20171024
GRACE IS GREATER THAN OUR SINS
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Romans 5:12,15,17-21 ©
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Sin entered the world through one man, and through sin death, and
thus death has spread through the whole human race because everyone has sinned;
but the gift itself considerably outweighed the fall. If it is certain that
through one man’s fall so many died, it is even more certain that divine grace,
coming through the one man, Jesus Christ, came to so many as an abundant free
gift. If it is certain that death reigned over everyone as the consequence of
one man’s fall, it is even more certain that one man, Jesus Christ, will cause
everyone to reign in life who receives the free gift that he does not deserve,
of being made righteous. Again, as one man’s fall brought condemnation on
everyone, so the good act of one man brings everyone life and makes them justified.
As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience
many will be made righteous. When law came, it was to multiply the
opportunities of failing, but however great the number of sins committed, grace
was even greater; and so, just as sin reigned wherever there was death, so
grace will reign to bring eternal life thanks to the righteousness that comes
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 39(40):7-10,17 ©
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Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings,
but an open ear.
You do not ask for holocaust and victim.
Instead, here am I.
Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
In the scroll of the book it stands written
that I should do your will.
My God, I delight in your law
in the depth of my heart.
Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
Your justice I have proclaimed
in the great assembly.
My lips I have not sealed;
you know it, O Lord.
Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
O let there be rejoicing and gladness
for all who seek you.
Let them ever say: ‘The Lord is great’,
who love your saving help.
Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Lk8:15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are those who,
with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves
and yield a harvest through their perseverance.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Lk21:36
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake, praying at all times
for the strength to stand with confidence
before the Son of Man.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 12:36-38 ©
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Jesus said to his disciples:
‘See that
you are dressed for action and have your lamps lit. Be like men waiting for
their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as soon
as he comes and knocks. Happy those servants whom the master finds awake when
he comes. I tell you solemnly, he will put on an apron, sit them down at table
and wait on them. It may be in the second watch he comes, or in the third, but
happy those servants if he finds them ready.’
GRACE IS GREATER THAN OUR SINS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Rom 5:12.15.17-21; Ps 40:7-10,17; Lk 12:35-38 ]
Often, we
feel defeated by our sins. We try our best to overcome our sins but again and again, we fall
into sin. St Paul wrote about his inner conflict. “I do not
understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing
I hate. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good
I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.” (Rom 7:15,18b-19)
As a result, we give up struggling against sin. We end up condemning
ourselves as hopeless and incorrigible. Most of all, in our sinfulness,
the devil will seek to destroy us by accusing us and making us feel more guilty
and useless. The book of Revelation says, “Now the salvation and
the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come,
for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and
night before our God.” (Rev 12:10) This is his strategy to lead us further away
from God by making us feel unworthy to come to Him. By staying further
away from the Lord, we will fall deeper into the trench of sin.
Secondly,
when we look at the situation of the world, especially in the face of
relativism, amorality and individualism, we are bewildered at what is
happening. Young people can no longer tell the difference between good and
evil. What is evil is now seen as good and what is good is now seen as
evil. We are confused by the messages the world is propagating through
the mass media, the kind of entertainment that is offered and the sensual,
self-centered and inward-looking philosophy of life. To add further to
the confusion is the lack of credibility caused by the scandals of both
political and religious leaders.
Thirdly, many of us are so
pessimistic about the salvation of humanity. There are many who
think that at the end of time only 144,000 out of billions of people in the
world would be saved, citing from the book of Revelation which says, “Then I
looked, and lo, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him a hundred and
forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their
foreheads. No one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four
thousand who had been redeemed from the earth.” (Rev 14:1,3)
Indeed, it seems that God created this world and it has got out of hand that
even God cannot handle the situation. What He created will mostly be
destroyed. But this is far from the truth. We must not forget also
that the book of Revelation also speaks about the salvation of the multitude.
“After this I heard what seemed to be the mighty voice of a great multitude in
heaven, crying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our
God, for his judgments are true and just.” (Rev 19:1f)
Indeed, this
is what St Paul wants to assure us in the first reading. The grace of God
is greater than our human sins and imperfections. “If it is certain that
through one man’s fall so many died, it is even more certain that divine grace,
coming through the one man, Jesus Christ, came to so many as an abundant free
gift. If it is certain that death reigned over everyone as the
consequence of one man’s fall, it is even more certain that one man, Jesus
Christ, will cause everyone to reign in life who receives the free gift that he
does not deserve, of being made righteous.” Indeed, Jesus is greater than
Adam, whose sin caused the death of all. Jesus, by His death and
resurrection, makes it possible for us to enter into eternal life because by
His death, we know that our sins are forgiven and by His resurrection, we know
that we are destined for eternal life; and by the giving of the Holy Spirit, we
are made sons and daughters of God.
Conversely,
it is the sin of Adam that brought us death. “Sin entered the world through one man,
and through sin death, and thus death has spread through the whole human race
because everyone has sinned.” The death that St Paul speaks about is not
just biological death. But it is the death of the soul. It is an
eternal death because we are lacking love and truth in our lives. We live
a life of sin. This is beautifully summed up in the letter of St Paul to
Titus when he wrote, “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led
astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice
and envy, hated by men and hating one another; but when the goodness and loving
kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of deeds done by
us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of
regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit, which he poured out upon us richly
through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and
become heirs in hope of eternal life.” (Tit 3:3-7)
Such is the
mercy and the power of God’s grace given to us in Christ. Only with this
grace, can we now live the laws of Christ. Only faith in the Lord who has shown us
God’s infinite mercy and forgiveness for our sins can give us the courage to
continue to grow in love each day and never to give up hope in God or in
goodness or in ourselves. With the psalmist, we will also desire to live
the laws, not because we are afraid of punishment or because of fear but we
choose to live the way of truth and love. “Here I am, Lord! I come to do
your will. You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings, but an open ear.
You do not ask for holocaust and victim. Instead, here am I. In the
scroll of the book it stands written that I should do your will. My God,
I delight in your law in the depth of my heart. Your justice I have
proclaimed in the great assembly. My lips I have not sealed; you know it,
O Lord. O let there be rejoicing and gladness for all who seek you. Let
them ever say: ‘The Lord is great’, who love your saving help.”
So what is
left for us now is to make the victory of Christ our own. The battle
has been conquered by Christ. We need to share in His victory
over sin by welcoming the love of Christ into our lives. This is what the
Lord is asking of us in the gospel. “See that you are dressed for action
and have your lamps lit. Be like men waiting for their master to return
from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as soon as he comes and
knocks.” Yes, we must be alert to the coming of the Lord daily in our
lives. We must not be like the servants who separate the sacred from the
profane, from the day of the Lord’s coming from their ordinary day. God
is present in every aspect of our lives. The truth is that He comes to us
in many ways through the kindness and goodness of our fellowmen. He comes
to us through our spouse, in-laws, parents, siblings, children, friends and
colleagues. It is true that we are weak and sinful but we are also
capable of goodness. So whenever we see goodness at work in a person’s life,
there the grace of God’s love is being poured out to us.
But we cannot
see the goodness of God and His grace each day because our lamps are not lit. We are blind and we
live in darkness. How can we light up our lamp if not through prayerful
watching, like the servants waiting for their master to return from the wedding
feast? We need to keep ourselves awake through the praying of the Word of
God, making time for silence and contemplation, looking at our life and
examining how the grace of God has been given to us and how we can grow further
in holiness, in truth and love each day. By keeping ourselves grounded in
the faith, in Christ, through a personal relationship with Him and through the
celebration of the Eucharist, the Lord will give us His grace. If we are
in sin, then we should make full use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation to
remove the blocks from our lives, be healed of our hurts so that once again we
can see the grace of God present in our lives.
Indeed, for
those who come to Him, the Lord promised that “he will put on an apron, sit
them down at table and wait on them. It may be in the second watch he comes,
or in the third, but happy are those servants if he finds them ready.”
Happiness is always symbolized in a meal in the bible. The meal is a time
of fellowship, joy, and fullness. That is why heaven is often described
as a wedding banquet because it is the celebration of love, life and joy.
We too, when we are in union with God and with our fellowmen, living a life of
truth and love, we will be filled with joy. The Lord comes to serve us at the
heavenly banquet because He wants to reward us with His love. Are
we ready to welcome Him in our midst here and now?
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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