DEFECTIVE BUT STILL A GENUINE FAITH

20260729 DEFECTIVE BUT STILL A GENUINE FAITH

 

29 July 2026, Wednesday, Ss Martha, Mary and Lazarus

First reading

1 John 4:7-16

Let us love one another, since love comes from God

My dear people,

let us love one another

since love comes from God

and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.

Anyone who fails to love can never have known God,

because God is love.

God’s love for us was revealed

when God sent into the world his only Son

so that we could have life through him;

this is the love I mean:

not our love for God,

but God’s love for us when he sent his Son

to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away.

My dear people,

since God has loved us so much,

we too should love one another.

No one has ever seen God;

but as long as we love one another

God will live in us

and his love will be complete in us.

We can know that we are living in him

and he is living in us

because he lets us share his Spirit.

We ourselves saw and we testify

that the Father sent his Son

as saviour of the world.

If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,

God lives in him, and he in God.

We ourselves have known and put our faith in

God’s love towards ourselves.

God is love

and anyone who lives in love lives in God,

and God lives in him.

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Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 33(34):2-11

I will bless the Lord at all times.

or

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

I will bless the Lord at all times,

  his praise always on my lips;

in the Lord my soul shall make its boast.

  The humble shall hear and be glad.

I will bless the Lord at all times.

or

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Glorify the Lord with me.

  Together let us praise his name.

I sought the Lord and he answered me;

  from all my terrors he set me free.

I will bless the Lord at all times.

or

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Look towards him and be radiant;

  let your faces not be abashed.

This poor man called, the Lord heard him

  and rescued him from all his distress.

I will bless the Lord at all times.

or

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

The angel of the Lord is encamped

  around those who revere him, to rescue them.

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

  He is happy who seeks refuge in him.

I will bless the Lord at all times.

or

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Revere the Lord, you his saints.

  They lack nothing, those who revere him.

Strong lions suffer want and go hungry

  but those who seek the Lord lack no blessing.

I will bless the Lord at all times.

or

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

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Gospel Acclamation

Jn8:12

Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the light of the world, says the Lord;

anyone who follows me will have the light of life.

Alleluia!

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Gospel

John 11:19-27

I am the resurrection and the life

Many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to sympathise with them over their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus had come she went to meet him. Mary remained sitting in the house. Martha said to Jesus, ‘If you had been here, my brother would not have died, but I know that, even now, whatever you ask of God, he will grant you.’ ‘Your brother’ said Jesus to her ‘will rise again.’ Martha said, ‘I know he will rise again at the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said:

‘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?’

‘Yes, Lord,’ she said ‘I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world.’

 

DEFECTIVE BUT STILL A GENUINE FAITH

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SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 JOHN 4:7-16; JOHN 11:19-27 or LK 10:38-42]

Today, as we celebrate the Memorial of St. Martha, she gives us hope — especially when our faith in God is incomplete, yet nonetheless genuine. This was precisely Martha’s situation as portrayed in the Gospels, whether we look at Luke’s account of Jesus visiting Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, or John’s account of the raising of Lazarus. The synthesis of today’s theme is ultimately anchored in the First Reading from the First Letter of John.

Today, let us focus on the Gospel of John. When Jesus arrives, He finds that Lazarus has already been in the tomb for four days. Why did Jesus wait four days? Earlier, He had been informed that Lazarus was gravely ill. Upon hearing it, He said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (Jn 11:4). For the Son to be glorified, it was necessary for Lazarus to truly be dead. Four days signified that Lazarus was undeniably dead and beginning to decay. Indeed, when Jesus eventually asked for the stone to be rolled away, Martha remarked, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days” (Jn 11:39). The four-day delay provided the setting for a dramatic miracle.

When the Lord arrived, we see the proactive Martha going out to meet Him while Mary remained in the house. True to her temperament, Martha could not wait to express her frustration with Jesus’ delay and her grief over her brother’s death. She said to Him, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died, but I know that, even now, whatever you ask of God, he will grant you.” In saying this, there is an element of rebuke or, more likely, a lament born of disappointment. She showed a lack of full faith in the person and identity of Jesus. This incomplete faith is revealed when she views Jesus merely as a mediator whose prayers God hears. She had not yet come to understand that Jesus is Life itself. By asserting that God would grant His requests, she implied a distance between Jesus and God. Her journey recalls the Samaritan woman in John’s Gospel, who also came to faith in stages before recognising Jesus as the Saviour of the world.

Nevertheless, even if her understanding of Jesus was limited, her faith was genuine. She truly believed Jesus had the power to heal Lazarus, and her belief that the Father would answer His prayers was correct in light of Jesus’ dependence on the Father. In fact, Jesus demonstrated this very dependence when raising Lazarus. Looking upward, He prayed: “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” He then cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” (Jn 11:41-43).

This moment invites us to reflect on our own spiritual journey. In reality, most of us possess an imperfect faith, no matter how strong we feel it is. There are times when we doubt Christ’s love or His power to carry us through trials. Faith is not simply a binary matter of having belief or lacking it; it exists on a continuum between unbelief and full surrender.

Yet Martha made a profound declaration of faith when she added, “but I know that, even now, whatever you ask of God, he will grant you.”  In other words, she was saying that she believed that Jesus could raise Lazarus even now, if He were to ask God for help. The words, “even now”, revealed the depth of her faith. She continued to believe in Jesus as the agent of God even though Lazarus’ death seemed to contradict His earlier assurance to the messenger that “this illness does not lead to death” (Jn 11:4). She continued to trust in the graciousness of God even though her brother had died. Her faith was not shaken by the apparent indifference of God, or our Lord, for the delay. Martha’s willingness to trust when God felt absent or uncaring should inspire us to trust God even when things do not go our way. Still, her hesitation resurfaces when she reacts with shock at the command to roll away the stone, warning, “there is a stench because he has been dead four days” (Jn 11:39).

Her defective faith from the perspective of knowing the true identity of Jesus is also seen in her response to the Lord, who said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day” (Jn 11:23-24). We would most probably also respond like her, with the consolation of faith in the future resurrection. But Jesus was not speaking about the future resurrection only. He was speaking of something even more profound, for He was speaking about the very foundation on which the future resurrection rests — in Him who is “the resurrection and the life” (Jn 11:25). Martha was thinking of the future resurrection of her brother, whereas Jesus wanted to deepen her faith further by helping her to confess her faith in Him, for He is the foundation of faith in the resurrection. Jesus said to her, “Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world” (Jn 11:25-27). Jesus, because He is the Son of God, is the life-giver. In fact, He does not just give life, but He is life itself. He gives life because He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jn 14:6).

Even so, while Martha confessed in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, she did not yet fully grasp the depth of those titles she used. She was simply using the familiar expressions of her day. She had yet to understand what Jesus meant when He said, “everyone who lives and believes in me will never die”.  Jesus was not promising immunity from physical death, but rather that death cannot destroy our eternal union with Him. In other words, even after physical death, the human person remains united with God until the resurrection of the body. This is why the Church speaks of the “immortality of the soul” — to affirm our continuity with God until the end of time, when we will rise with transfigured bodies. Until then, we belong to the communion of saints, living in union with the Lord. As St. Paul writes: “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 14:8-9).

Indeed, God does not expect us to have absolute faith in Him on the personal level through a clear intellectual understanding of His identity. The Lord will reach out to us at the level we are comfortable with, but always with the intention to lead us to a deeper level of faith and trust in Him, as well as a deeper understanding of His identity. Jesus brought Martha to know Him and His identity in stages until she arrived at a faith that established her communion with Him, enabling her to receive the gift of life here and now, and even after death. This is the same life the First Letter of John speaks of when it says that we must “love one another, since love comes from God and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Anyone who fails to love can never have known God, because God is love” (1 Jn 4:7-8). Through our faith in Christ — who reveals to us the love of God — we are enabled to love one another, for “God will live in us and his love will be complete in us. We can know that we are living in him and he is living in us because he lets us share his Spirit” (1 Jn 4:12-13). 

This gradual unfolding of her faith in the Lord should therefore be a source of encouragement as we grow in faith — both on the interpersonal level of trust and through a deepening understanding of His identity as God. Growing in faith is a process, and we never fully arrive until we meet Christ face-to-face in heaven, where there are no more questions to ask. We must therefore also follow the example of Mary, who would sit at the feet of Jesus listening to Him, contemplating His love and message, and remaining in quiet trust in the Lord. Without this foundation, our witness will be weak, lacking conviction and stability.

Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections

• Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
• Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
• It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.

Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.

Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.

 

THE JUDGEMENT OF MERCY

20260728 THE JUDGEMENT OF MERCY

 

28 July 2026, Tuesday, 17th Week in Ordinary Time

First reading

Jeremiah 14:17-22

We confess our wickedness; you, God, are our hope

The Lord said to me:

Say this word to the people:

‘Tears flood my eyes

night and day, unceasingly,

since a crushing blow falls on the daughter of my people,

a most grievous injury.

If I go into the countryside,

there lie men killed by the sword;

if I go into the city,

I see people sick with hunger;

even prophets and priests

plough the land: they are at their wit’s end.’

‘Have you rejected Judah altogether?

Does your very soul revolt at Zion?

Why have you struck us down without hope of cure?

We were hoping for peace – no good came of it!

For the moment of cure – nothing but terror!

Lord, we do confess our wickedness

and our fathers’ guilt:

we have indeed sinned against you.

For your name’s sake do not reject us,

do not dishonour the throne of your glory.

Remember us; do not break your covenant with us.

Can any of the pagan Nothings make it rain?

Can the heavens produce showers?

No, it is you, Lord.

O our God, you are our hope,

since it is you who do all this.’

How to listen

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Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 78(79):8-9,11,13

Rescue us, O Lord, for the glory of your name.

Do not hold the guilt of our fathers against us.

  Let your compassion hasten to meet us;

  we are left in the depths of distress.

Rescue us, O Lord, for the glory of your name.

O God our saviour, come to our help.

  Come for the sake of the glory of your name.

O Lord our God, forgive us our sins;

  rescue us for the sake of your name.

Rescue us, O Lord, for the glory of your name.

Let the groans of the prisoners come before you;

  let your strong arm reprieve those condemned to die.

But we, your people, the flock of your pasture,

  will give you thanks for ever and ever.

  We will tell your praise from age to age.

Rescue us, O Lord, for the glory of your name.

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Gospel Acclamation

1P1:25

Alleluia, alleluia!

The word of the Lord remains for ever:

What is this word?

It is the Good News that has been brought to you.

Alleluia!

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Gospel

Matthew 13:36-43

As the darnel is gathered up and burnt, so it will be at the end of time

Leaving the crowds, Jesus went to the house; and his disciples came to him and said, ‘Explain the parable about the darnel in the field to us.’ He said in reply, ‘The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed is the subjects of the kingdom; the darnel, the subjects of the evil one; the enemy who sowed them, the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels. Well then, just as the darnel is gathered up and burnt in the fire, so it will be at the end of time. The Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that provoke offences and all who do evil, and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Then the virtuous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Listen, anyone who has ears!’

 

THE JUDGEMENT OF MERCY

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SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Jer 14:17-22; Ps 79:8-9,11,13; Mt 13:36-43]

Very often in today’s world, even in the proclamation of the Gospel, the emphasis tends to focus on the existential needs of our times.There is a danger that the Gospel is reduced simply to a nice ideology of how we can make this world a better place, how we can make progress and advancement in the world, and, most of all, how to sustain the continued existence of humanity and creation. Indeed, there are some of us who think that the Gospel is merely a social gospel concerned with human liberation from the oppressive structures of the world, injustices, and the need to protect creation.

While all these are true and not outside the scope of the Gospel message, let us never forget that the ultimate goal of the Gospel is directed toward the eschatological Kingdom that the Lord comes to proclaim and establish. Indeed, all of Christ’s parables must be read with an eschatological perspective — that is to say, although the parables speak about the realities of human life, they are ultimately directed toward the establishment of God’s Kingdom and the eternal life that He has come to bring us. But before this takes place, one cannot escape the inevitable: namely, the reality of the four last things — death, judgement, hell, and heaven. These four things underscore the ultimate destiny of humanity.

Pope Benedict XVI warned us about the danger of losing awareness of life’s ultimate realities: “We need to acknowledge with concern the almost complete eclipse of an eschatological sense in many of our traditionally Christian societies” (Washington, D.C., April 16, 2008).

Vatican II in Gaudium et Spes expresses this when it teaches: “While helping the world and receiving many benefits from it, the Church has a single intention: that God’s kingdom may come, and that the salvation of the whole human race may come to pass. What the People of God during its earthly pilgrimage can offer to the human family stems from the fact that the Church is ‘the universal sacrament of salvation’. The Lord is the goal of human history, the focal point of the longings of history and of civilisation, the centre of the human race, the joy of every heart and the answer to all its yearnings. He it is Whom the Father raised from the dead, lifted on high and stationed at His right hand, making Him judge of the living and the dead. Enlivened and united in His Spirit, we journey toward the consummation of human history, one which fully accords with the counsel of God’s love: ‘To reestablish all things in Christ, both those in the heavens and those on the earth’ (Eph. 1:10).” (GS 45)

Within this perspective, we are called to examine world history. The truth is that we are living in an imperfect world. Regardless of advancements in science and technology, a better material life on earth does not mean that people in this world are necessarily happier. In fact, the social effects of modern life make many lonely, abandoned, anxious, competitive, and insecure about their future. This is manifested in greed for wealth and power, domination, and discrimination, sowing the seeds of envy, division, suspicion, and fear. Indeed, we will always have hostile powers in the world seeking and waiting to destroy the good seed of the Gospel. This comes from wicked and sinful individuals, as well as collectively through nations.

And so, whether we like it or not, we live under two kinds of influence acting upon our lives: the battle between the kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of God. The first seeks to destroy the Gospel and prevent truth and love from growing; the other seeks to overcome evil with good, falsehood with truth, and hatred with love. This is what the parable of the weeds in today’s Gospel wants to teach us.

But this struggle is not found only in the world. The irony is that even within the Church, there are many scandals committed by religious leaders and apparently active, good Catholics in church ministry. We are not spared, even though we are the Church of Christ, because within the Church, Satan has infiltrated some of our members who have been led astray and overcome by temptation.

Hence, the parable of the weeds is an illustration of the complexity of this world. Even when we recognise the conflicting influences in our lives, it is hard to distinguish between what is good and what is evil, what is true and what is false, what is love and what is selfishness. Often, evil is masked as good and presented as truth. This is why evil appears so attractive to people who are not discerning. They see only the surface and the immediate, failing to look at long-term implications or examine the motives and goals behind what is presented to them. In the same vein, the good is often distorted by those with selfish motives, who make it appear contrary to human interests — as if the Gospel would curtail an individual’s freedom, joy, and happiness. With the influence of social media, religion — especially Christianity — is often seen as conservative, naive, and a wet blanket in society, restraining freedom and human progress.

This is why it is important that we not be too hasty and superficial in our judgement of situations, events, and people. This explains the call for restraint in uprooting the weeds, because we could be mistaken and accidentally destroy what is good. This is why the Lord asks us to be patient and wait for the final judgement. God is patient with us, giving us time to grow, mature, and repent. He knows our weaknesses and our ignorance. So the weeds of life are meant to purify us, strengthen us, and help us grow stronger and wiser. The truth is that people can change, and God waits for us to change. He does not give up hope on us.

On the other hand, while God is patient with us, we have only one life, and our choices must be made before death. God gives us a long life not simply to stay on this earth and enjoy ourselves, but to use this world to grow in grace and love. This is why Gaudium et Spes teaches: “While earthly progress must be carefully distinguished from the growth of Christ’s kingdom, to the extent that the former can contribute to the better ordering of human society, it is of vital concern to the Kingdom of God. For after we have obeyed the Lord, and in His Spirit nurtured on earth the values of human dignity, brotherhood and freedom, and indeed all the good fruits of our nature and enterprise, we will find them again, but freed of stain, burnished and transfigured, when Christ hands over to the Father: ‘a kingdom eternal and universal, a kingdom of truth and life, of holiness and grace, of justice, love and peace.'” (GS 39)

Indeed, this is the way God deals with us in our imperfections, just as He dealt with Judah in the First Reading. God punished His people through the Babylonian king, who destroyed the city and the temple of Jerusalem and brought the people into exile. What is significant is that God grieves for His people like a parent disciplining a child: “Tears flood my eyes night and day, unceasingly, since a crushing blow falls on the daughter of my people, a most grievous injury. If I go into the countryside, there lie men killed by the sword; if I go into the city, I see people sick with hunger.” God does not take revenge on us; rather, He disciplines us for our good and for our eternal salvation.

Hence, while we still have time, it is important that we use this period well by praying for the grace of repentance. Like the psalmist, we plead with God for mercy, saying: “Have you rejected Judah altogether? Does your very soul revolt at Zion? Why have you struck us down without hope of cure? We were hoping for peace.” But this plea for mercy must be accompanied by repentance for our sins. So we must also say: “Lord, we do confess our wickedness and our fathers’ guilt; we have sinned against you. For your name’s sake do not reject us, do not dishonour the throne of your glory. Remember us; do not break your covenant with us. It is you, Lord our God, who are our hope, since it is you who do all this.”

In this way, we will allow life’s difficulties to purify us and learn to be grateful for the mistakes we have made so that we can grow in grace. This is the process of growth. The Kingdom of God will ultimately triumph in a world tarnished by sin in all its manifestations. We can be certain that as long as we sincerely seek to fight against sin with all our will, God will supply the rest and bring us into His kingdom because He is love, mercy, and compassion.

Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections

• Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
• Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
• It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.

Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.

Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.