Scripture Reflection and Prayer : Journeying together: March 2019

Sunday, 31 March 2019

HOPE OF NEW LIFE SUSTAINS US

20190401 HOPE OF NEW LIFE SUSTAINS US

01 APRIL, 2019, Monday, 4th Week in Lent

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Violet.

First reading

Isaiah 65:17-21 ©

Be glad and rejoice for ever at what I am creating

Thus says the Lord: Now I create new heavens and a new earth, and the past will not be remembered, and will come no more to men’s minds. Be glad and rejoice for ever and ever for what I am creating, because I now create Jerusalem ‘Joy’ and her people ‘Gladness.’ I shall rejoice over Jerusalem and exult in my people. No more will the sound of weeping or the sound of cries be heard in her; in her, no more will be found the infant living a few days only, or the old man not living to the end of his days. To die at the age of a hundred will be dying young; not to live to be a hundred will be the sign of a curse. They will build houses and inhabit them, plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 29(30):2,4-6,11-13 ©

I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.

I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me

and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.

O Lord, you have raised my soul from the dead,

restored me to life from those who sink into the grave.

I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.

Sing psalms to the Lord, you who love him,

give thanks to his holy name.

His anger lasts a moment; his favour all through life.

At night there are tears, but joy comes with dawn.

I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.

The Lord listened and had pity.

The Lord came to my help.

For me you have changed my mourning into dancing:

O Lord my God, I will thank you for ever.

I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.

Gospel Acclamation

cf.Ps129:5,7

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

My soul is waiting for the Lord,

I count on his word,

because with the Lord there is mercy

and fullness of redemption.

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

Or:

cf.Amos5:14

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

Seek good and not evil so that you may live,

and that the Lord God of hosts may really be with you.

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

Gospel

John 4:43-54 ©

Go home: your son will live

Jesus left Samaria for Galilee. He himself had declared that there is no respect for a prophet in his own country, but on his arrival the Galileans received him well, having seen all that he had done at Jerusalem during the festival which they too had attended.

He went again to Cana in Galilee, where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a court official there whose son was ill at Capernaum and, hearing that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judaea, he went and asked him to come and cure his son as he was at the point of death. Jesus said, ‘So you will not believe unless you see signs and portents!’ ‘Sir,’ answered the official ‘come down before my child dies.’ ‘Go home,’ said Jesus ‘your son will live.’ The man believed what Jesus had said and started on his way; and while he was still on the journey back his servants met him with the news that his boy was alive. He asked them when the boy had begun to recover. ‘The fever left him yesterday’ they said ‘at the seventh hour.’ The father realised that this was exactly the time when Jesus had said, ‘Your son will live’; and he and all his household believed.

This was the second sign given by Jesus, on his return from Judaea to Galilee.

HOPE OF NEW LIFE SUSTAINS US

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ISA 65:17-21; PS 30:2,4-6,11-13; JN 4:43-54]

We have just completed the first part of the season of Lent. Until last Saturday, the focus of the liturgy had been on conversion through penance, almsgiving and prayers. This stress on the penitential works of Lent gives the impression that Lent is somber, burdensome and lifeless season. Yet, this is not what Lent is. All these works of Lent are meant to help us to prepare for the New Life ahead of us. Indeed, Jesus made it clear, “You cannot make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? The days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.” (Lk 5:34f) Indeed, we fast and do penance only because God is far away from us. Our sins have alienated us from His love and His presence. So the penitential works of Lent are only means to an end, which is to welcome the Lord back into our lives.

That was why, yesterday, on the Fourth Sunday of Lent, the mid-way through the season, the mood of the liturgy changed quite radically. It gave us the anticipatory joy of the new life ahead of us. This theme of rejoicing overflows to the Monday of the 4^th Week of Lent as well. The readings today provide us a positive mood compared to the dry, wearisome and hopeless situation in the last three weeks. The readings from Isaiah and the gospel give us hope of a new heaven, a new earth and a new life. “Thus says the Lord: Now I create new heavens and a new earth. Be glad and rejoice for ever and ever for what I am creating, because I now create Jerusalem ‘Joy’ and her people ‘Gladness’. I shall rejoice over Jerusalem and exult in my people.” In the gospel, Jesus told the Court official, “Go home, your son will live.'”

Indeed, our sentiment is like those who are preparing hard for an exam or a project. They have spent much time studying and putting all their efforts into their projects. For years, they had been preparing for the day of reckoning when they will be assessed for promotion to the next level. Greater still is the anticipatory joy of the seminarian or medical student preparing for the final exams. They have spent five to eight years preparing for that final exam before they graduate. Indeed, the preparation is tough and the ordeal could be overwhelming. Now that they are at the threshold of finishing their battle, the thought of completing soon gives them the joy of anticipation when all will be over. This sentiment of accomplishing what they had started gives them the hope and the strength to give themselves utterly as they enter the defining lap in their journey to victory.

But what is needed for us to move forward? We need to forget our past and leave our sins behind. This is what the prophet asks of us. “The past will not be remembered, and will come no more to men’s minds.” We must be ready to let go of the old way of life. The trouble with us is that we still want to cling to our sinful way of life that is destructive to ourselves and others. Indeed Jesus remarked, “And no one after drinking old wine desires new wine, but says, ‘The old is good.'” (Lk 5:39) We are afraid of change. We are afraid to look at life anew, like the Pharisees who were blinder than the blind man in St John’s gospel. (cf Jn 5) Rather, we must be like blind Bartimaeus who threw off his cloak of security in this world and “sprang up and came to Jesus” saying,”My teacher, let me see again.” (Mk 10:51) This is what the letter of Hebrews is also exhorting us, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb 12:1f)

And the good news is that the moment we are ready to give up our sins, the Lord is there to take us back and restore us to the fullness of life. In the story of the Prodigal Son, we read that the moment the young son came to the realization of his sinful state and decided to return home, the Father welcomed him with open arms. The Father did not even wait to accept the son’s explanation, justification, excuses or even his apology for failing him. Instead, his immediate reaction was to restore his sonship and to celebrate. He said to his slaves, “Quickly, bring out a robe – the best one -and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” (Lk 15:22-24) What mattered for the Father was not what his younger son had done in the past. That he was back and alive was all that mattered. For the Father, the past was gone. There were only the present and the greater future ahead of him. Indeed, as St Paul said, “love does not keep a record of wrongs.” (1 Cor 13:5 CSB)

However, it is difficult to believe that we are forgiven so easily. We cannot even forgive ourselves, much less to think that God could truly forgive us all the wrongs we have done to Him and our fellowmen. We want to pay for our sins like the Prodigal Son who wanted to tell the Father, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.” (Lk 15:18f) Indeed, we want to earn our forgiveness like the elder son who was furious when his father welcomed back the younger son saying, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command, yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command, yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends.” (Lk 15:29f)

This is where we need to find faith in Christ. Only Christ can assure us that we are forgiven and new life is ahead of us. Jesus came precisely to offer us new life. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. (cf Jn 14:6) In the healing of the son of the Court Official, Jesus showed Himself to be a life-giver. But faith in Him was required. When the official asked the Lord, “to come and cure his son as he was at the point of death, Jesus said, ‘So you will not believe unless you see signs and portents!’ ‘Sir,’ answered the official ‘come down before my child dies.’ ‘Go home,’ said Jesus ‘your son will live.'” The faith of the official was not yet perfect. He needed to see Jesus ministering to his son for healing to take place. He was expecting Jesus to go, for he pleaded with Him.

However, the Lord insisted on complete faith in Him. He said, “Go home, your son will live.” And we read that the man submitted in perfect faith and surrendered to the Lord. “The man believed what Jesus had said and started on his way, and while he was still on the journey back his servants met him with the news that his boy was alive. He asked them when the boy had begun to recover. ‘The fever left him yesterday’ they said ‘at the seventh hour.’ The father realised that this was exactly the time when Jesus had said, ‘Your son will live’; and he and all his household believed.”

We too must also perfect our faith in the Lord. We must surrender our lives to Him. Sometimes, we pray and things do not seem to be happening immediately; we must never give up. We must keep on striving and persevering in our faith in Him, in prayers and in the way we live out the gospel life. God is faithful. As the responsorial psalm says, “Lord, you have rescued me and have not let my enemies rejoice over me. O Lord, you have raised my soul from the dead, restored me to life from those who sink into the grave. His anger lasts a moment; his favour all through life. At night there are tears, but joy comes with dawn. The Lord listened and had pity. The Lord came to my help. For me you have changed my mourning into dancing: O Lord my God, I will thank you for ever.” Indeed, listening to His word, imitating Him, living out the gospel life in faith is what will give us new life in Christ.

RECONCILIATION AS THE WORK AND INITIATIVE OF GOD

20190331 RECONCILIATION AS THE WORK AND INITIATIVE OF GOD

31 MARCH, 2019, Sunday, 4th Week in Lent

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Rose or Violet.

First reading

Joshua 5:9-12 ©

The Israelites celebrate their first Passover in the Promised Land

The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Today I have taken the shame of Egypt away from you.’

The Israelites pitched their camp at Gilgal and kept the Passover there on the fourteenth day of the month, at evening in the plain of Jericho. On the morrow of the Passover they tasted the produce of that country, unleavened bread and roasted ears of corn, that same day. From that time, from their first eating of the produce of that country, the manna stopped falling. And having manna no longer, the Israelites fed from that year onwards on what the land of Canaan yielded.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 33(34):2-7 ©

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

I will bless the Lord at all times,

his praise always on my lips;

in the Lord my soul shall make its boast.

The humble shall hear and be glad.

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Glorify the Lord with me.

Together let us praise his name.

I sought the Lord and he answered me;

from all my terrors he set me free.

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Look towards him and be radiant;

let your faces not be abashed.

This poor man called, the Lord heard him

and rescued him from all his distress.

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Second reading

God reconciled himself to us through Christ

For anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here. It is all God’s work. It was God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the work of handing on this reconciliation. In other words, God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself, not holding men’s faults against them, and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled. So we are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were appealing through us, and the appeal that we make in Christ’s name is: be reconciled to God. For our sake God made the sinless one into sin, so that in him we might become the goodness of God.

Gospel Acclamation

Lk15:18

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

I will leave this place and go to my father and say:

‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.’

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

Gospel

The prodigal son

The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he spoke this parable to them:

‘A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, “Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me.” So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.

‘When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, “How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants.” So he left the place and went back to his father.

‘While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.” And they began to celebrate.

‘Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. “Your brother has come” replied the servant “and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound.” He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father, “Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property – he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening.”

‘The father said, “My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.”’

RECONCILIATION AS THE WORK AND INITIATIVE OF GOD

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ JOSHUA 5:9-12; 2 COR 5:17-21; LK 15:1-3.11-32 ]

The opening lines of the gospel tell us that the parable of the Prodigal Son was directed at the Pharisees.

The problem of the Pharisees and the scribes was not because they were “bad” people. Rather, they were people who tried to be good through their own efforts. Their attitude towards others and themselves were personified in the elder son of today’s gospel story. They were trying to prove that they were worthy before God, like the elder son who told the father off when he tried to calm him down: “He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father, ‘Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends.'”

In so doing, they put themselves at par with God, thinking that they were deserving of God’s grace by their own merits. Furthermore, they were self-righteous, judgmental and intolerant of those who failed to perform the good deeds or observed the laws as they did. They made themselves the measure of what goodness and holiness were. They became smug, complacent and proud. When we have such an attitude, we behave like slaves. Isn’t that how the elder described himself when he told his father how he had slaved for him all these years? There was certainly no joy for him at all. There was no love in his heart. People like him can never find happiness, since pride fills them and alienates them not only from their neighbours whom they despise, but also God, whom they cannot accept because He welcomes sinners, eats and drinks with them.

Lest we fall into this kind of thinking, it is necessary that we begin the second leg of the season of Lent byputting this whole Lenten programme in perspective. The theme of today’s scripture reading is clear: Be Reconciled! But this reconciliation is not the work of man but primarily the work of God. In the first reading from the Book of Joshua, we have Yahweh saying: “Today I have taken the shame of Egypt away from you.” Yes, it was God who delivered the Israelites from the slavery of the Egyptians. From being nomads wandering in the desert, God led them to the Promised Land. Truly, the Israelites were nobody, but God chose them to be His people.

This same theme prevails in the second reading as well. St Paul makes it clear that “For anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here. It is all God’s work. It was God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the work of handing on this reconciliation.”

Indeed, we must not misunderstand reconciliation as the initiative of man but of God. St Augustine said that, if God has not found us in the first place, we would not have found Him. So it is not we who are reconciling ourselves with God, although it seems that it should be the case since we are the ones who have offended God by our sins.

The parable of the Prodigal Son illustrates clearly that it is the Father who reconciles. The father had been waiting for the lost son all the while, even before he had decided to return: “While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly.” And the father was not interested even to hear the apology of his son. Before he could even finish his rehearsed confession, the father cut short his speech and instead restored him to the fullness of his sonship by putting on him “the best robe, a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.” As far as the father was concerned, it was sufficient that his son recognized his need to return. The father had never considered him as anything other than his son.

The Father’s love, of course, was expressed concretely in the death of His only Son. As St Paul remarked, “For our sake God made the sinless one into sin, so that in him we might become the goodness of God.” Truly, “God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself, not holding men’s faults against them.” This is the utter love and mercy of God for us all. That He was made sin means that Christ had assumed the sufferings and misery of sinners in Himself. For this reason, Christ is forgiving, for He knows what it means to be separated from God and from others.

The fourth Sunday of Lent is thus called Laetare Sunday, that is, the Sunday of Rejoicing. But how can this joy be ours? This joy is ours only if we respond to His love and His call for reconciliation. That is why St Paul urges us to “Be Reconciled!” What, then, is needed for this reconciliation to take place? Only this: see the mercy and love of God for us in Christ! This explains why the liturgy in the second part of Lent focuses on Christ rather than on our spiritual exercises or our sins. Indeed, from today onwards, the gospel on weekdays is taken from John, which is a reflection on Jesus as the Light and life-giver in the context of the growing hostility against Him.

Our conversion comes about only as a consequence of contemplating on the Crucified Christ on the cross. Unless we understand the depth of God’s love for us, we can never change and be reconciled with Him. So long as reconciliation is on our side, we will not be able to be grateful, since we would have achieved it by our own merits. But when God in Christ freely shows His love for us even when we are undeserving of His love, such an action on the part of God cannot but transform our hearts.

Consequently, all that is required of us is that we be convicted of our sins and selfishness by contemplating the love of God in Christ. For like the prodigal son who returned home, it was his confidence in his father’s love and forgiveness that gave him the courage to turn back. That the father could even give him his share of his property whilst he was still alive, speaks volumes about the father’s unconditional love.

But what about the Lenten spiritual exercises that we are invited to do? Nay, these are necessary, but not so much as means by which we can earn God’s love and His grace. Rather, the spiritual exercises are meant to help us remove the obstacles that prevent us from being receptive to His grace.

Of great importance among the spiritual exercises is the work of reconciliation. Indeed, St Paul reminds us that the consequence of being reconciled with God is that in turn we become ambassadors for Christ and become His reconcilers. He said, “So we are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were appealing through us, and the appeal that we make in Christ’s name is: be reconciled to God.” Thus, when St Paul urges us to be reconciled, this reconciliation must not only be with God but in a special way with our fellow brothers and sisters. This is the goal of all our spiritual exercises during Lent. If fasting, almsgiving and prayers do not lead us to reconciliation with our fellowmen, then we have missed the point.

This is what it means to be people of the new creation. Having reconciled with Christ, St Paul says, we are “a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here.” We must now live by a new set of values. No longer do we submit to our passions and natural instincts but we are ruled by God and His gospel.

Yes, although Easter is still three weeks away, today, the Church wants us to be focused with regard to the goal of Lent, which is to be a new creation in Christ, through the restoration of our sonship. As we continue with the Lenten spiritual exercises, we must never forget that the purpose is to be reconciled with God and with our neighbours. We have with us already, the Eucharist to help us in this journey, just as God gave the manna to the Israelites. Let us therefore be filled with joy today, for our joy is not so much that we are able to perform the spiritual exercises, but that God loves us and has forgiven us in Christ. It is this realization that is the basis of our Lenten joy.