20190129
THE
EFFICACY OF CHRIST’S SACRIFICE TO TAKE AWAY SINS
9 JANUARY, 2019,
Tuesday, 3rd Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Hebrews 10:1-10 ©
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Christ’s self-offering sanctifies us
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Since the Law has no more than a reflection of
these realities, and no finished picture of them, it is quite incapable of
bringing the worshippers to perfection, with the same sacrifices repeatedly
offered year after year. Otherwise, the offering of them would have stopped,
because the worshippers, when they had been purified once, would have no
awareness of sins. Instead of that, the sins are recalled year after year in
the sacrifices. Bulls’ blood and goats’ blood are useless for taking away sins,
and this is what he said, on coming into the world:
You who wanted no
sacrifice or oblation,
prepared a body for me.
You took no pleasure in
holocausts or sacrifices for sin;
then I said,
just as I was commanded
in the scroll of the book,
‘God, here I am! I am
coming to obey your will.’
Notice that he says first: You did
not want what the Law lays down as the things to be offered, that is: the
sacrifices, the oblations, the holocausts and the sacrifices for sin,and
you took no pleasure in them; and then he says: Here I am! I am coming
to obey your will. He is abolishing the first sort to replace it with
the second. And this will was for us to be made holy by the offering of his
body made once and for all by Jesus Christ.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm
39(40):2,4,7-8,10,11 ©
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Here I am, Lord! I come
to do your will.
I waited, I waited for the Lord
and he stooped down to me;
he heard my cry.
He put a new song into my mouth,
praise of our God.
Here I am, Lord! I come
to do your will.
You do not ask for sacrifice and
offerings,
but an open ear.
You do not ask for holocaust and victim.
Instead, here am I.
Here I am, Lord! I come
to do your will.
Your justice I have proclaimed
in the great assembly.
My lips I have not sealed;
you know it, O Lord.
Here I am, Lord! I come
to do your will.
I have not hidden your justice in my heart
but declared your faithful
help.
I have not hidden your love and your truth
from the great assembly.
Here I am, Lord! I come
to do your will.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps118:135
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Let your face shine on your servant,
and teach me your decrees.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Mt11:25
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 3:31-35 ©
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Who are my mother and my brothers? Those
that do the will of God
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The mother and brothers of Jesus arrived
and, standing outside, sent in a message asking for him. A crowd was sitting
round him at the time the message was passed to him, ‘Your mother and brothers
and sisters are outside asking for you.’ He replied, ‘Who are my mother and my
brothers?’ And looking round at those sitting in a circle about him, he said,
‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of God, that
person is my brother and sister and mother.’
THE EFFICACY OF
CHRIST’S SACRIFICE TO TAKE AWAY SINS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ HEB 10:1-10; PS 40:2, 4, 7-8, 10, 11; MK 3:31-35 ]
In the first reading from the letter to
the Hebrews, we read that the sacrifices of the Old Testament were “quite
incapable of bringing the worshippers to perfection, with the same
sacrifices repeatedly offered year after year.” Consequently, it meant
that these sacrifices did not take away their sins. “Otherwise, the
offering of them would have stopped, because the worshippers, when they had
been purified once, would have no awareness of sins. Instead of that, the sins
are recalled year after year in the sacrifices.”
Why were the sacrifices
ineffective in taking away their sins?
The sacrifice that was offered was the blood of animals. These sacrifices
were extraneous to the priests who offered them. This is not to say that
the sacrifices had no relevance in helping the people to live a life of
perfection. Animal sacrifices were not cheap. Although the sacrifices
they offered were not identical to themselves, they could be expressions of
their desire to sacrifice themselves, albeit in limited ways, to God as
atonement for their sins. Even then, the sacrifices were offered out of
fear of God’s punishment more than from a truly contrite heart. Most of
all, they remained unsure of God’s forgiveness.
Christ’s sacrifice was
entirely different from the sacrifices of the Old Testament. Instead of
offering an animal sacrifice, He offered Himself. The author wrote, “Bulls’ blood and
goats’ blood are useless for taking away sins, and this is what he said, on
coming into the world: You who wanted no sacrifice or oblation, prepared a body
for me. You took no pleasure in holocausts or sacrifices for sin; then I said,
just as I was commanded in the scroll of the book, ‘God, here I am! I am coming
to obey your will.'” Christ’s sacrifice is perfect because He is not
offering something extraneous to Himself. Rather, He is the priest and
the victim of the sacrifice. Instead of holocausts, He offered His own
body and blood for the salvation of the world. At the Last Supper,
He “took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it
to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance
of me.’ And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup
that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.'” (Lk 22:19f)
How does the offering of
Christ’s body and blood take away our sins? In the sacrifice of Christ,
the giving up of His body and blood is the expression of God’s love and mercy
for humanity. In accepting the
sacrifice of Christ on the cross, the Father demonstrated His unconditional
love and forgiveness for all the sins of humanity. The death of
Christ is the act of self-emptying of the Father of the Son and the Son of the
Father. The Father was sonless and the Son was fatherless at the
cross. It was a mutual act of perfect love for humanity.
His death on the cross
also expressed God’s identification with us sinners in our sinfulness. St Paul wrote, “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) 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) Indeed, it is through
Christ’s suffering and death on the cross that we come to know with certainty
that God understands how much we suffer in temptation and when we fall into
sin. Therefore, He wants to assure us of His solidarity with us and to
know that we are forgiven unconditionally.
However, we could repeat
the same mistake as in the Old Testament. We can be offering the sacrifice of Christ
at every mass we celebrate, the one and eternal sacrifice. Unless we make
the sacrifice of Christ our own, then we are no better than mere observers and
extraneous worshippers, like the people during the Old Testament. We can
attend mass daily, but unless we enter into the sacrifice of Christ and
interiorize His words and deeds, we too will find the sacrifice of Christ
unable to change our lives. Indeed, many Catholics, whether church-going
or otherwise, confess in Christ but are still living in sin. This is
because they forget or are ignorant of the intention of Christ’s sacrifice on
the cross.
In truth, Christ’s
sacrifice is more than just the giving up of His body and blood for the
forgiveness of sins. It is also His way to show us that following God’s
will is more important than anything else. “You did not want what the Law lays down as the
things to be offered, that is: the sacrifices, the oblations, the holocausts
and the sacrifices for sin, and you took no pleasure in them; and then he says:
Here I am! I am coming to obey your will. He is abolishing the first sort to
replace it with the second. And this will was for us to be made holy by the
offering of his body made once and for all by Jesus Christ.” We are to do
the will of God. The offering of Christ’s body is His total expression of
obedience to God. Jesus told His disciples, “My food is to do the will of
him who sent me and to complete his work.” At the Garden of Gethsemane,
He surrendered completely, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from
me; yet, not my will but yours be done.” (Lk 22:42)
In the gospel, Jesus
underscored in no uncertain terms, the basis for being in the family of God. He asked, “‘Who are my mother and
my brothers?’ And looking round at those sitting in a circle about him, he
said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of God,
that person is my brother and sister and mother.'” The family members of
our Lord go beyond biological ties. Spiritual ties transcend any physical
or biological relationships. Even in daily life, we are often much closer
to our friends than our family members. We find ourselves to be more open
and more confident in sharing our lives with our friends than family members
because of prejudice and fear. So too, in our relationship with God,
Jesus insists that what keeps us one with Him is when we also imitate Him in
doing the will of God. This is what makes us His sons and
daughters. In the Lord’s Prayer, after we say, “Our Father in heaven” we
immediately say, “Holy be your name. Your Kingdom come, you will be
done!” Our filial relationship with God is dependent on whether we
conduct ourselves as His sons and daughters by observing His holy will at all
times.
So the efficacy of
Christ’s sacrifice objectively is effective in taking away our sins because it
is the offering of Himself, the expression of His Father’s love, mercy and
forgiveness, and most of all, as a
mentor in leading us the way to salvation by doing God’s will. “Although
he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having
been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey
him, having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of
Melchizedek.” (Heb 5:8-10) We are
called to imitate Christ in doing God’s will and to be obedient to Him.
Only when we do God’s will as Jesus did, can we grow in perfection and in
holiness.
With the psalmist, we
say, “Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.” What does it take to do His
will? “You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings, but an open ear. You
do not ask for holocaust and victim. Instead, here am I. Your justice I
have proclaimed in the great assembly. My lips I have not sealed; you know it,
O Lord. I have not hidden your justice in my heart but declared your
faithful help. I have not hidden your love and your truth from the great
assembly.” Living a life of justice, charity and compassion is what the
Lord asks of us. As St Peter says, “Above all, maintain constant love for
one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one
another without complaining.” (1 Pt 4:8f) The book of Proverbs says,
“Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.” (Proverbs 10:12) But what is important is
that we do all these not out of fear but out of love for God and our fellowmen.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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