20210418 REMOVING THE OBSTACLES OF FAITH IN THE RISEN LORD
18 April, 2021, 3rd Sunday of Easter
First reading |
Acts 3:13-15,17-19 © |
You killed the prince of life: God, however, raised him from the dead
Peter said to the people: ‘You are Israelites, and it is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, who has glorified his servant Jesus, the same Jesus you handed over and then disowned in the presence of Pilate after Pilate had decided to release him. It was you who accused the Holy One, the Just One, you who demanded the reprieve of a murderer while you killed the prince of life. God, however, raised him from the dead, and to that fact we are the witnesses.
‘Now I know, brothers, that neither you nor your leaders had any idea what you were really doing; this was the way God carried out what he had foretold, when he said through all his prophets that his Christ would suffer. Now you must repent and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out.’
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 4:2,4,7,9 © |
Lift up the light of your face on us, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
When I call, answer me, O God of justice;
from anguish you released me, have mercy and hear me!
Lift up the light of your face on us, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
It is the Lord who grants favours to those whom he loves;
the Lord hears me whenever I call him.
Lift up the light of your face on us, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
‘What can bring us happiness?’ many say.
Lift up the light of your face on us, O Lord.
Lift up the light of your face on us, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
I will lie down in peace and sleep comes at once
for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.
Lift up the light of your face on us, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Second reading | 1 John 2:1-5 © |
Jesus Christ is the sacrifice that takes our sins away, and the world's
I am writing this, my children,
to stop you sinning;
but if anyone should sin,
we have our advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ, who is just;
he is the sacrifice that takes our sins away,
and not only ours,
but the whole world’s.
We can be sure that we know God
only by keeping his commandments.
Anyone who says, ‘I know him’,
and does not keep his commandments,
is a liar,
refusing to admit the truth.
But when anyone does obey what he has said,
God’s love comes to perfection in him.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Lk24:32 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Lord Jesus, explain the Scriptures to us.
Make our hearts burn within us as you talk to us.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 24:35-48 © |
It is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead
The disciples told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised Jesus at the breaking of bread.
They were still talking about all this when Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you!’ In a state of alarm and fright, they thought they were seeing a ghost. But he said, ‘Why are you so agitated, and why are these doubts rising in your hearts? Look at my hands and feet; yes, it is I indeed. Touch me and see for yourselves; a ghost has no flesh and bones as you can see I have.’ And as he said this he showed them his hands and feet. Their joy was so great that they still could not believe it, and they stood there dumbfounded; so he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ And they offered him a piece of grilled fish, which he took and ate before their eyes.
Then he told them, ‘This is what I meant when I said, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and in the Psalms has to be fulfilled.’ He then opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, ‘So you see how it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that, in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses to this.’
REMOVING THE OBSTACLES OF FAITH IN THE RISEN LORD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Acts 3:13-15, 17-19; 1 John 2:1-5; Luke 24:35-48]
In the early Church, the Christians were all convinced of the reality of the Risen Lord. The common topic on their lips and minds was the Risen Lord. But it took them some time to confess their faith in the Risen Lord. They were slow to believe in the resurrection of our Lord. Their incredulity served to underscore that their encounter with the Risen Lord was not a make-belief, a hypnosis, conditioned by peer pressure. On the contrary, the doubting Thomas and the incredulity of the apostles in accepting the testimonies of the women and those who encountered the Lord bolstered the truth of Jesus’ resurrection.
Why did they take some time to come to believe in the Resurrected Lord? The tragedy of Jesus’ death was too overwhelming for them. They simply could not accept the death of their master. Their hopes were crushed and the injustices committed against the Lord was not just unacceptable but incomprehensible, that God who was supposed to be identified with Jesus did not save Him. Like them, many of us find it difficult to have faith in Jesus because of unfulfilled expectations of what God should do us for in life. We cannot accept failures, disappointments and the sudden loss of our loved ones. We find it difficult to continue believing in a loving God.
What do we need to have our eyes opened like the disciples at Emmaus? We need first of all to understand. Most of us who encounter a tragedy, such as discovery of a terminal illness, an accident or retrenchment from our job, would ask, “why me?” We need to understand and make sense of our suffering. I think suffering is inevitable as a human being. There are many people who often ask me, “Why is there suffering? Why do innocent people suffer? Why are there natural disasters?” Of course, I could attempt to give some theological reasons to explain away suffering. But I think we should be humble and simply acknowledge the mystery of suffering. Even our Lord was not exempted from suffering! Neither was God exempted from suffering. In fact, no one suffers like God for us! It breaks His heart to see us suffer.
Even though we might never understand why we have to suffer, yet, we can at least situate suffering in the context of God’s plan for the salvation of humanity. To do this, we must first understand the death of Christ in the light of God’s plan. This was how the Lord removed the blindness from the eyes of the disciples. Christ helped them to see everything in the light of God’s plan. “This is what I mean when I said, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and in the Psalms, has to be fulfilled.” He then opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “So you see how it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that, in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all the nations, beginning with Jerusalem. You are witnesses to this.”
Hence, when St Peter preached His first homily, he could echo the larger perspective of our Lord after hearing from Him. Instead of seeing His crucifixion and death as a scandal and a failure, he saw it as the fulfillment of God’s plan. He made it clear that Jesus’ death was in continuity with the prophecy of scriptures. He was the Suffering Servant of Isaiah who had carried our sins upon Himself to save us. (cf Isa 53:4-6) “It is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, who has glorified his servant Jesus.” The fact of Jesus’ death and resurrection was in continuity with the Old Testament was important because it showed the fulfillment of God’s promise to the People of Israel. Jesus did not come to start another religion. He came to bring Judaism to its completion in Him.
Like our Lord, Peter even excused them for putting the Lord to death because of ignorance. He understood that those who killed Jesus were ignorant. He said, “Now I know, brothers, that neither you nor your leaders had any idea what you were really doing; this was the way God carried out what he had foretold, when he said through all his prophets that his Christ would suffer.” They were driven by fear, by anxiety or by their sins. For this reason, St Peter could also forgive them the way Jesus forgave His enemies on the cross.
More importantly, Peter began to appreciate the meaning of redemptive suffering. Through Christ’s innocent suffering, people would be converted because of the love of God shown in His passion. Indeed, as St Peter said, “it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead.” Through innocent suffering too, Jesus learnt obedience and it was the way He perfected His love for us. Through such suffering, Jesus truly became one with us and thus is worthy to be acclaimed as the compassionate High priest. So, when suffering injustices, disappointments and tragedy, we need to understand our suffering in the light of God’s plan for us and how we can best make use of the suffering as stepping stones for growth, purification and healing of our souls.
The death of Jesus was God’s plan to bring about a greater good for humanity. Jesus’ death and resurrection were God’s way to show His infinite and unconditional love for humanity so that we will be moved to awareness of our sins and open ourselves to receive His forgiveness. St Peter wrote, “Now you must repent and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out.” Repentance can only happen when we see the consequences of what our sins have done to our Lord and to others. Repentance is more than just an awareness of what is right or wrong. Moved by the Father’s love for us in His Son, we are brought to conversion.
Thus, we need to let go and integrate our suffering within the bigger picture of the plan of God. Once we can connect our pains with the sufferings of Christ and most of all, for the redemption of the world, we can accept suffering more easily. This was what the Lord meant when He said, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Mt 11:28-30) We all suffer. This is a fact. No one is exempted from suffering. Only when we suffer meaninglessly or suffer for self, do we become bitter and resentful. But when we suffer for love, such suffering is transformed to joy because it is meaningful and healing. We can forgive our enemies because we know that our suffering will bear fruit one day. The just will be vindicated, not by human effort but by the justice of God. We do not feel the need to justify ourselves. Christ did not defend Himself but He trusted in the justice of God. With the psalmist, we say, “when I call, answer me, O God of justice; from anguish you released me, have mercy and hear me!”
Faith in the Risen Lord is the basis for believing that God is in charge. It was because of the early Christians’ awareness of Jesus’ resurrection that changed and transformed their lives, from one of despair to one of hope, from fear of suffering to their readiness to suffer and die for Christ, from the fear of death to a confident hope in sharing Christ’s resurrection. It was their encounter with the Risen Lord that changed their entire outlook on life and on themselves. Indeed, “their joy was so great that they could not believe it, and they stood dumbfounded.” It was not a hallucination.
And the privileged place to encounter the Risen Lord is in the Eucharist and the Word of God. Jesus cited the scriptures to explain to them why He had to suffer for the salvation of humanity and the forgiveness of sin. Like the apostles, we need to read the Word of God and share the Word with fellow Catholics so that we can strengthen and inspire each other with our faith stories. It was in the breaking of bread that they saw the Lord. We encounter the Risen Lord in the Eucharist too, and also in the sacrament of reconciliation as well. We need to come to Jesus for forgiveness and healing. St John wrote, “I am writing this, my children, to stop you sinning; but if anyone should sin, we have our advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, who is just; he is the sacrifice that takes our sins away, and not only ours, but the whole world’s.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment