CHRIST IS THE REVEALER OF GOD’S MYSTERY

20170404 CHRIST IS THE REVEALER OF GOD’S MYSTERY

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Violet.

First reading

Numbers 21:4-9 ©

The Israelites left Mount Hor by the road to the Sea of Suph, to skirt the land of Edom. On the way the people lost patience. They spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in this wilderness? For there is neither bread nor water here; we are sick of this unsatisfying food.’

  At this God sent fiery serpents among the people; their bite brought death to many in Israel. The people came and said to Moses, ‘We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede for us with the Lord to save us from these serpents.’ Moses interceded for the people, and the Lord answered him, ‘Make a fiery serpent and put it on a standard. If anyone is bitten and looks at it, he shall live.’ So Moses fashioned a bronze serpent which he put on a standard, and if anyone was bitten by a serpent, he looked at the bronze serpent and lived.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 101(102):2-3,16-21 ©

O Lord, listen to my prayer and let my cry for help reach you.

O Lord, listen to my prayer

  and let my cry for help reach you.

Do not hide your face from me

  in the day of my distress.

Turn your ear towards me

  and answer me quickly when I call.

O Lord, listen to my prayer and let my cry for help reach you.

The nations shall fear the name of the Lord

  and all the earth’s kings your glory,

when the Lord shall build up Zion again

  and appear in all his glory.

Then he will turn to the prayers of the helpless;

  he will not despise their prayers.

O Lord, listen to my prayer and let my cry for help reach you.

Let this be written for ages to come

  that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord;

for the Lord leaned down from his sanctuary on high.

  He looked down from heaven to the earth

that he might hear the groans of the prisoners

  and free those condemned to die.

O Lord, listen to my prayer and let my cry for help reach you.

Gospel Acclamation

Jn8:12

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

I am the light of the world, says the Lord;

whoever follows me will have the light of life.

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

Or

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

The seed is the word of God, Christ the sower;

whoever finds this seed will remain for ever.

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

Gospel

John 8:21-30 ©

Jesus said to the Pharisees:

‘I am going away;

you will look for me

and you will die in your sin.

Where I am going, you cannot come.’

The Jews said to one another, ‘Will he kill himself? Is that what he means by saying, “Where I am going, you cannot come”?’ Jesus went on:

‘You are from below; I am from above.

You are of this world; I am not of this world.

I have told you already:

You will die in your sins.

Yes, if you do not believe that I am He,

you will die in your sins.’

So they said to him, ‘Who are you?’ Jesus answered:

‘What I have told you from the outset.

About you I have much to say

and much to condemn;

but the one who sent me is truthful,

and what I have learnt from him

I declare to the world.’

They failed to understand that he was talking to them about the Father. So Jesus said:

‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man,

then you will know that I am He

and that I do nothing of myself:

what the Father has taught me is what I preach;

he who sent me is with me,

and has not left me to myself,

for I always do what pleases him.’

As he was saying this, many came to believe in him.

CHRIST IS THE REVEALER OF GOD’S MYSTERY

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ NUMBERS 21:4-9; PS 101:2-3,16-21; JOHN 8:21-30]

It is difficult to grasp the ways of God, His plans for us and the mystery of life.  There are so many questions on life that we cannot answer.  In a world of relativism, the answers become even more complex because there are so many different opinions and all have their vantage points.  So much so, we end up agreeing to disagree on so many issues.  It is difficult to say one is absolutely right and the other is wrong.  Even though all Christians agree that the bible is the Word of God, yet there are so many different interpretations, arguing for or against a doctrine, and we can find verses and interpretations that seem to support whichever stand we take.   No wonder there is so much division among Christians and now, even among Catholics as well.  In the past, when the Pope spoke, no one questioned his gift of infallibility in teaching.  But this does not seem to be so among clergy and theologians anymore. Just listening to the debates today on divorce, marriage, homosexuality, same sex union and even priesthood can make us even more unsure as to exactly where we stand with regard to traditional Catholic doctrines that one never even dared to question or were permitted to ask!

So we can appreciate the anger of the Israelites when they were in the desert.  If we were them, we would surely have lost our patience like them and complained “against God and against Moses, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in this wilderness? For there is neither bread nor water here; we are sick of this unsatisfying food.’”  Being in the wilderness, not knowing where they were going, and not knowing when they would arrive at the Promised Land, eating the same food in the desert day in and day out, one can understand why they would make comparisons with their former life.  Sure, they were under the slavery of the Egyptians.  They had no freedom, but at least they had better food.   Now they had freedom but one could not survive on fresh air and beautiful philosophies of life.  The stomach needs to be fed and the body seeks comfort.  In our sufferings, we, too, would act in a similar manner.  When things are not going well, when our marriage is failing or not working; children are not studying, work is not rewarding, we would also lament and grumble like the Israelites.   Like the psalmist, we would also pray, “O Lord, listen to my prayer and let my cry for help reach you.  Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress.  Turn your ear towards me and answer me quickly when I call.”

We must be careful that our prayers do not become simply complaints.  Indeed, the Israelites were punished for their lack of faith in God.  They were bitten by fiery serpents.  When we are negative and always complaining, reminiscing about the past, we can never move forward to the future.  Just dwelling on the past will do us no good.  We must be a solution, not a problem!   By being negative, we add another problem to our problems!  Those who do not go beyond their problems and see them as challenges to growth and as opportunities will miss the chance to find new life.  This was what Jesus warned the Jews.  “You will die in your sins!”

Rather, we are called to find faith in Jesus who is the answer to the mystery of life.  The Constitution of the Church says,  “Nevertheless, in the face of the modern development of the world, the number constantly swells of the people who raise the most basic questions or recognize them with a new sharpness: what is man? What is this sense of sorrow, of evil, of death, which continues to exist despite so much progress? What purpose have these victories purchased at so high a cost? What can man offer to society, what can he expect from it? What follows this earthly life?  The Church firmly believes that Christ, who died and was raised up for all, can through His Spirit offer man the light and the strength to measure up to his supreme destiny. Nor has any other name under the heaven been given to man by which it is fitting for him to be saved. She likewise holds that in her most benign Lord and Master can be found the key, the focal point and the goal of man, as well as of all human history. The Church also maintains that beneath all changes there are many realities which do not change and which have their ultimate foundation in Christ, Who is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever.” (GS 10)

This was what Jesus was asking of the Jews; to place their faith in Him.  This is because only someone who comes from above can reveal to us who God is and who we are.  “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I have told you already: You will die in your sins. Yes, if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”  St John wrote, “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.”  (Jn 1:18)   Only He can truly reveal to us our identity and calling in life.   Jesus is the Word of God.  He said, “I do nothing of myself: what the Father has taught me is what I preach; he who sent me is with me, and has not left me to myself, for I always do what pleases him’.”  Truly, Jesus is our mediator with the Father.  For this reason, we affirm that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  As Christians, we cannot claim less for Jesus because to do so would be to contradict the claims of Jesus as having come from the heart of His Father.

But how can we be so certain that Jesus is truly from the Father?  Precisely, only at the passion, death and resurrection of Christ can we come to understand fully that Jesus is the Christ.  Without the death and resurrection of Christ, we will, like the Jews, not be able to understand what Jesus was saying about His “going away”. This, we know on hindsight, is His return to the Father at His death, resurrection and ascension.   Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He.”   The phrase “lifted up” refers to the cross when Jesus was lifted up, to His resurrection when He was raised up; and finally, at His ascension when He was lifted up.  So the testimony of Christ as the Son of God is not from man but from the Father Himself.  Jesus reiterated, “About you I have much to say and much to condemn; but the one who sent me is truthful, and what I have learnt from him I declare to the world.”  God is the judge and the vindicator of the truth of what Jesus taught and revealed to us.

We read that “as he was saying this, many came to believe in him.”  Let us today make an act of faith in the Lord.   How can we find faith in the Lord as the Christ, the Son of God?   Jesus fulfills the Old Testament when the serpent that was raised up on the standard healed the Israelites of their sins.  So, if we contemplate on the passion, death and resurrection of Christ, we too can gain faith in Him.  When we see the suffering of Christ on the cross and His love for us, we would be moved by His love and find forgiveness in Him.  Isaiah prophesied, “See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. Just as there were many who were astonished at him – so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of mortals – so he shall startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; or that which had not been told them they shall see, and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.”  (Is 52:13-15)

Today, we must make our decision for Christ.  He said to them, “I am going away; you will look for me and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.”   They would miss this great opportunity of encountering God if they did not come to Jesus.  Instead, like the Israelites, they would die in their sins.  We too, must take this warning seriously.   Opportunities lost could be lost forever.  If we are given the grace to know Christ, then we must grab the opportunity.  Delay no longer.  Say Yes to Jesus.  Time and tide waits for no man.  If we do not make the decision for Christ, we will lose out because we cannot become what we are meant to be.  Our sins will prevent us from seeing what we are called to be, ie, our dignity as sons and daughters of God.  If the world is in a mess, it is because without Christ, the world has no meaning and purpose.  The world cannot achieve its purpose except when we glorify it through Christ by using it for the service of humanity, for love and for peace.

Truly, with the psalmist, let us remember His love for us.  Let us recall those times when He had helped us, instead of feeling abandoned and lose confidence in His love for us.  “The nations shall fear the name of the Lord and all the earth’s kings your glory, when the Lord shall build up Zion again and appear in all his glory.  Then he will turn to the prayers of the helpless; he will not despise their prayers.  Let this be written for ages to come that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord; for the Lord leaned down from his sanctuary on high.  He looked down from heaven to the earth that he might hear the groans of the prisoners and free those condemned to die.”

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