20240919 ESTABLISH YOURSELF FIRMLY IN THE GOSPEL
First reading |
1 Corinthians 15:1-11 |
I preached what the others preach, and you all believed
Brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, the gospel that you received and in which you are firmly established; because the gospel will save you only if you keep believing exactly what I preached to you – believing anything else will not lead to anything.
Well then, in the first place, I taught you what I had been taught myself, namely that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; and that he was raised to life on the third day, in accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared first to Cephas and secondly to the Twelve. Next he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died; then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles; and last of all he appeared to me too; it was as though I was born when no one expected it.
I am the least of the apostles; in fact, since I persecuted the Church of God, I hardly deserve the name apostle; but by God’s grace that is what I am, and the grace that he gave me has not been fruitless. On the contrary, I, or rather the grace of God that is with me, have worked harder than any of the others; but what matters is that I preach what they preach, and this is what you all believed.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 117(118):1-2,15-17,28 |
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good.
or
Alleluia!
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
for his love has no end.
Let the sons of Israel say:
‘His love has no end.’
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord’s right hand has triumphed;
his right hand raised me up.
I shall not die, I shall live
and recount his deeds.
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good.
or
Alleluia!
You are my God, I thank you.
My God, I praise you.
I will thank you for you have given answer
and you are my saviour.
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | 2Co5:19 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself,
and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt11:28 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 7:36-50 |
Her many sins have been forgiven, or she would not have shown such great love
One of the Pharisees invited Jesus to a meal. When he arrived at the Pharisee’s house and took his place at table, a woman came in, who had a bad name in the town. She had heard he was dining with the Pharisee and had brought with her an alabaster jar of ointment. She waited behind him at his feet, weeping, and her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them away with her hair; then she covered his feet with kisses and anointed them with the ointment.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would know who this woman is that is touching him and what a bad name she has.’ Then Jesus took him up and said, ‘Simon, I have something to say to you.’ ‘Speak, Master’ was the reply. ‘There was once a creditor who had two men in his debt; one owed him five hundred denarii, the other fifty. They were unable to pay, so he pardoned them both. Which of them will love him more?’ ‘The one who was pardoned more, I suppose’ answered Simon. Jesus said, ‘You are right.’
Then he turned to the woman. ‘Simon,’ he said ‘you see this woman? I came into your house, and you poured no water over my feet, but she has poured out her tears over my feet and wiped them away with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but she has been covering my feet with kisses ever since I came in. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. For this reason I tell you that her sins, her many sins, must have been forgiven her, or she would not have shown such great love. It is the man who is forgiven little who shows little love.’ Then he said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ Those who were with him at table began to say to themselves, ‘Who is this man, that he even forgives sins?’ But he said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’
19 September 2024, Thursday, 24th Week in Ordinary Time
ESTABLISH YOURSELF FIRMLY IN THE GOSPEL
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 COR 15:1-11; LUKE 7:36-50]
What makes us Christians? What distinguishes Christians from peoples of other faiths, or without faith? Of course, what is considered as the “common good” is debatable, depending on one’s religious, moral and cultural positions. But at least in general, all would agree that we respect the universal values of justice, integrity, truth, compassion, charity, harmony and inclusivity. Again, whilst these values are on the lips of everyone, we might not agree exactly on what it means. At least, by assenting to these values, we can consider ourselves as belonging to the race we call “Humanity.”
With respect to other religions, whilst all teach the universal values for the common good of all, and although all religions in some ways recognize the presence of the Sacred, which is called by different names and manifested in different forms, there is a common belief that Ultimate Reality stands for existence, which includes human beings and all of creation. Regardless, all believers in religion have some experience of the Sacred in their lives and this has led them to worship the Ultimate Mystery revealed to us according to the cultural and religious contexts we are in. From the Catholic viewpoint, Vatican II says, “The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men. Indeed, she proclaims, and ever must proclaim Christ ‘the way, the truth, and the life’ (John 14:6), in whom men may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled all things to Himself.” (Nostra Aetate 2)
So, what is essential for us as Christians when it comes to the truth and charity? It is founded on the gospel that St Paul spoke about. How strong our faith in Christianity depends on whether we are firmly founded on the gospel passed on to us. St Paul wrote, “Brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, the gospel that you received and in which you are firmly established; because the gospel will save you only if you keep believing exactly what I preached to you – believing anything else will not lead to anything.” Indeed, among Christians we can disagree on many things, such as doctrines, spiritual leadership and even sacraments and the interpretation of the scriptures. That is why, we have many Christian denominations, all claiming to be the true Church established by Christ.
Whilst we wish that Christians are united in mind and heart, in doctrines, in worship and in leadership, as the Lord prayed at the end of His life, that His disciples might be one, we are aware that human ignorance, pride, fear and parochial-mindedness will lead to misunderstanding, protectionism, suspicion and division. That is why whilst working for Christian unity in doctrines, worship and leadership, we must accept that the historical conditioning of each Church would make it almost impossible to agree on everything, especially those matters are that deemed lower on the hierarchy of truths.
Unity should therefore be focused first on the highest level in the hierarchy of truths by at least affirming the basic gospel that St Paul wrote in today’s first reading. St Paul made it clear that the gospel that he was handing on was the same gospel that he himself had received from the apostles. Indeed, he reiterated that he was not teaching anything new or adding anything to the gospel. Rather, he said, “what matters is that I preach what they preach, and this is what you all believed.” What is this gospel that all Christians must hold on to if we are to consider ourselves Christians? It is the Kergyma, the proclamation of the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord.
Firstly, that “Christ died for our sins.” Why is it so important for us to begin our faith in Christ’s death? This is because for anyone to accept salvation, he or she must affirm that we are sinners and need redemption. As St John wrote, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 Jn 1:8-10) Indeed, in today’s gospel, Jesus made it clear that unless we realize we need forgiveness, no salvation is possible. We cannot come to encounter God’s love and mercy if we are self-sufficient. He said to Simon, “Her many sins, must have been forgiven her, or she would not have shown such great love. It is the man that is forgiven little who shows little love.” This explains why Christ makes no sense to people in a world that are no longer able to distinguish truth from falsehood, and to admit that they are sinners. The world cannot accept Christ so long as they think they have no sin and hence have no need of a saviour.
Secondly, His death was “in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried.” Jesus did not die an “accidental death” or merely taken away and then resuscitated. He really died and was buried, and all within the divine salvific plan of God. He had been destined to be our Messiah and Saviour of all. At the end of His life, the Lord instructed the disciples, “‘Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.” (Lk 24:25-27) Death is the ultimate expression of a person’s love. As the Lord said, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (Jn 15:13) Christ’s death therefore is the ultimate giving of God’s love for us and an expression of His mercy and forgiveness. At the same time, His innocent death reveals the injustices and cruelty of man’s sins. And the irony is that man sins because he fears death. He is inward-looking, self-centred, self-preservative because he fears pain, abandonment and death. He would even kill and destroy others to stay alive.
Thirdly, “he was raised to life on the third day, in accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared first to Cephas and secondly to the Twelve. Next he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time.” The resurrection of our Lord is what gives us ultimate hope in life, our destiny and our calling. That Jesus was raised from the dead by the Father means that we will be raised in Him. Death is the final word but just a passage to the new life in Christ, a life that is lived with God, a life that is everlasting and eternal because we share not just in the immortality of God but His divine life. His resurrection confirms that He was truly what He claimed to be, the Son of God, the way to the Father. The testimony of the apostles and the early Christians, including Paul, on their encounter with the Risen Lord is the basis of our faith. We know that faith in the Risen Lord is well-grounded in the transformed life of the apostles and Paul and the Christians and the many martyrs who died for Him. We know in our own life, how faith in the Risen Lord has given us hope and we have witnessed in many ways, how He has continued to work in our life, through miracles, healings and liberation, as was the case in the early Church.
Truly, it is this faith in the passion, death and resurrection of Christ that should unite us all as Christians. We are saved only because we believe that He is Lord, as St Paul also 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) This would be the barest minimum that all Christians must confess in. If we believe that He is Lord, then we will believe in all that He has taught us in the scriptures. We will take His words seriously as St Paul said to the Thessalonians, “We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work in you believers.” (1 Th 2:19) Indeed, our final confession of faith is that Jesus is the second person of the Holy Trinity.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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