20150504 GOD WANTS TO MAKE HIS HOME IN US

20150504 GOD WANTS TO MAKE HIS HOME IN US

Readings at Mass

First reading

Acts 14:5-18 ©

Eventually with the connivance of the authorities a move was made by pagans as well as Jews to make attacks on the apostles and to stone them. When the apostles came to hear of this, they went off for safety to Lycaonia where, in the towns of Lystra and Derbe and in the surrounding country, they preached the Good News.

  A man sat there who had never walked in his life, because his feet were crippled from birth; and as he listened to Paul preaching, he managed to catch his eye. Seeing that the man had the faith to be cured, Paul said in a loud voice, ‘Get to your feet – stand up’, and the cripple jumped up and began to walk.

  When the crowd saw what Paul had done they shouted in the language of Lycaonia, ‘These people are gods who have come down to us disguised as men.’ They addressed Barnabas as Zeus, and since Paul was the principal speaker they called him Hermes. The priests of Zeus-outside-the-Gate, proposing that all the people should offer sacrifice with them, brought garlanded oxen to the gates. When the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard what was happening they tore their clothes, and rushed into the crowd, shouting, ‘Friends, what do you think you are doing? We are only human beings like you. We have come with good news to make you turn from these empty idols to the living God who made heaven and earth and the sea and all that these hold. In the past he allowed each nation to go its own way; but even then he did not leave you without evidence of himself in the good things he does for you: he sends you rain from heaven, he makes your crops grow when they should, he gives you food and makes you happy.’ Even this speech, however, was scarcely enough to stop the crowd offering them sacrifice.

Psalm

Psalm 113B:1-4,15-16 ©

Not to us, Lord, but to your name give the glory.

or

Alleluia!

Not to us, Lord, not to us,

  but to your name give the glory

for the sake of your love and your truth,

  lest the heathen say: ‘Where is their God?’

Not to us, Lord, but to your name give the glory.

or

Alleluia!

But our God is in the heavens;

  he does whatever he wills.

Their idols are silver and gold,

  the work of human hands.

Not to us, Lord, but to your name give the glory.

or

Alleluia!

May you be blessed by the Lord,

  the maker of heaven and earth.

The heavens belong to the Lord

  but the earth he has given to men.

Not to us, Lord, but to your name give the glory.

or

Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia!

Christ has risen and shone upon us

whom he redeemed with his blood.

Alleluia!

Or

Jn14:26

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Holy Spirit will teach you everything

and remind you of all I have said to you.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 14:21-26 ©

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘Anybody who receives my commandments and keeps them

will be one who loves me;

and anybody who loves me will be loved by my Father,

and I shall love him and show myself to him.’

Judas – this was not Judas Iscariot – said to him, ‘Lord, what is all this about? Do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?’ Jesus replied:

‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word,

and my Father will love him,

and we shall come to him and make our home with him.

Those who do not love me do not keep my words.

And my word is not my own:

it is the word of the one who sent me.

I have said these things to you while still with you;

but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit,

whom the Father will send in my name,

will teach you everything

and remind you of all I have said to you.’

GOD WANTS TO MAKE HIS HOME IN US

SCRIPTURE READINGS: ACTS 14:5-18; JOHN 14:21-26

In the gospel today, Jesus promises us that, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him.”   This is indeed a wonderful promise from God.  Our Christian dignity is not merely that we are human beings and therefore have human rights, but more because we are people whom God chooses to dwell within.  Indeed, it is unthinkable that we are called to be the dwelling place of God.  But this promise is real as we read how the apostles were mistaken as gods.

After healing a crippled man from birth, Paul and Barnabas were mistaken as the manifestation of the Greek gods.  They called Barnabas, Zeus and Paul, Hermes.   So amazed were they at the power of Paul to heal that even the priests of Zeus proposed “that all the people should offer sacrifice with them, brought garlanded oxen to the gates.”  And in spite of their objections, the people still worshipped them.  In fact, they were shocked as they said, “’Friends, what do you think you are doing? We are only human beings like you. We have come with good news to make you turn from these empty idols to the living God who made heaven and earth and the sea and all that these hold.”  But we read, “Even this speech, however, was scarcely enough to stop the crowd offering them sacrifice.”

We can understand the concerns of Paul and Barnabas.  They knew that there was only one true God and being strict monotheists, it was unspeakable and a great heresy to accept such homage from the people.  Clearly, they knew that they were not the ones who healed the crippled man but the Lord Jesus.  That is why the psalmist says, “Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory because of your mercy, because of your truth.”  Only God is the Lord and there is no other.  What the people of Lystra saw was the power of God working through Paul.  As a result, they mistook them for the Greek gods.  How could such a thing happen?  We can learn three lessons from today’s scripture readings.

Firstly, if the apostles were mistaken for gods, it was because they themselves had surrendered to the Lord Jesus that indeed, God dwelt in them.  That is what Jesus promises us too.  He said, “Anybody who receives my commandments and keeps them will be one who loves me; and anybody who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I shall love him and show myself to him.”   To be effective proclaimers of God’s love and mercy, it is important that we are channels of God’s love and mercy by living a holy and righteous life.  This is the case of many holy men and women who have given their hearts and souls to God.  Whenever we surrender ourselves to God, He will work wonders in our lives.  Even Mother Teresa is recognized as the incarnation of God by many Hindus in India because of her holiness, displayed in a life of obedience, faith and love for God and for humanity.

Unless we also surrender ourselves to the Lord by allowing God to live in us, we cannot be great evangelizers of the Good News. This entails following the commandments given to us by the Lord.  Observance of the commandments must not be done in a slavish manner.  Rather, we must bear in mind that the commandments must first be received and then be kept. This means that we must be conscious of who is the One giving us the commandments.  These commandments did not come from man but from God Himself.  This is what Jesus Himself was conscious of when He proclaimed the Word of the Father to us.  He makes it clear that, “Those who do not love me do not keep my words. And my word is not my own: it is the word of the one who sent me.”  Conscious that the commandments come from God, we will regard them as the Word of God and accept them in faith and obedience.   This was the same consciousness that the apostles displayed when they tried to make the people turn to the true God.  They said, “We have come with good news to make you turn from these empty idols to the living God who made heaven and earth and the sea and all that these hold. In the past he allowed each nation to go its own way; but even then he did not leave you without evidence of himself in the good things he does for you: he sends you rain from heaven, he makes your crops grow when they should, he gives you food and makes you happy.”   Identification with God will help us share in His Spirit, mind and heart.  This in turn will transform us more and more into His likeness.

Secondly, if the pagans perceived them to be gods for healing the crippled one, it was because they have not encountered the Lord Jesus yet.  Believing that only God can do what Paul did, they came to conclude that he must be one of the gods living in their midst.  Many people are seeking to see the power and presence of God in their midst especially when we live in a world of technology where God is either dead or redundant.  Man thinks that technology is the new savior of the world.  Our task as Christians is to lead people into a personal encounter with the Risen Lord.  Unless people encounter the personal presence of the Risen Lord, they cannot give their lives to Him.

However, in the process, we must avoid falling into the trap of being worshipped and idolized.  Sometimes, we can get carried away by our success in ministry work.  We unconsciously or secretly think that success is due to our talents and hard work.  Instead of giving glory to God, we become proud and arrogant.  Instead of drawing people to God, we end up drawing people to ourselves.  That is why we must ask ourselves if we are truly drawing people to God, or are we happy to simply draw people to ourselves in ministry work?  We feel great when people compliment us.  Do we feel great instead because lives are changed and people have come to know the Lord?  Like John the Baptist, we must decrease and let Christ increase.  Like the apostles, we must consciously help our people to focus on Jesus rather than on ourselves.  When people are over-dependent on us, we are doing them a disfavor because we cannot be around always.  That is why we must give them Jesus instead who will dwell in them, and make His home in them.

How then can we avoid falling into egotism and self-glorification?  When we come to realize that success is really the work of God and not ours, then we become humble and always dependent on the Lord!  The first reading clearly shows us that the apostles were fully aware that their fruit in the ministry is the work of God.  They did not rely on their strength or even in public opinion with regard to their ministry.  From the outset, we read that they were persecuted at Iconium when the Jews “poisoned the minds of the pagans” against them.  And beyond their expectations, they received an enthusiastic welcome at Lycaonia.  But just as Jesus was welcomed into Jerusalem with great honour, they too were disgraced in just a little while later, for the Jews from Antioch and Iconium would turn the people against the apostles.  We read in tomorrow’s first reading that “they stoned Paul and dragged him outside the town, thinking he was dead.”  These incidents in the lives of the apostles should make us come to awareness that success is not dependent on our efforts alone but by the grace of God.  No matter what we do, there will be some who love us and some who hate us.  When we try to be popular with everyone, we will please no one.  We must not fall into the same mistake of the pagans who were so easily swayed by the opinions of the Jews.  Their faith was founded in man and thus did not last in spite of the miracles that they witnessed through the work of the apostles.  What we should worry about is not public opinion, which is always changing, but God’s opinion which would never change because they are founded on truth.  What is important is whether we are keeping His commandments, doing His will rather than ours.  Fidelity to the Lord is what makes us successful, since the work of conversion ultimately is the work of the Holy Spirit and not within our control.

Thirdly, if we truly want to bear fruit in our ministry and in our lives, we need to become the dwelling place of God more and more.  This is not possible without the assistance of the Holy Spirit.  We know that we can be in union with Jesus and His Father only by a spiritual reading of the Word of God and by living the values in our lives.  In loving Jesus, the Father will come to dwell in us in the Holy Spirit.  But both the work of contemplation of the Word of God and putting them into practice is not possible without the help of the Holy Spirit.  That is why we must consciously turn to the Holy Spirit for His help as Jesus said, “I have said these things to you while still with you; but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you.”  So let us in the Holy Spirit come to know Jesus more deeply and through Him, come to the Father.  In this way the promise of Jesus is fulfilled because the Father and the Son come to live in us in the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.  Truly, “if anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him.”

Written by The Most Rev William Goh

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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