20170312 BEAR THE HARDSHIPS FOR THE SAKE OF THE GOOD NEWS
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Genesis 12:1-4 ©
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The Lord said to
Abram, ‘Leave your country, your family and your father’s house, for the land I
will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your
name so famous that it will be used as a blessing.
‘I will bless those
who bless you:
I will curse those
who slight you.
All the tribes of the
earth
shall bless
themselves by you.’
So Abram went as the
Lord told him.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
32(33):4-5,18-20,22 ©
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May your love be
upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
The word of the Lord
is faithful
and all
his works to be trusted.
The Lord loves
justice and right
and fills
the earth with his love.
May your love be
upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
The Lord looks on
those who revere him,
on those
who hope in his love,
to rescue their souls
from death,
to keep
them alive in famine.
May your love be
upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
Our soul is waiting
for the Lord.
The Lord
is our help and our shield.
May your love be upon
us, O Lord,
as we
place all our hope in you.
May your love be
upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
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Second reading
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2 Timothy 1:8-10
©
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With me, bear the
hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God who has
saved us and called us to be holy – not because of anything we ourselves
have done but for his own purpose and by his own grace. This grace had already
been granted to us, in Christ Jesus, before the beginning of time, but it has
only been revealed by the Appearing of our saviour Christ Jesus. He abolished
death, and he has proclaimed life and immortality through the Good News.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Mt17:5
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Glory and praise to
you, O Christ!
From the bright cloud
the Father’s voice was heard:
‘This is my Son, the
Beloved. Listen to him.’
Glory and praise to
you, O Christ!
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Gospel
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Matthew 17:1-9 ©
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Jesus took with him
Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain where they
could be alone. There in their presence he was transfigured: his face shone
like the sun and his clothes became as white as the light. Suddenly Moses and
Elijah appeared to them; they were talking with him. Then Peter spoke to Jesus.
‘Lord,’ he said ‘it is wonderful for us to be here; if you wish, I will make
three tents here, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ He was still
speaking when suddenly a bright cloud covered them with shadow, and from the
cloud there came a voice which said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my
favour. Listen to him.’ When they heard this the disciples fell on their faces
overcome with fear. But Jesus came up and touched them. ‘Stand up,’ he said ‘do
not be afraid.’ And when they raised their eyes they saw no one but only Jesus.
As
they came down from the mountain Jesus gave them this order, ‘Tell no one about
the vision until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.’
BEAR
THE HARDSHIPS FOR THE SAKE OF THE GOOD NEWS
All of us have
dreams. The future is born of dreams. What we are enjoying today is
the result of the dreams of our forefathers. Much progress has been made
in the scientific and technological world because people dare to dream the
impossible dream. It is important that we have our own dream. We
live on because of our dreams. Without dreams, life would be
meaningless. We would just drift through the life, living in the past,
without zeal and passion.
Abraham in the first
reading was given a great dream for his people. He heard the Lord telling
him, “Leave your country, your family and your father’s house, for the land I
will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name
so famous that it will be used as a blessing.” Upon the reception of this
dream, Abraham set out, not knowing clearly where this would lead him to.
All he knew was that God had a big plan for his people. It was a
dream for a better life than what they were already having.
In the second reading too,
we read of the dream of St Paul. He wrote, “This grace had already been
granted to us, in Christ Jesus, before the beginning of time, but it has only
been revealed by the Appearing of our savior Christ Jesus. He abolished death,
and he has proclaimed life and immortality through the Good News.” St
Paul’s dream was to offer life and immortality to all. In preaching the
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, his dream was that all who come to Him will find
fullness of life, joy and peace. The Good News that St Paul taught is that the
Father loves us in Christ Jesus and we are saved by His death and
resurrection. All that is needed is faith in Him, given through
grace. We are saved not because we are good or because of good works but
purely by the grace of God.
In the gospel, the Lord was
given a dream, a preview of what was to take place. He had a vision.
“There in their presence he was transfigured: his face shone like the sun and
his clothes became as white as the light. Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared to
them; they were talking with him.” God revealed to Jesus the future glory
that had always been His. This is the glory that is to be shared with
us. When we follow Jesus we too will be transfigured in time to
come. Through this experience, Jesus was affirmed to be the New Law and
the final prophet. He is the new Moses and the new Elijah.
Today, the dream of the
universal Church is the New Evangelization, of making the Good News relevant to
Catholics and understood by those who are searching for truth, love and
life. We are called to proclaim the Good News, which in today’s terms is
to show forth the compassionate face of God in Christ Jesus. Whereas Pope
Emeritus Benedict underscored the love of God in Christ, the thrust of Pope
Francis is to concretize this love of God in His mercy.
Indeed, more than ever, in
this harsh world today, where competition is tough and we are rewarded for the
good work we do and punished mercilessly for the mistakes we make, we need to
proclaim the mercy of God. This is the reason why Pope Francis wants us
to go beyond the rigid laws and change the image of the Church as an
institution that is cold and without a heart. Pope Francis wants
the world to encounter God’s compassionate love in Christ Jesus who comes to
forgive us all our sins, to give us courage and hope, not to condemn us but to
save us from perdition. Accordingly, it is important to go back to
the spirit of the laws rather than just insisting on the letter of the laws.
The Good News therefore is
directed principally at the poor, those who are spiritually poor and those who
are materially poor. He wants the Church to move out of her comfort zone
and to be with the poor. Many Catholics have stopped coming for mass.
Some have left the Church completely. Many of us are struggling in our
sins, especially those related to lust, greed, envy, pride and anger. The
Church must show herself to be inclusive. Not everyone can live up to the
ideals of the gospel yet. The Church, being a Church for sinners, should
welcome all those who are struggling to live up to the teaching of
Christ. The divorced, people of same sex orientation, the sick and the
poor must find a home in the Church. This is the essence of the Good News,
that Jesus loves us all, including the sinners.
But realizing our dreams
for the Church and the country is not easy. When we seek to make changes,
inevitably, we are faced with opposition, not so much from without as from
within. This was the same for Abraham, Christ and for Paul. People oppose
change for many reasons. Some oppose it because the vision of their
leaders is not their vision. Some feel threatened because of the change
of status quo and their comfort zone is affected. Others are constrained
by their strict dogmatic beliefs and feel that the Church is abandoning her
traditions and the truth of the gospel. Some are not able to feel with
those who are marginalized in Church and even at home. Leaders too suffer much
opposition from those people who are not happy with our attempts to bring the
Church forward because their convenience is compromised.
So what must we do in the
face of opposition? We must not forget the dream before us. In
times of trials and difficulties, we must keep the dream clear in our
minds. Once we lose our dream, we lose hope. St Paul was always
conscious of his dream to be with Christ one day in heaven. “Now there is
in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
Judge, will award to me on that day and not only to me, but also to all who
have longed for his appearing.” (2 Tim 4:8) Abraham
too, in his long journey to the Promised Land, trusted in God and hoped in Him.
“
We must think of the
greater good of the future of humanity, Church and society. Our
forefathers sacrificed much for us. Without their sacrifices, we will not
be where we are today, As the letter of Hebrews says, “And all
these, though well attested by their faith, did not receive what was promised,
since God had foreseen something better for us, that apart from us they should
not be made perfect.” (Heb 11:39f)
Abraham was a rich man with many flocks of animals. He was living a
comfortable life. There was no need for him to venture out because when
the call came, he was already 76, past retirement age!
Secondly, we must rely on
the power of God’s grace. St Paul wrote, “With me, bear the hardships for
the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God who has saved us and
called us to be holy – not because of anything we ourselves have done but for
his own purpose and by his own grace.” This was his secret to peace
and joy in his ministry. Pope Francis says that “if there is a problem, I
write a note to St. Joseph and put it under a statue that I have in my room. It
is a statue of St. Joseph sleeping. And now he sleeps on a mattress of notes!
That’s why I sleep well: it is the grace of God.”
We must pray fervently and
with faith. Pope Francis says, “I love the breviary so much and never
leave it. Mass every day. The rosary … When I pray, I always take the Bible.
And my peace grows. I do not know if this is the secret … My peace is a gift of
the Lord.” Prayer is the only way to find true peace of heart. The
psalmist tells us, “The Lord looks on those who revere him, on those who hope
in his love, to rescue their souls from death, to keep them alive in
famine. Our soul is waiting for the Lord. The Lord is our help and
our shield.”
Finally, we must bask
ourselves in the love of God as Jesus did. “He was still speaking when
suddenly a bright cloud covered them with shadow, and from the cloud there came
a voice which said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour. Listen
to him.’” So too did St Peter, for the experience was so profound that he
wanted to keep it with him forever. Thus he suggested, “Lord, it is wonderful
for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one
for Moses and one for Elijah.” Indeed, later on, St Peter again recounted
this experience when he wrote, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths
when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we
were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” (1 Pt 1:16) This
transfiguration experience was both for Jesus and for the apostles so that they
could face the future trials ahead of them.
So let us be a blessing to
others and to the world. The Lord said to Abraham and to us all. “I
will bless those who bless you. I will curse those who slight you. All the
tribes of the earth shall bless themselves by you.” Let us hold our
dreams high as Paul did. He said, “This grace had already been granted to
us, in Christ Jesus, before the beginning of time, but it has only been
revealed by the Appearing of our saviour Christ Jesus.” We already have a
foretaste of it. We have seen for ourselves what the gospel can do for
us. It is not that we have not yet seen it, albeit not in its
fullness. Let us pray for the courage, the wisdom and strength to
bring the Church forward and to bring the Good News to all, especially the
poor, marginalized, those living in darkness and walking in the valley of
death.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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