20250130 CHRISTIAN COMMITMENT AND RESPONSIBILITY
30 January 2025, Thursday, 3rd Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Hebrews 10:19-25 |
Let us keep firm in the hope we profess
Through the blood of Jesus we have the right to enter the sanctuary, by a new way which he has opened for us, a living opening through the curtain, that is to say, his body. And we have the supreme high priest over all the house of God. So as we go in, let us be sincere in heart and filled with faith, our minds sprinkled and free from any trace of bad conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us keep firm in the hope we profess, because the one who made the promise is faithful. Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works. Do not stay away from the meetings of the community, as some do, but encourage each other to go; the more so as you see the Day drawing near.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 23(24):1-6 |
Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,
the world and all its peoples.
It is he who set it on the seas;
on the waters he made it firm.
Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who shall stand in his holy place?
The man with clean hands and pure heart,
who desires not worthless things.
Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
He shall receive blessings from the Lord
and reward from the God who saves him.
Such are the men who seek him,
seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | Ph2:15-16 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
You will shine in the world like bright stars
because you are offering it the word of life.
Alleluia!
Or: | Ps118:105 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is a lamp for my steps
and a light for my path.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 4:21-25 |
A lamp is to be put on a lampstand. The amount you measure out is the amount you will be given
Jesus said to the crowd, ‘Would you bring in a lamp to put it under a tub or under the bed? Surely you will put it on the lamp-stand? For there is nothing hidden but it must be disclosed, nothing kept secret except to be brought to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to this.’
He also said to them, ‘Take notice of what you are hearing. The amount you measure out is the amount you will be given – and more besides; for the man who has will be given more; from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away.’
CHRISTIAN COMMITMENT AND RESPONSIBILITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [HEB 10:19-25; PSALM 24:1-6; MARK 4:21-25 ]
“Through the blood of Jesus we have the right to enter the sanctuary, by a new way which he has opened for us, a living opening through the curtain, that is to say, his body.” In the first reading, the author is making a reference to baptism. This is implied in the words, “our minds sprinkled” and “our bodies washed with pure water.” It is through Christ’s death on the cross that we are able to enter the sanctuary of God by passing through His body which opens the curtain. In other words, Jesus is the way to enter into the presence of God. The author of Hebrews was using the example of the veil that hung before the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle shielding the presence of God. Jesus’ incarnation is what veiled His divinity. But on the cross, His flesh was torn open, revealing the love and mercy of God. In all His words and actions, He revealed God, but it was on the cross that God’s love and mercy was really revealed. By His death on the cross, Jesus cleanses us from our sins, not in an external manner but in the power of the Spirit. He changes our hearts and purifies our minds when we ponder His love on the cross. Consequently, we are reconciled with God.
Being reconciled with God and given the grace to worship Him and come before His presence is a great gift to us all. Therefore, after our baptism, it is important that we do not take the gift of being made sons and daughters of God lightly. The author of Hebrew exhorts us to be filled with faith, to be firm in hope and to act in love. We are to live out the three theological virtues. Otherwise, baptism remains just a ritual. “So as we go in, let us be sincere in heart and filled with faith, our minds sprinkled and free from any trace of bad conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us keep firm in the hope we profess, because the one who made the promise is faithful. Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works.”
Indeed, the first task of Christians is to grow in faith. We cannot take our faith for granted. We must hold fast to our faith by reaffirming what we believe. We need to intentionally grow in our faith both intellectually and spiritually. This means we need to read about our faith and to share our faith. In the gospel, the Lord warned us, “Take notice of what you are hearing. The amount you measure out is the amount you will be given – and more besides; for the man who has will be given more; from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” This is a very important reminder about faith and knowledge.
The only way to remain in our faith is to keep on learning about our faith through study, reading the scriptures, sharing the Word of God and listening to the homilies. There is always something for us to learn about our faith and about growing in spiritual life. It is particularly true also of prayers and worship. When we stop praying, we find it difficult to pray. Our hearts become numb to God. The more we get into worship and prayer, we begin to find the joy and the inspiration we get from worshipping. When we begin to pray the scriptures, then the meaning of the Word of God becomes clearer as we continue to read and pray. In praying a particular text, we will be led by the Spirit to other related scripture texts as well to help us further deepen our understanding of the Word of God.
To grow in faith, we need to share our faith with others. Jesus warns us, “the man who has will be given more; from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” Only by sharing the Word of God and our faith can we continue to deepen our understanding of our faith when we are challenged and when we hear how God is working in the lives of our fellowmen. This is why the Lord also said, “Would you bring in a lamp to put it under a tub or under the bed? Surely you will put it on the lamp-stand?”
Indeed, it is Jesus’ conviction that the Good News cannot be kept. And the Good News is about living a righteous life. When we live a holy life, a life of truth and charity, there is nothing for us to fear or to suppress. By failing to face the truth of life, we will ultimately destroy ourselves. This is what he said, “For there is nothing hidden but it must be disclosed, nothing kept secret except to be brought to light.” The author of Hebrews urges us to live a life “free from any trace of bad conscience.” Truth sets us free. We must therefore keep our conscience free by walking in the truth and be courageous to do what is right even when it is unpopular. For at the end of the day, we have to face the judgment seat of God. With God, there is nothing we can hide, for in His presence, everything is revealed, every secret and every hidden desire.
Secondly, to grow in Christian life we must grow in hope. Hope holds up faith and charity. It is our hope for meaning in life and a happier life that we place our trust in God because, as the scripture says, God is faithful. We trust that God will give us the grace and the wisdom to live a life that will help us to realize our happiness on earth and in heaven. We trust that by having faith in Him, He will see us through and guide us through each day. Hope sustains us. So long as we have hope, we will continue to put our faith in Him and continue to show charity towards our fellowmen because we know that they can change and become better.
Thirdly, we must live out the theological virtue of charity. “Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works.” Faith must be seen in practical terms. For faith to grow, we must spur each other to holiness of life seen in faith and charity. We need to set good examples to others. Quite often, we tend to consciously or unconsciously imitate each other. This is particularly true of those who are in positions of leadership and influence. If the others see how their leader conducts himself or herself, they will tend to do likewise. We either set the bar of holiness higher or lower. Most of all, we must be sympathetic and encouraging, and not judge those who are weak or have strayed.
Most of all, we must encourage each other to meet for worship, faith-sharing and for fellowship. Christian love extends to the members of the Body of Christ. We must remain committed to our community. “Do not stay away from the meetings of the community, as some do, but encourage each other to go; the more so as you see the Day drawing near.” There are some Christians who have strayed away from the faith because they took it for granted and failed to attend regular worship and prayer meetings. They are absorbed by their work, by their business or by social entertainment. Some absent themselves from meetings because they feel hurt, unwelcome, or marginalized in the community. There are those who feel unworthy because of their social status, education, or their work to join in the meetings. So we must try to understand the various factors that make people stay away from the church, the community, and from attending meetings. As the Lord said, we must put our faith on the lampstand for all to see. For those whose faith is weak, we should help them to appreciate their faith better through encouragement and inviting them to activities that could help them to regain their love for Christ, for the church and for the community. There is nothing greater we can do for them than to be like John the Baptist, initiating them into a personal relationship with the Lord.
Finally, the writer to the Hebrews says that our Christian duty to each other is all the more pressing because the time is short and the day of the Lord is drawing near. The best way to live is always in view of our end. The trouble is that most of us are oblivious to our end. We live as if we have many more years to live. We fail to ponder over the shortness of our life. Life is short and eternity is forever. But we all think that we have many more years to live. When we realize how time passes and how our body is aging and weakening, we will be more conscious of the little time we have left to do good. In the responsorial psalm, the psalmist asks, “Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? The man with clean hands and pure heart, who desires not worthless things. He shall receive blessings from the Lord and reward from the God who saves him. Such are the men who seek him, seek the face of the God of Jacob.”
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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