BY HIS WOUNDS WE ARE HEALED

20170414 BY HIS WOUNDS WE ARE HEALED

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Red.

There is no Mass today. The readings given here are used in the afternoon celebration of the Lord's Passion.

First reading

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 ©

See, my servant will prosper,

he shall be lifted up, exalted, rise to great heights.

As the crowds were appalled on seeing him

– so disfigured did he look

that he seemed no longer human –

so will the crowds be astonished at him,

and kings stand speechless before him;

for they shall see something never told

and witness something never heard before:

‘Who could believe what we have heard,

and to whom has the power of the Lord been revealed?’

Like a sapling he grew up in front of us,

like a root in arid ground.

Without beauty, without majesty we saw him,

no looks to attract our eyes;

a thing despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering,

a man to make people screen their faces;

he was despised and we took no account of him.

And yet ours were the sufferings he bore,

ours the sorrows he carried.

But we, we thought of him as someone punished,

struck by God, and brought low.

Yet he was pierced through for our faults,

crushed for our sins.

On him lies a punishment that brings us peace,

and through his wounds we are healed.

We had all gone astray like sheep,

each taking his own way,

and the Lord burdened him

with the sins of all of us.

Harshly dealt with, he bore it humbly,

he never opened his mouth,

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter-house,

like a sheep that is dumb before its shearers

never opening its mouth.

By force and by law he was taken;

would anyone plead his cause?

Yes, he was torn away from the land of the living;

for our faults struck down in death.

They gave him a grave with the wicked,

a tomb with the rich,

though he had done no wrong

and there had been no perjury in his mouth.

The Lord has been pleased to crush him with suffering.

If he offers his life in atonement,

he shall see his heirs, he shall have a long life

and through him what the Lord wishes will be done.

His soul’s anguish over

he shall see the light and be content.

By his sufferings shall my servant justify many,

taking their faults on himself.

Hence I will grant whole hordes for his tribute,

he shall divide the spoil with the mighty,

for surrendering himself to death

and letting himself be taken for a sinner,

while he was bearing the faults of many

and praying all the time for sinners.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 30(31):2,6,12-13,15-17,25 ©

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

In you, O Lord, I take refuge.

  Let me never be put to shame.

In your justice, set me free,

Into your hands I commend my spirit.

  It is you who will redeem me, Lord.

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

In the face of all my foes

  I am a reproach,

an object of scorn to my neighbours

  and of fear to my friends.

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

Those who see me in the street

  run far away from me.

I am like a dead man, forgotten in men’s hearts,

  like a thing thrown away.

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

But as for me, I trust in you, Lord;

  I say: ‘You are my God.

My life is in your hands, deliver me

  from the hands of those who hate me.

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

Let your face shine on your servant.

  Save me in your love.’

Be strong, let your heart take courage,

  all who hope in the Lord.

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

Second reading

Hebrews 4:14-16,5:7-9 ©

Since in Jesus, the Son of God, we have the supreme high priest who has gone through to the highest heaven, we must never let go of the faith that we have professed. For it is not as if we had a high priest who was incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us; but we have one who has been tempted in every way that we are, though he is without sin. Let us be confident, then, in approaching the throne of grace, that we shall have mercy from him and find grace when we are in need of help.

  During his life on earth, he offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of death, and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard. Although he was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering; but having been made perfect, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation.

Gospel Acclamation

Phil2:8-9

Glory and praise to you, O Christ!

Christ was humbler yet,

even to accepting death, death on a cross.

But God raised him high

and gave him the name which is above all names.

Glory and praise to you, O Christ!

Gospel	John 18:1-19:42 ©
The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ

Key: N. Narrator. ✠ Jesus. O. Other single speaker. C. Crowd, or more than one speaker.

  N. Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kedron valley. There was a garden there, and he went into it with his disciples. Judas the traitor knew the place well, since Jesus had often met his disciples there, and he brought the cohort to this place together with a detachment of guards sent by the chief priests and the Pharisees, all with lanterns and torches and weapons. Knowing everything that was going to happen to him, Jesus then came forward and said,

  ✠ Who are you looking for?

  N. They answered,

  C. Jesus the Nazarene.

  N. He said,

  ✠ I am he.

  N. Now Judas the traitor was standing among them. When Jesus said, ‘I am he’, they moved back and fell to the ground. He asked them a second time,

  ✠ Who are you looking for?

  N. They said,

  C. Jesus the Nazarene.

  N. Jesus replied,

  ✠ I have told you that I am he. If I am the one you are looking for, let these others go.

  N. This was to fulfil the words he had spoken, ‘Not one of those you gave me have I lost.’

  Simon Peter, who carried a sword, drew it and wounded the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter,

  ✠ Put your sword back in its scabbard; am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?

  N. The cohort and its captain and the Jewish guards seized Jesus and bound him. They took him first to Annas, because Annas was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had suggested to the Jews, ‘It is better for one man to die for the people.’

  Simon Peter, with another disciple, followed Jesus. This disciple, who was known to the high priest, went with Jesus into the high priest’s palace, but Peter stayed outside the door. So the other disciple, the one known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who was keeping the door and brought Peter in. The maid on duty at the door said to Peter,

  O. Aren’t you another of that man’s disciples?

  N. He answered,

  O. I am not.

  N. Now it was cold, and the servants and guards had lit a charcoal fire and were standing there warming themselves; so Peter stood there too, warming himself with the others.

  The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. Jesus answered,

  ✠ I have spoken openly for all the world to hear; I have always taught in the synagogue and in the Temple where all the Jews meet together: I have said nothing in secret. But why ask me? Ask my hearers what I taught: they know what I said.

  N. At these words, one of the guards standing by gave Jesus a slap in the face, saying,

  O. Is that the way to answer the high priest?

  N. Jesus replied,

  ✠ If there is something wrong in what I said, point it out; but if there is no offence in it, why do you strike me?

  N. Then Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.

  As Simon Peter stood there warming himself, someone said to him,

  O. Aren’t you another of his disciples?

  N. He denied it, saying,

  O. I am not.

  N. One of the high priest’s servants, a relation of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said,

  O. Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?

  N. Again Peter denied it; and at once a cock crew.

  They then led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the Praetorium. It was now morning. They did not go into the Praetorium themselves or they would be defiled and unable to eat the passover. So Pilate came outside to them and said,

  O. What charge do you bring against this man?

  N. They replied,

  C. If he were not a criminal, we should not be handing him over to you.

  N. Pilate said,

  O. Take him yourselves, and try him by your own Law.

  N. The Jews answered,

  C. We are not allowed to put a man to death.

  N. This was to fulfil the words Jesus had spoken indicating the way he was going to die.

  So Pilate went back into the Praetorium and called Jesus to him, and asked,

  O. Are you the king of the Jews?

  N. Jesus replied,

  ✠ Do you ask this of your own accord, or have others spoken to you about me?

  N. Pilate answered,

  O. Am I a Jew? It is your own people and the chief priests who have handed you over to me: what have you done?

  N. Jesus replied,

  ✠ Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this kind.

  N. Pilate said,

  O. So you are a king, then?

  N. Jesus answered,

  ✠ It is you who say it. Yes, I am a king. I was born for this, I came into the world for this: to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.

  N. Pilate said,

  O. Truth? What is that?

  N. and with that he went out again to the Jews and said,

  O. I find no case against him. But according to a custom of yours I should release one prisoner at the Passover; would you like me, then, to release the king of the Jews?

  N. At this they shouted:

  C. Not this man, but Barabbas.

  N. Barabbas was a brigand.

  Pilate then had Jesus taken away and scourged; and after this, the soldiers twisted some thorns into a crown and put it on his head, and dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him and saying,

  C. Hail, king of the Jews!

  N. and they slapped him in the face.

  Pilate came outside again and said to them,

  O. Look, I am going to bring him out to you to let you see that I find no case.

  N. Jesus then came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said,

  O. Here is the man.

  N. When they saw him the chief priests and the guards shouted,

  C. Crucify him! Crucify him!

  N. Pilate said,

  O. Take him yourselves and crucify him: I can find no case against him.

  N. The Jews replied,

  C. We have a Law, and according to that Law he ought to die, because he has claimed to be the Son of God.

  N. When Pilate heard them say this his fears increased. Re-entering the Praetorium, he said to Jesus

  O. Where do you come from?

  N. But Jesus made no answer. Pilate then said to him,

  O. Are you refusing to speak to me? Surely you know I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?

  N. Jesus replied,

  ✠ You would have no power over me if it had not been given you from above; that is why the one who handed me over to you has the greater guilt.

  N. From that moment Pilate was anxious to set him free, but the Jews shouted,

  C. If you set him free you are no friend of Caesar’s; anyone who makes himself king is defying Caesar.

  N. Hearing these words, Pilate had Jesus brought out, and seated himself on the chair of judgement at a place called the Pavement, in Hebrew Gabbatha. It was Passover Preparation Day, about the sixth hour. Pilate said to the Jews,

  O. Here is your king.

  N. They said,

  C. Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!

  N. Pilate said,

  O. Do you want me to crucify your king?

  N. The chief priests answered,

  C. We have no king except Caesar.

  N. So in the end Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

  They then took charge of Jesus, and carrying his own cross he went out of the city to the place of the skull or, as it was called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified him with two others, one on either side with Jesus in the middle. Pilate wrote out a notice and had it fixed to the cross; it ran: ‘Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews.’ This notice was read by many of the Jews, because the place where Jesus was crucified was not far from the city, and the writing was in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. So the Jewish chief priests said to Pilate,

  C. You should not write ‘King of the Jews,’ but ‘This man said: “I am King of the Jews.”’

  N. Pilate answered,

  O. What I have written, I have written.

  N. When the soldiers had finished crucifying Jesus they took his clothing and divided it into four shares, one for each soldier. His undergarment was seamless, woven in one piece from neck to hem; so they said to one another,

  C. Instead of tearing it, let’s throw dice to decide who is to have it.

  N. In this way the words of scripture were fulfilled:

  They shared out my clothing among them.

  They cast lots for my clothes.

This is exactly what the soldiers did.

  Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother,

  ✠ Woman, this is your son.

  N. Then to the disciple he said,

  ✠ This is your mother.

  N. And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his home.

  After this, Jesus knew that everything had now been completed, and to fulfil the scripture perfectly he said:

  ✠ I am thirsty.

  N. A jar full of vinegar stood there, so putting a sponge soaked in the vinegar on a hyssop stick they held it up to his mouth. After Jesus had taken the vinegar he said,

  ✠ It is accomplished;

  N. and bowing his head he gave up his spirit.

  Here all kneel and pause for a short time.

  It was Preparation Day, and to prevent the bodies remaining on the cross during the sabbath – since that sabbath was a day of special solemnity – the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away. Consequently the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with him and then of the other. When they came to Jesus, they found he was already dead, and so instead of breaking his legs one of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water. This is the evidence of one who saw it – trustworthy evidence, and he knows he speaks the truth – and he gives it so that you may believe as well. Because all this happened to fulfil the words of scripture:

  Not one bone of his will be broken;

and again, in another place scripture says:

  They will look on the one whom they have pierced.

After this, Joseph of Arimathaea, who was a disciple of Jesus – though a secret one because he was afraid of the Jews – asked Pilate to let him remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave permission, so they came and took it away. Nicodemus came as well – the same one who had first come to Jesus at night-time – and he brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, following the Jewish burial custom. At the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in this garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been buried. Since it was the Jewish Day of Preparation and the tomb was near at hand, they laid Jesus there.

BY HIS WOUNDS WE ARE HEALED

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ IS 52:13-53:12; HEB 4:14-16; 5:7-9; JN 18:1-19:42]

This is a very wounded world we live in.  No one is exempted from the wounds of society.  This is what original sin is all about; because of our wounded nature, we keep on hurting each other, consciously or unconsciously, even though we desire to love and care for each other.

Indeed, when we reflect on the gospel text today, we can identify with the different characters in the passion play.  In fact, this is what the Church expects of us.  This explains why on Palm Sunday and on Good Friday, the congregation is asked to participate at some parts of the passion.  The part the congregation takes is that of those characters that denied Jesus and the crowd who called for the execution of Jesus.  In so doing the Church reminds us that all of us have different roles to play in the suffering, not just of Christ but of the world.  Let us not be too naïve to think that we are suffering because others have done us injustice.  That would be too presumptuous.  We have our part to play in every problem, misunderstanding, quarrel or conflict.

So today, if you feel that you are alone in your suffering, assuredly you are not.  The world suffers with you too.  Most of all, Jesus suffers with you as well in His humanity and in His love for us. If you feel betrayed in relationship, especially infidelity in marriage, in friendship, even with close friends, Jesus went through that as well.  He was abandoned by His apostles; even the inner circle could not keep vigil with Him in His final moments.  But what is most heartbreaking is that one of the Twelve betrayed Jesus and sold Him out for money!  If you were Jesus, you would have been heartbroken too.  No wounds pierce our hearts deeper than those inflicted by people we love.

Equally painful for Jesus was to know that His chief apostle, Peter, lacked the courage to acknowledge their friendship even to a maid and some servants.   That is how we feel too.  In times of trouble, our bosses do not stand up for us. In times of failure, even our parents and loved ones condemn us.  In times of need, our friends play us out and abandon us.  Few stand up to defend us publicly, although in private they say they support us.  This is the truth.  Many lack courage to risk their lives to stand up for others even though they are right.  We all want to be accepted and to be popular.  We see which direction the wind is blowing and accordingly, we choose what is in our best interest; not for what is right.   This was the case for Pilate as well.  He saw the devious intentions of the priests, but instead of taking a firm stand on Jesus’ innocence, he allowed the popular wish of the people to determine the fate of Jesus for fear of losing his office and position.

Then there are others who are enslaved by past hurts and resentments.  We find it difficult to forgive those who have hurt us, much less to forget the psychological pain.  Some of us carry our wounds for years.  We cannot forgive our siblings or even our parents for failing us.   Indeed, much of our pains today is due to the inability to let go of those hurts that wound us deeply.  We bear so much resentment.  But what we see at the cross is the silence of those who had been wounded.  Jesus was silent and only uttered words of excuses and forgiveness for His enemies.  Mary, the mother of Jesus, grieved silently with Him but uttered no words of anger or hatred.  With Jesus, she would have said in her heart as well, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing.”

Finally, some of us cannot accept our illnesses, our immobility or are still grieving over the death of a loved one.  We are angry with God that we are not able to look after ourselves.   We cannot accept that He took away our loved ones, especially if they had suffered a sudden death, such as in an accident, or even from a short illness.  Departures are always painful, as they create a vacuum in our lives, knowing that we cannot see or touch or hear them anymore.  Someone has to be blamed and we cannot understand why God is so cruel to take away someone whom we love and depend on so badly, leaving us alone.

What must we do?  How can we heal our pains?  The prophet Isaiah says, “through his wounds we are healed.”   How do the wounds of Jesus heal us?  Jesus’ wounds can heal us because He shared our sufferings. Not only did the Son of God share our sufferings, but He carried our sufferings on our behalf.  This is because He was without sin and He suffered unjustly and innocently for our sake.  “They gave him a grave with the wicked, a tomb with the rich, though he had done no wrong and there had been no perjury in his mouth.”   Unlike us, He was not suffering for His sins.  As Isaiah says, “And yet ours were the sufferings he bore, ours the sorrows he carried. But we, we thought of him as someone punished, struck by God, and brought low. Yet he was pierced through for our faults, crushed for our sins.  On him lies a punishment that brings us peace, and through him his wounds we are healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, each taking his own way, and the Lord burdened him with the sins of all of us.”   Jesus suffered to awaken us to our sins and to God’s love and mercy.

What is salvific is that Jesus not only suffered but He showed us how to suffer positively.  Again, Isaiah said, “Harshly dealt with, he bore it humbly, he never opened his mouth, like a lamb that is led to the slaughter house, like a sheep that is dumb before its shearers never opening its mouth.”   It is not enough to suffer in life like a stoic but to suffer in a redemptive manner, using our sufferings to transform ourselves and to inspire others.   It is how we suffer that will inspire others and give hope to them.  When we visit patients in hospitals, we see some who are full of bitterness, anger, moaning and groaning and complaining. We leave the hospital feeling sad and sorry for them.  But if we meet patients who are suffering much, but suffer with love and faith in God, sharing with us their faith in God and that they do not fear death, we leave feeling hopeful, encouraged and strengthened in our faith.  We do not leave the hospital bitter with God in spite of the fact that the patient might not live.

Jesus is our leader in suffering and in salvation.  He perfected His love for God and for us through the sufferings He went through.  His love of God was not sheer sentimental love and nice words but a giving of Himself and His life.  Before His enemies, Jesus was faithful to His identity.  Twice He said to those who arrested Him, “I am He!”  He was hinting at His claim of divinity.  Before Pilate who thought he had power over Him, He said, “You would have no power over me if it had not been given you from above; that is why the one who handed me over to you has the greatest guilt.”  In no uncertain terms, He made clear His mission and identity.  “Yes, I am a King, I was born for this, I came into the world for this; to bear witness to my truth, and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.”  This is in direct contrast to many of us who succumb to our enemies.  Instead of being true to our faith, values and identity as a Christian, we give in to the pressures of society, especially the secularistic values of the world that are consumeristic and individualistic and at times even anti-life and anti-love.

We are called to contemplate on the Crucified Christ.  In the first reading, the suffering servant will be “lifted up, exalted, rise to great heights.”  This is the foreshadowing of Jesus being lifted up on the cross. Indeed, when we contemplate on the sufferings of the Crucified God on the cross, it is something beyond any human imagination; that God would die in Christ on the cross.  Truly, “His soul’s anguish over, he shall see the light and be content. By his sufferings shall my servant justify many, taking their faults on himself.”  When we know that God who loves us suffered as much for our sins and identifies with us in our sufferings, we can accept the mystery of suffering even though we might not understand why, since God was not spared from suffering as well.

As we contemplate on the Crucified Christ, we find hope and courage.  Regardless of our sins and weaknesses, we know that Christ will understand us for He has been through all trials, sufferings and temptations.  “Since in Jesus, the Son of God, we have the supreme High Priest who has gone through to the highest heaven, we must never let go of the faith that we have professed. For it is not as if we had a high priest who was incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us; but we have one who has been tempted in every way that we are, though he is without sin.”  Jesus would have compassion for us more than anyone else.  So none of us should ever feel unworthy or hopeless, for the Lord forgives us all our sins and He feels with us in all our temptations and weaknesses.

That is why we can “be confident, then, in approaching the throne of grace, that we shall have mercy from him and find grace when we are in need of help.”  Like Jesus, we can be confident of God’s help. “During his life on earth, he offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of death, and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard.”  With Jesus, in times of trials and even death, we too must say, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”  Let us not be afraid to accept His divine will and find peace for our souls.  Through suffering, we will too learn true obedience and find peace for our souls as we learn to surrender everything into the hands of God. He will not abandon us.  Mary and John and a few women stood by Jesus regardless.   He was not all alone.  And just as He sent Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus to give Him a proper burial, so too, God will send the most unlikely people to help us endure the storms of life.

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