20150511 BEING WITNESSES OF TRUTH PRESUPPOSES THAT WE HAVE BEEN WITH JESUS AND HAVE RECEIVED HIS SPIRIT

20150511 BEING WITNESSES OF TRUTH PRESUPPOSES THAT WE HAVE BEEN WITH JESUS AND HAVE RECEIVED HIS SPIRIT

Readings at Mass

First reading

Acts 16:11-15 ©

Sailing from Troas we made a straight run for Samothrace; the next day for Neapolis, and from there for Philippi, a Roman colony and the principal city of that particular district of Macedonia. After a few days in this city we went along the river outside the gates as it was the sabbath and this was a customary place for prayer. We sat down and preached to the women who had come to the meeting. One of these women was called Lydia, a devout woman from the town of Thyatira who was in the purple-dye trade. She listened to us, and the Lord opened her heart to accept what Paul was saying. After she and her household had been baptised she sent us an invitation: ‘If you really think me a true believer in the Lord,’ she said ‘come and stay with us’; and she would take no refusal.

Psalm

Psalm 149:1-6,9 ©

The Lord takes delight in his people.

or

Alleluia!

Sing a new song to the Lord,

  his praise in the assembly of the faithful.

Let Israel rejoice in its Maker,

  let Zion’s sons exult in their king.

The Lord takes delight in his people.

or

Alleluia!

Let them praise his name with dancing

  and make music with timbrel and harp.

For the Lord takes delight in his people.

  He crowns the poor with salvation.

The Lord takes delight in his people.

or

Alleluia!

Let the faithful rejoice in their glory,

  shout for joy and take their rest.

Let the praise of God be on their lips:

  this honour is for all his faithful.

The Lord takes delight in his people.

or

Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation

cf.Lk24:46,26

Alleluia, alleluia!

It was ordained that the Christ should suffer

and rise from the dead,

and so enter into his glory.

Alleluia!

Or	Jn15:26,27

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Spirit of truth will be my witness;

and you too will be my witnesses.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 15:26-16:4 ©

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘When the Advocate comes,

whom I shall send to you from the Father,

the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father,

he will be my witness.

And you too will be witnesses,

because you have been with me from the outset.

‘I have told you all this that your faith may not be shaken.

They will expel you from the synagogues,

and indeed the hour is coming

when anyone who kills you

will think he is doing a holy duty for God.

They will do these things

because they have never known

either the Father or myself.

But I have told you all this,

so that when the time for it comes

you may remember that I told you.’

BEING WITNESSES OF TRUTH PRESUPPOSES THAT WE HAVE BEEN WITH JESUS AND HAVE RECEIVED HIS SPIRIT

SCRIPTURE READINGS: Acts 16:11-15; John 15:26-16:4

The world is seeking for happiness.  Even the rich and powerful are looking for happiness.  But they know better than the poor that happiness is not found in wealth or status.  This was the case of Lydia in today’s first reading.  She was a rich and “devout woman from the town of Thyatira who was in the purple-dye trade.”

The world is misguided. It is seeking for happiness without God. We are living in an age of relativism.  This is the greatest challenge of the third millennium.  Those who believe in the essential truths are condemned because the world has chosen to embrace the principles of relativism.

How prophetic the words of Jesus when He said, “I have told you all this so that your faith may not be shaken. They will expel you from the synagogues, and indeed the hour is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is doing a holy duty for God. They will do these things because they have never known either the Father or myself. But I have told you all this, so that when the time for it comes you may remember that I told you.”  Indeed, because we proclaim the truth, we are hated by the world.  We cannot speak against evil today because that is relative.  Only the relativists have the truth it seems, but not the fundamentalists, who profess to have found the essential truths about life and love.

However, it must be made clear that the Church is not against the world.  The Church is at the service of humanity.  She wants to offer life and true love to the world.  But love and truth must come together.  How can there be true love without truth?  The problem with the world is that they are looking for love without truth.  People want marriage without commitment and sacrifices. People want to build unity without truth.  Unity founded on false compromises will not last.  Compromise in itself is not wrong, so long as we do not shortchange the truth.

Christians are called to be witnesses to the truth.  This is especially so for Church leaders and those in authority.  We preach about speaking the truth, but we do not necessarily speak the truth.  Often, it is because we lack the courage to speak against injustice, sin and evil, and thus conveniently sweep these things under the carpet, believing that is the way to preserve our peace. We want to be peacekeepers not peacemakers.  When leaders are unable to uphold truth and justice, how can we be true witnesses of Christ?

To speak the truth is possible only if we have been with Jesus.  “And you too will be witnesses, because you have been with me from the outset.”  Knowing Christ, His person and teaching, is primary in knowing the truth.  We must come to understand why Jesus is the Truth and the fullness of the revelation of God and man.  He revealed the true meaning of human existence through His life and the paschal mystery.  He is the Way in this present age of diverse ideological trends.  However, the greatest enemy of the Church is not from without but from within.  Many of us do not understand the teachings of the Church.  We have fallen into the ideological currents of the world.  We are not of one mind with the Church.  Instead of defending the Church’s teachings, we attack the Church and confuse and mislead those seeking the truth.

However in order to experience the truth personally and not know it simply as a Word, we need the Holy Spirit to lead us to Jesus.  Hence, Jesus promised us, “‘When the Advocate comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father, he will be my witness.”

Secondly, we need the Holy Spirit to enlighten us and to help us read the signs of the times and apply the principles in today’s situations.  We need to receive His Spirit so as to deepen our understanding of the truth.  Only the Holy Spirit can give us the personal realization of the truth and convince us.  The Holy Spirit gives us the inner eye to see beyond what is apparent.  Indeed, it was the Spirit of Jesus who opened Lydia’s heart “to accept what Paul was saying.”  Of course, she cooperated with God by being open, listening to the apostles.  In turn she brought conversion to her whole family.  “After she and her household had been baptized she sent us an invitation: ‘If you really think me a true believer in the Lord,’ she said ‘come and stay with us'; and she would take no refusal.”

Today, we must pray for clarity and courage.  We must know what the Church is teaching. If we disagree with what is taught in scriptures and by the Church, we should doubt our doubts rather than doubt our faith.  We must seek the truth for ourselves. Most of all, we must continue to contemplate on the face of Jesus with the help of the Holy Spirit, knowing that without His grace, we cannot know the truth.

In the final analysis, truth is a gift from the Lord as the gospel tells us.  Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI have shown us what it means to be courageous witnesses to the truth, both in word and deed.  Pope Emeritus Benedict loves the Church and made himself available to be the Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith, even though it made him unpopular, because he tried to be faithful to the truth.  He refused to compromise and was assailed by the world for being conservative when he was simply conserving the truth.  Let us pray that in celebrating the Eucharist we too, are ready like Jesus to die for the truth by living it out in our lives.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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