20150521
COMMUNION AS THE FOUNDATION FOR WITNESSING
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Acts
22:30,23:6-11 ©
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Since the tribune
wanted to know what precise charge the Jews were bringing, he freed Paul and
gave orders for a meeting of the chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin; then
he brought Paul down and stood him in front of them. Now Paul was well aware
that one section was made up of Sadducees and the other of Pharisees, so he
called out in the Sanhedrin, ‘Brothers, I am a Pharisee and the son of
Pharisees. It is for our hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on
trial.’ As soon as he said this a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and
Sadducees, and the assembly was split between the two parties. For the
Sadducees say there is neither resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, while the
Pharisees accept all three. The shouting grew louder, and some of the scribes
from the Pharisees’ party stood up and protested strongly, ‘We find nothing
wrong with this man. Suppose a spirit has spoken to him, or an angel?’ Feeling
was running high, and the tribune, afraid that they would tear Paul to pieces,
ordered his troops to go down and haul him out and bring him into the fortress.
Next
night, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘Courage! You have borne witness for
me in Jerusalem, now you must do the same in Rome.’
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Psalm
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Psalm
15:1-2,5,7-11 ©
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Preserve me, Lord,
I take refuge in you.
or
Alleluia,
alleluia, alleluia!
Preserve me, God, I
take refuge in you.
I say to
the Lord: ‘You are my God.
O Lord, it is you who
are my portion and cup;
it is you
yourself who are my prize.’
Preserve me, Lord,
I take refuge in you.
or
Alleluia,
alleluia, alleluia!
I will bless the Lord
who gives me counsel,
who even
at night directs my heart.
I keep the Lord ever
in my sight:
since he
is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.
Preserve me, Lord,
I take refuge in you.
or
Alleluia,
alleluia, alleluia!
And so my heart
rejoices, my soul is glad;
even my
body shall rest in safety.
For you will not
leave my soul among the dead,
nor let
your beloved know decay.
Preserve me, Lord,
I take refuge in you.
or
Alleluia,
alleluia, alleluia!
You will show me the
path of life,
the
fullness of joy in your presence,
at your
right hand happiness for ever.
Preserve me, Lord,
I take refuge in you.
or
Alleluia,
alleluia, alleluia!
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Jn16:7,13
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I will send you the
Spirit of truth, says the Lord;
he will lead you to
the complete truth.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Jn17:21
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Alleluia, alleluia!
With them in you and
you in me,
may they be so
completely one
that the world will
realise that it was you who sent me,
says the Lord.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 17:20-26 ©
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Jesus raised his eyes
to heaven and said:
‘Holy Father,
I pray not only for
these,
but for those also
who through their
words will believe in me.
May they all be one.
Father, may they be
one in us,
as you are in me and
I am in you,
so that the world may
believe it was you who sent me.
I have given them the
glory you gave to me,
that they may be one
as we are one.
With me in them and
you in me,
may they be so
completely one
that the world will
realise that it was you who sent me
and that I have loved
them as much as you loved me.
Father, I want those
you have given me
to be with me where I
am,
so that they may
always see the glory you have given me
because you loved me
before the foundation of the world.
Father, Righteous
One,
the world has not
known you,
but I have known you,
and these have known
that you have sent me.
I have made your name
known to them
and will continue to
make it known,
so that the love with
which you loved me may be in them,
and
so that I may be in them.’
COMMUNION
AS THE FOUNDATION FOR WITNESSING
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We are
called, since the beginning of time, to reveal the love of God to the world and
to let them share in the glory of God. “For he chose us in him before the
creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he
predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance
with his pleasure and will -to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has
freely given us in the One he loves.” (Eph 1:4-6)
What is
this glory? This glory is to share in the communion of love between the
Father and the Son. This was the prayer of Jesus for us all before His
death. He said, “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me
where I am, so that they may always see the glory you have given me because you
loved me before the foundation of the world.” What a great
privilege to share in the intimate love between the Father and the Son.
Isn’t this the wish of every child too? The child, being the fruit of the
parents’ love, naturally desires to bask in the love that daddy and mommy have
for each other. In placing himself as the center of that love between the
father and mother, the child feels secure in love. Conversely, when we
find love, we want to share our excitement first and foremost with those whom
we love most. We want our loved ones to also share the joy and love we
have discovered. So parents too want to share their love with their
children. This is the desire of the Heavenly Father and our Lord
Jesus. Their joy is to share with us the love they have for each other.
“I have made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so
that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in
them.”
The
consequence of sharing the Father’s love is that we also become like Him.
By sharing the Father’s love for the Son, we too become one with the Father and
the Son. This was what Jesus prayed. “May they all be one. Father,
may they be one in us, as you are in me and I am in you.” It is their joy
to include us all in their love for each other.
But how
can we share in their love? This is possible if we know who Jesus is,
namely, as the Son of the Father. Without faith in Him as the Son who was
sent by the Father, we cannot share in that communion. Unless Jesus is the
Eternal Son of the Father, we would never appreciate the nature of God as love.
But through Jesus’ utter love for His Father and the Father’s faithfulness to
the Son, we come to appreciate the depth of the love of God not just for the
world but in their inner life. Hence, Jesus prayed, “Holy Father, I pray
not only for these, but for those also who through their words will believe in
me.”
Truly,
if Jesus so urgently wanted the world to know His Father, it was because He
encountered Him as nothing less than love itself. The truth is that many
people today do not know the Father. Even Catholics and Christians do not
know Him as the God who loves us. Many are turning to an impersonal form
of prayer that reduces God to a force, a breath or an impersonal reality.
Otherwise, some think that God is a punishing God, one who is like a heavenly
supervisor, the heavenly spy and judge waiting to pick at our faults and
condemn us to hell. This is not surprising since Jesus Himself said,
“Father, Righteous One, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and
these have known that you sent me.” Indeed, the whole purpose of Jesus’
coming is to reveal to us
that
God is a personal God who relates with us as our Heavenly Father and that we
can be intimate with Him in a personal relationship, just as Jesus did with His
Father, a relationship of mutual knowing and mutual willing, of one heart and
one mind.
We too
are called to reveal and share the Father’s love with the world. When we
have experienced His love, we too will want to love the world for the
world. Just as married couples do not just keep their love for themselves
but pour this love in them into the world, we too must do the same.
Indeed, the individualistic mentality of reducing marriage to mere
companionship has destroyed the very foundation of marriage, which is
procreation. This primary property of marriage is more than just having
children, but it is the very openness to share one’s love with someone
else. It underscores the fact that true love leads to a sharing of that
love with others. The fruit of love is love itself. Love begets
love. Selfishness and insecurity will destroy that love. Those who
are possessive of their friends or their beloved will eventually lose them as
any love that is not poured out into the world will die, since that love is not
empowered.
St
Paul, like Jesus, wanted to share the Father’s love with all. St Paul came
to appreciate the Father’s love through His encounter with the Lord. Once
forgiven and healed, he preached the gospel of God’s love in Christ fearlessly
and tirelessly. Earlier on, he was brought before the Tribunal, and
before he could even be tried, St Paul caused the entire Sanhedrin to be
divided over the issue of the resurrection. This was because “the
Sadducees say there is neither resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, while the
Pharisees accept all three.” As a result, they got heated up, arguing among
themselves as “some of the scribes from the Pharisees’ party stood up and
protested strongly.” Before he could even rest, we read that the Lord
appeared to Paul and said, “Courage! You have borne witness for me in
Jerusalem, now you must do the same in Rome.”
What,
then, is the basis for the work of evangelization and the mission of the
gospel? The most important criterion is unity. Without communion
with each other, we cannot be effective in our mission. That is why Jesus
foresaw the inevitable differences that the disciples would have with each
other. When such differences lead to division, then it would make the
gospel message less credible, since the Christian message is the love of God in
us and our union with each other in the Holy Spirit. “Father, may they be
one in us, as you are in me and I am in you, so that the world may believe it
was you who sent me.” Communion with Jesus is the basis for
witnessing. Only through communion with Jesus can we then be in communion
with each other. St John wrote, “We write this to make our joy complete.
With me in them and you in me, may they be so completely one that the world
will realise that it was you who sent me and that I have loved them as much as
you loved me.” (1 Jn 1:1-4)
Our
union with each other must be grounded in our unity with Jesus. And it is
only in this communion that we can draw others into communion with us and the
Father. “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may
have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his
Son, Jesus Christ.” Division will destroy us. This was what happened when
St Paul capitalized on the sensitive theological disagreement between the Pharisees
and the Sadducees to bring them into conflict. St Paul deliberately even
addressed the Pharisees as brother. He put himself as the innocent party,
saying, “Brothers, I am a Pharisees and the son of Pharisees. It is for our
hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” However, this
unity is more than doctrinal but concrete and personal, expressed in acts of
love. The way of love is that of the Son who emptied Himself at the
incarnation, lowering Himself even further by being humbled by man, taunted by
the soldiers at His passion. We too must act out this love that God has
given to us.
Let us
not forget our Christian dignity. Let us be conscious of our identity as
the sons and daughters of God; and our mission of proclaiming God’s love as the
love of the Father and Son in their divine majesty. By reminding ourselves that
we are God’s children, we will begin to live the life of God, starting slowly
and then fully submerging in God’s everlasting love and life.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
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