20180318
WE WANT TO SEE JESUS
18 MARCH, 2018, Sunday, 5th Week of Lent
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
|
First reading
|
|
Jeremiah 31:31-34 ©
|
|
I will write my Law in their hearts
|
See, the days are coming – it is the Lord who speaks –
when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel (and the House of
Judah), but not a covenant like the one I made with their ancestors on the day
I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that
covenant of mine, so I had to show them who was master. It is the Lord who
speaks. No, this is the covenant I will make with the House of Israel when
those days arrive – it is the Lord who speaks. Deep within them I will plant
my Law, writing it on their hearts. Then I will be their God and they shall be
my people. There will be no further need for neighbour to try to teach
neighbour, or brother to say to brother, ‘Learn to know the Lord!’ No, they
will all know me, the least no less than the greatest – it is the Lord who
speaks – since I will forgive their iniquity and never call their sin to
mind.
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
|
Psalm 50(51):3-4,12-15 ©
|
A pure heart create for me, O God.
Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.
In your compassion blot out my offence.
O wash me more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.
A pure heart create for me, O God.
A pure heart create for me, O God,
put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
nor deprive me of your holy spirit.
A pure heart create for me, O God.
Give me again the joy of your help;
with a spirit of fervour sustain me,
that I may teach transgressors your ways
and sinners may return to you.
A pure heart create for me, O God.
|
Second reading
|
Hebrews 5:7-9 ©
|
|
He learned to obey and he became the source of eternal salvation
|
During his life on earth, Christ offered up prayer and entreaty,
aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of
death, and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard. Although he was
Son, he learnt to obey through suffering; but having been made perfect, he
became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation.
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
Jn12:26
|
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Whoever serves me must follow me, says the Lord;
and where I am, there also will my servant be.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
|
Gospel
|
John 12:20-33 ©
|
|
If a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies, it yields a
rich harvest
|
Among those who went up to worship at the festival were some
Greeks. These approached Philip, who came from Bethsaida in Galilee, and put
this request to him, ‘Sir, we should like to see Jesus.’ Philip went to tell
Andrew, and Andrew and Philip together went to tell Jesus. Jesus replied to
them:
‘Now the hour has come
for the Son of Man to be glorified.
I tell you, most solemnly,
unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies,
it remains only a single grain;
but if it dies,
it yields a rich harvest.
Anyone who loves his life loses it;
anyone who hates his life in this world
will keep it for the eternal life.
If a man serves me, he must follow me,
wherever I am, my servant will be there too.
If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him.
Now my soul is troubled.
What shall I say:
Father, save me from this hour?
But it was for this very reason that I have come to this hour.
Father, glorify your name!’
A voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify
it again.’ People standing by, who heard this, said it was a clap of thunder;
others said, ‘It was an angel speaking to him.’ Jesus answered, ‘It was not for
my sake that this voice came, but for yours.
‘Now sentence is being passed on this world;
now the prince of this world is to be overthrown.
And when I am lifted up from the earth,
I shall draw all men to myself.’
By these words he indicated the kind of death he would die.
WE WANT TO SEE JESUS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ JER 31:31-34; PS 51:3-4,12-15; HEB 5:7-9; JN 12:20-33 ]
This is the
final week of Lent before we enter into Holy Week. The Church wants to
prepare us for the full revelation of Jesus as the Christ during the Holy Week
culminating at Easter. The full flowering of faith is when we come to
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Christ came not just
for the Jews but for the Gentiles as well. Hence, it is significant that
the gospel begins with some Greeks who “approached Philip, who came from
Bethsaida in Galilee, and put this request to him, ‘Sir, we should like to see
Jesus.’” This is good news for us all because it means that we too are
privileged to see the Lord personally as well. This is indeed our
desire. The whole season of Lent is to prepare us to see the Lord and
encounter Him personally as our Lord and savior.
To see Jesus
is more than just having an audience with Him. To see Him in
the bible is to believe. Earlier on in the miracle of the
blind man, Jesus said to him, “’You have seen him, and the one speaking with
you is he.’ He said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ And he worshiped
him. Jesus said, ‘I came into this world for judgment so that those
who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.’ Some of
the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, ‘Surely we are not blind,
are we?’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would not have sin.
But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.” (Jn 9:37-41)
And at the end of the gospel, the Lord said to Thomas, “’Put your finger here
and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but
believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my
God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen
me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’” (Jn 20:27-29)
How then can
we come to see the Lord and believe in Him as the Son of the Living God?
Right from the outset, we are told that the Old Covenant did not work. It was a failure.
“See, the days are coming – it is the Lord who speaks – when I will make a new
covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah, but not a covenant
like the one I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to
bring them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant of mine, so I had
to show them who was master.” Why did it fail? The commandments
were written on tablets and they did not change the hearts of men. In
fact, all throughout the journey from Egypt through the desert into the
Promised Land, the Israelites were unfaithful to the Covenant. This
is true for us as well. Although we know the commandments of God and of
the Church and even those teachings of Christ, we also fail to observe the
commandments. This is because our faith in Christ is not a personal
faith arising from a personal encounter of Him as the Son of the Living God.
So how does
God reveal Himself to us so that we will be convicted and respond to Him? He reveals
Himself to us through His death and resurrection. This is what
the Lord said, “’Now sentence is being passed on this world; now the prince of
this world is to be overthrown. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I shall
draw all men to myself.’ By these words he indicated the kind of death he would
die.” The lifting up of Jesus refers to His passion when He was
raised upon the cross, but it also refers to His glorification at His
resurrection as well. This lifting up has a double significance. In
other words, by His death and resurrection, Jesus would show forth His glory.
How is the
glory of God shown by His death? Jesus said, “Now the hour has come for the Son of Man
to be glorified. I tell you most solemnly, unless a wheat grain falls on the
ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a
rich harvest. Anyone who loves his life loses it; anyone who hates his
life in this world will keep it for the eternal life.” Only by
giving our life, can we reveal the love and mercy of God. The paradox of
life is that through death comes life. One has to give his or her
life, make sacrifices for others so that they might live. If we only care
for ourselves, not only will those who depend on us die, but we will eventually
die as well. This is because we will allow our selfishness and
self-centeredness to destroy us. The only way we can save our life is to
use it fully for the service of others. The more we give ourselves to
others, the more we learn and grow. In addition, when we grow, others
will grow as well.
Secondly, the
glory of God is shown in the way Jesus submitted to death. In contrast to the
disobedience of Adam, Jesus the Second Adam demonstrated what obedience
entails. “During his life on earth, Christ offered up prayer and
entreaty, aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him
out of death, and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was
heard.” Jesus suffered like any man. He knows every pain that
we have gone through. He understands our struggles and our physical and
emotional pain. But He also taught us obedience to His holy will.
In fact, Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane used His human will to do the divine
will. There is no excuse for us not to follow suit or exonerate ourselves
from doing the will of God since Jesus exercised His free human will in saying
“Thy will be done.” Indeed, the author remarked, “Although he was Son, he
learnt to obey through suffering; but having been made perfect, he became for
all who obey him the source of eternal salvation.”
Thirdly, the
glory of God is demonstrated in the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus is the
sacrificial victim of the New Covenant. He came to take away our sins by
His death on the cross. His death took away all our sins and assures us
of our forgiveness for on the cross, He prayed to His Father to forgive us for
our ignorance. This is what the New Covenant is all about. It
brings about a new relationship with the Father. “It is the Lord who
speaks – since I will forgive their iniquity and never call their sin to
mind.” It is an encounter with the Lord in our hearts and this
comes about through the forgiveness of our sins. Indeed, we are called to
encounter God’s love and mercy through the forgiveness of Christ.
Most of all,
the glory of God is shown in the victory of the cross. Jesus knew that His
death would be the ultimate power to break the power of the Evil One by
conquering the fear of death. (Heb 2:14f)
St Paul also wrote, “For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under
his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1 Cor 15:25f)
This is what Jesus meant when He prayed, “Now my soul is troubled. What shall I
say: Father, save me from this hour? But it was for this very reason that I
have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name!’ A voice came
from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ People
standing by, who heard this, said it was a clap of thunder; others said, ‘It
was an angel speaking to him.’ Jesus answered, ‘It was not for my sake that
this voice came, but for yours.”
But how did
Jesus find the strength and courage to undergo the passion and His death on the
cross if not from His own personal relationship with His Father? He heard the voice of
His Father assuring Him of His presence with Him. When God is on our
side, we should have no fear at all. This is what the prophet
Jeremiah said as well. “No, this is the covenant I will make with the
House of Israel when those days arrive – it is the Lord who speaks. Deep
within them I will plant my Law, writing it on their hearts. Then I will be
their God and they shall be my people.” When God speaks in our hearts,
we will have the strength to do His will.
Indeed, the
secret to seeing Jesus is always through the Paschal Mystery.
Contemplating on the passion and death and resurrection of our Lord is the key
to seeing Jesus. This is what St John Paul II wrote in his apostolic letter, Novo
Ineunte Milliennio, “Like those pilgrims of two thousand years ago, the men and
women of our own day – often perhaps unconsciously – ask believers not only to
‘speak of Christ, but in a certain sense to ‘show’ him to them. And is it
not the Church’s task to reflect the light of Christ in every historical
period, to make his face shine also before the generations of the new
millennium? Our witness, however, would be hopelessly inadequate if we
ourselves had not first contemplated his face.” (NMI, 16) Indeed,
we are called to turn to the scriptures especially to contemplate on the face
of our Lord, in His humanity and divinity, in His suffering, death and
resurrection. Only then can we identify ourselves with Him, dying with
Him and rising with Him to a new life.
Once we have
contemplated on His face and found mercy and healing, light and truth, we must
then be like Philip and Andrew and lead others to see Jesus. We do not see Jesus for
ourselves, but we are called to lead others to Him. Like the apostles, we
are called to introduce Jesus to those who do not yet know Him. Once we
have led them to Jesus, the Lord will take over. Our task is to lead them
to Jesus who will then teach them personally who He is. “There will be no
further need for neighbour to try to teach neighbour, or brother to say to
brother, Learn to know the Lord! No, they will all know me, the least no less
than the greatest.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment