20180415
MISSION TO MAKE SENSE OF THE MYSTERY OF LIFE
FOR OTHERS
15 APRIL, 2018, Sunday, 3rd Week of Easter
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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Acts 3:13-15,17-19 ©
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You killed the prince of life: God, however, raised him from the
dead
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Peter said to the people: ‘You are Israelites, and it is the God
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, who has glorified his
servant Jesus, the same Jesus you handed over and then disowned in the presence
of Pilate after Pilate had decided to release him. It was you who accused the
Holy One, the Just One, you who demanded the reprieve of a murderer while you
killed the prince of life. God, however, raised him from the dead, and to that
fact we are the witnesses.
‘Now I know,
brothers, that neither you nor your leaders had any idea what you were really
doing; this was the way God carried out what he had foretold, when he said
through all his prophets that his Christ would suffer. Now you must repent and
turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 4:2,4,7,9 ©
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Lift up the light of your face on us, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
When I call, answer me, O God of justice;
from anguish you released me, have mercy and hear me!
Lift up the light of your face on us, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
It is the Lord who grants favours to those whom he loves;
the Lord hears me whenever I call him.
Lift up the light of your face on us, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
‘What can bring us happiness?’ many say.
Lift up the light of your face on us, O Lord.
Lift up the light of your face on us, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
I will lie down in peace and sleep comes at once
for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.
Lift up the light of your face on us, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
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Second reading
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1 John 2:1-5 ©
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Jesus Christ is the sacrifice that takes our sins away, and the
world's
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I am writing this, my children,
to stop you sinning;
but if anyone should sin,
we have our advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ, who is just;
he is the sacrifice that takes our sins away,
and not only ours,
but the whole world’s.
We can be sure that we know God
only by keeping his commandments.
Anyone who says, ‘I know him’,
and does not keep his commandments,
is a liar,
refusing to admit the truth.
But when anyone does obey what he has said,
God’s love comes to perfection in him.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Lk24:32
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Lord Jesus, explain the Scriptures to us.
Make our hearts burn within us as you talk to us.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 24:35-48 ©
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It is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day
rise from the dead
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The disciples told their story of what had happened on the road
and how they had recognised Jesus at the breaking of bread.
They were
still talking about all this when Jesus himself stood among them and said to
them, ‘Peace be with you!’ In a state of alarm and fright, they thought they
were seeing a ghost. But he said, ‘Why are you so agitated, and why are these
doubts rising in your hearts? Look at my hands and feet; yes, it is I indeed.
Touch me and see for yourselves; a ghost has no flesh and bones as you can see
I have.’ And as he said this he showed them his hands and feet. Their joy was
so great that they still could not believe it, and they stood there
dumbfounded; so he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ And they
offered him a piece of grilled fish, which he took and ate before their eyes.
Then he told
them, ‘This is what I meant when I said, while I was still with you, that
everything written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and in the
Psalms has to be fulfilled.’ He then opened their minds to understand the
scriptures, and he said to them, ‘So you see how it is written that the Christ
would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that, in his name,
repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all the nations,
beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses to this.’
MISSION TO MAKE SENSE OF THE MYSTERY OF LIFE FOR OTHERS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS 3:13-15, 17-19; 1 JN 2:1-5; LK 24:35-48 ]
We can
imagine the confusion of the early disciples of Jesus after His death. Jesus was a great
teacher, down to earth and able to relate to the aspirations of the
people. He was also a miracle worker and a healer. They saw the
many miracles He worked in their lives. Above all, they saw in Jesus the
Messiah of the people of Israel and the deliverer from their principal enemy,
the Romans. However, it all ended in a tragic death so suddenly that they
were caught off guard. More perplexing still was that the people welcomed
Him as king and then demanded His crucifixion a few days later. The
death of Jesus was mystifying for His disciples as they tried to make sense of
this inexplicable event.
But that was
not all. Later on, they heard of stories where the Lord was sighted. It was too difficult
to believe because they saw Him crucified and pierced by the lance of a
soldier. Could a dead man, badly bruised, mangled and crushed be brought
back to life? Furthermore, it is important to take note that the Risen
Body of the Lord was not a mere resuscitation of the earthly body as in the
case of Lazarus. This explains why the sighting of the Risen Lord took
different forms. The disciples at Emmaus could not recognize Him
initially. And when they did, He vanished from their sight. (cf Lk 24:30f)
So too did Mary Magdalene, thinking that He was a gardener. (cf Jn 20:15)
The Risen Lord could also walk through locked doors. (cf Jn 20:19)
At times, the Lord showed Himself to have a real body when He showed His hands
and feet, and even ate with them. (cf Jn 20:20; 27; 21:12)
We too have
our own mystifying events in life. We cannot understand why certain
things are happening to us. Why did God take my loved ones away? Why did my
boyfriend break up with me when the relationship was apparently going on
well? Why am I struck down with cancer, Parkinson disease or loss of
hearing and sight? Why did I meet this accident through no fault of mine,
leaving me crippled? Why did the Lord take away my job, leaving me in the
lurch without a source of income? Indeed, we have a thousand and one
questions about our life, our struggles and our pains.
The answer to
the mystery of life is found precisely in the resurrection of our Lord. That is why faith in
the resurrection of Christ is central to the Christian Faith. Only with
His resurrection, can we explain all the mysteries of life. The
resurrection shows us that the final answer to life is not suffering and death
but liberation and a transfigured life. The resurrection of our Lord
shows that suffering and death have been overcome and the resurrection gives
meaning to all our struggles in this world. Christian life is orientated
towards the resurrection. The basis of Christian faith is that all sufferings
and pain prepare us for the fullness of life.
Only with the
resurrection, is death overcome. And of course, we know that the misery
of this world is caused by the fear of death. Those without faith in Christ fear death
because they think that death is the end of everything we stand for or live
for. They think that with death, their life is ended. So because
the world fears death, we sin against each other as we seek to perpetuate our
earthly life for fear of death. We grab, we fight, we seek for more
because we are afraid that we might not have enough or that we might have to
suffer. We are all afraid of suffering and pain. St Paul says, “the
wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord.” (Rom 6:23 cf 1 Cor 15:54-56)
So sin leads to death and the fear of death is the cause of sin.
Indeed, that
was how the disciples of Jesus came to terms with the death of Jesus.
They began to see the greater plan of God at work in our lives. The reason why
suffering and death makes no sense in our life is that we see them as isolated
events. When we see the events of our life as unrelated events, they do
not make sense. Life is a package and an integral process from suffering
to freedom, death to life. This was the case of Jesus. When the
disciples encountered the Risen Lord, they began to understand the plan of God
for humanity. They entered into the mystery of God’s plan for our
salvation. They came to realize that Jesus was the One that God had
prepared for humanity since time began. He said, “It was you who accused
the Holy One, the Just One, you who demanded the reprieve of a murderer while
you killed the prince of life. God, however, raised him from the dead, and to
that fact, we are the witnesses.”
They saw it
as a fulfillment of the scriptures. God planned it that way and it was
not a plan that went awry. God’s wisdom is beyond man’s wisdom. Jesus explained to the
disciples how He was the fulfilment of the scriptures so that their faith is
well grounded on truth. “This is what I mean when I said, while I
was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, in
the Prophets and in the Psalms, has to be fulfilled. He then opened their
minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, ‘So you see how it is
written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,
and that, in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached
to all the nations, beginning with Jerusalem. You are witnesses to
this.’” St Paul, upon meditating on the mystery of God’s plan exclaimed,
“O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!” (cf Rom 11:33)
Peter excused
the people for their ignorance. He was not angry with them or sought to
take revenge on them. “Now I know, brothers, that neither you nor your leaders had any
idea what you were really doing; this was the way God carried out what he had
foretold, when he said through all his prophets that his Christ would
suffer.” Although they killed their master, thinking that He was a
deviant and a troublemaker of society, the resurrection of Christ shows that
God was with Him and had endorsed all that He said and did. Indeed, we
too when we realize that our sufferings from the injustice of others, or
because of our sins and negligence, have made us a better person today,
stronger, more independent, more sensitive, forgiving and compassionate and
more aware of others’ sufferings, we can thank God. Then we too can
praise God for allowing such apparent negative events to happen in our lives
because they have made us better and more loving and grateful people.
With the
resurrection of Jesus, we can now confidently proclaim Him as Lord and
God. No one ever claimed to rise from the dead. What more when it
was a criminal that was put to death. The resurrection of Christ is the
seal of the Father on all that Jesus said and did. It was the vindication
of all the claims of Jesus, implicit and explicit. With His resurrection,
we believe in His Word, all that He has taught us about God, eternal life and
forgiveness of sins. With His resurrection, we believe in the Church and the
Sacraments based on His assurance.
Released from
fear of death and the unknown, we can now live loving lives as St John asks of
us.
He said, “We can be sure that we know God only by keeping his commandments.
Anyone who says, ‘I know him’, and does not keep his commandments, is a liar,
refusing to admit the truth. But when anyone does obey what he has said, God’s
love comes to perfection in him.” Christian love for all and Christian
service is the indicator that we are saved and are converted. Only those
who have faith in the resurrection can live their lives for others and not for
themselves because they know that the fullness of life is the resurrected life
of which we now have a foretaste. The resurrection is the answer to
what life is all about, our calling and our final vocation, which is to be with
God living a transfigured life.
There are so
many who are lost and in their own prison as they cannot find happiness and
meaning in life. They have no joy and hope for life. They have lost the
meaning, purpose and direction in life. They are living on the brink of
despair. Many do not know who they are. They cannot tell the
difference between man and woman. They do not know what marriage and
family is. They do not know their origin and end. How can one live
without knowing such basic questions of life? Many live under the bondage
of sin. Instead of living for others they live for self. The
worship of self leads to selfishness and self-centeredness. In worshiping
self, they fall into the sin of pride and lose respect for God. They end
up supplanting the place of God. This is the sin of secularism and
atheism.
We too now
are called to be witnesses to this life. Before we can be truly witnesses to the
Lord, we must first encounter Him in our own lives. The Lord continues to
appear to us in different ways as He did with His disciples. We need to
be open to His presence in our lives through faith. Only in faith, can we
see the Risen Lord in our midst as the disciples did. Only in faith, can
we see the wonders of God at work in our daily life. Only in faith, can
we continue to give ourselves in love and humble service. Through
our faith, our experiences of His love, our ability to connect our life with
the fuller plan of God for us, we too will lead others to encounter the Risen
Lord and find fullness of life even in our sufferings.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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