LOST IDENTITY

20170103 LOST IDENTITY

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: White.

First reading

1 John 2:29-3:6 ©

You know that God is righteous –

then you must recognise that everyone whose life is righteous

has been begotten by him.

Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us,

by letting us be called God’s children;

and that is what we are.

Because the world refused to acknowledge him,

therefore it does not acknowledge us.

My dear people, we are already the children of God

but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed;

all we know is, that when it is revealed

we shall be like him

because we shall see him as he really is.

Surely everyone who entertains this hope

must purify himself, must try to be as pure as Christ.

Anyone who sins at all

breaks the law,

because to sin is to break the law.

Now you know that he appeared in order to abolish sin,

and that in him there is no sin;

anyone who lives in God does not sin,

and anyone who sins

has never seen him or known him.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 97(98):1,3-6 ©

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Sing a new song to the Lord

  for he has worked wonders.

His right hand and his holy arm

  have brought salvation.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

All the ends of the earth have seen

  the salvation of our God.

Shout to the Lord, all the earth,

  ring out your joy.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp

  with the sound of music.

With trumpets and the sound of the horn

  acclaim the King, the Lord.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia!

A hallowed day has dawned upon us.

Come, you nations, worship the Lord,

for today a great light has shone down upon the earth.

Alleluia!

Or

Jn1:14,12

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.

To all who received him he gave power to become children of God.

Alleluia!

Or

Heb1:1-2

Alleluia, alleluia!

At various times in the past

and in various different ways,

God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets;

but in our own time, the last days,

he has spoken to us through his Son.

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.’

LOST IDENTITY

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1JN 2:29–3:6; PS 97(98); JN 1:29-34 ]

Many people in the world no longer know their identity.  Indeed, even something so simple and clear, like sexual identity, is an issue today.  We do not know who we are.  A fundamental question is the nature of man.  Although the world speaks so much of human rights and the importance of life and the dignity of the human person, what is the basis for their claim?  What is the foundation of the dignity of the human person?  Why is the life of a human being more precious than that of animals and plants?  If it is true that we are just material beings, that is, simply matter without an immortal soul, why is human life so precious compared to other forms of life?  In the final analysis, this question can only be answered if we know our identity.

How is it that many people do not know their identity or are confused about their identity? St John gives us the reason. “Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us, by letting us be called God’s children; and that is what we are. Because the world refused to acknowledge him, therefore it does not acknowledge us.”   If we do not know that God is our Father, how can we know that we are His children?  Our identity is therefore dependent on our knowledge of God.  So acknowledgement of God as the source of life is the starting point of understanding our dependence on God as our creator.  We do not simply exist but we come from God who is the origin of life.

Why is it then that the world cannot acknowledge God as their creator or their Father?  This is because they are blinded by sin.  St John says, “Anyone who sins has never seen him or known him.”  Sin blinds us to the truth.  St Paul in his letter to the Romans diagnosed the sin of impiety as the cause of all other sins. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.”  (Rom 1:18f)  God gave us up to sin because He respects our freedom to reject Him.  “So they are without excuse;  for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened.”  (Rom 1:20bf)

How then can we overcome our blindness and ignorance of our sins?  We need Christ to save us from our sins.  Christ “appeared in order to abolish sin, and that in him there is no sin,” Only the Son of God, St John says, can reveal God to us.  “No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.”  (Jn 1:18)  Accordingly, John the Baptist points out to us the One who would save us from our sins.  Of Jesus, he 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.”  In describing Jesus as the Lamb of God, St John was thinking of the Passover when the Passover Lamb was sacrificed in atonement for their sins.  So Jesus as the Passover Lamb is the One who will save us from our sins and give us eternal life.

But how does Christ take away our sins?  He shows us the misery and evil of sin.  Sin is destructive.  There can be no joy for those who sin and break the law.  St Paul says, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.”  (1 Cor 6:9-10)  We cannot be living in sin and darkness and yet live in the kingdom of light and love.

Secondly, Christ reveals to us our true dignity as the sons and daughters of God.  We must not behave like the Jews during the time of Christ who have the devil as their Father.  “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (Jn 8:44)  Rather “we are already the children of God but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed.”  This is our great dignity. It is for this reason that we cannot kill other human beings because they are children of God.  They belong to God, not to us.  Only God who is the author of life can decide our destiny.  We cannot take life into our own hands.  Abortion, destruction of human embryos, euthanasia and all forms of killing are evil, including wars and terrorism.

Thirdly, Jesus shows us the way out of this mess and confusion.  It is the way of love.  If we want to see God, St John says, “Surely everyone who entertains this hope must purify himself, must try to be as pure as Christ.”  To purify ourselves is more than ritual or obedience to the law.  “Anyone who sins at all breaks the law, because to sin is to break the law.”  To purify ourselves is to be purified in love.  Not breaking the law is not good enough but we must be sincere in love.  St Paul says, “Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor.”  (Rom 12:9f)  So anyone who loves like Christ will be able to see God.  “No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”  (1 Jn 4:12)  Who is God if not the fact that God is love.   “Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God.  He who does not love does not know God; for God is love. (1 Jn 4:7f)

How can this love of God be in us then, so that we can see God?  It is through the Lamb of God.  His suffering and death on the cross reveals to us the love and mercy of God.  “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.  In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins.”  (1 Jn 4:9f)  That is why, John the Baptist proclaimed Christ as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  By contemplating on the love of God, we too can then love each other.  “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”  (1 Jn 4:11)  Only because Christ has loved us that He could also command us to love like Him.  He said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”  (Jn 13:34f)

Christ is more than an exemplar of the love of God and His love of humanity, but He also gives us the inner capacity to love by sending us the Holy Spirit. 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 baptize 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 baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God.”  Christ is the One who will give us the Holy Spirit, that same Spirit of the Father that gave Him the capacity to love and give Himself totally for us.  We too must therefore come to Jesus and ask for the Holy Spirit.  He Himself told us, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”  (Lk 11:13)

So as we continue to contemplate on the meaning of the Incarnation, we cannot but also rejoice with the psalmist.  We too declare, “Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked wonders. His right hand and his holy arm have brought salvation.   All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout to the Lord, all the earth, ring out your joy.”  In Christ, we know our identity.  In Christ we are forgiven and redeemed.  In Christ, we receive the Spirit of His Father.  In Christ, we recover our identity as God’s children.

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