20250515 MISSION INVOLVES A DOUBLE SENDING
15 May 2025, Thursday, 4th Week of Easter
First reading | Acts 13:13-25 |
God has raised up one of David's descendants, Jesus, as Saviour
Paul and his friends went by sea from Paphos to Perga in Pamphylia where John left them to go back to Jerusalem. The others carried on from Perga till they reached Antioch in Pisidia. Here they went to synagogue on the sabbath and took their seats. After the lessons from the Law and the Prophets had been read, the presidents of the synagogue sent them a message: ‘Brothers, if you would like to address some words of encouragement to the congregation, please do so.’ Paul stood up, held up a hand for silence and began to speak:
‘Men of Israel, and fearers of God, listen! The God of our nation Israel chose our ancestors, and made our people great when they were living as foreigners in Egypt; then by divine power he led them out, and for about forty years took care of them in the wilderness. When he had destroyed seven nations in Canaan, he put them in possession of their land for about four hundred and fifty years. After this he gave them judges, down to the prophet Samuel. Then they demanded a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin. After forty years, he deposed him and made David their king, of whom he approved in these words, “I have selected David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will carry out my whole purpose.” To keep his promise, God has raised up for Israel one of David’s descendants, Jesus, as Saviour, whose coming was heralded by John when he proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the whole people of Israel. Before John ended his career he said, “I am not the one you imagine me to be; that one is coming after me and I am not fit to undo his sandal.”’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 88(89):2-3,21,22,25,27 |
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord;
through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth.
Of this I am sure, that your love lasts for ever,
that your truth is firmly established as the heavens.
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
I have found David my servant
and with my holy oil anointed him.
My hand shall always be with him
and my arm shall make him strong.
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
My truth and my love shall be with him;
by my name his might shall be exalted.
He will say to me: ‘You are my father,
my God, the rock who saves me.’
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Rv1:5 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
You, O Christ, are the faithful witness,
the First-born from the dead,
you have loved us and have washed away our sins with your blood.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 13:16-20 |
Whoever welcomes the one I send welcomes me
After he had washed the feet of his disciples, Jesus said to them:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
no servant is greater than his master,
no messenger is greater than the man who sent him.
‘Now that you know this, happiness will be yours if you behave accordingly. I am not speaking about all of you: I know the ones I have chosen; but what scripture says must be fulfilled: Someone who shares my table rebels against me.
‘I tell you this now, before it happens,
so that when it does happen
you may believe that I am He.
I tell you most solemnly,
whoever welcomes the one I send welcomes me,
and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.’
MISSION INVOLVES A DOUBLE SENDING
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Acts 13:13-25; Ps 89:2-3,21,22,25,27; Jn 13:16-20]
The scripture readings today reflect on the theme of mission. When we speak about mission, we must not presume that we chose to undertake a mission on behalf of the Church or of Christ. We do not decide on our mission and we do not appoint ourselves for the mission. When we speak of mission, there is always implied a sending. In Christian understanding of mission, there is a double sending. The Father sends His Son and His Son sends His disciples. Otherwise, there is no question of us having a mission. At the end of John’s gospel, after His resurrection, Jesus sent out His disciples saying, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” (Jn 20:21)
Indeed, in the scripture, Jesus on many occasions made it clear that He was sent by the Father. At the Temple on the Feast of the Tabernacles, “Jesus cried out as He was teaching in the temple, ‘You know me, and you know where I am from. I have not come on my own. But the one who sent me is true, and you do not know him. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.” (Jn 7:28f) In the Eucharistic discourse, Jesus said, “Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me.” (Jn 6:57) Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me. And the one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him.” (Jn 8:28f) “I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me.” (Jn 12:49)
St Luke in Acts also underscored that Jesus was truly the one sent by the Father to be the Saviour of the world. He referred to the speeches Peter and Paul made to the Jews and the Gentiles. St Peter’s homily at Pentecost illustrated how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the scriptures about His Messiahship, referencing the prophecy of Joel and the Psalms. (Acts 2:14-36) Stephen’s defence before the Sanhedrin also traced the origin of the mission of Jesus to that of the Patriarchs and Moses. (Acts 7:2-19) Today, St Paul’s speech to the Jewish audience at Antioch in Pisidia in the synagogue recalls how God had led the Hebrews out of Egypt and into Canaan, and His appointment of David as their king. (Acts 13:17-23) He climaxed his speech with this, “To keep his promise, God has raised up for Israel one of David’s descendants, Jesus, as Saviour, whose coming was heralded by John when he proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the whole people of Israel.”
We can imagine how the Jews would have reacted to the teaching of Paul. For some, it was good news. But for the strict orthodox Jews, it was heresy. For some, Paul did indeed bring words of encouragement, as his speech was meant to do. But as we read further, on one hand “when Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people urged them to speak about these things again the next sabbath.” (Acts 13:42f) On the other hand, there were those who reacted with fear and consternation. “When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy; and blaspheming, they contradicted what was spoken by Paul.” (Acts 13:45)
Indeed, the proclamation of the Good News will always invite extreme reactions even today. Those who are open will receive the message as Good News. Jesus is indeed the fulfilment of salvation history and in accordance with the divine plan of God as unfolded in the scriptures, beginning with the Patriarchs until the advent of John the Baptist. If we follow the arguments of Peter, Stephen and Paul, we will understand how the apostles, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, reread the Old Testament in the light of new developments that unfolded in the life, passion, death and resurrection of our Lord. Yet, in spite of the fact that some were not happy with their teaching, Paul and his collaborators remained firm in what they taught. In fact, Paul and Barnabas spoke out even more boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'” (Acts 13:46f)
What is the secret of being so convicted in their beliefs about the Lord? It was because they knew that they were sent by the Lord Himself. Their sending for the mission was already being prepared by the Lord towards the end of His life. Today’s gospel is the segment that follows the washing of feet at the Upper Room. This event anticipates the confirmation of Jesus’ sending them for mission after the resurrection. It also took place in the Upper Room where the apostles were hiding in fear of the Jews. These upper room discourses therefore must be seen as intimate gatherings between Jesus and His disciples before His departure from them.
Up to this point, the gospel of John underscored the first mission, namely, of the Son being sent by the Father. Now the second mission increasingly comes to the fore with Jesus’ impending departure. Hence, the context for this gathering was Jesus’ deliberate intention to prepare them for the impending mission after His death and resurrection. So, the farewell meal is not to be seen as a farewell meeting before Jesus left them. Rather, it is to be seen in the context of a commanding officer giving instructions and encouragement to his troops before sending them out for battle.
But it must be emphasized that the second mission does not rival the first mission. On the contrary, the second mission operates under new conditions following the completion of Jesus’ mission on earth. The mission of Jesus as the “Sent One” by the Father is now brought to another level when the mission of Jesus would continue in the apostles. The ‘Hour’ which Jesus was preparing the Church had come – that hour when the Lord would launch the mission of the Church by empowering the apostles in the Holy Spirit.
This power or authority given to them to represent our Lord is through identification with Him. The Lord said, “I tell you most solemnly, whoever welcomes the one I send welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” The apostles therefore were authorized to speak on Jesus’ behalf because He was the one who sent them. Hence, they were to be accepted by those who hear them. And this authority is given not only to the apostles but to the disciples as well, as we read in the sending of the seventy-two disciples in Luke’s gospel. “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” (Lk 10:16)
How do we discern whether those who come to us have the authority to do so? Firstly, they must verify how they were sent and who sent them. In the Church, it is the bishops, the members of the Apostolic College, who appoint and ordain priests to serve in the Church; and lay leaders to lead as well. But authority to proclaim the gospel is more than just a legal authority vested upon the teachers. Equally important is that they must confirm their call as Peter wrote, “Be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble.” (2 Pt 1:10) They must demonstrate the humility and selfless service of their master as demonstrated in the washing of the feet. In this event, we see the profound revelation of the heart of God anticipating the passion of Christ. Unless the messengers of our Lord also demonstrate that their authority is one of humble service and selfless love, even with juridical authority, it would not be enough to convince the recipients. Hence, those who serve must strengthen their intimacy with the Lord by celebrating the Eucharist often so that they too can find strength and self-sacrifice in giving themselves. Indeed, let us never be deluded into thinking that the authority of His disciples has nothing to do with worldly authority and power. In this way, they will always be conscious that they are sent.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment