20171102
HOPE IN GOD’S MERCY AND RESURRECTION
|
First reading
|
Isaiah 25:6-9 ©
|
On this mountain,
the Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoples
a banquet of rich food.
On this mountain he will remove
the mourning veil covering all peoples,
and the shroud enwrapping all nations,
he will destroy Death for ever.
The Lord will wipe away
the tears from every cheek;
he will take away his people’s shame
everywhere on earth,
for the Lord has said so.
That day, it will be said: See, this is our God
in whom we hoped for salvation;
the Lord is the one in whom we hoped.
We exult and we rejoice
that he has saved us.
|
Second reading
|
Romans 5:5-11 ©
|
Hope is not deceptive, because the love of God has been poured
into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us. We were still
helpless when at his appointed moment Christ died for sinful men. It is not
easy to die even for a good man – though of course for someone really
worthy, a man might be prepared to die – but what proves that God loves us
is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Having died to make us
righteous, is it likely that he would now fail to save us from God’s anger?
When we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, we were still enemies;
now that we have been reconciled, surely we may count on being saved by the
life of his Son? Not merely because we have been reconciled but because we are
filled with joyful trust in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we
have already gained our reconciliation.
|
Gospel
|
|
Matthew 11:25-30 ©
|
Jesus exclaimed, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of
earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing
them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do.
Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son
except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to
whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened,
and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle
and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is
easy and my burden light.’
HOPE IN GOD’S MERCY AND RESURRECTION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ISAIAH 25:6-9; ROMANS 5:5-11; MATTHEW 11:25-30 ]
Why do we
fear death? For most of us, we fear death not because this life is so great
that we are afraid to let it go, or that we will not be able to enjoy the
things of this earth anymore. In fact, there are so many miseries in this
life. The most part of our life is filled with pains and sorrows, with
some short reprieves in between. Yet, most of us still cling on to
dear life when we have to carry so much suffering and pain.
The real
reason why we fear death is our separation from our loved ones. Love is everlasting and does
not tolerate separation. When we are in love, the most painful experience
is to be separated from those whom we love. This is because love brings
union and death brings not just separation but total separation.
As a
consequence, the only thing that the world fears most is death because
it means annihilation. The world thinks that this is the only life
on this earth. We live without hope for a life beyond this earth.
That being the case, and realizing that we are handicap before the enemy of
death, the only thing we can do is to extend physical life on earth, whether
real or apparent. We are asked to take supplements to live
longer. Others go for a makeover to look young even when they are
old. But we cannot run away from death. We can try to mask the
enemy of death but death will come. We are helpless. This is what
St Paul wrote, “We were still helpless when at his appointed moment Christ died
for sinful men.”
Christians
who have faith in Christ however need not fear death because we know that
death is not the final word. Christ, by His death and resurrection, has
conquered both sin and eternal death. This hope is certain.
This, too, is the assurance of the prophet, “On this mountain he will remove
the mourning veil covering all peoples, and the shroud enwrapping all nations,
he will destroy Death for ever. The Lord will wipe away the tears from every
cheek.”
Indeed,
Christ has conquered the last enemy, which is death. Why is death the last enemy
to be overcome? This is because the fear of death is the cause of all
sins. Adam and Eve sinned out of pride because they wanted to live
forever without God having authority over them. Cain killed Abel out of
jealousy. All the seven capital sins of pride, envy, anger, sloth,
gluttony, greed and lust spring from fear of losing power, control, dignity,
food and our possessions including loved ones. But once death is
overcome, fear has no power over the person because as St Paul says in Romans,
the wages of sin is death and death loses its sting because of Christ’s victory
over death.
What does the
resurrection mean? What is this Christian hope that gives us so much
confidence and joy? The resurrected life is the attainment of the fullness of a
life. The glorified life of Christ transcends time and space. The
glorified body of Christ can walk through close doors and is full of the
Spirit. It is a life of communion and joy as described in the first
reading when we are reunited with our loved ones and with God. That is
why heaven is often portrayed as a wedding banquet, which is a symbol of life,
love and union. The prophet said, “On this mountain, the Lord of hosts
will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines,
of food rich and juicy, of fine strained wines.” One thing is certain;
the glorified life is full and complete, body and soul, united with the Father
and the Son in the Spirit and in communion with the Body of Christ. It is
a life lived with God and others. It is the fullness of life that the
earthly life cannot give.
So, in the
face of death, we need not fear. Like the psalmist, we pray, “The Lord is my light and
my help; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; before whom
shall I shrink? There is one thing I ask of the Lord, for this I long, to
live in the house of the Lord, all the days of my life, to savour the sweetness
of the Lord, to behold his temple. I believe that I shall see the Lord’s
goodness in the land of the living.” Death for us is not the end
but a transition. It is not ended but transformed. We do not
believe only in immortality of the soul but a resurrected body on last
day. So filled with the Holy Spirit that our life is but a participation
in the life of God.
How do we
know our hope is real? We have the first fruits of the Spirit. St Paul wrote, “Hope
is not deceptive, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by
the Holy Spirit which has been given us.” We all experience the love of
God in our hearts. We see the power of the Spirit at work in miracles and
in healing. We see the power of the Spirit uniting us all in love and
unity and forgiveness. Most of all, we know that Jesus was raised in the
power of the Spirit.
However
sharing in Christ’s resurrected life presupposes we share in His death. We must die to our
sins. We must first repent of our sins. We must cling to His
forgiveness. God is all merciful, as St Paul says, “It is not easy to die
even for a good man – though of course for someone really worthy, a man might
be prepared to die – but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for
us while we were still sinners. Having died to make us righteous, is it likely
that he would now fail to save us from God’s anger? When we were reconciled to
God by the death of his Son, we were still enemies; now that we have been
reconciled, surely we may count on being saved by the life of his Son?”
So with
confidence we turn to God for forgiveness of our sins. He has forgiven us and
now we must accept this forgiveness for ourselves. We are not merely
reconciled with Him but we are also “filled with joyful trust in God, through
our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have already gained our
reconciliation.” He has taken away our shame as the prophet
says. “He will take away his people’s shame everywhere on earth, for the
Lord has said so. That day, it will be said: See, this is our God in whom we
hoped for salvation; the Lord is the one in whom we hoped.”
Besides
praying for ourselves, in a special way, we want to show our solidarity with
the departed souls by praying with and for them. We pray that
they too can let go of those attachments, hurts and sins that hold them back
from being totally surrendered to God. We pray that they have the grace
to accept God’s forgiveness so that they can forgive those who have hurt
them. By showing our love for the souls in purgatory, we give them the
courage to let go and let God take over.
Finally, for
those of who are still grieving, let us place our entire hope and trust in the
Lord.
The psalmist encourages us, “I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the
land of the living. Hope in him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the
Lord!’ Jesus exhorts us, “Come to me, all you who labour and are
overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for
I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my
yoke is easy and my burden light.” Let us put on Christ and meditating on
His passion, death and resurrection, we find new hope and life. Sharing in
Christ’s sonship, we will know the Father’s love as Jesus did when He said,
“Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been
entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just
as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to
reveal him.” With the Father’s love in our hearts, we have nothing to
fear but only hope and security.
Indeed, we
know for certain that our lives will not end in nihilism but that we will live
forever in a new way with our loved ones whom we will meet again. But most of all, we
will be together with God, sharing in His life and fullness of love.
Indeed, “he will destroy Death for ever. The Lord will wipe away the tears from
every cheek.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment