20180920
CHRIST DIED FOR OUR
SINS
20 SEPTEMBER,
2018, Thursday, 24th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Red.
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First reading
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I preached what the others preach, and
you all believed
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Brothers, I want to remind you of the
gospel I preached to you, the gospel that you received and in which you are
firmly established; because the gospel will save you only if you keep believing
exactly what I preached to you – believing anything else will not lead to
anything.
Well
then, in the first place, I taught you what I had been taught myself, namely
that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures; that he was
buried; and that he was raised to life on the third day, in accordance with the
scriptures; that he appeared first to Cephas and secondly to the Twelve. Next
he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of
whom are still alive, though some have died; then he appeared to James, and
then to all the apostles; and last of all he appeared to me too; it was as
though I was born when no one expected it.
I
am the least of the apostles; in fact, since I persecuted the Church of God, I
hardly deserve the name apostle; but by God’s grace that is what I am, and the
grace that he gave me has not been fruitless. On the contrary, I, or rather the
grace of God that is with me, have worked harder than any of the others; but
what matters is that I preach what they preach, and this is what you all
believed.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Give thanks to the Lord
for he is good.
or
Alleluia!
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
for his love has no end.
Let the sons of Israel say:
‘His love has no end.’
Give thanks to the Lord
for he is good.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord’s right hand has triumphed;
his right hand raised me up.
I shall not die, I shall live
and recount his deeds.
Give thanks to the Lord
for he is good.
or
Alleluia!
You are my God, I thank you.
My God, I praise you.
I will thank you for you have given answer
and you are my saviour.
Give thanks to the Lord
for he is good.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel Acclamation
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2Co5:19
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Alleluia, alleluia!
God in Christ was reconciling the world to
himself,
and he has entrusted to us the news that
they are reconciled.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Mt11:28
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Come to me, all you who labour and are
overburdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Her many sins have been forgiven, or she
would not have shown such great love
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One of the Pharisees invited Jesus to a
meal. When he arrived at the Pharisee’s house and took his place at table, a
woman came in, who had a bad name in the town. She had heard he was dining with
the Pharisee and had brought with her an alabaster jar of ointment. She waited
behind him at his feet, weeping, and her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped
them away with her hair; then she covered his feet with kisses and anointed
them with the ointment.
When
the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man
were a prophet, he would know who this woman is that is touching him and what a
bad name she has.’ Then Jesus took him up and said, ‘Simon, I have something to
say to you.’ ‘Speak, Master’ was the reply. ‘There was once a creditor who had
two men in his debt; one owed him five hundred denarii, the other fifty. They
were unable to pay, so he pardoned them both. Which of them will love him
more?’ ‘The one who was pardoned more, I suppose’ answered Simon. Jesus said,
‘You are right.’
Then
he turned to the woman. ‘Simon,’ he said ‘you see this woman? I came into your
house, and you poured no water over my feet, but she has poured out her tears
over my feet and wiped them away with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but she
has been covering my feet with kisses ever since I came in. You did not anoint
my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. For this reason I
tell you that her sins, her many sins, must have been forgiven her, or she
would not have shown such great love. It is the man who is forgiven little who
shows little love.’ Then he said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ Those who
were with him at table began to say to themselves, ‘Who is this man, that he
even forgives sins?’ But he said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in
peace.’
CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS
What is the Christian
gospel in a nutshell? It
is simply this. “Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the
scriptures; that he was buried; and that he was raised to life on the third
day, in accordance with the scriptures.” This is the heart of the
gospel. St Paul makes it clear that we must be firmly established in this
gospel “because the gospel will save you only if you keep believing exactly
what I preached to you – believing anything else will not lead to anything.”
Today, there are many
challenges to this gospel that is transmitted to us. Firstly, today many
no longer believe in the reality of sin. Relativism tells us that nothing is right
or wrong because everything is relative. It depends on the circumstances,
the context, the preferences of the individual and the social norm of that time.
So what is wrong today would be right tomorrow and what is right today would be
considered wrong today. Just consider the changing moral norms of
society. Not so long ago, being an atheist was considered a crime
in Europe. Today, being a believer and proclaiming our faith in public is
regarded an offence in Europe. At one time, homosexuality was considered
a serious crime, how much more to live together as a couple. But today,
it is a crime even to speak out against same sex union. In those days,
suicide was a crime, but now it is permitted in some countries for a person to
ask for assisted suicide because the person does not want to live anymore.
The crux of the issue is
that if there is no such thing as sin because there are no evil acts or wrongdoings,
Christ would have died for us in vain.
He could not have died for our sins. It was just a mistake. However, the
truth of the gospel is clear. Jesus came to die for us sinners. St
John wrote, “the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we
say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in
us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive
us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we
have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 Jn 1:7b-10) Either we make Jesus a liar or we are ignorant
and deny the truth about ourselves. St Paul said, “For while we were
still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely
will anyone die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person
someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that
while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:6-8)
Perhaps, the other
reason is that we are numb to our sins. We are not able to tell light from darkness
because our conscience is numbed by the world. We hear the propaganda of
the world that seeks to deceive us because the world makes money from the
promotion of sex, gambling, satisfying our sensual pleasures. The sins of
the flesh and the sins of the world blind us to the truth about what is even
more important, namely, pure and unselfish love that brings joy. St James
wrote, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to
care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by
the world.” (Jms 1:27)
Indeed, the world seeks
to dilute the reality of sin by giving them new names. Instead of adultery, we speak of
flirting around. Instead of stealing, we speak of lifting
something. Instead of abortion, we say we terminate a pregnancy.
Instead of killing, we speak of termination of a life by a doctor at the
request of a person. Indeed, we describe an action as it is rather than
giving a moral position to the act since every act today is devoid of moral and
ethical values. At any rate, no one is too sure about what is right or
wrong.
Indeed, in the gospel,
Jesus warns us that we too can fall into the same situation like the religious
leaders because of self-righteousness. In fact, those who are self-righteous are
equally sinful as sinners who do not know that they are sinners. The
self-righteous cannot be saved either, because they think that they are
holy. Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but
those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” (Mk 2:17) They are so used to judging others, like the
Pharisee who invited Jesus to his house. We are always looking at others
and judging whether they have failed in their duties as Christians. We
are so preoccupied at passing judgment on them that we do not have time to look
at ourselves. For such people, the Lord has harsh words. “Why do
you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own
eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out
of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first
take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the
speck out of your neighbor’s eye.” (Mt 7:3-5)
If we want to encounter
the heart of the gospel, a sincere and humble recognition of our sinfulness is
all that is needed.
This woman came to the Lord. She did not say anything, perhaps because
her sins were so many, just like those of us who returned to Church after many
years of living a sinful life. We do not even know where to start because
we have committed all possible sins. She too was a notorious immoral
woman. She “had a bad name in the town.” Simon despised her saying,
“If this man were a prophet, he would know who this woman is that is touching
him and what a bad name she has.”
But she was aware of her
unworthiness. She was truly contrite. What the Lord wants of us simply is a contrite
heart. The psalmist says, “The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken
spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Ps 51:17) So “she waited behind him at his feet, weeping, and
her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them away with her hair; then she
covered his feet with kisses and anointed them with the ointment.” It was
a sorrow that came from her heart and expressed in her actions of love for
someone whom she knew was a man of God. She was seeking assurance of forgiveness.
She did not go away disappointed. Jesus said to the woman, “Your
sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
We too, if we seek the
Lord with a contrite heart, we can be assured of forgiveness. Regardless how great our sins, the
Lord wants to forgive us all. Indeed, the more grievous our sins, the
greater the experience of His mercy and love. Jesus remarked to Simon, “I
came into your house, and you poured no water over my feet, but she has poured
out her tears over my feet and wiped them away with her hair. You gave me
no kisses, but she has been covering my feet with kisses ever since I came
in. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet
with ointment. For this reason I tell you that her sins, her many sins,
must have been forgiven her, or she would not have shown such great love.
It is the man that is forgiven little who shows little love.”
This was certainly the
case of St Paul. He
considered his saving by Jesus as unexpected. “Last of all he appeared to
me too; it was as though I was born when no one expected it. I am the least of
the apostles; in fact, since I persecuted the Church of God, I hardly deserve
the name apostle.” Yet, because of His love and mercy, he gave himself
wholeheartedly to Christ and the proclamation of the gospel. He said, “By
God’s grace that is what I am, and the grace that he gave me has not been
fruitless. On the contrary, I, or rather the grace of God that is with
me, have worked harder than any of the others; but what matters is that I
preach what they preach, and this is what you all believed.” Such is the
consequence of encountering God’s love and mercy. However, this is
possible only if we admit that we are sinners and in need of redemption and
forgiveness. Indeed, like Simon we all know that the one who is forgiven
more will love more. With the psalmist we say, “Give thanks to the Lord for he
is good, for his love has no end.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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