20240527 NEW BIRTH THROUGH FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY
27 May 2024, Monday, 8th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | 1 Peter 1:3-9 © |
You did not see Christ, yet you love him
Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy has given us a new birth as his sons, by raising Jesus Christ from the dead, so that we have a sure hope and the promise of an inheritance that can never be spoilt or soiled and never fade away, because it is being kept for you in the heavens. Through your faith, God’s power will guard you until the salvation which has been prepared is revealed at the end of time. This is a cause of great joy for you, even though you may for a short time have to bear being plagued by all sorts of trials; so that, when Jesus Christ is revealed, your faith will have been tested and proved like gold – only it is more precious than gold, which is corruptible even though it bears testing by fire – and then you will have praise and glory and honour. You did not see him, yet you love him; and still without seeing him, you are already filled with a joy so glorious that it cannot be described, because you believe; and you are sure of the end to which your faith looks forward, that is, the salvation of your souls.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 110(111):1-2,5-6,9-10 © |
The Lord keeps his covenant in mind.
or
Alleluia!
I will thank the Lord with all my heart
in the meeting of the just and their assembly.
Great are the works of the Lord,
to be pondered by all who love them.
The Lord keeps his covenant in mind.
or
Alleluia!
He gives food to those who fear him;
keeps his covenant ever in mind.
He has shown his might to his people
by giving them the lands of the nations.
The Lord keeps his covenant in mind.
or
Alleluia!
He has sent deliverance to his people
and established his covenant for ever.
Holy his name, to be feared.
The Lord keeps his covenant in mind.
or
Alleluia!
To fear the Lord is the first stage of wisdom;
all who do so prove themselves wise.
His praise shall last for ever!
The Lord keeps his covenant in mind.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | cf.1Th2:13 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept God’s message for what it really is:
God’s message, and not some human thinking.
Alleluia!
Or: | 2Co8:9 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus Christ was rich,
but he became poor for your sake,
to make you rich out of his poverty.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 10:17-27 © |
Give everything you own to the poor, and follow me
Jesus was setting out on a journey when a man ran up, knelt before him and put this question to him, ‘Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: You must not kill; You must not commit adultery; You must not steal; You must not bring false witness; You must not defraud; Honour your father and mother.’ And he said to him, ‘Master, I have kept all these from my earliest days.’ Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him, and he said, ‘There is one thing you lack. Go and sell everything you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ But his face fell at these words and he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.
Jesus looked round and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!’ The disciples were astounded by these words, but Jesus insisted, ‘My children,’ he said to them ‘how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’ They were more astonished than ever. ‘In that case’ they said to one another ‘who can be saved?’ Jesus gazed at them. ‘For men’ he said ‘it is impossible, but not for God: because everything is possible for God.’
NEW BIRTH THROUGH FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 Pt 1:3-9; Ps 111:1-2, 5-6, 9-10; Mk 10:17-27]
Many of us are not happy with our life. Regardless whether we are rich or poor, successful in our career or jobless, sinful or righteous, we feel incomplete. Like the rich man, we might have all we want and need, and yet we feel a lack in us. How could it be when we have a wonderful family, sufficient in material needs and a great career or business? We still feel empty. Then we look at our spiritual life, we seem to be all right. Like the rich man, he had fulfilled all that the Law required. We might feel that way too. We attend mass regularly. We do our part in Church and even contribute to the Church and to the poor. Of course for those who live a rebellious life, angry with God, their fellowmen and do all kinds of immoral things, like stealing, slandering, cheating and taking advantage of people, including women and children, they cannot expect to be at peace or be fulfilled even if they managed to cheat and manipulate people.
What we need, therefore, is a new life, a rebirth. This was the question that the rich man posed, “Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” This old and current way of life must give place to the new life that the Lord is giving to us. This is what St Peter wrote, “Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy has given us a new birth as his sons.” This was what the Lord wanted to offer to the rich man when He said, “Go and sell everything you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” What does this new life and new birth entail?
Firstly, it requires us to have hope. St Peter told the early Christians that God, by “raising Jesus Christ from the dead”, has given us “a sure hope and the promise of an inheritance that can never be spoilt or soiled and never fade away, because it is being kept for you in the heavens.” The reason why many of us live a meaningless life without passion, zeal or motive, is because we have no hope beyond this life. “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied.” (1 Cor 15:19) Yet this is the truth. Many people in the world, because they do not believe in God or in eternal life, have nothing to live for beyond this world. At the same time, they find this life rather unfulfilling. Like the author of Ecclesiastes, we might think that life is all vanity. He wrote, “For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts; for all is vanity. All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down to the earth? So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should enjoy his work, for that is his lot; who can bring him to see what will be after him?” (Eccl 2:19-22)
Christian hope is in the eternal life that Christ has come to give to us. But what is the basis of this hope? It is faith in Christ. This is what St Peter said, “Through your faith, God’s power will guard you until the salvation which has been prepared is revealed at the end of time.” This faith of course is faith in Christ whom the Father raised from the dead. Only if we have faith in Christ, can we then be certain of the future of our life. Christian hope in the future life with Christ is not based on some wishful thinking and vain hope. Rather, it is rooted in the fact that Christ is raised and therefore we will be raised in Him. Our confidence in the resurrection after death and the fullness of life with God is founded on the fact of the resurrected Lord. In Christ’s resurrection, we have a preview of the kind of life that is in store for us. Like Christ, we will enter into the Father’s kingdom and share in the life of His Father. That is why baptism makes us sons and daughters of God. Baptism is already a foretaste of this resurrected life that is to come.
It is this faith in Christ that makes it possible for us to persevere in hope. St John says, “Beloved, we are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” (1 Jb 3:2f) If the early Christians were ready to suffer persecution and rejection, it was because, as St Peter said, “you are sure of the end to which your faith looks forward, that is, the salvation of your souls.” Indeed, he said, “This is a cause of great joy for you, even though you may for a short time have to bear being plagued by all sorts of trials; so that, when Jesus Christ is revealed, your faith will have been tested and proved like gold – only it is more precious than gold, which is corruptible even though it bears testing by fire – and then you will have praise and glory and honour.”
Faith in Christ enables us to place our total trust in Him without counting the cost. St Paul said, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3:12-14) The rich man was invited to follow Jesus by giving up all his riches; unfortunately, he was not ready to take the leap of faith. We read “But his face fell at these words and he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.” Jesus then used this occasion to illustrate how those of us who are self-sufficient, full of ourselves, whether in pride, self-reliance or in wealth or intellect, will find ourselves outside the kingdom of God. This is because we are not ready to trust God and allow His power to work in our lives. Hence, Jesus remarked, “how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” But if we have faith in Christ then nothing is impossible to overcome; no trials and no difficulties. Jesus said, “For, it is impossible, but not for God: because everything is possible for God.”
If we want this faith to grow, then we need to open ourselves to the love of God. This is what St Peter is exhorting us when he told the persecuted Christians, “You did not see him, yet you love him; and still without seeing him, you are already filled with a joy so glorious that it cannot be described, because you believe.” If the rich man was not happy it was because he did not have a relationship with God. It was simply a matter of fulfilling the obligations of the Law. He was also rich but he was not ready to give away his riches to the poor so that he could experience the joy of loving, being identified with them in their poverty. He was rich in the things of this world but poor in the capacity to love. This explains the lack in him. What he needed was to fill his life with the love of God and the love of his fellowmen. Without love, no matter how successful we are in life, we cannot be happy. It is meaningful relationships and love that give us joy and happiness in life.
Hence, if we want our faith in Christ to grow and if we want to trust in Him more, then we need to love Him more and more. Love presupposes trust and reinforces trust. Do we dare to love? This is the question we need to ask. Love is the answer to all the questions of life and the mysteries of life. This explains why love is the heart of the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity. It is love that makes faith possible. It is faith that gives birth to hope. When we love, we want to continue to have faith in that person even if he has failed us or been a failure in life. By having confidence in someone who has been a failure, we give them hope. With hope, they will be able to redeem themselves. This, too, is the way the Lord deals with us. He loves us unconditionally by His death on the cross; and through the grace of His passion, He makes faith in Him possible. It is this faith that gives us a certain and endless hope in Him because of His resurrection. When there is love, we will be able to conquer all things in life. “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:38)
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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