20180105
SEEING GOD REQUIRES A CLEAR CONSCIENCE AND A
HEART OF LOVE
05 JANUARY, 2018, Friday, Weekday of Christmas Time
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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1 John 3:11-21 ©
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This is the message
as you heard it from the beginning:
that we are to love one another;
not to be like Cain, who belonged to the Evil One
and cut his brother’s throat;
cut his brother’s throat simply for this reason,
that his own life was evil and his brother lived a good life.
You must not be surprised, brothers, when the world hates you;
we have passed out of death and into life,
and of this we can be sure
because we love our brothers.
If you refuse to love, you must remain dead;
to hate your brother is to be a murderer,
and murderers, as you know, do not have eternal life in them.
This has taught us love –
that he gave up his life for us;
and we, too, ought to give up our lives for our brothers.
If a man who was rich enough in this world’s goods
saw that one of his brothers was in need,
but closed his heart to him,
how could the love of God be living in him?
My children,
our love is not to be just words or mere talk,
but something real and active;
only by this can we be certain
that we are children of the truth
and be able to quieten our conscience in his presence,
whatever accusations it may raise against us,
because God is greater than our conscience and he knows
everything.
My dear people,
if we cannot be condemned by our own conscience,
we need not be afraid in God’s presence.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 99(100) ©
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Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing for joy.
Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Know that he, the Lord, is God.
He made us, we belong to him,
we are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Go within his gates, giving thanks.
Enter his courts with songs of praise.
Give thanks to him and bless his name.
Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Indeed, how good is the Lord,
eternal his merciful love.
He is faithful from age to age.
Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Heb1:1-2
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Alleluia, alleluia!
At various times in the past
and in various different ways,
God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets;
but in our own time, the last days,
he has spoken to us through his Son.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Alleluia, alleluia!
A hallowed day has dawned upon us.
Come, you nations, worship the Lord,
for today a great light has shone down upon the earth.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Jn1:14,12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.
To all who received him he gave power to become children of God.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 1:43-51 ©
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After Jesus had decided to leave for Galilee, he met Philip and
said, ‘Follow me.’ Philip came from the same town, Bethsaida, as Andrew and
Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found the one Moses
wrote about in the Law, the one about whom the prophets wrote: he is Jesus son
of Joseph, from Nazareth.’ ‘From Nazareth?’ said Nathanael ‘Can anything good
come from that place?’ ‘Come and see’ replied Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael
coming he said of him, ‘There is an Israelite who deserves the name, incapable
of deceit.’ ‘How do you know me?’ said Nathanael. ‘Before Philip came to call
you,’ said Jesus ‘I saw you under the fig tree.’ Nathanael answered, ‘Rabbi,
you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.’ Jesus replied, ‘You
believe that just because I said: I saw you under the fig tree. You will see
greater things than that.’ And then he added ‘I tell you most solemnly, you
will see heaven laid open and, above the Son of Man, the angels of God
ascending and descending.’
SEEING GOD REQUIRES A CLEAR CONSCIENCE AND A HEART OF LOVE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1
JOHN 3:11-21; PS 100:1-5; JOHN 1:43-51 ]
We are still
celebrating Christmas and drawing out the implications of the birth of Christ. His birth was met
with faith or unbelief. In the scriptures, there were two groups of
people reacting to the birth of Christ, the Infant King of the
Jews. Those without faith saw Him as a threat and wanted to get rid
of Him. He was considered a nuisance and perhaps a possible source of
instability to the nation. But the humble people saw in Him the
king of kings. With faith, they recognized in the baby Jesus someone that
was from God and to be worshipped as King and Lord.
In the
gospel, we have sincere Jews seeking to see God and the Messiah. We have John the
Baptist who was waiting for the Messiah to come. When He came, John the
Baptist recognized Him immediately for who He was, the Lamb of God. He
asked his disciple to follow Him. We too want to see God like the early
disciples of our Lord, Andrew, Simon Peter, Philip and Nathanael. But how
can we see God?
The answer of
Jesus is “come and see.” (Jn 1:38) This was the same reply that Philip also gave to
Nathanael when he told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in
the Law, the one about whom the Prophets wrote: he is Jesus, son of Joseph,
from Nazareth.” When Nathanael asked, “’Can anything good come from that
place?’ ‘Come and see,’ replied Philip.” To come and see means to stay
with Jesus, to observe how He lived His life, what He thought and How He
related with His Father and others. To come and see is to learn from Him
how He lived and loved. This is what St John meant when he wrote, “That
which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our
eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim
concerning the Word of life.” (1 Jn 1:1)
Seeing Jesus presupposes that we are ready to have fellowship with Him.
Secondly, to
see the Lord, we need to have a clear conscience. This is the reason
why Nathaniel could recognize the Lord. He was a man incapable of deceit,
a man of integrity. Jesus said of him, “There is an Israelite who
deserves the name, incapable of deceit.” When Nathanael said, “How do you know
me?”, Jesus said, “Before Philip came to call you, I saw you under the fig
tree.” In other words, not only was he a man of sincerity but a man of
prayer and contemplation. Hence, Nathanael answered, ‘Rabbi, you are the
Son of God, you are the King of Israel.’” Only love enables us to see God
in man and man in God. We need to contemplate on His face, His life, passion
and death if we are to share in His birth and life so that His coming would not
be in vain.
This is true
of John the Baptist and the rest of the holy people as well. John the Baptist
said, “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And
I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told
me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who
will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is
God’s Chosen One.” (Jn 1:32-34) Simeon and Anna in the Temple of Jerusalem
too were upright, devout and praying people. (cf Lk 2:25-38)
Simeon, on beholding the child Jesus said, “Sovereign Lord, as you have
promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your
salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for
revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” (Lk 2:29-32)
In the
gospel, Jesus taught in His “Sermon on the Mount” that only the pure of heart
shall see God. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they
will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see
God.” (Mt 5:6-8) For those who are pure of heart, they can see
much more than those with evil hearts. Hence, He told Nathanael, “You
believe that just because I said: ‘I saw you under the fig tree. You will see
greater things than that.’ And then he added, ‘I tell you most solemnly, you
will see heaven laid open, and above the Son of Man, the angels of God
ascending and descending.’”
So those who
are evil in their hearts cannot see God. St John wrote, “This is the message as
you have heard it from the beginning: that we are to love one another; not to
be like Cain, who belong to the Evil One and cut his brother’s throat; cut his
brother’s throat simply for this reason, that his own life was evil and his
brother lived a good life.” When we are dead in sin, we cannot see the
goodness and love of God. St John wrote, “If you refuse to love, you must
remain dead; to hate your brother is to be a murderer, and murderers, as you
know, do not have eternal life in them.” St Paul wrote to the Romans,
“Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh
desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set
on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the
mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the
flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.
Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.” (Rom 8:5-8)
He also wrote, “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that
come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot
understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.” (1 Cor 2:14)
Fear and
guilt will also prevent people from seeing God. If we live in fear and in
guilt, it is because our conscience is not clear and we are not free from sin
and selfishness. If we fear death and judgment, it is because we know
that we are not worthy to come before the God of love and face the community of
love in heaven. Of course, it is not God who will judge us, nor the
saints in heaven, but as St John tells us, we will be condemned by our own
conscience. For this reason, he said, “If we cannot be condemned by our
own conscience, we need not be afraid in God’s presence.” In another
place, St John says that only those who are in darkness need fear the light.
Thirdly, to
see God, we must love our neighbours the way God loves us in Jesus. “This has taught us
to love – that he gave up his life for us: and we, too, ought to give up our
lives for our brothers.” We must live like our Lord in love and service,
emptying our lives like Him. Jesus, in no uncertain terms, is identified
with our fellowmen. “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the
least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Mt 25:40)
This is reiterated by St John when he wrote, “If a man who was rich enough in
this world’s goods saw that one of his brothers was in need, but closed his
heart to him, how could the love of God be living in him? My children, our love
is not to be just words or mere talk, but something real and active; only by
this can we be certain that we are children of the truth.” In the
incarnation, God has assumed our humanity. He is one with us and one of
us. Scriptures says, “Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and
sisters.” (Heb 2:11)
When we love our
brothers and sisters, then we will have a clear conscience before God and man. St
John said we can be certain that “we are children of the truth and be able to
quieten our conscience in his presence, whatever accusations it may raise
against us, because God is greater than our conscience and he knows
everything.” Why, then, do we still live in guilt and fear, especially
when we feel that we have loved our fellow human beings? The truth is
simply because that love is not pure. Only when we love purely and
selflessly, can fear be removed from our hearts. In other words, as St
John says, only when we live as children of the truth, even in love, will we
then be able to quieten our conscience in His presence. Thus, if our
conscience is disturbed, then we can suspect that the good spirit is unsettling
us in order that we purify our love for others. What then is pure love?
St John says that pure love requires that we give up our lives for others just
as Jesus gave up His life for us.
How then we
can overcome our inadequacy in love? The scripture readings of today teach us that fear can only
be overcome by love, both for God and for our fellow human beings. One
who loves has overcome all fear. Because if we love, then we know that
the love of God is living in us. So where there is love, we will not fear
God nor men, even, as St John remarked, when the world hates us. St John
said, “You must not be surprised, brothers, when the world hates you; we have
passed out of death and into life and of this we can be sure because we love
our brothers.” Consequently, today the gospel invites us to follow Jesus
just as Philip, Andrew, Peter and Nathanael did. Only by following Him,
in His life and in His death, can we find ourselves comfortable to be in God’s
presence and His saints because we will recognize ourselves to be one of them.
Otherwise, our conscience will condemn us to isolation, guilt and self-hatred
because we know that we have not loved.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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