20170311 COMMITTING OUR CAUSE TO THE LORD
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Isaiah 49:1-6 ©
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Islands, listen to
me,
pay attention,
remotest peoples.
The Lord called me
before I was born,
from my mother’s womb
he pronounced my name.
He made my mouth a
sharp sword,
and hid me in the
shadow of his hand.
He made me into a
sharpened arrow,
and concealed me in
his quiver.
He said to me, ‘You
are my servant (Israel)
in whom I shall be
glorified’;
while I was thinking,
‘I have toiled in vain,
I have exhausted
myself for nothing’;
and all the while my
cause was with the Lord,
my reward with my
God.
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.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm
70(71):1-6,15,17 ©
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My lips will tell
of your help.
In you, O Lord, I
take refuge;
let me
never be put to shame.
In your justice
rescue me, free me:
pay heed
to me and save me.
My lips will tell
of your help.
Be a rock where I can
take refuge,
a mighty
stronghold to save me;
for you
are my rock, my stronghold.
Free me from the hand
of the wicked.
My lips will tell
of your help.
It is you, O Lord,
who are my hope,
my trust,
O Lord, since my youth.
On you I have leaned
from my birth,
from my
mother’s womb you have been my help.
My lips will tell
of your help.
My lips will tell of
your justice
and day
by day of your help.
O God, you have
taught me from my youth
and I
proclaim your wonders still.
My lips will tell
of your help.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Glory and praise to
you, O Christ!
Hail to you, our
King!
Obedient to the
Father, you were led to your crucifixion
as a meek lamb is led
to the slaughter.
Glory and praise to
you, O Christ!
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Gospel
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John
13:21-33,36-38 ©
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While at supper with
his disciples, Jesus was troubled in spirit and declared, ‘I tell you most
solemnly, one of you will betray me.’ The disciples looked at one another,
wondering which he meant. The disciple Jesus loved was reclining next to Jesus;
Simon Peter signed to him and said, ‘Ask who it is he means’, so leaning back
on Jesus’ breast he said, ‘Who is it, Lord?’ ‘It is the one’ replied Jesus ‘to
whom I give the piece of bread that I shall dip in the dish.’ He dipped the
piece of bread and gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. At that instant,
after Judas had taken the bread, Satan entered him. Jesus then said, ‘What you
are going to do, do quickly.’ None of the others at table understood the reason
he said this. Since Judas had charge of the common fund, some of them thought
Jesus was telling him, ‘Buy what we need for the festival’, or telling him to
give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the piece of bread he
went out. Night had fallen.
When he
had gone Jesus said:
‘Now has the Son of
Man been glorified,
and in him God has
been glorified.
If God has been
glorified in him,
God will in turn
glorify him in himself,
and will glorify him
very soon.
‘My little children,
I shall not be with
you much longer.
You will look for me,
And, as I told the
Jews,
where I am going, you
cannot come.’
Simon
Peter said, ‘Lord, where are you going?’ Jesus replied, ‘Where I am going you
cannot follow me now; you will follow me later.’ Peter said to him, ‘Why can’t
I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.’ ‘Lay down your life for
me?’ answered Jesus. ‘I tell you most solemnly, before the cock crows you will
have disowned me three times.’
COMMITTING
OUR CAUSE TO THE LORD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [
ISAIAH 49:1–6;
JOHN 13:21-38]
Like the Suffering Servant, all of us are
called by the Lord to serve Him by being His witnesses of light and love in the
world. This was what He 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.” Our call to serve the Lord goes
beyond serving our own kind, that is, our loved ones, but our fellowmen as
well. Many of us are willing to serve God but in truth we are
serving ourselves. We only care for those whom we love, especially our
family members. But we are blind to the needs of the community,
especially those who are suffering and in need. The love that we have is
confined only to our dear ones. This is not the kind of service that
Christ envisaged. It is a service to all. Our love must be
inclusive. This is the love and service of the Suffering Servant of
Isaiah and our Lord.
Secondly, this call was given to us even
before we were born. “The Lord called me before I was born; from my
mother’s womb he pronounced my name.” Every call and vocation is unique.
There is no basis for comparison. Vanity it is for us to ask why I am not
a doctor or a teacher or a priest, etc. It is the Lord who calls us and
He has a special role for us to fulfill in His divine plan. To
each, He provides us the necessary charism to do our work. The Suffering
Servant said, “He made my mouth a sharp sword, and hid me in the shadow of his
hand. He made me into a sharpened arrow, and concealed me in his quiver.” In
this way, he could be a true prophet of His word and strike the hearts of the
people by his preaching and prophecy. Indeed, the Lord has formed him “in
the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, to gather Israel to
him.” So our vocation is not by chance nor is our life meant to be lived in
vain, without a purpose or without a role for the service of His people.
We are not created to live for ourselves but to live for others.
Otherwise, life has no meaning or purpose. We are created by love and for
love.
In a special way,
Jesus took upon Himself as the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Suffering
Servant. He taught many times in the gospel that He had come as a servant
to serve and give His life as a ransom for many. (cf Mk 10:45) St Paul in
his letter to the Philippians described Him as a servant as well. “Let the same
mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of
God, did not regard equality with God as something to be
exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being
born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled
himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a
cross.” (Phil 2:6-8)
Thirdly, our vocation must be seen in the
overall context of a bigger plan of God. This is true of the Suffering
Servant and also true of Jesus and all of us. Within this context,
we can appreciate why the bible often sees the enfolding of the history of
Israel as all within the plan of God, including the death of Jesus. He
enlightened the disciples at Emmaus, “’Oh, how foolish you are, and how
slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not
necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his
glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them
the things about himself in all the scriptures.” (Lk 24:25-27) So in
the plan of God, nothing happens by chance. God works everything to our
good if we cooperate with Him. St Paul wrote, “We know that all
things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according
to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be
conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn
within a large family. And those whom he predestined, he also called; and
those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also
glorified.” (Rom 8:28-30)
Fourthly, we must realize that our task
is simply to fulfill the plan of God and to do His will. To be a servant
does not mean to be ambitious like the apostles who were seeking for power and
places of honour. It does not matter whether we are successful in
worldly terms or failures in the eyes of the world. We should not be too
concerned what kind of name we are crafting for ourselves in history.
What is more important is that we are faithful. Indeed, when the
Suffering Servant was lamenting his failure, thinking that he had “toiled in
vain” and exhausted himself “for nothing”, the Lord assured him, “You are my
servant (Israel) in whom I shall be glorified.” The truth, as the
Suffering Servant discovered, was that God was with him. He might seem to
have lost the battle but God was winning the battle for him. He said,
“all the while my cause was with the Lord, my reward with my God. I was
honoured in the eyes of the Lord, my God was my strength.”
For this reason, in all that we do, we
must entrust our cause to the Lord, since that calling came from Him. We
should not allow disappointments and failures to upset us too
easily. If we are called to do the Lord’s will and if we seek His
will, not ours, then there is no failure, even when the world considers it a failure.
It is only a failure when we do not cooperate with His grace, regardless how
successful we are in the world. Consequently, in whatever we do, we
must trust in the Lord who is our refuge and strength. He is the Lord of
Hosts. As the psalmist says, “In you, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never
be put to shame. In your justice rescue me, free me: pay heed to me and save
me. Be a rock where I can take refuge, a mighty stronghold to save me; for you
are my rock, my stronghold.”
Like Jesus, although troubled in spirit,
He did not flinch from doing the will of His Father. Humanly, He felt the
pain of betrayal by Judas, one of the Twelve. There is no greater pain
than that of being betrayed by people closest to us and those whom we trust most.
Even St Peter who professed his love and loyalty failed Him like the rest. He
did not stop Judas from going against the plan of God. Jesus accepted the
weaknesses of His apostles. Like St Peter, we all make great professions
of love and loyalty, but when it comes to living out our promises, we
fail. This is true in marriage and even in priestly and religious
commitments. We take beautiful vows only to break them. Jesus was
not idealistic. He knew the weak nature of us all. And so with St
Peter, Jesus remarked, “Lay down your life for me? I tell you most solemnly,
before the cock crows you will have disowned me three times.”
But He knew that somehow God would have
the upper hand, not Judas or wicked men. On the contrary, He saw this in
the light of faith, for He said, “Now has the Son of Man been glorified, and in
him God has been glorified. If God has been glorified in him, God will in turn
glorify him in himself, and will glorify him very soon.” Through the
betrayal of Judas and His death, He would glorify the Father by showing us His
love and mercy; and in turn the Father will glorify Him by raising Him from the
dead. He knew that after the threefold denial of Peter, there will be a
threefold affirmation of His love. So in confidence, let us follow the path
of the psalmist and pray confidently when we feel like giving up or when we
feel so helpless. “Free me from the hand of the wicked. It is you, O Lord, who
are my hope, my trust, O Lord, since my youth. On you I have leaned from my
birth, from my mother’s womb you have been my help.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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