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 |
Psalm 33(34):16,18,19-21,23 © |
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 |
John 7:1-2,10,25-30 © |
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.”
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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