20190102
CONFESSION OF FAITH IN
JESUS AS THE CHRIST
02 JANUARY,
2019, Wednesday, Weekday of Christmas Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
White.
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First reading
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1 John 2:22-28 ©
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The anointing he gave you teaches you
everything
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The man who denies that Jesus is the
Christ –
he is the liar,
he is Antichrist;
and he is denying the Father as well as
the Son,
because no one who has the Father can deny
the Son,
and to acknowledge the Son is to have the
Father as well.
Keep alive in yourselves what you were
taught in the beginning:
as long as what you were taught in the
beginning is alive in you,
you will live in the Son
and in the Father;
and what is promised to you by his own
promise
is eternal life.
This is all that I am writing to you about
the people who are trying to lead you astray.
But you have not lost the anointing that
he gave you,
and you do not need anyone to teach you;
the anointing he gave teaches you
everything;
you are anointed with truth, not with a
lie,
and as it has taught you, so you must stay
in him.
Live in Christ, then, my children,
so that if he appears, we may have full
confidence,
and not turn from him in shame
at his coming.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 97(98):1-4 ©
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All the ends of the
earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.
All the ends of the
earth have seen the salvation of our God.
The Lord has made known his salvation;
has shown his justice to the
nations.
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.
All the ends of the
earth have seen the salvation of our God.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.
All the ends of the
earth have seen the salvation of our God.
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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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Heb1:1-2
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Alleluia, alleluia!
At various times in the past
and in various different ways,
God spoke to our ancestors through the
prophets;
but in our own time, the last days,
he has spoken to us through his Son.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Alleluia, alleluia!
A hallowed day has dawned upon us.
Come, you nations, worship the Lord,
for today a great light has shone down
upon the earth.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 1:19-28 ©
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'One is coming after me who existed
before me'
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This is how John appeared as a witness.
When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are
you?’ he not only declared, but he declared quite openly, ‘I am not the
Christ.’ ‘Well then,’ they asked ‘are you Elijah?’ ‘I am not’ he said. ‘Are you
the Prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ So they said to him, ‘Who are you? We must
take back an answer to those who sent us. What have you to say about yourself?’
So John said, ‘I am, as Isaiah prophesied:
a voice that cries in the wilderness:
Make a straight way for the Lord.’
Now these men had been sent by the
Pharisees, and they put this further question to him, ‘Why are you baptising if
you are not the Christ, and not Elijah, and not the prophet?’ John replied, ‘I
baptise with water; but there stands among you – unknown to you – the
one who is coming after me; and I am not fit to undo his sandal-strap.’ This
happened at Bethany, on the far side of the Jordan, where John was baptising.
CONFESSION OF FAITH IN JESUS AS THE
CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 JOHN 2:22-28; JOHN 1:19-28 ]
Who is Jesus? This is
the question that Christmastide seeks to clarify. What is so significant in the birth
of Jesus? Was He just an ordinary baby or was He more than just a human
being? The question of the identity of Jesus differentiates Christianity
from all other faiths. This question intrigued the people during the time
of Jesus and still is a controversial question today in our times. In the
gospel, during the time of John the Baptist, the people thought that he was the
Christ. “The Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him,
‘Who are you?’ he not only declared, but he declared quite openly, ‘I am not
the Christ’. ‘Well then,’ they asked ‘are you Elijah?’ ‘I am not’ he
said. ‘Are you the Prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ So they said to him, ‘Who
are you?”
Today, these similar
questions regarding the identity of Jesus persist. During the time of
John, the Christians themselves were divided on the identity of
Jesus. Some
claimed that Jesus was just a man. But they also claimed that they
believed in the same God. Isn’t this what many people including
Christians are saying – we all believe in the same God, regardless of which
religion you belong to. Christ is only one of the manifestations of God?
And that is what other religions want us to confess, namely, that all religions
are the same. For the sake of peace and harmony with other religions,
many Catholics are maintaining this compromised truth with regard to Jesus’
identity.
However, the Church
right from the beginning of her foundation has maintained without compromise
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Yesterday, we celebrated the
Solemnity of the Mother of God. This feast celebrates the mystery of
Jesus as the Son of God and the Son of Man in one person. It is
important for us Christians to confess that Jesus is neither just God nor just
man, but He is truly God and truly man. Today, the scripture readings
want to underscore that Jesus is the Christ. Confession of faith in Jesus
as the Christ, the Son of the Living God is the heart of Christian
belief. Christianity stands or falls with this confession. Indeed,
St John concludes his gospel saying, “But these are written so that you may
come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through
believing you may have life in his name.” (Jn 20:30f)
Why did St John write so
strongly against those half-baked Christians that they were the anti-Christ if
they fell short of this confession? “The man who denies that Jesus is the Christ –
he is the liar; he is Antichrist; and he is denying the Father as well as the
Son, because no one who has the Father can deny the Son, and to acknowledge the
Son is to have the Father as well.” The truth is if we deny Jesus as the
Messiah, the Son of God, we cannot know God as Father as non-Christians claim.
In saying that Jesus is
the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, it is but the declaration of the Church
in what Jesus said of Himself with regard to His relationship with His Father. Indeed, Jesus stated clearly, “All
things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son
except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to
whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (Mt 11:27) When Philip asked the Lord,
“Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied” (Jn 14:8) Jesus replied, “Have I been with you
all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has
seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not
believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say
to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his
works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if
you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.” (Jn 14:9-11)
Hence, to deny Jesus as
the Christ is to deny the Father at the same time since Jesus is the way to the
Father. Jesus said to
Thomas, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now
on you do know him and have seen him.” (Jn 14:6f) We cannot know the Father
apart from Christ who is the revealer of the Father since He came from the
Father. This led John to say, “No one has ever seen God. It is God the
only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” (Jn 1:18) When Nicodemus could not
understand about the Spirit giving rebirth to us, the Lord said to Him, “If I
have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe
if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except
the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.” (Jn 3:12f)
Our faith in Christ as
the Messiah, the Anointed One of God, the Son of the Living God will determine
whether we can surrender our lives to Him. Indeed, this was the case of the apostles when
they were confronted by the hard teachings of Christ on the Eucharist.
“The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his
flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless you
eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in
you.'” (Jn 6:52f) Then we
read, “When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is
difficult; who can accept it?'” (Jn 6:60) Consequently, “many of his
disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus
asked the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ Simon Peter answered him,
‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come
to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.'” (Jn 6:66-69)
Indeed, today, many
people including Catholics cannot accept the teaching of the scripture and
Church tradition. They
reject the scripture because the values and teachings of Christ do not fit our
times. They try to justify their perspective of life, whether it is with
regard to sexuality, marriage, divorce and the dignity of life. What they
seek to do is to make the gospel of Christ fit their preferred lifestyle.
They twist and turn the gospel to suit their selfish desires. This
is the warning of St Paul to the Galatians. “I am astonished that you are
so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are
turning to a different gospel – not that there is another gospel, but there are
some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.” (Gal 1:6f) St John also warns us the
same, “This is all that I am writing to you about the people who are trying to
lead you astray.”
In the final analysis,
we can rationally and logically argue till the end of the world whether
same-sex union, abortion, euthanasia, etc are right or wrong. We will have no
conclusive answer,
not even the question about the existence of God and much less whether Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of the Living God. This requires ultimate faith in
the tradition passed down to us by the Church and faith in Him through the
anointing of the Holy Spirit. This is what St John says. “Keep
alive in yourselves what you were taught in the beginning: as long as what you
were taught in the beginning is alive in you, you will live in the Son and in
the Father; and what is promised to you by his own promise is eternal
life.” Secondly, we need to rely on the internal forum through the
anointing of the Holy Spirit we received at baptism. “But you have not
lost the anointing that he gave you, and you do not need anyone to teach you;
the anointing he gave teaches you everything; you are anointed with truth, not
with a lie, and as it has taught you, so you must stay in him.”
Only through acceptance
of the scripture as the Word of God and the tradition passed on to us, can our
faith in Christ be firm and true.
St Paul urged the Christians, “We also constantly give thanks to God for this,
that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it
not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work
in you believers.” (1 Th 2:13) Again, he
reminds us, “So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to
the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our
letter.” (2 Th 2:15) Our
faith is founded on scripture and tradition.
Once we have this faith,
we can then “take back an answer” to those who ask us about Christ. Like John the Baptist, we also say,
“I am, as Isaiah prophesied: a voice that cries in the wilderness: Make a
straight way for the Lord.” We are to reveal to others the identity of
Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Only through this
revelation, can we be strong in our faith and in our lives as Jesus said to
Peter after his confession of faith in Jesus as the “Messiah, the Son of the
Living God.” Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah!
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in
heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build
my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give
you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be
bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in
heaven.” (Mt 16:17-19) In a
similar vein, St John rightly says, “Live in Christ, then, my children, so that
if he appears, we may have full confidence, and not turn from him in shame at
his coming.” Knowing Christ, who He is, will give us the confidence to
persevere right to the end, knowing that Christ will welcome us to heaven when
we finish our pilgrimage on this earth.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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