ASSURANCE IS ALL WE NEED TO OVERCOME OUR FEARS

20170526 ASSURANCE  IS ALL WE NEED TO OVERCOME OUR FEARS

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: White.

First reading

Acts 18:9-18 ©

At Corinth one night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid to speak out, nor allow yourself to be silenced: I am with you. I have so many people on my side in this city that no one will even attempt to hurt you.’ So Paul stayed there preaching the word of God among them for eighteen months.

  But, while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a concerted attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal. ‘We accuse this man’ they said ‘of persuading people to worship God in a way that breaks the Law.’ Before Paul could open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, ‘Listen, you Jews. If this were a misdemeanour or a crime, I would not hesitate to attend to you; but if it is only quibbles about words and names, and about your own Law, then you must deal with it yourselves – I have no intention of making legal decisions about things like that.’ Then he sent them out of the court, and at once they all turned on Sosthenes, the synagogue president, and beat him in front of the court house. Gallio refused to take any notice at all.

  After staying on for some time, Paul took leave of the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut off, because of a vow he had made.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 46(47):2-7 ©

God is king of all the earth.

or

Alleluia!

All peoples, clap your hands,

  cry to God with shouts of joy!

For the Lord, the Most High, we must fear,

  great king over all the earth.

God is king of all the earth.

or

Alleluia!

He subdues peoples under us

  and nations under our feet.

Our inheritance, our glory, is from him,

  given to Jacob out of love.

God is king of all the earth.

or

Alleluia!

God goes up with shouts of joy;

  the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

Sing praise for God, sing praise,

  sing praise to our king, sing praise.

God is king of all the earth.

or

Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation

Jn14:26

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Holy Spirit will teach you everything

and remind you of all I have said to you.

Alleluia!

Or	cf.Lk24:46,26

Alleluia, alleluia!

It was ordained that the Christ should suffer

and rise from the dead,

and so enter into his glory.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 16:20-23 ©

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘I tell you most solemnly,

you will be weeping and wailing

while the world will rejoice;

you will be sorrowful,

but your sorrow will turn to joy.

A woman in childbirth suffers,

because her time has come;

but when she has given birth to the child she forgets the suffering

in her joy that a man has been born into the world.

So it is with you: you are sad now,

but I shall see you again, and your hearts will be full of joy,

and that joy no one shall take from you.

When that day comes,

you will not ask me any questions.’

ASSURANCE  IS ALL WE NEED TO OVERCOME OUR FEARS

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS  18:9-18; PS 46:2-7; JN 16:20-23 ]

It is natural for us to be afraid of the future.  We all have anxieties about tomorrow.  We are diffident when called to assume certain responsibilities or an office.  We are not too sure whether we can do the job.  We feel insecure and most of all, have low-self esteem.  We lack confidence in ourselves.  That is why many of us, when asked to take up a certain office or work, decline because we feel we are not good enough or that we cannot do it.  There are many too, who have a calling in life but they never realized their vocation simply because they are afraid to give a response.  Later on in life, when they look back, then they regret.  But such fear is in us.  How then can we overcome our fear, insecurity and lack of self-confidence?

We need assurance.  This was what Paul needed when he was in Corinth.  He was facing the daunting task of proclaiming the gospel at Corinth because it was a notorious city.   Being a commercial city, it shared all the sins present in any modern city.  The people were living a life of pleasure and promiscuity; just like our world today.  It is difficult to speak to people about God because they seek immediate gratification and sensual pleasures.  How can we speak about fidelity in relationship to our young when the subtle messages in the mass media and our movies promote infidelity and promiscuous relationships, even in marriage, as an accepted norm in society?  Our entertainment is riddled with lust, greed and self-indulgence disguised as ‘art’ and justified as ‘freedom of expression’!  So what Paul was going through is the same challenge that Catholics, Christians and believers of other religions are facing; the amoralistic, individualistic and sensual gratification of society.

So too, the apostles.  They were filled with anxiety at the prospect of Jesus leaving them. They were uncertain about their future. They were sad not only because Jesus was going to be taken away from them but they had to face a future without Jesus. This was a greater anxiety.  How could they continue without Jesus?  If we were them, we would feel the same way.  Whether as children or even adults, we will feel lost when our parents or spouse are taken away from us.  Some parents feel alone when their children go away because of work or marriage.  We feel we cannot do or live without them.

In both instances, the Lord showed His sympathy and understanding.  Being a man like us, He understood what it meant to be alone, to feel fearful of the unknown and to live in uncertainty.  Hence, “at Corinth one night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid to speak out, nor allow yourself to be silenced: I am with you. I have so many people on my side in this city that no one will even attempt to hurt you.'”  That was all the assurance that Paul needed.  He needed to hear from the Lord that He was with him.  Upon the assurance given by the Lord, “Paul stayed at Corinth preaching the word of God among them for eighteen months.”   So too the Lord assured the disciples of His return. “So it is with you: you are sad now, but I shall see you again, and your hearts will be full of joy, and that joy no one shall take from you.”   Again, the Lord reminded His disciples that they would not be left orphaned or be alone in their mission. (cf Jn 14:18). Then at the end of the gospel, we read once again His constant reassurance, “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  (Mt 28:20)

How does He assure us of His presence?  Firstly, we can discover His presence in our trials and sufferings. Jesus reminded His disciples that suffering is part of this joy.  Only when we value pain, can we then value joy.  The truth of life is that those who are never deprived of hunger will not be able to feel with the poor.  That is why rich and affluent people waste food and throw away things because they do not appreciate what it means to be hungry, without accommodation and clothes.  So too our young people today.  Born in an environment where all their material and physical needs are satisfied, they often take what they have for granted.  But if we have gone through hard times, we can appreciate even more what we have when we get them.

Secondly, we discover His presence knowing that we have done the right thing.  Very often, people associate joy with being without pain.  Yet, often the deep sense of peace comes about because we have done the right thing, not the pleasant thing.  A case in point is when a loved one, colleague or enemy treat us badly.  Instead of retaliating, we continue to love them and show them that we care.  It is not easy to love those who cause us much pain, accusing us behind our back of things we never did.  Yet, even realizing how much they have hurt us, we go beyond our pain and reach out to them in love and compassion, putting ourselves in their shoes.  This is a joy that, as Jesus said, is not of the world. Rather, it comes from the peace of a clear conscience, knowing that we have transcended their hatefulness and did not stoop so low as to behave like them by retaliating.  The peace and consolation in our hearts is His presence.  That is why the peace of the world is unlike that of this world.

Thirdly, this explains why Jesus assures us that this joy will never be taken away.  This joy is not dependent on the sufferings without or within, or changes in life circumstances, but because we know that we have done the right thing.  This is the joy of the martyrs and the joy of Jesus even in their sufferings because they suffered for truth and for love.  They transcended the pleasures that come from self-indulgence or pride of the world. How else do we explain the joy of parents who suffer for their children; the joy of saints who died for Christ, the joy of priests and religious who sacrifice their lives for the People of God!  When the joy of Jesus in self-sacrificing love is with us, we can be joyful in sorrow, in suffering with and for people.  This of course is not the joy of the world because the joy of the world is focused on self, not on others.

Fourthly, the assurance of Jesus’ presence is our vindication, either in this life or in the next. “I tell you most solemnly, you will be weeping and wailing while the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful but your sorrow will turn to joy.”  In our struggles, at times we feel alone and defeated.  We feel that things are not going well and we are losing the battle.  But Jesus assures us that the time will come when we will be vindicated.  Our enemies might seem to win but victory will be ours. This is what the responsorial psalm tells us.  He is King of all the earth.  Conversely, it is true that the joy of the world will turn to sorrow.  The world may appear to be triumphant but the consequences will be known one day.  Those who are irresponsible with their lives, who indulge in immoral pleasures or engage in dishonest activities or in harmful trade will one day face the full judgment of God.  They will reap what they sow.  We must not be lacking wisdom in looking for the apparent and external but for the eternal.  Indeed, Jesus assures us that all questions will be answered. “When that day comes, you will not ask me any questions.”  We will come to know everything from hindsight.  For this reason, we should walk by faith, not by sight!

Finally we are told that our joy will be complete.  “I shall see you again, and your hearts will be full of joy, and that joy no one shall take from you.”  In life, even when we are joyful, something is lacking.  We know that joy will not last.  Even when we celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, we know that such earthly joys will come to an end.  When we celebrate Christmas or New Year, that joy will last only for a while.  Even the joy of having our children with us is for a period of time.  Then they will move on in life and we are left with memories.  Nothing on this earth lasts, neither joys nor sorrows.  But the joy that comes from Jesus is certain and everlasting.  It is complete and perfect.  With Jesus, there is always joy even in sorrow.  With Jesus, there is no fear even when there is opposition.

What is significant is that the presence of Jesus is already felt in our times and not just at the end of this life.  He comes to us in the Holy Spirit.   (cf Jn 14:16-18)  So we are not speaking simply of the joy of being reunited with Jesus at the end of time.  Rather, He has already come to live in us with His Father in the Holy Spirit.  (cf Jn 14:20f). Truly, the apostles felt the presence of the Holy Spirit so powerfully at work at the beginning of the primitive Church.  The whole book of the Acts of the Apostles abounds with the work of the Holy Spirit.  They worked miracles in the name of Jesus and through the power of the Holy Spirit. (cf Acts 5:12,15f). The gifts of the Holy Spirit were visibly manifested in the Christian community of Corinth. (cf 1 Cor 12:7-11 cf 1 Cor 14)

With such assurance from our Lord, knowing the joy that is ahead of us, we should be ready to bear the sorrows and the sufferings of the present for the sake of the future good, of ours and humanity, difficult as they might be.  But like a woman, we must think of the new life before us.  He will assist us also by sending us helpers like Gallio, whom He sent to defend Paul.  We have only to open our eyes to see that we are never alone.  Even in our darkest moments, God will send us help from the most unlikely sources.  So with St Paul, let us always come before the Lord in thanksgiving. It was on account of God’s promise to render him assistance that most likely in gratitude and thanksgiving, he took a vow to crop his hair.  We too like St Paul must be faithful to God just as He has been faithful to us.

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