20150523
CONTINUING THE MISSION OF THE APOSTLES ACCORDING TO
THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT APPORTIONED TO US
Readings at Mass
|
First reading
|
|
Acts
28:16-20,30-31 ©
|
On our arrival in
Rome Paul was allowed to stay in lodgings of his own with the soldier who
guarded him.
After
three days he called together the leading Jews. When they had assembled, he
said to them, ‘Brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or the
customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans.
They examined me and would have set me free, since they found me guilty of
nothing involving the death penalty; but the Jews lodged an objection, and I
was forced to appeal to Caesar, not that I had any accusation to make against
my own nation. That is why I have asked to see you and talk to you, for it is
on account of the hope of Israel that I wear this chain.’
Paul
spent the whole of the two years in his own rented lodging. He welcomed all who
came to visit him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the truth about
the Lord Jesus Christ with complete freedom and without hindrance from anyone.
|
Psalm
|
Psalm 10:4-5,7 ©
|
The upright shall
see your face, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord is in his
holy temple,
the Lord,
whose throne is in heaven.
His eyes look down on
the world;
his gaze
tests mortal men.
The upright shall
see your face, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord tests the
just and the wicked;
the lover
of violence he hates.
The Lord is just and
loves justice;
the
upright shall see his face.
The upright shall
see your face, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
Acclamation
|
Col3:1
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Since you have been
brought back to true life with Christ,
you must look for the
things that are in heaven, where Christ is,
sitting at God’s
right hand.
Alleluia!
|
Or
|
cf.Jn16:7,13
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
I will send you the
Spirit of truth, says the Lord;
he will lead you to
the complete truth.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
John 21:20-25 ©
|
Peter turned and saw
the disciple Jesus loved following them – the one who had leaned on his
breast at the supper and had said to him, ‘Lord, who is it that will betray
you?’ Seeing him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘What about him, Lord?’ Jesus answered,
‘If I want him to stay behind till I come, what does it matter to you? You are
to follow me.’ The rumour then went out among the brothers that this disciple
would not die. Yet Jesus had not said to Peter, ‘He will not die’, but, ‘If I
want him to stay behind till I come.’
This
disciple is the one who vouches for these things and has written them down, and
we know that his testimony is true.
There
were many other things that Jesus did; if all were written down, the world
itself, I suppose, would not hold all the books that would have to be written.
|
CONTINUING
THE MISSION OF THE APOSTLES ACCORDING TO THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
APPORTIONED TO US
|
We will
come to the end of the Easter season with the celebration of the Feast of
Pentecost this evening. For the last seven weeks, we read how the early
Church grew, and the gospel being spread to the ends of the earth through the
missionary zeal of the apostles, particularly, Peter and Paul, the pillars of
the Church. All of them in their inimitable ways have contributed to the
growth of the Church by sharing in the one mission of the Church.
However,
one cannot say that their work was complete. This explains why the
scripture readings of today appear to be open-ended about the life of Peter and
Paul. It was not a story of “they lived happily ever after.”
Rather, the future of Peter and Paul remained obscured and undetermined.
On the contrary, both had to suffer martyrdom, as hinted by Christ to Peter and
the prompting of the Holy Spirit to Paul. Indeed, St John too spoke
of this incompleteness of the gospel when he wrote, “There are also many other
things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not
think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.”
In
other words, where they were left out, the Church must now complete the mission
and the gospel begun by them. We must be the good news in person and let
the gospel be incarnated in our lives, words and deeds. We cannot spend
our time waiting for things to happen, but like the apostles staring into the
sky when Jesus ascended into heaven, we must be up and about the task of
proclaiming the gospel to the whole world. Indeed, that was what Paul did
when he was awaiting for his trial in Rome. What is significant is that
instead of adopting an attitude of foreboding about his future, he continued to
live his life, carrying on his mission as fully as he could within
limitations. Yes, “Paul spent the whole of the two years in his own
rented lodging. He welcomed all who came to visit him, proclaiming the kingdom
of God and teaching the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ with complete freedom
and without hindrance from anyone.” We too must use all the resources we
have, within our limitations, regardless of time, skills or means, to give
ourselves fully to the work of establishing the reign of God in the hearts of
every man and woman.
We must
not fall into the trap of allowing envy and vain comparisons to deter us from
giving ourselves fully to the work of God. When Peter asked Jesus what
the destiny of John was, Jesus answered, “If I want him to stay behind till I
come, what does it matter to you? You are to follow me.” Yes, we
must avoid comparing our lot with another in the work of spreading the gospel.
Sometimes, we slacken in our ministry or get disillusioned in our missionary
zeal when we see our fellow brothers and sisters taking up the roles that we
desire. Or sometimes, we feel that others are more fortunate than us
because they got an easier task, a more popular and fulfilling position,
etc. It is immaterial who does what, but all must be labouring for the
Lord and for His greater glory.
Indeed,
in today’s scripture readings, we see clearly what St Augustine remarked in his
commentary on St John’s gospel, that there are two apostles, two ways of life
but one Church and one mission. “The Church recognizes two forms of life
praised and endorsed by God. The first is in faith, the second in sight; the
first during the pilgrimage of the present age, the second in the dwellings of
eternity; the first in travail, the second in rest; the first on the way, the
second at home; the first in the exertions of activity, the second in the
rewards of contemplation…. The first is symbolised by the apostle Peter, the
second by John… And so it was on behalf of all the saints inseparably united to
Christ’s body, and to navigate them through the storms of this life, that
Peter, the first of the apostles, received the keys of the Kingdom of heaven
with power to retain and forgive sins (Mt 16,19). And it was also for the sake of all
the saints and in order to give them entry into the peaceful depths of his most
intimate life that Christ allowed John to recline on his breast (Jn 13,23,25). For the power to retain and forgive
sins is not Peter’s alone but belongs to the whole Church; and John is not the
only one to drink at the stream from the breast of the Lord, the Word who, from
the beginning, was God from God (Jn 7,38; 1,1)… but the Lord himself pours out his
Gospel for everyone in the whole world so that each may drink according to his
capacity.”
Indeed,
Peter was an activist but stayed back in Jerusalem to protect the institution
of the Church, which was then developing from its nucleus. Paul went out
on mission to the Gentiles, whereas John remained as a contemplative in the
intimacy of Christ and preached the gospel through his writings. Each in
his own way brought about the spread of the gospel. Peter and Paul were
martyred eventually, but John was imprisoned and lived to a ripe old age.
Of course, in a different sense this too is a prolonged life of
martyrdom. But all were contented with their lot in life, so long as they
were serving the Lord, regardless of whatever ways the Lord wanted them to
serve Him. They were obedient and receptive to the grace of Christ,
appreciative of what was given to them and conscious of their collaboration
with the rest of the Church in the work of the proclamation of the gospel.
In the
final analysis, we must proclaim Christ as a person. Hence this one
Christ cannot be captured in a book or one person but in all of us, according
to our state of life. Truly, as St Teresa of Avila in her writing “Way of
Perfection” wrote, “God doesn’t lead all by one path, and perhaps the one who
thinks she is walking along a very lowly path is in fact higher in the eyes of
the Lord. So, not because all in this house practice prayer must be
contemplatives; that’s impossible. And it would be very distressing for the one
who isn’t a contemplative if she didn’t understand this truth… “
As we
approach the feast of Pentecost, let us fervently pray for a renewal of the
Holy Spirit, the gift of God’s love in our lives, so that filled with His love,
we will rekindle our passion for Jesus and for the gospel. Along with the
gift of God’s love in person in the Holy Spirit, we also must purposefully seek
the gifts of the Holy Spirit so that empowered by His gifts, we will be able to
proclaim the gospel effectively to the world and also to build up the Church,
the Body of Christ so that the Church will become the sign of the budding of
the Kingdom of God. Yes, without the Holy Spirit, we cannot complete the
mission of Christ entrusted to the apostles. So in obedience to the
command of Jesus to His disciples, let us wait for the Holy Spirit, not passively
but actively, in prayer and contemplation.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment