04-10-2012, 10:17 AM
10 April, 2012, Tuesday within Octave of Easter
FAITH IN THE RISEN LORD COMES THROUGH BOTH KNOWLEDGE AND LOVE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: ACTS 2:36-41; JN 20:11-18
Alleluia. This is the constant refrain of the Church at Easter. Why Alleluia? Because to say Alleluia is already a confession of faith in Jesus as Lord, since Alleluia means “Praise the Lord!” Yes, we want to praise God who raised Jesus from the dead and therefore established Him as Lord and God. This was the declaration of Peter at Pentecost when he preached to the people, “The whole House of Israel can be certain that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.” The resurrection of our Lord firmly vindicated His Lordship and established Him as the Christ.
In the light of this outcome of the death of Jesus, how should we respond? Like the early hearers of the gospel, we too should be cut to the heart and say, “What must we do, brothers?” Peter answered, “You must repent and every one of you must be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise that was made is for you and your children, and for all those who are far away, for all those whom the Lord our God will call to himself.”
Easter is hence the basis for baptism. Why is this so? Firstly, Baptism is faith in Jesus as the Lord and not simply in Jesus of Nazareth. This presupposes that we must have faith in the resurrection of Jesus. It is faith in the Lord’s resurrection with all its implication that we can arrive at the confession of St Peter that “Jesus whom you crucified (is) both Lord and Christ.”
Secondly, Easter is connected with baptism because faith in Jesus as the Lord brings about the forgiveness of sin. Through His death on the cross, we need not ever doubt God’s unconditional love and mercy for us. Contemplating on His passionate love for us on the Cross, we can with confidence move on from guilt to grace. Inevitably, this will bring about our desire in response to this life to die with Christ in our sins and rise with Him in the new life with Christ. So baptism is an invitation to join Jesus in the paschal mystery so that we can share the resurrected life with Him. To be baptized is to be immersed with water, to be washed clean so that we can rise with Him in the new life of Christ. It is to put on Christ.
But what we have said so far is the conclusion of a long process in the search for the Risen Lord. Like the disciples of Jesus, including Magdala of today’s gospel, we are looking for the Risen Lord. The question that is posed to us in today’s liturgy therefore is, how can one come to faith in Jesus of Nazareth as risen from the dead so that we can confess Him as Lord?
Today’s scripture readings seem to provide us with two ways of coming to faith in Jesus as the Christ and the Lord. Firstly, we have the way of the Jews whom Peter addressed after Pentecost. It is the way of understanding. Peter went at length to explain and argue with them as to why the crucified Jesus is Lord and Christ. Acts records how “he spoke to them for a long time using many arguments, and he urged them, ‘Save yourselves from this perverse generation.’” As a result, “they were convinced by his arguments, and they accepted what he said and were baptised. That very day about three thousand were added to their number.”
So it seems that the way of faith in Jesus as the Christ is by way of study, understanding and knowledge. This is certainly a valid way. In fact, most of our catechumens come to faith in Jesus in that manner. Those of us who are weak in our faith also come to deepen our conviction in Jesus the Christ in that manner too. Indeed, through the study of scripture, theology and philosophy, we are able to provide a systematic presentation of our beliefs in God, Christ and our salvation. An intellectual inquiry into the faith is necessary to avoid falling into credulity and superstitions. In this way, we can come to understand more deeply our faith and so deepen our conviction.
However, the gospel also presents us another way of coming to faith. It is the way of Mary of Magdala. She came to know Jesus through love. Indeed, she had very little knowledge of the complexity of the resurrection of Jesus. In her naivety, she went to the tomb to look for Jesus. She was deeply in love with Jesus and she only wanted to be with Jesus. She was still living in the past and seeking for the corpse of Jesus. Nevertheless, it is because of her love for Jesus that she was rewarded with the grace of encountering the Risen Lord.
Love therefore is another way of seeing. In fact, those who love can see more. This explains why many people who come to enroll in our Catechumenate program already have the faith because they have encountered the Lord in their own lives. Although they might lack knowledge of the Jesus of Nazareth, they certainly not only confess but also know Him as their Lord and Savior. Indeed, without love, intellectual faith alone will not lead us anywhere. It is shaky and without ground. This is not yet faith. For faith is a personal relationship of mind and heart. In the case of the crowd, after having listened to the persuasive preaching and argument of Peter, we are told that “they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the apostles, ‘What must we do, brothers?’ ‘You must repent.’” This means that their faith was not simply an intellectual faith. Nay, once they understood with the grace of the Holy Spirit, they allowed their hearts to be touched and converted. They were moved in their hearts even before Peter showed proof why Jesus is the Christ and Lord.
Does it mean therefore that it is immaterial whether one proceeds by knowledge or by love? The truth is that there is no dichotomy between knowledge and love. True love always implies knowledge of the one we love; and true knowledge of someone always leads to love. We can only truly love what we know and if we know, then we will always love. So there is no separation between faith and reason, intellect and will. Both act together for a holistic faith. Through love, like the disciples of Jesus, we come to recognize Jesus as Risen; and through knowledge and understanding, we come to realize that the Risen Jesus is also Lord and Saviour. That is why true faith is always intellectual, affective and cognitive. It is knowledge, encounter and performative.
Conversely, love without knowledge is dangerous. If Mary of Magdala could not recognize the Lord initially, it was because she was still too naive about the real person of Jesus. Her emotions blinded her from recognizing the Risen Lord. Her tears prevented her from seeing the Lord. Instead, she thought He was a gardener. It was only when the Lord Jesus called her by name that she could identify Him. And Jesus then took the occasion to instruct her as to how her relationship with Him should be like. “Jesus said to her ‘Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and find the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Yes, she was asked to go beyond sentimental and tangible love to faith which is a naked trust in Him, even when we cannot see with our eyes and feel with our hands.
Today, we are invited to take both our intellectual and affective dimensions of faith seriously. We must never be tempted to replace our intellectual knowledge of the Lord acquired through study with our personal relationship with the Lord in prayer. Conversely, we must avoid the tendency to laziness and use our affective relationship with the Lord as an excuse not to undertake the laborious work of studying scripture so that we can understand our faith better.
For us who are called to be teachers of faith, we must find reasons for our faith and be able to communicate to those under our care, non-believers and those lacking in faith to come to conviction that Jesus is truly our Lord and Saviour. We must be able to present to them our faith in a systematic and coherent manner. At the same time, the privileged way of helping others to come to faith is through a personal communion with the Lord in worship and prayer. Unless we are people of prayer and of deep love for the Lord, we cannot help them to come to know the Lord on a deeper level.
Consequently, unless we are well grounded both in scriptural and theological knowledge, and a deep prayer life, we cannot lead people to God by the way of knowledge and the way of love. It is imperative that we must know these two roads to faith ourselves, as there are many who might have knowledge but have no real relationship with the Lord and for this reason, their faith is reduced to ideology; or there are some who have an affective love for Jesus but lacking knowledge and hence reducing their faith to sentimentalism without concrete living.
But with sound knowledge and a deep love for the Lord, we will be able to share the heart and mind of Jesus, our Good Shepherd. Only then will we be ready to announce Him to others. This was surely the case of the Apostles and Mary of Magdala. In recognizing Jesus as the Lord, “Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her.” So too when we truly come to know Jesus as Lord, we also cannot keep this Good News from others but would also like to announce to everyone that Jesus is Lord and Saviour of the world.
FAITH IN THE RISEN LORD COMES THROUGH BOTH KNOWLEDGE AND LOVE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: ACTS 2:36-41; JN 20:11-18
Alleluia. This is the constant refrain of the Church at Easter. Why Alleluia? Because to say Alleluia is already a confession of faith in Jesus as Lord, since Alleluia means “Praise the Lord!” Yes, we want to praise God who raised Jesus from the dead and therefore established Him as Lord and God. This was the declaration of Peter at Pentecost when he preached to the people, “The whole House of Israel can be certain that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.” The resurrection of our Lord firmly vindicated His Lordship and established Him as the Christ.
In the light of this outcome of the death of Jesus, how should we respond? Like the early hearers of the gospel, we too should be cut to the heart and say, “What must we do, brothers?” Peter answered, “You must repent and every one of you must be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise that was made is for you and your children, and for all those who are far away, for all those whom the Lord our God will call to himself.”
Easter is hence the basis for baptism. Why is this so? Firstly, Baptism is faith in Jesus as the Lord and not simply in Jesus of Nazareth. This presupposes that we must have faith in the resurrection of Jesus. It is faith in the Lord’s resurrection with all its implication that we can arrive at the confession of St Peter that “Jesus whom you crucified (is) both Lord and Christ.”
Secondly, Easter is connected with baptism because faith in Jesus as the Lord brings about the forgiveness of sin. Through His death on the cross, we need not ever doubt God’s unconditional love and mercy for us. Contemplating on His passionate love for us on the Cross, we can with confidence move on from guilt to grace. Inevitably, this will bring about our desire in response to this life to die with Christ in our sins and rise with Him in the new life with Christ. So baptism is an invitation to join Jesus in the paschal mystery so that we can share the resurrected life with Him. To be baptized is to be immersed with water, to be washed clean so that we can rise with Him in the new life of Christ. It is to put on Christ.
But what we have said so far is the conclusion of a long process in the search for the Risen Lord. Like the disciples of Jesus, including Magdala of today’s gospel, we are looking for the Risen Lord. The question that is posed to us in today’s liturgy therefore is, how can one come to faith in Jesus of Nazareth as risen from the dead so that we can confess Him as Lord?
Today’s scripture readings seem to provide us with two ways of coming to faith in Jesus as the Christ and the Lord. Firstly, we have the way of the Jews whom Peter addressed after Pentecost. It is the way of understanding. Peter went at length to explain and argue with them as to why the crucified Jesus is Lord and Christ. Acts records how “he spoke to them for a long time using many arguments, and he urged them, ‘Save yourselves from this perverse generation.’” As a result, “they were convinced by his arguments, and they accepted what he said and were baptised. That very day about three thousand were added to their number.”
So it seems that the way of faith in Jesus as the Christ is by way of study, understanding and knowledge. This is certainly a valid way. In fact, most of our catechumens come to faith in Jesus in that manner. Those of us who are weak in our faith also come to deepen our conviction in Jesus the Christ in that manner too. Indeed, through the study of scripture, theology and philosophy, we are able to provide a systematic presentation of our beliefs in God, Christ and our salvation. An intellectual inquiry into the faith is necessary to avoid falling into credulity and superstitions. In this way, we can come to understand more deeply our faith and so deepen our conviction.
However, the gospel also presents us another way of coming to faith. It is the way of Mary of Magdala. She came to know Jesus through love. Indeed, she had very little knowledge of the complexity of the resurrection of Jesus. In her naivety, she went to the tomb to look for Jesus. She was deeply in love with Jesus and she only wanted to be with Jesus. She was still living in the past and seeking for the corpse of Jesus. Nevertheless, it is because of her love for Jesus that she was rewarded with the grace of encountering the Risen Lord.
Love therefore is another way of seeing. In fact, those who love can see more. This explains why many people who come to enroll in our Catechumenate program already have the faith because they have encountered the Lord in their own lives. Although they might lack knowledge of the Jesus of Nazareth, they certainly not only confess but also know Him as their Lord and Savior. Indeed, without love, intellectual faith alone will not lead us anywhere. It is shaky and without ground. This is not yet faith. For faith is a personal relationship of mind and heart. In the case of the crowd, after having listened to the persuasive preaching and argument of Peter, we are told that “they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the apostles, ‘What must we do, brothers?’ ‘You must repent.’” This means that their faith was not simply an intellectual faith. Nay, once they understood with the grace of the Holy Spirit, they allowed their hearts to be touched and converted. They were moved in their hearts even before Peter showed proof why Jesus is the Christ and Lord.
Does it mean therefore that it is immaterial whether one proceeds by knowledge or by love? The truth is that there is no dichotomy between knowledge and love. True love always implies knowledge of the one we love; and true knowledge of someone always leads to love. We can only truly love what we know and if we know, then we will always love. So there is no separation between faith and reason, intellect and will. Both act together for a holistic faith. Through love, like the disciples of Jesus, we come to recognize Jesus as Risen; and through knowledge and understanding, we come to realize that the Risen Jesus is also Lord and Saviour. That is why true faith is always intellectual, affective and cognitive. It is knowledge, encounter and performative.
Conversely, love without knowledge is dangerous. If Mary of Magdala could not recognize the Lord initially, it was because she was still too naive about the real person of Jesus. Her emotions blinded her from recognizing the Risen Lord. Her tears prevented her from seeing the Lord. Instead, she thought He was a gardener. It was only when the Lord Jesus called her by name that she could identify Him. And Jesus then took the occasion to instruct her as to how her relationship with Him should be like. “Jesus said to her ‘Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and find the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Yes, she was asked to go beyond sentimental and tangible love to faith which is a naked trust in Him, even when we cannot see with our eyes and feel with our hands.
Today, we are invited to take both our intellectual and affective dimensions of faith seriously. We must never be tempted to replace our intellectual knowledge of the Lord acquired through study with our personal relationship with the Lord in prayer. Conversely, we must avoid the tendency to laziness and use our affective relationship with the Lord as an excuse not to undertake the laborious work of studying scripture so that we can understand our faith better.
For us who are called to be teachers of faith, we must find reasons for our faith and be able to communicate to those under our care, non-believers and those lacking in faith to come to conviction that Jesus is truly our Lord and Saviour. We must be able to present to them our faith in a systematic and coherent manner. At the same time, the privileged way of helping others to come to faith is through a personal communion with the Lord in worship and prayer. Unless we are people of prayer and of deep love for the Lord, we cannot help them to come to know the Lord on a deeper level.
Consequently, unless we are well grounded both in scriptural and theological knowledge, and a deep prayer life, we cannot lead people to God by the way of knowledge and the way of love. It is imperative that we must know these two roads to faith ourselves, as there are many who might have knowledge but have no real relationship with the Lord and for this reason, their faith is reduced to ideology; or there are some who have an affective love for Jesus but lacking knowledge and hence reducing their faith to sentimentalism without concrete living.
But with sound knowledge and a deep love for the Lord, we will be able to share the heart and mind of Jesus, our Good Shepherd. Only then will we be ready to announce Him to others. This was surely the case of the Apostles and Mary of Magdala. In recognizing Jesus as the Lord, “Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her.” So too when we truly come to know Jesus as Lord, we also cannot keep this Good News from others but would also like to announce to everyone that Jesus is Lord and Saviour of the world.