20170416 ENTERING INTO THE JOY OF THE RESURRECTION
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
First reading
|
Acts 10:34,37-43
©
|
Peter addressed
Cornelius and his household: ‘You must have heard about the recent happenings
in Judaea; about Jesus of Nazareth and how he began in Galilee, after John had
been preaching baptism. God had anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with
power, and because God was with him, Jesus went about doing good and curing all
who had fallen into the power of the devil. Now I, and those with me, can
witness to everything he did throughout the countryside of Judaea and in
Jerusalem itself: and also to the fact that they killed him by hanging him on a
tree, yet three days afterwards God raised him to life and allowed him to be
seen, not by the whole people but only by certain witnesses God had chosen
beforehand. Now we are those witnesses – we have eaten and drunk with him
after his resurrection from the dead – and he has ordered us to proclaim
this to his people and to tell them that God has appointed him to judge
everyone, alive or dead. It is to him that all the prophets bear this witness:
that all who believe in Jesus will have their sins forgiven through his name.’
Responsorial
Psalm
|
Psalm
117(118):1-2,16-17,22-23 ©
|
This day was made
by the Lord: we rejoice and are glad.
or
Alleluia,
alleluia, alleluia!
Give thanks to the
Lord for he is good,
for his
love has no end.
Let the sons of
Israel say:
‘His love
has no end.’
This day was made
by the Lord: we rejoice and are glad.
or
Alleluia,
alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord’s right hand
has triumphed;
his right
hand raised me up.
I shall not die, I
shall live
and
recount his deeds.
This day was made
by the Lord: we rejoice and are glad.
or
Alleluia,
alleluia, alleluia!
The stone which the
builders rejected
has
become the corner stone.
This is the work of
the Lord,
a marvel
in our eyes.
This day was made
by the Lord: we rejoice and are glad.
or
Alleluia,
alleluia, alleluia!
EITHER:
Second reading
|
Colossians 3:1-4
©
|
Since you have been
brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in
heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on
heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth, because you have
died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ
is revealed – and he is your life – you too will be revealed in all
your glory with him.
OR:
Alternative
Second reading
|
1 Corinthians
5:6-8 ©
|
You must know how
even a small amount of yeast is enough to leaven all the dough, so get rid of
all the old yeast, and make yourselves into a completely new batch of bread,
unleavened as you are meant to be. Christ, our passover, has been sacrificed;
let us celebrate the feast, then, by getting rid of all the old yeast of evil
and wickedness, having only the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Sequence
|
|
Christians, to the
Paschal Victim
offer
sacrifice and praise.
The sheep are
ransomed by the Lamb;
and Christ, the
undefiled,
hath sinners to his
Father reconciled.
Death with life
contended:
combat
strangely ended!
Life’s own Champion,
slain,
yet lives
to reign.
Tell us, Mary:
say what
thou didst see
upon the
way.
The tomb the Living
did enclose;
I saw Christ’s glory
as he rose!
The angels there
attesting;
shroud with
grave-clothes resting.
Christ, my hope, has
risen:
he goes before you
into Galilee.
That Christ is truly
risen
from the
dead we know.
Victorious king, thy
mercy show!
Gospel Acclamation
|
1Cor5:7-8
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Christ, our passover,
has been sacrificed:
let us celebrate the
feast then, in the Lord.
Alleluia!
.
Gospel
|
John 20:1-9 ©
|
He must rise
from the dead
|
It was very early on
the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the
tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running
to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the
Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’
So Peter
set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the
other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first; he bent down
and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, but did not go in. Simon Peter
who was following now came up, went right into the tomb, saw the linen cloths
on the ground, and also the cloth that had been over his head; this was not
with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other
disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed.
Till this moment they had failed to understand the teaching of scripture, that
he must rise from the dead.
ENTERING
INTO THE JOY OF THE RESURRECTION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [
ACTS 10:34.37-43; PS 117:1-2,16-17,22-23; COL 3:1-4 OR 1 COR 5:6-8; JN 20:1-9]
In the responsorial psalm, we pray, “This
day was made by the Lord: we rejoice and are glad.” Do we really mean
what we say? Can we share that same joy of the Israelites when they were
set free from Egypt, or with the early Christians when they encountered the
Risen Lord? If we are to share their joy, we must enter into their
experience to be able to truly rejoice with them. If we cannot, it is
because we have no real experience of liberation and deliverance. Isn’t
this true in any event in life? If we are not part of the story, the
history, we cannot feel with those who are rejoicing or mourning. When we
see a tragedy, we will feel with the people who are suffering. Otherwise,
it is just an event.
So, if we are to connect with the
sentiments of the Israelites we must know their context. They were in
slavery, suffering harsh treatment from the Pharaoh. Through the
intervention of Moses and the miracles worked through him by the Lord, they
were eventually delivered from the power of the Egyptians. They were set
free from slavery, walked across the waters of the Red Sea dry-shod, and given
new life and new purpose. This was the context of the psalm when they
sang the song of thanksgiving and rejoicing. “Give thanks to the Lord for he is
good, for his love has no end. The Lord’s right hand has triumphed; his
right hand raised me up. I shall not die, I shall live and recount his
deeds.” It was an unimaginable experience of being liberated and redeemed
from the slavery of the Egyptians and the powerful Egyptian army.
In the same vein, we must seek to
understand the joy of the Church in celebrating Easter, the feast of the
resurrection. Those outside the Church will never understand what is so
great about Easter. For them, Easter is just another day. This is
because they think our faith in the resurrection of Jesus is a myth. Even
among Catholics and Christians, what excitement do we have when we think of
Easter? Are we overjoyed, like the early disciples when the Lord rose
from the dead? Perhaps not as well. Again, we do not have the
context. We might have the doctrines but we do not have the
experience. We have not seen the Risen Lord. We have not even seen
the Jesus of Nazareth in His ministry, not even His passion and death.
What we do not see, we do not feel. So, how can we ever rejoice as they
did?
Again, we must recapture the context of
their experience of the Crucified Lord. St Peter said, “God had anointed
him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, Jesus
went about doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the
devil.” For the disciples, Jesus was truly a man of God and the
anointed One. They saw His miracles and they were inspired by His
teaching. They were edified by His life and inspired by His love and
compassion for others. His tragic death was totally shocking. So we
can imagine how distraught they were, thinking that Jesus, their political
liberator, was killed by the Romans. All their hopes about the
establishment of the kingdom of God as preached by the Lord were crushed.
What was a great hope became a shattered dream! They were totally
disillusioned.
But when they heard that the Lord was
risen, it was yet another unthinkable experience. Again, we can imagine
the excitement of the disciples of Jesus. It began with Mary Magdalene
who was in tears after discovering the loss of Jesus’ body. After
which, Peter ran to the tomb with John and the body was not found. But it
was too good to be true that Jesus had been raised. We read that “till this
moment they had failed to understand the teaching of scripture, that he must
rise from the dead.” Indeed, it took them some time before they could
grasp the fact of the resurrection. It was too far-fetched and amazing.
Perhaps this is so for most of us as
well. We say that the Lord is risen. Is this what we are
celebrating? Is it true? Do we really believe? Are we happy?
Do we feel liberated? Or are we just repeating what others are saying. If
we are, then the signs can tell. We would be excited about Easter.
We would be ready to announce Jesus as our Risen Lord to the world. The
truth is that, like the women, we are silent because we have not yet seen the
Risen Lord. Our encounter with Him is not a personal encounter. For
many of us, it is just a testimony, part of the scriptures, but “of him, we
have not seen!”
In the case of the apostles, upon
encountering the Risen Lord, they could not resist telling the whole world
about Christ. “Now we are those witnesses – we have eaten and drunk with
him after his resurrection from the dead.” They had a first-hand
encounter of the Risen Lord. Hence, their testimony was convincing because they
knew the Risen Lord was the same Jesus of Nazareth, now risen and
transfigured. It was not a concocted story but a personal encounter with
Him. Indeed, they underscored the fact that they ate and drank with
Him. He was not a ghost. Only a body can eat. Spirits do not.
Their witnessing of Christ was not just
the fact that He was raised. More importantly, they also drew out the implications
of a criminal condemned to death for claiming to be king, and now raised from
the dead by the power of God. If the Father had vindicated Jesus in the
resurrection, He was at the same time, putting His divine seal on all that
Jesus had said and done. This means that the words of Jesus were
identical with the Father. As such, to reject Jesus is to reject the
Father. The conclusion therefore is that Jesus is the one who was
appointed by the Father. St Peter said, “he has ordered us to proclaim
this to his people and to tell them that God has appointed him to judge
everyone, alive or dead.”
So, how then can we enter into this
Easter Experience? Since we do not have the privilege of encountering the
Risen Lord as the early disciples did, our access to Him is via the testimony
of the Church. In the gospel, we read that like John, we must defer to
the judgment of the Church, represented by St Peter as the head. Although
John reached the tomb first, he was not the one who announced the resurrection.
It was the task of Peter as the head of the apostolic college.
By believing in their testimony, we too
can enter into that experience. Without faith, we cannot see the Risen
Lord. Faith is the key to entering into the Easter
experience. We must be ready to let go of the intellectual and cultural
prejudices of the Jewish leaders. Even Mary Magdalene was not able to see the
Lord initially because she was looking for Jesus of Nazareth. She did not
yet have the faith to see the Risen Lord. We too can allow our limited
knowledge and study, ego and pride to prevent us from being open to the reality
of the Risen Lord simply because we cannot explain how it was possible.
Intellectuals often cannot encounter Him because they want to reduce God to their
own level of understanding instead of admitting that the mysteries of God can
only be revealed by God Himself. Indeed, in conducting retreats, I always
find that those who use too much of their intellect often have great difficulty
experiencing the power of God at work in their lives. Only when they
humbled themselves before God, was the Lord then able to work in their lives
and reveal His love to them through a miracle, a healing, a vision or receiving
the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes, it is because our sins hinder
us from being receptive to God’s grace. When we are angry, bitter,
resentful and proud, we cannot see the Risen Lord. Our sins will blind us
from the light of the Risen Christ. This is why St Paul urges us, to
“celebrate the feast, then, by getting rid of all the old yeast of evil and
wickedness, having only the unleavened bread of sincerity and
truth.” The yeast of sin darkens our intellect and causes us to
look inwards instead of outwards. Our intellectual pride finds excuses
and justifications to reject Christ, lest in accepting Him, we have to give up
our sins and the life of slavery to the Evil One.
Following the surrender of our sins,
especially of pride, we must follow the way of St John who loved the
Lord. We read that “the other disciple who had reached the tomb first
also went in; he saw and he believed.” Real believing does not come from
physical seeing but the seeing of the eyes of love. Intimacy causes one
to believe without physical sight. Indeed, when there is love, no proof
is needed. We take the word of one whom we love for granted without the
need to verify. But when there is no love, we will doubt whatever the
person says. So too, our faith in the Risen Christ is strengthened
by love that comes from prayer.
Finally, the experience of the Risen Lord
is real when we experience a true liberation from fear, anxiety and sin, which
comes from living in Christ. St Paul wrote, “Since you have been brought
back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven,
where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand.” Now, we no longer
live for this earth and this life alone but we live for the fullness of life in
love and service which is our share in Christ’s resurrection.
Written by The Most
Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment