20250206 THE JOY OF MEETING JESUS
06 February 2025, Thursday, 4th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Hebrews 12:18-19,21-24 |
You have come to Mount Zion and the city of the living God
What you have come to is nothing known to the senses: not a blazing fire, or a gloom turning to total darkness, or a storm; or trumpeting thunder or the great voice speaking which made everyone that heard it beg that no more should be said to them. The whole scene was so terrible that Moses said: I am afraid, and was trembling with fright. But what you have come to is Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem where the millions of angels have gathered for the festival, with the whole Church in which everyone is a ‘first-born son’ and a citizen of heaven. You have come to God himself, the supreme Judge, and been placed with spirits of the saints who have been made perfect; and to Jesus, the mediator who brings a new covenant and a blood for purification which pleads more insistently than Abel’s.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 47(48):2-4,9-11 |
O God, we ponder your love within your temple.
The Lord is great and worthy to be praised
in the city of our God.
His holy mountain rises in beauty,
the joy of all the earth.
O God, we ponder your love within your temple.
Mount Zion, true pole of the earth,
the Great King’s city!
God, in the midst of its citadels,
has shown himself its stronghold.
O God, we ponder your love within your temple.
As we have heard, so we have seen
in the city of our God,
in the city of the Lord of hosts
which God upholds for ever.
O God, we ponder your love within your temple.
O God, we ponder your love
within your temple.
Your praise, O God, like your name
reaches the ends of the earth.
With justice your right hand is filled.
O God, we ponder your love within your temple.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn15:15 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I call you friends, says the Lord,
because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mk1:15 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The kingdom of God is close at hand:
repent and believe the Good News.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 6:7-13 |
'Take nothing with you'
Jesus made a tour round the villages, teaching. Then he summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs giving them authority over the unclean spirits. And he instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses. They were to wear sandals but, he added, ‘Do not take a spare tunic.’ And he said to them, ‘If you enter a house anywhere, stay there until you leave the district. And if any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen to you, as you walk away shake off the dust from under your feet as a sign to them.’ So they set off to preach repentance; and they cast out many devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.
THE JOY OF MEETING JESUS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [HEB 12:18-19, 21-24; PS 48:2-4,9-11; MARK 6:7-13]
What is heaven like? The picture that is painted of heaven in the scriptures is so beautiful. In today’s first reading, the author of Hebrews made a comparison between how Moses met God on Mount Sinai and how we will meet God in the heavenly Jerusalem. During the time of Moses, meeting God was a frightening encounter. God would often manifest Himself in “a blazing fire, or a gloom turning to total darkness, or a storm; or trumpeting thunder or the great voice speaking which made everyone that heard it beg that no more should be said to them. The whole scene was so terrible that Moses said: I am afraid, and was trembling with fright.”
Indeed, that was how the people experienced God. This was partly because in the Old Testament, the people were tempted to worship Baal, the god of nature, and Astarte, the goddess of fertility, which were found in the Canaanite worship. And so to show that Yahweh, the God of Israel was not just the Trek God but also the God of creation, He manifested to the people in nature. Even Elijah had that kind of impression. We recall how he, in his desire to cleanse Israel from the Canaanite idolatry, challenged them to a demonstration of whose God was the real God. It was agreed that both sides were to call upon their God to come down and consume the holocaust without having to light a fire to burn it. And so the priests of Baal called all morning until noon; nothing happened, whereas Elijah poured water over the holocaust and after it was soaked, he called upon God to consume the holocaust by burning it with fire. And God showed His power over nature and exposed the god of the Canaanites, Baal, as simply idolatry, emptiness. (cf 1 Kgs 18:20-40)
Then Elijah fled to Mt Horeb, disillusioned and angry that God did not protect him from the revenge of Queen Jezebel. God spoke to Elijah, but this time, God did not come as expected in a strong wind, an earthquake or in a fire. “Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.” (cf 1 Kg 19:11-13) Indeed, meeting God is in the silence of our hearts, not in fire, thunder, lightning and earthquake. It brings calmness, peace and joy. St Paul says, the kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Rom 14:17)
In the Book of Revelation, heaven is described in more positive terms, taking from the Prophet Isaiah (Isa 25:6-10) “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more for the first things have passed away.” (Rev 21:1-4)
But why are we afraid to meet Jesus? This is because we do not know Him. We do not know that He is a God of mercy and compassion as the Lord revealed to Moses. “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, ‘The Lord’; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” (Ex 32:19) We do not know Him because we also do not know Jesus. As the author tells us, Jesus is the supreme and perfect High Priest for our salvation. By His death and resurrection, He is the perfect sacrifice of reconciliation. By His death, He has won forgiveness of our sins. He has washed our sins clean by His blood shed for us. By His resurrection, He has won for us new life. He is now our great intercessor. He is our perfect leader. “You have come to God himself, the supreme Judge, and been placed with spirits of the saints who have been made perfect; and to Jesus, the mediator who brings a new covenant and a blood for purification which pleads more insistently than Abel’s.”
Perhaps we are frightened to meet the Lord because we feel we are unworthy. We feel that we are sinful and not good enough. If that were the case, again we do not know how compassionate and merciful He is. The letter to the Hebrews assures us, “Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:14-16) Indeed, if we know that God will be merciful in judgment, we will not fear Him.
At any rate, we are not justified by good works but faith in Him. St Paul wrote, “since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Rom 3:23-26) So for those who know how much God loves us, we do not have to approach Him in fear because as St Paul says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” (Rom 8:1f)
This is what the Lord told the apostles whom He sent out to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom. The good news involves more than just God having power over nature but over our bodies and sicknesses and evil. He has come to make us whole. But He does not force His way into our lives. He waits for us to welcome Him. This is why He told the disciples, “‘If you enter a house anywhere, stay there until you leave the district. And if any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen to you, as you walk away, shake off the dust from under your feet as a sign to them.’ So they set off to preach repentance; and they cast out many devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.” The Good News is given to all. But as the Book of Revelation says, “Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.” (Rev 3:20)
Let this be clear therefore, if we are fearful of meeting the Lord, it is not because He is fearful but because we are fearful inside us. We need to seek repentance from our sins and ask for forgiveness. We might not be perfect or able to overcome all our sins. The Lord will understand because He has gone through the same temptations as we do. So, He will be sympathetic and not hard in judging us. It is those who reject Him, refuse to repent, and who do not know Him, who will avoid meeting the Lord because He will expose their sinfulness and their arrogance.
Heaven is a beautiful place where we all should desire to go. It is not just meeting the Lord but meeting the entire communion of saints, especially our loved ones who have gone before us. It is a place of communion, of love already experienced as a foretaste when we walk with Jesus, the Church and our fellowmen in love and compassion. This is our eternal home and one that, as the author says, “what you have come to is nothing known to the senses.” Indeed, “O God, we ponder your love within your temple.” So like the apostles, let us accompany each other in this journey so that all of us will reach there together.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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