20150422 GOD’S PLAN TO SAVE ALL CANNOT BE THWARTED BY EVIL

20150422 GOD’S PLAN TO SAVE ALL CANNOT BE THWARTED BY EVIL

Readings at Mass

First reading

Acts 8:1-8 ©

That day a bitter persecution started against the church in Jerusalem, and everyone except the apostles fled to the country districts of Judaea and Samaria.

  There were some devout people, however, who buried Stephen and made great mourning for him.

  Saul then worked for the total destruction of the Church; he went from house to house arresting both men and women and sending them to prison.

  Those who had escaped went from place to place preaching the Good News. One of them was Philip who went to a Samaritan town and proclaimed the Christ to them. The people united in welcoming the message Philip preached, either because they had heard of the miracles he worked or because they saw them for themselves. There were, for example, unclean spirits that came shrieking out of many who were possessed, and several paralytics and cripples were cured. As a result there was great rejoicing in that town.

Psalm

Psalm 65:1-7 ©

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

or

Alleluia!

Cry out with joy to God all the earth,

  O sing to the glory of his name.

O render him glorious praise.

  Say to God: ‘How tremendous your deeds!

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

or

Alleluia!

Because of the greatness of your strength

  your enemies cringe before you.

Before you all the earth shall bow;

  shall sing to you, sing to your name!’

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

or

Alleluia!

Come and see the works of God,

  tremendous his deeds among men.

He turned the sea into dry land,

  they passed through the river dry-shod.

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

or

Alleluia!

Let our joy then be in him;

  he rules for ever by his might.

His eyes keep watch over the nations:

  let rebels not rise against him.

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

or

Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation

Jn10:27

Alleluia, alleluia!

The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,

says the Lord,

I know them and they follow me.

Alleluia!

Or

cf.Jn6:40

Alleluia, alleluia!

It is my Father’s will, says the Lord,

that whoever believes in the Son shall have eternal life,

and that I shall raise him up on the last day.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 6:35-40 ©

Jesus said to the crowd:

‘I am the bread of life.

He who comes to me will never be hungry;

he who believes in me will never thirst.

But, as I have told you,

you can see me and still you do not believe.

All that the Father gives me will come to me,

and whoever comes to me I shall not turn him away;

because I have come from heaven, not to do my own will,

but to do the will of the one who sent me.

Now the will of him who sent me

is that I should lose nothing of all that he has given to me,

and that I should raise it up on the last day.

Yes, it is my Father’s will

that whoever sees the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life,

and that I shall raise him up on the last day.’

GOD’S PLAN TO SAVE ALL CANNOT BE THWARTED BY EVIL

SCRIPTURE READINGS:  Acts 8:1-8; John 6:35-40

In the first reading, we read of the persecution of the early Church.  “That day a bitter persecution started against the church in Jerusalem, and everyone except the apostles fled to the country districts of Judaea and Samaria.”   Today, the Church is also facing new persecutions, from within and without.   From within, there is much corruption and scandals because of the sins and failures in the leadership.  This has led to the loss of credibility of Church leaders and distrust in the Church, particularly in Europe. 

From without, secularism and relativism are working against religions, especially Christianity.  We are seeing first-world countries, which were staunchly Christian, now abandoning their Christian roots.  These are the first to promote same sex union.  Many of these former Christian countries are not just secularist but anti-religion.  Moral values once held are now discarded.   The promotion of the rights of the individual has led to an extreme situation where the individual is elevated at the expense of the community. 

Indeed, we live in a world that is under threat.  The greatest threats are secularism and relativism. Not only is creation being destroyed by man because of selfishness and greed but we are living in an age that is bereft of values.  Because of individualism, the time immemorial sacredness of the family and marriage institutions are being challenged.

In the light of what is happening, should we be afraid and fall into despair that God is abandoning us?  The promise of the Lord is that He will be victorious in the end.  He said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I shall not turn him away; because I have come from heaven, not to do my own will, but to do the will of the one who sent me. Now the will of him who sent me is that I should lose nothing of all that he has given to me, and that I should raise it up on the last day.”  Indeed, as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, we know that the Risen Christ will protect His Church, and just as He brought life to death, love to hatred, He will do the same for us.

But how certain are we that the Lord would be able to save His Church and His people?  On the surface the outlook looks bleak.  But the truth is that it was because of persecution that the faith spread.  Thanks to persecution, the early Christians were forced to find other ways to spread the gospel, moving to new frontiers that had never been breached.  The Good News cannot be chained by situations.  If the early Christians were not persecuted, they would have remained comfortably where they were.  But because they were forced to move out, the faith spread to the rest of the world. “Those who had escaped went from place to place preaching the Good News. One of them was Philip who went to a Samaritan town and proclaimed the Christ to them.”  This is what Pope Francis is also doing. He is trying to renew the structures of the Church and make her a missionary Church, find new ways to proclaim the gospel instead of being imprisoned by the past.  He wants is to go to the battle ground to heal the sick people.  This is the reason for the insistence on the New Evangelization. 

When we take the courage to go out like the early Christians and be with the people, then we will know what they are going through.  As theologians, there is this temptation to sit in our arm chairs and theologize all the lofty ideas of what should be done, only to find that they are not relevant to the people.  We must be careful that we do not place burdens on them when we ourselves cannot even live out these ideals. 

Whenever the Church is persecuted, her faith will also be purified.  This is true for institutional religions. There is always the danger of complacency. We become self-sufficient and take our faith for granted. This is what is happening to Europe.  Pilgrims from all over the world visit Europe on pilgrimage, but their own people do not go to Church.  When faith is no longer a living faith, a personal relationship with the Lord, our faith will no longer change lives. Pope Emeritus Benedict prophesied that the day is coming when Christianity would once again be a minority religion.  But then because we are reduced in numbers, all those who are not serious in their faith will drop out.  We will be purified in our faith.  Then what we have will be the remnants, the anawim.

Many are waiting for the gospel to be proclaimed to them.  We need messengers who have faith in Christ who saves.  What miracles will we perform today so that the world might believe that He is the Christ?  We read how the people were “united in welcoming the message Philip preached, either because they had heard of the miracles he worked or because they saw them for themselves. There were, for example, unclean spirits that came shrieking out of many who were possessed, and several paralytics and cripples were cured. There was great rejoicing in that town as a result.”

Our fidelity to our faith will be our witness to Christ.  Today, as leaders of the Church, we are called to stand firm in our faith in Christ and not seek false and easy compromises with the world, even in the face of ridicule.  We must not compromise the Christian message of the uniqueness of Christ.  Like the apostles, we must stay behind even if our people were to flee for their safety. Even St Paul eventually was converted because of the seed of faith sowed by St Stephen at his death and the faith of the Christians.  He must have been moved by the way he died and all those Christians who died for their faith.  Indeed, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.  Truly, it is God’s will for all to be saved.  Jesus said, “Yes, it is my Father’s will that whoever sees the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and that I shall raise him up on the last day.”

So how do we have this faith?  We must believe in Jesus and come to Him, for He is the bread of life. “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst. But, as I have told you, you can see me and still you do not believe.”  We can be active church ministry members, yet not believe in Jesus.  For some of us, it is just a way of life.  Indeed, the way out is a personal conversion to the Lord.  This is what the Holy Father is asking of us.  In the apostolic letter, Porta Fidei, Pope Benedict invites us to re-appropriate the faith.  In this way, we can, with the psalmist, say, “Come and see the works of God, tremendous his deeds among men. He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the river dry-shod.”

Written by The Most Rev William Goh

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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