20230305 CHOSEN AND SAVED BY GRACE TO GRACE THE WORLD
05 March 2023, Sunday, 2nd Week of Lent
First reading | Genesis 12:1-4 © |
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.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 32(33):4-5,18-20,22 © |
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.
Second reading |
2 Timothy 1:8-10 © |
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.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt17:5 |
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!
Gospel | Matthew 17:1-9 © |
His face shone like 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.’
CHOSEN AND SAVED BY GRACE TO GRACE THE WORLD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [GN 12:1-4; PS 33:4-5,18-20,22; 2 TIM 1:8-10; MT 17:1-9]
The gospel is good news. Among the Good News, the greatest news is that God has saved us “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.” Indeed, we have been chosen for His purpose not because of our merits but purely because of His favour. This is true also of Abraham. He was chosen to be the Father of Israel and many nations not because of his merits but because of God’s mercy. Indeed, we all share in Christ’s sonship because of God’s favour and generosity.
Baptism is a call to share in Christ’s sonship. Our catechumens will be celebrating their entry into Christ’s Church in just a few weeks at Easter. We too will be renewing our sonship. This gift of sonship is given to us all as St John wrote, “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” (1 Jn 3:1). But although we are all God’s children, the world does not know Him. St Paul says, “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.”
It is Christ who reveals to us our true calling in life. Jesus as the Son of the Father, as the gospel tells us, invites us all to be sons and daughters of God in and through Him. However, as St John wrote, “He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But 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 1:10-13) Indeed, “He abolished death, and he has proclaimed life and immortality through the Good News.”
However, like Jesus, to be chosen to be God’s sons and daughters is not simply for ourselves. We are chosen for others. St Paul told Timothy that we have been saved “for his own purpose and by his own grace.” We are all bestowed with the gifts of God so that we can bless others with the gifts we have received. This was also the reason why God chose Abraham as well. The Lord told Abraham, “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 Abraham was called by God to go to Canaan to fulfil His divine plan for humanity.
So too for our Lord, beginning from His baptism. At His baptism, He heard the voice of His Father affirming His identity. “This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour.” The identity of Christ as the Son of the Father implies obedience to His Father’s will to save humanity through His unconditional love and mercy. At the Transfiguration in today’s gospel, this mission of Jesus which He started three years earlier was about to be brought to a close. But before Jesus could give Himself to His enemies at Jerusalem, He needed to be affirmed that this was what the Father wanted Him to do, to go to Jerusalem to suffer the passion, death and resurrection and so enter into His glory. Only by His death, could the Father accomplish His divine plan for humanity by raising Him from the dead, conquering sin and death.
To be chosen for others requires us to share in His passion and resurrection. We are chosen to suffer with Jesus. This explains why Jesus told His disciples after giving them a preview of the destination ahead of them, “Tell no one about the vision until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”
At this juncture, the full significance of what they saw still did not sink in. It was certainly an out of the world experience, but they were still too ignorant to make sense of it until after the death and resurrection of our Lord. It was only then, that they realized why Jesus was the fulfilment of the two figures, Moses and Elijah who stood next to Jesus in the vision. Jesus is ultimately the Law Giver, and the Eschatological prophet as symbolized in Elijah. With His death and resurrection, salvation of humanity is completed in Christ.
So too for us, who are called to bless others with what the Lord has blessed us with, especially the gift of sonship, which means to be a servant and a blessing to others. But like the apostles and our Lord, we too need to be strengthened in our faith before we can give ourselves in complete confidence in His love. This explains why Peter wanted to keep this experience with him. Peter spoke to Jesus. “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.” Later, after Jesus’ death and resurrection, he could write with full understanding of this vision he and the rest of the apostles had. “”For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain.” (2 Pt 1:16-18)
But the way to keep this experience is not so much by clinging to our religious experiences and visions. Emotions come and go, so such visions and emotional encounters with God cannot last. What is even more important, as the voice from heaven said to the apostles, “Listen to him.'” We must listen to Jesus through the scriptures. Until we listen, we will not be able to find direction and inspiration to live out His mission. Thus, St Peter concluded, “So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. First of all, you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Pt 1:19-21)
Truly, as the Lord assures His disciples and all of us, “Stand up, do not be afraid.” God has called us for His purpose. He who chose us freely without any merits of our own will also qualify us to accomplish His will. We only need to surrender our lives to Him. With the psalmist, we too must pray, “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. 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. 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.”
This is what St Paul is exhorting us as well. “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.” We do not rely on ourselves but in God’s power and strength to grow in holiness and, most of all, to carry out His divine purpose for each one of us. So let us receive this gift of sonship and daughtership in baptism with thankfulness and gratitude. And let us express this joy of receiving this great privilege to be God’s children by bringing others to know Christ so that they too will understand the true meaning of what it means to be a son or a daughter of our heavenly Father. Unless, every one of us understands our identity as God’s children in Christ, we will not regard each other with love and live together in harmony as God’s children. Unless we know Jesus, we cannot understand what sonship entails, which is to be the image and likeness of God, which we have lost through sin. But having our sins forgiven in Christ, putting on Christ, and sharing in His Spirit, we must follow Jesus in showing God’s face, His mercy and love to everyone even to the extent of emptying our lives for others as Jesus did.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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