20160806 A GOD ENCOUNTER LEADS TO CONVICTED FAITH AND WITNESS
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
A
GOD-ENCOUNTER LEADS TO CONVICTED FAITH AND WITNESS
First
Reading DN 7:9-10,13-14
9 While
I was watching, thrones were set in place and one most venerable took his seat.
His robe was white as snow, the hair of his head as pure as wool. His throne
was a blaze of flames, its wheels were a burning fire.
10 A
stream of fire poured out, issuing from his presence. A thousand thousand
waited on him, ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was
in session and the books lay open.
13 I
was gazing into the visions
of the night, when I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven, as it were a son of
man. He came to the One most venerable and was led into his presence.
14 On
him was conferred rule, honour
and kingship, and all peoples, nations and languages became his servants. His
rule is an everlasting rule which will
never pass away, and his kingship will
never come to an end.
2Peter
1:16-19
16 When
we told you about the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, we were not
slavishly repeating cleverly invented myths; no, we had seen his majesty with
our own eyes.
17 He
was honoured and glorified by God
the Father, when a voice came to him from the transcendent Glory, This is my
Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour.
18 We
ourselves heard this voice from heaven, when we were with him on the holy
mountain.
19 So
we have confirmation
of the words of the prophets; and you will
be right
to pay attention to it as to a lamp for lighting a way through the dark, until
the dawn comes and the morning star rises in your minds.
Gospel
Luke 9:28-36
28 Now
about eight days after this had been said, he took with him Peter, John and James and went up the
mountain to pray.
29 And
it happened that, as he was praying, the aspect of his face was changed and his
clothing became sparkling
white.
30 And
suddenly there were two men talking to him; they were Moses
and Elijah
31
appearing in glory, and they were speaking of his passing which he was to
accomplish in Jerusalem.
32
Peter and his companions were heavy with sleep, but they woke up and saw his glory
and the two men standing with him.
33 As
these were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, 'Master, it is wonderful for us to
be here; so let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses
and one for Elijah.' He did not know what he was saying.
34 As
he was saying this, a cloud came and covered them with shadow; and when they
went into the cloud the disciples were afraid.
35 And
a voice came from the cloud saying, 'This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to
him.'
36 And
after the voice had spoken, Jesus
was found alone. The disciples kept silence
and, at that time, told no one what they had seen.
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ DN
7:9-10, 13-14; 2 PT 1:16-19; LK 9:28-36]
What is the basis for our
faith in Christ? What is the basis for our vocation and passion for
evangelization? Is it theology? Is it based on philosophical
reasoning? Is it founded on doctrines? To some extent, knowledge
does lead to a greater faith. As Pope St John Paul II says, “Faith and reason
are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of
truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth – in a
word, to know himself – so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may
also come to the fullness of truth about themselves.” However, a faith that is
largely cerebral in nature would not move mountains. God is ineffable. There
are certain things that cannot be conceived or grasped by the human mind. We
need revelation from God to understand Him.
That is
why the second reading speaks of the truth of prophecies – “So we have
confirmation of what was said in prophecies; and you will be right to depend on
prophecy and take it as a lamp for lighting a way through the dark until the
dawn comes and the morning star rises in your minds.” Things of God are often
spoken of in terms of visions and imagery (as in the First Reading taken from
the Book of Daniel) but imagery must not be misconstrued as myth but as
attempts to convey the mystery. Ultimately, it is not only through reason but a
convicted heart that faith becomes alive and lived out in testimony. As St
Thomas Aquinas says “Love takes up where knowledge leaves off.”
The unravelling and challenge
of faith is portrayed in the same chapter of Luke, in the preceding verses,
when Jesus asked the disciples “Who do the crowds say I am, who do you say I
am.” He then went on to speak about His suffering and death. This must have
seemed incomprehensible to the disciples, who were expecting anything but the
death of the Messiah. It was as if Jesus was talking gibberish. A leap of
faith, a God-encounter was therefore required by the disciples, to believe that
their Master was not just a preacher or some faith-healer but God Himself. In
the last book of the Old Testament, in the last chapter, the prophet Malachi
(written in 5th century B.C) talks about the day of the coming of
the Lord and makes a specific reference to Moses and Elijah. “Remember the law of
my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.
See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful
day of the Lord comes.” To see Jesus (the New Testament) with Moses
and Elijah (from the Old Testament) and to hear the voice of God saying, ‘This
is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour’, led the disciples to believe. It
was thus through a God-encounter in the Transfiguration, that Peter, James and
John came to believe that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the fulfilment of the
prophecies of the Old Testament.
We see the power of this
God-encounter repeated in scripture in the conversion of Saul and echoed in the
lives of many saints and missionaries who gave up wealth and comfort, venturing
courageously to the far-flung ends of the earth to proclaim Christ. We see this
reality also at home, in the Conversion Experience Retreat, where lives are
transformed after a God-encounter. It is no wonder therefore that the key to a
convicted faith and witness lies in an initial God-encounter. Hence, the thrust
of the New Evangelization is encapsulated in this as Pope St John Paul II aptly
crystallises, “The New Evangelization is not a matter of merely passing on
doctrine but rather of a personal and profound meeting with the Saviour.”
Yet, a
God-encounter does not end in private faith. It must move us to testimony and
witness. “‘Master, it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three
tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah’ – He did not know
what he was saying.’”Peter was not allowed to dwell on the mountain but he had
to follow Jesus to Jerusalem and thereafter, to testify with his life.
Testimonies of our God-encounters are therefore important to keep our faith
alive. In the second reading, Peter testified to the Transfiguration, “It was
not any cleverly invented myths that we were repeating when we brought you the
knowledge of the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; we had seen his
majesty for ourselves.” We know that it is not a myth because his testimony is
verified in history through the life, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.
The transformation of the disciples’ lives and their capacity to vouch for
their testimony even in the face of death, demonstrates their credibility.
To be
zealous like the apostles in proclaiming Christ, the spark of faith therefore
must be kept alive through our God-encounters – through contemplative prayer,
reading the Word, celebrating the Liturgy, Eucharistic adoration, in community
and testimonies. In the Old Testament, the mountain was a place where one could
come close to God. Hence, whenever God was to be encountered, we see Moses and
Elijah ascending the mountains. Likewise, Jesus took with Him Peter, John and
James and went up the mountain to pray. In those days, it was believed as well
that their faces had to be covered lest they are struck dead when they
encountered God face to face. How fortunate we are today. Jesus has broken the
barrier between God and man. We no longer have the God of the Old Testament who
is veiled behind a cloud but comes to us directly in the Eucharist. We do not
have to scale mountains, nor veil our eyes; yet, how often do we make time to
meet God.
Hence,
if our faith needs renewal, let us remember our God-encounters and make time
once again to meet Him. As the psalmist says “Remember the marvels the Lord
worked for us, indeed we were glad.” Remembering our own God-encounters and
through the testimonies of others, we can once again surrender all our troubles
to the Lord in faith, with the conviction that Jesus is Lord! “For you indeed
are the Lord most high above all the earth, exalted far above all spirits.” So
let us not be afraid to testify to the wonders that the Lord has worked for us.
A faith lived out in conviction and testimony, keeps the faith alive not only
for ourselves but for others too. Only then can people say, “Jesus is alive,
alive forever more!”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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