OUR SHARED EXPERIENCE AND MISSION WITH ALL CHRISTIANS

20160125 OUR SHARED EXPERIENCE AND MISSION WITH ALL CHRISTIANS

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: White.

First reading

Acts 22:3-16 ©

Paul said to the people, ‘I am a Jew and was born at Tarsus in Cilicia. I was brought up here in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was taught the exact observance of the Law of our ancestors. In fact, I was as full of duty towards God as you are today. I even persecuted this Way to the death, and sent women as well as men to prison in chains as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify, since they even sent me with letters to their brothers in Damascus. When I set off it was with the intention of bringing prisoners back from there to Jerusalem for punishment.

  ‘I was on that journey and nearly at Damascus when about midday a bright light from heaven suddenly shone round me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” I answered: Who are you, Lord? and he said to me, “I am Jesus the Nazarene, and you are persecuting me.” The people with me saw the light but did not hear his voice as he spoke to me. I said: What am I to do, Lord? The Lord answered, “Stand up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told what you have been appointed to do.” The light had been so dazzling that I was blind and my companions had to take me by the hand; and so I came to Damascus.

  ‘Someone called Ananias, a devout follower of the Law and highly thought of by all the Jews living there, came to see me; he stood beside me and said, “Brother Saul, receive your sight.” Instantly my sight came back and I was able to see him. Then he said, “The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Just One and hear his own voice speaking, because you are to be his witness before all mankind, testifying to what you have seen and heard. And now why delay? It is time you were baptised and had your sins washed away while invoking his name.”’

Psalm

Psalm 116:1-2 ©

Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News.

or

Alleluia!

O praise the Lord, all you nations,

  acclaim him all you peoples!

Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News.

or

Alleluia!

Strong is his love for us;

  he is faithful for ever.

Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News.

or

Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation

cf.Jn15:16

Alleluia, alleluia!

I chose you from the world

to go out and bear fruit,

fruit that will last,

says the Lord.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Mark 16:15-18 ©

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned. These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.’

OUR SHARED EXPERIENCE AND MISSION WITH ALL CHRISTIANS

SCRIPTURE READINGS: Acts 22:3-16 or Acts 9:1-22; Ps 116:1-2; Mark 16:15-18

Today is the last day of the Octave for the Week of Prayer for unity among Christians.  The conversion of St Paul is the basis for us as Catholics and Christians to work together for the common good of the Church and the extension of the Good News to all of humanity.  Indeed, in the work of the New Evangelization to counter the spread of secularism and its effects seen in relativism, materialism and individualism, it is necessary to work together as Christians for the conversion of humanity. Working against each other is not only counterproductive but it hinders the spread of the Good News.  Most of all, it goes against the last wish of Jesus that we be one so that others will know His Father.  Jesus prayed, “that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (Jn 17:21-23)

How, then, can we work together with all Christians for the spread of the gospel?  We need conversion as in the case of St Paul.  The more radical the conversion, the greater the change of heart and the transformation!  We must remember that life changes, depending on one’s experiences and encounter with God.  How else can we explain St Paul’s radical conversion from being a zealous Rabbi persecuting the Christians to that of a passionate missionary and apostle for Christ, if not the fact that he had a very deep encounter with the Lord at Damascus?   From this incident, we can conclude that Christians are in different traditions simply because of their Christ-encounter.   If they found Christ in a Catholic Tradition, they will most likely stay within the Catholic Tradition.   Conversely, if their experience of Christ in the Catholic Tradition is weak, one day, if he were to encounter Christ radically in another Christian Tradition, he would easily be converted and join that particular Christian community.  This is equally valid when it comes to inter-religious conversions as well.

Consequently, using doctrinal proofs to put down another religion or another Christian Tradition is not helpful in bringing about conversion.  Very few are converted by logical argument and intellectual proofs.  It only works for those who do not have a deep religious encounter in their own Christian Tradition.  So, with superficial knowledge of their doctrines and confused in what they believe, they would then become vulnerable when aggressive Christians challenge their weak faith.  But the conversion will only take place when they are brought to another Christian Tradition and when they encounter God there.  The crux of conversion really is the ability of the Christian Tradition to mediate a radical Christ-experience.   Hence, the Charismatic and Pentecostal renewal, because of its power to bring people into personal contact with the Lord through preaching, healing and works of wonders, have resulted in many radical conversions.

But one radical conversion is not sufficient to bring a Christian to full maturity of faith after accepting Christ.  Conversion must be ongoing.  We constantly need to renew our encounter with the Lord.  Thus, after that experience of the dazzling light and the voice of Christ from heaven, St Paul continued to enjoy a series of Christ-encounters throughout his life and ministry.  Following the Damascus experience, St Paul later received the healing of his sight.  “Immediately things like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight. He got up and was baptized, and when he had eaten, he recovered his strength.”  He also received the power of healing, exorcism, the gift of tongues, prophecy, as mentioned in today’s gospel. “These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.”

As Christians, when we come together, instead of trying to disprove and put down the other person’s faith beliefs, it would be more productive if we share our conversion experience stories and our encounters with the Lord together.   As Christians, we are called to enrich and empower each other in our faith in Christ, not to destroy each other’s faith.  This is lacking in charity and love.  Worse still, when Christians misrepresent the faith beliefs and practices of another Christian Tradition, causing confusion and disunity.  Such distorted presentation of the beliefs of other Christian Traditions tantamount to dishonesty, deceit and lacking both in justice and charity.  Playing on the vulnerability of weak members of the Church and attacking another Christian Tradition is not the way of charity. Such practices go against the gospel completely because we are to speak the truth in charity.

For this reason, we need to bring about another level of conversion.  It is not enough to have a conversion experience or ongoing experiences but we also need a conversion of heart and mind, that is, our attitudes and relationship with Christians who do not share in our Tradition.  We need to remove prejudices from the way we look at other Christian Traditions.  That was what the Lord asked of Ananias when he was reluctant to go to Saul.  Ananias retorted, “Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man, what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to imprison all who call upon your name.” But Jesus assured him, “Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel, and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name.”

The work of Ecumenism remains important in the task of the New Evangelization. Christian disunity remains the biggest scandal of Christianity.  We cannot call others to communion in Christ if His disciples are divided, squabbling among themselves and divided.  As St John wrote, “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (1 Jn 4:7f)  The mission of the Church, which is communion, must be accomplished in communion with and among all Christians.  Unity and love are the most powerful signs and criteria that Christ is real.  Otherwise, all that we preach, regardless how inspiring and beautiful it might be, will be in vain.  That explains why aggressive proselytizing has given Christianity a bad name, as if the gospel is forced upon people.  The Good News, to be good, is offered freely as a gift; not compelled or coerced in any way.  It is done in gentleness, humility and as an act of sincere love, not an intention to win converts at all costs for one’s Church.   It is not about numbers but about the depth of conversion.

To foster unity among Christians, we need to underscore what Christians have in common as Disciples of Christ.   We must avoid competition or worse, seeing each other as enemies and heretics.  Rather, we need to appreciate each other’s traditions and see what we can learn from each other to enrich our own faith and practices.  We begin with shared experiences of Christ.  Following which, we can have shared prayers, contemplation and the Word of God.  Catholics have much to learn from the Christians in cultivating a personal relationship with the Lord, especially through the Word of God.  Non-Catholic Christians could learn much from the Catholic Tradition, the mystical tradition of contemplation.   They too can learn to balance the one-sided emphasis on the Word of God with the Sacramental experiences of God in the liturgy.   Catholics, too, could balance the emphasis on right doctrines with the preaching of the Word of God aimed at conversion of heart, living a life of Christian discipleship and evangelization.

Indeed, we have much to learn from each other’s Christian tradition.  Instead of competing with each other, we need to complete each other, deepening each other’s faith experience and encounter with the Lord.  Where possible, there should be joint Catholic and Christian services, social involvement in reaching out to the needy and the marginalized.  On the higher level, among theologians, there could be sincere common search for the fullness of truth through doctrinal dialogue conducted in humility and charity.

St Paul gives us the marks of the true Christian in his letter to the Romans, “Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;  love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.  Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.  Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.  Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.” (Rom 12:9-16)

In conclusion, what is most important is that all are brought to Christ, regardless of which Christian Tradition one belongs to.  Christ is our Saviour, the Truth, the Way and the Life.  There are many ways to deepen this experience and relationship with Christ in the different Christian Traditions.  We respect the different approaches and we can maintain our own doctrinal convictions.  But let us not forget the bigger picture of bringing Christ to all those who do not yet know Him, rather than fighting, jostling and recruiting members from other Churches to our own.  This is not to say that we cannot, but as said, the Good News must be offered freely, without coercion or slandering or misrepresenting another Christian Tradition.

In this way, with greater unity, love and mutual respect and encouragement, the world will see that although each Christian Tradition has its distinctiveness and beauty, none contradicts or competes with each other.  The way to Christ comes through many paths.  It is the duty of each individual, with the grace of God, to choose and walk in that path.  Whichever path one takes, it must lead to a life of love, service, humility, reverence and respect for others who do not share our faith or our Christian Tradition.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved