REMOVING THE OBSTACLES IN ENCOUNTERING GOD

20150824 REMOVING THE OBSTACLES IN ENCOUNTERING GOD

Readings at Mass

First reading

Apocalypse 21:9-14 ©

The angel came to speak to me, and said, ‘Come here and I will show you the bride that the Lamb has married.’ In the spirit, he took me to the top of an enormous high mountain and showed me Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God out of heaven. It had all the radiant glory of God and glittered like some precious jewel of crystal-clear diamond. The walls of it were of a great height, and had twelve gates; at each of the twelve gates there was an angel, and over the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel; on the east there were three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. The city walls stood on twelve foundation stones, each one of which bore the name of one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Psalm

Psalm 144:10-13,17-18 ©

Your friends, O Lord, make known the glorious splendour of your reign.

All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,

  and your friends shall repeat their blessing.

They shall speak of the glory of your reign

  and declare your might, O God.

Your friends, O Lord, make known the glorious splendour of your reign.

They make known to men your mighty deeds

  and the glorious splendour of your reign.

Yours is an everlasting kingdom;

  your rule lasts from age to age.

Your friends, O Lord, make known the glorious splendour of your reign.

The Lord is just in all his ways

  and loving in all his deeds.

He is close to all who call him,

  who call on him from their hearts.

Your friends, O Lord, make known the glorious splendour of your reign.

Gospel Acclamation

Jn1:49

Alleluia, alleluia!

Rabbi, you are the Son of God,

you are the King of Israel.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 1:45-51 ©

Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, the one about whom the prophets wrote: he is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.’ ‘From Nazareth?’ said Nathanael ‘Can anything good come from that place?’ ‘Come and see’ replied Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael coming he said of him, ‘There is an Israelite who deserves the name, incapable of deceit.’ ‘How do you know me?’ said Nathanael ‘Before Philip came to call you,’ said Jesus ‘I saw you under the fig tree.’ Nathanael answered, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.’ Jesus replied, ‘You believe that just because I said: I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.’ And then he added ‘I tell you most solemnly, you will see heaven laid open and, above the Son of Man, the angels of God ascending and descending.’

REMOVING THE OBSTACLES IN ENCOUNTERING GOD

SCRIPTURE READINGS: APOCALYPSE 21:9-14; JOHN 1:45-51

The first reading speaks of the call of the Church to be the radiant glory of God.  Yes, the Church as the bride of the Lamb is the New Jerusalem that has “all the radiant glory of God and glittered like some precious jewel of crystal-clear diamond”.  Of course, the Church is also founded on the twelve apostles, for “the city walls stood on twelve foundation stones, each one of which bore the name of one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”  To celebrate the feast of the apostle is to remind ourselves of our responsibility to make Christ known to the world.

How can we make Christ known to all nations?  The truth is that many people, like Nathanael, want to encounter God, who is symbolized by the fig tree.  Yet, there are obstacles that hinder them from coming to know the Lord.

The main obstacle is prejudice.  This is captured in the question Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come from that place?”  Often, prejudice comes from our upbringing, or the culture, or religious tradition we have inherited.  Sometimes, people are wrongly indoctrinated against Christianity by their friends or relatives.  They might have had some unpleasant encounter with Christians, or some distorted knowledge of Christianity.  More often than not, it is due to the counter witnessing of the lives of believers themselves. Of course, prejudice could also come from pride, especially intellectual pride.  Some think so highly of their intellect and would not accept anything that they cannot understand, or prove empirically.

But the main factor that prevents people from opening up to God is not simply disillusionment with the life of believers, or pride, but more so with their own lives.  They feel that God has rejected them because of their own failures in life; they feel abandoned by their loved ones, and the injustice of the tragedies in their lives.  They think that God no longer loves them.  In their apparent loneliness, loss of purpose and direction, they become bitter with life, with everyone, including God.   For such people, the real hindrance is that of a wounded emotion and a bruised heart.

How, then, can we help people to remove their prejudices?  Firstly, there must be no compulsion whatsoever in bringing people to faith.   We must be careful that when we share our faith with others, no impression of coercion should be perceived.  We can learn from the gentle approach of Philip in sharing the Good News with Nathanael.  He simply said to him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, the one about whom the prophets wrote: he is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”  When Nathanael reacted with skepticism, Philip’s only reply was “Come and see.”   It was an invite given without coercion or defensiveness.  He did not react angrily to Nathanael when he responded with sarcasm.  Philip was able to take Nathanael as he was without judging him.

Secondly, it presupposes that we have found the Messiah ourselves in order to be able to convince others.  If Philip did not react negatively to Nathanael’s answer, it was because he himself knew that he had found the Messiah. Nathanael’s rejection would thus be his loss.  The confidence and calmness of Philip must have struck Nathanael, that he might have been wrong after all, and might  have led him to be more receptive of Jesus.  When we have the truth, there is no need to be aggressive or defensive.  We can speak the truth with firmness and politeness without denigrating or attacking the person who holds a different opinion.  Only those who do not know their faith well, or have a shaky foundation, would react adversely or defensively towards those who disagree or challenge them in their beliefs.

Thirdly, to help people to overcome their fears, we must recognize them as individuals, not as digits or cases.  Many are hurt and broken.  They are suspicious that they are being made use of, rather than loved as persons.  Not all come to faith in the same way.   For some, it would be more productive if we show our hospitality and love in sincerity, genuine appreciation, respect and love for the person.  That was what Jesus did when He saw Nathanael coming.

Firstly, Jesus affirmed him by saying: “There is an Israelite who deserves the name, incapable of deceit.”  Such positive affirmation in the face of a skeptical mind certainly helped him to put down his defences.  His positive approach to Nathanael and encouraging appraisal of him made him feel loved and accepted.  Isn’t this the first step towards healing, namely, to be accepted for who we are, with all our goodness and warts as well?

Secondly, Jesus gave him the experience of being recognized personally when he told Nathanael, “Before Philip came to call you, I saw you under the fig tree.”  That Jesus took notice of him even before Philip invited him, must have made Nathanael feel important, and not just another ‘case’ for the Lord.  Being recognized as a person, not as a thing, as an ‘I’, not as an “it” helps us to get in touch with ourselves and heal our lost dignity, especially when we have been abused and so often used by others.

The consequence of being affirmed and acknowledged as a person encouraged Nathanael to let down his guard, his fears and skepticisms.   When the heart is open, the mind is enlightened as well.  Nathanael answered, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.”  Notice from one of skepticism, he arrived at a confession of faith in Jesus as the Son of God and the king of Israel.  This was truly a leap of faith for someone who thought nothing good of Jesus before this! When we are loved by someone, we learn to trust more willingly.  In this instance, Nathanael who had been helped to appreciate his own worth by Jesus could now surrender his life to Him.

But what is even more important is that faith leads to greater faith.  Jesus replied, “You believe that just because I said: I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.”  Faith enables us to see greater things and all things in perspective.  Faith implies being loved and the response of love is trust.  Faith gives us the eyes of love and love enables one to see what the intellect cannot see.

If we want to grow in intimacy with Jesus, let us then come to faith in Him, not just in the intellect, but in the heart.  We must deepen our relationship with Jesus.  Let us bask in His love and think less but love Him more.  By allowing ourselves to be loved by Him, affirmed by His love and recognized as His brother and sister, we too will grow in self-confidence and an authentic love of self.  In this way, we too can love God and surrender our lives to Him.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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