FINDING JOY IN MINISTRY AND MISSION

20160514 FINDING JOY IN MINISTRY AND MISSION

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Red.

First reading

Acts 1:15-17,20-26 ©

One day Peter stood up to speak to the brothers – there were about a hundred and twenty persons in the congregation: ‘Brothers, the passage of scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit, speaking through David, foretells the fate of Judas, who offered himself as a guide to the men who arrested Jesus – after having been one of our number and actually sharing this ministry of ours. Now in the Book of Psalms it says:

Let someone else take his office.

‘We must therefore choose someone who has been with us the whole time that the Lord Jesus was travelling round with us, someone who was with us right from the time when John was baptising until the day when he was taken up from us – and he can act with us as a witness to his resurrection.’

  Having nominated two candidates, Joseph known as Barsabbas, whose surname was Justus, and Matthias, they prayed, ‘Lord, you can read everyone’s heart; show us therefore which of these two you have chosen to take over this ministry and apostolate, which Judas abandoned to go to his proper place.’ They then drew lots for them, and as the lot fell to Matthias, he was listed as one of the twelve apostles.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 112:1-8 ©

The Lord sets him in the company of the princes of his people.

or

Alleluia!

Praise, O servants of the Lord,

  praise the name of the Lord!

May the name of the Lord be blessed

  both now and for evermore!

The Lord sets him in the company of the princes of his people.

or

Alleluia!

From the rising of the sun to its setting

  praised be the name of the Lord!

High above all nations is the Lord,

  above the heavens his glory.

The Lord sets him in the company of the princes of his people.

or

Alleluia!

Who is like the Lord, our God,

  who has risen on high to his throne

yet stoops from the heights to look down,

  to look down upon heaven and earth?

The Lord sets him in the company of the princes of his people.

or

Alleluia!

From the dust he lifts up the lowly,

  from the dungheap he raises the poor

to set him in the company of princes,

  yes, with the princes of his people.

The Lord sets him in the company of the princes of his people.

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

John 15:9-17 ©

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘As the Father has loved me,

so I have loved you.

Remain in my love.

If you keep my commandments

you will remain in my love,

just as I have kept my Father’s commandments

and remain in his love.

I have told you this

so that my own joy may be in you

and your joy be complete.

This is my commandment:

love one another, as I have loved you.

A man can have no greater love

than to lay down his life for his friends.

You are my friends,

if you do what I command you.

I shall not call you servants any more,

because a servant does not know

his master’s business;

I call you friends,

because I have made known to you

everything I have learnt from my Father.

You did not choose me:

no, I chose you;

and I commissioned you

to go out and to bear fruit,

fruit that will last;

and then the Father will give you

anything you ask him in my name.

What I command you

is to love one another.’

FINDING JOY IN MINISTRY AND MISSION

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS 1:15-17, 20-26; JN 15:9-17   ]

Like the 120 brothers who gathered around St Peter after the ascension of our Lord, we are all called to share in His life and love.   Indeed, salvation is always the choice of God and His initiative.  This is what the Lord said, “You did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last.” Right from the start, He called the disciples and His apostles to be with Him before they were eventually sent out to proclaim the Good News. Some of us are not just called to be missionaries for Christ but to leadership in the Church and in society.   This was so in the case of St Matthias, whose feast we celebrate today.

This is a great privilege, but it also comes with responsibility.  We are called to bear fruit and fruit that will last.  So as Christians, we need to ask ourselves, is our life in Christ bearing fruit?  Can we say to others that by being His disciples our lives are different from that of the world?  Have we produced fruits of love and joy in our lives?  Equally important, have we made a difference in the lives of others, in the Church, in our family, office and in society?  It is not even enough to bear fruits, Jesus tells us, but fruits that last.  Is there a real change in our lives or are these changes just temporal?  The programs that we have in our parishes, especially catechesis and spiritual formation, are they making effective and real changes or it is a passing thing?  Have our parishioners grown and deepened their faith each passing day?  Have they in turn become missionaries for Christ?

The truth is that in many areas of our ministry we are fruitless, and even the little fruits we bear do not last for long.   We organize or participate in programs, retreats, seminars and Parish Missions, but once the program is over, people go back to their old way of life.  For others, serving in the ministry and in the mission makes them even more discouraged, disillusioned and resentful because of the lack of support, in-fighting, division and obstacles, not so much from without but from within our Christian community, especially from Church leaders.   So there is little joy in the ministry and in serving the Church.  This explains why many have left the Church’s ministry because they experienced anything but joy and peace and fulfillment.  When there is no joy, there cannot be any proclamation of the gospel.  It becomes a propagation of an ideology, not the Good News.

How could this be when Jesus comes to give us joy and fullness of life?  This is because we have fallen into the same mistake of Judas, which we read in the first reading.  When we reflect on the fate of Judas, it is truly a sad story.  He too was chosen by the Lord.  He even had the privilege of being with Jesus right from the start of His ministry.  He saw all that the Lord did and said.   He lived with Him.  But he betrayed the Lord for his own cause and political objective.  Unfortunately, like Judas, we can suffer the same fate too.  Being chosen to be with Him does not automatically mean that we will choose Him.  That is why, just being baptized in the Lord, or attending many retreats and seminars, is no guarantee that we will be saved or that we will be faithful to Him.

More than just being called, Jesus commanded us to remain in His love.  This is the secret to joy and peace.  Jesus said, “Remain in my love.  If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be complete.”  This is the key to joy and the key to passion in the ministry and mission as well.  Unless we remain in His love, we cannot be successful in what we do.

But what does it mean to remain in His love?  Jesus said, “This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you.”   To remain in His love is to observe the command of our Lord.  What is this command?  It is a command to love one another as He has loved us.  This command is strictly not a command but a principle which is to be followed if we want to find true joy in life.  We must love the way the Lord has loved us if we want to find true happiness.

So, to remain in His love, in the first place, is to allow ourselves to be loved by Him.  This is the secret of the joy of being a Christian.  To do the works of God, Jesus told us, is to believe in the One whom He has sent. (cf Jn 6:29)  If anyone were to bear fruits and lasting fruits, he or she must first be ready to bask himself or herself in the intimacy of Christ’s love.  We must seek strength, consolation, intimacy, and wisdom from our Lord each day before we begin any form of ministry.  For that reason, there is no better way to begin each day with an hour of meditation before our Lord, followed by the celebration of the Eucharist.   If we do not experience the joy of our Lord loving us, in our failures, setbacks, the obstacles we face, we will fall into discouragement and disappointment.

Indeed, the great thing about being a Christian is not simply that Jesus is our master and we are His servant.  Rather, He calls us His friends and His brothers.   So much so that He would even lay down His life for us.  Jesus remarked, “A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends, if you do what I command you. I shall not call you servants anymore, because a servant does not know his master’s business; I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father.”  As friends, Jesus wants to share everything with us, especially His intimate relationship with His Father and the Father’s plan for us all.   He wants us to be as excited as He is about His Father and His plan for humanity.

Indeed, the mistake of Judas was that he was never a friend of Jesus.  He had no intention to share the heart of Jesus.  He had his own agenda.  What is needed is that we walk with Jesus.  In choosing a new leader to replace Judas, the apostles said, “We must therefore choose someone who has been with us the whole time that the Lord Jesus was travelling round with us, someone who was with us right from the time when John was baptising until the day when he was taken up from us – and he can act with us as a witness to his resurrection.”   If we do not walk with Jesus, then we will not be able to feel with Him.  Judas committed suicide because he did not walk with Jesus all the way.

Not only did he betray Him, but he did not wait for the resurrection.  He was only a witness to His life, mission and death.  If he knew that Jesus rose from the dead, perhaps he would not have taken his life.  I believe that Judas, on realizing what he had done to our Lord, was so ashamed of himself and so guilty that he ended his life because of despair and guilt.  If he had waited and seen the Risen Lord, he would have hope.  This also explains why many of our Catholics also behave like Judas.  They too have not yet witnessed the resurrection in their own lives.  Their faith is more a theological knowledge rather than an experience of His overwhelming love. If we have had a resurrection experience, then we will not give up so easily even during trials and when we face opposition and feel helpless and hopeless.   Like the apostles, all we need is to rely on the power of His resurrection and surrender our plans to Him.  

Flowing from this experience of being loved so unconditionally, we are now called to share the same love that He enjoys with His Father.  The command to love one another again is not so much a command but the consequence of being so loved by Him.  In loving each other the way the Lord loves us, our joy increases and our faith becomes stronger too.

All too often, there is no joy in the ministry because Catholics are attacking each other.  Disagreements lead to personal attacks.  It is a shame that we do not love each other as He has loved us.  We do not regard each other as brothers and sisters, much less friends.  Instead of dying for our friends, we make sure they die instead.  All too often, in Church ministry, harsh words are used and false accusations are made.   In truth, we never kept His commandment, hence, our ministry is not fruitful and whatever fruits we bear do not last.  But if we love each other and work in communion, then Jesus assures us that “the Father will give you anything you ask him in my name. What I command you is to love one another.”

Conversely when Christians care for each other and work with each other, supporting each other and value each other’s contributions and presence, the community will grow from strength to strength.  When we find a community that is loving, caring, supportive, encouraging and forgiving, we will experience the joy of Christ in and through His body the Church.   For this reason, communion in mission is the other key to sharing in the joy of Christ.  That is why Jesus prayed for unity in the Church in His final priestly prayer to the Father.  (cf Jn17)   Let us ensure that our community is united in love if we want to be effective in reaching out to the world.

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