20190401
HOPE
OF NEW LIFE SUSTAINS US
01 APRIL, 2019,
Monday, 4th Week in Lent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Violet.
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First reading
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Isaiah 65:17-21 ©
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Be glad and rejoice for ever at what I
am creating
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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.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm
29(30):2,4-6,11-13 ©
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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.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Ps129:5,7
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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!
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Or:
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cf.Amos5:14
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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!
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Gospel
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John 4:43-54 ©
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Go home: your son will live
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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 4th 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.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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