FINDING REAL HAPPINESS IN UNITY AND MUTUAL LOVE

20170408 FINDING REAL HAPPINESS IN UNITY AND MUTUAL LOVE

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Violet.

First reading

Ezekiel 37:21-28 ©

The Lord says this: ‘I am going to take the sons of Israel from the nations where they have gone. I shall gather them together from everywhere and bring them home to their own soil. I shall make them into one nation in my own land and on the mountains of Israel, and one king is to be king of them all; they will no longer form two nations, nor be two separate kingdoms. They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and their filthy practices and all their sins. I shall rescue them from all the betrayals they have been guilty of; I shall cleanse them; they shall be my people and I will be their God. My servant David will reign over them, one shepherd for all; they will follow my observances, respect my laws and practise them. They will live in the land that I gave my servant Jacob, the land in which your ancestors lived. They will live in it, they, their children, their children’s children, for ever. David my servant is to be their prince for ever. I shall make a covenant of peace with them, an eternal covenant with them. I shall resettle them and increase them; I shall settle my sanctuary among them for ever. I shall make my home above them; I will be their God, they shall be my people. And the nations will learn that I am the Lord, the sanctifier of Israel, when my sanctuary is with them for ever.’

Responsorial Psalm

Jeremiah 31:10-13 ©

The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.

O nations, hear the word of the Lord,

  proclaim it to the far-off coasts.

Say: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him

  and guard him as a shepherd guards his flock.’

The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.

For the Lord has ransomed Jacob,

  has saved him from an overpowering hand.

They will come and shout for joy on Mount Zion,

  they will stream to the blessings of the Lord.

The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.

Then the young girls will rejoice and dance,

  the men, young and old, will be glad.

I will turn their mourning into joy,

  I will console them, give gladness for grief.

The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.

Gospel Acclamation

Ezk18:31

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

Shake off all your sins – it is the Lord who speaks –

and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.

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

Or

Jn3:16

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

God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son:

everyone who believes in him has eternal life.

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

Gospel

John 11:45-56 ©

Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary and had seen what Jesus did believed in him, but some of them went to tell the Pharisees what Jesus had done. Then the chief priests and Pharisees called a meeting. ‘Here is this man working all these signs’ they said ‘and what action are we taking? If we let him go on in this way everybody will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy the Holy Place and our nation.’ One of them, Caiaphas, the high priest that year, said, ‘You do not seem to have grasped the situation at all; you fail to see that it is better for one man to die for the people, than for the whole nation to be destroyed.’ He did not speak in his own person, it was as high priest that he made this prophecy that Jesus was to die for the nation – and not for the nation only, but to gather together in unity the scattered children of God. From that day they were determined to kill him. So Jesus no longer went about openly among the Jews, but left the district for a town called Ephraim, in the country bordering on the desert, and stayed there with his disciples.

  The Jewish Passover drew near, and many of the country people who had gone up to Jerusalem to purify themselves looked out for Jesus, saying to one another as they stood about in the Temple, ‘What do you think? Will he come to the festival or not?’

FINDING REAL HAPPINESS IN UNITY AND MUTUAL LOVE

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ EZEKIEL 37:21-28; JOHN 11:45-56]

Man does not live on bread alone.  This is true but we do need the basic things of life; food, accommodation and clothing.  This is what the Church’s social arm such as Caritas and the SVDP ministry seek to do.  They try to supply the material and basic needs of life to those who are in need.  Just like the Jews, we need to see the signs of love.  Jesus in the gospel performed signs and miracles to help people appreciate the concrete and personal love of God. The religious leaders remarked, “Here is this man working all these signs … If we let him go on in this way everybody will believe in him.”  So clearly, unless we have the basic things of life, it is difficult to believe in a loving God.

Yet, whilst our basic material needs must be fulfilled, happiness and satisfaction in life is more than simply having our basic needs.  Indeed, it was the Israelites’ focus on the wrong things that caused them to be divided and suffer moral deteriorate.  By worshipping false gods and idols, the nation was destroyed and divided.  What we desire is love, peace and unity among ourselves and our fellowmen.   

Why is there so much division and lack of love in the world?  Firstly, it is due to fear.  We read in the gospel that  “Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary and had seen what Jesus did believed in him, but some of them went to tell the Pharisees what he had done.”  And instead of seeking to find out the truth about Jesus, they found Jesus a threat to their status quo. They called a meeting saying, “Here is this man working all these signs and what action are we taking? If we let him go on in this way everybody will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy the Holy Place and our nation.” So, the reaction was out of fear, for themselves, for the religious institution and for the nation.

Indeed, fear prevents us from being generous and caring.  If we are greedy and stingy, it is because we want to protect ourselves and our interests.  We are afraid we do not have sufficient for ourselves.  Protectionism in whatever form always springs from fear.  If we find ourselves lacking in generosity towards the needy, it is because of fear.  So to care for others and to feel for them presupposes that we feel secure ourselves.  Fear makes us selfish and self-centered.

Secondly, suffering sometimes could be caused by our own sins and irresponsibility.  We read that the Israelites defiled “themselves with their idols and their filthy practices and all their sins.”  They betrayed the Lord and broke the covenant.  Thus, it behoves us to examine ourselves how much of our sufferings could be due to our irresponsibility.  Quite often in life, we suffer because of the mistakes we have made in the past.  It is therefore important that, like the Israelites, we learn from our mistakes, and correct them if possible.  The sufferings of the Israelites were caused by their failure to observe the laws of God given to them for righteous living.  Indeed, disobedience and ignorance cause us to suffer the consequences of our sins.

The only way to peace and unity is when we are ready to sacrifice ourselves for the other.  This invitation to love is for all, regardless of whether we are materially rich or poor.  This was the case of Jesus.  He gave His life for the redemption of humanity and to reconcile people with each other and with God.  This was the prophecy made by Caiaphas, the high priest that year.  “You don’t seem to have grasped the situation at all; you fail to see that it is better for one man to die for the people, than for the whole nation to be destroyed.”

Indeed, Jesus came to gather us as a people through truth and love by His death on the cross.   St John made a footnote when he wrote, “He did not speak in his own person, it was as high priest that he made this prophecy that Jesus was to die for the nation – and not for the nation only, but to gather together in unity the scattered children of God.”  The death of Jesus was the fulfilment of the prophecy of Ezekiel when the prophet said, “I am going to take the sons of Israel from the nations where they have gone. I shall gather them together from everywhere and bring them home to their own soil. I shall make them into one nation in my own land and on the mountains of Israel, and one king is to be king of them all; they will no longer form two nations, nor be two separate kingdoms.”

Let us come to God who is our Good Shepherd.  He will unite us in love and unity.  The responsorial psalm says, “The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.  O nations, hear the word of the Lord, proclaim it to the far-off coasts. Say: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him and guard him as a shepherd guards his flock.’”  For this reason, beyond supplying material needs, we must give everyone the possibility of encountering God.  Only He alone can fulfil the desires of our hearts.  Only He alone can enlighten us in the truth.

We must invite the Lord to live and dwell in us.  We must give our hearts to the Lord.  The prophet said, “They will live in the land that I gave my servant Jacob, the land in which your ancestors lived. They will live in it, they, their children, their children’s children, forever. I shall make a covenant of peace with them, an eternal covenant with them. I shall resettle them and increase them; I shall settle my sanctuary among them forever. I shall make my home above them; I will be their God, they shall be my people. And the nations will learn that I am the Lord the sanctifier of Israel, when my sanctuary is with them forever.”

When the Lord dwells in our midst, then we will always be at peace, regardless whether we are rich or poor.  The rich man asked the master, “how one can be holy and yet rich?” The response is that he should not be attached to his money but instead see them as means to build love and make friends. A businessman failed in his business and was made a bankrupt and he asked the master how spirituality can help him. The master told him that it will teach him to have less.  Another man who was never satisfied complained to the master that his one room house was overcrowded as he has a wife, his parents and three children.  So the master asked him to bring his five chickens and two donkeys into the house.  He complained that the situation became worse.  Then master then asked him to remove the animals.   He felt the room was now more spacious.

As we approach Passion Sunday, we are invited to join Him to suffer and die in Jerusalem.  Like Him, we are called to surrender our lives for the salvation of others.  We are called to die for the love of others.  Those who are rich and wealthy must learn to share what they have with others.  Riches themselves are not impediments to holiness if we use them freely for the service of love.   When it comes to service, all of us can serve and share our time and resources with others, regardless of the extent of our material wealth. May we be ready to die to ourselves, our selfishness, our lack of responsibility, our worship of false gods so that we will be purified in love and service!

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