20150118 IMPLICATIONS OF A CONVERSION EXPERIENCE
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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1 Samuel
3:3-10,19 ©
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Samuel was lying in
the sanctuary of the Lord, where the ark of God was, when the Lord called, ‘Samuel!
Samuel!’ He answered, ‘Here I am.’ Then he ran to Eli and said, ‘Here I am,
since you called me.’ Eli said, ‘I did not call. Go back and lie down.’ So he
went and lay down. Once again the Lord called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Samuel got up
and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, since you called me.’ He replied, ‘I did
not call you, my son; go back and lie down.’ Samuel had as yet no knowledge of
the Lord and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. Once again
the Lord called, the third time. He got up and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I
am, since you called me.’ Eli then understood that it was the Lord who was
calling the boy, and he said to Samuel, ‘Go and lie down, and if someone calls
say, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”’ So Samuel went and lay down in
his place.
The Lord
then came and stood by, calling as he had done before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Samuel
answered, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’
Samuel
grew up and the Lord was with him and let no word of his fall to the ground.
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Psalm
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Psalm
39:2,4,7-10 ©
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Here I am, Lord! I
come to do your will.
I waited, I waited
for the Lord
and he
stooped down to me;
he heard
my cry.
He put a new song
into my mouth,
praise of
our God.
Here I am, Lord! I
come to do your will.
You do not ask for
sacrifice and offerings,
but an
open ear.
You do not ask for
holocaust and victim.
Instead,
here am I.
Here I am, Lord! I
come to do your will.
In the scroll of the
book it stands written
that I
should do your will.
My God, I delight in
your law
in the
depth of my heart.
Here I am, Lord! I
come to do your will.
Your justice I have
proclaimed
in the
great assembly.
My lips I have not
sealed;
you know
it, O Lord.
Here I am, Lord! I
come to do your will.
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Second reading
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1 Corinthians
6:13-15,17-20 ©
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The body is not meant
for fornication: it is for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. God, who raised
the Lord from the dead, will by his power raise us up too.
You know,
surely, that your bodies are members making up the body of Christ; do you think
I can take parts of Christ’s body and join them to the body of a prostitute?
Never! But anyone who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.
Keep away
from fornication. All the other sins are committed outside the body; but to
fornicate is to sin against your own body. Your body, you know, is the temple
of the Holy Spirit, who is in you since you received him from God. You are not
your own property; you have been bought and paid for. That is why you should
use your body for the glory of God.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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1S3:9,Jn6:68
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Speak, Lord, your
servant is listening:
you have the message
of eternal life.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Jn1:41,17
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Alleluia, alleluia!
We have found the
Messiah – which means the Christ –
grace and truth have
come through him.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 1:35-42 ©
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As John stood with
two of his disciples, Jesus passed, and John stared hard at him and said,
‘Look, there is the lamb of God.’ Hearing this, the two disciples followed
Jesus. Jesus turned round, saw them following and said, ‘What do you want?’
They answered, ‘Rabbi,’ – which means Teacher –’where do you live?’
‘Come and see’ he replied; so they went and saw where he lived, and stayed with
him the rest of that day. It was about the tenth hour.
One
of these two who became followers of Jesus after hearing what John had said was
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Early next morning, Andrew met his brother
and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ – which means the
Christ – and he took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked hard at him and said,
‘You are Simon son of John; you are to be called Cephas’ – meaning Rock.
IMPLICATIONS
OF A CONVERSION EXPERIENCE
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: 1 SAM 3:3-10,19; 1 COR 6:13-15,17-20; JOHN 1:35-42
Last week, we celebrated
the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. This feast celebrates the beginning of the mission of
Christ to the world. His baptism would become the ordinary means by which
we will come to recover our identity as the adopted sons and daughters of the
Father through an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and with that the call to
mission since we too as baptized Christians share in the threefold office of
Christ: the kingly, priestly and prophetic office.
Yet, the stark reality
is that many of us are not living out our baptismal calling. Many of
us are not living out our Christian life. Many do not pray, much less,
attend Church on Sunday. Many live a life in contradiction to their
faith, the moral and doctrinal teachings of the Church. Some, even whilst
claiming to be Catholics, speak against the Church’s teachings and the
legitimate authority of the Church. A large number are simply nominal
Catholics who do not live out their faith in their daily lives. It is not
common to see us Catholics having an evangelical and missionary approach to our
faith. How many of us actively take the occasion to share the gospel with
non-Catholics or support the missionary activities of the Church?
What is the reason for
such a life of contradiction and indifference? The truth is that many, although
baptized, have never really experienced the real meaning of sonship in
Christ. What they went gone through was merely a ritual; without much
understanding or faith. Many did not hear what Jesus heard when He was
baptized, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Hence, they
are not convinced of their sonship in Christ. Although technically they
have received the Holy Spirit, but not many have a conscious experience of the
presence and the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They do not
feel empowered. They might help in the Church but it is more out of
goodwill and conscience rather than motivated by the experience of His
unconditional love and mercy.
How then can we have a
God-experience?
Firstly, an authentic
God-experience is mediated through a deep consciousness of the Word of
God. We read
that when the Lord called Samuel, he initially thought it was Eli who called
him. It was only after the third time, through the advice of his teacher,
that he was able to hear the Word of God. We read, “Samuel had as yet no
knowledge of the Lord and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to
him.” In other words, the word of God was not perceived as such but as
the words of man. This is true with many of us. When we read the
Word of God, we read it as if it is a human word; not a divine word inspired by
the Holy Spirit with God as the author. That is why many of us even
challenge the Church’s teachings which are based on the Word of God. Indeed,
for those who have been touched by the Lord, when they read the bible, they
read it as the Word of God and not just some human thought.
Secondly, an authentic
God-Experience is mediated through a personal relationship with the Lord.
This knowledge of the Lord is not based on second-hand knowledge but on a
personal knowledge of Him. When the early disciples were searching for
the Messiah, Jesus said to them, “Come and see.” Jesus did not try to
prove His identity to them or give them an exposition of right doctrines.
Instead, He invited them to “come and see.” So faith is more than
mere intellectual knowledge but a personal encounter and experience of His
presence and love. Unless we experience Him, in His incarnation, flesh
and blood, we will not believe Him. The beginning of the early Church was
the apostles’ encounter of Him as the living Son of God. It was a
real personal encounter of His mercy and love as St Paul wrote, “You are not
your own property; you have been bought and paid for.”
Thirdly, a true
encounter with the Lord is mediated through a deep experience of Christ in the
Christian community. St Paul wrote, “You know, surely, that your
bodies are members making up the body of Christ; anyone who is joined to the
Lord is one spirit with him.” Indeed, often it is the love of the
Christian community that helps people to experience the concrete love of
Christ. On the other hand, a Christian community that speaks so much
about the love and mercy of God but does not live it, makes it difficult for
anyone to believe that such teaching is real and true. So where there is
true Christian fellowship, Christ is experienced. Where there is a true
experience of Christ’s love, there is forgiveness and charity towards others.
What are the fruits of a
God-experience? Fundamentally,
a personal encounter with the Lord is seen in the transformation of the
person.
Firstly, it brings about
a sense of mission. We read in the gospel that Jesus looked hard at Simon Peter and
said, “You are Simon son of John; you are to be called Cephas’ – meaning
Rock.” He was given a new name after his encounter with the Lord.
This explains why in Christian baptism we invite the candidate for baptism, and
even confirmation, to have a new name, which is symbolic of putting away the
old life for a new life. A new name symbolizes a new identity, calling
and mission. This is true for the Holy Father. When a person is
elected pope, he is asked to give himself a new name to symbolize his new
office and calling. So when a person has had a deep encounter with the
Lord, we know, not by what he says, but by his transformed lifestyle, in the
way he lives and in his mission and perspective of life.
Secondly, when a person
has encountered God, he desires only to do His will, like Jesus, Mary, Samuel and the
apostles. This is what the psalmist says as well. “Here I am,
Lord! I come to do your will. You do not ask for sacrifice
and offerings, but an open ear. You do not ask for holocaust and victim.
Instead, here am I. In the scroll of the book it stands written that I should
do your will. My God, I delight in your law in the depth of my heart.” If
we know that God is love and Wisdom, we will want to do what He tells us.
We know that only by following His ways, can we find the fullness of life and
truth. So obedience to God’s will is the outcome of a true
encounter with the Lord. Such a redeemed person only wants to do
God’s will for he knows that is the only way to peace in his heart.
Thirdly, a real
encounter with the Lord results in the desire to use one’s body to glorify Him.
St Paul wrote, “Your body, you know, is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is
in you since you received him from God. You are not your own property; you have
been bought and paid for. That is why you should use your body for the glory of
God.” No longer do we claim our body as our own and do whatever we like
with it. Since our body has been ransomed by the Lord and is the Temple
of the Holy Spirit, we must use our body in such a way that glorifies Him by
our very life and the way we live. Our measure of what is right or wrong
is whether in all we do or say, we can truly and honestly say that we are
glorifying Him. Anything that we do or say that does not glorify
God is what sin is all about. St Paul reminds us, “The body is not meant
for fornication; it is for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. God, who raised
the Lord from the dead, will by his power raise us up too.”
Fourthly, a deep
encounter with the Lord is seen in the tendency to give praise to God again and
again. The prayer of the person is more of praise, thanksgiving
rather than petition. Those who have never encountered God’s love deeply
tend to make their prayers primarily one of petitions. But like the
psalmist who has encountered His love and mercy, he said, “He put a new song
into my mouth, praise of our God. Your justice I have proclaimed in the great
assembly. My lips I have not sealed; you know it, O Lord.” Indeed, we
want to sing praises to the Lord in words and in our very life. Praise
and worship therefore is the outward manifestation of those who have
encountered the Lord. This explains why the Liturgy of the Hours prayed by the
Church and those in the charismatic renewal is centered on Praise, thanksgiving
and worship.
Finally, a true
Christian is defined most of all in his missionary and evangelical outlook in
life. Those
who have truly encountered the Lord cannot keep the discovery or the Good News
to themselves. We read in the gospel that “One of these two who became
followers of Jesus after hearing what John had said was Andrew, the brother of
Simon Peter. Early next morning, Andrew met his brother and said to him, ‘We
have found the Messiah’ – which means the Christ – and he took Simon to
Jesus.” The litmus test of a true disciple is that he wants to be an
apostle, to be an ambassador for Christ. If there is no desire to
evangelize, it means that one has not yet been evangelized! Without
encountering the Good News ourselves, we cannot give what we have not got.
The greatest gift we can give to anyone is the gift of Jesus.
In order that we do not
fall back to our old way of life, it is important that we keep going back to
our personal experience of Christ. We read that “they went and saw
where he lived, and stayed with him the rest of that day. It was about the
tenth hour.” That the exact time was noted means that they could not
forget that memorable day. We can be certain that that encounter was a
life-changing experience. We too must keep returning to this personal
encounter with the Lord so that we can find strength to carry on, especially in
times of crises and suffering. Remembering our Galilee experience is the
way to keep ourselves alive in the faith.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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