20180401
A RESURRECTED
CHURCH
01 APRIL, 2018, Easter Sunday
|
First reading
|
|
Acts 10:34,37-43 ©
|
|
'We have eaten and drunk with him after his resurrection'
|
Peter addressed Cornelius and his household: ‘You must have heard
about the recent happenings in Judaea; about Jesus of Nazareth and how he began
in Galilee, after John had been preaching baptism. God had anointed him with
the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, Jesus went about
doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil. Now I,
and those with me, can witness to everything he did throughout the countryside
of Judaea and in Jerusalem itself: and also to the fact that they killed him by
hanging him on a tree, yet three days afterwards God raised him to life and
allowed him to be seen, not by the whole people but only by certain witnesses
God had chosen beforehand. Now we are those witnesses – we have eaten and
drunk with him after his resurrection from the dead – and he has ordered
us to proclaim this to his people and to tell them that God has appointed him
to judge everyone, alive or dead. It is to him that all the prophets bear this
witness: that all who believe in Jesus will have their sins forgiven through
his name.’
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
|
Psalm 117(118):1-2,16-17,22-23
|
EITHER:
|
Second
reading
|
|
Colossians 3:1-4 ©
|
|
Look
for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is
|
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. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are
on the earth, because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with
Christ in God. But when Christ is revealed – and he is your life –
you too will be revealed in all your glory with him.
OR:
|
Alternative
Second reading
|
|
1 Corinthians 5:6-8 ©
|
|
Get
rid of the old yeast and make yourselves unleavened as you were meant to be
|
You must know how even a small amount of yeast is enough to leaven
all the dough, so get rid of all the old yeast, and make yourselves into a
completely new batch of bread, unleavened as you are meant to be. Christ, our
passover, has been sacrificed; let us celebrate the feast, then, by getting rid
of all the old yeast of evil and wickedness, having only the unleavened bread
of sincerity and truth.
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
1Cor5:7-8
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Christ, our passover, has been sacrificed:
let us celebrate the feast then, in the Lord.
Alleluia!.
|
Gospel
|
John 20:1-9 ©
|
|
He
must rise from the dead
|
It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark,
when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved
away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the
one Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we
don’t know where they have put him.’
So Peter set out with the other disciple to go to the
tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple, running faster than Peter,
reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the
ground, but did not go in. Simon Peter who was following now came up, went
right into the tomb, saw the linen cloths on the ground, and also the cloth
that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up
in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first
also went in; he saw and he believed. Till this moment they had failed to
understand the teaching of scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
A RESURRECTED CHURCH
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ACTS 10:34.37-43; COL 3:1-4 OR 1 COR 5:6-8; JN 20:1-9 ]
Alleluia! The Lord is Risen! This is the Good News that the
Church proclaims to all of humanity. The resurrection is the
foundation of Christian joy and Christian hope. With the resurrection of
Jesus, we know that He is truly Lord and savior of the world. With the
resurrection, He shows us that the way to life is through love and service unto
death. Most of all, the resurrection frees us from the fear of death as
the end of everything in life. Christian hope in fullness of life after
death takes away the sting of death.
Consequently, faith in the resurrection of our Lord means that we no
longer have to live in our tombs. There are many
who are living in shame, in fear and self-condemnation of their past and their
mistakes, like the apostles who were hiding in the upper room. There are
those of us who are discouraged in life because of failure and disillusionment,
like the disciples at Emmaus when they felt their hopes dashed with the death
of their master. There are those who have lost their loved ones and
unable to let go, as in the case of Mary Magdalene. Then there are those
who live in wonder or bewilderment, as Peter did even when he saw the empty
tomb, unable to make sense of it. And there are those who doubt the
reality of the Risen Lord, like St Thomas who said, “Unless I see the mark of
the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand
in his side, I will not believe.” (Jn 20:25)
However, for those of us who have encountered the Risen Lord, we no
longer need to take refuge in our tombs of unbelief and fears.
Instead, we manifest joy, optimism, courage, and hope for the future even when
it appears gloomy. This was what happened to the disciples of Jesus when
they met the Risen Lord. Their whole direction in life changed from
hopelessness and discouragement to one of confidence and joy for the
future. Whether it was Mary Magdalene, the disciples at Emmaus, the
apostles, or even St Paul, their encounter with the Risen Lord set them free
from all fears about the future. From being cowards, fearful of their
enemies, especially the Jewish authorities, they proclaimed the Good News with
boldness even when under persecution and at the risk of their lives.
Indeed, they could not contain the joy of knowing that Jesus was their
Lord and Savior. They were now capable of living for God
and for others. They were no longer protecting their lives or hoarding
their wealth for themselves. The early Church grew as a community through their
sharing of a common faith, love and resources. They were all supportive
of each other and the work of the apostles. Together as a Christian
community, they pooled all their resources together for the spread of the
gospel. Filled with the Holy Spirit, the community used the gifts they
had received for the building of the Church.
Once we have encountered the Risen Lord, then it will be our turn to
announce Him to the world. A clear sign that we have truly
encountered the Lord and can sing Alleluia from our hearts, not just from our
lips, is when we cannot but be like the disciples who ran to announce the
resurrection to others. We cannot contain such incredible news to
ourselves. We would want to share with the whole world. The lack of
the desire to announce that He is risen means that our faith in the Risen Lord
is just a cerebral faith, not a personal conviction.
As a resurrected Church, like the apostles, we must go out and proclaim
the Good News. The instruction of the Risen
Lord to the disciples was, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my
brothers.” (cf Mt 28:10) We do this by recovering our personal
relationship with the Lord. We need to rekindle the faith of our
Catholics. Then we need to reach out to those who are searching for God
in their lives or desire a personal relationship with Him. But faith is
not just about worship and doctrines; we need to express them concretely as
there are many who are seeking for signs of love and welcome, a sense of
identity and belonging.
There are many Catholics who lack passion and enthusiasm in the faith.
They might go for church services but their hearts are far from God. They do
not have any real relationship with Him. The practice of faith is reduced
to fulfilling obligations. Some have stopped coming to church
because they have been wounded by fellow Catholics, especially Church
leaders. Where are they? The young and the rationalists are
not able to connect with the Church. Many cannot feel the presence of God
in their lives because of a secularist culture where God is absent. Many
are overwhelmed with the current ideologies of relativism, materialism and
individualism. But deep in their hearts, they feel empty, even if they
have all the pleasures of this life.
To change this, we must be a resurrected Church. Firstly, Christ is
risen but is He risen in our hearts? This is what St Paul
in his letter to the Corinthians in today’s second reading is asking us.
(1 Cor 5:6-8;
cf Col 3:1-4)
Their lives were radically changed. From fear to courage, from slavery to
freedom, from ambition to service, from death to life. The
apostles, like St Paul, were so changed by the Lord that they began to live
holy lives in imitation of the Lord. So are we
risen in faith and in love? Has our faith in the Lord increased
and strengthened? Is our relationship with the Lord real, intimate and
personal? Are we joyful and hopeful people in the way we look at life and
even when we suffer, either because of the trials of life or even because of
injustices? Are we a community of love among ourselves and welcoming of others
into our family, reaching out to the poor, non-believers and even nominal
Catholics or those who have left the Church? Or are we exclusive,
parochial-minded and protectionist of our turf, reducing us to mere enclaves?
Secondly, all of us must be renewed in our faith and our love for Christ
and His Church. We need to be formed in our faith and
be empowered through spiritual renewal and growth. What about a
deepening growth in doctrinal and moral faith? Have our Catholics become
better informed in their theological faith so that they can defend and explain
their faith to the world? Are our Catholics journeying alone in
faith or do they have a community to pray with, sharing the Word of God intimately
and be strengthened in their faith?
Thirdly, we must be partners of the archdiocesan vision and mission to
build a vibrant, evangelistic and missionary Church. Has our parish
community grown in number and in strength? Are there
more ministries and services, not just serving the parish but also going out of
the parish to serve the larger community, especially the neighbourhood?
How many are evangelistic- minded and witnessing to Christ in their lives? So
too in every parish, your pastoral care is not just for Catholics but every
one, believer or not, who reside within your parish and even beyond.
Do we see the number of adult baptism growing each year? We
have about 1,000 adult baptisms a year, which is just 0.25 percent of the
383,000 Catholics in Singapore. It clearly means that our Catholics are
not living up to their obligation of bringing Christ to those around them.
The more tangible signs that we are truly an anointed Church and a
resurrected Church is the fruit of more adult baptisms, priestly and religious
vocations and young people. How can we call
ourselves a Church that is alive with the Spirit when we do not find young
people who have fallen in love so much with Jesus that they want to give their
lives entirely to His service in the Church and for the community?
How can we call ourselves a local Church if we are still so dependent on
migrant priests and increasingly so? Indeed, we are grateful to them but
they cannot be a replacement for local vocations. The MEP fathers handed
over their ministry to the local Church in the 1970’s, but ironically, we are
handing it back to migrant priests. If the Church is local, then
vocations must come from within the Church.
Finally, the sign of a resurrected Church is when we see more and more
young people in church, leading in ministries and activities.
It means the Church is growing and is vibrant and not stagnating.
We are beginning to see this in the work of the Office of Young
People. However, in our parishes, how many young people do we retain in
the service of the Church after confirmation? How many of them are still
active or fervent in their faith, or has the Sacrament of Confirmation become a
sacrament of farewell? The moment we see only elderly in our churches,
then it means the Church is slowly dying. There is a future for the
Church only when we see young children and especially young people active in
church.
So let us not remain in our tombs. Let us find
strength and hope from the Risen Lord as we move forward in building a Church
that is vibrant, evangelistic and missionary. Let us have faith and live
out the resurrection in our lives. In Christ who was crucified and now
risen, we come to realize the victory of love over hatred, life over
death. Unless we show ourselves alive in Christ, no one would believe
that the Lord is Risen from the dead. The Good News of Easter can only be
announced by those who have seen the Lord. Only then will the
announcement be passionate, enthusiastic and courageous.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh,
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment