20160514 FINDING JOY IN MINISTRY AND MISSION
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Red.
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First reading
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Acts
1:15-17,20-26 ©
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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.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 112:1-8 ©
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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!
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Jn15:16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I chose you from the
world
to go out and bear
fruit,
fruit that will last,
says the Lord.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 15:9-17 ©
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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
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