Do You Believe This?

32ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

[ Luke 20: 27-38 ]

   Politicians and their promises.

The die is cast: the 15th Malaysian General Election is set on 19th November 2022 – and the temperature is rising.

All the politicians are now up and about. They can be seen and heard everywhere: at street corners, marketplaces and on social media platforms… Everyone is going all out to convince the voters that he or she is the better candidate for the people. To entice and win over the gullible voters, the politicians would put on a good show, parade their good deeds, brandish their election goodies, dish out cash money and shower election promises.

After 65 years of the Malayan Declaration of Independence and 60 years of the establishment of Malaysia, we the people have often been taken for a ride by these unscrupulous politicians – we should have learned our lesson – we should NEVER trust politicians and their empty (and broken) promises.

   God and His promises.

St John the Evangelist [Jn 11: 1-44] recalls the death and the raising of Lazarus:

   Lazarus was dead for four days. His sisters, Mary and Martha, were devastated. 

   Martha even ‘blamed’ Jesus [Jn 11: 21], “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died…”

   Jesus told Martha [Jn 11: 23], “Your brother will rise again.”

   And He declared that [Jn 11: 25-26], “I AM the Resurrection and the Life. 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?”

   Do we REALLY believe this?

As Jesus asked Martha, the same question [Jn 11: 26] is posed to each and every one of us, “DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?”

   Do we REALLY believe this?

   Do we REALLY believe in God and His promises?

   DO we REALLY believe that Jesus is TRULY the Resurrection and the Life, and if we have died with Him, we will also live with Him (eternally) [2 Tm 2: 11]?

In the First Reading of the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time [2 Mac 7: 1-2, 9-14], a mother and her seven sons were arrested by the king for refusing the taste pig’s flesh which was forbidden by the Old Testament Law. The brothers would rather be tortured and killed rather than breaking the Law.

The fourth brother, after being tortured and nearing his dead, exclaimed [2 Mac 7: 14], “Ours is better choice, to meet death at men’s hands, yet relying on God’s promise that we shall be raised by him…”

   Can we REALLY believe this?

Can we believe in God and His promises?

Yes, we can.

Jesus Himself suffered, died, was buried and rose from the dead. The Resurrection of Jesus confirms that Jesus is TRULY the Resurrection and the Life – He is the Supreme Lord over life and death!

St Paul [1 Co 15; 3-8] tells us that,

   “For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared also to me.”

The Resurrection of Jesus assures us that our Christian belief in Jesus and His promises is not nonsensical, ridiculous or foolish. Rather, our Christian belief in Jesus and His promises is rational, well-founded and well-grounded.

   If we REALLY believe this…

If we REALLY believe this TRUTH, we must live this TRUTH.

If we REALLY believe this TRUTH, we must live as the children of the resurrection [Lk 20-36], the children of light and the children of the day [1 Th 5:5].

(1) Living as the children of the resurrection:

As the children of the resurrection, we must not be earthbound but heavenbound. We must live our earthly life in preparation to meet God in heaven. We must not be so caught up in our earthly affairs that we forget about the salvation of our souls and the resurrection of our bodies.

Everything on earth is a gift (grace) from God to help us enter heaven. We must not misuse or abuse God’s gifts for our own selfishness, self-glorification, self-gratification and self-indulgence. Rather, we must use God’s gifts wisely so that we may eventually enter heaven.

Every moment and every day, we must live out the mystery of the dying and rising – to die to our own sins and to rise again in grace. As the children of the resurrection, we must consciously promote the culture life and hope, NOT the culture of death and hopelessness: we must always choose to give life and hope to others, NOT break and destroy others.

(2) Living as the children of light and the children of the day:

St Paul exhorts us [1 Th 5: 4-8],

   “You, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; for those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.”

As the children of the light and the children of the day, we do not belong to the night or to darkness! The ongoing spiritual warfare is out there and in us! We must – at all times – stay awake, stay sober and stay vigilant. We must consciously reject Satan and all his diabolic minions; we must deliberately reject all his evil works; and we must altogether reject all his empty promises; and we must persistently reject the temptations, the sins and the evil in us and in the world!

To fight the darkness in us and in the world, and to live as the children of light and the children of the day, we need Jesus the Light – He is present in His Holy Word, in His Holy Church and in His Holy Sacraments.

   Jesus, our Hope in life and in death.

Jesus is our Hope in life and in death. Only Jesus the Resurrection and the Life can fill us with His light and dispel the darkness that plagues us, our nation and our world.

Jesus is faithful and He is true to His words. We are certain that He will not let us sink into the darkness of sin and evil, He will not leave us to face our own perils, and He will not abandon us to eternal damnation.

In Jesus, we place all our trust. And in Jesus, we dare to hope.

Let our fervent prayer be:

   “In You, O Lord Jesus, we place all our trust and all our hope.”

Let us also pray that God’s justice, peace, truth and love may prevail in Ukraine, Sri Lanka and Nicaragua.