20160313 NEW LIFE THROUGH THE PROCLAMATION OF CHRIST’S MERCY
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
|
First reading
|
Isaiah 43:16-21 ©
|
Thus says the Lord,
who made a way
through the sea,
a path in the great
waters;
who put chariots and
horse in the field
and a powerful army
which lay there never
to rise again,
snuffed out, put out
like a wick:
No need to recall the
past,
no need to think
about what was done before.
See, I am doing a new
deed,
even now it comes to
light; can you not see it?
Yes, I am making a
road in the wilderness,
paths in the wilds.
The wild beasts will
honour me,
jackals and
ostriches,
because I am putting
water in the wilderness
(rivers in the wild)
to give my chosen
people drink.
The people I have
formed for myself
will sing my praises.
|
Responsorial
Psalm
|
Psalm 125:1-6 ©
|
What marvels the
Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
When the Lord
delivered Zion from bondage,
it seemed
like a dream.
Then was our mouth
filled with laughter,
on our
lips there were songs.
What marvels the
Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
The heathens
themselves said: ‘What marvels
the Lord
worked for them!’
What marvels the Lord
worked for us!
Indeed we
were glad.
What marvels the
Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
Deliver us, O Lord,
from our bondage
as
streams in dry land.
Those who are sowing
in tears
will sing
when they reap.
What marvels the
Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
They go out, they go
out, full of tears,
carrying
seed for the sowing:
they come back, they
come back, full of song,
carrying
their sheaves.
What marvels the
Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
|
Second reading
|
|
Philippians
3:8-14 ©
|
I believe nothing can
happen that will outweigh the supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my
Lord. For him I have accepted the loss of everything, and I look on everything
as so much rubbish if only I can have Christ and be given a place in him. I am
no longer trying for perfection by my own efforts, the perfection that comes
from the Law, but I want only the perfection that comes through faith in Christ,
and is from God and based on faith. All I want is to know Christ and the power
of his resurrection and to share his sufferings by reproducing the pattern of
his death. That is the way I can hope to take my place in the resurrection of
the dead. Not that I have become perfect yet: I have not yet won, but I am
still running, trying to capture the prize for which Christ Jesus captured me.
I can assure you my brothers, I am far from thinking that I have already won.
All I can say is that I forget the past and I strain ahead for what is still to
come; I am racing for the finish, for the prize to which God calls us upwards
to receive in Christ Jesus.
|
Gospel
Acclamation
|
Joel2:12-13
|
Praise to you, O
Christ, king of eternal glory!
Now, now – it is
the Lord who speaks –
come back to me with
all your heart,
for I am all
tenderness and compassion.
Praise to you, O
Christ, king of eternal glory!
|
Gospel
|
John 8:1-11 ©
|
Jesus went to the
Mount of Olives. At daybreak he appeared in the Temple again; and as all the
people came to him, he sat down and began to teach them.
The
scribes and Pharisees brought a woman along who had been caught committing
adultery; and making her stand there in full view of everybody, they said to
Jesus, ‘Master, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery,
and Moses has ordered us in the Law to condemn women like this to death by
stoning. What have you to say?’ They asked him this as a test, looking for
something to use against him. But Jesus bent down and started writing on the
ground with his finger. As they persisted with their question, he looked up and
said, ‘If there is one of you who has not sinned, let him be the first to throw
a stone at her.’ Then he bent down and wrote on the ground again. When they
heard this they went away one by one, beginning with the eldest, until Jesus
was left alone with the woman, who remained standing there. He looked up and
said, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir’ she
replied. ‘Neither do I condemn you,’ said Jesus ‘go away, and do not sin any
more.’
NEW
LIFE THROUGH THE PROCLAMATION OF CHRIST’S MERCY
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: Isaiah 43:16-21;
Ps 125:1-6; Philippians 3:8-14; Jn 8:1-11
Today, we
enter into the 5th Sunday of Lent, the final week before Holy Week.
The scripture readings capture the gist of the Good News which is mercy
manifested in the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord. Indeed,
the single most recurrent and important theme of Pope Francis is the theme of
the mercy of God. He wants the whole world to hear and experience the
Good News of Christ as the gospel of mercy. This is why he proclaimed
this Year as the Jubilee Year of Mercy.
This
mercy is to be given to all the poor. Who are they? They are the materially poor
who need material and financial help. They are those who are oppressed
and suffering because of human trafficking, war and social
injustice. Then there are the spiritually poor, who have no hope
and purpose in life. Some are rich and successful but live empty and
meaningless lives. Many are living in sin, crippled by their past
and guilt. Some are under the bondage of the Evil One and not able
to overcome their obsessions, their fears, anxieties, anger, envy, greed, lust,
pride and laziness. Besides the spiritually impoverished people, there are
those who are going through emotional struggles because of bereavement,
loneliness, failure in relationships, divorce, infidelity, rejection, betrayal,
etc. Indeed, they are wounded, insecure, unable to let go of the past,
especially those who have hurt them. They continue to lick their wounds
and live in their misery. Finally, there are those who are physically
poor because of poor health, incapacity, elderly ailments, rare diseases and
terminal illnesses. They live in loneliness, suffering, shame and in
pain. They feel helpless, hopeless and useless, so much so that being
alive every day is a cross.
How
do we cultivate compassion and passion for the poor, the suffering?
Following St Paul in today’s second reading, we must begin from our own
encounter with God’s mercy in Christ. St Paul’s radical conversion, from a self-righteous rabbi
and zealous persecutor of the Church to that of a humble servant of Christ and
apostle of the Good News, came about because of his encounter with Christ’s
mercy shown to him when he was on the way to Damascus with the intention of
arresting the Christians and bringing them to trial and imprisonment. It
was simply unimaginable for St Paul, a persecutor of the Church and who relied
on his perfection of the Law by obeying the commandments, that he could be
chosen by the Lord to be His apostle to the Gentiles. With that
encounter, St Paul realized that salvation is not by merit but purely by the
grace and mercy of God who loved him and had forgiven him.
St
Paul was able to enter into the death and resurrection of our Lord both in
contemplation and in his own life. He wrote, “All I want is to know Christ and the power of
his resurrection and to share his sufferings by reproducing the pattern of his
death.” Through his contemplation of Christ’s passion, death and
resurrection, he came to understand the power of God in human weakness.
Just as the world and the authorities and rulers of the world thought they had
managed to get rid of Jesus once and for all, God the Father raised Him from
the dead.
To
St Paul, His death revealed the utter mercy and forgiveness of God in Christ
Jesus. His resurrection revealed the triumph and power of God over sin,
evil and death. Because
we are saved freely and without conditions by the death and resurrection of
Christ, St Paul came to conclude that salvation is a free gift which is given
to us as a grace, not to be earned but through faith in Christ. Unless we
come to appreciate the radical experience of St Paul and His ensuing
reflections of what the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord meant, we
will not be able to understand why St Paul is called an apostle of grace,
proclaiming the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It
must be made clear that the gospel of mercy and joy precedes repentance. In today’s gospel, that was the
attitude that Jesus took towards the adulterous woman. Did Jesus condemn
her? Did Jesus scold her, like some priests and self-righteous Catholics
do? Did Jesus ostracize her? None of all these! Jesus
simply said, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” And she
replied, “No one, sir.” And Jesus’ response was, “Neither do I condemn
you.” Jesus did not make a scene out of this woman’s failure in
marriage. So too, the Church is called to be more merciful to those who
are going through challenges in their marriage. We should have sympathy
and be aware of the tremendous challenges couples have in seeking to live a
loving, faithful and life-giving marriage. Many have tried and failed in their
responsibilities, whether as spouses, parents, teachers and even
priests. But God does not condemn us. Like Jesus, we
must be compassionate with the weaknesses of men because we are living in a
much wounded, confused, dysfunctional society.
However,
we must not misconstrue the message of the gospel. Jesus is not advocating
laxity, insensitivity to sins or in a word, the doctrine of cheap grace. It
is not a message that says that God is love, so continue do whatever you want.
This would be cheap grace, forgiveness without repentance, communion
without fellowship, sacraments without institutions, order without discipline,
doctrines without practice. On the contrary, Jesus told the woman, “Go
away, and don’t sin anymore.” In other words, the gospel proclaims God’s
mercy and forgiveness first; and then following the reconciliation, the Lord
also warns us of the consequences of our sins if we continue to live a life
that lacks integrity. We will hurt ourselves eventually because the
wages of sin is death.
So,
let us turn to Christ for mercy, for forgiveness. The only antidote is
unconditional love and forgiveness. St Paul received this undeserving mercy
from Christ and was converted. If we want to transform lives today, we
need to make them aware of their sins and their brokenness; not to condemn them
but to help them to turn to the Lord for healing and for help. We can
only be healed by unconditional love, forgiveness and mercy in a judgmental and
meritocratic world. That is what the world is seeking today: forgiveness,
understanding and compassion. But then this world is not like that.
It is a harsh world. It does not allow failure. It does not believe
in forgiveness, but only revenge. It is a meritocratic world. If
you are sick, useless, incapacitated or paralyzed, the world does not believe
that you have a reason to live.
We
cannot obey the commandments until we first encounter the mercy and grace of
God.
Commandments can only be carried out by those who love the Lord, as Jesus said,
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (Jn 14:15) St John
also wrote, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God
and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we obey his
commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is
born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the
world, our faith.” (1 Jn 5:3f)
Indeed,
this is the joy of the gospel we are asked to proclaim. Like Isaiah, we are called to
proclaim to a world that is lost and in the brink of despair, “No need to
recall the past, no need to think about what was done before. See, I am doing a
new deed, even now it comes to light; can you not see it?” Yes, the Lord is
going to work wonders for the Church and for humanity again, if we only allow
His grace to work in and through us by receiving His mercy and
compassion. Only those who have encountered the Lord will be able to
shout with joy like the psalmist and say, “What marvels the Lord worked for
us! Indeed we were glad. When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage, it
seemed like a dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, on our lips
there were songs.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment