20170503 HOW TO BE FIRMLY ESTABLISHED IN THE GOSPEL?
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Red.
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First reading
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1 Corinthians
15:1-8 ©
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Brothers, I want to
remind you of the gospel I preached to you, the gospel that you received and in
which you are firmly established; because the gospel will save you only if you
keep believing exactly what I preached to you – believing anything else
will not lead to anything.
Well
then, in the first place, I taught you what I had been taught myself, namely
that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures; that he was
buried; and that he was raised to life on the third day, in accordance with the
scriptures; that he appeared first to Cephas and secondly to the Twelve. Next
he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of
whom are still alive, though some have died; then he appeared to James, and
then to all the apostles; and last of all he appeared to me too; it was as
though I was born when no one expected it.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 18(19):2-5
©
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Their word goes
forth through all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
The heavens proclaim
the glory of God,
and the
firmament shows forth the work of his hands.
Day unto day takes up
the story
and night
unto night makes known the message.
Their word goes
forth through all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
No speech, no word,
no voice is heard
yet their
span extends through all the earth,
their
words to the utmost bounds of the world.
Their word goes
forth through all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Jn14:6,9
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the Way, the
Truth, and the Life, says the Lord.
Philip, to have seen
me is to have seen the Father.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 14:6-14 ©
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Jesus said to Thomas:
‘I am the Way, the
Truth and the Life.
No one can come to
the Father except through me.
If you know me, you
know my Father too.
From this moment you
know him and have seen him.’
Philip said, ‘Lord,
let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied.’
‘Have I
been with you all this time, Philip,’ said Jesus to him ‘and you still do not
know me?
‘To have seen me is
to have seen the Father,
so how can you say,
“Let us see the Father”?
Do you not believe
that I am in the
Father and the Father is in me?
The words I say to
you I do not speak as from myself:
it is the Father,
living in me, who is doing this work.
You must believe me
when I say
that I am in the
Father and the Father is in me;
believe it on the
evidence of this work, if for no other reason.
I tell you most
solemnly,
whoever believes in
me
will perform the same
works as I do myself,
he will perform even
greater works,
because I am going to
the Father.
Whatever you ask for
in my name I will do,
so that the Father
may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask for
anything in my name,
I will do it.’
HOW TO
BE FIRMLY ESTABLISHED IN THE GOSPEL?
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [
1 Cor 15:1-8;
Ps 18:2-5; Jn 14: 6-14 ]
In the first reading,
St Paul wrote, “Brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you,
the gospel that you received and in which you are firmly established; because
the gospel will save you only if you keep believing exactly what I preached to
you – believing anything else will not lead to anything.” What is this
gospel that we must hold fast to without compromise for us to find life?
Indeed, today, Christian truth is being compromised in so many ways that we no
longer know where is the true Church of Christ and what is the truth of the
gospel. Regardless of whatever Christian denomination we might belong to,
there are certain fundamental doctrines that all Christians must adhere to if
they are to be called “Christians.”
Firstly, Christians believe that Jesus is
“the Way, the truth and the Life.” There is no other way except
Jesus who is the fullness of truth. Anyone who purports to find life and
the fullness of truth must walk the way of Jesus for He is the Way.
Only Jesus can reveal to us the truth about life and show us the way.
Jesus, by His life, teaching, identification with sinners and the poor, humble
service to all, and most of all, His sacrificial death on the cross and His
resurrection, reveals to us the meaning and purpose of life. Hence,
undoubtedly, He is the way to the Father as He said, “No one can come to the
Father except through me. If you know me, you know my Father too.”
St John testified, “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have
seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and
truth.” (Jn 1:15)
Secondly, Jesus is the sole mediator of
the Father. When Jesus said, “I am the Way, the truth and the Life. No
one can come to the Father except through me”, He is claiming to be the One who
is from God. Only one who comes from God can reveal to us about
God. “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close
to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” (Jn 1:18) Only
Jesus who is the Word made flesh can show us the face of the Father.
Hence, He said, “From this moment you know him and have seen him.”
Indeed, the final profession of faith in Jesus must be that of St Peter, “We
have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” (Jn 6:69)
Thirdly, Jesus reconciles us with God and
with each other by His sacrificial death on the cross. St Paul wrote, “In
the first place, I taught you what I had been taught myself, namely that Christ
died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures; that he was
buried.” It is for our sake that Jesus came to die for us. His
death on the cross reveals the immensity and tragedy of human
selfishness. In showing the mercy and love of the Father and His
forgiveness for our sins, His death on the cross has touched hearts and moved
them to grieve for their sins of ingratitude. That is why, we must never
dilute the fact that Jesus did not simply happen to die but He died for our
sins, in our place and for our salvation.
Fourthly, Christians must maintain without
compromise the reality of the resurrection of Christ. We must be careful
that we do not fall into rationalism and extreme mythologization where the
resurrection of Christ is merely seen as a resurrection of the spirit or a
resurrection of Jesus’ ideals and vision in our hearts. The scripture
readings make it clear that the Risen Lord is a continuity of the Jesus of
Nazareth. It is not a different person and although transfigured, He has
a body. The Risen Lord is not a pure spirit but a transfigured
body. Only with faith in the resurrection, can our hope of our own
resurrection be certain. We are not going to be annihilated after death,
as many humanists think. Rather, all will be resurrected from the dead, “those
who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil,
to the resurrection of condemnation.” (Jn 5:29)
How do we know? How can we come to
this conviction? One of the ways by which we know is from the signs that
Jesus gave. Jesus said, “The words I say to you I do not speak as from
myself: it is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work. You must
believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; believe
it on the evidence of this work, if for no other reason.” The miracles
that Jesus performed were done to manifest the Father’s love and compassion and
to reveal His identity. Jesus was always conscious that whatever He did
was always in union with the Father. He has come to do His will. Jesus said to
them, “Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what
he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does
likewise. The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself
is doing; and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be
astonished.” (Jn 5:19f)
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came
from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me.” (Jn 8:42)
This would be the same basis by which the
disciples would also come to know and manifest Jesus as the Risen Lord.
Jesus made it clear that His disciples would do the same and even more because
He will also live in them just as the Father lives in Him. “I tell you
most solemnly, whoever believes in me will perform the same works as I do
myself, he will perform even greater works, because I am going to the
Father. Whatever you ask for in my name I will do, so that the Father may
be glorified in the Son. If you ask for anything in my name, I will do
it.” In the early Church, they demonstrated the reality of the resurrection
of our Lord through the miracles they performed. Indeed, in the
commissioning of the disciples to proclaim the Good News, the evangelist noted,
“And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord
worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied
it.” (Mk 16:20)
This is confirmed in the Acts of the Apostles when we read, “Now many signs and
wonders were done among the people through the apostles. A great number of
people would also gather from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and
those tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all cured.” (Acts 5:12, 16)
Secondly, the death and resurrection of
our Lord were attested by scriptures. This is what St Paul affirmed
when he reiterated that the death and the resurrection of Jesus were “in
accordance with the scriptures.” Indeed, Jesus affirmed this truth
as well when He explained to them how all these were fulfilled in
scriptures. To the disciples at Emmaus, He said “’Oh, how foolish you
are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have
declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these
things and then enter into his glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and all
the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the
scriptures.” (Lk 24:25-27)
And to the apostles when He met them later, again He confirmed this
truth. “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you
– that everything written about me in the laws of Moses, the prophets, and the
psalms must be fulfilled.” (Lk 24:44)
Opening their minds to understand the scriptures, he said, “Thus it is
written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third
day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in
his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Lk 24:46-48)
Finally, we have the apostles themselves
who witnessed to this fact. “He appeared first to Cephas and secondly to
the Twelve. Next he appeared to more than five thousand of the brothers at the
same time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died; then he
appeared to James, and then to all the apostles; and last of all he appeared to
me too; it was as though I was born when no one expected it.” But it is
more than just a claim by the early Christians that they saw the risen Lord.
More importantly, they testified by the transformation of their lives, from one
of cowardice and worldly pursuits to that of martyrdom and service to the
gospel at the cost of their comfort, convenience and their life.
There is nothing more convincing than the fact that they were ready to die for
Jesus, and stood up for Jesus in the face of opposition, threats and
persecutions. Only faith in Jesus can make this happen.
Today, we are asked to do the same.
The responsorial psalm invites us to proclaim the Good News about Jesus who is
the Way, the Truth and the Life, the Revealed and the Revealer of God His
Father, in His life, passion, death and resurrection. So too, let our
“word goes forth through all the earth. The heavens proclaim the glory of
God, and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands. Day unto day
takes up the story and night unto night makes known the message. No
speech, no word, no voice is heard yet their span extends through all the
earth, their words to the utmost bounds of the world.” With the
faith of Philip and James, let us reveal Jesus to the world. Like the
apostles, let us do it with words and with signs. Through our personal
testimony of Jesus at work in our lives, through our sharing and a transformed
life of charity and mercy, we too will reveal His love and truth in the world.
Written by The Most
Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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