THE DOUBLE ELECTION

20160214 THE DOUBLE ELECTION

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Violet.

First reading

Deuteronomy 26:4-10 ©

Moses said to the people: ‘The priest shall take the pannier from your hand and lay it before the altar of the Lord your God. Then, in the sight of the Lord your God, you must make this pronouncement:

  ‘“My father was a wandering Aramaean. He went down into Egypt to find refuge there, few in numbers; but there he became a nation, great, mighty, and strong. The Egyptians ill-treated us, they gave us no peace and inflicted harsh slavery on us. But we called on the Lord, the God of our fathers. The Lord heard our voice and saw our misery, our toil and our oppression; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with mighty hand and outstretched arm, with great terror, and with signs and wonders. He brought us here and gave us this land, a land where milk and honey flow. Here then I bring the first-fruits of the produce of the soil that you, the Lord, have given me.”

  ‘You must then lay them before the Lord your God, and bow down in the sight of the Lord your God.’

Psalm

Psalm 90:1-2,10-15 ©

Be with me, O Lord, in my distress.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

  and abides in the shade of the Almighty

says to the Lord: ‘My refuge,

  my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!’

Be with me, O Lord, in my distress.

Upon you no evil shall fall,

  no plague approach where you dwell.

For you has he commanded his angels,

  to keep you in all your ways.

Be with me, O Lord, in my distress.

They shall bear you upon their hands

  lest you strike your foot against a stone.

On the lion and the viper you will tread

  and trample the young lion and the dragon.

Be with me, O Lord, in my distress.

His love he set on me, so I will rescue him;

  protect him for he knows my name.

When he calls I shall answer: ‘I am with you,’

  I will save him in distress and give him glory.

Be with me, O Lord, in my distress.

Second reading

Romans 10:8-13 ©

Scripture says: The word (that is the faith we proclaim) is very near to you, it is on your lips and in your heart. If your lips confess that Jesus is Lord and if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved. By believing from the heart you are made righteous; by confessing with your lips you are saved. When scripture says: those who believe in him will have no cause for shame, it makes no distinction between Jew and Greek: all belong to the same Lord who is rich enough, however many ask his help, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Gospel Acclamation

Mt4:4

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

Man does not live on bread alone,

but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

Gospel

Luke 4:1-13 ©

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit through the wilderness, being tempted there by the devil for forty days. During that time he ate nothing and at the end he was hungry. Then the devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to turn into a loaf.’ But Jesus replied, ‘Scripture says: Man does not live on bread alone.’

  Then leading him to a height, the devil showed him in a moment of time all the kingdoms of the world and said to him, ‘I will give you all this power and the glory of these kingdoms, for it has been committed to me and I give it to anyone I choose. Worship me, then, and it shall all be yours.’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Scripture says:

You must worship the Lord your God,

and serve him alone.’

Then he led him to Jerusalem and made him stand on the parapet of the Temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said to him ‘throw yourself down from here, for scripture says:

He will put his angels in charge of you

to guard you,

and again:

They will hold you up on their hands

in case you hurt your foot against a stone.’

But Jesus answered him, ‘It has been said:

You must not put the Lord your God to the test.’

Having exhausted all these ways of tempting him, the devil left him, to return at the appointed time.

THE DOUBLE ELECTION

SCRIPTURE READINGS: Dt 26:4-10; Rom 10:8-13; Lk 4:1-13

Today, our Catechumens will celebrate the rite of election.  This is a very critical stage in the life of the Catechumens because they are going to make a radical decision to elect Christ as their Saviour and Lord before they are baptized. 

For the rest of the Church, even though we are already baptized, this decision needs to be renewed as well.  In truth many of us, like the Israelites, chose the Lord, but over the years we have lost our relationship with Him.  Instead of serving the Lord our God, we have served ourselves and the Kingdom of Satan.  Consequently, during this season of Lent, the Church invites us to consider whether we are willing to choose Christ our Lord, the resurrection and the life.

Are you ready to make this confession of faith from your heart, not just on your lips?  It is not even an intellectual answer that is required but a confession of faith from the heart.  What is asked of you is whether you believe, not whether you understand.  How then can we make this act of faith?

It is important to take note that in every rite of election, there is a double election that is being celebrated. God will not ask us to choose Him unless He has first chosen us.  St John underscores this when he wrote, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.  In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins.”  (1 Jn4:9f)

Indeed, this has been seen throughout the history of salvation, beginning with the election of Abraham as the father of the Chosen Race.  We read that God chose Israel out of all nations to be His people.  They were nomads who became slaves in Egypt.  However, the experience of Israel was that God was a compassionate God.  He set them free from slavery.  He established the Covenant with them and made them His people.  Indeed, God chose them to be His people, made them into a nation by giving them land and a king.  He brought them out of Egypt on eagles’ wings and established them into a kingly, priestly and prophetic people.  And when the people were unfaithful to the covenant again and again, God forgave them.

Finally, in Christ, God renewed His Covenant with Israel and the entire humanity.  In Christ, we are elected once more, not just the Israelites but the Gentiles too.  As St Paul says, “those who believe in him will have no cause for shame, it makes no distinction between Jew and Greek: all belong to the same Lord who is rich enough, however many ask for his help, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

The election of God in choosing us to be His people entails that we also make our response to His gracious overture of mercy and love.  This is the second election.  God, who has for all eternity chosen us in Christ, now invites us to choose Him in return.  His election is effective only when we receive the invite.

St Paul urges us to be decisive and definite in our choice for Christ as our Lord.  Indeed, for Christians who believe in Christ as the Risen Lord, the Son of God in our hearts and confess Him publicly in our lives, no one can tempt us from our fundamental orientation in life.  It is because many do not really believe in their hearts, perhaps if at all only in their minds, that Jesus is Lord, that they do not have the confidence to proclaim and confess His name publicly because they know it will be hypocritical even to say so.  This diffidence allows the devil to tempt us and others to lead us astray because they know our faith in Christ is still weak and uncertain.

Today, we are invited to make that foundational choice with the Lord Jesus.  Our Lord has shown us the way to make our decision for God.  At His baptism, the Father confirmed His choice of Jesus saying, “You are my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus, upon hearing these words, immediately began His mission by fighting against the kingdom of darkness.  Filled with the Holy Spirit, He went out into the desert and faced Satan directly in the battle between serving God or serving self and the world.

So too, we are called to confirm God’s election of us by making that foundational decision for God in Christ Jesus as all other secondary decisions in life will flow from this centrality of our belief in Christ.  We will do everything and anything only for the glory of God, the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Like Jesus, we will only seek to do the will of God in all our decisions in life, big or small, in the way we think, talk, act and judge.  Christ will be the determining factor in all that we do, and from then on, like the Hebrews, we will offer whatever we have, our resources, our finances, our time and our total self for the service of His kingdom and for the love of His Father.

That was certainly the case of Jesus when He was confronted by three critical secondary choices after committing Himself to His Father.   In the Temptation Story, Jesus was asked to make a choice of being a slave to the material needs of the world and attending solely to the things of this life, or to recognize that the human person needs more than food and material well-being but God’s word.  Hence, when challenged to turn stone into bread, Jesus sharply told the devil off, saying “Man does not live on bread alone.”  Jesus would not use His power to benefit Himself but only for the service of the Kingdom.  Jesus chose service over self.  This is so unlike many of us who use the resources, talents and wealth or influence we have for our personal benefits rather than for the glory of God, His Church and the service of humanity.

Secondly, the Devil tried to distract Jesus from His mission by offering Him glory and power, the things that the world seeks.   But Jesus made it clear that glory and power belongs to God alone, not man!  No man can find satisfaction and security in earthly glory and power.  Hence, citing from scripture, the Lord said, “You must worship the Lord your God, and serve him alone.”   Jesus chose God over the world.  What about us?  Do we worship money, career, power, fame and status, or is our primary concern the search for God and His kingdom?  “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.”  (Mt 6:33)

Finally, the next common temptation of man is to doubt the love and mercy of God.  Many of us keep questioning God’s love for us and His divine providence.  We are always worrying about tomorrow.  On one hand, we call Him Father, but we do not believe in our heart that if God is our heavenly Father, He will know how to look after us and provide what we need to be truly happy in life.  But we want things our way.  We keep on testing Him like the Israelites in the desert.   That is why we find no rest.  Satan knew that if he could make Jesus hesitant about His Father’s love, he could make Him waver in His decision.  But Jesus knew His identity as the Son of the Father and He knew the Father’s love is faithful.  Hence, He rejected Satan’s temptation to test His Father’s love and to question His identity as Son.  “It has been said: You must not put the Lord your God to the test.” Jesus chose faith in Him rather than doubt.

It must be noted that the secondary choices that Jesus had to make in the desert resurfaced in different ways throughout His ministry repeatedly but they were all grounded in His love and devotion to the Father.  This is equally true for us.  We must not think that we are confronted with such concrete choices of good over evil only before baptism, but this goes on at every moment in our lives. Yes, the devil will keep coming back to tempt us away from our foundational principle to serve God in our lives as well.

Consequently, today we are asked to make our position clear before God, His Church and our fellowmen.  Whom do you choose to love and serve?   The decision must be firm and decisive, otherwise we will continue to stumble and fall along the way, especially when temptations come.  How can we be firm in our decision for the Lord?  For us Christians, it is by contemplating on His love and mercy for us in His passion and death; and experiencing the power of His resurrection in our lives.  In so doing, we too will be able to make that same conclusive choice for Christ because we believe in our hearts.

To help us strengthen our choice for the Lord, and our love for Him, we are invited to make these 40 days in Lent, a journey of dying to our sins and freeing ourselves from our bondages.  By contemplating on the mercy and love of Christ on the cross, and aided by prayer, penance, almsgiving, we will be able to surrender ourselves more and more to His love.  As we continue to grow in intimacy with the Lord after making our election for Him today, we will, when our love is deepened and flourished at Easter, be ready like the apostles to confess with our lips that Jesus is Lord and be sent out to the whole world to proclaim the Good News of salvation to all of humanity.  We too will be filled with the same Spirit that empowered Jesus in His ministry.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved