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Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore
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17 MARCH 2016, Thursday, 5th Week of Lent
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17 MARCH 2016, Thursday, 5th Week of Lent
ARE YOU SERIOUS ABOUT JESUS?
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Gn 17:3-9; Jn 8:51-59 ]
In the gospel, we see Jesus refusing to succumb to the pressure of the religious leaders with regard to His true identity. The gospel of today reaches its high point in the series of debate between Jesus and the Jews when He said in no uncertain terms who He really was. He said, “I tell you most solemnly, before Abraham ever was, I Am.” In this statement, it was clear to the Jews and the religious leaders that He was putting Himself as equal to God because not only did He claim that He existed before time but that He is the “I Am.” We must not forget that when God revealed Himself to Moses, He instructed Him to say “to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Ex 3:14)
Indeed, Jesus was not afraid to state His identity clearly and without ambiguity. This was because Jesus knew His Father intimately. He said, “If I were to seek my own glory that would be no glory at all; my glory is conferred by the Father, by the one whom you say, ‘He is our God’ although you do not know him. But I know him, and if I were to say: I do not know him, I should be a liar, as you are liars yourselves.” Because of the clarity of His own identity as the Son of the Father, His mission flowed from this identity. Jesus was conscious that His work was to glorify the Father, not Himself. Any glory given to Him was bestowed upon Him by the Father. Jesus’ personal intimacy with the Father was the reason why He lived a life of total obedience to the Father. This was what He said, “But I do know him, and I faithfully keep his word.”
In the first reading too, we read how God was faithful to Himself. He did not contradict His identity and being. To be faithful to oneself is to be true to the promises that we make. Our words and actions must manifest our being. The promises that He made to Abraham, He fulfilled eventually. He promised Abraham, posterity, land and nation; and all these were fulfilled by the time of King David. More than that, He promised perpetuity of the covenant and this was realized in Christ. This was what Jesus meant when He said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to think that he would see my Day; he saw it and was glad.” That is why the psalmist praised God for His fidelity to the Covenant. “He remembers his covenant forever, his promise for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.”
The key to keeping the Word of God and being faithful to our Lord therefore follows the same process. Do we know who we are? Do we know our identity? Are we truly disciples of Christ? Are we Christians? Are we Catholic? If we claim that we are Christian Catholics, do we proudly affirm ourselves as such even in the face of opposition and ridicule by the world as Jesus did? In fact, we read that because of His divine claim, “they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself and left the Temple.” Stoning of course was the penalty for blasphemy as commanded by Moses. The reality is that not only do Catholics fight shy of their identity but worse still, they do not live out their identity. The irony today is that Catholics who are living a very secular life and holding secular and worldly values in contrast to the gospel would proudly say that they are Catholic, much to our embarrassment!
Clarity of our identity therefore is very much indissolubly related to our faith in Jesus. Thus, He said, “I tell you most solemnly, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” We cannot keep His word unless we first believe in Jesus. Faith in Jesus is the pre-requisite in keeping His word. The real question that Catholics and those who claim to be Catholic is whether they believe in Jesus. This was what the Jews asked, “Are you greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? The prophets are dead too. Who are you claiming to be?”
If we believe that Jesus truly comes from the Father and that He speaks on behalf of God and acts on His behalf, then we must believe in Him and obey His Word so that we can find life. But the tragedy is that many call themselves Catholics yet they do not base their life and values and thinking on Christ. The way they think is like the world, certainly not Christian at all, in their values, lifestyles and faith. They are counter-witnesses because they are counterfeits. This explains why such Catholics will not find life. Instead they are opposing the Church, the Magisterium’s teachings and questioning the truth of the bible in a way as if they are our enemies. Instead of taking direction from the Lord, they take direction from the world. Instead of judging the way God judges, we judge the way the world judges. This is not how the psalmist prayed, “You are justified in your sentence and blameless in your judgment.” (Ps 51:4)
So the warning of Jesus is clear. If we believe in Him, then we must keep His word and we will not see death. This death is not biological death but a living death. Those of us who listen to the world, not the Good Shepherd’s voice, will, as Jesus said, “die in their sins.” Those who are slave to sin will not live a life of peace and joy because they are filled with fear, anger, unforgiveness, hatred, revenge, greed, envy, gluttony and pride. If we live an authentic life, are faithful to our Christian identity and values as taught by Christ, then we will find life. We will then rejoice with Abraham. God is faithful to His covenant but we must respond accordingly if His covenant were to be fulfilled in us. “God said to Abraham, ‘You on your part shall maintain my Covenant, yourself and your descendants after you, generation after generation.’”
Indeed, let us rejoice with Abraham, knowing that we are God’s children. God is faithful to His covenant. So too, God will bless us if we too cling to the Lord in faith like Abraham. We need to place our faith in Jesus so that our hope in God will not falter, especially in times of trouble. The psalmist encourages us, “Consider the Lord and his strength; constantly seek his face. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, the judgements he spoke.” So in faith, let us stand up for Jesus. Let us be like Him, ready to stand up for our beliefs and for the truth so that we can be set free.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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 requests.
Share This!
March 17th, 2016|Categories: Scripture Reflection
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© The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore. All Rights Reserved | TERMS | PERSONAL DATA
Go to...
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17 MARCH 2016, Thursday, 5th Week of Lent
Next
17 MARCH 2016, Thursday, 5th Week of Lent
ARE YOU SERIOUS ABOUT JESUS?
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Gn 17:3-9; Jn 8:51-59 ]
In the gospel, we see Jesus refusing to succumb to the pressure of the religious leaders with regard to His true identity. The gospel of today reaches its high point in the series of debate between Jesus and the Jews when He said in no uncertain terms who He really was. He said, “I tell you most solemnly, before Abraham ever was, I Am.” In this statement, it was clear to the Jews and the religious leaders that He was putting Himself as equal to God because not only did He claim that He existed before time but that He is the “I Am.” We must not forget that when God revealed Himself to Moses, He instructed Him to say “to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Ex 3:14)
Indeed, Jesus was not afraid to state His identity clearly and without ambiguity. This was because Jesus knew His Father intimately. He said, “If I were to seek my own glory that would be no glory at all; my glory is conferred by the Father, by the one whom you say, ‘He is our God’ although you do not know him. But I know him, and if I were to say: I do not know him, I should be a liar, as you are liars yourselves.” Because of the clarity of His own identity as the Son of the Father, His mission flowed from this identity. Jesus was conscious that His work was to glorify the Father, not Himself. Any glory given to Him was bestowed upon Him by the Father. Jesus’ personal intimacy with the Father was the reason why He lived a life of total obedience to the Father. This was what He said, “But I do know him, and I faithfully keep his word.”
In the first reading too, we read how God was faithful to Himself. He did not contradict His identity and being. To be faithful to oneself is to be true to the promises that we make. Our words and actions must manifest our being. The promises that He made to Abraham, He fulfilled eventually. He promised Abraham, posterity, land and nation; and all these were fulfilled by the time of King David. More than that, He promised perpetuity of the covenant and this was realized in Christ. This was what Jesus meant when He said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to think that he would see my Day; he saw it and was glad.” That is why the psalmist praised God for His fidelity to the Covenant. “He remembers his covenant forever, his promise for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.”
The key to keeping the Word of God and being faithful to our Lord therefore follows the same process. Do we know who we are? Do we know our identity? Are we truly disciples of Christ? Are we Christians? Are we Catholic? If we claim that we are Christian Catholics, do we proudly affirm ourselves as such even in the face of opposition and ridicule by the world as Jesus did? In fact, we read that because of His divine claim, “they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself and left the Temple.” Stoning of course was the penalty for blasphemy as commanded by Moses. The reality is that not only do Catholics fight shy of their identity but worse still, they do not live out their identity. The irony today is that Catholics who are living a very secular life and holding secular and worldly values in contrast to the gospel would proudly say that they are Catholic, much to our embarrassment!
Clarity of our identity therefore is very much indissolubly related to our faith in Jesus. Thus, He said, “I tell you most solemnly, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” We cannot keep His word unless we first believe in Jesus. Faith in Jesus is the pre-requisite in keeping His word. The real question that Catholics and those who claim to be Catholic is whether they believe in Jesus. This was what the Jews asked, “Are you greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? The prophets are dead too. Who are you claiming to be?”
If we believe that Jesus truly comes from the Father and that He speaks on behalf of God and acts on His behalf, then we must believe in Him and obey His Word so that we can find life. But the tragedy is that many call themselves Catholics yet they do not base their life and values and thinking on Christ. The way they think is like the world, certainly not Christian at all, in their values, lifestyles and faith. They are counter-witnesses because they are counterfeits. This explains why such Catholics will not find life. Instead they are opposing the Church, the Magisterium’s teachings and questioning the truth of the bible in a way as if they are our enemies. Instead of taking direction from the Lord, they take direction from the world. Instead of judging the way God judges, we judge the way the world judges. This is not how the psalmist prayed, “You are justified in your sentence and blameless in your judgment.” (Ps 51:4)
So the warning of Jesus is clear. If we believe in Him, then we must keep His word and we will not see death. This death is not biological death but a living death. Those of us who listen to the world, not the Good Shepherd’s voice, will, as Jesus said, “die in their sins.” Those who are slave to sin will not live a life of peace and joy because they are filled with fear, anger, unforgiveness, hatred, revenge, greed, envy, gluttony and pride. If we live an authentic life, are faithful to our Christian identity and values as taught by Christ, then we will find life. We will then rejoice with Abraham. God is faithful to His covenant but we must respond accordingly if His covenant were to be fulfilled in us. “God said to Abraham, ‘You on your part shall maintain my Covenant, yourself and your descendants after you, generation after generation.’”
Indeed, let us rejoice with Abraham, knowing that we are God’s children. God is faithful to His covenant. So too, God will bless us if we too cling to the Lord in faith like Abraham. We need to place our faith in Jesus so that our hope in God will not falter, especially in times of trouble. The psalmist encourages us, “Consider the Lord and his strength; constantly seek his face. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, the judgements he spoke.” So in faith, let us stand up for Jesus. Let us be like Him, ready to stand up for our beliefs and for the truth so that we can be set free.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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 requests.
Share This!
March 17th, 2016|Categories: Scripture Reflection
Section Menu
ARCHBISHOP
About
Daily Scripture Reflection
Pastoral Letters
Votive Homilies
Prayer Intentions
His Messages
Catholic Occasions
Current Events
Other Occasions
Speeches
Archbishop News
Photo Gallery
Video Gallery
Cathedral of the Good Shepherd
► TIP: Looking for the old footer menu? Click on the + symbol at the top-right corner of every page.
© The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore. All Rights Reserved | TERMS | PERSONAL DATA