20161102 CONFIDENT HOPE IN SALVATION
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Isaiah 25:6-9 ©
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On this mountain,
the Lord of hosts
will prepare for all peoples
a banquet of rich
food, a banquet of fine wines,
of food rich and
juicy, of fine strained wines.
On this mountain he
will remove
the mourning veil
covering all peoples,
and the shroud
enwrapping all nations,
he will destroy Death
for ever.
The Lord will wipe
away
the tears from every
cheek;
he will take away his
people’s shame
everywhere on earth,
for the Lord has said
so.
That day, it will be
said: See, this is our God
in whom we hoped for
salvation;
the
Lord is the one in whom we hoped.
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Psalm
26(27):1,4,7,8-9,13-14 ©
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The Lord is my
light and my help.
or
I believe that I
shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
The Lord is my light
and my help;
whom
shall I fear?
The Lord is the
stronghold of my life;
before
whom shall I shrink?
The Lord is my
light and my help.
or
I believe that I
shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
There is one thing I
ask of the Lord,
for this
I long,
to live in the house
of the Lord,
all the
days of my life,
to savour the
sweetness of the Lord,
to behold
his temple.
The Lord is my
light and my help.
or
I believe that I
shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
O Lord, hear my voice
when I call;
have
mercy and answer.
It is your face, O
Lord, that I seek;
hide not
your face.
The Lord is my
light and my help.
or
I believe that I
shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
I am sure I shall see
the Lord’s goodness
in the
land of the living.
Hope in him, hold
firm and take heart.
Hope in
the Lord!
The Lord is my
light and my help.
or
I
believe that I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
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Second reading
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Romans 5:5-11 ©
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Hope
is not deceptive, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by
the Holy Spirit which has been given us. We were still helpless when at his
appointed moment Christ died for sinful men. It is not easy to die even for a
good man – though of course for someone really worthy, a man might be
prepared to die – but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died
for us while we were still sinners. Having died to make us righteous, is it
likely that he would now fail to save us from God’s anger? When we were
reconciled to God by the death of his Son, we were still enemies; now that we
have been reconciled, surely we may count on being saved by the life of his
Son? Not merely because we have been reconciled but because we are filled with
joyful trust in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have
already gained our reconciliation.
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Gospel
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Luke 7:11-17 ©
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Jesus
went to a town called Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a great number of
people. When he was near the gate of the town it happened that a dead man was
being carried out for burial, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.
And a considerable number of the townspeople were with her. When the Lord saw
her he felt sorry for her. ‘Do not cry’ he said. Then he went up and put his
hand on the bier and the bearers stood still, and he said, ‘Young man, I tell
you to get up.’ And the dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him
to his mother. Everyone was filled with awe and praised God saying, ‘A great
prophet has appeared among us; God has visited his people.’ And this opinion of
him spread throughout Judaea and all over the countryside.
CONFIDENT
HOPE IN SALVATION
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ IS 25:6-9; PS 26; ROM 5:5-11; LK 7:11-17 ]
The departure of a loved
one always brings sadness. More so when we lose someone we love in this
life. More difficult still when that someone is so dear to you or one
whom you depend much on. This was the case of the widow in today’s gospel
who lost her only son. We can feel with her the pain of loss, not simply
because he was dear to her but also because he was her security. We can
therefore understand and appreciate Jesus’ spontaneous response in reaching out
to help her. He felt sorry for her. So will we, when we come across
such incidents. It is a human response to human tragedy.
Losing our loved ones is
just the first experience of pain. In our quiet moments, we think of them and
wonder where they are now. Are they happy? Do they still
exist? Are they alive? Or are they gone forever? Or are they
suffering in loneliness, wondering around like hungry and restless
ghosts? For Christians, we are fortunate because we believe in the immortality
of the soul and resurrection of the body. For us, therefore, life
continues after death. Life is changed, not ended. With the
psalmist, our final hope is to be with God. “I am sure I shall see the
Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. Hope in him, hold firm and take
heart. Hope in the Lord!” People without faith are most pitiable because
they have only this life to live. Once dead, they are gone forever,
extinguished from the face of creation.
What is the basis and
certainty of Christian Hope in the future life if not in Christ, who is the
Resurrection and the Life? Christ is our resurrection and our hope.
In the gospel today, Jesus presented Himself to be a life-giver, one who has
the power even to grant life to the dead man. This is the work of
God. By His death and resurrection, He showed us what our future life
would be. Because of His resurrection, we are confident that we, too,
will be raised like Him. “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first
fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came
death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.” (1 Cor 15:20f)
But why is it that many of
us Catholics still live in fear of death and doubt about our salvation, even
though we believe in the resurrection of the dead? The truth is that when
we look at ourselves, many of us know that we are not saints. We have
much imperfections and selfishness in us. Regardless how much we try, we
keep falling into sin. We feel guilty and many of us condemn
ourselves. We feel so ashamed of our sins and count ourselves unworthy to
enter into the presence of God. Because of the emphasis on merits, many
labour under the false doctrine of salvation by good works, which teaches that we
can be saved only when we do good. This explains why those converted to
the Lord, or those who do evil, seek to do some good works to redeem themselves
and pay back for all the wrongs they have done. If we think we can save
ourselves by good works, then none of us can ever make ourselves worthy before
God. Even St Paul himself said, “I am not aware of anything against
myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore
do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will
bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes
of the heart.” (1 Cor 4:4f)
What the gospel wants to
proclaim is that salvation is the grace of God. It is not based on good
works but on faith in Him as our Lord and savior. It is this faith in His
love and mercy that is the cause of our salvation. This is what St Paul
reminds us in the second reading. “We were still helpless when at his
appointed moment Christ died for sinful men. It is not easy to die even for a
good man – though of course for someone really worthy, a man might be prepared
to die – but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we
were still sinners.” Good works must spring from the fact of being
loved by Christ and His death for us. It is our response to His love; not
the basis for salvation. Of course, if we truly believe that God loves
us, we would want to love Him in return freely, not out of obligation.
This is how we act in daily life. When people love us, it is natural for
us to love them in return.
Consequently, we should not
fear death and punishment but trust in His mercy and love. St Paul urges
us, “Having died to make us righteous, is it likely that he would now fail to
save us from God’s anger? When we were reconciled to God by the death of his
Son, we were still enemies; now that we have been reconciled, surely we may
count on being saved by the life of his Son?” Indeed, we are to be
“filled with joyful trust in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom
we have already gained our reconciliation.”
Yesterday when we
celebrated All Saints Day, we were reminded of the great multitude of people
who were saved by the blood of the Lamb. It is a great consolation and
hope for us as well. What is positive about Christian Hope is that the
Church lives in hope that all will be saved. That is why, whilst the
Church has declared that so many have gone to heaven, she has never declared
that anyone has gone to hell, except for the devil and the fallen angels.
We can never understand or fathom the mercy and love of God for sinners.
So as St Paul says, it is not for us to judge but to leave judgment to the
Lord. But because the Lord is mercy and compassion, and His desire, as He
said, is to save all, we can pray with confidence that the Lord will give us
all the grace of repentance. He said, “It is my Father’s will, says the
Lord, that I should lose nothing of all he has given to me, and that I should
raise it up on the last day.” And St Paul also said, “But the free gift
is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much
more have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of that one man Jesus
Christ abounded for many.” (Rom 5:15)
Of course, the assurance
that we will finally get there does not mean that we do not need to purify
ourselves, either in this life or in the next, which we call purgatory.
St John reminds us, “Beloved, we are God’s children now; it does not yet appear
what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we
shall see him as he is. And every one who thus hopes in him purifies
himself as he is pure.” (1 Jn 3:2f)
Purification however is an ongoing process. There are many degrees of
holiness. No one can ever be holy like God. What is necessary is
for us to undertake the path to purification of love here and now; and if still
not perfected, there is still opportunity after death in purgatory.
In truth, purgatory is
another act of God’s mercy. It is good for us to take note that purgatory
is totally unlike hell. Purgatory is not the half way mark to enter
heaven. On the contrary, purgatory is heaven possessed as hope and
promise. Those in purgatory are not suffering like those in hell who are
totally incapable of love but only hatred. The souls in purgatory are
very much closer to God, but until the last residues of selfishness,
unforgiveness and fear is removed, they cannot yet enter into the fullness of
life. This is because heaven is a state of love where all the saints live
in an exchange of love. This explains why in the first reading,
heaven is portrayed as a banquet of love and life. “On this mountain, the Lord
of hosts will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine
wines, of food rich and juicy, of fine strained wines. On this mountain
he will remove the mourning veil covering all peoples, and the shroud
enwrapping all nations, he will destroy Death for ever.” Souls in purgatory
know that heaven is waiting for them. But they need our prayers to help
them let go of their selfishness and attachment to the world; and especially
their unwillingness to forgive and to let go of those who have hurt them on
earth. Only when they are no longer attached to the earth negatively, are
they ready to be united with God and the communion of saints. Because we
are in communion with them, we are to pray for them to accept humbly the
unconditional love of God, to forgive themselves and trust in His mercy.
What we
are saying is not a pie in the sky, as some people think. St Paul made it
clear that “Hope is not deceptive, because the love of God has been poured into
our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us.” Indeed, those of
us who have been purified in some degree already experience greater freedom,
joy and love. We also have experienced how the love of God in our hearts,
through the Holy Spirit, enables us to live a life of peace, love and
joy. Our hope is in God’s mercy, not on ourselves. “The Lord is my
light and my help. O Lord, hear my voice when I call; have mercy and answer. It
is your face, O Lord, that I seek; hide not your face. I am sure I shall
see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. Hope in him, hold firm
and take heart. Hope in the Lord!”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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