20200406
LOVE
WITHOUT MEASURE
06 April, 2020, Holy Monday
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Isaiah 42:1-7 ©
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Here is my chosen one in whom my soul delights
Here
is my servant whom I uphold,
my
chosen one in whom my soul delights.
I
have endowed him with my spirit
that
he may bring true justice to the nations.
He
does not cry out or shout aloud,
or
make his voice heard in the streets.
He
does not break the crushed reed,
nor
quench the wavering flame.
Faithfully
he brings true justice;
he
will neither waver, nor be crushed
until
true justice is established on earth,
for
the islands are awaiting his law.
Thus
says God, the Lord,
he
who created the heavens and spread them out,
who
gave shape to the earth and what comes from it,
who
gave breath to its people
and
life to the creatures that move in it:
‘I,
the Lord, have called you to serve the cause of right;
I
have taken you by the hand and formed you;
I
have appointed you as covenant of the people and light of the nations,
‘to
open the eyes of the blind,
to
free captives from prison,
and
those who live in darkness from the dungeon.’
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 26(27):1-3,13-14 ©
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The
Lord is my light and my help.
The
Lord is my light and my help;
whom
shall I fear?
The
Lord is the stronghold of my life;
before
whom shall I shrink?
The
Lord is my light and my help.
When
evil-doers draw near
to
devour my flesh,
it is
they, my enemies and foes,
who
stumble and fall.
The
Lord is my light and my help.
Though
an army encamp against me
my
heart would not fear.
Though
war break out against me
even
then would I trust.
The
Lord is my light and my help.
I am
sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in
the land of the living.
Hope
in him, hold firm and take heart.
Hope
in the Lord!
The
Lord is my light and my help.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Praise
and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Hail
to you, our King!
You
alone have had compassion on our sins.
Praise
and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
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Gospel
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John 12:1-11 ©
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'She had to keep this scent for the day of my burial'
Six days before
the Passover, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom he had raised from
the dead. They gave a dinner for him there; Martha waited on them and Lazarus
was among those at table. Mary brought in a pound of very costly ointment, pure
nard, and with it anointed the feet of Jesus, wiping them with her hair; the
house was full of the scent of the ointment. Then Judas Iscariot – one of
his disciples, the man who was to betray him – said, ‘Why wasn’t this
ointment sold for three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor?’ He
said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he
was in charge of the common fund and used to help himself to the contributions.
So Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone; she had to keep this scent for the day of my
burial. You have the poor with you always, you will not always have me.’
Meanwhile
a large number of Jews heard that he was there and came not only on account of
Jesus but also to see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. Then the chief
priests decided to kill Lazarus as well, since it was on his account that many
of the Jews were leaving them and believing in Jesus.
LOVE WITHOUT
MEASURE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [IS 42:1-7; PS 27:1-3, 13-14; JN 12:1-11 ]
How much do you love
me? This
is a question we often ask of our friends and loved ones. Jesus also
asked Peter this question after His resurrection. Three times, the Lord
asked Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” (cf Jn
21:15-17) When Peter replied, “Lord, you know everything; you know
that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell
you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever
you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone
else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to
go.” (Jn 21:17f) Indeed, love has no measure. Love
means to give all and to surrender all.
This is the way Jesus
loves us. The
evangelist at the beginning of the next chapter before Jesus’ farewell meal
with His disciples remarked, “Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus
knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father.
Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” (Jn 13:1)
Indeed, Jesus showed us the depth of His love for us, by emptying Himself of
His divinity and assuming our humanity, and became obedient even unto death on
the cross. (cf Phil 2:6-8) His whole life was lived as an oblation
for humanity. He spent all His time healing the sick, delivering those
suffering from all kinds of oppression including the Evil One, raising the
dead, reconciling sinners with God and teaching us the unconditional love and
mercy of His Father.
Jesus is the fulfillment
of the Suffering Servant in the first reading. The first song of the Suffering Servant in
today’s reading prefigures the role of the Messiah. Scripture scholars
are not too clear who the Suffering Servant was as mentioned in a cryptic
manner in Isaiah. Some thought it could refer to Israel, the Messiah or
even to Emperor Cyrus. But for us, Christians, we know that this
Suffering Servant is none other than Christ, for Jesus lived out this prophecy
perfectly in His life. He is the Chosen One of God. This is implied
in Jesus’ baptism when the voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the
Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” (Mt 3:17)
This phrase echoes what Isaiah said, “Here is my servant whom I uphold, my
chosen one in whom my soul delights.”
Furthermore, Jesus
shares the same spirit of the Suffering Servant. “I have endowed him with my spirit that he
may bring true justice to the nations. He does not cry out or shout
aloud, or make his voice heard in the streets. He does not break the crushed
reed, nor quench the wavering flame. Faithfully he brings true justice; he will
neither waver nor be crushed until true justice is established on earth, for
the islands are awaiting his law.” At His inauguration, the Lord also
cited the text of Isaiah. “The spirit of the Lord God is upon
me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring
good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim
the year of the Lord’s favor,” (Isa 61:1f;
cf Lk
4:18f)
Indeed, the Lord, filled
with the Spirit of His Father, in His self-emptying love, sought to win us over
by His love, compassion and tenderness. Instead of using violence and retaliation
to win over His enemies, the Lord submitted Himself to the cruelty of unjust
suffering inflicted by His enemies. He did not shout but gently invited
us to repent. He did not condemn those who recognized themselves as
sinners but always assured them of God’s forgiveness. The Lord in championing
justice for all was courageous in speaking out against those who oppressed the
people. He remained focus in His mission in spite of opposition,
resistance and threats from the religious authorities. This was
because of His love for us. He is the Good Shepherd who died for His
sheep. (Jn 10:11) He has compassion for us because we are
being harassed and helpless, like “sheep without a shepherd.’ (Mt 9:36)
Mary in today’s gospel,
having received Jesus’ overwhelming love for her, returned her love without
measure. She was
extravagant in expressing her love for the Lord since Jesus in the first place
had demonstrated by His life what love is. Indeed, she teaches us that
love does not count the sacrifices or the costs when she showed her love for
the Lord by indulging Him with an anointing of His body using very costly
ointment of pure nard. Although the ointment cost 300 denarii, which is
almost a year’s wage of a labourer, she did not mind “wasting” it on our
Lord. When we love, we do not measure love in monetary terms.
Love comes from the heart. When we love, the heart responds and expresses
itself.
Love is not measured in
material or monetary terms but expresses itself in humility. Instead of using a towel, Mary
unabashedly untied her hair, even though it was regarded as immodest for a
woman to do so in public, and used it to wipe the feet of Jesus. Such was
the love of Mary. She was like a servant stooping so low, not just to
wash the feet of Jesus but she even using her hair to wipe His feet,
anticipating how Jesus would also, like a servant, wash the feet of His
disciples. In so doing, she showed that love means being always comfortable
before one’s beloved. There is no need to dress up, put on make-up or
pretend to be what one is not. A lover is simply himself or herself
before his or her loved ones. Mary was so confident of Jesus’ love that
she did not have to “behave” herself or put up a good show before our
Lord. She spontaneously and simply showed her love the way she knew
best. She knew that the Lord loved her just as she was, unconditionally,
uniquely and totally.
In contrast, those who
are not sincere in love will always count the cost of giving. Judas remarked, “Why wasn’t this
ointment sold for three hundred denarii, and the money given to the
poor?” The evangelist gave a footnote, “He said this, not because he
cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he was in charge of the
common fund and used to help himself to the contributions.” Judas did not
have love for the Lord or for the poor. He used the poor as an excuse not
to love the Lord. When we lack love, we lack generosity. In order
to disguise our lack of love, we rationalize and find excuses for not doing
what we know should be done. When there is no love, we tend to be
calculative in what we do. When we love from our heart, this is the last
thing on our mind. A person who loves is always thinking about how to
make his or her beloved feel loved and be happy.
At any rate, we must not
mistake kindness for charity. We are charitable to the living but we can
be kind to both living and dead.
As the Lord said in a cryptic way about Mary, she was preparing His body for
burial. Mary unknowingly was preparing the Lord’s body for His
burial. She loved the Lord. There is nothing wrong in loving our
loved ones. It does not mean that we do not love the poor. On the
contrary, it is only because we love our loved ones and are loved in return,
that we can together love the poor even more. True love does not stay
exclusively between a couple. When we are empowered in love, we want to
reach out to others who are deprived of such a love. This is why we
read that when Mary poured the ointment on the feet of our Lord, “the house was
full of the scent of the ointment.” In giving her love to the Lord, she
exuded love throughout the whole house. The fragrance of her abundant and
extravagant love for our Lord was enjoyed by all present, filling the entire
house with her love.
We, too, who have
received much love from our Lord must now ask ourselves, how much we love the
Lord. The
Lord is about to enter into His passion. How are we going to console Him
and show Him that He did not die in vain for us and that His sacrifice is
fruitful for our salvation? We must act like Mary who showed her abundant
love for the Lord. We must intensify our love for the Lord. At the
same time, we must exude this love for Him to others so that the fragrance of
His love will be spread to all. Like the Suffering Servant, we have been
chosen “to serve the cause of right. Indeed, the Lord said, “I have taken
you by the hand and formed you; I have appointed you as covenant of the people
and light of the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to free captives from
prison, and those who live in darkness from the dungeon.” Let us therefore
serve the Lord in gladness and joy.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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