20150502 THE INADEQUACY OF WORDS AND DEEDS

20150502 THE INADEQUACY OF WORDS AND DEEDS

Readings at Mass

First reading

Acts 13:44-52 ©

The next sabbath almost the whole town assembled to hear the word of God. When they saw the crowds, the Jews, prompted by jealousy, used blasphemies and contradicted everything Paul said. Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly. ‘We had to proclaim the word of God to you first, but since you have rejected it, since you do not think yourselves worthy of eternal life, we must turn to the pagans. For this is what the Lord commanded us to do when he said:

I have made you a light for the nations,

so that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth.’

It made the pagans very happy to hear this and they thanked the Lord for his message; all who were destined for eternal life became believers. Thus the word of the Lord spread through the whole countryside.

  But the Jews worked upon some of the devout women of the upper classes and the leading men of the city and persuaded them to turn against Paul and Barnabas and expel them from their territory. So they shook the dust from their feet in defiance and went off to Iconium; but the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

Psalm

Psalm 97:1-4 ©

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

or

Alleluia!

Sing a new song to the Lord

  for he has worked wonders.

His right hand and his holy arm

  have brought salvation.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

or

Alleluia!

The Lord has made known his salvation;

  has shown his justice to the nations.

He has remembered his truth and love

  for the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

or

Alleluia!

All the ends of the earth have seen

  the salvation of our God.

Shout to the Lord, all the earth,

  ring out your joy.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

or

Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation

Rm6:9

Alleluia, alleluia!

Christ, having been raised from the dead, will never die again.

Death has no power over him any more.

Alleluia!

Or

Jn8:31-32

Alleluia, alleluia!

If you make my word your home

you will indeed be my disciples,

and you will learn the truth, says the Lord.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 14:7-14 ©

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘If you know me, you know my Father too.

From this moment you know him and have seen him.’

Philip said, ‘Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied.’

  ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip,’ said Jesus to him, ‘and you still do not know me?

‘To have seen me is to have seen the Father,

so how can you say, “Let us see the Father”?

Do you not believe

that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?

The words I say to you I do not speak as from myself:

it is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work.

You must believe me when I say

that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;

believe it on the evidence of this work, if for no other reason.

I tell you most solemnly,

whoever believes in me

will perform the same works as I do myself,

he will perform even greater works,

because I am going to the Father.

Whatever you ask for in my name I will do,

so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

If you ask for anything in my name,

I will do it.’

THE INADEQUACY OF WORDS AND DEEDS

SCRIPTURE READINGS: ACTS 13:44-52; JN 14:7-14

The common theme of both scripture readings is the rejection of the Good News.   The Jews could not accept Jesus. Not only could they not accept His teachings but they could not accept His deeds as well.  In the first reading too, we are told how Paul and Barnabas were rejected by their fellow Jews.  They were finally expelled from the city.

What can these two incidents tell us?  The most important lesson we can learn from them is that words and deeds are inadequate means of conveying the truth.  What I say, can be interpreted in different ways by different people.  What I do, even if these are good deeds, they can be interpreted differently, for different people would impute different motives to what I do.    Thus, what you think I am saying is not what I really mean; and what you think about why I am doing it is not the reason for my doing.

Consequently, we must hold that there is no pure objectivity in the recipients of the message.  This is not to deny that there is pure objectivity per se.  Because the recipients’ world view will determine the way he understands something.   That is why, what we see, what we hear, what we think is who we are.  Our conclusions and judgments tell us more about ourselves than about the objective reality of something.   Hence, take the scripture readings for example.  This same gospel text was read yesterday and will be read again tomorrow.  But yet we can derive different message from it simply because the subject and context change.

For this reason, it behooves to avoid judging people.  Because in every judgment that we render to others, we are simply passing judgment on ourselves.  All judgments are relative, since the vantage point of judgment is always within one’s context and horizon.  Furthermore, this teaches us not to take people’s comments, whether positive or negative, too seriously.  What they say about us actually say more about themselves than the objective reality of ourselves.   Different people will judge us differently.

The only person who knows us is none other than ourselves.  That is if we are true and honest with ourselves.  Indeed, Jesus and the apostles were true to themselves.  Jesus, we are told, experienced His deep union with the Father so much so that He could claim that He is in the Father and the Father works in Him.  Jesus knew Himself.  The apostles too knew their experience of Christ in their lives as true. This explains why they did not feel the compulsion to coerce people into accepting their message.  They simply wanted to share.  And even when their message was rejected, we are told that Paul and Barnabas shook the dust from their feet and went away full of joy in the Holy Spirit.  They must have been aware that truth, life and love in the final analysis cannot be transmitted.  One can only point the way but one cannot undertake the journey on someone else’s behalf.

This is the truth of life.  Those who experience the truth and the life of God will not say because they cannot say.  Those who do not experience might be saying a lot, but they do not know what they are saying.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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