

  they were not faithful to his covenant.

Never forget the deeds of the Lord.

Yet he who is full of compassion

  forgave them their sin and spared them.

So often he held back his anger

  when he might have stirred up his rage.

Never forget the deeds of the Lord.

Second reading

Philippians 2:6-11 ©

His state was divine,

yet Christ Jesus did not cling

to his equality with God

but emptied himself

to assume the condition of a slave

and became as men are;

and being as all men are,

he was humbler yet,

even to accepting death,

death on a cross.

But God raised him high

and gave him the name

which is above all other names

so that all beings

in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld,

should bend the knee at the name of Jesus

and that every tongue should acclaim

Jesus Christ as Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia!

We adore you, O Christ,

and we bless you;

because by your cross

you have redeemed the world.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 3:13-17 ©

Jesus said to Nicodemus:

‘No one has gone up to heaven

except the one who came down from heaven,

the Son of Man who is in heaven;

and the Son of Man must be lifted up

as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,

so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.

Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son,

so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost

but may have eternal life.

For God sent his Son into the world

not to condemn the world,

but so that through him the world might be saved.’

NEVER FORGET THE DEEDS OF THE LORD

SCRIPTURE READINGS: NUMBERS 21:4-9; PHILIPPIANS 2:6-11; JOHN 3:13-17

Most of us have a tendency to complain like the Israelites.  Indeed, we are never satisfied in life.  We have endless desires and cravings.  The moment we get what we want, we desire something else.  The human heart can never be satisfied.  Today, we live in a 3-room flat, we desire a 5-room apartment, and then a bungalow.  We have an iPhone 5 but we desire an iPhone 6.  And when we do not get what we want, we complain and lament like the Israelites who were never satisfied with what the Lord has given to them.  Indeed, the most difficult to please and satisfy in this world are not the poor but the rich!   Regardless, our desire is like an abyss that cannot be fulfilled.  As it is said, the Lord can fulfill our needs but not our greed.

There is however a danger if we adopt such a negative and greedy attitude because we will destroy ourselves.  This was what happened to the Israelites.  We read that God “sent fiery serpents among the people; their bite brought death to many in Israel”.  We need not think that God is vindictive or annoyed by the people’s nagging and complaints.  Rather, the illness and subsequent death were their own doing.  Truly, greed, for many of us, leads to envy, competition, fraud, cheating and even killing.  If not, we work ourselves to death to get rich and acquire more wealth. This leads to stress, misunderstanding division and quarrels at home and at work.

So the antidote to overcoming greed and dissatisfaction in life is gratitude.  This is why the psalmist exhorts us, “Never forget the deeds of the Lord. I will open my mouth in a parable and reveal hidden lessons of the past. When he slew them then they would seek him, return and seek him in earnest. They would remember that God was their rock, God the Most High their redeemer”.  The lack of appreciation for what God has blessed us with is the cause of our lack of contentment.  We forget what we already have.  Instead, we focus on what we have not and most likely, these are the things we do not really need.  This forgetfulness is not so much that of the memory of the intellect but one of the heart.

How do we know that we are ungrateful?  Again, the psalmist says, “But the words they spoke were mere flattery; they lied to him with their lips. For their hearts were not truly with him; they were not faithful to his covenant.” And such were their hearts in spite of the fact that again and again, “… he who is full of compassion forgave them their sin and spared them.  So often he held back his anger when he might have stirred up his rage.”  The fact that we continue to live a sinful life shows that we are not grateful for His love and mercy for us.  If we are grateful, then our lives would be one of gratitude and we would do what He asks of us.   This was the case of the Israelites.  They were not grateful to God and blamed Him for everything that went wrong.

Indeed, gratitude is always expressed in giving and in doing what pleases the one we love.  A grateful person is always a contented person.  But more, he reaches out to others and cares for others.   Indeed, isn’t this the case of the Eucharist that we celebrate daily?  During the narration of the Institution of the Eucharist, it is preceded by the Lord taking the bread and the chalice giving thanks to the Father.  Only then, it is followed by the words of Jesus that “This is my body given up for you” and “my blood shed for you”.   Indeed, this is why we call the Mass the Eucharist, a thanksgiving to God for the food and blessings we receive and most of all, for the divine Bread of Life, Christ Himself, His body and blood.  Having received His body and blood in thanksgiving, we too are now called to offer our own body and blood for the salvation of humanity.  From celebrating and commemorating the passion of Christ, we are now invited to live out what we celebrate by offering ourselves for the salvation of the world, by giving our lives to others.

When we live for others and serve others, we forget our own sufferings.  The best remedy to overcome depression is to reach out to the poor and the suffering.  Depression often is the consequence of self-pity and too much introspection, comparison and envy.  By connecting with the pain of others, we see our pain in a much wider perspective.  When we recognize that we are in solidarity with the world in pain and sin, then we learn to be more forgiving and stop condemning others.  Instead of being angry and inward-looking, we begin to heal others through the same sufferings we have gone through.  More than anyone else, we are the best people who can empathize and sympathize with those who suffer because we ourselves have suffered.

It is within this context that we are invited on the Feast of the Holy Cross to contemplate on the love of God.  This love of God is spelt out in a most concrete and personal way.  Since humanity remained unconverted in spite of the wonders performed at the Exodus, God chose to come Himself instead, to reveal to us His immense love by sending us His only Son. “Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life. For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved.”

How did Christ save us?  By His death and resurrection which is the Paschal Mystery. By His innocent suffering and death on the cross, God showed us His mercy and compassion.  By His incarnation, God revealed that He is identified with every man in His pain and suffering.  There is no pain or suffering; physical, emotional or spiritual pain that the Lord did not go through.  On the cross, He suffered separation from His Father and the full consequences and impact of the sins of humanity. He suffered injustice, humiliation, rejection and betrayal.  Jesus did not fear death; the wages of sin, which is the last enemy of man.  But His death was not the end.  God showed that love and life were more powerful than death.  By raising Jesus from the dead, death is overcome by life; and love is shown to be more powerful than hatred and sin.

For this reason, the Cross which is the prelude to the resurrection is called the Exaltation.   The glorification of Jesus happens both at the cross and at the resurrection.  On the cross, Jesus is lifted up for us, showing forth His triumph over sin.  At His resurrection, life triumphs over death.  Without the cross, resurrection would be without power.  Without the resurrection, the cross would be a tragedy.  But when the cross is celebrated in view of the resurrection, the Cross is no longer a misfortune but truly the glory of God.  The Cross becomes the symbol of God’s merciful love and power over death.   Most of all, the cross and the resurrection reveal to us that Christ is truly the mercy and love of God in person because His death was vindicated by the Father.

We are now called to place our faith in Christ completely.  Jesus said to Nicodemus: “No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down from heaven, the Son of Man who is in heaven; and the Son of Man must be lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

Because Christ is the Son of God, we know that in Him, we too will triumph over every trial in our lives and we will overcome sin and death like Him. Like Him, we too will learn to accept suffering and death.  As St Paul says, “The state of Jesus Christ was divine, yet he did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave, and became as men are; and being as all men are, he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross.”

Like Him, we know that sharing in His death; we will share in His exaltation because death has been overcome.  “But God raised him high and gave him the name which is above all other names so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  This is true not only when we die, but also in this life when we overcome the fear of death, and when we can truly love without fear or reservation.

Hence, we are called to contemplate on Christ’s Paschal Mystery, His cross and resurrection.   We are called to remember the Great Deed of the Lord lest we forget like the Israelites. This is the antidote given to the Israelites who sinned against the Lord.  This is our antidote as well.  “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.”   This is what St John Paul II in his apostolic letter, Novo Millennium Ineunte invites us to.  He asked us to contemplate on the face of Christ in His incarnation, passion and resurrection so that we can find direction, strength and courage in our pastoral involvement.

And what better way to relive this event if not to celebrate the Eucharist or spend time adoring the Eucharist which is the memorial of the Lord’s passion and resurrection?  As we adore the Eucharist and celebrate His passion, death and resurrection, we will find the strength that comes from the reception of His Spirit to do what He did, by giving our body and blood for the salvation in thanksgiving to God for all the favours we have received.  We can now imitate the Lord and live a life of grateful thanksgiving in humble service, emptying ourselves even unto death.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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