20250411 THE CRUCIAL FAITH OF A CHRISTIAN IS IN CHRIST’S DIVINE MESSIAHSHIP
11 April 2025, Friday, 5th Week of Lent
First reading |
Jeremiah 20:10-13 |
He has delivered the soul of the needy from the hands of evil men
Jeremiah said:
I hear so many disparaging me,
‘“Terror from every side!”
Denounce him! Let us denounce him!’
All those who used to be my friends
watched for my downfall,
‘Perhaps he will be seduced into error.
Then we will master him
and take our revenge!’
But the Lord is at my side, a mighty hero;
my opponents will stumble, mastered,
confounded by their failure;
everlasting, unforgettable disgrace will be theirs.
But you, O Lord of Hosts, you who probe with justice,
who scrutinise the loins and heart,
let me see the vengeance you will take on them,
for I have committed my cause to you.
Sing to the Lord,
praise the Lord,
for he has delivered the soul of the needy
from the hands of evil men.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 17(18):2-7 |
In my anguish I called to the Lord, and he heard my voice.
I love you, Lord, my strength,
my rock, my fortress, my saviour.
My God is the rock where I take refuge;
my shield, my mighty help, my stronghold.
The Lord is worthy of all praise,
when I call I am saved from my foes.
In my anguish I called to the Lord, and he heard my voice.
The waves of death rose about me;
the torrents of destruction assailed me;
the snares of the grave entangled me;
the traps of death confronted me.
In my anguish I called to the Lord, and he heard my voice.
In my anguish I called to the Lord;
I cried to God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came to his ears.
In my anguish I called to the Lord, and he heard my voice.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt4:17 |
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Repent, says the Lord,
for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Or: |
cf.Jn6:63,68
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Gospel | John 10:31-42 |
They wanted to stone Jesus, but he eluded them
The Jews fetched stones to stone him, so Jesus said to them, ‘I have done many good works for you to see, works from my Father; for which of these are you stoning me?’ The Jews answered him, ‘We are not stoning you for doing a good work but for blasphemy: you are only a man and you claim to be God.’ Jesus answered:
‘Is it not written in your Law:
I said, you are gods?
So the Law uses the word gods
of those to whom the word of God was addressed,
and scripture cannot be rejected.
Yet you say to someone the Father has consecrated and sent into the world,
“You are blaspheming,”
because he says, “I am the son of God.”
If I am not doing my Father’s work,
there is no need to believe me;
but if I am doing it,
then even if you refuse to believe in me,
at least believe in the work I do;
then you will know for sure
that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.’
They wanted to arrest him then, but he eluded them.
He went back again to the far side of the Jordan to stay in the district where John had once been baptising. Many people who came to him there said, ‘John gave no signs, but all he said about this man was true’; and many of them believed in him.
THE CRUCIAL FAITH OF A CHRISTIAN IS IN CHRIST’S DIVINE MESSIAHSHIP
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JER 20:10-13; PS 18:2-7; JN 10:31-42 ]
What separates Christianity from the rest of the other religions? It is this, that Jesus is not simply the Messiah but He is divine because He is one with the Father. This is the defining point that determines whether one is truly a Christian or not. The truth is that many people in the world can easily accept Jesus as a good and holy man, a great teacher and a prophet. They can even tolerate the idea of Jesus being the Messiah, since some religions also believe that their founders are messiahs. Indeed, even among the Israelites and the Jews, as the Lord cited the book of psalm, “Is it not written in your Law: I said, you are gods? So, the Law used the word gods of those to whom the word of God was addressed, and scripture cannot be rejected.” This is a reference to Psalm 82:6 “You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you.”
But what is the context of this verse? The saying that “You are gods” refers to the leaders of Israel because they were called to act on behalf of God, the rulers, the kings and the judges. It could also refer to the people of Israel as a whole who received the Law. The judges, particularly, were called upon to exercise divine judgment on behalf of God. Furthermore, the context of Jesus’ citation of this verse was to make a contrast between Himself who was the fulfilment of the Law, and the rulers and judges who failed to observe the law. So, it was a condemnation of the leaders of Israel.
Indeed, by virtue of our baptism, we are all sons and daughters of God. We can even grant this status by extension to all those who are believers in God and walk the way of truth and love. We read that Cornelius, the centurion “was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God.” (Acts 10:2) St Paul remarked after hearing Cornelius’s testimony of his vision said, “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” (Acts 10:34f) And we are told “while Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word.” (Acts 10:44)
St Paul further spoke about those who were baptized in Christ. “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ–if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” (Rom 8:14-17) But what is important is that we are sons and daughters of God through and in Christ. We share in His divine sonship, not in essence but in the mind, heart and will of God. This is what being a son and daughter of God is all about, putting on the mind and heart of Christ and acting like God in mercy, compassion, humble service and inclusive love in obedience to the law of God.
Until we arrive at this level of understanding of our divine sonship, we might not see a real difference between our sonship and that of others. Most, if not explicitly, would regard themselves as children of God. Even St John affirms it. “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” (1 Jn 3:1) But Jesus is not saying that He is simply an agent of God, or a messiah who is a human saviour, even if he was acting on the authority of God. Indeed, when Jesus said to the Jews, “‘I have done many good works for you to see, works from my Father; for which of these are you stoning me?’ The Jews answered him, ”We are not stoning you for doing a good work but for blasphemy: you are only a man and you claim to be God.'” So, the Jews recognized that Jesus was doing many good works even in a miraculous manner.
But their primary concern was that He was making implicit claims that He is God. It was not even about Him breaking the Sabbath. In fact, in John’s gospel, He was already making Himself greater than all the festivals of Judaism. He claimed to be above the Sabbath Law because like God, He worked on the Sabbath as well, giving life to those who were sick. At the festival of Tabernacles, He claimed that He was the living water that quenches the thirst of man. After healing the blind man, He said that He was the light of the world. In the parable of the good shepherd, He claimed to be the true Shepherd of Israel. He also claimed to be the resurrection and the life. In today’s gospel at the festival of dedication of the temple, Jesus claimed to be the one who was truly consecrated by the Father. So, the implicit claims of Jesus were clear.
Today, we come to the heart of the controversy before we enter Holy Week. This final controversy is with regard to His identity as the Son of God. It is significant that both the Synoptic gospels and St John placed this controversy as a prelude to His passion. In the synoptic gospels, the High Priest ended the trial by posing to Him the central question of His identity, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” After Jesus answered, “I am”, “the high priest tore his clothes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses? You have heard his blasphemy!” (Mk 14:61-64)
In John’s gospel, we see Jesus’ patience in trying to help His opponents to understand Him even though they were so hostile. He reasoned with them, “Yet you say to someone the Father has consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because he says, ‘I am the Son of God.’ If I am not doing my Father’s work, there is no need to believe me, at least believe in the work I do; then you will know for sure that the Father is in me and I am the Father.” Jesus manifested Himself as one who is in perfect union with the Father. He came to do His Father’s will, unlike the Jews and their religious leaders. His deeds were the deeds of God who came to give us life. It was not just the miracles He performed but these were signs of God’s gracious and awesome love and mercy.
In defending His identity, He remained calm throughout, even in the face of being killed because Jesus was sure of His identity. In life, we lose our patience and turn hostile when we are being attacked and when we become unsure of our position. We use strength and fear to subdue our opponents. But not for Jesus. This was also the case of Jeremiah in today’s first reading. He was attacked by his opponents who used the same word “seduced”, which he used previously to describe how he was called by God to speak to the Israelites regardless of whether they wanted to hear or not. But now he was being accused of being seduced to error. Like Jesus, Jeremiah was very confident of himself when he said, “But the Lord is at my side, a mighty hero; my opponents will stumble, mastered, confounded by their failure; everlasting, unforgettable disgrace will be theirs. But you, Lord of hosts, you who probe with justice, who scrutinise the loins and heart, let me see the vengeance you will take on them, for I have committed my cause to you.”
Today, we are being challenged as to which group of people we want to follow in our response to Jesus. Ironically, the gospel ended with Jesus leaving Jerusalem and going back to the Jordan to stay in the district where John had once been baptising. John the Baptist, a holy man who was seen as a true prophet by the people, witnessed to Jesus as the One who was to come. John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.” (Jn 1:32-34) And the great miracle is that “many people who came to him there said, ‘John gave no signs, but all he said about this man was true’; and many of them believed in him.” The people believed in John’s witnessing even without miracles, but not the Jews. What about us? Do we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Saviour of the world, of whom millions of Christians testified to over the last two thousand years? And if we do, would we want to withhold from others the true identity of Jesus? Or do we still want to compromise for political correctness and simply say, Jesus is only a good man and a great teacher?
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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