20150421 A WITNESS OF CHRIST IS ONE WHO IS IDENTIFIED WITH HIM

20150421 A WITNESS OF CHRIST IS ONE WHO IS IDENTIFIED WITH HIM

Readings at Mass

First reading

Acts 7:51-8:1 ©

Stephen said to the people, the elders and the scribes: ‘You stubborn people, with your pagan hearts and pagan ears. You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. Can you name a single prophet your ancestors never persecuted? In the past they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, and now you have become his betrayers, his murderers. You who had the Law brought to you by angels are the very ones who have not kept it.’

  They were infuriated when they heard this, and ground their teeth at him.

  But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand. ‘I can see heaven thrown open’ he said ‘and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ At this all the members of the council shouted out and stopped their ears with their hands; then they all rushed at him, sent him out of the city and stoned him. The witnesses put down their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul. As they were stoning him, Stephen said in invocation, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and said aloud, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them’; and with these words he fell asleep. Saul entirely approved of the killing.

Psalm

Psalm 30:3-4,6,8,17,21 ©

Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

or

Alleluia!

Be a rock of refuge for me,

  a mighty stronghold to save me,

for you are my rock, my stronghold.

  For your name’s sake, lead me and guide me.

Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

or

Alleluia!

Into your hands I commend my spirit.

  It is you who will redeem me, Lord.

As for me, I trust in the Lord:

  let me be glad and rejoice in your love.

Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

or

Alleluia!

Let your face shine on your servant.

  Save me in your love.

You hide them in the shelter of your presence

  from the plotting of men.

Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

or

Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation

Jn10:14

Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;

I know my own sheep and my own know me.

Alleluia!

Or

Jn6:35

Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the bread of life, says the Lord.

He who comes to me will never be hungry;

he who believes in me will never thirst.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 6:30-35 ©

They people said to Jesus, ‘What sign will you give to show us that we should believe in you? What work will you do? Our fathers had manna to eat in the desert; as scripture says: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ Jesus answered:

‘I tell you most solemnly,

it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven,

it is my Father who gives you the bread from heaven,

the true bread;

for the bread of God

is that which comes down from heaven

and gives life to the world.’

‘Sir,’ they said ‘give us that bread always.’ Jesus answered:

‘I am the bread of life.

He who comes to me will never be hungry;

he who believes in me will never thirst.’

A WITNESS OF CHRIST IS ONE WHO IS IDENTIFIED WITH HIM

SCRIPTURE READINGS:  ACTS 7:51-8:1; JN 6:30-35

Today’s first reading records the first martyr in Christianity.  A martyr is a witness, an authentic witness of Christ even unto death.  Indeed, if we were to follow today’s reading carefully, we have actually a reenactment of the trial of Jesus.  St Stephen is presented as one who has imitated Jesus so closely that he shared in His passion and death perfectly.

Like Jesus, Stephen was put on trial for his faith.  But like Pilate who was ironically portrayed as the one being on trial in the fourth gospel, it seems ironical too that it was the Sanhedrin that was put on trial rather than Stephen.  Stephen was accusing the elders and the scribes for being stubborn, behaving in a pagan manner.  In his judgment, they were the betrayers and murderers not only of the prophets but also of the Just One.  So, similar to the portrayal of Jesus in St John’s gospel, Stephen became the judge instead.

According to the synoptic gospel, even the manner in which Stephen died was similar to that of Jesus, for Jesus was recorded to have said something similar to what Stephen claimed when he “gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand.  ‘I can see heaven thrown open’ he said ‘and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’”  Finally, like Jesus, Stephen prayed for the forgiveness of his enemies in these words: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them”, even though he died an innocent death. Saul must have been impressed at the way Stephen died so courageously for his faith in Christ.  Certainly, it prepared him for faith in the Lord.

The question is, how did Stephen become so identified with Jesus that he could almost parallel his life after Him?  Stephen realized that faith in Jesus is of utmost importance.  He knew that this was the only work that was pleasing to the Father.  Why is faith in Jesus as the One who has been sent the only work that is pleasing to God?  This is because we need only to surrender ourselves in faith to the fact that God loves us.  Faith is work because it requires our cooperation.

The irony is that when Stephen accused the elders and scribes of breaking the Law, it was not because they broke the Law in the letter.  Rather, it was because they did not keep the Law in the spirit.  They tried too hard to keep the Law, that the Law became a means by which they boasted of their strength and ego.  They became merits to gain the love of God.  The implication therefore is that they failed to do the work of God who desires that they simply surrender themselves to His unconditional love, rather than making the love of God something which they could earn or make themselves deserving of.  Instead of having faith in God, they placed more faith in their works rather than the work of God.  We, too, can be just like them, for quite often in our ministry, we place more faith in our talents and hard work than in prayer.

If faith in Jesus is the work we need to do in order to be pleasing to God, the question we want to ask is the same as that of the Jews, “‘What sign will you give to show us that we should believe in you? What work will you do?” Yes, we need to be convinced so that we can believe in Jesus as the One truly sent by God. The problem with the Jews was that they expected that the Messiah would repeat what Moses did, for when he prayed, the heavens rained down manna.  This miracle they interpreted as being from God.  However the Jewish leaders were so blind to see that they could not see the multiplication of loaves as coming from God.  Hence, to counter such objection, Jesus told them, “it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven, it is my Father who gives you the bread from heaven…’”  In other words, since all bread comes from the Father in heaven, the multiplication of loaves is also the work of the Father.

However, Jesus goes further and tells them that God is not simply contented to give them bread but the true bread, “the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”  The truth is that the Jews were seeking for temporary bread that does not last.  It was only provisional. They knew it themselves. Even the so-called bread from heaven was not satisfying. Hence, they asked, “’Sir, give us that bread always.’”  And Jesus answered: “’I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst.’”  Yes, Jesus is the true bread from heaven because He is the Word of God in person.  In Jesus, we are given the wisdom of God and in Jesus; we see the love of God in person.

How can we know that Jesus is the true bread from heaven?  We know only when we give ourselves to Him in faith and love so that His power can work in our lives.  When we come to Jesus and discover Him, we will never seek for anything else other than the love of Jesus.  Coming to know Jesus in the Word and finding ourselves liberated in Him, we will never thirst for anything else other than the love of Jesus.  Indeed, if we find ourselves hungry for things of this world, for power, recognition, fame, it is because we have not yet found Jesus.

A ministry leader or member whose happiness is dependent on measurable success and how much benefits he derives from his ministry implies that he has not yet found Jesus as his everything.  This also explains why he cannot give himself entirely to the ministry or be entirely fruitful in the ministry because he is not allowing Jesus to act through him.  However, anyone who knows Jesus realizes that He has everything.  To have Jesus is to share in His life, which is the life of God.  Ministry leaders and members must therefore first and foremost above everything else, cultivate a personal love and intimacy with Jesus so that his joy and strength comes from his relationship with Him and only subsequently from his ministry.  Otherwise, it appears that we are making use of ministry to find fulfillment rather than because of our fulfillment in Christ, we want to share Him with others.

Hence, to concretely come to Jesus like Stephen, is to cultivate a love for the Eucharist, the bread of life.  We must deepen our appreciation for Jesus whose love, which is the expression of the unconditional love of God, is sacramentalized in the Eucharist.  The Eucharist, we know, is not simply the Word of God but the expression of God’s Word in the paschal mystery.  In this way, by partaking Jesus, both by receiving His Word and sacramentally, we become more like Him and share in His spirit.  Then, like Stephen, we will no longer fear death, persecution and suffering, because with Him, we will say to Jesus, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. “

Written by The Most Rev William Goh

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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