20181229 DO YOU KNOW JESUS?
29 DECEMBER,
2018, Saturday, 5th Day Within Octave of Christmas
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
White.
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First reading
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1 John 2:3-11 ©
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Anyone who loves his brother is living
in the light
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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.
We can be sure that we are in God
only when the one who claims to be living
in him
is living the same kind of life as Christ
lived.
My dear people,
this is not a new commandment that I am
writing to tell you,
but an old commandment
that you were given from the beginning,
the original commandment which was the
message brought to you.
Yet in another way, what I am writing to
you,
and what is being carried out in your
lives as it was in his,
is a new commandment;
because the night is over
and the real light is already shining.
Anyone who claims to be in the light
but hates his brother
is still in the dark.
But anyone who loves his brother is living
in the light
and need not be afraid of stumbling;
unlike the man who hates his brother and
is in the darkness,
not knowing where he is going,
because it is too dark to see.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 95(96):1-3,5-6 ©
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Let the heavens rejoice
and earth be glad.
O sing a new song to the Lord,
sing to the Lord all the
earth.
O sing to the Lord, bless his
name.
Let the heavens rejoice
and earth be glad.
Proclaim his help day by day,
tell among the nations his
glory
and his wonders among all the
peoples.
Let the heavens rejoice
and earth be glad.
It was the Lord who made the heavens,
his are majesty and state and
power
and splendour in his holy
place.
Let the heavens rejoice
and earth be glad.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jn1:14,12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.
To all who received him he gave power to
become children of God.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Alleluia, alleluia!
A light to enlighten the pagans
and the glory of your people Israel.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 2:22-35 ©
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'You have prepared a light to enlighten
the pagans'
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When the day came for them to be purified
as laid down by the Law of Moses, the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord – observing what stands written in the Law of
the Lord: Every first-born male must be consecrated to the Lord –
and also to offer in sacrifice, in accordance with what is said in the Law of
the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. Now in Jerusalem there
was a man named Simeon. He was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to
Israel’s comforting and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to
him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had set eyes on the
Christ of the Lord. Prompted by the Spirit he came to the Temple and when the
parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the Law required, he took
him into his arms and blessed God; and he said:
‘Now, Master, you can let your servant go
in peace,
just as you promised;
because my eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared for all the
nations to see,
a light to enlighten the pagans
and the glory of your people Israel.’
As the child’s father and mother stood
there wondering at the things that were being said about him, Simeon blessed
them and said to Mary his mother, ‘You see this child: he is destined for the
fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is
rejected – and a sword will pierce your own soul too – so that the
secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.’
DO YOU KNOW JESUS?
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 JOHN 2:3-11; LUKE 2:22-35 ]
Christ is born.
But do we know Him? I
presume most Catholics would say that they know Jesus. Knowing someone
has different meanings. Most Catholics know Jesus intellectually. They
have some factual information about Jesus that they studied in their catechism
classes or through personal reading. Some know Jesus more intimately
through prayer, worship, and meditation on the Word of God. Others encountered
Jesus in the sacraments or had the privilege of a radical
Christ-experience. Even then, such Christ experiences have different
depths. The Seven Mansions, as described by St Teresa of Avila, show the
different levels of entering into the mystery of Christ and His love.
Nevertheless, in the
final analysis, to know means to share in the life and love of someone. When we know someone, we imbibe in
the person’s values and perspectives of life. We are identified with
those whom we love. This is particularly true of married couples.
Intimacy is more than just physical union but a union of heart and mind in all
that we do and think. Otherwise, such physical intimacy is superficial
and has not much benefit other than just an act of pleasure. But if
there is mutual willing and thinking, such intimacy crowns the union and
becomes a real celebration.
This is what St John meant when he wrote,
“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.” Keeping the commandments of God is easy only if we
love Him deeply and can identify with Him completely. Otherwise, the
commandments become a burden, a restriction, and an imposition. It is
never difficult to obey someone whom we love, not just affectively, but when we
are able to see the truth from the person’s perspective. Christ had no
issues with obeying the Father because He knew the Father and the Father knew
Him. (cf Mt 11:27) He
freely gave up His life out of obedience not reluctantly but willingly for the
love of His Father. (cf Jn 10:18)
Secondly, St John says, “We can be sure
that we are in God only when the one who claims to be living in him is living
the same kind of life as Christ lived.” The litmus test of whether
God or Christ is in us is whether we live the life that Jesus has taught us to
live. To be in Christ means to say with St Paul, “it is no longer I who
live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live
by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal 2:20) So the best way to gauge our
knowledge of God is not in doctrinal knowledge or even our God-experiences, but
by the fruits of the Spirit that are manifested in our lives. These
fruits of the Spirit are common to all, but the gifts of the Spirit
differ. Regardless of the gifts we receive, it does not matter so long as
we produce the fruits of the Spirit, as St Paul wrote to the Galatians.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.” (Gal 5:22f)
Thirdly, we know that we
are in Christ only when we love our brothers and sisters. St John wrote, “Anyone who claims to
be in the light but hates his brother is still in the dark. But anyone who
loves his brother is living in the light and need not be afraid of stumbling;
unlike the man who hates his brother and is in the darkness, not knowing where
he is going, because it is too dark to see.” Anyone who has the heart of
God will love everyone intensely the way God loves each one of us, regardless
of our race, language or religion. Everyone is precious to God, even
those who do not know Him or are His enemies. God wants to save us all
because He loves us all. If God is in us, then we will recognize that our
common love for the Father and our sonship in Christ makes us brothers and
sisters of all, regardless.
In the gospel, we have
someone who knew Jesus intimately. We read the prophecy of Simeon. When he
saw the child, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he said, “‘Now,
Master, you can let your servant go in peace, just as you promised; because my
eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared for all the nations to
see, a light to enlighten the pagans and the glory of your people
Israel.” Such confession of faith in Christ goes beyond logic and
understanding. Through the grace of God alone, Simeon, under the
influence of the Holy Spirit, could immediately recognize Jesus, that little
baby, as the Promised Messiah, the one who would be the light of the nations,
enlightening all in the truth about God and about themselves. Most
of all, by His life, His works, teachings, His death and resurrection, He would
glorify God. The little child in the arms of His blessed mother was
foretold to bring great and revolutionary changes in the lives of
humanity. Simeon said to Mary, “You see this child: he is destined for
the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is
rejected – and a sword will pierce your own soul too – so that the
secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.”
If we come to this truth
and this knowledge of Christ, it is almost as if we have entered the sixth or
seventh castle of
the doctrine of St Teresa of Avila because at this point, there is no turning
back. We just want to be with God and bask in His love and mercy
forever. This experience of Simeon of wanting to go back to God is the
consequence of encountering the glory of God in the humanity of Christ.
Like the psalmist, we would want to sing for joy. “Let the heavens rejoice and
earth be glad. O sing a new song to the Lord, sing to the Lord all the
earth. O sing to the Lord, bless his name. Proclaim his help day by day,
tell among the nations his glory and his wonders among all the peoples.”
Within this context, we can appreciate the sharing of St Paul when he spoke of
his dilemma. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If it
is to be life in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall
choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to
depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the
flesh is more necessary on your account.” (Phil 1:21-24) More importantly, he also
said, “with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body,
whether by life or by death.” (Phil 1:20)
In the light of our
reflection, we must therefore consider how much we know the Lord. What is
the depth of our relationship with Him? Let us not deceive ourselves into thinking that
we love the Lord and know Him so much when we are not ready to die with Him or
follow His way of life. We can say all about Jesus, talk about Him,
serve Him in ministry, but if we are not ready to live as He lived, love as He
loved, suffer as He suffered, forgive as He forgave, then we are still far from
knowing Him. Our knowledge is only a cerebral knowledge; it has not yet
reached our hearts nor touched the depths of our spirit.
Realizing how superficial our knowledge
and love for the Lord as seen in our sinful way of life, in giving in to sin
and selfishness and living in darkness, we must follow Mary in
contemplating on Him more and more. “The child’s father and
mother stood there wondering at the things that were being said about
him.” Unless we are willing to make time to contemplate on the
Lord, we will never get to know Him from our being. Intimacy with the
Lord is a gift. We must nurture this gift by entering into the mind and
heart of Christ more and more each day through silence, prayer and reading of
the Word of God. So we too must pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit to lead us
to Jesus.
Simeon tells us how we
can prepare for the Holy Spirit by living a devout and holy life. Simeon “was an upright and devout
man; he looked forward to Israel’s comforting and the Holy Spirit rested on
him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death
until he had set eyes on the Christ of the Lord.” Let us, with the
grace of God, be the glory of God for others by living the radical life that
the Lord is inviting us to live. This life of Christ, St John says, is
“what is being carried out in your lives as it was in his, is a new
commandment; because the night is over and the real light is already
shining.” Christ gives newness in the way we should fulfill the
commandments which are as old as Moses.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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