20160317 ARE YOU SERIOUS ABOUT JESUS?
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Genesis 17:3-9 ©
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Abram bowed to the
ground and God said this to him, ‘Here now is my covenant with you: you shall
become the father of a multitude of nations. You shall no longer be called
Abram; your name shall be Abraham, for I make you father of a multitude of
nations. I will make you most fruitful. I will make you into nations, and your
issue shall be kings. I will establish my Covenant between myself and you, and
your descendants after you, generation after generation, a Covenant in
perpetuity, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. I will
give to you and to your descendants after you the land you are living in, the
whole land of Canaan, to own in perpetuity, and I will be your God.’
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 104:4-9 ©
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The Lord remembers
his covenant for ever.
Consider the Lord and
his strength;
constantly
seek his face.
Remember the wonders
he has done,
his
miracles, the judgements he spoke.
The Lord remembers
his covenant for ever.
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.
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.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Jn6:63,68
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Glory and praise to
you, O Christ!
Your words are
spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message
of eternal life.
Glory and praise to
you, O Christ!
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Or
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Ps94:8
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Glory and praise to
you, O Christ!
Harden not your hearts
today,
but listen to the
voice of the Lord.
Glory and praise to
you, O Christ!
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Gospel
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John 8:51-59 ©
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Jesus said to the
Jews:
‘I tell you most
solemnly,
whoever keeps my word
will never see
death.’
The Jews said, ‘Now
we know for certain that you are possessed. Abraham is dead, and the prophets
are dead, and yet you say, “Whoever keeps my word will never know the taste of
death.” Are you greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? The prophets are
dead too. Who are you claiming to be?’ Jesus answered:
‘If I were to seek my
own glory
that would be no
glory at all;
my glory is conferred
by the Father,
by the one of whom
you say, “He is our God”
although you do not
know him.
But I know him,
and if I were to say:
I do not know him,
I should be a liar,
as you are liars yourselves.
But I do know him,
and I faithfully keep his word.
Your father Abraham
rejoiced
to think that he
would see my Day;
he saw it and was
glad.’
The Jews then said,
‘You are not fifty yet, and you have seen Abraham!’ Jesus replied:
‘I tell you most
solemnly,
before Abraham ever
was,
I Am.’
At this they picked
up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself and left the Temple.
ARE YOU
SERIOUS ABOUT JESUS?
In
the gospel, we see Jesus refusing to succumb to the pressure of the religious
leaders with regard to His true identity. The gospel of today reaches its high point in the series
of debate between Jesus and the Jews when He said in no uncertain terms who He
really was. He said, “I tell you most solemnly, before Abraham ever was,
I Am.” In this statement, it was clear to the Jews and the religious leaders
that He was putting Himself as equal to God because not only did He claim that
He existed before time but that He is the “I Am.” We must not forget that
when God revealed Himself to Moses, He instructed Him to say “to the people of
Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Ex 3:14)
Indeed,
Jesus was not afraid to state His identity clearly and without ambiguity. This was because Jesus knew His
Father intimately. He said, “If I were to seek my own glory that would be
no glory at all; my glory is conferred by the Father, by the one whom you say,
‘He is our God’ although you do not know him. But I know him, and if I
were to say: I do not know him, I should be a liar, as you are liars
yourselves.” Because of the clarity of His own identity as the Son
of the Father, His mission flowed from this identity. Jesus was conscious
that His work was to glorify the Father, not Himself. Any glory given to
Him was bestowed upon Him by the Father. Jesus’ personal intimacy
with the Father was the reason why He lived a life of total obedience to the
Father. This was what He said, “But I do know him, and I faithfully keep
his word.”
In
the first reading too, we read how God was faithful to Himself. He did not contradict His
identity and being. To be faithful to oneself is to be true to the
promises that we make. Our words and actions must manifest our
being. The promises that He made to Abraham, He fulfilled
eventually. He promised Abraham, posterity, land and nation; and all these
were fulfilled by the time of King David. More than that, He promised
perpetuity of the covenant and this was realized in Christ. This was what
Jesus meant when He said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to think that he would
see my Day; he saw it and was glad.” That is why the psalmist praised God
for His fidelity to the Covenant. “He remembers his covenant forever, his
promise for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath
he swore to Isaac.”
The
key to keeping the Word of God and being faithful to our Lord therefore follows
the same process.
Do we know who we are? Do we know our identity? Are we truly
disciples of Christ? Are we Christians? Are we Catholic? If
we claim that we are Christian Catholics, do we proudly affirm ourselves as
such even in the face of opposition and ridicule by the world as Jesus did? In
fact, we read that because of His divine claim, “they picked up stones to throw
at him; but Jesus hid himself and left the Temple.” Stoning of course was
the penalty for blasphemy as commanded by Moses. The reality is that not
only do Catholics fight shy of their identity but worse still, they do not live
out their identity. The irony today is that Catholics who are living a
very secular life and holding secular and worldly values in contrast to the
gospel would proudly say that they are Catholic, much to our embarrassment!
Clarity
of our identity therefore is very much indissolubly related to our faith in
Jesus. Thus, He said,
“I tell you most solemnly, whoever keeps my word will never see death.”
We cannot keep His word unless we first believe in Jesus. Faith in Jesus
is the pre-requisite in keeping His word. The real question that
Catholics and those who claim to be Catholic is whether they believe in
Jesus. This was what the Jews asked, “Are you greater than our father
Abraham, who is dead? The prophets are dead too. Who are you claiming to
be?”
If
we believe that Jesus truly comes from the Father and that He speaks on behalf
of God and acts on His behalf, then we must believe in Him and obey His Word so
that we can find life.
But the tragedy is that many call themselves Catholics yet they do not base
their life and values and thinking on Christ. The way they think is like
the world, certainly not Christian at all, in their values, lifestyles and
faith. They are counter-witnesses because they are counterfeits.
This explains why such Catholics will not find life. Instead they are
opposing the Church, the Magisterium’s teachings and questioning the truth of
the bible in a way as if they are our enemies. Instead of taking
direction from the Lord, they take direction from the world.
Instead of judging the way God judges, we judge the way the world judges.
This is not how the psalmist prayed, “You are justified in your sentence and
blameless in your judgment.” (Ps 51:4)
So
the warning of Jesus is clear. If we believe in Him, then we must keep
His word and we will not see death. This death is not biological death but a living
death. Those of us who listen to the world, not the Good Shepherd’s
voice, will, as Jesus said, “die in their sins.” Those who are slave to
sin will not live a life of peace and joy because they are filled with fear,
anger, unforgiveness, hatred, revenge, greed, envy, gluttony and pride.
If we live an authentic life, are faithful to our Christian identity and values
as taught by Christ, then we will find life. We will then rejoice with
Abraham. God is faithful to His covenant but we must respond accordingly
if His covenant were to be fulfilled in us. “God said to Abraham, ‘You on your
part shall maintain my Covenant, yourself and your descendants after you,
generation after generation.’”
Indeed,
let us rejoice with Abraham, knowing that we are God’s children. God is faithful to His covenant.
So too, God will bless us if we too cling to the Lord in faith like
Abraham. We need to place our faith in Jesus so that our hope in God will
not falter, especially in times of trouble. The psalmist encourages us,
“Consider the Lord and his strength; constantly seek his face. Remember the
wonders he has done, his miracles, the judgements he spoke.” So in faith,
let us stand up for Jesus. Let us be like Him, ready to stand up for our
beliefs and for the truth so that we can be set free.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
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