20181028
REGAINING OUR VISION
OF LIFE
28 OCTOBER,
2018, Sunday, 30th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
|
First reading
|
Jeremiah 31:7-9 ©
|
|
I will guide them by a smooth path where
they will not stumble
|
The Lord says this:
Shout with joy for Jacob!
Hail the chief of nations!
Proclaim! Praise! Shout:
‘The Lord has saved his people,
the remnant of Israel!’
See, I will bring them back
from the land of the North
and gather them from the far ends of
earth;
all of them: the blind and the lame,
women with child, women in labour:
a great company returning here.
They had left in tears,
I will comfort them as I lead them back;
I will guide them to streams of water,
by a smooth path where they will not
stumble.
For I am a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is my first-born son.
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
Psalm 125(126) ©
|
What marvels the Lord
worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage,
it seemed like a dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
on our lips there were songs.
What marvels the Lord
worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
The heathens themselves said: ‘What
marvels
the Lord worked for them!’
What marvels the Lord worked for us!
Indeed we were glad.
What marvels the Lord
worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage
as streams in dry land.
Those who are sowing in tears
will sing when they reap.
What marvels the Lord
worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
They go out, they go out, full of tears,
carrying seed for the sowing:
they come back, they come back, full of
song,
carrying their sheaves.
What marvels the Lord
worked for us! Indeed we were glad.
|
Second reading
|
Hebrews 5:1-6 ©
|
|
'You are a priest of the order of
Melchizedek, and for ever'
|
Every high priest has been taken out of
mankind and is appointed to act for men in their relations with God, to offer
gifts and sacrifices for sins; and so he can sympathise with those who are
ignorant or uncertain because he too lives in the limitations of weakness. That
is why he has to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. No
one takes this honour on himself, but each one is called by God, as Aaron was.
Nor did Christ give himself the glory of becoming high priest, but he had it
from the one who said to him: You are my son, today I have become your
father, and in another text: You are a priest of the order of
Melchizedek, and for ever.
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
Jn8:12
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the world, says the
Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light
of life.
Alleluia!
|
Or:
|
cf.2Tim1:10
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death
and he has proclaimed life through the
Good News.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
Mark 10:46-52 ©
|
|
Go; your faith has saved you
|
As Jesus left Jericho with his disciples
and a large crowd, Bartimaeus (that is, the son of Timaeus), a blind beggar,
was sitting at the side of the road. When he heard that it was Jesus of
Nazareth, he began to shout and to say, ‘Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me.’
And many of them scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he only shouted
all the louder, ‘Son of David, have pity on me.’ Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call
him here.’ So they called the blind man. ‘Courage,’ they said ‘get up; he is
calling you.’ So throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and went to Jesus. Then
Jesus spoke, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ ‘Rabbuni,’ the blind man said
to him ‘Master, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has saved
you.’ And immediately his sight returned and he followed him along the road.
REGAINING OUR VISION OF LIFE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Jer 31:7-9; Ps 126:1-6; Heb 5:1-6; Mk 10:46-52 ]
Like the Israelites, in
our misery, we lose all hope and vision of life. The Israelites lost their land,
their Temple and their kingdom when the Northern Kingdom of Israel fell to the
Assyrians in 721 BC, followed by the Southern Kingdom, Judah in 587
BC. They were exiled to Babylon. When everything was lost,
there was little hope left of returning to their homeland. We too could
be in a similar situation. We could have lost our family because of
adultery. We could have lost our loved ones because of greed and
irresponsibility. We could have lost our job because of negligence or
complacency. We could have caused our businesses to fail not only because
we have been made wrong investments but because of the economic conditions in
the world. Some of us might have broken the law and suffered the
consequences. Finally, we could be in poor health because we did
not take care of our bodies when we were younger.
But we know that the
cause of our downfall is largely due to our sins. As the letter to the Hebrews suggest, most
of our sins were committed in ignorance even though we might think we know what
we were doing. In reality, many of us are blind to the truth of what we
are doing. We lack clarity of our motives. When we are sinning, we
rationalize ourselves into believing that what we are doing is
acceptable. We try to convince ourselves that we have mitigating reasons
for doing the wrong things. That is why most sinners, even if they deliberately
commit a sin, do it thinking that it will bring them happiness. Of course
they are deluded because the sin of lust, greed and gluttony will cause more
harm and unhappiness not only to themselves but to their loved ones as
well. In that sense, we are like blind Bartimaeus in the gospel.
The Good News is that
God comes to give us a new vision and hope. He does not seek our
destruction or desire to punish us for our sins. “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
and passing over the transgression of the remnant of your possession? He does
not retain his anger forever, because he delights in showing clemency. He will
again have compassion upon us.” (Mic 7:18f) Through Jeremiah, He assured
them of their future restoration. Indeed, God promised that the people
would return to Jerusalem. This was fulfilled when King Cyrus of Persia
decreed that they could go back to their homeland to rebuild their Temple and
city in 539 BC.
It was something
unimaginable and impossible. But God showed that with Him nothing is
impossible. The
angel said to Mary at the annunciation, “For nothing will be impossible with
God.” (Lk 1:37) Indeed,
when it happened, they sang, “What marvels the Lord worked for us!” Even,
“the heathens themselves said: ‘What marvels the Lord worked for them!’ What
marvels the Lord worked for us!” Such is the goodness, kindness and mercy
of God that He would save Israel and all of us even when we have sinned against
His love.
As if it was not enough
to show us His infinite love and mercy, He gave us His only Son, our high
priest to save us and intercede for us on our behalf. “No one takes this honour on
himself, but each one is called by God, as Aaron was. Nor did Christ give
himself the glory of becoming high priest, but he had it from the one who said
to him: You are my son, today I have become your father, and in another text:
You are a priest of the order of Melchizedek, and forever.”
Jesus was not only the
Son of God but because of His incarnation, He was also truly a man. As such, in His body, the Son of God
experienced all the trials, sufferings and temptations of every human
person. He knew what it meant to be tempted by the Evil One, to struggle
against temptations, to suffer the effects of sin, of rejection, greed, envy
and jealousy, injustices, innocent suffering, betrayal of loved ones,
opposition, slander, physical suffering, feel with our loved ones suffering for
us, and depart from those whom we love. This made St Paul say, “For our
sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God.” (2 Cor 5:21) St Peter said, “He himself
bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live
for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Pt 2:24)
This is why Jesus is our
High Priest because “every
high priest has been taken out of mankind and is appointed to act for men in
their relations with God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins; and so he can
sympathize with those who are ignorant or uncertain because he too lives in the
limitations of weakness.” As for Jesus, the only difference is that He
was sinless. Hence, the author of Hebrews wrote, “For we do not have a
high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who
in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us
therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive
mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:15f)
And this is because God
regards us all as His children.
All parents would love their children to the end, no matter how and what they
have done or failed to do. The bond between parents and children are
intimate and often unconditional. That is how God loves us. He
said, “For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born son.”
Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord said, “Can a woman forget her nursing
child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb. Even these may
forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms
of my hands; your walls are continually before me.” (Isa 49:15f) So great is His love
for us that He even gave up His only Son for our salvation. St Paul
quipped, “If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold
his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us
everything else? (cf Rom 8:31-35)
So today, if we want to
begin a new life and find new vision and hope, we must imitate the faith of
Bartimaeus in Christ.
It was ironical that the crowd that followed Jesus did not know the identity of
Jesus. Only the blind Bartimaeus knew, for he used Messianic terms to call out
to the Lord. “When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to
shout and to say, ‘Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me.’ And many of them
scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he only shouted all the louder,
‘Son of David, have pity on me.'” Some of us who have failed in life know
that we have done wrong. We recognize ourselves as sinners but we also
know that Jesus is our Lord and savior. If we turn to the Lord, we can be
healed and saved. But those of us who are self-righteous or are unaware
of our sins, will hurt ourselves more because we lack faith in the Lord to heal
us.
But for restoration to
fullness of life, we need to do more than merely confess our faith in Jesus. As the Lord said, “Not everyone who
says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one
who does the will of my Father in heaven.” (Mt 7:21) We need to repent of our
sins. We need to remove the cloak of sin that blinds us from facing
the truth about ourselves and seeing the light of the gospel clearly.
That was what Blind Bartimaeus did when the Lord said, “‘Call him here.’ So
they called the blind man. ‘Courage,’ they said, ‘get up; he is calling you.’
So throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and went to Jesus.”
Secondly, we must be
clear of what seeing the truth entails. It is not enough to be healed and be
enlightened by the gospel. It calls for living a new life. “Jesus
spoke, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ ‘Rabbuni,’ the blind man said to
him, ‘Master, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has
saved you.'” In other words, it was important for Jesus to verify with
him whether he really wanted to see again because seeing the truth demands a
corresponding responsibility. There are many people who know the
truth. There are many who are well versed in doctrines, morality and
spirituality, but they are living sinful and contradictory lives. To see
again would mean that we now have a greater responsibility to live up to the
truth, or else, how would the Lord intercede for us to His Father, saying,
“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (Lk 23:34)
Thirdly, it means
discipleship. We read that “immediately his sight returned and he
followed him along the road.”
The psalmist prayed, “Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage as streams in dry
land. Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap. They go out, they
go out, full of tears, carrying seed for the sowing: they come back, they come
back, full of song, carrying their sheaves.” We too from now on must follow
the Lord and walk the way of suffering, carrying our cross with love so that we
can share in His resurrection.
So the ball is in our
court. Are we ready to be restored, is the question we have to ask, and
not whether God will restore us? If we are ready then we will see miracles
in our lives, we will rejoice like the Israelites who returned from exile.
“When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage, it seemed like a
dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, on our lips there were songs.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment