Scripture Reflection and Prayer : Journeying together: March 2023

Saturday, 25 March 2023

COMING OUT OF OUR TOMBS

20230526 COMING OUT OF OUR TOMBS

26 March 2023, Sunday, 5th Sunday of Lent

irst reading

Ezekiel 37:12-14 ©

I shall put my spirit in you, and you will live

The Lord says this: I am now going to open your graves; I mean to raise you from your graves, my people, and lead you back to the soil of Israel. And you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people. And I shall put my spirit in you, and you will live, and I shall resettle you on your own soil; and you will know that I, the Lord, have said and done this – it is the Lord who speaks.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 129(130) ©

With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord,

Lord, hear my voice!

O let your ears be attentive

to the voice of my pleading.

With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.

If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt,

Lord, who would survive?

But with you is found forgiveness:

for this we revere you.

With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.

My soul is waiting for the Lord.

I count on his word.

My soul is longing for the Lord

more than watchman for daybreak.

(Let the watchman count on daybreak

and Israel on the Lord.)

With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.

Because with the Lord there is mercy

and fullness of redemption,

Israel indeed he will redeem

from all its iniquity.

With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.

Second reading

Romans 8:8-11 ©

The Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you

People who are interested only in unspiritual things can never be pleasing to God. Your interests, however, are not in the unspiritual, but in the spiritual, since the Spirit of God has made his home in you. In fact, unless you possessed the Spirit of Christ you would not belong to him. Though your body may be dead it is because of sin, but if Christ is in you then your spirit is life itself because you have been justified; and if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you.

Gospel Acclamation

Jn11:25, 26

Glory and praise to you, O Christ!

I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord;

whoever believes in me will never die.

Glory and praise to you, O Christ!

Gospel

John 11:1-45 ©

I am the resurrection and the life

There was a man named Lazarus who lived in the village of Bethany with the two sisters, Mary and Martha, and he was ill. It was the same Mary, the sister of the sick man Lazarus, who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair. The sisters sent this message to Jesus, ‘Lord, the man you love is ill.’ On receiving the message, Jesus said, ‘This sickness will end not in death but in God’s glory, and through it the Son of God will be glorified.’

Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, yet when he heard that Lazarus was ill he stayed where he was for two more days before saying to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judaea.’ The disciples said, ‘Rabbi, it is not long since the Jews wanted to stone you; are you going back again?’ Jesus replied:

‘Are there not twelve hours in the day?

A man can walk in the daytime without stumbling

because he has the light of this world to see by;

but if he walks at night he stumbles,

because there is no light to guide him.’

He said that and then added, ‘Our friend Lazarus is resting, I am going to wake him.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Lord, if he is able to rest he is sure to get better.’ The phrase Jesus used referred to the death of Lazarus, but they thought that by ‘rest’ he meant ‘sleep’, so Jesus put it plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead; and for your sake I am glad I was not there because now you will believe. But let us go to him.’ Then Thomas – known as the Twin – said to the other disciples, ‘Let us go too, and die with him.’

On arriving, Jesus found that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days already. Bethany is only about two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to sympathise with them over their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus had come she went to meet him. Mary remained sitting in the house. Martha said to Jesus, ‘If you had been here, my brother would not have died, but I know that, even now, whatever you ask of God, he will grant you.’ ‘Your brother’ said Jesus to her ‘will rise again.’ Martha said, ‘I know he will rise again at the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said:

‘I am the resurrection and the life.

If anyone believes in me, even though he dies he will live,

and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.

Do you believe this?’

‘Yes, Lord,’ she said ‘I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world.’

When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in a low voice, ‘The Master is here and wants to see you.’ Hearing this, Mary got up quickly and went to him. Jesus had not yet come into the village; he was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were in the house sympathising with Mary saw her get up so quickly and go out, they followed her, thinking that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

Mary went to Jesus, and as soon as she saw him she threw herself at his feet, saying, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ At the sight of her tears, and those of the Jews who followed her, Jesus said in great distress, with a sigh that came straight from the heart, ‘Where have you put him?’ They said, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus wept; and the Jews said, ‘See how much he loved him!’ But there were some who remarked, ‘He opened the eyes of the blind man, could he not have prevented this man’s death?’ Still sighing, Jesus reached the tomb: it was a cave with a stone to close the opening. Jesus said, ‘Take the stone away.’ Martha said to him, ‘Lord, by now he will smell; this is the fourth day.’ Jesus replied, ‘Have I not told you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. Then Jesus lifted up his eyes and said:

‘Father, I thank you for hearing my prayer.

I knew indeed that you always hear me,

but I speak for the sake of all these who stand round me,

so that they may believe it was you who sent me.’

When he had said this, he cried in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, here! Come out!’ The dead man came out, his feet and hands bound with bands of stuff and a cloth round his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, let him go free.’

Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary and had seen what he did believed in him.

COMING OUT OF OUR TOMBS

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [EZ 37:12-14; ROM 8:8-11; JN 11:1-45 (OR JN 11:3-7,17:20-27,33-45)]

For many, life has no meaning because there is no purpose, no direction and no goal. They have no idea what they are living for and why they are living. They have no inclination of their identity as sons and daughters of God. They just drift through life, living not out of their centre but simply like a robot reacting to the demands of the world. They are not living life to the fullest because they are not true to the deepest calling in their hearts. Until we have searched the deepest inclination of our heart and follow it, we cannot live deeply and passionately. Many of us are contented with a mediocre life and a mediocre religion.

Even for those of us who are active in Church, we might seem to be alive but deep inside us, there is no joy, no enthusiasm and no life. Religion for us is a matter of obligation; fulfilling duties and routine beliefs. Ministry members can be so overwhelmed by their responsibilities that they suffer burn-out. Many are burdened because of division and unhappiness in the ministry. We are doing all the things that religion taught us but we do not understand what we do. We do not stop to ask why we do what we do. We can do the right things and yet not for the right reasons e.g. fasting and service to the Church. Our motives are not godly or selfless. Indeed, it is an irony that for those of us serving the Lord, God can seem so far from us. We are in church but Jesus is not present. We cannot feel His love and presence either at prayer, worship or in service or in the community.

If you are feeling this way, then there is no longer the need to live in despair or in resignation. God wants to give us new life. Through Ezekiel, the Lord says, “I am now going to open your graves; I mean to raise you from your graves, my people, and lead you back to the soil of Israel. And you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people.” Indeed, we are just two weeks from Easter, the celebration of New Life. Are we ready to enter into the New Life that God is offering us? The Church on this 5^th Sunday of Lent makes this last attempt before entering into Holy Week next Sunday to get us ready to welcome Jesus when He enters into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to bring to fulfilment the work of salvation through His death and resurrection.

What, then, is needed for Him to open our graves so that He can raise us up? Firstly, we need to put our faith in Him as our life-giver. This is the central message of today’s scripture readings. He had already healed the blind; now He wants to give us life. He is the fulfilment of the prophecy of Ezekiel. Jesus said: ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Do you believe this?” Faith in Jesus as the Life-giver is the first pre-requisite. Can we confess with Martha, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world.”?

If we believe, then Jesus will give us life not only when we die but here and now, for He is not just referring to the last day. He said, “If anyone believes in me, even though he dies he will live, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” Indeed, if we believe than we will see the glory of God.

But for this to happen, for us to see the glory of God, we need to take that heart of stone away. “Jesus said, ‘Take the stone away.’ … So they took away the stone. Then Jesus lifted up his eyes and said: ‘Father, I thank you for hearing my prayer. I knew indeed that you always hear me, but I speak for the sake of all these who stand round me, so that they may believe it was you who sent me.'” Indeed, acceptance of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God is to believe in Jesus as the forgiveness of God. The passion, death and resurrection of Jesus is to demonstrate to us the mercy and love of God who forgives us and only desires us to live.

For this stone to be removed, we need to become aware of our blindness and the rotten life that we are living right now. This new life can only be given to those who desire it. It is an either or. We cannot live in sin and yet seek new life. St Paul makes it clear that a life of sin is not compatible with the life of grace. He wrote, “People who are interested only in unspiritual things can never be pleasing to God.” When we seek the things of this world, the things of the flesh and self-indulgence, we cannot share the life of God which is a life of love, self-giving and self-denial. It is a life in which we put others before ourselves. Hence, the pre-requisite of the offer of this New Life is that we desire to give up sin. We must come to recognize that we are ill, otherwise we will not see a doctor.

If we are not well, then all we need is to come to Jesus who will heal our blindness, give us strength when we are weary and limping, and life to those who are dead. Before the Lord can raise us up, He needs to open our grave of sins. To come to Jesus is to see ourselves as we are before Him. He declared, “A man can walk in the daytime without stumbling because he has the light of this world to see by; but if he walks at night he stumbles, because there is no light to guide him.” Jesus our Light will show us the way to fullness of life if we acknowledge that we are blind unlike the Pharisees in last Sunday’s gospel. He loves the man who is ill, that is what the gospel says. He came for the sick not the healthy.

So to Jesus, let us seek forgiveness. We must not delay any longer. The Lord wants to see us free from our bondage. We are all sinners. No one is exempted from sin. But the Lord is ever ready to show us His unconditional mercy and forgiveness. So we must examine our conscience and with a contrite heart go for confession. Why wait when the Lord wants you to be reconciled not only with Him but with your fellowmen and most of all within yourself? We need not be afraid of the confessional because the Lord knows we are weak and we are sinners. Only by recognizing our need for forgiveness and receiving His forgiveness, can we learn to empathize with others who have sinned and even sinned against us. Only with the forgiveness we have received from Him, can we truly forgive ourselves and those whom we have wronged and those who have sinned against us.

With our sins removed from the tomb, our empty tomb will then be ready to receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit, the love and mercy of God into our hearts. When the Holy Spirit lives in us, our lives will change as God’s love and life will dwell in us. So the decision lies on us to accept the grace of conversion and salvation.

This is the appeal of the Lord and that of the Church, “Take the stone away!” We must open our tombs so that the Lord can raise us up. In faith, let us surrender to the Lord and with courage, come out of our tombs.

Yes, Jesus will take that stone away. St Paul assures us, “Though your body may be dead it is because of sin, but if Christ is in you then your spirit is life itself because you have been justified; and if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you.” With Thomas, let us also say, “Let us go too, and die with him.” Let us die to our sins and our past so that the New Life which is within our reach will be ours. All we need is to cooperate with His grace.

Friday, 24 March 2023

20230325 SEARCHING FOR GOD’S WILL AND OUR VOCATION IN LIFE

25 March 2023, Saturday, Annunciation of the Lord

First reading

Isaiah 7:10-14,8:10 ©

The maiden is with child

The Lord spoke to Ahaz and said, ‘Ask the Lord your God for a sign for yourself coming either from the depths of Sheol or from the heights above.’ ‘No,’ Ahaz answered ‘I will not put the Lord to the test.’

Then Isaiah said:

‘Listen now, House of David:

are you not satisfied with trying the patience of men

without trying the patience of my God, too?

The Lord himself, therefore,

will give you a sign.

It is this: the maiden is with child

and will soon give birth to a son

whom she will call Immanuel,

a name which means “God-is-with-us.”’

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 39(40):7-11 ©

Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.

You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings,

but an open ear.

You do not ask for holocaust and victim.

Instead, here am I.

Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.

In the scroll of the book it stands written

that I should do your will.

My God, I delight in your law

in the depth of my heart.

Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.

Your justice I have proclaimed

in the great assembly.

My lips I have not sealed;

you know it, O Lord.

Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.

I have not hidden your justice in my heart

but declared your faithful help.

I have not hidden your love and your truth

from the great assembly.

Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.

Second reading

Hebrews 10:4-10 ©

God's will was for us to be made holy by the offering of his body made once and for all by Jesus Christ.

Bulls’ blood and goats’ blood are useless for taking away sins, and this is what Christ said, on coming into the world:

You who wanted no sacrifice or oblation,

prepared a body for me.

You took no pleasure in holocausts or sacrifices for sin;

then I said,

just as I was commanded in the scroll of the book,

‘God, here I am! I am coming to obey your will.’

Notice that he says first: You did not want what the Law lays down as the things to be offered, that is: the sacrifices, the oblations, the holocausts and the sacrifices for sin,and you took no pleasure in them; and then he says: Here I am! I am coming to obey your will. He is abolishing the first sort to replace it with the second. And this will was for us to be made holy by the offering of his body made once and for all by Jesus Christ.

Gospel Acclamation

Jn1:14

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

The Word became flesh,

he lived among us,

and we saw his glory.

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

Gospel

Luke 1:26-38 ©

'I am the handmaid of the Lord'

The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left her.

SEARCHING FOR GOD’S WILL AND OUR VOCATION IN LIFE

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISA 7:10-14, 8-10; PS 40:7-11; HEB 10:4-10; LK 1:26-38]

Today’s feast is an appropriate occasion to reflect on our vocation. All of us, like Mary, have a vocation in life. Nothing is by chance. God has created each one of us here for a purpose, to manifest His glory and share His love so that at the end of our journey, we can share the fullness of life with Him. And so like Mary, we must make time to discern our vocation in life, what God is calling us to do. Whilst each of us has a primary vocation according to our state of life, we also have secondary vocations, or vocation within a vocation. The way the Lord wants us to serve Him might change according to circumstances in life. Therefore, we need always to be sensitive, like Mary, to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in how we should respond to God’s call. When she asked the angel, “But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?”, it was not like Zechariah who asked in doubt. For Mary, she wanted to know how the Lord would make use of her for the work of redemption.

So it is important right from the outset to remind ourselves constantly that we need to ask what the Lord is asking of us. Many people, unfortunately, instead of seeking a vocation, seek to do their own will, choose their own career. When we do not consult God and are simply wilful in doing our will, we will bring disaster not just to ourselves but to those under our care. This was the situation of King Ahaz in today’s first reading. He was undecided whether to join Syria and Israel to fight against the Assyrians or, against the advice of Isaiah, to submit to Assyria as a vassal state. In today’s first reading, obviously his mind was already made up, even though God offered him a sign to confirm Isaiah’s prophecy. Instead, disguising his lack of faith in God, Ahaz answered, “No, I will not put the Lord to the test.” Indeed, many of us, instead of discerning the will of God for us in whatever we do, turn to worldly advisers. And this is what the Lord will say to us, “Listen now, House of David: are you not satisfied with trying the patience of men without trying the patience of my God, too?”

Today, we are grateful to Jesus and Mary for taking up their vocation in life. Today’s feast celebrates a double vocation. Originally, this feast was celebrated as the Annunciation of Mary but it has now been changed to the Annunciation of the Lord. This is because both Jesus and Mary’s vocations are intertwined. Mary’s response to the call to be the Mother of God paves the way for Jesus to be incarnated and the work of redemption of humanity to take place. Mary in saying “Yes” to God, considered herself as “the handmaid of the Lord.”

The decision to be the mother of the Saviour is not as simple as we think. We must consider the implications of her decision to be Christ’s mother. As it is said, it is not so difficult to give birth to a baby but to look after a baby for the rest of your life, that is a different matter altogether. It is just like marriage. Getting married is very easy but to be faithful and loving to your spouse every day of your life requires tremendous sacrifices and sufferings. So when Mary gave her consent, she too consented to all that would follow after that big and fundamental “Yes.” So, too, for anyone who chooses a certain vocation in life. Making our decision is only the beginning of a lifelong commitment. It is like keeping a dog as a pet as well. It means that we have to look after the animal till it dies. So we should not complain and regret when we choose to be a priest, religious, a spouse or a church worker, because the vocation comes together with all its joys and sorrows. Quite often, when people face trials in their vocation, be it in their priestly or religious life, or in marriage and family life, they regret and complain. In choosing that vocation, it entails all the obligations and demands that flow from that commitment.

Indeed, both Jesus and Mary understood the cost of saying “Yes” to the Heavenly Father. It is not the grandeur that most people are interested in. Many people want to be great and enjoy the privileges of the office and the honour but are not willing to work for the service of those who entrust them with the responsibilities of the office. Both Jesus and Mary however, recognized that answering God’s call requires total self-emptying. It is a sacrifice of oneself, giving one’s mind, heart and body to God completely for His service. That is what the prophet said, “Bulls’ blood and goats’ blood are useless for taking away sins, and that is what Christ said, on coming into the world: You wanted no sacrifice or obligation, prepared a body for me. You took no pleasure in holocausts or sacrifices for sin; then you said, just as I was commanded in the scroll of the book, ‘God here I am! I am coming to obey your will.'”

In doing God’s will, we please God more than anything else. That is why Blessed Mother Teresa reminded us that we are called to be faithful, not successful. Doing His will means that we give ourselves totally; which is more than mere external sacrifices of holocausts. That was what Mary said to the angel, “Let what you have said be done to me.” She was totally disposed to the will of God. To do God’s will is to submit our lives to Him in obedience. It is to give oneself for the service of God and to empty our lives for humanity like Jesus did. We are called to serve justice and truth. This explains why this feast is always celebrated within the season of Lent and Easter because we are celebrating His passion, death and resurrection.

To do His will presupposes that we keep an ear open to the Lord. The psalmist says, “Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will. You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings, but an open ear. You do not ask for holocaust and victim. Instead, here am I. In the scroll of the book it stands written that I should do your will. My God, I delight in your law in the depth of my heart.” Many of us can hardly hear Him, because we hardly enter into contemplation like Mary. We use human reasoning alone, instead of spending time praying the Word of God and seeking His divine counsel and wisdom. If we want to do the will of God, let us be careful not to act like Ahaz whose mind was already made up. Instead, we need to come with open hands and open heart and mind to the Lord, seeking only do to His holy will, not ours.

Even when we know His will, it does not mean that we can do it. What is the basis for this self-emptying if not one’s love for God, or rather, His love for us and abiding presence in us? Christ emptied Himself for us because of His love for His Father. So did Mary. If they were able to do God’s will, it was because their hearts and minds were one with the Heavenly Father. They knew the Father’s love. Mary lived her life always in close union and intimacy with the Lord. This was why the angel greeted her, “Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.” She was with the Lord as much as the Lord was with her. It was therefore appropriate that Mary, who was filled with God’s grace and presence, should also be the one to give birth to the “Immanuel, a name which means “God-is-with-us”.

With God in our heart, we can do anything, or rather, the Lord will be able to work in and through us. We need not be fearful of what is ahead of us, whether we can do it or not. When the Lord chooses us, He qualifies us. This was what He said to Mary, “Do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour.” All we need to say is “Let it be done according to your word.” We must be like Mary, not to block His grace from flowing in and through us. As the angel said, “Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people call barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.” Indeed, nothing is impossible to those who believe and those who make themselves available to His grace and seek only to do His will.

To sustain our vocation, therefore, prayer and contemplation on the Word of God and the Eucharist must be at the heart of our vocation. We need to be in love with God. When a person stops praying, he will soon rely only on his own strength. He will suffer burn-out and become disillusioned, especially in failures and disappointments. This is because he is no longer available to do the will of God but his own will. He wants things to happen his way, for his glory and honour, not the way of God and for His glory. He becomes agitated, anxious and worried. But if we are always at prayer and contemplation like Mary, we can surrender everything to the Lord in faith and trust, accepting all that happens to us as His divine wisdom and plan. We will not be afraid of failure and setbacks because it is the Lord’s work, not ours. So let us be faithful to our prayer life and the Divine Office, the Eucharist and, most of all, spending an hour of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament every day to find strength, consolation, understanding and direction from the Lord.

Thursday, 23 March 2023

HAVE YOU MADE UP YOUR MIND FOR CHRIST?

20230324 HAVE YOU MADE UP YOUR MIND FOR CHRIST?

24 March 2023, Friday, 4th Week of Lent

First reading

Wisdom 2:1,12-22 ©

Let us lie in wait for the virtuous man and condemn him to a shameful death

The godless say to themselves, with their misguided reasoning:

‘Our life is short and dreary,

nor is there any relief when man’s end comes,

nor is anyone known who can give release from Hades.

Let us lie in wait for the virtuous man, since he annoys us

and opposes our way of life,

reproaches us for our breaches of the law

and accuses us of playing false to our upbringing.

He claims to have knowledge of God,

and calls himself a son of the Lord.

Before us he stands, a reproof to our way of thinking,

the very sight of him weighs our spirits down;

his way of life is not like other men’s,

the paths he treads are unfamiliar.

In his opinion we are counterfeit;

he holds aloof from our doings as though from filth;

he proclaims the final end of the virtuous as happy

and boasts of having God for his father.

Let us see if what he says is true,

let us observe what kind of end he himself will have.

If the virtuous man is God’s son, God will take his part

and rescue him from the clutches of his enemies.

Let us test him with cruelty and with torture,

and thus explore this gentleness of his

and put his endurance to the proof.

Let us condemn him to a shameful death

since he will be looked after – we have his word for it.’

This is the way they reason, but they are misled,

their malice makes them blind.

They do not know the hidden things of God,

they have no hope that holiness will be rewarded,

they can see no reward for blameless souls.

Responsorial Psalm

The Lord is close to the broken-hearted.

The Lord turns his face against the wicked

to destroy their remembrance from the earth.

The just call and the Lord hears

and rescues them in all their distress.

The Lord is close to the broken-hearted.

The Lord is close to the broken-hearted;

those whose spirit is crushed he will save.

Many are the trials of the just man

but from them all the Lord will rescue him.

The Lord is close to the broken-hearted.

He will keep guard over all his bones,

not one of his bones shall be broken.

The Lord ransoms the souls of his servants.

Those who hide in him shall not be condemned.

The Lord is close to the broken-hearted.

Gospel Acclamation

Joel2:12-13

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

Now, now – it is the Lord who speaks –

come back to me with all your heart,

for I am all tenderness and compassion.

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

Or:

Mt4:4

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

Man does not live on bread alone,

but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

Gospel

They would have arrested him, but his time had not yet come

Jesus stayed in Galilee; he could not stay in Judaea, because the Jews were out to kill him.

As the Jewish feast of Tabernacles drew near, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went up as well, but quite privately, without drawing attention to himself. Meanwhile some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, ‘Isn’t this the man they want to kill? And here he is, speaking freely, and they have nothing to say to him! Can it be true the authorities have made up their minds that he is the Christ? Yet we all know where he comes from, but when the Christ appears no one will know where he comes from.’

Then, as Jesus taught in the Temple, he cried out:

‘Yes, you know me

and you know where I came from.

Yet I have not come of myself:

no, there is one who sent me

and I really come from him,

and you do not know him,

but I know him because I have come from him

and it was he who sent me.’

They would have arrested him then, but because his time had not yet come no one laid a hand on him.

HAVE YOU MADE UP YOUR MIND FOR CHRIST?

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [WIS 2:1,12-22; PS 34:16,18,19-21,23; JN 7:1-2,10, 25-30]

As we come to the end of the 4th week of Lent and embark on the 5th week, traditionally celebrated as Passion Week, we need to be clear of who Jesus is for us if we want to enter into His passion. It is a decision that we need to take if we are to commit ourselves to Jesus. Are you ready to follow Jesus?

St John makes it clear that the gospel was written “so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” (Jn 20: 31) The question is, have you come to this faith in Jesus as the Son of the Living God? This was the same crucial question Jesus asked His disciples in Caesarea Philippi, “‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.'” (Mt 16:13-16)

Throughout the gospel of John, the evangelist showed how this question was playing in the mind of those who had encountered Him. Many were unsure who Jesus was. As in today’s gospel, they were wondering who Jesus was. Those who had not encountered Jesus personally were speculating, “Isn’t this the man they want to kill? Can it be true that the authorities have made up their minds that he is the Christ? Yet we all know where he comes from, but when the Christ appears no one will know where he comes from.” Indeed, Jesus was a mystery to most people during His time. We read that “not even His brothers believe in Him.” (Jn 7:5) They were not too sure who He really was because Jesus had not yet fully revealed Himself. Indeed, when asked by His brothers to reveal Himself in Judea, Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come.” (Jn 7:6; cf Jn 7:3-10)

Nevertheless, coming to know Jesus requires us to take the journey of faith. It calls for docility and openness to Him. This journey in faith is demonstrated in the different characters of the gospel in John. In the story of the Samaritan woman, Jesus was first known as a prophet, then the Messiah, and finally proclaimed as the Saviour of the world. (cf Jn 4:19, 25, 42). In today’s gospel, the crowd called Jesus “a good man” (Jn 7:12), the Messiah (Jn 7:26). In the story of the Blind man, he came to know his healer as Jesus (Jn 9:11); then a prophet (Jn 9:17) and then implicitly the Messiah (Jn 9:22) and finally, he called Him, “Lord”. (Jn 9:37f)

Who is Jesus to you? This is the question we need to answer from our hearts and confess with our lips. Do we really know where He came from? Is our knowledge of Jesus like those without faith in the world? If we were to ask unbelievers who Jesus is, they would say, “He was a good man, a holy man, a miracle worker and a great prophet, the son of Joseph and Mary. He died a tragic death. He was a misguided martyr who claimed to be the Son of God.” That is all they could say about Jesus. That is why Jesus said, “Yes, you know me and you know where I came from. Yet I have not come of myself: no, there is one who sent me and I really come from him, and you do not know him, but I know him because I have come from him and it was he who sent me.” Just looking at the works of Jesus and even His words alone might not lead us to conclude the real identity of Jesus. What else is required besides knowledge that we acquire from our studies of the life of Jesus?

Revelation is presupposed and faith is the response. This was what the Lord said to Peter when he confessed in Christ as the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.” (Mt 16:17) Without the gift of revelation, we will never know that Christ is the Son of the Living God. But with this revelation, we need to make an act of faith. This is what St Paul wrote, “if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.” (Rom 10:9f)

Have you come to a conviction that Jesus is our Lord and Saviour? Arriving at this faith is critical, without which there is no real confession. It is not enough to say that Jesus is a good man, a healer, a prophet or even the Anointed One of God, but it must be Jesus, the Son of the Living God. We must say with Peter when the Lord asked the Twelve, “‘Do you also wish to go away?’ ^‘Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. ^‘We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.'” (Jn 6:67-69)

An affirmative answer to this question means that we are ready to share the life of Jesus, which includes His passion, death and resurrection. For after revealing His identity to the apostles, He told them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?” (Mt 16:24-26)

Being a Christian is not a calling to a comfortable life. It is a life that is lived virtuously after the example of Christ. It is to live as God’s children. Indeed, this is what we claim, as our detractors even acknowledged in the book of Wisdom. “He claims to have knowledge of God, and calls himself a son of the Lord. Before us he stands, a reproof to our way of thinking, the very sight of him weighs our spirits down; his way of life in not like other men’s, the paths he treads are unfamiliar. In his opinion, we are counterfeit; he holds aloof from our doings as though from filth; he proclaims the final end of the virtuous as happy and boasts of having God for his father.” The way of Jesus is the way of servanthood. “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mt 20: 28) Our life is to be spent in spreading the Good News. “As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.” (Mt 10:7f)

Our life is lived in contradiction to the way the world lives. According to the book of Wisdom, the life of the ungodly is one without meaning and purpose, “Short and sorrowful is our life, and there is no remedy when a life comes to its end, and no one has been known to return from Hades. For we were born by mere chance, and hereafter we shall be as though we had never been.” (Wisdom 2:1f) “For our allotted time is the passing of a shadow, and there is no return from our death, because it is sealed up and no one turns back. ‘Come, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that exist, and make use of the creation to the full as in youth.'” (Wisdom 2:5f) Indeed, for them life is no more than eating, drinking, working and then disappearing from the face of the earth. There is no real purpose in life other than to enjoy and care for oneself. They do not understand why we live our lives virtuously with integrity, compassion and honesty. The book of Wisdom says, “This is the way they reason, but they are misled, their malice makes them blind. They do not know the hidden things of God, they have no hope that holiness will be rewarded, they can see no reward for blameless souls.” They have no qualms about living a dishonest life because their minds are darkened and their conscience is dulled.

As Christians, we must also be ready to face persecution and opposition. The evil men will say, “Let us see if what he says is true, let us observe what kind of end he himself will have. If the virtuous man is God’s son, God will take his part and rescue him from the clutches of his enemies. Let us test him with cruelty and with torture, and thus explore this gentleness of his and put his endurance to the proof. Let us condemn him to a shameful death since he will be looked after – we have his word for it.” This is what Jesus warned us, “If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you.” (cf Jn 15:18-20)

But when we suffer with Christ for doing what is right and good, this is our final proof that our faith in Jesus is not merely words but truth in action. St Peter wrote, “Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil” (1 Pt 3:16f) Indeed, because we live lives of truth and justice, it will become a reproach to them, especially when they see themselves living miserable and unfulfilling lives. People who are not happy will want to pull others down with them. The evil men will say, “Let us lie in wait for the virtuous man, since he annoys us and opposes our way of life, reproaches us for our breaches of the law and accuses us of playing false to our upbringing.”

In our sufferings and trials in living out our Christian identity, let us find courage in the death and resurrection of our Lord. We can identify the psalmist’s words with the passion of our Lord. “He will keep guard over all his bones, not one of his bones shall be broken. The Lord ransoms the souls of his servants. Those who hide in him shall not be condemned.” We can be assured of God’s assistance and vindication if we remain faithful to Him. “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted; those whose spirit is crushed he will save. Many are the trials of the just man but from them all the Lord will rescue him.”