ARE YOU ASHAMED OF CHRIST?

20151017 ARE YOU ASHAMED OF CHRIST?

Readings at Mass

First reading

Romans 4:13,16-18 ©

The promise of inheriting the world was not made to Abraham and his descendants on account of any law but on account of the righteousness which consists in faith. That is why what fulfils the promise depends on faith, so that it may be a free gift and be available to all of Abraham’s descendants, not only those who belong to the Law but also those who belong to the faith of Abraham who is the father of all of us. As scripture says: I have made you the ancestor of many nations – Abraham is our father in the eyes of God, in whom he put his faith, and who brings the dead to life and calls into being what does not exist.

  Though it seemed Abraham’s hope could not be fulfilled, he hoped and he believed, and through doing so he did become the father of many nations exactly as he had been promised: Your descendants will be as many as the stars.

Psalm

Psalm 104:6-9,42-43 ©

The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

or

Alleluia!

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.

or

Alleluia!

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.

or

Alleluia!

For he remembered his holy word,

  which he gave to Abraham his servant.

So he brought out his people with joy,

  his chosen ones with shouts of rejoicing.

The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

or

Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation

1S3:9,Jn6:68

Alleluia, alleluia!

Speak, Lord, your servant is listening:

you have the message of eternal life.

Alleluia!

Or	Jn15:26,27

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Spirit of truth will be my witness;

and you too will be my witnesses.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Luke 12:8-12 ©

Jesus said to his disciples:

  ‘I tell you, if anyone openly declares himself for me in the presence of men, the Son of Man will declare himself for him in the presence of the angels. But the man who disowns me in the presence of men will be disowned in the presence of God’s angels.

  ‘Everyone who says a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

  ‘When they take you before synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say, because when the time comes, the Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say.’

ARE YOU ASHAMED OF CHRIST?

SCRIPTURE READINGS: ROM 4:13.16-18; PS 104:6-9,42-43; LK 12:8-12

Today there is a tagline being promoted that says, “Proud 2B Catholic”.  Are you proud to be Catholic? For those of us whose answer is negative, or indifferent, then most likely we are not proud of Christ either.  This is because being Catholic is to be in Christ, since the Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church.  So if you are not proud to be Catholic, then it is unlikely that you understand the privileges of being in full communion with the Lord in the Catholic Church, especially in truth, in love and through the sacraments available through His ordained ministers.  After all, St Paul reminds Timothy that “the household of God, which is the church of the living God, (is) the pillar and bulwark of the truth.”

The corollary also is that most likely you will not be a witness of Jesus.  You will not stand up for Jesus or even defend Him, much less to die for Him.  If we are proud of someone we will boast of our relationship with him or her, just as parents would speak proudly of their children or of their loved ones. We would want the whole world to know how great they are and how fortunate we are to belong to them. Conversely, if we are ashamed of them, just as some children are ashamed of their parents, we will hardly talk about them, except to lament how useless, ungrateful and unfilial they are.

Yet, it remains a fact that many Catholics are afraid to let the world know that they are disciples of Christ.  We hide our Catholic identity in public. We do not pray or read the scriptures in public or even make the sign of the cross in front of non-Catholics for fear of being ridiculed.  We do not feel comfortable bringing our faith into the public arena.  We do not display Christian symbols of holy pictures or wear sacred medals in public, but we display photos of our loved ones and all our trophies on our office tables for all to see because they mean something to us.  If Christ means something to us, or rather if He were everything in our lives, how come He is not displayed anywhere.  This is not true in other religions where their symbols of faith are publicly displayed, even in restaurants and shops, because they know that success and prosperity are not due to hard work alone but a consequence of the intervention of the supernatural.  Indeed, it would seem that those of us who belong to the faith do not believe that Jesus makes a real difference in our lives.

To be fair, witnessing is more than just public display.  Whilst some of us are completely reticent about our identity as Catholics or our faith in Christ, most of us are witnesses of Christ in varying degrees, mostly in actions rather than in words.  Indeed, although many Catholics hardly proclaim their faith in Christ or share about their relationship with the Lord and certainly fight shy of quoting scripture verses, they would be self-sacrificing in giving time and resources to help the poor and care for the less fortunate.  But we behave more like secret agents of our Lord than public ambassadors of Christ.

But would we also at times speak up for the truth, for justice and for the values we believe in?  Will we also live exemplary lives and show ourselves to be a contradiction in society in our lifestyles, especially in the rejection of a decadent culture of abortion,  drug addiction, liberal use of vulgar words, casual sex, drunkenness, gambling, cheating,  etc.  If we do not stand up for what we believe and uphold the values of the gospel, then we are allowing the darkness to overcome the light.  By being silent when we should speak and be prophetic, by not living the life of Christ, we are denying Jesus in our lives.  Jesus said, “I tell you, if anyone openly declares himself for me in the presence of men, the Son of Man will declare himself for him in the presence of God’s angels.  But the man who disowns me in the presence of men will be disowned in the presence of God’s angels.”

So why are we ashamed?  Clearly, it all boils down to faith in Christ, which is dependent on our relationship with Him.  If we know someone well, we trust the person more.  Trust is the basis for any meaningful relationship.  The reason why many relationships are not doing well or even broken is because of the lack of communication.  But often communication, especially of the heart, is lacking because trust is weak, especially when it has been broken.  Without trust, the relationship cannot grow because there is no sharing of life and love.

It is for this reason that God asks us for faith in Him.   St Paul gives us the example of what faith has done for Abraham.   Because of his complete faith in God, he became the father of many nations.  St Paul wrote, “Abraham is our father in the eyes of God, in whom he put his faith, and who brings the dead to life and calls into being what does not exist. Though it seemed Abraham’s hope could not be fulfilled, he hoped and he believed, and through doing so he did become the father of many nations exactly as he had been promised: Your descendants will be as many as the stars.”  Abraham surrendered his life totally to the Lord and he was rewarded.  What is significant is that even though at times the situation appeared hopeless, he never gave up hope in God.

We, too, are called to have the same faith in God so that we know that God is faithful and reliable.  St Paul tells us that what was given to Abraham is also ours because “what fulfils the promise depends on faith, so that it may be a free gift and be available to all of Abraham’s descendants, not only those who belong to the Law but also those who belong to the faith of Abraham who is the father of all of us.”   With faith in God, He will work wonders for us, in and through us.

For us Christians, this faith in God is made possible by Christ who, by His life, passion and resurrection, shows that He is truly the mercy and love of God.  St Paul says, “Abraham is our father in the eyes of God, in whom he put his faith, and who brings the dead to life and calls into being what does not exist.”  If God has raised Christ from the dead, there is nothing that the Lord cannot do and there is no fear of death even, because we too know that we share in the fullness of life after our earthly life on earth.  This explains why Jesus said, “Everyone who says a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.”  If the Father has raised Jesus from the dead in the Spirit and yet we still deny Him, it is not so much the rejection of Jesus but a blatant rejection of the Spirit of God. This is the greatest sin.  The refusal to accept the Holy Spirit is a sin that cannot be forgiven because it means a closing of the mind.

Consequently, it is only because of Christ’s death and resurrection that we are able to witness to the Lord without fear because He has also given us His Spirit.  As Jesus said, “When they take you before synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say, because when the time comes, the Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say.”  He will help us to overcome our opponents, not through clever arguments but the power of the Spirit through miracles and transformation and testimony.  At any rate, we do not change the world through logic and reason but through faith.  Powerful witnessing is simply a sharing of what God has done for us through no merit of our own but faith in His name.  Such testimonies are not disputable.  You cannot disprove a healing miracle.  Either you believe it is from God, or from man, or from the devil, as in the case of Jesus’ critics who earlier on accused Him of exorcising through Beelzebub.

Two kinds of people will not get to heaven or have a clear conscience to face God, man and himself, namely, those who deny Jesus by living a sinful and immoral life and those who deny Him by their words and actions.  When the day of Judgment comes, it will not be so much the Lord being ashamed to recognize us, we would be so ashamed of ourselves, knowing that we have betrayed Him face-to-face.  We will reject His love and mercy because of our shame and pride.  That is why we need to strengthen our faith in Him.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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