Tuesday, 30 April 2019

BAPTISM AS THE MEANS TO ETERNAL LIFE

20190501 BAPTISM AS THE MEANS TO ETERNAL LIFE


01 MAY, 2019, Wednesday, 2nd Week of Easter
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: White.

First reading
Acts 5:17-26 ©

The men you imprisoned are in the Temple, preaching to the people
The high priest intervened with all his supporters from the party of the Sadducees. Prompted by jealousy, they arrested the apostles and had them put in the common gaol.
  But at night the angel of the Lord opened the prison gates and said as he led them out, ‘Go and stand in the Temple, and tell the people all about this new Life.’ They did as they were told; they went into the Temple at dawn and began to preach.
  When the high priest arrived, he and his supporters convened the Sanhedrin – this was the full Senate of Israel – and sent to the gaol for them to be brought. But when the officials arrived at the prison they found they were not inside, so they went back and reported, ‘We found the gaol securely locked and the warders on duty at the gates, but when we unlocked the door we found no one inside.’ When the captain of the Temple and the chief priests heard this news they wondered what this could mean. Then a man arrived with fresh news. ‘At this very moment’ he said, ‘the men you imprisoned are in the Temple. They are standing there preaching to the people.’ The captain went with his men and fetched them. They were afraid to use force in case the people stoned them.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 33(34):2-9 ©
This poor man called and the Lord heard him.
or
Alleluia!
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.
This poor man called and the Lord heard him.
or
Alleluia!
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.
This poor man called and the Lord heard him.
or
Alleluia!
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.
This poor man called and the Lord heard him.
or
Alleluia!
The angel of the Lord is encamped
  around those who revere him, to rescue them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
  He is happy who seeks refuge in him.
This poor man called and the Lord heard him.
or
Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
Christ has risen and shone upon us
whom he redeemed with his blood.
Alleluia!
Or:
Jn3:16
Alleluia, alleluia!
God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son:
everyone who believes in him has eternal life.
Alleluia!

Gospel
John 3:16-21 ©

God sent his Son into the world so that through him the world might be saved
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
‘God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost
but may have eternal life.
For God sent his Son into the world
not to condemn the world,
but so that through him the world might be saved.
No one who believes in him will be condemned;
but whoever refuses to believe is condemned already,
because he has refused to believe in the name of God’s only Son.
On these grounds is sentence pronounced:
that though the light has come into the world
men have shown they prefer darkness to the light
because their deeds were evil.
And indeed, everybody who does wrong
hates the light and avoids it,
for fear his actions should be exposed;
but the man who lives by the truth comes out into the light,
so that it may be plainly seen that what he does is done in God.’

BAPTISM AS THE MEANS TO ETERNAL LIFE

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS 5:17-26PSALM 34:2-9JOHN 3:16-21]
We are in the second week of Easter.  The liturgy continues to expound on the sacrament of baptism which is the gateway to eternal life.  At our baptism, the celebrant would ask the question, “What do you ask of God’s Church?”   The response that is required to this question is one of the answers, “baptism, faith or eternal life.”
What is eternal life?  It must be clarified right from the outset that eternal life is not the same as everlasting life, although it is often used interchangeably.  Everlasting life is a life without end.  It is a life of immortality.  This life is already given to all regardless of whether we are good or evil.  All of us will be resurrected on the last day.  When we speak of eternal life, we are speaking however of the life of God.  We are referring to a life of everlasting love, joy, peace, giving and sharing, a life of communion and love.
How can we have access to this life?  It is freely given as a gift through Jesus Christ.  No man can give himself eternal life.  It is purely the grace of God.  We cannot earn it or merit it.   Eternal life belongs to God and it is His free gift to us.  He invites to share in His life of love and joy.  This life is given to us through His only begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ.   Jesus to Nicodemus: “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life. For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved.”   Jesus comes to offer us the gift of God’s life.
That being the case, to come to know this life, we need to come to know the Lord and believe in Him.  Through Christ, we come to know what eternal life is all about.  Reflecting on His life of love and selfless giving to humanity and His total obedience to the Father in love, gives us a glimpse of what eternal life is all about.   It is a life of unconditional love and total giving for God and for our fellowmen.  Living such a life brings great joy, freedom and enrichment.
Access to eternal life given to us by Christ requires faith in Him.  Unless we believe that Christ is the Son of God, we cannot be sure that we know what eternal life is all about.  As Jesus said in yesterday’s gospel, “No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down from heaven, the Son of Man who is in heaven; and the Son of Man must be lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”   Only Christ who is in the bosom of the Father can show us who God is.  “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)
To have faith in Christ is more than just believing that He is the Son of God.  More importantly, because He is the Son of God, we believe all that He has taught us and revealed to us.  Eternal life is given to those who walk in the light of Christ as revealed to us.   Jesus said, “the man who lives by the truth comes out into the light, so that it may be plainly seen that what he does is done in God.”  Walking in the truth following Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life, we will come to share in the life of God.
Having faith in Christ is more than an ethical choice. It means total trust and reliance on Him as our Lord and Savior, not relying on our own efforts but on His power. Indeed, “to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.”  (Jn 1:12f)   Faith in Christ is to rely on Him for our salvation and not on our own strength and ingenuity.  It means trusting in Him and committing our lives into His hands.  With the psalmist, we pray, “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. The angel of the Lord is encamped around those who revere him, to rescue them. Taste and see that the Lord is good. He is happy who seeks refuge in him.”
How does He give us the power to be sons and daughters of God if not through the sending of the Holy Spirit?  At baptism, faith in our Lord as our savior brings about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Through Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, we are born again as sons and daughters of God.  The Holy Spirit enables us all to be God’s adopted children.   Hence, at baptism, when we were baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy, we become children of God. 
Consequently, there is a warning as well. “No one who believes in him will be condemned; but whoever refuses to believe is condemned already, because he has refused to believe in the name of God’s only Son.”  Why does the rejection of Christ lead to condemnation?    Does it mean that those who do not believe in Jesus are condemned?  Surely not!   If they do not know Jesus because of ignorance, all it means is that they would be deprived of the fullness of truth and therefore of the fullness of life, here on earth.  It is important that we understand this text in context.  Nevertheless, if they try to live a good and righteous life according to what they know, they too could be saved because as Jesus said, “the man who lives by the truth comes out into the light, so that it may be plainly seen that what he does is done in God.”    Still, the fact remains that the fullness of life is dependent on how much we know the truth about life and God.  The more we know the truth, the more we can seek to live the fullness of life.  Otherwise, like blind people in the world, we will be seeking life and love but because we are ignorant, we cannot find the fullness of life.  But this does not mean that at the end of our life we will be condemned.
However, the deliberate rejection of Jesus of course does lead to self-condemnation because if we know that Jesus is the Son of God and we deny this reality, resulting in the refusal to accept His teachings and to follow His way of life, we would necessarily deprive ourselves of the life and love of God and the ability to walk in the truth and in the light.  This was what Jesus said, “On these grounds is sentence pronounced: that though the light has come into the world men have shown they prefer darkness to the light because their deeds were evil. And indeed, everybody who does wrong hates the light and avoids it, for fear his actions should be exposed; but the man who lives by the truth comes out into the light, so that it may be plainly seen that what he does is done in God.”
In the first reading, we have the example of the apostles in contrast to the members of the Sanhedrin. The apostles knew the truth and therefore with courage, in spite of threats and intimidation, they refused to stop preaching about Jesus.  Immediately after being released by the angel from the gaol, they were once again at the Temple preaching.  They would listen to no man except God alone.  Thus, after the angel of the Lord opened the prison gates and led them out, they were told, “Go and stand in the Temple, and tell the people all about this new Life.” They did as they were told and went into the Temple at dawn and began to preach.
Conversely, the 70 members of the Sanhedrin got together, but they were not receptive to the truth in spite of the miracles performed by the apostles; the healing of the crippled man and their miraculous release from the gaol.  Instead of inquiring objectively to find out the truth, they tried to intimidate and silence them from proclaiming the truth about Jesus for fear that they would lose their status quo, their position in society and most of all, their privileges.  Worst of all, they were afraid of their hypocrisy and selfish interests being exposed.  In this case, they were culpable of rejecting Christ and the truth.  As a result, they walked in darkness and in falsehood, causing them to live a life of selfishness and misery.
In light of the above, we need to make a choice.  By placing our faith in Christ as the Son of God, proven by His death and resurrection, we can be assured that He will give us a share of His Holy Spirit.  As we die to sins in Christ at baptism, we will rise to share in the New life of Christ.  Those who are baptized must now seriously live the life of Christ.  We must not just be contented with a ritual baptism, which cannot save us in itself, unless the water washes away our sins and we live with a clear conscience.  Baptism through faith in Christ is indeed the gateway to eternal life in Christ.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved



Monday, 29 April 2019

BEING BORN AGAIN

20190430 BEING BORN AGAIN


30 APRIL, 2019, Tuesday, 2nd Week of Easter
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: White.

First reading
Acts 4:32-37 ©

The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul
The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul; no one claimed for his own use anything that he had, as everything they owned was held in common.
  The apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with great power, and they were all given great respect.
  None of their members was ever in want, as all those who owned land or houses would sell them, and bring the money from them, to present it to the apostles; it was then distributed to any members who might be in need.
  There was a Levite of Cypriot origin called Joseph whom the apostles surnamed Barnabas (which means ‘son of encouragement’). He owned a piece of land and he sold it and brought the money, and presented it to the apostles.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 92(93):1-2,5 ©
The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed;
  the Lord has robed himself with might,
  he has girded himself with power.
The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed.
or
Alleluia!
The world you made firm, not to be moved;
  your throne has stood firm from of old.
  From all eternity, O Lord, you are.
The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed.
or
Alleluia!
Truly your decrees are to be trusted.
  Holiness is fitting to your house,
  O Lord, until the end of time.
The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed.
or
Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation
cf.Rv1:5
Alleluia, alleluia!
You, O Christ, are the faithful witness,
the First-born from the dead,
you have loved us and have washed away our sins with your blood.
Alleluia!
Or:
Jn3:15
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Son of Man must be lifted up
so that everyone who believes in him
may have eternal life.
Alleluia!

Gospel
John 3:7-15 ©

No-one has gone up to heaven except the Son of Man who has come down from heaven
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
‘Do not be surprised when I say:
You must be born from above.
The wind blows wherever it pleases;
you hear its sound,
but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.
That is how it is with all who are born of the Spirit.’
‘How can that be possible?’ asked Nicodemus. ‘You, a teacher in Israel, and you do not know these things!’ replied Jesus.
‘I tell you most solemnly,
we speak only about what we know
and witness only to what we have seen
and yet you people reject our evidence.
If you do not believe me when I speak about things in this world,
how are you going to believe me when I speak to you about heavenly things?
No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who came down from heaven,
the Son of Man who is in heaven;
and the Son of Man must be lifted up
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.’


BEING BORN AGAIN

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 4:32-37PS 93:1-25JOHN 3:7-15 ]
“Do not be surprised when I say: You must be born from above.”   Indeed, many of us are not living the fullness of life because we simply live an earthly life.  This is how people in the world live.  Their focus is only on this world.  They say, “you only live once” so we should enjoy all that we can and experience every fun and thrill on this earth because when we die, we will just disappear.  This explains why the modern man is self-centered, individualistic, materialistic and selfish.  He is afraid to miss out on the pleasures this world affords because his life is short.  Death is the greatest enemy of man.  He tries to camouflage it by not talking about it, mask it through cosmetic makeovers, and prolong his life through all kinds of supplements and health foods.
But what is even worse than an earthly life, is a worldly life.  There is a difference between an earthly life and worldly life.  An earthly life is one that is lived like an animal, eating, sleeping, working and playing.  But a worldly life is a life enslaved by sin, addiction to what is evil – pornography, alcoholism, gambling, drugs, sex, violence, killing and anger.  St Paul wrote, “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”  (Gal 5:19-21)
That is why we need to be born again through baptism in the Holy Spirit.  This is what the Lord said to Nicodemus, “The wind blows wherever it pleases; you hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. That is how it is with all who are born of the Spirit.’ ‘How can that be possible?’ asked Nicodemus.”  Being born in the Spirit is to put on the Spirit of Christ.  This Spirit is given to us when we are baptized in Christ.  Baptism is the gateway to the reception of the Holy Spirit.  When the Holy Spirit lives in us, there is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”  (Gal 5:22f)
Indeed, the Holy Spirit makes it possible for us, Christians, to be united in heart and soul like the early Church.   We read in the Acts that “the whole group of believers was united, heart and soul; no one claimed for his own use anything that he had, as everything they owned was held in common.”  When we are filled with the Holy Spirit we are no longer individualistic, always thinking about ourselves, but we are always thinking about others instead.  Rather than focusing on our own needs, we look to attend to the needs of others.  The Holy Spirit gives us the spirit of empathy and generosity.  Indeed, a sign that we are a born-again Christian is not simply evidenced by whether we have received the gift of tongues or rested in the Spirit but whether we are generous and have lost our attachment to money and the things of this world.  St Paul wrote, “those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”  (Gal 5:24)
We become conscious that we are brothers and sisters in Christ and that we are one Body in Him.  Indeed, we read that “None of their members was ever in want, as all those who owned land or houses would sell them, and bring the money from them, to present it to the apostles; it was then distributed to any members who might be in need. There was a Levite of Cypriot origin called Joseph whom the apostles surnamed Barnabas (which means ‘son of encouragement’).  He owned a piece of land and he sold it and brought the money, and presented it to the apostles.”  Charity and inclusiveness are signs of being born again!
Indeed, when we are born again, the way we regard money and wealth is seen through a different pair of lenses.  We no longer see them simply for our use on pleasures and happiness alone.  Instead, we see them as something to be shared with others because we know that all we have come from God.  This was how the early Christians felt.  “No one claimed for his own use anything that he had, as everything they owned was held in common.”  Whatever we have are for us to hold in trust for those who do not have.  We are called to use our money, wealth, talents, time and resources wisely for the service of God’s kingdom, especially for those who have not.  Money is no longer our god but our servant.  Those who are still attached to money are serving false gods.  It is, as St Paul says, a form of idolatry.  (cf Col 3:5)  They have a hold over us, making us always think of money.  Instead of being motivated by love and passion, we are motivated by what we can get from a service that we do.  Detachment from money and wealth is a clear proof that we are truly born again in the Lord.
But like Nicodemus, we also ask, “How can that be possible?” Indeed, we wonder why there are some people who can live such carefree lives.  Why are they able to be so generous with their money and resources, giving without counting the cost?  We envy such people who could just let go of their resources and trust in the providence of God.  Yet, we know that such people are really free because they are not slaves to anything in this world.  As St Paul wrote, they “have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”  (Col 3:1-3)
We have testimony from our Lord Himself as to how He lived His life.  Jesus said to Nicodemus, “You are a teacher in Israel, and you do not know these things!”  Indeed, we might be doctors of science, philosophy and theology, and yet we do not know how to live our lives meaningfully and joyfully.  This is the irony of the world.  Even professionals are living a life of slavery to their work and fears and desires to be rich, famous and powerful. Hence, Jesus said, “I tell you most solemnly, we speak only about what we know and witness only to what we have seen and yet you people reject our evidence.  If you do not believe me when I speak about things in this world, how are you going to believe me when I speak to you about heavenly things?”  Looking at His life will teach us how to live ours!
We have the testimony of the early Christians and the apostles of our Lord.  We read that “the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with great power, and they were all given great respect.”  It was not simply by their preaching alone that inspired faith in the early Church and in the Christian community but it was by their faith in the Lord, reliance on His power, love for the Church and especially the poor, the orphans and the widows.  Instead of grabbing power, wealth and honour as they did before the resurrection, they were now ready to share the humiliation of being Christ’s apostles.  Instead of trying to save their lives, they were ready to die for the Lord and their faith in Him.   This was possible only because of their faith in the Risen Lord and their reception of the Holy Spirit.
Indeed, today, we must strengthen our faith in the Risen Lord if we are to be able to stay firm in our faith, and not just being born again but living a transformed life of grace.  Jesus in no uncertain words made it clear, “No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down from heaven, the Son of Man who is in heaven; and the Son of Man must be lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”  Our faith in Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection is what will help us to live the life of the Spirit.  In Christ, we can truly proclaim that God is our king, as the psalmist declared, “The Lord is king, with majesty enrobed; the Lord has robed himself with might! He has girded himself with power. From all eternity, O Lord, you are. Truly your decrees are to be trusted. Holiness is fitting to your house, O Lord, until the end of time.”

Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved