20140916 THE CHURCH AS THE VISIBLE SIGN OF CHRIST’S PRESENCE IN BOTH SPIRIT AND BODY

20140916 THE CHURCH AS THE VISIBLE SIGN OF CHRIST’S PRESENCE IN BOTH SPIRIT AND BODY

First reading

1 Corinthians 12:12-14,27-31 ©

Just as a human body, though it is made up of many parts, is a single unit because all these parts, though many, make one body, so it is with Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptised, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as citizens, and one Spirit was given to us all to drink.

  Nor is the body to be identified with any one of its many parts. Now you together are Christ’s body; but each of you is a different part of it. In the Church, God has given the first place to apostles, the second to prophets, the third to teachers; after them, miracles, and after them the gift of healing; helpers, good leaders, those with many languages. Are all of them apostles, or all of them prophets, or all of them teachers? Do they all have the gift of miracles, or all have the gift of healing? Do all speak strange languages, and all interpret them? Be ambitious for the higher gifts.

Psalm            Psalm 99:1-5 ©

We are his people, the sheep of his flock.

Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.

  Serve the Lord with gladness.

  Come before him, singing for joy.

We are his people, the sheep of his flock.

Know that he, the Lord, is God.

  He made us, we belong to him,

  we are his people, the sheep of his flock.

We are his people, the sheep of his flock.

Go within his gates, giving thanks.

  Enter his courts with songs of praise.

  Give thanks to him and bless his name.

We are his people, the sheep of his flock.

Indeed, how good is the Lord,

  eternal his merciful love.

  He is faithful from age to age.

We are his people, the sheep of his flock.

Gospel Acclamation           cf.2Tim1:10

Alleluia, alleluia!

Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death

and he has proclaimed life through the Good News.

Alleluia!

Or        Lk7:16

Alleluia, alleluia!

A great prophet has appeared among us;

God has visited his people.

Alleluia!

Gospel           Luke 7:11-17 ©

Jesus went to a town called Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a great number of people. When he was near the gate of the town it happened that a dead man was being carried out for burial, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a considerable number of the townspeople were with her. When the Lord saw her he felt sorry for her. ‘Do not cry’ he said. Then he went up and put his hand on the bier and the bearers stood still, and he said, ‘Young man, I tell you to get up.’ And the dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Everyone was filled with awe and praised God saying, ‘A great prophet has appeared among us; God has visited his people.’ And this opinion of him spread throughout Judaea and all over the countryside.

THE CHURCH AS THE VISIBLE SIGN OF CHRIST’S PRESENCE IN BOTH SPIRIT AND BODY

SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1 COR 12:12-14,27-31; LK 7:11-17
http://www.universalis.com/20140916/mass.htm

Today’s gospel is a very moving scene.  St Luke narrates to us in a poignant way that when the Lord saw the widow mourning for her only son, “he felt sorry for her. ‘Do not cry’ he said.  And Jesus gave him to his mother.”  Consequently, “Everyone was filled with awe and praised God saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us; God has visited his people.”  Indeed, in this act of Jesus, the people recognized Him as the New Elijah, and Jesus was numbered among the great prophets of God.  But for Luke, it is Jesus “the Lord” Himself who raised the man from the dead.  Hence, in his other book in Acts, he patterns the miracle of Peter after that of Jesus to indicate that this same Jesus is still present in the Church.

Within this context of the visitation of the Lord, the reading from St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians reminds us that we, as Church, are called to be the presence of Jesus in the world today; not simply the presence of God as in the Old Testament when God was experienced as pure Spirit.  For Christ, as the incarnated presence of God, is both Spirit and body.  So if we Christians are truly the sign of Christ’s presence, we must reveal His Spirit and body in us. As Church we are called to be the sacrament of Jesus, the sign of love and unity in the world.  How do we do this?

Firstly, as individuals we manifest the presence of His Spirit in our lives by living good lives and doing works of love and service. In this way, we make visible the presence of the Risen Christ in us; that same Christ who performed works of compassion when He was on earth.  But this is not sufficient enough to make Christ’s presence felt because many people in the world and those from other religions also share in the Spirit of Christ, and in different degrees and consciousness manifest in their lives works of compassion as well.  They, too, share in the Spirit of Christ even if they are not aware of it.

Hence, to manifest the presence of Christ in us, we also need to reveal His body in us as a community.  The body of course symbolizes the differences among us, even if we all have the same human spirit.  Truly, the greatest miracle and sign of God’s presence in the Church is not simply because we do good works but that we are united in diversity. This truly is what makes us Christians exceptionally the par excellence of God’s presence.  Indeed, we know that the context of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians was the division in the Church of Corinth.  It was clearly impossible for the Christians in Corinth to be united as they came from different classes of society; some were Jews, some Greeks; some were slaves and some citizens.  Hence, St Paul wanted to remind them of the need to preserve that unity among themselves if they were really to be the sacrament of Christ.

Indeed, only when we, as individuals, share the Spirit of Christ and, as a community, manifest His body, is the fullness of Christ’s presence revealed in the Church.  It is the unity between the Spirit of Christ which we share, and the Body which we have in common, that fully reveals the Risen Christ present in us as individuals and as Church.  Consequently, it is important that we remind ourselves the fundamental principles to preserve the unity of the Spirit and the Body of Christ in our lives and in the Church.   What then are these principles that St Paul teaches us?

The fundamental foundation of our unity and equality is based on the fact that we share in the one Spirit.  By virtue of our baptism, we have all been given the one Spirit to drink.  This is what makes us all equal and yet different, because this one Spirit that we share apportions to each one of us different gifts.  Unless we are aware of this one Spirit of Christ which we have in common, and the different gifts He gives to us, we would not be able to live in unity together.

The second fundamental principle is that our unity in diversity is founded on the fact that we are together as “Christ’s body”, but each of us is a different part. This body, St Paul says, is therefore not “to be identified with any one of its many parts.”  So only when we act as one in both body and Spirit, is the presence of God seen in us.  But more importantly is that if we are Christ’s body, then all of us must be connected with the head.  It is the headship of Christ that keeps the members of the body one with Him and one with each other.  Our union with Christ therefore is primarily to keep us together as one in spite of our differences.  From these two basic principles flow the consequences of what it means to share this one Spirit of Christ.

Firstly, our unity in diversity is the result of our sharing the different gifts in this One Spirit.  All gifts, we know, come from the one Spirit.  Hence, if we differ in gifts, it is in order that we can complement each other so that the One Spirit is made visible in us.  No one can monopolize all the gifts.  Thus, all gifts, big or small, as St Paul illustrates with the example of the body, are important for the unity of the community.  No gift can be considered unimportant to the community.   For that reason, St Paul says it is the most insignificant part of the body that is given the most honour and attention.  Every part of the body contributes to the whole.  Hence, we are called to recognize our interdependence on each other so that we can have a full share of the One Spirit.

Secondly, our unity in multiplicity is founded on the proper ordering of gifts. When we speak of ordering, we are speaking of hierarchy, which implies a kind of body or institution.  Although all gifts come from the Spirit, it must be noted that for St Paul, the institutional gifts are placed before the charismatic gifts.  Priority is given accordingly to those who are apostles, who oversee the churches, then prophets, who preach the Word of God and then teachers, who continue to instruct them in the faith.  Only then did St Paul mention the lesser gifts of miracles and healings.  It is clear that without the institutional gifts to guide and regulate the charismatic gifts, the community would be divided because of misunderstandings.  Good will alone is not enough to bring unity to the community. Indeed, divisions in the community is often the result of everyone having good will, doing their own thing and sharing their gifts with others, but unfortunately doing so in a way that at times disregards order in the way we use our gifts.  Hence, a coordinated sharing of gifts is necessary to promote communion and unity.  Without which, the use of charismatic gifts will lead to disunity, competition and ill feelings.

Indeed, as the responsorial psalm suggests, we are called to be the people of God, the sheep of His flock.  This is only possible if those who are in authority guide us as the shepherds of Christ should lead His Church. For this reason, we can understand why St Paul put the ministry of the apostles as the most important gift of the Spirit in protecting the unity of the Church, since to be in union with them is to be in union with Christ.

Pope John Paul II told the Brazilian bishops on their ad lamina visit that the first task of a Catholic bishop is to promote communion with the Pope and the rest of the episcopate. He said, “The distinctive note of your mission, as pastors of the people who have been entrusted to you, must be, first of all, to be promoters and models of communion … Just as the Church is one, so the episcopate is only one.”  The Pontiff continued, quoting from the Second Vatican Council’s dogmatic constitution, Lumen Gentium, “The Pope, as the Successor of Peter, is the visible principle and perpetual foundation of unity, both of the bishops as well as of the multitude of faithful.” … Union among bishops is particularly necessary in our days, given that pastoral initiatives have many forms and transcend the borders of one’s diocese.”

Let us pray that we preserve the communion of the Church as the visible body of Christ, sharing in the one Spirit of love and unity through the contribution of our distinctive charisms for the good of the community and the world, and allowing our charisms to be ordered by those who are placed in charge over us.  In this way, when others see us, they can also be filled with awe and praise saying, “God his visited his people” once again.

WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV WILLIAM GOH


ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE
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