20240609 STANDING UP FOR YOUR FAITH
09 June 2024, Sunday, 10th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Genesis 3:9-15 |
'I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid'
The Lord God called to the man after he had eaten of the tree. ‘Where are you?’ he asked. ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden;’ he replied ‘I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.’ ‘Who told you that you were naked?’ he asked ‘Have you been eating of the tree I forbade you to eat?’ The man replied, ‘It was the woman you put with me; she gave me the fruit, and I ate it.’ Then the Lord God asked the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman replied, ‘The serpent tempted me and I ate.’
Then the Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this,
‘Be accursed beyond all cattle,
all wild beasts.
You shall crawl on your belly and eat dust
every day of your life.
I will make you enemies of each other:
you and the woman,
your offspring and her offspring.
It will crush your head
and you will strike its heel.’
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 129(130) |
With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord,
Lord, hear my voice!
O let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleading.
With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt,
Lord, who would survive?
But with you is found forgiveness:
for this we revere you.
With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
My soul is waiting for the Lord.
I count on his word.
My soul is longing for the Lord
more than watchman for daybreak.
(Let the watchman count on daybreak
and Israel on the Lord.)
With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
Because with the Lord there is mercy
and fullness of redemption,
Israel indeed he will redeem
from all its iniquity.
With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
Second reading |
2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1 |
We are being trained to carry the weight of eternal glory
As we have the same spirit of faith that is mentioned in scripture – I believed, and therefore I spoke – we too believe and therefore we too speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus to life will raise us with Jesus in our turn, and put us by his side and you with us. You see, all this is for your benefit, so that the more grace is multiplied among people, the more thanksgiving there will be, to the glory of God.
That is why there is no weakening on our part, and instead, though this outer man of ours may be falling into decay, the inner man is renewed day by day. Yes, the troubles which are soon over, though they weigh little, train us for the carrying of a weight of eternal glory which is out of all proportion to them. And so we have no eyes for things that are visible, but only for things that are invisible; for visible things last only for a time, and the invisible things are eternal.
For we know that when the tent that we live in on earth is folded up, there is a house built by God for us, an everlasting home not made by human hands, in the heavens.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn14:23 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn12:31,32 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Now the prince of this world is to be overthrown,
says the Lord.
And when I am lifted up from the earth,
I shall draw all men to myself.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 3:20-35 |
A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand
Jesus went home with his disciples, and such a crowd collected that they could not even have a meal. When his relatives heard of this, they set out to take charge of him, convinced he was out of his mind.
The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘Beelzebul is in him’ and, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he casts devils out.’ So he called them to him and spoke to them in parables, ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot last. And if a household is divided against itself, that household can never stand. Now if Satan has rebelled against himself and is divided, he cannot stand either – it is the end of him. But no one can make his way into a strong man’s house and burgle his property unless he has tied up the strong man first. Only then can he burgle his house.
‘I tell you solemnly, all men’s sins will be forgiven, and all their blasphemies; but let anyone blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and he will never have forgiveness: he is guilty of an eternal sin.’ This was because they were saying, ‘An unclean spirit is in him.’
His mother and brothers now arrived and, standing outside, sent in a message asking for him. A crowd was sitting round him at the time the message was passed to him, ‘Your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for you.’ He replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking round at those sitting in a circle about him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.’
STANDING UP FOR YOUR FAITH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [GEN 3:9-15; 2 COR 4:13 – 5:1; MARK 3:20-35]
Most Catholics are quite contented just to go to Church every Sunday to worship at Mass. They may even carry out Catholic devotional practices, such as praying their morning and night prayers, observing abstinence from meat on Fridays, and going for novenas and private devotions. But beyond these observances, their faith is nominal. They do not inquire into their faith, seek to understand more by reading the bible, or read up on the Catholic Faith, her doctrines, spirituality and practices. Today, there is no excuse that we do not have the resources to grow in understanding of our faith because information about the Catholic faith abounds on the internet; and there are many talks and programs about the Catholic Faith. We can even attend recollections, retreats and services on-line.
The question ultimately boils down to how much we know Jesus. We can proclaim the gospel with conviction and stand up for Jesus only if we know Him, not just intellectually but personally. Having a personal relationship with the Lord is critical for faith. The intellectual knowledge that we acquire through reading and studying about the faith are meant only to prepare us for an intimate relationship with Him. This is true also in daily life. When we want to have a relationship with someone, we first get to know something about him, and having spent time with that person, we come to know him more personally, not just what he did, but his personal convictions, his perspective of life, how he relates with people. If Catholics lack faith and conviction in Jesus, even if they have studied about the Faith, it is because the personal relationship with the Lord is lacking.
It is sad to say that sometimes the cause of the loss of faith is our fellow Catholics. In today’s gospel, we are told it was not just the religious leaders and some Jews who were against Jesus – even His relatives were against Him. They thought that Jesus was out of His mind simply because He was passionately in love with His Father and was so filled with the Holy Spirit that He wanted to share the Good News about His Father’s unconditional love and mercy at all cost. So, too, when we show ourselves to be passionate about our faith, our parents, loved ones and our friends who have no real faith in Jesus, will seek to discourage us, thinking that we have gone bonkers. But we who have encountered Him personally in our lives, know that Jesus is real and that God is alive and continues to work miracles in our lives, so long as we have faith in Him.
This explains why in today’s gospel, Jesus spelt out who were those closest to Him. These were not those who gathered round Him. When “a crowd was sitting round him at the time the message was passed to him, ‘Your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for you.’ He replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking round at those sitting in a circle about him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.'” Only those who share in His desire to do the will of God are considered closest to Him. They are truly His mother, brothers and sisters. So one’s faith is not determined by one’s physical relationship with Jesus. We can be baptized Catholics, even read the scriptures, or go to Church regularly, but if our relationship with the Lord is weak, and we do not live out what we profess, such a relationship with Christ does not count for much. Such pious practices cannot guarantee our salvation, bring us happiness, give us life, meaning and purpose. This explains why many of our Catholics find going to church every Sunday a chore, or think that the Catholic Faith is a religion where we simply follow some practices. They fail to understand that faith is a personal relationship with Christ and as a consequence of that relationship, we share His mind and heart, which is that of doing the Father’s will.
St Paul gives us the example of how Christian Faith is to be believed and lived. St Paul wrote, “As we have the same spirit of faith that is mentioned in scripture – I believed, and therefore I spoke – we too believe and therefore we too speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus to life will raise us with Jesus in our turn, and put us by his side and you with us.” St Paul’s conviction of the Risen Lord was personal for he encountered Him on his way to Damascus when he was persecuting the Christians. Because of Jesus’ resurrection, he had full confidence that we too will share in His resurrection and will be in union with Him together in heaven.
It was his faith in the resurrection of our Lord that gave him the utmost confidence to carry his sufferings in this life positively. The resurrection of our Lord gave him meaning and purpose. When he considered the future ahead of him, what he was going through, the suffering and persecutions that he endured for the sake of the gospel, it was worth it. For he knew that suffering was meant to strengthen him and purify his inner self. Hence, he said, “That is why there is no weakening on our part, and instead, though this outer man of ours may be falling into decay, the inner man is renewed day by day. Yes, the troubles which are soon over, though they weigh little, train us for the carrying of a weight of eternal glory which is out of all proportion to them. And so we have no eyes for things that are visible, but only for things that are invisible; for visible things last only for a time, and the invisible things are eternal. For we know that when the tent that we live in on earth is folded up, there is a house built by God for us, an everlasting home not made by human hands, in the heavens.”
This explains why a living faith in Christ is the basis to live the fulness of life. The reason why people in the world are on the brink of despair is because they do not see their real calling in life. They only live for this world. Even for those who have faith in God, many make use of God as a security and comfort in this life. They turn to Him only when they need help. But they fail to recognize that happiness in life is more than just to be freed from the suffering that this life brings, whether because of the consequences of our sins and foolish mistakes, or because of the hurts caused to us by our fellowmen, or simply because of our human frailty and our bodily illnesses. We are called to bear them patiently, to use these as opportunities to purify our love for God, to expand our capacity to love our fellowmen, to grow in holiness. We will then come to appreciate that God’s blessings for us are meant to help us grow to become more like Jesus. Ultimately, what we do on earth is to prepare us for life in eternity with God. We are living in a passing world and we are only pilgrims. Hence, when the time comes for us to depart, we should be ready to go happily because we know that our real home is in heaven with God.
Indeed, if we want to stand up for Jesus and grow in our relationship with Him, we need our fellow Catholics to journey with us. The Lord reminds us that “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot last. And if a household is divided against itself, that household can never stand. Now if Satan has rebelled against himself and is divided, he cannot stand either – it is the end of him. But no one can make his way into a strong man’s house and burgle his property unless he has tied up the strong man first. Only then can he burgle his house.” Catholics must stand by each other and not help the Evil One to destroy us together. Those who discourage their fellow Catholics or their loved ones from growing in the faith are aligned with the work of the Evil One. Instead, they should be encouraging their loved ones who wish to grow in faith to do so. Not only encourage them, but to also show them the way and help them to come to know Jesus more and more.
Only by standing up with our Catholics and with Jesus, can we overcome the temptations of the Evil One. Adam and Eve fell into sin because they were overly confident of themselves. They wanted to be like God without God’s grace. The only way for us to overcome the snares of the world and overcome the illusions of the empty promises of the world of happiness is to trust in Jesus who is the strong man. We must rely on Him alone. Let us, as Jesus exhorts us, not close ourselves to the Holy Spirit at work in our lives.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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