20180503
BELIEVING IN THE GOSPEL
03 MAY, 2018, Thursday, Ss Philip and James, Apostles
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Red.
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First reading
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1 Corinthians 15:1-8 ©
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The Lord appeared to James, and then to all the apostles
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Brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you,
the gospel that you received and in which you are firmly established; because
the gospel will save you only if you keep believing exactly what I preached to
you – believing anything else will not lead to anything.
Well then,
in the first place, I taught you what I had been taught myself, namely that
Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures; that he was
buried; and that he was raised to life on the third day, in accordance with the
scriptures; that he appeared first to Cephas and secondly to the Twelve. Next
he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of
whom are still alive, though some have died; then he appeared to James, and
then to all the apostles; and last of all he appeared to me too; it was as
though I was born when no one expected it.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 18(19):2-5 ©
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Their word goes forth through all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
The heavens proclaim the glory of God,
and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.
Day unto day takes up the story
and night unto night makes known the message.
Their word goes forth through all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
No speech, no word, no voice is heard
yet their span extends through all the earth,
their words to the utmost bounds of the world.
Their word goes forth through all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jn14:6,9
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, says the Lord.
Philip, to have seen me is to have seen the Father.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 14:6-14 ©
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To have seen me is to have seen the father
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Jesus said to Thomas:
‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No one can come to the Father except through me.
If you know me, you know my Father too.
From this moment you know him and have seen him.’
Philip said, ‘Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be
satisfied.’
‘Have I been
with you all this time, Philip,’ said Jesus to him ‘and you still do not know
me?
‘To have seen me is to have seen the Father,
so how can you say, “Let us see the Father”?
Do you not believe
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words I say to you I do not speak as from myself:
it is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work.
You must believe me when I say
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;
believe it on the evidence of this work, if for no other reason.
I tell you most solemnly,
whoever believes in me
will perform the same works as I do myself,
he will perform even greater works,
because I am going to the Father.
Whatever you ask for in my name I will do,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask for anything in my name,
I will do it.’
BELIEVING IN THE GOSPEL
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 Cor 15:1-8; Ps 19:2-5; Jn 14: 6-14
]
We are all
seeking fullness of life. Man is not contented with just material and
physical satisfaction. We all look for something more – for meaning and purpose,
the ultimate truth and love in life. The search of Thomas and Philip in
the gospel is expressive of every man. Thomas said to Jesus, “Lord,
we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” (Jn 14:5)
In asking this question, he was seeking the goal and purpose of life.
Philip, in asking Jesus, “Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be
satisfied”, was saying that the thirst for life could only be quenched when man
sees God, the origin and goal of every human person.
How can man
find happiness in life? St Paul declares, “Brothers, I want to remind you of the
gospel I preached to you, the gospel that you received and in which you are
firmly established; because the gospel will save you only if you keep believing
exactly what I preached to you – believing anything else will not lead to
anything.” What is this gospel that we are to believe in order for us to
be saved? The gospel is more than a message, or lesser still, a book of
the bible.
The gospel is
a person summed up in the life and entire being of Jesus. This is so succinctly
captured in Vatican II when it says, “Jesus perfected revelation by
fulfilling it through his whole work of making Himself present and manifesting
Himself: through His words and deeds, His signs and wonders, but especially
through His death and glorious resurrection from the dead and final sending of
the Spirit of truth. Moreover He confirmed with divine testimony what
revelation proclaimed, that God is with us to free us from the darkness of sin
and death, and to raise us up to life eternal.” (Dei Verbum 4)
Indeed, as Jesus said in the gospel, “To have seen me is to have seen the
Father, so how can you say, ‘Let us see the Father?’ Do you not believe
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” Truly, Jesus who is the
image of the unseen God, the first-born of every creature, shows us the love
and mercy of God by His works, words and, most of all, by His paschal mystery.
Indeed, the
whole life of Jesus, His words and deeds, His entire being, manifests to us who
the Father is and how we should live our life in such a way so that we can
share the life of God. Again, Dei Verbum says, “For He sent His Son, the eternal
Word, who enlightens all men, so that He might dwell among men and tell them of
the innermost being of God.” (cf Jn 1:1-18).
Jesus Christ, therefore, the Word made flesh, was sent as “a man to men.” He
“speaks the words of God” (Jn 3:34), and completes the work of salvation which His Father
gave Him to do (cf Jn 5:36; Jn 17:4).”
It is to Jesus that we draw wisdom and direction if we want to live our lives
meaningfully. That is why Jesus proclaimed to Thomas that He Himself is
“the Way, the truth and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through
me. If you know me, you know my Father too. From this moment you
know him and have seen him.”
Indeed, as
Vatican II puts it, “The truth is that only in the mystery of the incarnate
Word does the mystery of man take on light. For Adam, the first man, was a figure of
Him Who was to come, namely Christ the Lord. Christ, the final Adam, by
the revelation of the mystery of the Father and His love, fully reveals man to
man himself and makes his supreme calling clear. It is not surprising, then,
that in Him all the aforementioned truths find their root and attain their
crown. He Who is ‘the image of the invisible God’ (Col. 1:15),
is Himself the perfect man. To the sons of Adam He restores the divine likeness
which had been disfigured from the first sin onward. Since human nature as He
assumed it was not annulled, by that very fact it has been raised up to a
divine dignity in our respect too. For by His incarnation the Son of God has
united Himself in some fashion with every man.” (GS 22)
Jesus is the
answer to all the riddles and mysteries of life. The Constitution of
“the Church in the Modern World” has this to say with regard to Jesus as the
answer to all the questions of life. “In the face of the modern
development of the world, the number constantly swells of the people who raise
the most basic questions or recognize them with a new sharpness: what is man?
What is this sense of sorrow, of evil, of death, which continues to exist
despite so much progress? What purpose have these victories purchased at so
high a cost? What can man offer to society, what can he expect from it? What
follows this earthly life? (Gaudium et Spes10.2)
How is Christ
our answer to the mystery of suffering, life and death if not through the
paschal mystery? This is why St Paul gave us the kerygma, the heart of the
gospel when he wrote, “Well then, in the first place, I taught you what I had
been taught myself, namely that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with
the scriptures; that he was buried; and that he was raised to life on the third
day, in accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared first to Cephas and
secondly to the Twelve. Next he appeared to more than five thousand of the
brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died;
then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles; and last of all he
appeared to me too; it was as though I was born when no one expected it.”
Faith in the
passion, death and resurrection is the key to unlock the face of God and to
comprehend the mystery of suffering and death. In Christ’s passion
and resurrection, we see that suffering and death does take away our life, but
it is a necessary stage and process to fullness of life. If we believe in
the resurrection of Christ, which we will participate at the end of time, we
would not be too worried about the sufferings we endure in this life.
This is because we know that all these will end. And if we allow the
sufferings of life to purify us in love, we will be ready to share in the
resurrection of Christ at the end of our life. Thus, Vatican II teaches,
“The Church firmly believes that Christ, who died and was raised up for all,
can through His Spirit offer man the light and the strength to measure up to
his supreme destiny. Nor has any other name under the heaven been given to man
by which it is fitting for him to be saved. She likewise holds that in her most
benign Lord and Master can be found the key, the focal point and the goal of
man, as well as of all human history.” (GS 10.3)
Indeed, the
resurrection of Christ vindicates all that Jesus said and did. Only in the context
of the resurrection, can we see clearly that the works of Jesus are the works
of the Father. The resurrection of Jesus is the endorsement of the Father
in all that Jesus said and did. Without the resurrection, we can continue
to doubt whether Jesus is one with God as He claimed. But with His
resurrection, there should not be any doubt at all with regard to the promises
and teachings of Jesus, especially about our own resurrection and our return to
the Father. Jesus reiterated, “The words I say to you I do not speak as
from myself: it is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work. You
must believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;
believe it on the evidence of this work, if for no other reason.”
With this
faith in Christ, we are now in a position, as Jesus promised His disciples, to
do greater works than He did. He said, “whoever believes in me will perform the same
works as I do myself, he will perform even greater works, because I am
going to the Father. Whatever you ask for in my name I will do, so that
the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask for anything in my
name, I will do it.” Of course, this does not mean that we can perform
more miracles than Jesus had done. What Jesus meant was that we would be
able to bring the gospel to all humanity beyond the confines of
Palestine. This is the task of the Church, to make Christ known to all
men and women so that they too can find fullness of life. Indeed, only
“through Christ and in Christ, the riddles of sorrow and death grow meaningful.
Apart from His Gospel, they overwhelm us. Christ has risen, destroying death by
His death; He has lavished life upon us so that, as sons in the Son, we can cry
out in the Spirit; Abba, Father.” (GS 22.6) And we can do this only
in union with Him. He will grant us anything we ask in His name because
His Father is glorified in Him through our proclamation of the gospel.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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