20190501
BAPTISM
AS THE MEANS TO ETERNAL LIFE
01 MAY, 2019,
Wednesday, 2nd Week of Easter
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
White.
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First reading
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Acts 5:17-26 ©
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The men you imprisoned are in the
Temple, preaching to the people
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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.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 33(34):2-9 ©
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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!
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Gospel Acclamation
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Christ has risen and shone upon us
whom he redeemed with his blood.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Jn3:16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
God loved the world so much that he gave
his only Son:
everyone who believes in him has eternal
life.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 3:16-21 ©
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God sent his Son into the world so that
through him the world might be saved
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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 5:17-26; PSALM 34:2-9; JOHN 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
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