WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A TRUE BELIEVER OF THE LORD

20170529 WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A TRUE BELIEVER OF THE LORD

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: White.

First reading

Acts 19:1-8 ©

While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul made his way overland as far as Ephesus, where he found a number of disciples. When he asked, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?’ they answered, ‘No, we were never even told there was such a thing as a Holy Spirit.’ ‘Then how were you baptised?’ he asked. ‘With John’s baptism’ they replied. ‘John’s baptism’ said Paul ‘was a baptism of repentance; but he insisted that the people should believe in the one who was to come after him – in other words, Jesus.’ When they heard this, they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus, and the moment Paul had laid hands on them the Holy Spirit came down on them, and they began to speak with tongues and to prophesy. There were about twelve of these men.

  He began by going to the synagogue, where he spoke out boldly and argued persuasively about the kingdom of God. He did this for three months.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 67(68):2-7 ©

Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.

or

Alleluia!

Let God arise, let his foes be scattered.

  Let those who hate him flee before him.

As smoke is blown away so will they be blown away;

  like wax that melts before the fire,

  so the wicked shall perish at the presence of God.

Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.

or

Alleluia!

But the just shall rejoice at the presence of God,

  they shall exult and dance for joy.

O sing to the Lord, make music to his name;

  rejoice in the Lord, exult at his presence.

Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.

or

Alleluia!

Father of the orphan, defender of the widow,

  such is God in his holy place.

God gives the lonely a home to live in;

  he leads the prisoners forth into freedom.

Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.

or

Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation

Jn16:28

Alleluia, alleluia!

I came from the Father

and have come into the world,

and now I leave the world

to go to the Father.

Alleluia!

Or

Col3:1

Alleluia, alleluia!

Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ,

you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is,

sitting at God’s right hand.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 16:29-33 ©

His disciples said to Jesus, ‘Now you are speaking plainly and not using metaphors! Now we see that you know everything, and do not have to wait for questions to be put into words; because of this we believe that you came from God.’ Jesus answered them:

‘Do you believe at last?

Listen; the time will come – in fact it has come already –

when you will be scattered,

each going his own way and leaving me alone.

And yet I am not alone,

because the Father is with me.

I have told you all this

so that you may find peace in me.

In the world you will have trouble,

but be brave: I have conquered the world.’

WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A TRUE BELIEVER OF THE LORD

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS  19:1-8; JOHN 16:29-33 ]

“His disciples said to Jesus, ‘Now you are speaking plainly and not using metaphors! Now we see that you know everything, and do not have to wait for questions to be put into words; because of this we believe that you came from God.’ Jesus answered them: ‘Do you believe at last?” This is a good question for all of us as well.   Do we truly believe that Jesus is Lord?

We all claim to believe in Jesus.  But the truth is that for most of us, our faith is more of an intellectual assent or cultural practice than a conviction of the heart.  So like the disciples, we pay lip service to the Lord.  Our faith is not from the heart but from the head.  Worse still, for many of us who are nominal Catholics, faith is but a culture or a tradition.  It is not based on a personal conviction of our Lord.   For many of our young people, they are at church because their friends are there.

When we replace knowledge with belief in terms of conviction of the heart, then of course in times of trials and difficulties, we will abandon the Lord, like the disciples.  The Lord said, “Listen; the time will come – in fact it has come already – when you will be scattered, each going his own way and leaving me alone.”  Indeed, many of us will abandon Jesus in our lives.  What we profess with our lips we deny by our actions.  In times of trouble and difficulties, we give up easily, whether in marriage or in the priesthood.  Many of us lack perseverance in doing good and especially in ministry. We resign when we do not agree with the leader or the group.   And we say we have faith in Jesus and we love Him!  This was the case of the apostles before Easter.  They too betrayed the Lord and abandoned Him.

This is because we do not really love Jesus from our hearts.  Which mother or father would abandon a difficult child?   They will continue to carry the burden of looking after them because they love them.  When we love, we are ready to die for a person.  No sacrifices are too difficult to make for those whom we love.   For our friends, we are ready to die for them but few would die for an ideology.   St Paul said in no uncertain terms, “unless you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will not be saved.  For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved.”  (Rom 10:9f)

In contrast we have Jesus who truly believed and showed His belief not in words but in action.  He was ready to die for the Father and for His people.  This is because He loved.  Where did He get His strength to sacrifice Himself for His Father and His people if not the fact that He knew that the Father was with Him.   He was one with the Father in mind and will.  He said, “In the world you will have trouble, but be brave: I have conquered the world.” 

How did He conquer the world if not by the strength and love of His Father?  “And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.”  It is His personal intimacy and faith in the Father’s love that kept Him at peace even in trials.  This is the basis of peace for Jesus. He was not afraid of death or what was ahead of Him.  Hence, He said, “I have told you all this so that you may find peace in me.”  Indeed, when we know that someone is with us, we will find the strength to carry on. What we need is a supportive and encouraging spouse, teacher, friend or a mentor.   When a child senses the presence of the parents, he is at rest.  People need to feel the presence of God in their lives if they are to find the strength and the courage to endure the sufferings and tribulations of life.  Like a child, we need to be held and to hold so that we can feel the presence of someone supporting us in love.

How do we find peace?   How can we overcome the world?  Only if we also know that the Lord is with us.  So how is He with us?  After the feast of the Ascension, we tend to think that He is away from us.  This is of course is not true.  The great thing about the Ascension is that although He has returned to His Father to receive His glory, yet, He remains with us.   Just as in the incarnation, He is with us but never left the Father.  Today, He is with us in the Holy Spirit. He is the love of God poured into our hearts.  Through the Spirit of Jesus, we share in His courage, peace, love and joy.

How can we receive the Holy Spirit?  We need to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.  This was what St Paul told the disciples at Ephesus. It is not enough to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins.  Giving up sins alone will not give us joy.   We need to be filled with the Spirit of Jesus who is the presence of God in us.  We need to know that He is with us in our trials.  We need the presence of the Risen Lord to encourage us.  Then we can find peace and joy.   The Holy Spirit makes present the Risen Lord by filling us with His love.

This explains why those who have a renewal of the Holy Spirit in their lives are filled with joy.  Like the early Christians, “the moment Paul had laid hands on them the Holy Spirit came down on them, and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy. There were about twelve of these men.”   St Paul himself went “to the synagogue, where he spoke out boldly and argued persuasively about the kingdom of God. He did this for three months.”  In the case of the apostles, before Pentecost, they were afraid and hid in the Upper Room.   But after receiving the Holy Spirit, they became powerful witnesses of our Lord, full of courage and conviction.

Indeed, we all need to encounter the presence of the Lord today.  This also explains why popular religiosity and devotions are so much sought after by our faithful because they need to feel the presence of God, to see and to touch.   The Holy Spirit in a special way fills us with His warmth, love and presence so that we can be empowered to witness to the Lord.  With the psalmist, we sing, “But the just shall rejoice at the presence of God, they shall exult and dance for joy.  O sing to the Lord, make music to his name; rejoice in the Lord, exult at his presence.”

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