20170913
TRUE LIFE WITH CHRIST
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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Colossians 3:1-11 ©
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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.
That is why
you must kill everything in you that belongs only to earthly life: fornication,
impurity, guilty passion, evil desires and especially greed, which is the same
thing as worshipping a false god; all this is the sort of behaviour that makes
God angry. And it is the way in which you used to live when you were surrounded
by people doing the same thing, but now you, of all people, must give all these
things up: getting angry, being bad-tempered, spitefulness, abusive language
and dirty talk; and never tell each other lies. You have stripped off your old
behaviour with your old self, and you have put on a new self which will
progress towards true knowledge the more it is renewed in the image of its
creator; and in that image there is no room for distinction between Greek and
Jew, between the circumcised or the uncircumcised, or between barbarian and
Scythian, slave and free man. There is only Christ: he is everything and he is
in everything.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 144(145):2-3,10-13a ©
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How good is the Lord to all.
I will bless you day after day
and praise your name for ever.
The Lord is great, highly to be praised,
his greatness cannot be measured.
How good is the Lord to all.
All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,
and your friends shall repeat their blessing.
They shall speak of the glory of your reign
and declare your might, O God.
How good is the Lord to all.
To make known to men your mighty deeds
and the glorious splendour of your reign.
Yours is an everlasting kingdom;
your rule lasts from age to age.
How good is the Lord to all.
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Gospel Acclamation
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1Jn2:5
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Whenever anyone obeys what Christ has said,
God’s love comes to perfection in him.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Lk6:23ab
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Rejoice and be glad:
your reward will be great in heaven.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 6:20-26 ©
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Fixing his eyes on his disciples Jesus said:
‘How happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God.
Happy you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied.
Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh.
Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you,
denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice when that
day comes and dance for joy, for then your reward will be great in heaven. This
was the way their ancestors treated the prophets.
‘But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation
now.
Alas for you who have your fill now: you shall go hungry.
Alas for you who laugh now: you shall mourn and weep.
‘Alas for you when the world speaks well of you! This was the way
their ancestors treated the false prophets.’
TRUE LIFE WITH CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Col 3:1-11; Ps 145:2-3,10-13; Lk 6:20-26 ]
We all seek
true happiness in life. Where is life to be found? Those who are rich are
not necessarily happy. They who are successful are also not truly
happy. Even those of us who have beautiful families may feel that
something is missing in our lives. So not only are the poor, the needy
and the sick not happy, but even those who are seemingly doing well in life are
not happy as well. So where can we find real happiness in this life?
St Paul tells
us that true life is with Christ, and the life we have is hidden with Christ in
God. If we seek fullness of life, then we must come to Him who is the
Way, the Truth and the Life. (cf Jn 14:6)
And when Jesus asked Peter whether he would also leave Him, his reply was, “Lord,
to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to
believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” (Jn 6:68f)
So if anyone seeks fullness of life, then he or she must come to Christ.
With baptism,
we have been made children of God. But baptism is not just a ritual but an act of
dying to Christ in our old self and living a new life in Christ. St
John wrote, “Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet
been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like
him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him
purify themselves, just as he is pure.” (1 Jn 3:2f)
This calls for a death to the old self because as St Paul says, we have
died. The more we die to ourselves, the more our life hidden in Christ
will shine out in us. “But when Christ is revealed – and he is your life –
you too will be revealed in all your glory with him.”
For this to
be a reality, we “must kill everything in you that belongs only to earthly life: fornication, impurity,
guilty passion, evil desires and especially greed, which is the same thing as
worshipping a false god.” Indeed, desire for worldly things is the cause
of many of our woes. We desire sensual pleasures, fame, wealth and power.
In themselves they are earthly and acceptable. It is only when these
things control our lives and make us see them as ends in themselves that they
become idols. The truth is that when there is no true love in life, and
we allow our passions to take charge of our lives, and when we make use of
others for our vested interests, that such passions will lead to greed, envy,
pride, gluttony and anger.
Christians
must show themselves to be different from those in the world. St Paul advised us,
“And it is the way in which you used to live when you were surrounded by people
doing the same thing, but now you, of all people, must give all these things
up: getting angry, being bad-tempered, spitefulness, abusive language and dirty
talk; and never tell each other lies.” Allowing our passions to control us is
to show ourselves still under the bondage of the Evil One. When we are in
an angry state, we lose our temper and take it out on others. It shows
the lack of maturity and restrain in dealing with difficult situations and the
mistakes of others. The lack of self-control is a sign that the Spirit of
the Lord is not with us.
This is what
the gospel is suggesting through the beatitudes. These beatitudes are
about choices. Jesus gives us His blueprint for happiness in this world
and in the next. But the beatitudes are more than His words; it is
the encapsulation of His entire life on earth. He lived a life of
poverty, of total openness to the Spirit in whatever He did. By the power
of the same Spirit, He was able to stand courageous in the face of His
enemies. “Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh. Happy are you when people
hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as a criminal, on the
account of the Son of Man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy,
for then your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their
ancestors treated the prophets.” Jesus has turned the values of the world
upside down.
This is what
St Paul is calling us to do. He said, “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.” Yes, we are
called to focus on the things of heaven. In other words, we are to
see the spiritual aspect of our lives. To look for the things of heaven
is to look for what ultimately lasts in life. The things of this earth,
even if they are not immoral, are passing and only the means to enjoy the
transcendent values of this life. In themselves they can only give us
pleasure, which is passing. But we must seek for what ultimately makes us
happy. We must seek for values like truth, love and compassion.
These are the transcendent values of this life and hereafter.
It is within
this context that St Luke speaks about the mission of the Church to restore the
dignity of the poor and the hungry. St Luke is inviting us to share in the mission of the
Church, of giving preferential option to the poor. Care for the
marginalized and the poor is an obligation of the Church because all are
children of God. “How happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of
God. Happy you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied.” We are
also called to reach out to those in sorrow and to suffer injustices on account
of their needs. By reaching out to them, we share in their joy of
trusting in the Lord and being filled with good things. Whether we are
the givers or the recipients, we give joy to each other by being grateful
recipients or generous givers.
St Paul urges
us to strip off “your old behaviour with your old self, and you have put on a
new self which will progress towards true knowledge the more it is renewed in
the image of its creator; and in that image there is no room for distinction between Greek
and Jew, between the circumcised or the uncircumcised, or between barbarian and
Scythian, slave and free man. There is only Christ: he is everything and
he is in everything.” To be in Christ is to recognize that all of us are
brothers and sisters in the same Lord with the same Father. With
this renewed image, we can then treat our brothers and sisters truly as how we
treat our own blood brothers and sisters.
In the final
analysis, what is it that makes us happy in life? When there is sincere
love for each other, mutual understanding and support; compassion for the weak
and fellow sinners; forgiveness and acceptance. There will always be
enough food for this world if we die to ourselves and our selfishness.
There will be no poor people if only those who are rich are willing to share what
they have with those who have not; and those who have not are willing to work
responsibly for their food. But the truth is that whether it is the poor
or the rich, we are not living responsibly in our lives. For those of us
who have come to realize that we need very little to be happy in life, and
spend our lives in a labour of love and service for the poor, the
underprivileged and the wounded, we will find great happiness in life.
This is to share in the joy of our Lord.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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