20240607 KNOWING THE LOVE OF CHRIST
07 June 2024, Friday, The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
First reading |
Hosea 11:1,3-4,8-9 |
I will not give rein to my fierce anger, for I am God, not man
Listen to the word of the Lord:
When Israel was a child I loved him,
and I called my son out of Egypt.
I myself taught Ephraim to walk,
I took them in my arms;
yet they have not understood that I was the one looking after them.
I led them with reins of kindness,
with leading-strings of love.
I was like someone who lifts an infant close against his cheek;
stooping down to him I gave him his food.
Ephraim, how could I part with you?
Israel, how could I give you up?
How could I treat you like Admah,
or deal with you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils from it,
my whole being trembles at the thought.
I will not give rein to my fierce anger,
I will not destroy Ephraim again,
for I am God, not man:
I am the Holy One in your midst
and have no wish to destroy.
Responsorial Psalm | Isaiah 12 |
The rejoicing of a redeemed people
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
Truly, God is my salvation,
I trust, I shall not fear.
For the Lord is my strength, my song,
he became my saviour.
With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
Give thanks to the Lord, give praise to his name!
Make his mighty deeds known to the peoples!
Declare the greatness of his name.
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
Sing a psalm to the Lord
for he has done glorious deeds;
make them known to all the earth!
People of Zion, sing and shout for joy,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
Second reading |
Ephesians 3:8-12,14-19 |
The love of Christ is beyond all knowledge
I, Paul, who am less than the least of all the saints have been entrusted with this special grace, not only of proclaiming to the pagans the infinite treasure of Christ but also of explaining how the mystery is to be dispensed. Through all the ages, this has been kept hidden in God, the creator of everything. Why? So that the Sovereignties and Powers should learn only now, through the Church, how comprehensive God’s wisdom really is, exactly according to the plan which he had had from all eternity in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is why we are bold enough to approach God in complete confidence, through our faith in him.
This, then, is what I pray, kneeling before the Father, from whom every family, whether spiritual or natural, takes its name:
Out of his infinite glory, may he give you the power through his Spirit for your hidden self to grow strong, so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith, and then, planted in love and built on love, you will with all the saints have strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the height and the depth; until, knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond all knowledge, you are filled with the utter fullness of God.
Gospel Acclamation | 1Jn4:10 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
This is the love I mean:
God’s love for us when he sent his Son
to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt11:29 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Shoulder my yoke and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 19:31-37 |
Out of his pierced side there came out blood and water
It was Preparation Day, and to prevent the bodies remaining on the cross during the sabbath – since that sabbath was a day of special solemnity – the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away. Consequently the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with him and then of the other. When they came to Jesus, they found he was already dead, and so instead of breaking his legs one of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water. This is the evidence of one who saw it – trustworthy evidence, and he knows he speaks the truth – and he gives it so that you may believe as well. Because all this happened to fulfil the words of scripture:
Not one bone of his will be broken;
and again, in another place scripture says:
They will look on the one whom they have pierced.
KNOWING THE LOVE OF CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Hosea 11:1, 3-4, 8-9; Isaiah 12:2-6; Eph 3:8-12, 14-19; John 19:31-37]
“Out of his infinite glory, may he give you the power through his Spirit for your hidden self to grow strong, so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith, and then, planted in love and built on love, you will with all the saints have strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the height and the depth; until, knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond all knowledge, you are filled with the utter fullness of God.” What a beautiful and fitting prayer for the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus! This feast is inviting us to contemplate on the breath and the length, the height and the depth of God’s love in Christ. Until the coming of Christ, we did not know how much God loves us. Of course, we have read in the Old Testament where there are many passages and incidents that reveal the love and mercy of God.
In the first reading from Hosea, we are made to understand that God is not some Ultimate Reality with no feelings, or distant from His creation. Often, philosophy tends to present God in very abstract terms, using words like immutable and unchanging, unmoved mover. God is seen as immune to pain, without pathos, and detached from history. The God of the Old Testament is altogether different. This God had an intimate relationship with His people. The prophets often presented God in terms of a husband-and-wife, or father-and-son relationship. Hosea said, “When Israel was a child I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt. I myself taught Ephraim to walk, I took them in my arms; yet they have not understood that I was the one looking after them. I led them with reins of kindness, with leading-strings of love. I was like someone who lifts an infant close against his cheek; stooping down to him I gave him his food.” Such is the tender and loving care of God for us all. This is an analogous attempt to show that this mysterious, holy and all-powerful God has a personal love and care for His people.
But more than that, this God is a God of mercy and compassion. Knowing that we are but human beings, God, in His compassion and understanding, shows us His mercy. This explains why He would not give up on His people totally and would never annihilate Israel. “Ephraim, how could I part with you? Israel, how could I give you up? How could I treat you like Admah, or deal with you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils from it, my whole being trembles at the thought.” God is faithful to Israel and His people. Indeed, God’s heart is “overturned” because of His compassion and for the people. God’s justice is unlike human justice. “I will not give rein to my fierce anger; I will not destroy Ephraim again, for I am God, not man: I am the Holy One in your midst and have no wish to destroy.” God seeks to heal, not to hurt. This is perhaps beyond many of us as we seek to reconcile divine love and forgiveness with our desire to seek justice as well. God’s love and mercy exceed human understanding.
God’s love is like a mother’s eternal love for her child. No matter how much a mother has been hurt by her child, she still loves that child. This is a beautiful example of contrast between divine love that is faithful against human infidelity. Most of all, we should never forget that beautiful analogy that God spoke through Isaiah, “But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me.’ Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.” (Isa 49:14-16)
However, the depth of God’s love and mercy is finally revealed in person in His Son, Jesus Christ. The piercing of the heart of Jesus exposes the interior heart of God. John sees the relationship between the Passover lamb and Jesus because the Passover lamb’s bones should not be broken as prescribed by Moses. (cf Ex 12:10, 46; Num 9:12) Jesus is proven to be the Passover Lamb of the New Exodus, whose blood frees us from the slavery of sin and death. Jesus died as a righteous person seen by God’s protection. That blood and water flowed out from Jesus’ pierced side underscores that Jesus truly died as a human being. He laid down His life in obedience to His Father’s will and demonstrated to us that God is mercy and love. St John summed up by saying, “Because all this happened to fulfil the words of scripture: Not one bone of his will be broken; and again, in another place scripture says: They will look on the one whom they have pierced.”
When John highlighted the piercing of the heart of Jesus, he had in mind the prophecy of Zechariah, “And I will pour out a spirit of compassion and supplication on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that, when they look on the one whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.” (Zech 12:10) It is also a fulfilment of the prophecy of the Suffering Servant of Isaiah, “Just as there were many who were astonished at him – so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of mortals – so he shall startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which had not been told them they shall see, and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.” (Isa 52:14f)
Truly, by contemplating on the piercing of the heart of Jesus, His Spirit will be poured into our hearts and we will be moved to repentance. The reference to blood and water in St John’s gospel allude to the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist. Hence, we can appreciate why this Feast of the Sacred Heart is the culmination of the celebration of the Easter mysteries, beginning with His passion, then His resurrection and then Pentecost, then Holy Trinity, and last week, the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. All these feasts celebrate the love of God in Himself and for us. It is through His death and resurrection, and through our baptism and reception of the Eucharist, that the Holy Spirit is poured into our hearts so that we can love like Him. By eating His Eucharistic flesh and drinking His blood, we receive the life of God. These in turn will enable us to also be people of love and mercy towards everyone, especially sinners and our enemies.
Today, as St John attested, “This is the evidence of one who saw it – trustworthy evidence, and he knows he speaks the truth – and he gives it so that you may believe as well.” What about us? How do we bear testimony to this truth that God is love in Christ Jesus? By patient long-suffering love for our enemies and sinful people, just as God has for us, we will win them over for Christ, instead of retaliating and punishing them. Of course, this requires divine love because human love alone will not suffice for us to love those who are difficult to love, to forgive those who have hurt us and destroyed our reputation and life. We, too, must extend to them the love of Christ that is as vast as the universe, as St Paul described it. Christ’s love is extended to all and without constraints. His love is limitless, stretching to everyone, just like the arms of our Lord on the cross. Christ’s death on the cross shows us that no one is outside the love and mercy of God, and there is no place that is not within the ambience of His grace.
On our part, we must pray for an ever-greater grace to grasp the love of Christ until, as St Paul said, we are “filled with the utter fullness of God.” Through Christ too, “we are bold enough to approach God in complete confidence, through our faith in him; This, then, is what I pray, kneeling before the Father, from whom every family, whether spiritual or natural, takes its name.” With Christ’s indwelling in us by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will surely be filled and rooted in His love. His presence will give us the impetus and the endurance to bear with innocent suffering, and His mercy for us will make us humble when we see the failures of others, and most of all, be powerful witnesses of His love, mercy and hope for humanity. So let us not celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart ritually only, but also in our lives through our patient tolerance, endurance, and forgiveness of those who have hurt us or are destroying themselves. May we allow our hearts to be like that of Mary, pierced too, “so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed” (Lk 2:35) as we feel with them and for them in their pain.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment