20241102 DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE IN JESUS AS THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE?
First reading | Job 19:1,23-27a |
I know that my Redeemer lives
Job said:
Ah, would that these words of mine were written down,
inscribed on some monument
with iron chisel and engraving tool,
cut into the rock for ever.
This I know: that my Avenger lives,
and he, the Last, will take his stand on earth.
After my awaking, he will set me close to him,
and from my flesh I shall look on God.
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 129(130) |
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
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.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt,
Lord, who would survive?
But with you is found forgiveness:
for this we revere you.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
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.)
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
Because with the Lord there is mercy
and fullness of redemption,
Israel indeed he will redeem
from all its iniquity.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
Second reading |
1 Corinthians 15:51-57 |
Death is swallowed up in victory
I will tell you something that has been secret: that we are not all going to die, but that we shall all be changed. This will be instantaneous, in the twinkling of an eye, when the last trumpet sounds. It will sound, and the dead will be raised, imperishably, and we shall be changed as well, because our present perishable nature must put on imperishability and this mortal nature must put on immortality.
When this perishable nature has put on imperishability, and when this mortal nature has put on immortality, then the words of scripture will come true: Death is swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? Now the sting of death is sin, and sin gets its power from the Law. So let us thank God for giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn6:39 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
It is my Father’s will, says the Lord,
that I should lose nothing of all he has given to me,
and that I should raise it up on the last day.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 5:24-29 |
The dead will hear the voice of the Son of God
Jesus said to the Jews:
I tell you most solemnly,
whoever listens to my words,
and believes in the one who sent me,
has eternal life;
without being brought to judgement
he has passed from death to life.
I tell you most solemnly,
the hour will come – in fact it is here already –
when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God,
and all who hear it will live.
For the Father, who is the source of life,
has made the Son the source of life;
and, because he is the Son of Man,
has appointed him supreme judge.
Do not be surprised at this,
for the hour is coming when the dead will leave their graves
at the sound of his voice:
those who did good will rise again to life;
and those who did evil, to condemnation.
02 November 2024, Saturday, All Souls
DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE IN JESUS AS THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE?
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISAIAH 25:6-9; 1 COR 15:12-34; JOHN 11:17-27]
Yesterday, we celebrated All Saints Day. Today, we celebrate All Souls Day. Are such celebrations taken seriously today? Do you really believe that we are called to be saints? Do you really believe that we need to pray for the dead and that our prayers can help them?
Without belief in the next life, why would people want to live a good life on earth, a life of humble and selfless service for others and the future of humanity? What motivation is there for us to do good and to sacrifice our own pleasures, interests and convenience for others? On the contrary, knowing that there is no life beyond death, all the more, we want to grab as much as we can today because once dead, we are gone forever. This explains why the world thrives on materialism, consumerism, individualism and relativism. For those who are poor or suffering because of illnesses or old age, and those who are born with disadvantages, it is better to let them die than prolong their lives. Why allow them to suffer so much since they have no quality life on this earth?
Euthanasia and materialism are the consequence of the loss of faith in life after death. We are living in a world of despair. Because of secularism, many have lost hope in the next world. St Paul warns us when he wrote, “And why are we putting ourselves in danger every hour? I die every day! That is as certain, brothers and sisters, as my boasting of you – a boast that I make in Christ Jesus our Lord. If with merely human hopes I fought with wild animals at Ephesus, what would I have gained by it? If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’ Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’ Come to a sober and right mind, and sin no more; for some people have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.” (1 Cor 15:30-34)
Furthermore, because the new gods are science and technology, more and more no longer believe in the immortality of the soul, much less the resurrection of the body after death. Ironically, science and technology are powerless over death. Many things can be done through science and technology but death is the greatest enemy of man. Death cannot be overcome by the deities of science and technology. This is what St Paul says. “For he must be king until he has put all his enemies under his feet and the last of the enemies to be destroyed is death, for everything is to be put under his feet.”
Why is death the greatest enemy of man? With death, everything ends! That being the case, man lives in fear of death all the time. Fear is the cause of all the capital sins, of pride, anger, envy, sloth, lust, greed and gluttony. He fears that he would not have enough. He is always thinking about how to prolong his life. In truth, he is not happy because he is always so insecure about his future. Death has already begun in this life. Because he lives for himself only, he does not know the joys of love. St Paul remarked, “If our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people.” (1 Cor 15:19)
Consequently, the answer to the despair in the world and this state of atrophy is Christian Hope. What is Christian Hope? It is to have faith in the resurrection of the body because of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. St Paul argued, “Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. (1 Cor 15:12-14) With this faith, we can overcome the fear of death because we know that death is the passage to life, the fullness of life.
So the most important question we need to ask ourselves today is this: Do we really believe in Christ’s resurrection? The answer to this question will determine everything else, the way we look at our life on this earth and the way we approach death. Christ’s resurrection is the basis for our celebration of All Saints and All Souls. We know that our faith is true and certain only because of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. This is what St Paul wrote, “We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ – whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised or if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished.” (1 Cor 15:15-18)
This was the question posed to Martha when the Lord asked, “I am the resurrection and the life. If anyone believes in me, even though he dies he will live, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” With absolute faith, she said, “‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world.” Not only did she confess her faith in the resurrection of the dead but more importantly she confessed that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, because He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God! But do we really and truly believe in the resurrection of Christ? Is it just an intellectual belief or of the heart? Because if we do, then we will live a liberated life, here and beyond.
Indeed, only faith in Christ, the Resurrection and the Life, our Saviour and Lord, can all fear of death and mourning be removed from us. Only then, can we rejoice with the prophet Isaiah that his prophecy is fulfilled when he said, “On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich food. On this mountain he will remove the mourning veil covering all peoples, and the shroud enwrapping all nations, he will destroy Death for ever. The Lord will wipe away the tears from every cheek; he will take away his people’s shame everywhere on earth, for the Lord has said so. That day, it will be said: See, this is our God in whom we hoped for salvation; the Lord is the one in whom we hoped. We exult and we rejoice that he has saved us.” This day has arrived in Christ!
But faith in the resurrection also means that we shall now die to our sins and live the life of Christ. The certainty of life after death means that how we live will affect how we live after death. So we want to share the life of Christ now by living for others, for love and service, so that filled with love in our hearts, we know that sharing in the next life is to be reunited with our loved ones forever. We can now live to the fullest here and now without being selfish, fearful and materialistic. At the same time, our certainty of the future life and the resurrection frees us from fear of death and we see death when it comes as a passage to the fullness of life and love awaiting us in Christ. This is why Jesus said, “If anyone believes in me, even though he dies he will live, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” Or as St Paul says, “We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.” (Rom 14:7-9)
So today’s celebration not only gives hope for reunion with our loved ones who have gone before us but it gives hope to ourselves as pilgrims on earth. We know our destiny, and with Christ as our Shepherd, we walk this life with Christ and in life. For this reason, today, we pray for our departed loved ones and the abandoned souls, that God will give them the grace to let go of their sins and attachment to this earth and that they will find that Christ alone will satisfy all their needs and happiness. Christ has come to save us all and to give His mercy to everyone. This is what St Paul assures us, “Death came through one man and in the same way the resurrection of the dead has come through one man. Just as all men die in Adam, so all men will be brought to life in Christ; but all of them in their proper order: Christ as the first-fruits and then, after the coming of Christ, those who belong to him.” (1 Cor 15:21-24)
Indeed, this is what we pray in the responsorial psalm, “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose. Near restful waters he leads me, to revive my drooping spirit. He guides me along the right path; he is true to his name. If I should walk in the valley of darkness no evil would I fear? You are there with your crook and your staff; with these you give me comfort. You have prepared a banquet for me in the sight of my foes. My head you have anointed with oil; my cup is overflowing. Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life. In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.” Amen!
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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