20170515 MISTAKEN IDENTITY
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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Acts 14:5-18 ©
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Eventually with the
connivance of the authorities a move was made by pagans as well as Jews to make
attacks on the apostles and to stone them. When the apostles came to hear of
this, they went off for safety to Lycaonia where, in the towns of Lystra and
Derbe and in the surrounding country, they preached the Good News.
A man sat
there who had never walked in his life, because his feet were crippled from
birth; and as he listened to Paul preaching, he managed to catch his eye.
Seeing that the man had the faith to be cured, Paul said in a loud voice, ‘Get
to your feet – stand up’, and the cripple jumped up and began to walk.
When the
crowd saw what Paul had done they shouted in the language of Lycaonia, ‘These
people are gods who have come down to us disguised as men.’ They addressed
Barnabas as Zeus, and since Paul was the principal speaker they called him
Hermes. The priests of Zeus-outside-the-Gate, proposing that all the people
should offer sacrifice with them, brought garlanded oxen to the gates. When the
apostles Barnabas and Paul heard what was happening they tore their clothes,
and rushed into the crowd, shouting, ‘Friends, what do you think you are doing?
We are only human beings like you. We have come with good news to make you turn
from these empty idols to the living God who made heaven and earth and the sea
and all that these hold. In the past he allowed each nation to go its own way;
but even then he did not leave you without evidence of himself in the good
things he does for you: he sends you rain from heaven, he makes your crops grow
when they should, he gives you food and makes you happy.’ Even this speech,
however, was scarcely enough to stop the crowd offering them sacrifice.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
113B(115):1-4,15-16 ©
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Not to us, Lord,
but to your name give the glory.
or
Alleluia!
Not to us, Lord, not
to us,
but to
your name give the glory
for the sake of your
love and your truth,
lest the
heathen say: ‘Where is their God?’
Not to us, Lord,
but to your name give the glory.
or
Alleluia!
But our God is in the
heavens;
he does
whatever he wills.
Their idols are
silver and gold,
the work
of human hands.
Not to us, Lord,
but to your name give the glory.
or
Alleluia!
May you be blessed by
the Lord,
the maker
of heaven and earth.
The heavens belong to
the Lord
but the
earth he has given to men.
Not to us, Lord,
but to your name give the glory.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Christ has risen and
shone upon us
whom he redeemed with
his blood.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Jn14:26
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The Holy Spirit will
teach you everything
and remind you of all
I have said to you.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 14:21-26 ©
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Jesus said to his
disciples:
‘Anybody who receives
my commandments and keeps them
will be one who loves
me;
and anybody who loves
me will be loved by my Father,
and I shall love him
and show myself to him.’
Judas – this was
not Judas Iscariot – said to him, ‘Lord, what is all this about? Do you
intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?’ Jesus replied:
‘If anyone loves me
he will keep my word,
and my Father will
love him,
and we shall come to
him and make our home with him.
Those who do not love
me do not keep my words.
And my word is not my
own:
it is the word of the
one who sent me.
I have said these
things to you while still with you;
but the Advocate, the
Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will
send in my name,
will teach you
everything
and
remind you of all I have said to you.’
MISTAKEN
IDENTITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [
ACTS 14:5-18; JOHN 14:21-26 ]
In the first reading
we read of the healing of the crippled man from birth by Paul. Almost
instantly, “when the crowd saw what Paul had done they shouted in the language
of Lycaonia, ‘These people are gods who have come down to us disguised as men.’
They addressed Barnabas as Zeus, and since Paul was the principal speaker they
called him Hermes.” Such was the spontaneous perception of the
people. What Paul did was truly a miracle. And so in their naivety
and perhaps also some fear, thinking that the gods had come to visit them, they
quickly paid homage to Paul and Barnabas.
Of course, it was a case of mistaken
identity. Paul and Barnabas immediately took steps to correct the wrong
impression. “They tore their clothes, and rushed into the crowd, shouting,
‘Friends, what do you think you are doing?” They could have taken
advantage of the popular reception but they did not. On the contrary,
they insisted that they were anything other than ordinary beings like
them. They did not attribute the healing miracle to themselves or to
their own powers. Such was the consciousness of their true
identity. Like the psalmist, they would have said, “Not to us, Lord, not
to us, but to your name give the glory for the sake of your love and your
truth, lest the heathen say: ‘Where is their God?’”
Indeed, Paul and Barnabas were people who
knew themselves and their limitations. They could have led them on and
made use of their newfound popularity and status. But they had no
intention to cheat or impress or pretend to be what they were not. How
many of us would attribute our success and all we have to God without claiming
any credit for ourselves? Secretly, many of us think it is due to our
hard work. In fact, there are some faith healers who seek to draw people
to themselves rather than to God; making money out of their gift of healing.
We must be careful of the sin of idolatry
which still exists today in different forms. Idolatry is to give glory to
ourselves. We are the first idol that we worship in a world of relativism
and agnosticism. In ancient days, people ascribed powers to statues and
created things. Even though they were made by human hands, homage was
given to such idols. That was why St Paul said, “we have come with good
news to make you turn from these empty idols to the living God who made heaven
and earth and the sea and all that these hold.” But today, the focus is
more on the worship of man. Humanism and New Age philosophies elevate man
to the ultimate reference point in life. They believe that they are
endowed with intellect to know all things and are thus capable of reaching the
stars without God. The New Age people confuse themselves into thinking
that they are gods because of their inner energy and spiritual powers to do
things beyond what science could explain.
Regardless, anyone who believes only in
himself and no other powers higher than himself is worshiping idolatry.
This can manifest itself in a crass form in materialism and worldly
glory. There are some who place material things, money, pleasure and
glory as the most important things of life. They give their whole life to
acquiring these things at the expense of their spiritual life, affective needs
and particularly, their relationships with their spouse, parents, children and family.
Of course, worshipping our spouse, children and loved ones is also another form
of idolatry, making them as the center of our lives, as if they are gods!
When they are taken away from us, we will be totally devastated as they are our
all. We cannot place our total trust and give ourselves entirely to man and
created things because they are not the ultimate. As creatures like us,
we are totally dependent on God and we are just pilgrims along the way, finite
and limited in many ways.
How can we overcome the temptation to
idolatry? We must remember that God is the creator of heaven and
earth. This is what the psalmist says, “But our God is in the heavens; he
does whatever he wills. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human
hands. May you be blessed by the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. The
heavens belong to the Lord but the earth he has given to men.” Rendering
homage to God is the beginning of Wisdom. “All wisdom comes from the Lord
and is with him for ever.” (Wisdom 1:1) This is
the first and fundamental principle.
Having established that God is the
creator and source of life, we can therefore state that all other things
manifest His presence and power. This is what St Paul said, “In the past
he allowed each nation to go its own way; but even then he did not leave you
without evidence of himself in the good things he does for you: he sends you
rain from heaven, he makes your crops grow when they should, he gives you food and
makes you happy.” But we must not fall into the other extreme of
pantheism that identifies created things with God Himself. All created
things are likened to the paintings of the artist. They are related but
distinct. So created things do manifest the glory and the love of
God. We are called to use them well for His greater glory and to share
His love with others. So no matter how much man can do in this world, no
matter how much science and technology have advanced, without God giving men
the intellect and the wisdom and knowledge, this would not be possible.
Even then, man does not create out of nothing but makes use of what came from
nothing into a new thing. Only God creates; we recreate.
But God recreates us in the Holy Spirit
when He comes to dwell in us. In this sense, we become God’s sons and
daughters. In the gospel, Jesus says, “If anyone loves me he will keep my
word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home
with him.” It is with the coming of the Holy Spirit that we become
conscious of our sonship in Christ. With the Holy Spirit, we share in the
Trinitarian life of God. Again, it must be made clear that unlike
pantheists or new age spirituality, we do not become gods as such but we
participate in the life of God. There is a clear distinction between God
and us, and yet we are related to God. In a certain sense, we are called
to radiate God. We are all instruments of God’s love and mercy.
But this is possible only when we allow
the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. It is the Holy Spirit that gives us
our true identity for He leads us to Jesus. “I have said these things to you
while still with you; but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will
send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to
you.” But the Holy Spirit is only given to those who are obedient.
Jesus will only appear after His death to those who love Him, not those who
have no faith in Him. In the same vein, not all saw the Lord after the
resurrection but only those who have faith. It was faith that healed the
crippled man through St Paul. “Seeing that the man had the faith to be
cured, Paul said in a loud voice, ‘Get to your feet – stand up’, and the
cripple jumped up and began to walk.”
Those who love Jesus will be able to see
more and understand more. This was the response of Jesus to the question
of Judas, “‘Lord, what is all this about? Do you intend to show yourself to us
and not to the world?’ Jesus replied: ‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with
him.” God can only reveal Himself to those who love Him. Fellowship with
God is dependent on our love for Him. This love is expressed in
obedience. The more we love God, the more we obey Him. “Those who do not
love me do not keep my words. And my word is not my own: it is the word of the
one who sent me.” In obeying His commandments, we come to understand the truth
that He wants to reveal to us. By coming to Jesus, we come to be aware of
our identity as sons and daughters of God and that Jesus is our brother.
“The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will
teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you.” In this way, we
walk with the Lord and share His life more intimately. With love, there
is always a corresponding growth in faith in Him.
Written by The Most
Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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