BEING A WITNESS TO JESUS THE LIGHT OF HUMANITY

20170115 BEING A WITNESS TO JESUS THE LIGHT OF HUMANITY

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading

Isaiah 49:3,5-6 ©

The Lord said to me, ‘You are my servant, Israel,

in whom I shall be glorified’;

I was honoured in the eyes of the Lord,

my God was my strength.

And now the Lord has spoken,

he who formed me in the womb to be his servant,

to bring Jacob back to him,

to gather Israel to him:

‘It is not enough for you to be my servant,

to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel;

I will make you the light of the nations

so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.’

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 39(40):2,4,7-10 ©

Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.

I waited, I waited for the Lord

  and he stooped down to me;

  he heard my cry.

He put a new song into my mouth,

  praise of our God.

Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.

You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings,

  but an open ear.

You do not ask for holocaust and victim.

  Instead, here am I.

Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.

In the scroll of the book it stands written

  that I should do your will.

My God, I delight in your law

  in the depth of my heart.

Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.

Your justice I have proclaimed

  in the great assembly.

My lips I have not sealed;

  you know it, O Lord.

Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.

Second reading

1 Corinthians 1:1-3 ©

I, Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle, together with brother Sosthenes, send greetings to the church of God in Corinth, to the holy people of Jesus Christ, who are called to take their place among all the saints everywhere who pray to our Lord Jesus Christ; for he is their Lord no less than ours. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ send you grace and peace.

Gospel Acclamation

cf.Lk19:38,2:14

Alleluia, alleluia!

Blessings on the King who comes,

in the name of the Lord!

Peace in heaven

and glory in the highest heavens!

Alleluia!

Or

Jn1:14,12

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Word was made flesh and lived among us:

to all who did accept him

he gave power to become children of God.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 1:29-34 ©

Seeing Jesus coming towards him, John said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. This is the one I spoke of when I said: A man is coming after me who ranks before me because he existed before me. I did not know him myself, and yet it was to reveal him to Israel that I came baptising with water.’ John also declared, ‘I saw the Spirit coming down on him from heaven like a dove and resting on him. I did not know him myself, but he who sent me to baptise with water had said to me, “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is going to baptise with the Holy Spirit.” Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God.’

BEING A WITNESS TO JESUS THE LIGHT OF HUMANITY

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Is 49:3.5-6; Ps 39:2,4,7-10; 1 Cor 1:1-3; Jn 1:29-34    ]

In the second reading, St Paul was writing to the Christians in Corinth who were facing internal and external challenges.  There was division not just among the Church leaders as some rallied around Peter, Paul or Apollos.  At the same time, they had to face the challenges of immorality and worldly living. The city of Corinth was a center for trade and activities.  The prosperity of the city, like in most urban cities, also bred corruption of all sorts.  Idolatry, prostitution, sexual immorality and cheating were rife.

We are living in very challenging times.   Not only are we struggling against sin but we are confused over what is sin today!  In a world of relativism, with so much information in the mass media, finding the truth is very complicated.  We are not too sure what is right or wrong today.  Living in this world is rather bewildering because we are swamped with so many opinions all claiming to speak the truth that we no longer know what is the truth and who is speaking the truth or who has the truth.  Life in the olden days was easier as society was homogenous.  With globalization, all traditional and time immemorial truths and practices are put in question.  Even fundamental truths like the nature and identity of human beings, the institutions of sex, marriage, family, the dignity of the human person, the sacredness of life are being redefined.  We are not too sure even of the meaning of love.  Singles have told me that they would be ridiculed today if they were to tell anyone that they are virgin.

On one hand, the Church and all faithful Catholics who seek to live the truth of the gospel are being accused of being rigid, heartless and lacking compassion.  Understandably, the pastors are in a dilemma too. If they do not succumb to the relativistic trend of the current world based on contextual theology and situational ethics, they could be accused of being out of touch and even not hearing the voice of God speaking to us.  The worst is to be accused of lacking compassion and understanding when pastors seek to be true to the deposit of the faith of the Church passed on in scripture and tradition.  Some, out of fear of being unpopular, bend to the wishes of the majority.  The day when we say that the Church has been wrong in her doctrines, it means that nothing taught should be held seriously as it might change over time.  There is no longer a need to believe and hold common doctrines.  When the dogma of infallibility is put in doubt, all other institutions of the Church no longer have any real foundation.

When that happens, truth is left to the individual to decide “according to their conscience”.  This simple principle is rather ambiguous in itself as there are different levels of conscience, some erroneous, some culpably erroneous.  Even then, conscience must be based on objective truth, based on scripture and the teachings of the Church.  But some are so paralyzed by the web of information that no decision is possible.  When we can no longer say that no objective truth exists but everything is dependent on changing circumstances, then we can no longer say anything is right or wrong because at different times, what is supposedly the truth can turn out to be wrong and what was considered wrong is now acceptable.  That is why relativism and subjectivism are the “absolute truths” promoted by the world today.

It is within this context that St Paul reminds us that we are being sent.  We are called to be apostles of Christ.  He was conscious of his call when he wrote, “I, Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle.”  By virtue of our baptism, we too are given a special calling from God to preach the gospel according to our charisms and the state of life.

Every one of us, regardless of who we are, has a contribution to make in the proclamation of the gospel. Each one is given a role, a job, a ministry to partake in Christ’s mission to the world.  This mission can take place within the Church or without.  It can be direct or indirect witnessing.  But in all that we do, we must be ready, like St Paul, to make available our gifts, resources, talents for His service so that God’s plan for His Church and the world can be realized.  It does not matter what we do for God, but what matters is that we do everything for the glory of God and the service of the Church and of humanity.  The Lord said to the Suffering Servant of Isaiah, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I shall be glorified.”

More than ever in the world today, we need Christians who are courageous in living lives contrary to the rest of the world.  We are called to live a life of chastity and fidelity to our state of life.  We are called to love faithfully and authentically.  The real tragedy among Catholics is that we all live a double life.  We are Catholics only in Church but we live a secular life with worldly values in our daily life.  The options and the choices we make are basically dictated by the world, whether it is sex, marriage, family, career, entertainment, education and other pursuits.  We share the desire for the illusory pleasures and pursuits of the world.  So, we are counter-witnesses of the gospel by the way we live our lives.  In church, we behave like saints but outside the church we indulge and subscribe to the immoral activities and wisdom of the world.

Indeed, like John the Baptist, we must not live double lives.  He did not pretend to be the Messiah.  Although he himself was a very popular preacher and prophet, attracting large crowds and disciples to himself, he knew when it was time for him to let go and take a back seat.  He was always conscious that he was only a voice of the bridegroom.  Christ is the Word.  When He came, it was time for the voice to fade out.  That is why, John the Baptist said, “He must increase and I must decrease.” (Jn 3:30)  Such was the humility of John the Baptist, his sincerity and his clarity of his call.  He was contented to do what God wanted him to do and let Christ be glorified.  This is what true service is all about, the basis for effective ministry, never to bring others to us even if it is through us.  Our task is to bring them to the Lord.   We must never keep Jesus away from others or take away His limelight.  John did not seek popularity but only the truth.

This call to glorify God comes in two ways. The call to service in the gospel is both ad intra an ad extra.  The Lord told the Suffering Servant, “It is not enough for you to be my servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel: I will make you the light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” In other words, we must be a witness within the Church and also to be a witness to Christ in the world.  It is a call to re-evangelize the gospel within and to evangelize to the world. 

We are called to point others to the Lord.  There are many people in the world seeking security, peace, love and joy.  Our calling is to show them that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  He is their savior and He is the One whom they are seeking to give them fullness of life.  We must not be misled into thinking that faith is a private matter. John the Baptist was ever ready to refer others to Jesus.  He said, “Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.”

The call to mission however must begin from within.  St Paul issued a personal invitation to all Christians to be holy.  He sent “greetings to the church of God in Corinth, to the holy people of Jesus Christ, who are called to take their place among all the saints.”  What a beautiful reminder to all of us that we are called to holiness.   A Christian’s universal call is the call to holiness.  To be holy is to be consecrated, to be set apart for the glory of God and for His service.  We are called to manifest His love, light and presence in the way we live our lives.  That is what it means to be called saints because a saint is one who reflects the presence of Christ in his or her life.

For this reason, we must first form our Catholics in the right values of the gospel.  If we are not evangelized ourselves and are not clear of what the gospel is teaching us, we will not be able to be convinced sufficiently to live them out, much less to share with the rest of the world.  The work of re-evangelizing our Catholics, to renew their faith and their personal relationship with the Lord through worship, prayer, the Word of God and formation is of utmost importance. Until this is done, the work of evangelization cannot be properly carried out.  Catholics must first be informed in their faith, reignite their relationship with the Lord and fall in love with the Word of God before they can be witnesses.

But we cannot accept the teachings of Christ unless we fall in love with Jesus and recognize Him as the Son of God and the Word of God.  This can only happen through the Holy Spirit because He is the One who leads us to Jesus. Catholics cannot be evangelizers and witnesses unless they are renewed in the power of the Spirit.  This is what St John the Baptist reminds us.  He could say, “Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God”, only because he had encountered the Lord personally.  John also declared, “I saw the Spirit coming down on him from heaven like a dove and resting on him.”

Only when we confess that Jesus is Lord can we then surrender our lives to Him even though we might not understand everything that the Word of God teaches us.  In the final analysis, the power of witnessing lies not in what we say but what we do.  If we wish to be true evangelizers in the world, we only need to do His holy will in our daily life.  This is what will convince people.  With the psalmist, we also must say, “Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will. You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings, but an open ear. You do not ask for holocaust and victim.  Instead, here am I.  In the scroll of the book it stands written that I should do your will. My God, I delight in your law in the depth of my heart.”

Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved