20240529 GRATITUDE TO CHRIST WHO PAID OUR RANSOM
29 May 2024, Wednesday, 8th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | 1 Peter 1:18-25 © |
You were ransomed by the precious blood of Christ, the spotless lamb
Remember, the ransom that was paid to free you from the useless way of life your ancestors handed down was not paid in anything corruptible, neither in silver nor gold, but in the precious blood of a lamb without spot or stain, namely Christ; who, though known since before the world was made, has been revealed only in our time, the end of the ages, for your sake. Through him you now have faith in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory for that very reason – so that you would have faith and hope in God.
You have been obedient to the truth and purified your souls until you can love like brothers, in sincerity; let your love for each other be real and from the heart – your new birth was not from any mortal seed but from the everlasting word of the living and eternal God. All flesh is grass and its glory like the wild flower’s. The grass withers, the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains for ever. What is this word? It is the Good News that has been brought to you.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 147:12-15,19-20 © |
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
or
Alleluia!
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Zion, praise your God!
He has strengthened the bars of your gates
he has blessed the children within you.
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
or
Alleluia!
He established peace on your borders,
he feeds you with finest wheat.
He sends out his word to the earth
and swiftly runs his command.
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
or
Alleluia!
He makes his word known to Jacob,
to Israel his laws and decrees.
He has not dealt thus with other nations;
he has not taught them his decrees.
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | 1Jn2:5 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Whenever anyone obeys what Christ has said,
God’s love comes to perfection in him.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mk10:45 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Son of Man came to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 10:32-45 © |
The Son of Man came to give his life as a ransom for many
The disciples were on the road, going up to Jerusalem; Jesus was walking on ahead of them; they were in a daze, and those who followed were apprehensive. Once more taking the Twelve aside he began to tell them what was going to happen to him: ‘Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the pagans, who will mock him and spit at him and scourge him and put him to death; and after three days he will rise again.’
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached him. ‘Master,’ they said to him ‘we want you to do us a favour.’ He said to them, ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ They said to him, ‘Allow us to sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.’ ‘You do not know what you are asking’ Jesus said to them. ‘Can you drink the cup that I must drink, or be baptised with the baptism with which I must be baptised?’ They replied, ‘We can.’ Jesus said to them, ‘The cup that I must drink you shall drink, and with the baptism with which I must be baptised you shall be baptised, but as for seats at my right hand or my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted.’
When the other ten heard this they began to feel indignant with James and John, so Jesus called them to him and said to them, ‘You know that among the pagans their so-called rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all. For the Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’
GRATITUDE TO CHRIST WHO PAID OUR RANSOM
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 PT 1:18-25; Ps 147:12-15, 19-20; Mk 10:32-45]
“Remember, the ransom that was paid to free you from the useless way of life.” Two points require our reflection this morning. Firstly, what is this useless way of life we were living? It is when we live our life without purpose and goal. We just drift from day to day, allowing our body and mind to degenerate. We eat, sleep and enjoy. Often, we indulge in things that harm our body and mind. We eat excessively, smoke and drink without consideration for our health. We live only for ourselves, and irresponsibly. We want to take an easy way out in life, enjoy the pleasures of this world without working or making an honest living. We cheat, rob, scam others, or take advantage of our loved ones by making them provide for our needs and pleasures. Such a life is totally useless because it has no direction, goal or meaning at all. It is an animal life.
Secondly what is that kind of useless life that we have inherited from our ancestors? Our forefathers always tell us to work hard, make lots of money, be successful and live luxuriously, have a nice house, a big car and travel the world. Nowadays, marriage and having children are no longer part of our goal in life because it constrains our freedom and convenience. Of course, in itself, this kind of life is not all together useless because it has some objectives.
However, the stark truth remains – the purpose of life, which is happiness, will never be fulfilled simply because we are created not just with a body that needs to be satisfied. We have a spirit that thirsts for more and more. We need true and sincere love, affection and a sense of belonging. We need to feel that useful and be identified with the rest of humanity in our joys, sorrows and struggles. We feel a sense of worthwhileness when we know that we can make a difference in the lives of others and contribute to the greater good of humanity. We have peace of mind when we know that we have lived a life of integrity and honesty, serving our brothers and sisters, sharing what we have with them.
The truth is that true security is found when our lives are established in God. Only He can be our security because everything else is unpredictable. As the responsorial psalm says, “O praise the Lord, Jerusalem! Zion, praise your God! He has strengthened the bars of your gates, he has blessed the children within you. He established peace on your borders, he feeds you with finest wheat. He sends out his word to the earth and swiftly runs his command. He makes his word known to Jacob, to Israel his laws and decrees. He has not dealt thus with other nations; he has not taught them his decrees.” God is the one who gives us eternal rest.
Indeed, this is the kind of life that the Lord wants to give us. He came to show us the way to an authentic lifestyle by offering Himself to us on the cross. The ransom that He paid to show us how to live life to the fullest is the price of His life for us. He said, “Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the pagans, who will mock him and spit at him and scourge him and put him to death; and after three days he will rise again.” Jesus, who went ahead resolutely to Jerusalem, the place of His passion and glory, shows us that being faithful to God and of service to our fellowmen would sometimes cost us suffering and death. Indeed, fullness of life is dependent on how much we give ourselves to God and the service of our fellowmen.
This is just the opposite of the kind of useless life that His apostles sought to have. James and John and all the other apostles included were ambitious. Although they followed our Lord, they were still ignorant and followed Him for the wrong motives, just like some of us do as well. We serve Christ and His Church for fame, glory, honour, position and recognition, even though we say that we want to serve Him when in truth we are trapped by spiritual worldliness. The apostles conceived a good and successful life in terms of power and glory with Jesus. They wanted seats of glory and power. So blinded by their folly, just like many of us who are willing to pay the price of success. So when the Lord asked them, “Can you drink the cup that I must drink, or be baptised with the baptism with which I must be baptised?” They replied, “We can.” Of course, they were driven by worldly ambition rather than godly ambition. For those of us who are ambitious in striving for success, fame and power, we do not mind giving our entire life to it, working day and night, giving our sweat and blood only to finally arrive at our goal, and to discover the emptiness of success, fame and glory.
Yet, the truth is that power and glory is allotted by God to each of us according to our vocation and calling in life. Jesus said to the apostles, “The cup that I must drink you shall drink, and with the baptism with which I must be baptised you shall be baptised, but as for seats at my right hand or my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted.” All that Jesus promised us in order to live a meaningful life is that we need to empty ourselves in some ways, carry our crosses in some ways, but we must suffer for the right reasons. Otherwise, we can become disillusioned at the end of our struggle. This is true for those who have given themselves whole-heartedly to the pursuit of success in life, business and wealth. When they reach the top of the ladder, they find life meaningless, their wealth empty, life is devoid of true friendship and love. As St Peter wrote, “All flesh is grass and its glory like the wild flowers. The grass withers, the flower falls.”
To free us from this useless way of life, Jesus reminds us that to live, we must live for others. When we live only for ourselves, we are really useless. To be useful means that we are able to contribute to the lives of others. But greater still is when we who are in authority, that is, those who are vested with power, position, influence and financial ability, are able to serve the people with humility. Jesus told His disciples, “You know that among the pagans their so-called rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all. For the Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus leads the way of living an authentic life. St Peter wrote that our ransom “was not paid in anything corruptible, neither in silver nor gold, but in the precious blood of a lamb without spot or stain, namely Christ; who, though known since before the world was made, has been revealed only in our time, the end of the ages, for your sake. Through him you now have faith in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory for that reason – so that you would have faith and hope in God.” Through the price of His death on the cross for us, Jesus demonstrated the truth of life and love. There is no short cut or easy way to find life except to give ourselves to God and to others. Jesus has laid down the gauntlet, “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)
Today, let us take heed of the exhortation of St Peter. He said, “You have been obedient to the truth and purified your souls until you can love like brothers, in sincerity; let your love for each other be real and from the heart – your new birth was not from any mortal seed but from the everlasting word of the living and eternal God. The word of the Lord remains forever. What is this word? It is the Good News that has been brought to you.” Let us cling to the Good News that the Lord has brought to us. Unless we purify our love for our brothers and sisters and seek the values of the gospel, we will not find true life. But when the Word of God lives in us and His love remains in us, we will be able to love unconditionally and sincerely.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment