20150411 COURAGEOUS WITNESSING TO THE RISEN LORD PRESUPPOSES WE HAVE HEARD AND SEEN HIM

20150411 COURAGEOUS WITNESSING TO THE RISEN LORD PRESUPPOSES WE HAVE HEARD AND SEEN HIM

Readings at Mass

First reading

Acts 4:13-21 ©

The rulers, elders and scribes were astonished at the assurance shown by Peter and John, considering they were uneducated laymen; and they recognised them as associates of Jesus; but when they saw the man who had been cured standing by their side, they could find no answer. So they ordered them to stand outside while the Sanhedrin had a private discussion. ‘What are we going to do with these men?’ they asked. ‘It is obvious to everybody in Jerusalem that a miracle has been worked through them in public, and we cannot deny it. But to stop the whole thing spreading any further among the people, let us caution them never to speak to anyone in this name again.’

  So they called them in and gave them a warning on no account to make statements or to teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John retorted, ‘You must judge whether in God’s eyes it is right to listen to you and not to God. We cannot promise to stop proclaiming what we have seen and heard.’ The court repeated the warnings and then released them; they could not think of any way to punish them, since all the people were giving glory to God for what had happened.

Psalm

Psalm 117:1,14-21 ©

I will thank you, Lord, for you have given answer.

or

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,

  for his love has no end.

The Lord is my strength and my song;

  he was my saviour.

There are shouts of joy and victory

  in the tents of the just.

I will thank you, Lord, for you have given answer.

or

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

The Lord’s right hand has triumphed;

  his right hand raised me up.

I shall not die, I shall live

  and recount his deeds.

I was punished, I was punished by the Lord,

  but not doomed to die.

I will thank you, Lord, for you have given answer.

or

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Open to me the gates of holiness:

  I will enter and give thanks.

This is the Lord’s own gate

  where the just may enter.

I will thank you for you have answered

  and you are my saviour.

I will thank you, Lord, for you have given answer.

or

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation

Ps117:24

Alleluia, alleluia!

This day was made by the Lord:

we rejoice and are glad.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Mark 16:9-15 ©

Having risen in the morning on the first day of the week, Jesus appeared first to Mary of Magdala from whom he had cast out seven devils. She then went to those who had been his companions, and who were mourning and in tears, and told them. But they did not believe her when they heard her say that he was alive and that she had seen him.

  After this, he showed himself under another form to two of them as they were on their way into the country. These went back and told the others, who did not believe them either.

  Lastly, he showed himself to the Eleven themselves while they were at table. He reproached them for their incredulity and obstinacy, because they had refused to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. And he said to them, ‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation.’

COURAGEOUS WITNESSING TO THE RISEN LORD PRESUPPOSES WE HAVE HEARD AND SEEN HIM

SCRIPTURE READINGS:  ACTS 4:13-21; MARK 16:9-15

Why is it that our witness to the Risen Lord is often timid and unconvincing?  Indeed, many of us Catholics hardly proclaim to others about our faith in Jesus.  We seem to have barely anything exciting to share about our faith with others.  Of course, how could we when we have not had a real personal encounter with the Risen Lord!  The stark reality is that many of us Catholics have not seen the Risen Lord in our lives or we have failed to recognize Him.  Our faith in the Risen Lord is based on some traditional doctrines imparted to us from young.   But they remain merely doctrines and traditions.  We do not even know where to look for the Risen Lord.

In contrast, we have Mary Magdalene, the two disciples at Emmaus and, later on, the apostles testifying with boldness that Jesus has risen from the dead.  What gave them the impetus and the courage to proclaim Jesus’ resurrection against all disbelief, ridicule and even threats to their lives?  We read that when Mary Magdalene, in obedience to Jesus’ instruction, announced to the apostles that Jesus “was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. Similarly too, when the apostles, Peter and John were threatened with “a stern warning never again to speak to anyone in this name”, their response was swift and pointed when they said, “Whether it is right in the sight of God for us to obey you rather than God, you be the judges.”

The clue to their courageous witnessing is clear from their response.  “It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.”  Truly, it was because they had seen and heard the Risen Lord that they could no longer keep silent.  It was also true for Mary Magdalene and the other two unknown disciples on the way to Emmaus.  Having seen the Lord and in spite of the disbelief of the apostles, the companions of Jesus, they did not waver in their testimony.  They could not, even if they had wanted to.  Indeed, anyone who has had a personal encounter with the power of the Risen Lord at work in their lives, whether it was in overcoming a particular sin, addiction, depression or illness which no doctor or counselor could help with; would know that our Lord is a mighty God.  Without a true encounter of the power of the Risen Lord at work in our own lives, it is difficult to speak of a personal faith in Him.

Wasn’t this the experience of the psalmist as well when he invites us to give thanks to the Lord?  He said, “I will give thanks to you, for you have rescued me.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord. Though the Lord has indeed chastised me, yet he has not delivered me to death.”  His testimony to us is that God truly was his Saviour.  With the Lord, he was saved from his enemies and through Him; he had won victory over sin and the evil forces.

So what hinders us from coming to the same faith of those who have encountered the Risen Lord?  The reprimand of Jesus to His disciples also applies to us.  “As the eleven were at table, he appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised.”   If we want to come to the Easter Faith, the process to faith requires that we first believe in the testimony of those who have seen Him.

Testimony to the Risen Lord abounds in scripture and in the tradition of the Church.  The apostles and the early Christians were the first to testify how they encountered Him.  We can read all their testimonies and their stories of faith in the scriptures.  Christians throughout the ages, particularly the Fathers of the Church and holy people, have also witnessed to us the presence and reality of the Risen Lord.  The Church as a community of faith, through her doctrines, liturgy and life, has also conveyed to us the presence of the Risen Lord.

So the problem lies on our side. It is not because there are not sufficient testimonies to the fact of His resurrection; it is simply because we are too proud to believe.  We find it difficult to accept that the resurrection of Christ is not something within human logic and understanding because it is purely the power of God.  St Peter and the other apostles could not accept that Jesus would have appeared first to Mary Magdalene instead of them; they being His chosen leaders.  So, too, they could not believe that Jesus would allow Himself to be seen by two unknown disciples of Jesus.  Most of all, the Jewish religious leaders could not reconcile Jesus with their scriptures, as they did not read them in the light of Christ’s death and resurrection.  As a consequence, they rejected the apostles’ claims of Jesus’ resurrection.

Yet, they could not explain how the uneducated disciples, with no status, no education and no influence in society, could speak so boldly and convincingly that even they, as theologians, were not able to refute.  Luke the evangelist noted, “Then when they saw the man who had been cured standing there with them, they could say nothing in reply.”  In the face of the evidence before them, they could not deny, but yet they were simply too stubborn to believe.  But we are called to believe!  Faith is the key to sharing our faith in the Risen Lord.  By taking the leap of faith in their testimony, we too will be able to encounter Him in our lives, through prayer and our daily life events.

Only those who have seen the Lord will not flinch before their opponents and enemies.  This is because they will have confidence that the Lord is on their side and will win the battle for them, just as the psalmist says, “My strength and my courage is the Lord, and he has been my savior. The joyful shout of victory in the tents of the just. The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord has struck with power.”  What about us?  Are we willing to allow the Risen Lord to rule our lives?  Can we surrender our future to the Lord and trust that somehow He will look after us so long as we are faithful to Him and His ways?  Let us learn that the future belongs to the Lord alone and that is why, like the apostles, we must be ready to surrender our vision, hopes and plans to Him. 

What was the secret of the Apostles’ faith?  They were “the companions of Jesus.”  Truly, if today we want to be dynamic witnesses of Jesus, we need first to be His companions above everything else.  We remember that when the Lord first chose the apostles, He chose them first to be His companions as well before He sent them out to preach (cf Mk 3:14).  Before action, we must have contemplation.  No one should ever attempt to preach Jesus without first having spent sufficient time and intimacy with Him.  The truth is that the power of God is shown in and through human weakness, not through human wisdom, strength, ingenuities and professionalism.  That was why He chose uneducated men without status and Mary Magdalene, who had a dubious past, to be His proclaimers of the Good News to all creation.  If we are willing to surrender our lives and our future to Him, He will show what faith in Him can do for us.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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