20200308
A
CERTAIN AND SUBSTANTIATED HOPE OF A GLORIOUS DESTINY
08 March, 2020,
Sunday, 2nd Week of Lent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Genesis 12:1-4 ©
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All the tribes of the earth shall bless themselves by you
The Lord said to
Abram, ‘Leave your country, your family and your father’s house, for the land I
will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your
name so famous that it will be used as a blessing.
‘I
will bless those who bless you:
I
will curse those who slight you.
All
the tribes of the earth
shall
bless themselves by you.’
So Abram went as
the Lord told him.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 32(33):4-5,18-20,22 ©
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May
your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
The
word of the Lord is faithful
and
all his works to be trusted.
The
Lord loves justice and right
and
fills the earth with his love.
May
your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
The
Lord looks on those who revere him,
on
those who hope in his love,
to
rescue their souls from death,
to
keep them alive in famine.
May
your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
Our
soul is waiting for the Lord.
The
Lord is our help and our shield.
May
your love be upon us, O Lord,
as
we place all our hope in you.
May
your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
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Second reading
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2 Timothy 1:8-10 ©
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God calls and enlightens us
With me, bear the
hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God who has
saved us and called us to be holy – not because of anything we ourselves
have done but for his own purpose and by his own grace. This grace had already
been granted to us, in Christ Jesus, before the beginning of time, but it has
only been revealed by the Appearing of our saviour Christ Jesus. He abolished
death, and he has proclaimed life and immortality through the Good News.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Mt17:5
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Glory
and praise to you, O Christ!
From
the bright cloud the Father’s voice was heard:
‘This
is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.’
Glory
and praise to you, O Christ!
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Gospel
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Matthew 17:1-9 ©
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His face shone line the sun
Jesus took with
him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain where
they could be alone. There in their presence he was transfigured: his face
shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as the light. Suddenly Moses
and Elijah appeared to them; they were talking with him. Then Peter spoke to
Jesus. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘it is wonderful for us to be here; if you wish, I will
make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ He was
still speaking when suddenly a bright cloud covered them with shadow, and from
the cloud there came a voice which said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; he
enjoys my favour. Listen to him.’ When they heard this the disciples fell on
their faces overcome with fear. But Jesus came up and touched them. ‘Stand up,’
he said ‘do not be afraid.’ And when they raised their eyes they saw no one but
only Jesus.
As
they came down from the mountain Jesus gave them this order, ‘Tell no one about
the vision until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.’
A CERTAIN AND
SUBSTANTIATED HOPE OF A GLORIOUS DESTINY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [GN 12:1-4; PS
33:4-5,18-20,22; 2 TIM 1:8-10; MT 17:1-9]
The most tragic
consequence of an atheistic secularism is that our people are robbed of hope in
the fullness of life, not just on this earth but hereafter. When humanity is reduced to mere
matter; and when God is dismissed as mere superstition, there is not much hope
for anyone beyond this life. This was what St Paul wrote, even for
Christians. He said, “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we
are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Cor 15:19)
This explains why the
current philosophy of life among people who have lost their faith because of
secularism is YOLO, “You only live once” and an attitude of fear, “FOMO”, the
fear of missing out. The
resultant behavior of the modern generation is to grab as much as one can,
enjoy as much as we can from this world, experience everything, including
drugs, so that when we die, we would not have lived our life in vain.
This explains why the current generation only live for today and have little
thought for the future generations or tomorrow because there might be no
tomorrow. Each one of us should just look after ourselves.
Why make sacrifices for others and for the future and be deprived of the joy
and pleasures of this world when life is so short?
But Abraham in the first
reading did not think that way. He was already 75 years old. He was
a rich man with a big flock of sheep and cattle. He had already lived a full life.
There was no necessity for him to leave his homeland and start all over again
in a land where he would be a stranger and the future uncertain. Why
would he worry about his name when at his age, he and Sarah were beyond
childbearing? Why would he be bothered to think of generations after him
and to be a blessing to them? He might as well simply enjoy his wealth,
live comfortably with Sarah to a ripe old age.
However, Abraham was not
one to fall into despair and hopelessness easily. He continued to live in hope of a
greater future ahead of him. Having heard the Lord’s call to leave his
homeland to go to another land, which the Lord would show him, he migrated in
faith. The promise of a great nation and a great name, bringing
blessings to many, was of great joy to him. He was ready to make
sacrifices. He was willing to take the risk of giving up his security and
settle in another country without any guarantee except the promise of God.
So God blessed
Abraham. Not only did God realize the promise of making Abraham the
father of many nations, and a name remembered for all posterity, but He also
gave Abraham a home and a kingdom beyond this earth. In truth, the
promises were never realized fully in his time. “All of these died in faith without having
received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They
confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people
who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If
they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have
had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country,
that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God;
indeed, he has prepared a city for them.” (Heb 11:13-16)
Indeed, for us,
Christians, we believe that our real future is with God. Our hope is to
share in the eternal life given to us in Christ. St Paul wrote, “This grace had
already been granted to us, in Christ Jesus, before the beginning of time, but
it has only been revealed by the Appearing of our saviour Christ Jesus. He
abolished death, and he has proclaimed life and immortality through the Good
News.” Our hope therefore is not just the fullness of life on this
earth but eternal life with God in Christ. This is the great news that St
Paul was willing to suffer for. He wrote, “with me, bear the hardships
for the sake of the Good News.”
Today’s gospel reading
helps us to find our focus and strength in this penitential journey we take
with Abraham. In the
gospel, at Mount Tabor, our Lord was transfigured like Moses at Mount
Sinai. The scene was so overwhelming that the apostles fell down
in worship. It was such a breathtaking experience that the apostles
wanted to remain there forever. Hence, they suggested, “Lord, it is
wonderful for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three tents here, one for
you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” This is a foretaste of heaven,
basking in the awesome presence of God’s love and light. This is how we
will also be like after death, with a transfigured and glorious body, and not
reduced simply to dust and disappear as what the world is telling us.
Why did Jesus give them
a preview of His glory? Jesus
revealed to the three apostles His future glory so that they would find courage
in their time of trial not just at His passion and later on when they
were sent out to preach the Good News. Later on in the ministry,
especially when they were suffering persecution, they would look towards this
event as Peter recalled later on in his ministry. (cf 2 Pt 1; 16-18) Only
when we are certain of a hope of the future, will we be able to continue to
make sacrifices and persevere until the end. So as Christians, we are not
guessing what will happen to us at the end of time. We are certain that
we will live forever in the presence of God and share in His glorified life.
It was also important
for Jesus to reveal His identity as the Son of God so that we have confidence
in Him and in His message. The
presence of Moses was the Father’s way of affirming that Jesus is the
fulfillment of the Law which Moses stood for. He is also the Word of
God. The presence of Elijah was to affirm that Jesus is the
eschatological Prophet of God of which Elijah is the symbol of the prophets of
the Old Testament. Indeed, as the letter of Hebrews says, “Long ago God
spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in
these last days he has spoken to us by a Son.” (Heb 1:1f) Because
Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophet prophesied by Moses, we should
therefore listen to Him. Hence, the voice from heaven “This is my
Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour. Listen to him” echoes the exhortation of
Moses to his people. “The Lord your God will raise up for you a
prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a
prophet.” (Dt 18:15)
So our hope as Christians
is a certain hope in Christ and in the resurrection. We do not just live
for this life on earth.
We live for eternal life. We live to share in Christ’s glory. As St
Paul says, it is because of this Good News that we are ready to bear the
hardships of the gospel. When something is beautiful and eternal, we do
not mind paying any price for it. When life was extremely difficult in
the olden days, people lived in poverty and sickness, war and violence, many
were willing to die for God and for paradise because it was a better
place. However, today, because of technology and progress, we deceive
ourselves into believing that paradise is on earth. There is no other
paradise. Thus, the desire for heaven and a share in the glorious destiny
of Christ has been lost and forgotten. So, people cling to this life and
want to prolong their life for as long as it is possible. We fail to
realize that this world is passing and what we have is merely a foretaste of a
greater joy and fulfillment in the future with God.
So during this Lenten
journey, following the great battle that we read in last Sunday’s gospel when
Jesus battled the temptations of Satan, we too would have to join Jesus in this
spiritual warfare. We
find strength in our fight against temptation and sin when we keep our focus on
the goal that is ahead of us. With St Paul we must press on. “Not that I
have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on
toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.”
(cf Phil 3:12-14) So with courage, let us march on with Abraham to the
Promised Land, knowing that our destiny is certain. God is with us on
this journey as He was with Abraham and the prophets. “The Lord is our
help and our shield”, so says the psalmist. We do not travel alone but we
travel in faith with Abraham and all our brothers and sisters in this journey
of life. We must make this journey together supporting each other in
faith and in prayers so that we will all arrive in heaven when the time comes,
we and our loved ones united together in Christ in the next life.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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