WE ARE SENT AS JESUS WAS SENT

20170510 WE ARE SENT AS JESUS WAS SENT

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: White.

First reading

Acts 12:24-13:5 ©

The word of God continued to spread and to gain followers. Barnabas and Saul completed their task and came back from Jerusalem, bringing John Mark with them.

  In the church at Antioch the following were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. One day while they were offering worship to the Lord and keeping a fast, the Holy Spirit said, ‘I want Barnabas and Saul set apart for the work to which I have called them.’ So it was that after fasting and prayer they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

  So these two, sent on their mission by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and from there sailed to Cyprus. They landed at Salamis and proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; John acted as their assistant.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 66(67):2-3,5-6,8 ©

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.

or

Alleluia!

O God, be gracious and bless us

  and let your face shed its light upon us.

So will your ways be known upon earth

  and all nations learn your saving help.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.

or

Alleluia!

Let the nations be glad and exult

  for you rule the world with justice.

With fairness you rule the peoples,

  you guide the nations on earth.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.

or

Alleluia!

Let the peoples praise you, O God;

  let all the peoples praise you.

May God still give us his blessing

  till the ends of the earth revere him.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.

or

Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation

Jn20:29

Alleluia, alleluia!

‘You believe, Thomas, because you can see me.

Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.

Alleluia!

Or

Jn8:12

Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the light of the world, says the Lord;

anyone who follows me will have the light of life.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 12:44-50 ©

Jesus declared publicly:

‘Whoever believes in me

believes not in me

but in the one who sent me,

and whoever sees me,

sees the one who sent me.

I, the light, have come into the world,

so that whoever believes in me

need not stay in the dark any more.

If anyone hears my words and does not keep them faithfully,

it is not I who shall condemn him,

since I have come not to condemn the world,

but to save the world.

He who rejects me and refuses my words has his judge already:

the word itself that I have spoken will be his judge on the last day.

For what I have spoken does not come from myself;

no, what I was to say,

what I had to speak,

was commanded by the Father who sent me,

and I know that his commands mean eternal life.

And therefore what the Father has told me

is what I speak.’

WE ARE SENT AS JESUS WAS SENT

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS 12:24-13:5; PS 66(67): 2-3,5-6,8; JOHN 12:44-50 ]

Many of us are happy to serve the Church.  We volunteer to help in some organization or ministry.  Some even want to give their lives for the service of the Church, whether as lay workers or as priests or religious.  All these are noble intentions.  This is indeed what is required of us as Catholics because we are all called to serve the Church in different ways and to continue the mission of our Lord in proclaiming the Good News to all creation.   We are to be shepherds to those who are seeking the Way, the Truth and the Life.

However, many of us fail to realize that we do not call ourselves into service!  We are called and chosen!  In other words, we are sent.  We do not send ourselves.  In most instances, we join a Church organization according to our preference and liking.  We join the choir because we like to sing.  We join the Women’s league because we enjoy cooking.  In itself it is not wrong, but this might not be what the Lord wants us to do.  When we decide what we want to do, we are sending ourselves.  This is even true in priestly and religious life.  Sometimes, a priest or a religious tells his or her superior what he or she wants to do in his or her ministry or apostolate.  In this case, he or she is no longer sent by his or her superior.

Clearly, in today’s scripture readings, we have this theme of sending.  We can truly claim that we are doing the work of God only if we are sent.  Otherwise, we might be doing the work for God but not of God. In the gospel, Jesus made it clear that He was sent by the Father.  He did not come on His own accord. “Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me, sees the one who sent me.”  As the Son of the Father, He was sent to represent and manifest the Father.  His identity is that of the Eternal Son of the Father.  He is the Way, the Truth and the Life because He is the mediator of the Father.  To see Him is to see the Father. (cf Jn 14:9f)

Truly, only the One who is sent can speak the words of the sender.  “For what I have spoken does not come from myself; no, what I was to say, what I had to speak, was commanded by the Father who sent me, and I know that his commands mean eternal life. And therefore what the Father has told me is what I speak.” Jesus was conscious that He did not come to proclaim Himself.  His whole work was to proclaim the love of the Father and His kingdom.  His work was to make the Father known to all so that all could be one in Him.  “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.” (Jn 17:6)  Again He said, “I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”. (Jn 17:26).  For this reason, Jesus would not do anything except what the Father wills.  “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.”  (Jn 4:34)

So, too, were Paul and Barnabas.  “These two, sent on their mission by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and from there sailed to Cyprus.”  They did not go on their own accord.  They went only because they Holy Spirit prompted them to go and spread the gospel beyond Palestine.  On their own, they were still quite comfortable in sharing the gospel among their own peoples.  “The word of God continued to spread and to gain followers. Barnabas and Saul completed their task and came back from Jerusalem, bringing John Mark with them.”  Like Jesus, they too were conscious that they were not to represent themselves but that as apostles, they were sent.  They had no authority of their own unless they were invested with the authority that came from the Lord Jesus who is the sender as we read in John’s gospel.

Docility to the Holy Spirit is therefore an important pre-requisite in discerning the will of God for us.  Unless we are docile to the Holy Spirit, we will end up doing our own will, more to satisfy our needs and our preferences rather than seeking to do what the Lord requires of us.  The failure to discern properly will hamper the mission of the Church. The sad reality today is that because of individualism, whether among laity, priests or religious, we want to do our own thing.  We deceive ourselves into thinking that the Holy Spirit is speaking to us to do this or that.  We no longer listen to the larger community who is often represented by the head of the community.  This explains why the gospel is not spreading far because we lack openness to the freedom of the Spirit to send us where He desires.

How do we know when we are sent?  This is the first question we need to consider.  The most important rule is to bring our mission to the Lord in prayer.  But we must do so without any prejudice on our part.  This is to say, we must be ready to listen to the Lord rather than to ourselves.  For many people, their mind is already made up.  What they do in prayer, which they wrongly call discernment, is to ask the Lord to endorse their plans or confirm it.  So often, prayer becomes a means of escapism or even fundamentalism, as the name and authority of God is wrongly used to give legitimacy to what they have decided.  This is what fanatics do and the way the Evil One misleads us into thinking that they are doing the will of God.  (cf Jn 16:1-3)  Rather, as St Ignatius of Loyola and all the saints advised us, we must come to the Lord with an open mind, an open heart and open hands. We must begin with an attitude of equanimity or indifference to whichever way we think.  Only with complete indifference can we objectively attend to the Lord’s concerns rather than ours, His interests, not ours.  The Lord can only speak to us when our hearts are docile and willing to be led.

Secondly, we must consult our legitimate superior and the community.  The Holy Spirit gathers us all into the body of Christ.  When Jesus promised to be with us, He did not promise to be with the individual in making decisions but with the community.  (cf Mt 28:20)  It is important that we recognize the presence of our Lord in His body the Church.  For that reason, if we are serious in prayer and proper discernment, we must be like the early Christians who depended totally on the Lord for their decision.  As an expression of their total surrender to Him, we read that “while they were offering worship to the Lord and keeping a fast, the Holy Spirit said, ‘I want Barnabas and Saul set apart for the work to which I have called them.’ So it was that after fasting and prayer they laid their hands on them and sent them off.”  It is the community that must send us for the mission.  We do not go on our own accord. Concretely, the community is represented by the superior appointed to lead the community, be it the bishop, the ordinary, the superior or the president.

But as we have just read, it is also of vital importance that those whom the community sets apart or those whom the superior wishes to appoint to be sent out, also be equally involved in prayer and fasting so that they too can listen to the Holy Spirit speaking to them.  Again, in many instances, those in position make decisions for their subordinates based on practical prudence, logic and sometimes even their personal preferences.  They also lack the spirit of prayer and discernment.  They often react to a proposal rather than pray over what is proposed to them for consideration.  Perhaps, this is why Church decisions are often met with so much division and opposition because members in the committee do not prayerfully search the will of God.  They are no better than the one who is sent by them.  It is based on their own fears, political and vested interests and not truly for the greater glory of God or for the good of the Church.  Everyone, even in Church organizations, is protecting his or her own turf, not truly working for God and His Church in a disinterested way.

Failure to observe these principles of discernment will wreak havoc for our mission.  Indeed, John Mark made a mistake when he abandoned Paul and Barnabas half way in their missionary journey.  He did not persevere in carrying out the decision made by the Holy Spirit as discerned by the community.  Paul was deeply disappointed in him and as a consequence refused to take him for other missionary trips even at the request of Barnabas.   Having lost confidence in him and his spiritual maturity, Paul concluded that it would be better without him as he could hamper the work of the Holy Spirit.   We are told that John Mark learnt from that painful lesson and towards the end of Paul’s life, he was once again recruited to help him.

This is the same warning that the Lord gives to us.  The truth of our decision will reveal itself.  Jesus made it clear.  “If anyone hears my words and does not keep them faithfully, it is not I who shall condemn him, since I have come not to condemn the world, but to save the world. He who rejects me and refuses my words has his judge already: the word itself that I have spoken will be his judge on the last day.”  When we reject the words of Jesus, we will only hurt ourselves.  We will reap the consequences of our foolish decisions made against the will of God and the community.   We will ultimately be judged by our actions.  Time will reveal to us whether it is the will of God or ours.  We know it is the will of God only if we bear fruits. (cf Jn 15:5f,16)

So today let us recognize that the One who sends us is the One who represents Jesus, just as He represented the Father to us.  To listen to Jesus is to listen to the Father. “For what I have spoken does not come from myself; no, what I was to say, what I had to speak, was commanded by the Father who sent me.”  Before we dismiss the decisions of our superior or the community, we must be prudent and humble enough to check ourselves.  We must not take lightly the advice and discernment of our legitimate superior, especially when we disagree with him or her.  He or she is still the Lord’s anointed one, chosen to represent Him. It is more unlikely that God will speak to the individual directly instead of the community.  But in a true discernment, there is always a dialogue between the individual with his superior and with his community; and a dialogue with God in personal prayer.  In most situations, when both the sender and the sent are diligent in prayer and fasting and attentive to the Spirit, the decision should be made with a common consensus.  When there is a lack of consensus, most of the time either or both parties have not really surrendered themselves to the Lord in humble prayer and openness.

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