THE ENTERPRISE OF GOD

20160408 THE ENTERPRISE OF GOD

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: White.

First reading

Acts 5:34-42 ©

One member of the Sanhedrin, a Pharisee called Gamaliel, who was a doctor of the Law and respected by the whole people, stood up and asked to have the apostles taken outside for a time. Then he addressed the Sanhedrin, ‘Men of Israel, be careful how you deal with these people. There was Theudas who became notorious not so long ago. He claimed to be someone important, and he even collected about four hundred followers; but when he was killed, all his followers scattered and that was the end of them. And then there was Judas the Galilean, at the time of the census, who attracted crowds of supporters; but he got killed too, and all his followers dispersed. What I suggest, therefore, is that you leave these men alone and let them go. If this enterprise, this movement of theirs, is of human origin it will break up of its own accord; but if it does in fact come from God you will not only be unable to destroy them, but you might find yourselves fighting against God.’

  His advice was accepted; and they had the apostles called in, gave orders for them to be flogged, warned them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them. And so they left the presence of the Sanhedrin glad to have had the honour of suffering humiliation for the sake of the name.

  They preached every day both in the Temple and in private houses, and their proclamation of the Good News of Christ Jesus was never interrupted.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 26:1,4,13-14 ©

There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord.

or

Alleluia!

The Lord is my light and my help;

  whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;

  before whom shall I shrink?

There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord.

or

Alleluia!

There is one thing I ask of the Lord,

  for this I long,

to live in the house of the Lord,

  all the days of my life,

to savour the sweetness of the Lord,

  to behold his temple.

There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord.

or

Alleluia!

I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness

  in the land of the living.

Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.

  Hope in the Lord!

There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord.

or

Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia!

We know that Christ is truly risen from the dead:

have mercy on us, triumphant King.

Alleluia!

Or

Mt4:4

Alleluia, alleluia!

Man does not live on bread alone,

but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 6:1-15 ©

Jesus went off to the other side of the Sea of Galilee – or of Tiberias – and a large crowd followed him, impressed by the signs he gave by curing the sick. Jesus climbed the hillside, and sat down there with his disciples. It was shortly before the Jewish feast of Passover.

  Looking up, Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?’ He only said this to test Philip; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do. Philip answered, ‘Two hundred denarii would only buy enough to give them a small piece each.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, ‘There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Make the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass there, and as many as five thousand men sat down. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted. When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples, ‘Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted.’ So they picked them up, and filled twelve hampers with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves. The people, seeing this sign that he had given, said, ‘This really is the prophet who is to come into the world.’ Jesus, who could see they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, escaped back to the hills by himself.

THE ENTERPRISE OF GOD

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS 5:34-42; JOHN 6:1-15   ]

The readings of today are very timely in helping us to remember that the mission of the Church is primarily the initiative of God and it is His work, not ours. When we forget this fundamental principle, we fall into discouragement.  This is especially so when things do not turn out well and we are deeply disappointed.  This is particularly true of those of us who work hard for the spread of the gospel, the renewal of our parish or organization and those in Church ministries.  In whatever we do, although we mean well for everyone and for the good of the Church, we often meet with opposition, slander, nasty remarks and misunderstandings.  This explains why many who volunteer their services to the Church or to charitable organizations resign with much resentment and anger.  Instead of being grateful for our contributions, we have to deal with those who are jealous of us, who see us as threats to their position and status quo.

Indeed, as Christians, should we be surprised at all?  In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we read how the apostles were persecuted, unjustly imprisoned, intimidated and warned not to preach in the name of Jesus.  And this was simply because the interests of the religious and political institutions were threatened. It was not based on justice and fair trial that they were arrested, but out of fear and anger because they had challenged the status quo and put the religious authorities in a bad light.  Yet, we read that in spite of being flogged and warned, “They left the presence of the Sanhedrin glad to have had the honour of suffering humiliation for the sake of the name.”  Not only did they feel happy to suffer with the Lord who suffered even more than they in standing up for the truth, their zeal for the Lord did not wane.  “They preached every day both in the Temple and in private houses, and their proclamation of the Good News of Christ Jesus was never interrupted.”  Instead of retreating, they found other ways to proclaim the gospel courageously.

What was the secret of their joy in suffering the shame in proclaiming the gospel?  It was simply because they knew that the work they were doing was the work of God, not theirs!  As Gamaliel rightly pointed out, the fruits of their work would show whether their movement came from God or from men.  Advising the Sanhedrin on the line of action to take, the famous teacher of St Paul said, “What I suggest, therefore, is that you leave these men alone and let them go.  If this enterprise, this movement of theirs, is of human origin it will break up of its own accord; but if it does in fact come from God you will not only be unable to destroy them, but you might find yourselves fighting against God.”

So let it be clear that if the work we are doing is the work of God, then we should not be worried when we face opposition and setbacks in our mission. We should not become too anxious or disillusioned when our proposals and projects are rejected.  If it were the work of God, somehow God will work His ways to bring about the realization of His divine plan.  Nothing can thwart the plan of God.  So if we are nervous, unable to sleep, angry and frightened because there are people opposing our plans and proposals, let us surrender them to the Lord and He will take care of our enemies for us.  The psalmist prayed, “Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and his anointed, saying, ‘Let us burst their bonds asunder, and cast their cords from us.’  He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord has them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.” (Ps 2:1-6)  We pray, “The Lord is my light and my help; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life before whom shall I shrink?”   With the Lord on our side, we will surely triumph over our opponents.

Indeed, in the gospel today, we see the wonderful work of God in Christ when He multiplied the loaves for 5000 people excluding women and children.   In this miracle, He wanted to teach the apostles not to rely on their own skills and ingenuity.  Hence we read that purposefully, He asked Philip, “’Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?’ He only said this to test Philip; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do. Philip answered, ‘Two hundred denarii would only buy enough to give them a small piece each.’”  Philip was asked by the Lord simply because he came from Bethsaida, a village close by.  Like all of us, we rationalize and think of human ways to overcome the challenges in ministry and in mission.  Like an accountant or a logistic officer, he plainly told Jesus that it would be too costly and even then it would be a futile effort.  Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother was no different when he said, “There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?” We can be sure that the apostles would have even more with them than that little boy but they reckoned that it would be too little to be shared with all.

To prove them wrong on looking at the mission merely in a human, calculative way, He took whatever little the boy could offer and after offering it in thanksgiving to God, He fed more than 5000 with twelve baskets of leftovers.  Through this miracle, Jesus showed that it was God who was doing the work and not men.  What He did was also to anticipate the Eucharist which He would give to the world, His own flesh and blood.  It was also to remind them of the great miracle at the Exodus when the Lord sent manna down from heaven to feed the Israelites in the desert.   He was as the Evangelist mentioned, the prophet who was come into the world. Moses indeed prophesied, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet.” (Dt 18:15)  By deliberately climbing up “Jesus climbed the hillside, and sat down there with his disciples”, Jesus was claiming to be the New Moses and the Prophet foretold.  That it also happened “shortly before the Jewish feast of Passover” reminds us of the Exodus experience and anticipates for us the Eucharistic meal at the Last Supper, which sums up the greatest miracle of all time, His passion, death and resurrection.

Consequently, today, we must take heart and learn from the apostles and the little boy.  We only need to bring what we have to the Lord and He will know how to multiply our resources.  We need to have faith in Him, not in man. “Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories by his right hand. Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God. They will collapse and fall, but we shall rise and stand upright.” (Ps 20:6-8)  God only wants us to show our sincerity and generosity.  He knows we are weak and limited in resources and strength.  But He also wants us to know that all glory and power belong to Him.  He wants to demonstrate His power through us so that people will know the power of God and give honour to Him, not to us.  “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness.” (Ps 115:1)  Again, St Paul wrote, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.” (1 Cor 1:27-29)

So let us therefore find courage and inspiration in working for the Lord.  In all things, let us give praise to Him, whether in success or in failure.  Everything that is done for the Lord is always a success in His eyes. Let us not worry about what people think and reckon as success.  We do the will of God and continue to be like the apostles to proclaim the gospel in humility, with courage and confidence.  Like them, we must be resourceful and find new ways to reach out and do things for the Lord if we find barriers and obstacles.  We must circumvent these difficulties and seek new ventures.  Never say die but always get up and try. If the Lord closes one door, He opens the window.  So instead of giving up so easily, be like the Lord who finds a solution to every problem, like the way He multiplied the loaves.

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