20180317
STAND UP FOR JESUS
17 MARCH, 2018, Saturday, 4th Week of Lent
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Jeremiah 11:18-20 ©
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'Let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his
name may be quickly forgotten'
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The Lord revealed it to me; I was warned. O Lord, that was when
you opened my eyes to their scheming. I for my part was like a trustful lamb
being led to the slaughter-house, not knowing the schemes they were plotting
against me, ‘Let us destroy the tree in its strength, let us cut him off from
the land of the living, so that his name may be quickly forgotten!’
But you, the Lord of Hosts, who pronounce a just sentence,
who probe the loins and heart,
let me see the vengeance you will take on them,
for I have committed my cause to you.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 7:2-3,9-12 ©
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Lord God, I take refuge in you.
Lord God, I take refuge in you.
From my pursuer save me and rescue me,
lest he tear me to pieces like a lion
and drag me off with no one to rescue me.
Lord God, I take refuge in you.
Give judgement for me, Lord; I am just
and innocent of heart.
Put an end to the evil of the wicked!
Make the just stand firm,
you who test mind and heart,
O just God!
Lord God, I take refuge in you.
God is the shield that protects me,
who saves the upright of heart.
God is a just judge
slow to anger;
but he threatens the wicked every day.
Lord God, I take refuge in you.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ezk33:11
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Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
I take pleasure, not in the death of a wicked man
– it is the Lord who speaks –
but in the turning back of a wicked man
who changes his ways to win life.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
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Or:
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cf.Lk8:15
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Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Blessed are those who,
with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves
and yield a harvest through their perseverance.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
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Gospel
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John 7:40-52 ©
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The Law does not allow us to pass judgement on a man without
hearing him
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Several people who had been listening to Jesus said, ‘Surely he
must be the prophet’, and some said, ‘He is the Christ’, but others said,
‘Would the Christ be from Galilee? Does not scripture say that the Christ must
be descended from David and come from the town of Bethlehem?’ So the people
could not agree about him. Some would have liked to arrest him, but no one
actually laid hands on him.
The police
went back to the chief priests and Pharisees who said to them, ‘Why haven’t you
brought him?’ The police replied, ‘There has never been anybody who has spoken
like him.’ ‘So’ the Pharisees answered ‘you have been led astray as well? Have
any of the authorities believed in him? Any of the Pharisees? This rabble knows
nothing about the Law – they are damned.’ One of them, Nicodemus –
the same man who had come to Jesus earlier – said to them, ‘But surely the
Law does not allow us to pass judgement on a man without giving him a hearing
and discovering what he is about?’ To this they answered, ‘Are you a Galilean
too? Go into the matter, and see for yourself: prophets do not come out of
Galilee.’
STAND UP FOR JESUS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ JER 11:18-20; PS 7:2-3, 9-12; JN 7:40-52 ]
It is extremely
difficult to stand up for God and for truth. When we seek to do the right
thing and speak the truth, we will find much opposition from our enemies and
those who do not want to know the hard truths about themselves. This was what the
Lord revealed to Jeremiah. He said, “I was warned. Lord, that was
when you opened my eyes to their scheming. I for my part was like a
trustful lamb being led to the slaughter-house, not knowing the schemes they
were plotting against me, ‘Let us destroy the tree in its strength, let us cut
him off from the land of the living, so that his name may be quickly
forgotten!’”
They opposed
Jeremiah because their interests were compromised. Jeremiah was trying to get
the people to be faithful to the Covenant. But to his surprise, his own
people were plotting to get rid of him because he was a nuisance and an
obstacle to their pursuits. By condemning idol worship, he hurt the
interests of those involved in such businesses. In warning them about the
imminent consequences of their actions, he made the people feel depressed and
guilty. Today, people do not want to hear bad or negative news even if
these are true. They only want to hear positive things but not the
reality. If we do speak the truth, they think we are wet blankets and
they label us as “Jeremiah, the prophet of doom and gloom!” Worse still, if we
offend those in power, they will surely hit back at us. They become
defensive, like the political leaders of Israel when Jeremiah reprimanded them
for engaging in hypocritical politics and being more concerned for themselves
than the people they were supposed to serve. Regardless, Jeremiah was
hated simply because he challenged the people to do the right thing.
Truly,
Jeremiah was “like a trustful lamb being led to the slaughter-house”. So too many of
us. We join some Church ministries, innocently wanting to do good and
contribute our services to the Church and community, only to realize the
complexity of Church politics, arrogance of leaders, discrimination and
prejudices. Those who seek to speak the truth are silenced because
those in charge do not wish to hear them. And those who heard them become
defensive and retaliate. At times, we are sabotaged and our good name is
smeared because of jealousy, protectionism and insecurity. It is sad that
we have many good Catholics, priests and religious who have not just left the
ministry but even the Church, because of so much scandals and injustices,
leading to discouragement and disillusionment.
Jesus too
faced the heat in proclaiming the gospel. The authorities’ reacted negatively to
Jesus and perceived Him as a threat to their status quo. Jesus was
challenging their hypocritical leadership. Understandably, they reacted
and sought to protect their turf. “Some would have liked to arrest him,
but no one actually laid hands on him.” The chief priests and Pharisees
were unhappy when the police did not arrest Him. When the police
responded, “There has never been anybody who has spoken like him.” So they
tried to put Him down and convinced the people that Jesus was another rabble
and a liar. The Pharisees answered “you have been led astray as well?
Have any of the authorities believed in him? Any of the Pharisees? This rabble
knows nothing of the Law – they are damned.”
But in judging
Jesus without getting the facts correct, they themselves were breaking the laws
that they claimed to keep. Nicodemus sought to get an objective assessment of
Jesus. He replied, “But surely the Law does not allow us to pass
judgement on a man without giving him a hearing and discovering what he is
about?’ To this they answered, ‘Are you a Galilean too? Go into the matter, and
see for yourself: prophets do not come out of Galilee.’” Again, they did
not get the facts correct because Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
But both
Jeremiah and our Lord continued to proclaim the truth with courage. They
were not cowards who would back down from the truth of what they were
revealing. In John’s gospel, we read that instead of hiding or running,
Jesus, like Jeremiah, bravely stood before the people to teach without fear or
favour. We read at “about the middle of the festival Jesus went up
into the temple and began to teach. The Jews were astonished at it,
saying, ‘How does this man have such learning, when he has never been taught?’
Then Jesus answered them, ‘My teaching is not mine but his who sent me.
Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know whether the teaching is
from God or whether I am speaking on my own.’” (Jn 7:14-17)
If we have
doubts like those people during the time of Jesus, then we must continue
searching. “Several people who had been listening to Jesus said, ‘Surely, he
must be the prophet’, and some said, ‘He is the Christ’, but others said,
‘Would the Christ be from Galilee? Does not scripture say that the Christ must
be descended from David and come from the town of Bethlehem?’ So the people
could not agree about him.” So too, there are many who have doubts about
Jesus, the Catholic Church, the doctrines and moral teachings, etc.
Instead of seeking and finding out what the Church is teaching and the basis
for the Church’s position on certain doctrines and morals, many are choosing to
believe or not, based on their narrow thinking or personal preferences without
seeking the objective truth.
The Church
requires believers to give a religious assent of will and intellect even to the
ordinary teaching of the magisterium. “Bishops, teaching in communion with the
Roman Pontiff, are to be respected by all as witnesses to divine and Catholic
truth. In matters of faith and morals, the bishops speak in the name of Christ
and the faithful are to accept their teaching and adhere to it with a religious
assent. This religious submission of mind and will must be shown in a special
way to the authentic magisterium of the Roman Pontiff, even when he is not
speaking ex cathedra; that is, it must be shown in such a way that his supreme
magisterium is acknowledged with reverence, the judgments made by him are
sincerely adhered to, according to his manifest mind and will. His mind and
will in the matter may be known either from the character of the documents,
from his frequent repetition of the same doctrine, or from his manner of speaking.”
(Lumen Gentium 25) This means that the faithful should seek to understand
the position of the Church, that is, the mind of the Church and move their will
to obey what is taught. We must not behave like the Pharisees and the
Temple priests who made judgement about Jesus based on prejudices and
self-interests. Objectivity as Nicodemus tells us requires that we do not
“pass judgement on a man without giving him a hearing and discovering what he
is about?”
As we
approach nearer to the celebration of the Paschal mystery, we must pray for the
grace to be courageous in witnessing to the Lord and to the gospel. Like Jeremiah, we
must not give up too easily in the face of opposition. We must also not be
afraid to find out the truth about our doubts over certain teachings of the
Church. On the other hand, we must be ready to confront the falsehoods
perpetuated by those with selfish interests. In the final analysis, we must
trust in the judgement of God. The prophet entrusted his life and ministry to
the Lord saying, “But you, Lord of hosts, who pronounce a just sentence, who
probe the loins and heart, let me see the vengeance you will take on them, for
I have committed my cause to you.” We might have to suffer in silence at
times and seem to lose the battle in doing good and doing the right
thing. But let us remember that God will triumph in the end. We
only need to do our best and leave the Lord to decide how He would like to show
His face and save us. With the psalmist, we entrust our lives and
ministry to the Lord. He is our judge and vindicator. “Lord God, I
take refuge in you. From my pursuer save me and rescue me, lest he tear
me to pieces like a lion and drag me off with no one to rescue me. Give
judgement for me, Lord; I am just and innocent of heart. Put an end to
the evil of the wicked! Make the just stand firm, you who test mind and
heart, O just God! God is the shield that protects me, who saves the
upright of heart. God is a just judge slow to anger; but he threatens the
wicked every day.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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