20170702
DEAD TO SIN BUT ALIVE FOR GOD IN CHRIST JESUS
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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2 Kings 4:8-11,13-16 ©
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One day as Elisha was on his way to Shunem, a woman of rank who
lived there pressed him to stay and eat there. After this he always broke his
journey for a meal when he passed that way. She said to her husband, ‘Look, I
am sure the man wno is constantly passing our way must be a holy man of God.
Let us build him a small room on the roof, and put him a bed in it, and a table
and chair and lamp; whenever he comes to us he can rest there.’ One day when he
came, he retired to the upper room and lay down. He said to his servant Gehazi,
‘Call our Shunammitess. Tell her this: “Look, you have gone to all this trouble
for us, what can we do for you? Is there anything you would like said for you
to the king or to the commander of the army?”’ But she replied, ‘I live with my
own people about me.’ ‘What can be done for her then?’ he asked. Gehazi
answered, ‘Well, she has no son and her husband is old.’ Elisha said, ‘Call
her.’ The servant called her and she stood at the door. This time next year,’
he said ‘you will hold a son in your arms.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 88(89):2-3,16-19 ©
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I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord;
through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth.
Of this I am sure, that your love lasts for ever,
that your truth is firmly established as the heavens.
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
Happy the people who acclaim such a king,
who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,
who find their joy every day in your name,
who make your justice the source of their bliss.
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
For it is you, O Lord, who are the glory of their strength;
by your favour it is that our might is exalted;
for our ruler is in the keeping of the Lord;
our king in the keeping of the Holy One of Israel.
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
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Second reading
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Romans 6:3-4,8-11 ©
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When we were baptised in Christ Jesus we were baptised in his
death; in other words, when we were baptised we went into the tomb with him and
joined him in death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s
glory, we too might live a new life.
But we
believe that having died with Christ we shall return to life with him: Christ,
as we know, having been raised from the dead will never die again. Death has no
power over him any more. When he died, he died, once for all, to sin, so his
life now is life with God; and in that way, you too must consider yourselves to
be dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Ac16:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord,
to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!
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Or
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1P2:9
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Alleluia, alleluia!
You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a people set apart to sing the praises of God,
who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 10:37-42 ©
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Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘Anyone who prefers father
or mother to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who prefers son or daughter to me
is not worthy of me. Anyone who does not take his cross and follow in my
footsteps is not worthy of me. Anyone who finds his life will lose it; anyone
who loses his life for my sake will find it.
‘Anyone who
welcomes you welcomes me; and those who welcome me welcome the one who sent me.
‘Anyone who
welcomes a prophet will have a prophet’s reward; and anyone who welcomes a holy
man will have a holy man’s reward.
‘If anyone
gives so much as a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is
a disciple, then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his
reward.’
DEAD TO SIN BUT ALIVE FOR GOD IN CHRIST JESUS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 2 KGS 4:8-11.14-16; PS 89:2-3,16-19; ROM 6:3-4.8-11; MT 10:37-42 ]
The world is
most fearful of death. This is because it believes we have only one life on this
earth; that we are just like the rest of creation, the plants and the animals.
There is no hope beyond this life. Once we are dead, we disappear from
this world completely. We have no soul, no immortality and no life after
death and least of all, no resurrection. Understandably, people seek to
prolong their life. Instead of looking forward to the resurrection, they
want to clone themselves so that they can live forever. Otherwise, to
hide their fear of death, they go for makeovers so that they appear forever
young. We are afraid to be reminded of the mortality and the shortness of
life.
If life is
short and there is only one life, the philosophy of most people is to enjoy all
they can and grab as much for themselves. Why should they care
for others? Why should they sacrifice for others? Why should they
suffer for the good of others? Why can’t they just pamper themselves and enjoy
life like the Rich Man in the gospel. So it is the survival of the
fittest. Everything revolves around the person. To make himself
happy, he indulges in the things of this world. Believing that he has no soul,
he seeks to satisfy his body with all the comforts, food and sensuality of this
world. He is the modern epicurean of our day. Life is nothing but a
search for pleasure.
As a result
they are dead to sin. In order to have more for themselves or to satisfy
themselves, they make use of people for their sexual pleasure or for wealth,
power and status. It is not about others but about themselves. They are
only good to those who can be useful to them or can satisfy their needs.
People are treated as things to be used and manipulated, not to be loved.
Often, the greed for things, the envy we have for others who are better than
us, our desire for food and pleasure and sex, cause us to be proud and
angry. Such a life of debauchery and sensuality, envy and jealousy is
what makes us dead in sin. There is no life because there is no real love
in our hearts. So whilst we appear to be alive, we are dead.
In place of
such an aimless and meaningless life, Jesus comes to offer us the fullness of
life.
“Anyone who finds his life will lose it; anyone who loses his life for my sake
will find it.” To find life, we need to give our life away. Only
those who die to themselves, to their selfishness and pride, can live joyfully
and happily because they are capable of love and service. The joy that
comes from authentic love and service is a joy that is out of this world and
the pleasures of this world cannot be compared to the joy of
loving. Pleasures have a limit and a saturation point. We get
sick and tired of food and sex and travelling after sometime. But with
joy, it never arrives. Pleasures have diminishing returns whereas
joy grows from strength to strength and move to a higher point in life.
Consequently,
the way to peace and joy in life is to die to sin, which is a form of spiritual
death at work in us. One who lives in sin cannot be happy and at peace.
How can a greedy, selfish, proud, egoistic, envious, angry, resentful,
promiscuous and unfaithful person be at peace? St Paul tells us that the
wages of sin is death. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God
is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 6:23)
The irony is that those who fear death are those who are already living an
eternal death. They are bodily alive but the soul is dead. The
heart is dead. They are not capable of love, of sacrifice and of
giving. Hence, St Paul urges us to conquer sin and the fear of
death so that we can truly live. How do we overcome sin and death?
St Paul
invites us to join Christ in baptism. He wrote, “When we were baptised in Christ Jesus we were
baptised in his death; in other words, when we were baptised we went into the
tomb with him and joined him in death, so that as Christ was raised from the
dead by the Father’s glory, we too might live a new life.” To be baptized
is to enter into the tomb, that is to bury the sins of our previous life and
rise up anew, having been bathed in the Holy Spirit, we live a new life in
Christ. When we die to sin, we also die to death because as St Paul
wrote, “Death has no power over him anymore. When he died, he died, once for
all, to sin, so his life now is life with God; and in that way, you too must
consider yourselves to be dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus.”
This is
because the new life is a life in Christ. “But we believe that having died with
Christ we shall return to life with him: Christ, as we know, having been raised
from the dead will never die again.” We no longer live just for this
world but for the life that is to come. In the meantime, we have a
foretaste of the life to come by sharing in the life of Christ which is that of
giving oneself in love and service to others. This is what Paul wrote,
“For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died
for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those
who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was
raised for them.” (2 Cor 5:14f)
What is this
life of Christ? It is about meaning and love. It is about giving
and generosity. Jesus said, “Anyone who welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet
will have a prophet’s reward; and anyone who welcomes a holy man because he is
a holy man will have a holy man’s reward. If anyone gives so
much as a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a
disciple, then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his
reward.” We are called to serve and to give ourselves in service to
others in imitation of our Lord even unto death.
This entails
the cross as well. Jesus said: “Anyone who does not take his cross and follow in my
footsteps is not worthy of me.” Service in humility, giving ourselves to
others is a paradoxical joy unlike the happiness of the world. It is a
joy that comes from transcending oneself, going beyond oneself. In
service, there will be sacrifices, there will be pain and often we are
misunderstood, taken advantage of, humiliated and criticized. Yet, as the
disciples of Christ, we carry our cross cheerfully believing that love will
triumph over hatred; and life over death at the end of the day.
This is what
discipleship is all about. We have been chosen by the Lord to follow Him in
discipleship. To live out the life of Christ, we must necessarily put Him
as the center of our lives. “Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows:
‘Anyone who prefers father or mother to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who
prefers son or daughter to me is not worthy of me.’” This command might
appear to be unreasonably harsh. But the truth is that where our heart
is, that is where we put all our soul and energy. So too, choosing anyone with
one’s heart has consequences. If we choose money as our god, then
everything is measured by money. If we choose our loved one as the center
of our life, when the person leaves us, we will be crippled, failing to realize
that man is weak and life is short. But if we choose Christ, we will live
forever. So unless we put Jesus as the center of our life, everything
else would be out of focus and perspective. To make Him as the center of
our life is to place Him above everyone and everything else. It is to see
all things and all people through the eyes, the mind and the heart of Jesus.
The
conditions of discipleship might appear demanding. The cost of disciples
is great but greater is the joy as well. This is what the Lord is saying
to us. He did not speak about just the sacrifices but also the
rewards. He said, “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me; and those who welcome
me welcome the one who sent me.” When we serve others, the poor and the
abandoned, it is Christ that we serve. In the process of giving, we
receive the joys of God. This is the promise of our Lord when we
follow Him.
Today, we
have the shining example of the woman at Shunem. She was generous with
the prophet Elijah and was richly rewarded without her asking. The
prophet asked the Lord to take care of her. Indeed, the responsorial
psalm invites us to sing to the Lord. “I will sing forever of your love, O Lord;
through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth. Of this I am sure, that
your love lasts forever, that your truth is firmly established as the
heavens.” Those of us who are happy sing forever of His love because His
love is in our hearts. “Happy the people who acclaim such a king, who
walk, O Lord, in the light of your face, who find their joy every day in your
name, who make your justice the source of their bliss.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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