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RESURRECTION AS THE BASIS FOR PROFESSING JESUS
AS SAVIOUR
06 APRIL, 2018, Easter Friday
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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Acts 4:1-12 ©
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The name of Jesus Christ is the only one by which we can be
saved
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While Peter and John were talking to the people the priests came
up to them, accompanied by the captain of the Temple and the Sadducees. They
were extremely annoyed at their teaching the people the doctrine of the
resurrection from the dead by proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus. They
arrested them, but as it was already late, they held them till the next day.
But many of those who had listened to their message became believers, the total
number of whom had now risen to something like five thousand.
The next day
the rulers, elders and scribes had a meeting in Jerusalem with Annas the high
priest, Caiaphas, Jonathan, Alexander and all the members of the high-priestly
families. They made the prisoners stand in the middle and began to interrogate
them, ‘By what power, and by whose name have you men done this?’ Then Peter,
filled with the Holy Spirit, addressed them, ‘Rulers of the people, and elders!
If you are questioning us today about an act of kindness to a cripple, and
asking us how he was healed, then I am glad to tell you all, and would indeed
be glad to tell the whole people of Israel, that it was by the name of Jesus
Christ the Nazarene, the one you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by
this name and by no other that this man is able to stand up perfectly healthy,
here in your presence, today. This is the stone rejected by you the builders,
but which has proved to be the keystone. For of all the names in the world
given to men, this is the only one by which we can be saved.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 117(118):1-2,4,22-27 ©
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The stone which the builders rejected has become
the corner stone.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
for his love has no end.
Let the sons of Israel say:
‘His love has no end.’
Let those who fear the Lord say:
‘His love has no end.’
The stone which the builders rejected has become
the corner stone.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the corner stone.
This is the work of the Lord,
a marvel in our eyes.
This day was made by the Lord;
we rejoice and are glad.
The stone which the builders rejected has become
the corner stone.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
O Lord, grant us salvation;
O Lord, grant success.
Blessed in the name of the Lord
is he who comes.
We bless you from the house of the Lord;
the Lord God is our light.
The stone which the builders rejected has become
the corner stone.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps117:24
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Alleluia, alleluia!
This day was made by the Lord:
we rejoice and are glad.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 21:1-14 ©
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Jesus stepped forward, took the bread and gave it to them, and
the same with the fish
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Jesus showed himself again to the disciples. It was by the Sea of
Tiberias, and it happened like this: Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin,
Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee and two more of his
disciples were together. Simon Peter said, ‘I’m going fishing.’ They replied,
‘We’ll come with you.’ They went out and got into the boat but caught nothing
that night.
It was light
by now and there stood Jesus on the shore, though the disciples did not realise
that it was Jesus. Jesus called out, ‘Have you caught anything, friends?’ And
when they answered, ‘No’, he said, ‘Throw the net out to starboard and you’ll
find something.’ So they dropped the net, and there were so many fish that they
could not haul it in. The disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord.’
At these words ‘It is the Lord’, Simon Peter, who had practically nothing on,
wrapped his cloak round him and jumped into the water. The other disciples came
on in the boat, towing the net and the fish; they were only about a hundred
yards from land.
As soon as
they came ashore they saw that there was some bread there, and a charcoal fire
with fish cooking on it. Jesus said, ‘Bring some of the fish you have just
caught.’ Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore, full of big
fish, one hundred and fifty-three of them; and in spite of there being so many
the net was not broken. Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ None of
the disciples was bold enough to ask, ‘Who are you?’; they knew quite well it
was the Lord. Jesus then stepped forward, took the bread and gave it to them,
and the same with the fish. This was the third time that Jesus showed himself
to the disciples after rising from the dead.
RESURRECTION AS THE BASIS FOR PROFESSING JESUS AS SAVIOUR
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 4:1-12; PS 118:1-2,4,22-27; JOHN 21:1-14 ]
St Peter
declared before the religious leaders, “For all the names in the world given to
men, this is the only one by which we can be saved.” This is indeed a very bold
declaration, considering that Peter and John were fishermen, uneducated and
timid when Jesus was arrested, and now they could stand before the great
intellectuals, nobilities and the aristocratic class and announce so confidently
that Jesus is risen and that He is the Saviour of all. This is
certainly unthinkable! No one in the right frame of mind would attempt
such a feat. In fact, it appeared that Peter was the judge and the
audience was being put on trial instead.
Today, in the
context of promoting religious harmony, it is even more difficult for
Christians to make the statement that Jesus is the Saviour of humanity. We could be accused of being
triumphalistic and creating disharmony and ill-will among adherents of other religions
and even those without religion. We are in a dilemma. Not to
proclaim the truth about Jesus would be to deny our faith in Him and about
Him. However, to do so might create misunderstanding and provoke
hostility with other religions.
That is why it
is important to appreciate the context of this statement. If the apostles came to
declare Jesus as the unique redeemer of all, it was because of the
resurrection. St Peter said, “If you are questioning us today about
an act of kindness to a cripple, and asking us how he was healed, then I am
glad to tell you all, and would indeed be glad to tell the whole people of
Israel, that it was by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the one you
crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by this name and by no other that
this man is able to stand up perfectly healthy, here in your presence today.
This is the stone rejected by you the builders, but which has proved to be the
keystone.”
So it is
faith in the crucified Christ that was raised by the Father that gave the basis
for this declaration that Jesus is the Saviour of All. With His resurrection, it
means that all the claims of Jesus with regard to His identity, His ministry
and His coming to this creation have become clear to all. That He was
condemned as a criminal, raised from the dead, means that He is Lord, for no
one has ever come back to life. Since God is the author of life, He is
therefore vindicated as the Lord and Saviour of all. Through His death,
He has saved us from our sins by revealing to us the mercy and forgiveness of
God for all.
Without faith
in the resurrection of Jesus, this claim of the universal significance of Jesus
cannot be substantiated. So the Christian declaration of Jesus as the Lord of all
presupposes this belief in His resurrection. So we are not denigrating
other religions or imposing our faith on others but speaking from our personal
conviction. Faith remains an invitation. It is offered as a gift to
those who are receptive to faith in Jesus.
What, then,
is preventing us from being receptive to the fact of Jesus’ resurrection?
In the first reading, we can understand the fears of the priests and the
Sadducees. They were closely aligned with the Roman authorities.
The Romans were quite tolerant of their beliefs and customs so long as they did
not create disorder. Hence, the commotion that Peter and John started
with the healing of the crippled man caused them to be anxious that the Roman
soldiers might step in to put down any unrest arising from that, resulting in
an erosion of their authority. That was why “the priests came up to him,
accompanied by the captain of the Temple and the Sadducees” to put a stop to
such a gathering. It was a threat to their status quo and position.
Secondly,
they did not believe in the doctrine of the resurrection. “They were extremely annoyed
at their teaching the people the doctrine of the resurrection from the dead by
proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus.” The teaching of Peter and John
was an affront to their beliefs and confusing the people, causing them to lose
their religious status and authority. Furthermore, “many of those who had
listened to their message became believers, the total number of whom had now
risen to something like five thousand.” Surely that was a concern.
We too must
ask ourselves sincerely what is preventing us from submitting to faith in the
resurrection.
Even though many of us profess to be Catholic, deep in our hearts, do we truly
believe that the Lord has been raised from the dead? If so, why is it
that many of us are still so afraid of death when it is the gateway to the
fullness of life? Why is it that we still cling so much to this world,
our wealth, our power, status and glory as if these are the guarantees for
happiness. So, among us Catholics, many of us are weak in our
conviction of Jesus’ resurrection, not to speak of those who are
non-believers. At most, we accept this as a datum of faith verbally but
not in our hearts. Otherwise, we would be ready to die for our faith in
Jesus.
Indeed, today,
we need to once again, evince for ourselves the truth of the resurrection by
considering the signs that can strengthen our faith in Christ’s
resurrection. Firstly, we note the change in the apostles. From being cowards, fearful
for their lives and the authorities; they were ready to stand before them, full
of confidence, speaking of what they truly believed in their hearts. That
is why the claim of deception by the apostles, about how they stole the body
away and then claimed that He was resurrected, could not stand as no one would
dare to do what they did unless they had encountered the Risen Lord.
Secondly, the
man who was crippled from birth was standing before them, healthy and able to
walk again.
Peter and John said he was healed in the name of the Lord Jesus, not by their
own strength. What they did was a continuation of what the Lord did
before His death. After His resurrection, the Lord continued to work His
miracles through the apostles who healed in His name. Miracles, especially
of healing, remain an important testimony to the power of God at work in our
lives. Such miracles attest to the reality of the resurrection of our
Lord. Many who have been healed by the Lord will affirm with utter
conviction that Jesus is their Lord and savior.
Thirdly,
there was the repetition of the miracle of the catch of fish. They had “caught nothing
that night.” Then at dawn, “there stood Jesus on the shore, though the
disciples did not realise that it was Jesus.” He bade them to do what He
told them before, to lay down their nets. Upon doing so, they had such an
enormous catch. Immediately, the disciple Jesus loved sensed His presence
and said to Peter, “’It is the Lord’. At these words ‘It is the Lord,’ Simon
Peter, who had practically nothing on, wrapped his cloak round him and jumped
into the water.” When we think of previous miraculous events that
happened in our lives, then we too will recount how we also have encountered
the Risen Lord many times as well, but we forget so easily.
Fourthly, the
Risen Lord invited them to a meal. “Jesus then stepped forward, took the bread and gave it to
them, and the same with the fish. This was the third time that Jesus showed
himself to the disciples after rising from the dead.” The bread
represents the Eucharist that Jesus celebrated with the disciples at the Last
Supper when He told them to continue to celebrate it so that He could be
present with them again in a personal manner. And of course, the Greek
word for fish is “ixthus” or “icthus.” These five Greek letters form an
acrostic, “Jesus Christ is God’s Son, the Savior”. It is always in
the Eucharist or in Christian fellowship that intimacy with the Lord leads to a
personal encounter in faith and love.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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