20160314 CHRIST AS THE LIGHT OF HUMANITY
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Daniel
13:1-9,15-17,19-30,33-62 ©
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In Babylon there
lived a man named Joakim. He had married Susanna daughter of Hilkiah, a woman
of great beauty; and she was God-fearing, because her parents were worthy
people and had instructed their daughter in the Law of Moses. Joakim was a very
rich man, and had a garden attached to his house; the Jews would often visit
him since he was held in greater respect than any other man. Two elderly men
had been selected from the people that year to act as judges. Of such the Lord
said, ‘Wickedness has come to Babylon through the elders and judges posing as
guides to the people.’ These men were often at Joakim’s house, and all who were
engaged in litigation used to come to them. At midday, when everyone had gone,
Susanna used to take a walk in her husband’s garden. The two elders, who used
to watch her every day as she came in to take her walk, gradually began to
desire her. They threw reason aside, making no effort to turn their eyes to
heaven, and forgetting its demands of virtue. So they waited for a favourable
moment; and one day Susanna came as usual, accompanied only by two young
maidservants. The day was hot and she wanted to bathe in the garden. There was
no one about except the two elders, spying on her from their hiding place. She
said to the servants, ‘Bring me some oil and balsam and shut the garden door
while I bathe.’
Hardly
were the servants gone than the two elders were there after her. ‘Look,’ they
said ‘the garden door is shut, no one can see us. We want to have you, so give
in and let us! Refuse, and we will both give evidence that a young man was with
you and that was why you sent your maids away.’ Susanna sighed. ‘I am trapped,’
she said ‘whatever I do. If I agree, that means my death; if I resist, I cannot
get away from you. But I prefer to fall innocent into your power than to sin in
the eyes of the Lord.’ Then she cried out as loud as she could. The two elders
began shouting too, putting the blame on her, and one of them ran to open the
garden door. The household, hearing the shouting in the garden, rushed out by
the side entrance to see what was happening; once the elders had told their
story the servants were thoroughly taken aback, since nothing of this sort had
ever been said of Susanna.
Next day
a meeting was held at the house of her husband Joakim. The two elders arrived,
in their vindictiveness determined to have her put to death. They addressed the
company: ‘Summon Susanna daughter of Hilkiah and wife of Joakim.’ She was sent
for, and came accompanied by her parents, her children and all her relations.
All her own people were weeping, and so were all the others who saw her. The
two elders stood up, with all the people round them, and laid their hands on
the woman’s head. Tearfully she turned her eyes to heaven, her heart confident
in God. The elders then spoke. ‘While we were walking by ourselves in the
garden, this woman arrived with two servants. She shut the garden door and then
dismissed the servants. A young man who had been hiding went over to her and
they lay down together. From the end of the garden where we were, we saw this
crime taking place and hurried towards them. Though we saw them together we were
unable to catch the man: he was too strong for us; he opened the door and took
to his heels. We did, however, catch this woman and ask her who the young man
was. She refused to tell us. That is our evidence.’
Since
they were elders of the people, and judges, the assembly took their word:
Susanna was condemned to death. She cried out as loud as she could, ‘Eternal
God, you know all secrets and everything before it happens; you know that they
have given false evidence against me. And now have I to die, innocent as I am
of everything their malice has invented against me?’
The Lord
heard her cry and, as she was being led away to die, he roused the holy spirit
residing in a young boy named Daniel who began to shout, ‘I am innocent of this
woman’s death!’ At which all the people turned to him and asked, ‘What do you
mean by these words?’ Standing in the middle of the crowd he replied, ‘Are you
so stupid, sons of Israel, as to condemn a daughter of Israel unheard, and
without troubling to find out the truth? Go back to the scene of the trial:
these men have given false evidence against her.’
All the
people hurried back, and the elders said to Daniel, ‘Come and sit with us and
tell us what you mean, since God has given you the gifts that elders have.’
Daniel said, ‘Keep the men well apart from each other for I want to question
them.’ When the men had been separated, Daniel had one of them brought to him.
‘You have grown old in wickedness,’ he said ‘and now the sins of your earlier
days have overtaken you, you with your unjust judgements, your condemnation of
the innocent, your acquittal of guilty men, when the Lord has said, “You must
not put the innocent and the just to death.” Now then, since you saw her so
clearly, tell me what tree you saw them lying under?’ He replied, ‘Under a
mastic tree.’ Daniel said, ‘True enough! Your lie recoils on your own head: the
angel of God has already received your sentence from him and will slash you in
half.’ He dismissed the man, ordered the other to be brought and said to him,
‘Spawn of Canaan, not of Judah, beauty has seduced you, lust has led your heart
astray! This is how you have been behaving with the daughters of Israel and
they were too frightened to resist; but here is a daughter of Judah who could
not stomach your wickedness! Now then, tell me what tree you surprised them
under?’ He replied, ‘Under a holm oak.’ Daniel said, ‘True enough! Your lie
recoils on your own head: the angel of God is waiting, with a sword to drive
home and split you, and destroy the pair of you.’
Then the
whole assembly shouted, blessing God, the saviour of those who trust in him.
And they turned on the two elders whom Daniel had convicted of false evidence
out of their own mouths. As prescribed in the Law of Moses, they sentenced them
to the same punishment as they had intended to inflict on their neighbour. They
put them to death; the life of an innocent woman was spared that day.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 22:1-6 ©
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If I should walk
in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear.
The Lord is my
shepherd;
there is
nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are
the pastures
where he
gives me repose.
Near restful waters
he leads me,
to revive
my drooping spirit.
If I should walk
in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear.
He guides me along
the right path;
he is
true to his name.
If I should walk in
the valley of darkness
no evil
would I fear.
You are there with
your crook and your staff;
with
these you give me comfort.
If I should walk
in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear.
You have prepared a
banquet for me
in the
sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed
with oil;
my cup is
overflowing.
If I should walk
in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear.
Surely goodness and
kindness shall follow me
all the
days of my life.
In the Lord’s own
house shall I dwell
for ever
and ever.
If I should walk
in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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2Co6:2
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Glory to you, O
Christ, you are the Word of God!
Now is the favourable
time:
this is the day of
salvation.
Glory to you, O
Christ, you are the Word of God!
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Or
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Ezk33:11
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Glory to you, O
Christ, you are the Word of God!
I take pleasure, not
in the death of a wicked man
– it is the Lord who
speaks –
but in the turning
back of a wicked man
who changes his ways
to win life.
Glory to you, O
Christ, you are the Word of God!
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Gospel
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John 8:12-20 ©
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Jesus said to the
people:
‘I am the light of
the world;
anyone who follows me
will not be walking in the dark;
he will have the
light of life.’
At this the Pharisees
said to him, ‘You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not
valid.’
Jesus
replied:
‘It is true that I am
testifying on my own behalf,
but my testimony is
still valid,
because I know
where I came from and
where I am going;
but you do not know
where I come from or
where I am going.
You judge by human
standards;
I judge no one,
but if I judge, my
judgement will be sound,
because I am not
alone:
the one who sent me
is with me;
and in your Law it is
written
that the testimony of
two witnesses is valid.
I may be testifying
on my own behalf,
but the Father who
sent me is my witness too.’
They asked him,
‘Where is your Father?’ Jesus answered:
‘You do not know me,
nor do you know my
Father;
if you did know me,
you would know my
Father as well.’
He
spoke these words in the Treasury, while teaching in the Temple. No one
arrested him, because his time had not yet come.
CHRIST
AS THE LIGHT OF HUMANITY
The
fifth week of Lent is traditionally known as Passion Week.
Before Vatican II, the crosses and statues in church were veiled to indicate
Passion Time. Today, it is optional. That this mood is still the
background for this week is indicated by the fact that the rubrics permit us to
use the hymns of Passiontide for Lauds and Vespers; and the preface for mass is
taken from the Passion of the Lord. This means that the liturgy wants us
to focus on the passion of our Lord. All the gospel texts remind us of
the increasing hostility against Jesus from this week onwards leading up to
Good Friday.
But what
is the reason for the growing enmity of the religious leaders against
Jesus? Firstly, it is a question of the identity of Jesus.
The Jews were ignorant of Jesus’ identity, simply because they did
not know the Father since the Father and Him are one. Jesus told
them, “You do not know me, nor do you know my Father; if you did know me, you
would know my Father as well.” This too is the most crucial
question in Christianity. Who is Jesus? Where did He come
from? What is His relationship with the Father? Is He a man or is He
God? The identity of Jesus determines our relationship with Him and our
understanding of life. For the Elects preparing for baptism and even for
all of us, this question is urgent, since the answer we give to this question
has implications on our commitment to the Lord.
To
the extent that we know who Jesus is and what He is for us, we give ourselves
totally to Him. If our
answer is unclear then we will not take the words of Jesus seriously, nor will
we believe that He is with the Church, protecting her from errors. It is
for this reason that the Church has been preparing the Catechumens all this
while to come to know Jesus personally and deeply so that they could make a
decisive commitment to the Lord when they are baptized this coming
Easter. For us who are already baptized, we too are asked to evaluate
whether we truly believe in Jesus and know Him because often we pay lip service
to our faith in Christ. This is seen when our lives contradict the faith
we profess. When we do not live the life of Christ accordingly, we too
have become like the religious leaders in today’s scripture readings, betraying
the Lord by our sinful life.
So
what prevents us from seeing Jesus clearly and coming to faith in Him? Clearly, it is because of
sin. In the bible, adultery is always a symbol of sin because every
sin is a sin of infidelity to God. The story of Susanna brings out the
wickedness of sin. The lust of the wicked judges blinded them to what is
truth. Sadly, instead of using their position and power invested on them
to render justice to the poor and the weak, they abused their authority; and
used their influence and position to satisfy their lustful desires. When
they could not get what they wanted, they became vindictive and falsely plotted
together to accuse Susanna, the innocent and God-fearing wife of Joakim, of
committing adultery. They framed a false charge against her, knowing that
because they were judges, their testimony would immediately be accepted without
question. So too, the religious leaders during the time of Jesus
were not ready to accept Jesus simply because He was a threat to them.
They saw Jesus as a threat to their status quo and their position in society.
Filled with jealousy and resentment like the lustful judges, they sought
to have Jesus killed to safeguard their interests.
In
today’s gospel, Jesus proclaims Himself as the light of the world.
He comes to enlighten us all in the darkness of our sins. Like the
prophet Daniel, Jesus has come to reveal to us the darkness of our souls and
the blindness of our eyes to the truth about ourselves. This theme of
Jesus as the Light is anticipated at the very beginning of chapter 8 of the
story of the adulterous woman, when St John indicated that it was at daybreak
that the adulterous woman who committed sin in the dark came to find Jesus in
the light, since He is the light, the truth and then the life.
That
today’s assertion is made during the Feast of the Tabernacles, which is also a
celebration of Light, also implies that Jesus was identifying Himself with God. For the Jews, the Temple was
lighted up in commemoration of the Exodus experience when God appeared in the
form of the Pillar of Fire which led their forefathers through the wilderness
in the desert. So the Jews knew what Jesus was implying when He said, “I
am the light of the world” since the very word, “I am” is the name of Yahweh
and only God is the Light of humanity. However, because Jesus is the “I
am”, He could say so confidently that “anyone who follows me will not be
walking in the dark; He will have the light of life.” Only because He is
God, He could show us the fullness of life and truth. If we believe
in Jesus, it is only because He is the Word of God and therefore the light of
the world. If He is the light, then following Him is the way to overcome
the darkness of our minds and the evil in our hearts.
How
are we so sure that Christ is the Light of the world? The basis for His
claim is His own personal
testimony and that of the Father. Jesus said, “My testimony is still
valid, because I know where I came from and where I am going.” In His
life and in His works, and in the scriptures, His identity with the Father is
manifested. The works of Jesus are indications that He is acting on behalf of
His Father. The works of Jesus refer also to great works of God at
creation and at the Exodus. But most of all, it is His resurrection
that vindicated His divine identity. Otherwise the passion that He would
undergo would be meaningless and tragic. That the Father would raise a
criminal from the dead means that the Father was endorsing all that Jesus said
and did. This other theme of the resurrection is anticipated in Year A of last
Sunday’s liturgy when the gospel gives us a preview of the all-important sign
in John’s gospel, namely, that of the raising of Lazarus, foreshadowing His own
resurrection.
Hence,
if Jesus is the resurrection and the life, the challenge to all of us is to follow Him.
Will we be like the blind man in the following chapter of John’s gospel who was
healed by Jesus and who recognized Jesus’ identity, or respond like the blind
Pharisees who refused to admit that Jesus is the Light of the world?
If
we have come to that recognition, then as the Light, Jesus will show us where
we came from and where we are going. Besides revealing our true origin and destiny in life,
Jesus as the light will reveal to us our sinfulness, where every sin is rooted
in infidelity, symbolized by adultery. Once we are clear about our
identity and destiny, we will be called to walk with Him in the light even when
we face trials and difficulties. Like Jesus, we can remain firm, standing
for the truth. Even when we walk in the valley of darkness, we know that
Jesus our Good Shepherd and Light will light up our path. We can trust
that Jesus will show us the way to be true to the light and remain confident in
the face of our opponents.
Today,
we have the example of Susanna. She is exemplary in faith. It was her total faith in God
whom she believed would justify her, that she could remain firm to the
commandments and not feel discouraged when misunderstood or wrongly found
guilty. Of course in her case, the prophet Daniel set her free. In
the case of Jesus, He had to go to the ultimate test of surrendering in faith
to the Father when He was condemned unjustly and crucified for a crime that He
did not commit. But because of His surrender to the Father, He was raised
to new life and made Lord and God.
As
we journey with Jesus during Passion Week, let us walk with Him, so that we
might “have the light of life”. It is in our fidelity to God and to the commandments that
we will find true freedom and peace, for the truth sets us free. The
question that remains at the end of the day is whether we will be faithful to
the truth and walk in truth and love, or will we allow our selfishness and
pride to hinder us from walking in the light. Consequently, we need to
spend time contemplating on the love of Jesus and our Father during Passion
Week. We need to come to know Him more and more. Only when we know
the Father’s love, can we come to understand the heart and mind of Jesus as
well, for He comes to reveal to us the love of His Father for us.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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