03-31-2014, 09:21 AM
FAITH IN JESUS AS THE KEY TO LIFE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: ISAIAH 65:17-21; JOHN 4:43-54
http://www.universalis.com/20140331/mass.htm
We entered the Fourth Sunday of Lent yesterday, traditionally called Laetare Sunday, that is, the Sunday of Joy. The joy that we speak about is not so much because we have crossed the halfway mark of the Lenten season and therefore look forward to go back to our old ways of living. Rather, the joy comes from our faith and confidence in the new life promised to us in the crucified and risen Lord. This joy which we celebrated overflows into today’s liturgy as well.
Indeed, we observe a notable change in the second part of the Lenten season from the emphasis on our spiritual life of prayer, fasting and almsgiving to that of Jesus’ passion and resurrection. Yesterday, the liturgy anticipates the passion, death and resurrection of Christ. So the fourth Sunday is an introduction to what will develop in the next three weeks when we reflect on the growing hostility against Jesus which culminates in His death and resurrection.
Today’s gospel on the miracle of the healing of the official’s son is an elaboration of this theological motif of Jesus as the Resurrection and the Life. The official’s son was healed when Jesus spoke. St John remarked, “The father realized that this was exactly the time when Jesus had said, ‘Your son will live’; and he and all his household believed.” John clearly wants us to understand that this miracle is an anticipation of the final hour of Jesus’ exaltation, death and resurrection, hence the remark that it happened at the seventh hour, the hour of fulfillment.
Significantly, John said, “This was the second sign given by Jesus, on his return from Judaea to Galilee.” Consequently, this sign has to be understood in relation to the first sign Jesus gave at Cana in Galilee where He changed water into wine, anticipating that hour of His glorification. This gives us the connection with today’s first reading from Isaiah when He prophesied on the new heavens and the new earth. He said, “They will build houses and inhabit them, plant vineyards and eat their fruit.”
But what is necessary to bring about the new heavens and the new earth, and freedom from death? It is absolute faith in Jesus as the Life-Giver. Do we have absolute faith in Jesus as the One who can give us life? Secondly, how can we arrive at this faith in Jesus as the Source of life?
Jesus requires us to surrender in faith. In disappointment, Jesus said in exasperation, “So you will not believe unless you see signs and portents!” The Jews’ difficulty is ours as well. We are not willing to make changes in our lives unless we see evidence and signs. In a nutshell, we are not willing to take the risk of faith and trust in Jesus by handing our lives over to Him.
But Jesus’ message is that when we believe, we will see the signs. Seeing the signs alone will not lead to us to faith. In this sense, while the court official asked Jesus to visit his home in Capernaum to cure his dying son, he had faith in Jesus’ power to heal. We read, “The man believed what Jesus had said and started on his way; and while he was still on the journey back his servants met him with the news that his boy was alive.“
Of course, it would be ideal to have the Centurion’s faith where we could say to Jesus, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you but only say your word and my servant would be healed.” Returning to the first sign at Cana, Mary demonstrated the nature of this faith. When Jesus told her that it was not the hour for Him to perform the miracle, Mary simply told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” It is because of this complete faith and trust in her Son that Jesus honored Mary’s faith by anticipating that hour of His glory in performing the miracle of the wine.
What about us? At which level of faith have we arrived since we started our Lenten exercises? If our faith is weak, could it perhaps be that we are not ready to take the risk? Faith involves risk. If we still live in apprehension and anxiety, could it be because we do not want to surrender our lives completely to Jesus?
Are we ready to take the word of Jesus and His commands seriously? How many of us dare to claim the promise of God and His assurance that He will help us in our daily struggles? Do we believe that God will help us even without knowing what is ahead of us? But if we simply trust and believe in His word just like the gentile court official, we will see great miracles happen in our lives. Only such faith can bring us true joy and happiness.
This faith of course is not only trusting in the word of Jesus but also in carrying out His word. It is significant to note that the official obeyed His word and went home without doubting Jesus. Similarly at Cana, we remember Mary telling the servants to “do whatever he tells you”. Faith therefore is not simply having trust but demonstrated in obedience to Jesus’ commands and a living out of His word.
As we approach the feast of Easter, the Church wants us to focus on Jesus now, especially on His passion and resurrection. The first part of Lent which focuses on the spiritual life and the Lenten exercises were preliminaries to prepare our hearts to be more disposed to a deeper relationship with the Lord. However, what is ultimate is our faith in the Lord Jesus as the Life-giver, which could only come about when we have an intimate relationship with Him. Only this faith in Christ as the Son of God can bring us great joy and consolation, especially when we feel that things are still not changing. For in contemplating on the passion, death and resurrection of Christ, we find new life when we carry our crosses with Jesus because through our death, we find fullness of life.
Written by The Most Rev Msgr William Goh
SCRIPTURE READINGS: ISAIAH 65:17-21; JOHN 4:43-54
http://www.universalis.com/20140331/mass.htm
We entered the Fourth Sunday of Lent yesterday, traditionally called Laetare Sunday, that is, the Sunday of Joy. The joy that we speak about is not so much because we have crossed the halfway mark of the Lenten season and therefore look forward to go back to our old ways of living. Rather, the joy comes from our faith and confidence in the new life promised to us in the crucified and risen Lord. This joy which we celebrated overflows into today’s liturgy as well.
Indeed, we observe a notable change in the second part of the Lenten season from the emphasis on our spiritual life of prayer, fasting and almsgiving to that of Jesus’ passion and resurrection. Yesterday, the liturgy anticipates the passion, death and resurrection of Christ. So the fourth Sunday is an introduction to what will develop in the next three weeks when we reflect on the growing hostility against Jesus which culminates in His death and resurrection.
Today’s gospel on the miracle of the healing of the official’s son is an elaboration of this theological motif of Jesus as the Resurrection and the Life. The official’s son was healed when Jesus spoke. St John remarked, “The father realized that this was exactly the time when Jesus had said, ‘Your son will live’; and he and all his household believed.” John clearly wants us to understand that this miracle is an anticipation of the final hour of Jesus’ exaltation, death and resurrection, hence the remark that it happened at the seventh hour, the hour of fulfillment.
Significantly, John said, “This was the second sign given by Jesus, on his return from Judaea to Galilee.” Consequently, this sign has to be understood in relation to the first sign Jesus gave at Cana in Galilee where He changed water into wine, anticipating that hour of His glorification. This gives us the connection with today’s first reading from Isaiah when He prophesied on the new heavens and the new earth. He said, “They will build houses and inhabit them, plant vineyards and eat their fruit.”
But what is necessary to bring about the new heavens and the new earth, and freedom from death? It is absolute faith in Jesus as the Life-Giver. Do we have absolute faith in Jesus as the One who can give us life? Secondly, how can we arrive at this faith in Jesus as the Source of life?
Jesus requires us to surrender in faith. In disappointment, Jesus said in exasperation, “So you will not believe unless you see signs and portents!” The Jews’ difficulty is ours as well. We are not willing to make changes in our lives unless we see evidence and signs. In a nutshell, we are not willing to take the risk of faith and trust in Jesus by handing our lives over to Him.
But Jesus’ message is that when we believe, we will see the signs. Seeing the signs alone will not lead to us to faith. In this sense, while the court official asked Jesus to visit his home in Capernaum to cure his dying son, he had faith in Jesus’ power to heal. We read, “The man believed what Jesus had said and started on his way; and while he was still on the journey back his servants met him with the news that his boy was alive.“
Of course, it would be ideal to have the Centurion’s faith where we could say to Jesus, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you but only say your word and my servant would be healed.” Returning to the first sign at Cana, Mary demonstrated the nature of this faith. When Jesus told her that it was not the hour for Him to perform the miracle, Mary simply told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” It is because of this complete faith and trust in her Son that Jesus honored Mary’s faith by anticipating that hour of His glory in performing the miracle of the wine.
What about us? At which level of faith have we arrived since we started our Lenten exercises? If our faith is weak, could it perhaps be that we are not ready to take the risk? Faith involves risk. If we still live in apprehension and anxiety, could it be because we do not want to surrender our lives completely to Jesus?
Are we ready to take the word of Jesus and His commands seriously? How many of us dare to claim the promise of God and His assurance that He will help us in our daily struggles? Do we believe that God will help us even without knowing what is ahead of us? But if we simply trust and believe in His word just like the gentile court official, we will see great miracles happen in our lives. Only such faith can bring us true joy and happiness.
This faith of course is not only trusting in the word of Jesus but also in carrying out His word. It is significant to note that the official obeyed His word and went home without doubting Jesus. Similarly at Cana, we remember Mary telling the servants to “do whatever he tells you”. Faith therefore is not simply having trust but demonstrated in obedience to Jesus’ commands and a living out of His word.
As we approach the feast of Easter, the Church wants us to focus on Jesus now, especially on His passion and resurrection. The first part of Lent which focuses on the spiritual life and the Lenten exercises were preliminaries to prepare our hearts to be more disposed to a deeper relationship with the Lord. However, what is ultimate is our faith in the Lord Jesus as the Life-giver, which could only come about when we have an intimate relationship with Him. Only this faith in Christ as the Son of God can bring us great joy and consolation, especially when we feel that things are still not changing. For in contemplating on the passion, death and resurrection of Christ, we find new life when we carry our crosses with Jesus because through our death, we find fullness of life.
Written by The Most Rev Msgr William Goh