20160330
INTEGRATING OUR PAINS AND JOYS IN THE PASCHAL
MYSTERY
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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Acts 3:1-10 ©
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Once, when Peter and
John were going up to the Temple for the prayers at the ninth hour, it happened
that there was a man being carried past. He was a cripple from birth; and they
used to put him down every day near the Temple entrance called the Beautiful
Gate so that he could beg from the people going in. When this man saw Peter and
John on their way into the Temple he begged from them. Both Peter and John
looked straight at him and said, ‘Look at us.’ He turned to them expectantly,
hoping to get something from them, but Peter said, ‘I have neither silver nor
gold, but I will give you what I have: in the name of Jesus Christ the
Nazarene, walk!’ Peter then took him by the hand and helped him to stand up.
Instantly his feet and ankles became firm, he jumped up, stood, and began to
walk, and he went with them into the Temple, walking and jumping and praising
God. Everyone could see him walking and praising God, and they recognised him
as the man who used to sit begging at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple. They
were all astonished and unable to explain what had happened to him.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
104:1-4,6-9 ©
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Let the hearts
that seek the Lord rejoice.
or
Alleluia,
alleluia, alleluia!
Give thanks to the
Lord, tell his name,
make
known his deeds among the peoples.
O sing to him, sing
his praise;
tell all
his wonderful works!
Let the hearts
that seek the Lord rejoice.
or
Alleluia,
alleluia, alleluia!
Be proud of his holy
name,
let the
hearts that seek the Lord rejoice.
Consider the Lord and
his strength;
constantly
seek his face.
Let the hearts
that seek the Lord rejoice.
or
Alleluia,
alleluia, 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.
Let the hearts
that seek the Lord rejoice.
or
Alleluia,
alleluia, 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.
Let the hearts
that seek the Lord rejoice.
or
Alleluia,
alleluia, alleluia!
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Ps117:24
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Alleluia, alleluia!
This day was made by
the Lord:
we rejoice and are
glad.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 24:13-35 ©
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Two of the disciples
of Jesus were on their way to a village called Emmaus, seven miles from
Jerusalem, and they were talking together about all that had happened. Now as
they talked this over, Jesus himself came up and walked by their side; but
something prevented them from recognising him. He said to them, ‘What matters
are you discussing as you walk along?’ They stopped short, their faces
downcast.
Then one
of them, called Cleopas, answered him, ‘You must be the only person staying in
Jerusalem who does not know the things that have been happening there these
last few days.’ ‘What things?’ he asked. ‘All about Jesus of Nazareth’ they
answered ‘who proved he was a great prophet by the things he said and did in
the sight of God and of the whole people; and how our chief priests and our
leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and had him crucified. Our
own hope had been that he would be the one to set Israel free. And this is not
all: two whole days have gone by since it all happened; and some women from our
group have astounded us: they went to the tomb in the early morning, and when
they did not find the body, they came back to tell us they had seen a vision of
angels who declared he was alive. Some of our friends went to the tomb and
found everything exactly as the women had reported, but of him they saw
nothing.’
Then he
said to them, ‘You foolish men! So slow to believe the full message of the
prophets! Was it not ordained that the Christ should suffer and so enter into
his glory?’ Then, starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he
explained to them the passages throughout the scriptures that were about
himself.
When they
drew near to the village to which they were going, he made as if to go on; but
they pressed him to stay with them. ‘It is nearly evening’ they said ‘and the
day is almost over.’ So he went in to stay with them. Now while he was with
them at table, he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and
handed it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognised him; but he
had vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, ‘Did not our
hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the
scriptures to us?’
They
set out that instant and returned to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven
assembled together with their companions, who said to them, ‘Yes, it is true.
The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.’ Then they told their story of
what had happened on the road and how they had recognised him at the breaking
of bread.
INTEGRATING
OUR PAINS AND JOYS IN THE PASCHAL MYSTERY
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ ACTS 3:1-10;
LUKE 24:13-35 ]
On this
third day of Easter Octave, are you still languishing away in the tomb?
Why do we remain in the tomb when the Lord has removed the stone away?
Christ is risen but we are not!
That
was the case of the downcast disciples at Emmaus. Why were they sad?
They were disillusioned and had lost all hope. With the death of Jesus,
their only hope had been snuffed out. They said, “Our own hope had been
that he would be the one to set Israel free.” Hence, we read that they
were moving away from Jerusalem like downtrodden and crushed soldiers
retreating to a village called Emmaus. They could not integrate the death
of Jesus in their lives, especially the death of a good man and the expected
Messiah. With His tragic death, all plans collapsed. Not only could
they not make sense of His unjust death but they also heard some strange
happenings like the sighting of Jesus and the empty tomb.
This
is true for many of us. We cannot integrate pains and sorrows in our life,
especially when we suffer tragedy, the loss of a loved one in death, accident, or a betrayal of
friendship, particularly if it was our own spouse or our ungrateful
children. At times, we suffer an expected illness that has no cure or
even terminal. In such moments, we feel paralyzed, like the man who was
crippled from birth. It must have been a terrible feeling not being able
to walk since birth. He had to rely on some goodwill people daily to
carry him to the Temple entrance “so that he could beg from the people going
in.” We can presume that he would have often blamed God for his
woes, which were no fault of his own. He could have cursed his parents
for giving birth to him. He could have continued the blame game and
wallowed in self-pity. Thus, when he saw Peter and John, it was with expectant
eyes that he looked at them. He was looking for hope. We
would probably have acted the same way had we been in the same situation.
That is why we are still in our tomb of self-pity, resentment, anger and
frustration.
At
times, it could be the joys that we experience as well. We read that when the people saw
the crippled man healed, they too could not understand. The most
regrettable moment of an atheist is when he experiences something incredibly
beautiful in his life; it could be a miraculous healing, a beautiful sunset or
an experience of unconditional love, but he has no one to direct his praise and
thanks. At least for the psalmist, when he experienced the mercy and love of
God, he could sing and say, “Give thanks to the Lord, tell his name, make
known his deeds among the peoples. O sing to him, sing his praise; tell
all his wonderful works!”
Indeed,
when we are not able to integrate our joys, we cannot be grateful and we do
know whom to thank.
If we are not grateful for what we have, we will not be happy in life.
Only grateful people are happy people because they see everything they have as
a blessing, a bonus and a grace; not their entitlement.
Furthermore, we will also miss out on the mystery and the love of God as proclaimed
in the responsorial psalm. The Israelites recognized the wonders of God
in all things. They say, “Be proud of his holy name, let the hearts
that seek the Lord rejoice. Consider the Lord and his strength; constantly seek
his face. 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.
He remembers his covenant forever, his promise for a thousand generations,
the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.”
They knew that everything is by the mercy of God.
So
it is important that we learn how to integrate both pains and joys in our lives
and see it in the context of God’s plan for us if we are to live a meaningful
and purposeful life.
How
then can we find meaning in life, whether in our pains or sorrows? We
need to seek the Lord! The psalmist says, “Let the hearts that seek the Lord
rejoice.” Like the crippled man, we need to look towards the Lord.
“Both Peter and John looked straight at him and said, ‘Look at us’. He turned
to them expectantly, hoping to get something from them.” Instead of
looking to the world for solution like the disciples, with eyes looking down,
we must turn to the Lord instead.
How
is this done if not through the scriptures? The meaning and direction of life is
found in the Word of God. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful
for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” (2 Tim 3:16) In the
final analysis, all scriptures refer to Christ who is the Word of God. All
scriptures must be read in such a way that it points to Christ, whether we are
reading the Old or the New Testament. So if we want to find the Risen
Lord and His direction for us in life, we only need to turn to the scriptures.
We need to contemplate on His passion and resurrection to find strength
in life.
Indeed,
in the scriptures, the Risen Lord continues to speak to us. “Then they said to each
other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and
explained the scriptures to us?’” He enlightens us on the truth of
life. He helps us to see that the pain in our life is part of the process
of God’s redemptive work. God is triumphant and He is in control.
Most of all, He will help us understand that everything works for our good to
those who have faith in Him. So in joy and sorrow, the Lord is with
us. Even in those moments when we feel His absence, He is in truth
carrying the cross for us. Otherwise, we will not have the strength to do
so. With Jesus, nothing is impossible for those who believe. It was
this faith that enabled St Peter to heal the crippled man.
What
is the sign that we are integrated? When we begin to tell our stories! This is what we read about the
disciples. “They set out that instant and returned to Jerusalem. There
they found the Eleven assembled together with their companions, who said to
them, ‘Yes, it is true. The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.’ Then
they told their story of what had happened on the road.” Truly, when we find
meaning and are able to integrate our pains in our lives, then we will be
filled with joy like the disciples at Emmaus and the apostles. We would
want to go out and announce the Good News too. For them, it meant that
they were no more ashamed or sorry that Jesus died but they came to realize
that the death of Jesus was but God’s way to reveal His true glory for humanity
to see. Like the crippled man, we too can jump and shout for joy. When
we are healed, we will no longer be ashamed of our failures, or our mistakes
and past because we know that through all these trials, we have become wiser,
stronger and better. Rather, like St Paul we could boast of our
past.
And
what is the best place to tell our story if not at the Eucharist? We read that the disciples came
to recognize Christ at the breaking of bread. “Now while he was with them at
table, he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it
to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognised him; but he had
vanished from their sight.” For what is the Eucharist, if not the
commemoration of His passion and resurrection, the paschal mystery of our Lord?
So in the celebration of the Eucharist, we remember once again the love of
Christ in His passion and the wonderful miracle of the resurrection. This
gives us courage and hope, especially in our trials and difficult moments of
life. In the Eucharist, we celebrate the dying and rising, the
integration of death and life.
Yet,
it is significant that both the Word of God and the Sacrament of the Eucharist
are not to be disconnected. Word and Sacrament must always go together. The liturgy
of the Word and the Eucharist comprise a single celebration. Without the
Word, the events are meaningless. But if there is no event, the Word is
empty. What we hear, we must also experience as well. What is
experienced must be understood. Emmanuel Kant once said, “Thoughts
without content are empty; intuitions without conceptions blind.” Indeed,
words without experience are empty and experience without words is blind.
Indeed, in celebrating the Eucharist, the Lord comes close to us both in word
and deed. “When they drew near to the village to which they were
going, he made as if to go on; but they pressed him to stay with them. ‘It is
nearly evening’ they said ‘and the day is almost over.’ So he went in to stay
with them.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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