20160315 HEALED BY THE WOUNDS OF OUR LORD
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Numbers 21:4-9 ©
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The Israelites left
Mount Hor by the road to the Sea of Suph, to skirt the land of Edom. On the way
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.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
101:2-3,16-21 ©
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O Lord, listen to
my prayer and let my cry for help reach you.
O Lord, listen to my
prayer
and let
my cry for help reach you.
Do not hide your face
from me
in the
day of my distress.
Turn your ear towards
me
and
answer me quickly when I call.
O Lord, listen to
my prayer and let my cry for help reach you.
The nations shall
fear the name of the Lord
and all
the earth’s kings your glory,
when the Lord shall build
up Zion again
and
appear in all his glory.
Then he will turn to
the prayers of the helpless;
he will
not despise their prayers.
O Lord, listen to
my prayer and let my cry for help reach you.
Let this be written
for ages to come
that a
people yet unborn may praise the Lord;
for the Lord leaned
down from his sanctuary on high.
He looked
down from heaven to the earth
that he might hear
the groans of the prisoners
and free
those condemned to die.
O Lord, listen to
my prayer and let my cry for help reach you.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Jn8:12
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Praise to you, O
Christ, king of eternal glory!
I am the light of the
world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me
will have the light of life.
Praise to you, O
Christ, king of eternal glory!
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Or
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Praise to you, O
Christ, king of eternal glory!
The seed is the word
of God, Christ the sower;
whoever finds this
seed will remain for ever.
Praise to you, O
Christ, king of eternal glory!
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Gospel
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John 8:21-30 ©
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Again Jesus said to
the Pharisees:
‘I am going away;
you will look for me
and you will die in
your sin.
Where I am going, you
cannot come.’
The Jews said to one
another, ‘Will he kill himself? Is that what he means by saying, “Where I am
going, you cannot come”?’ Jesus went on:
‘You are from below;
I am from above.
You are of this
world; I am not of this world.
I have told you
already:
You will die in your
sins.
Yes, if you do not
believe that I am He,
you will die in your
sins.’
So they said to him,
‘Who are you?’ Jesus answered:
‘What I have told you
from the outset.
About you I have much
to say
and much to condemn;
but the one who sent
me is truthful,
and what I have
learnt from him
I declare to the
world.’
They failed to
understand that he was talking to them about the Father. So Jesus said:
‘When you have lifted
up the Son of Man,
then you will know
that I am He
and that I do nothing
of myself:
what the Father has
taught me is what I preach;
he who sent me is
with me,
and has not left me
to myself,
for I always do what
pleases him.’
As
he was saying this, many came to believe in him.
HEALED
BY THE WOUNDS OF OUR LORD
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: Numbers 21:4-9;
John 8:21-30
In the
first reading, we read of the ingratitude of the Israelites. In
spite of what God had done for them, liberating them from the harsh slavery of
the Egyptians, providing them water and bread; sheltering them from the
scorching sun during the day by the pillar of cloud and providing them light by
the pillar fire at night, they were still not satisfied. We read that
they lost patience with Moses and with God. They complained, “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.” In not appreciating
the gift of God in the manna and the graciousness of God in liberating them from
their slavery, “God sent fiery serpents among the people; their bite brought
death to many in Israel.” This perhaps was the biggest lesson they learnt
about the danger of ingratitude. The truth is that ingratitude leads to
many sins: envy, greed, theft and murder. Those who lack contentment in
life and are not grateful for the blessings they receive from God are despising
God and therefore will ultimately hurt themselves.
In
the gospel, we read of the Jews who were ignorant of Jesus. In spite of the miracles He had
performed, they failed to recognize that He was the Messiah and His divine
origin. They continued to doubt Him and reject His message. This
was because they were of the world, as Jesus said. “You are from below; I
am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I have told you
already: You will die in your sins.” In rejecting Jesus, they
rejected the Word of God and the Light of the world, as we read in yesterday’s
gospel. God is always recognized as the Light of our lives.
So by rejecting the Lord, they had also rejected God. As a consequence,
they died in their sins because of ignorance and rebellion against God.
Sin
always has its consequences. This is the warning of today’s scripture readings. We will
die because of our sins. Just like the Israelites in the first
reading, they were bitten literally by their own sins. St Augustine
taught that the punishment for iniquity is more iniquity because one sin leads
to many other sins. Sin never comes alone but every sin gives birth to a
multitude of sins. When we sin, we are travelling on a slippery road
leading to the abyss of hell. No one is happy when he or she
commits sins. No one stops at one sin but seeks to cover up his or her
sins; or worse still, commits more sins because he or she has become blind,
confused, hurt, wounded, insecure, angry, jealous and consumed by pride, fear
and revenge. So the warning of Jesus is timely, “You will die in your
sins. Yes, if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
So how
does the Lord bring us back to the right path? Firstly, He allows our
sins to punish us, as St Augustine says. We are punished by the
very sins we commit. If we commit adultery, then when it is exposed, we
would have to bear the consequences of division in the family, quarrels,
fighting, and divorce, carrying the guilt of watching our spouse and children
suffer because of our sins. This is true for those who commit
crimes like stealing, cheating, reckless driving and all other offences.
When we sin, not only do we suffer but our loved ones and often innocent
parties are deeply hurt by our selfishness and irresponsible acts. So
like the Israelites, God allowed them to suffer the pains of their sins through
death, which is less severe than eternal death. By allowing them to die
in their sins, the Lord hoped that they would wake up from their slumber and
come to realization, like the prodigal son in the gospel, that what they were
doing is wrong and are causing others to suffer on account of their evil,
self-centered and dishonest acts. For many people, by reflecting on the
consequences of their sins, they would already be brought to repentance and
conversion. However, not all might come to see their folly and
sinfulness. This was what the Lord did. He “sent fiery serpents among the
people; their bite brought death to many in Israel.” The people 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.’”
Secondly,
He sought to heal our pains by having us look at His power. The command to look at the Bronze
serpent to find healing is a very telling way how the Lord wants us to reflect
deeply and examine our conscience so that we can come to full realization of
our sins. It is significant that God commanded Moses to make a
bronze 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.” From the point of etymology of the word
serpent, we are given some clues as to how the Lord works to heal us. The
angels of light and life are the messengers of God and they belong to the
seraphim. The word “serpent” shares the root meaning of messengers, only that
they are messengers of death. So by looking at the bronze serpent, they
might repent out of fear; and come to realize that the sole source of power is
God alone, not the serpent that He sent to bite them so that they could come to
repentance. Through this event, it was hoped that the Israelites would
then trust in God enough to allow Him to lead them through the desert providing
for their needs.
However,
this might not bring sinners to repentance. Then the third way is by
contemplation on the mercy and love of Christ on the cross. The
raising of the serpent on the standard is but a foreshadowing of the mercy of
God in Christ Jesus when He was raised up on the cross. Jesus said, “When
you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He and that I
do nothing of myself.” And St John remarked, “As he was saying this, many
came to believe in him.” In the cross of Jesus, we see the love and mercy
of God our Father. Indeed, like the suffering servant, the Lord carried
our sins in His body. “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was
bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us
whole, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord has laid on
him the iniquity of us all.” (Isa 53:5-6) Jesus’
death on the cross was in accordance to the Father’s will. Jesus made it
clear that His identity and works are identified with the Father for “what the
Father has taught me is what I preach; he who sent me is with me, and has not
left me to myself, for I always do what pleases him.”
But
even the passion of Christ cannot bring some to faith. The last
possibility is to contemplate on the resurrection of Christ. In being lifted up, we are
reminded of how the Father raised up Jesus from the dead and how after His
resurrection, He was lifted up into heaven to share the glory of His
Father. In being lifted up, Jesus showed that His Father is identified
with Him, in His words and deeds. The glorification of our Lord is at the
same time the glorification of His Father. In the resurrection, we bring
together the love and power of God. The death of Jesus only reveals the
mercy of God, but it shows powerlessness. The resurrection of our Lord
shows power, but does not show mercy. So together, the passion, death and
resurrection of our Lord show that God is powerful and yet merciful; that no
sin, no enemy, not even death can overcome His divine will for humanity.
So
as we continue to contemplate on His passion in view of the resurrection, let
us contemplate on our sins. This examination of our conscience is not meant to drive
us to introspection and hopelessness, despair or fear, but to come to awareness
of where we are and how much we are hurting and also hurting our loved ones.
Then by contemplating on His passion, especially when we pray the Stations of
the Cross, we will come to appreciate His sacrifices and love for us. May
we be moved to conversion like the Israelites as they looked upon the Bronze
Serpent or the Centurion who “saw what had taken place, he praised God, and
said, ‘Certainly this man was innocent!’ And all the multitudes who
assembled to see the sight, when they saw what had taken place, returned home
beating their breasts.” (Lk 23:47f)
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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