20170502 IDEALISM GIVES WAY TO REALISM
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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Acts 25:13-21 ©
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King Agrippa and
Bernice arrived in Caesarea and paid their respects to Festus. Their visit
lasted several days, and Festus put Paul’s case before the king. ‘There is a
man here’ he said ‘whom Felix left behind in custody, and while I was in
Jerusalem the chief priests and elders of the Jews laid information against
him, demanding his condemnation. But I told them that Romans are not in the
habit of surrendering any man, until the accused confronts his accusers and is
given an opportunity to defend himself against the charge. So they came here
with me, and I wasted no time but took my seat on the tribunal the very next
day and had the man brought in. When confronted with him, his accusers did not
charge him with any of the crimes I had expected; but they had some argument or
other with him about their own religion and about a dead man called Jesus whom
Paul alleged to be alive. Not feeling qualified to deal with questions of this
sort, I asked him if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem to be tried there
on this issue. But Paul put in an appeal for his case to be reserved for the
judgement of the august emperor, so I ordered him to be remanded until I could
send him to Caesar.’
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
102(103):1-2,11-12,19-20 ©
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The Lord has set
his sway in heaven.
or
Alleluia!
My soul, give thanks
to the Lord
all my
being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks
to the Lord
and never
forget all his blessings.
The Lord has set
his sway in heaven.
or
Alleluia!
For as the heavens
are high above the earth
so strong
is his love for those who fear him.
As far as the east is
from the west
so far
does he remove our sins.
The Lord has set
his sway in heaven.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord has set his
sway in heaven
and his
kingdom is ruling over all.
Give thanks to the
Lord, all his angels,
mighty in
power, fulfilling his word.
The Lord has set
his sway in heaven.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel
Acclamation
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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 21:15-19 ©
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Jesus showed himself
to his disciples, and after they had eaten he said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son
of John, do you love me more than these others do?’ He answered, ‘Yes Lord, you
know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to
him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He replied, ‘Yes, Lord, you know I
love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Look after my sheep.’ Then he said to him a
third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was upset that he asked
him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and said, ‘Lord, you know everything; you
know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.
‘I tell you most
solemnly,
when you were young
you put on your own
belt
and walked where you
liked;
but when you grow old
you will stretch out
your hands,
and somebody else
will put a belt round you
and take you where
you would rather not go.’
In
these words he indicated the kind of death by which Peter would give glory to
God. After this he said, ‘Follow me.’
IDEALISM
GIVES WAY TO REALISM
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [
ACTS 25:13-21;
PS 102:1-2,11-12,19-20; JN 21:15-19 ]
Most of us have great ideals.
When we are not in charge, we like to criticize those who are in charge.
We criticize the government, church leaders, our bosses and our parents as
well. We always feel that they are not doing what they should be
doing. We feel that they are backward, outdated, out-of-touch, not
responsive to situations, etc. We feel that our parents do not know how
to live out their marriage; that they do not know how to raise their
children. We seem to have all the answers. We are just
waiting for that day when we can take over their job and show them what they
should do. We have great aspirations and hope that we can change lives
and make a real difference in society. When President Obama took
office, he called for “change.” When President Trump took office, he
said, “I will make America great again!” When the Korean President took
office, in a similar vein he said, “I will build a new nation.
I will make a great Korea, a proud Korea!”
But the reality is that when the day
comes for us to take over, we will realize that it is not so easy after
all. Even President Trump, after 100 days in office, regretted when he
remarked, “I loved my previous life. I had so many things going. This is more
work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier.” Indeed,
those of us who are married today have come to realize that marriage is not a
bed of roses, and that building relationship with our spouse is a challenging
task, and looking after our children is sometimes an impossible task!
What more if one has to deal with difficult in-laws or elderly members at
home. So too all those who assume office, whether in the government, in
church or any corporation or organization, will face the same challenges.
Many bishops and priests become jaded after assuming office for a while,
because it so difficult to get anything moving or get everyone to agree on
anything. Church members too become disillusioned because of the bureaucracy
in the Church. The list goes on and on.
This too was the case for the apostles
and Paul. They too had great dreams for Israel. Peter wanted
to die for Jesus and follow Him wherever He went. Peter declared, “Though
they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” (Mt 26:33) Again, he
repeated, “I will lay down my life for you.” (Jn 13:37) Yet, when
the time came for Peter to prove himself, he vehemently denied that he knew
Christ when a maid or a servant identified him as one of His followers.
So too were the rest of the apostles. All of them fled when Jesus was
arrested. Only John was at the foot of the cross with Mary, the Mother of
Jesus and some other women. James and John once told Jesus that they were
ready to drink the cup that He was to drink. (cf Mt 20:22)
Indeed, like all those before us, along
the way, we find that our ideals cannot be reached. There are too many
constraints. It is easy for us to give great advice to those in positions
of authority because we see things from our own narrow perspective and lack the
breadth of their views. We think we have the solution to all their
problems. But often we do not realize that every leader and every person
in office is faced with certain limitations in terms of manpower, resources and
finance. No one can do whatever he likes, not even the President of the
United States or the Pope!
That too was the experience of the Roman
governor, Festus, in today’s first reading as well. He took over from
Felix and also the case of Paul that was not yet settled. Unlike Felix,
Festus was a just and honest governor. He wanted to do the right
thing. The Jews wanted him to condemn Paul to death. But he knew
that Paul did not do anything that warranted a death sentence. He knew
that the Jews were jealous of him and felt threatened by him over some religious
disagreement. As he was not comfortable in making a judgement on Paul, he
proposed that Paul be tried at Jerusalem since it was a religious matter.
But Paul knew very well that the judgment in Jerusalem would not be fair and
just. Instead, he appealed to Rome for judgement. We can be sure
that Festus was in one way relieved that he did not have to make a bad judgment
as he did not want to offend the Jews at the start of his office.
That is why we must learn to be humble
and be more realistic. It is easy to talk big when we are not in charge
or in the situation. It is easy to dish out great advice when we are not
in it. St Peter learned a great lesson. He was totally humbled by
his sin of apostasy. He was so ashamed of himself for denying Christ.
If not for Jesus, he could never have forgiven himself for what he did.
He never realized that he was such a coward after all. So when Jesus met
him again, He asked Peter, “do you love me more than these others do?” If
this question was in reference to his profession as a fisherman, an invitation
to follow Jesus by giving up everything, including his trade, he might have
given a positive answer. But most likely, it was a question of whether he
loved Jesus more than the rest of the disciples. This time, Peter was no
longer cocky and dismissive. He no longer wished to compare himself
with others. And so the reply was simply, “’Yes Lord, you know I love
you.” He did not dare to say that he loved Jesus most. Furthermore,
Peter was realistic in his love for the Lord. When Jesus asked him
whether he loved him in an “agape” manner, that is total, unconditional,
complete, self-sacrificing, Peter replied with the word, “phileo”, that is love
of a friend. Again, based on his past experience, Peter was more
realistic about his commitment to the Lord. He was no more full of
himself. It was better for him to just say to Jesus that He knew
how much he loved Him. He would love Jesus as much as he could. “Lord,
you know everything; you know I love you.”
Indeed, we see how Peter was healed by
the threefold affirmation of love for the Lord. Jesus gave him the chance
to redeem himself by overwriting his threefold denial. Above all, Jesus
now had greater confidence in him by appointing him as the shepherd of his
sheep. Earlier on Jesus told Peter, “Where I am going you cannot follow
me now; but you shall follow afterward.” (Jn 13:36) But after
his restoration, the Lord not only asked him to feed and look after His lambs
and sheep, but He said to Peter, “Follow me.” Only those who have been
healed of their pride and arrogance could be great leaders for the Lord.
Otherwise, arrogance in leadership will destroy them and those whom they are leading.
Whilst it is important for leaders to have great dreams, they must learn
humility and realism. We cannot do everything we hope to do. Peter
no longer was obstinate and insistent on having his own way. The Lord
said, “I tell you most solemnly, when you were young you put on your own belt
and walked where you liked; but when you grow old you will stretch out your
hands, and somebody else will put a belt round you and take you where you would
rather not go.”
Indeed, the ways of God are not
ours. “The Lord has set his sway in heaven and his kingdom is ruling over
all.” Though James and John did not get to sit on the right and left hand
of the throne of Jesus, they did drink the cup eventually. James
was later beheaded. John was sent to exile and although he did not suffer
martyrdom, he offered his whole life for the gospel. Peter was beheaded
as well. The evangelist noted, “In these words he indicated the kind of
death by which Peter would give glory to God.” St Paul too never realized
that his dream of bringing the gospel to the ends of the world could be
fulfilled. He never expected that circumstances would happen in such a
way that he was literally brought to Rome to proclaim the Gospel. The
ways of God are unimaginable. Man proposes but God disposes.
What we need to do is simply to surrender
our lives to Him. We must allow the Holy Spirit to work in our
lives. Our mission is dependent on the Holy Spirit. Success is not
just our work but that of divine plan and providence. Jesus too
surrendered His mission to the Holy Spirit at His death on the cross. So
all we need to do is to cooperate with His grace at every step in our
lives. God will lead the way. We cannot determine the end or
the outcome because it is the grace of God. Let us listen to the Lord,
“Follow me!”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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