20180513
COMMUNICATING THE GOOD NEWS TO THE WORLD
13 MAY, 2018, Sunday, 7th Week of Easter (World Social
Communications Sunday)
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
In
some dioceses the Ascension of the Lord is celebrated today. If this applies to
you, please reconfigure Universalis to use the appropriate local calendar.
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First reading
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Acts 1:15-17,20-26 ©
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'Let someone else take his office'
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One day Peter stood up to speak to the brothers – there were
about a hundred and twenty persons in the congregation: ‘Brothers, the passage
of scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit, speaking through
David, foretells the fate of Judas, who offered himself as a guide to the men
who arrested Jesus – after having been one of our number and actually
sharing this ministry of ours. Now in the Book of Psalms it says:
Let someone else take his office.
‘We must therefore choose someone who has been with us the whole
time that the Lord Jesus was travelling round with us, someone who was with us
right from the time when John was baptising until the day when he was taken up
from us – and he can act with us as a witness to his resurrection.’
Having nominated
two candidates, Joseph known as Barsabbas, whose surname was Justus, and
Matthias, they prayed, ‘Lord, you can read everyone’s heart; show us therefore
which of these two you have chosen to take over this ministry and apostolate,
which Judas abandoned to go to his proper place.’ They then drew lots for them,
and as the lot fell to Matthias, he was listed as one of the twelve apostles.
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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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Second reading
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1 John 4:11-16 ©
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Anyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in him
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My dear people,
since God has loved us so much,
we too should love one another.
No one has ever seen God;
but as long as we love one another
God will live in us
and his love will be complete in us.
We can know that we are living in him
and he is living in us
because he lets us share his Spirit.
We ourselves saw and we testify
that the Father sent his Son
as saviour of the world.
If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God lives in him, and he in God.
We ourselves have known and put our faith in
God’s love towards ourselves.
God is love
and anyone who lives in love lives in God,
and God lives in him.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Jn14:18
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I will not leave you orphans, says the Lord;
I will come back to you,
and your hearts will be full of joy.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 17:11-19 ©
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Father, keep those you have given me true to your name
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Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:
‘Holy Father,
keep those you have given me true to your name,
so that they may be one like us.
While I was with them,
I kept those you had given me true to your name.
I have watched over them
and not one is lost
except the one who chose to be lost,
and this was to fulfil the scriptures.
But now I am coming to you
and while still in the world I say these things
to share my joy with them to the full.
I passed your word on to them,
and the world hated them,
because they belong to the world
no more than I belong to the world.
I am not asking you to remove them from the world,
but to protect them from the evil one.
They do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
Consecrate them in the truth;
your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world,
I have sent them into the world,
and for their sake I consecrate myself
so that they too may be consecrated in truth.’
COMMUNICATING THE GOOD NEWS TO THE WORLD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Acts 1:15-26; PS 103; 1 Jn 4:11–16; Jn 17:11-19]
Today, we
celebrate World Communications Sunday. Next week, we celebrate the Feast
of Pentecost. To prepare the Church to be witnesses of the gospel to
the world, the liturgy of today gives us the prerequisites to be an apostle of
our Lord and what it takes to proclaim the Good News. Indeed, it is
becoming more and more difficult to proclaim the gospel of Christ, much less of
Christ as the Universal Saviour of humanity. We face opposition from the
world denying our claim and belief that Christ is the Way, the Truth and the
Life. This is not surprising because the Lord warned the disciples
already. Jesus prayed to His Father, “I passed your word on to them, and
the world hated them, because they belong to the world no more than I belong to
the world. I am not asking you to remove them from the world, but to
protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world any more than I
belong to the world.”
In a world of
secularism, materialism, individualism and relativism, it is difficult for
anyone to claim that he or she has the truth. The world is either agnostic or
relativistic to the question of truth. No wonder fake things or
half-truth news are being circulated in the world, causing division and
disunity. All lies cause misunderstanding and division in society and in the
world. That is why even whilst we celebrate the advancement of science
and technology in communications, whether in transport, digital or social
communications, we are aware that havoc is wrecked in these areas because of
distorted truths being passed around.
Indeed, if we
are to proclaim Jesus as the Way to the Truth and to Life, we must first be
consecrated in the truth. This is the priestly prayer of Jesus to the Father.
“Consecrate them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the
world, I have sent them into the world, and for their sake I consecrate myself
so that they too may be consecrated in truth.” Without being set apart in
the truth, we cannot announce the Good News of freedom in love and truth.
Accordingly,
the first condition of apostleship, as we read in Acts, is stipulated as one
who was in the company of Jesus. “We must therefore choose someone who has been with us the
whole time that the Lord Jesus was travelling round with us, someone who was
with us right from the time when John was baptising until the day when he was
taken up from us – and he can act with us as a witness to his
resurrection.” This is obvious. Unless we have walked with Jesus,
we cannot be a witness to Him. That was why the first words of Jesus to
His potential disciples were, “Come and see.” (Jn 1:39, 46)
Walking with Jesus, being with Jesus, listening to Him and watching Him is the
precondition for witnessing. A witness is one who testifies to what he
has seen and heard.
The second
criterion of apostleship is the recognition of Jesus as Lord and God. St John wrote, “We
ourselves saw and we testify that the Father sent his Son as saviour of the
world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him,
and he in God.” Faith in Jesus as the personal presence of God is fundamental
to Christian Faith. Jesus for us is nothing less than the Son of
God. Only Jesus who knows the Father can reveal to us who God really
is. “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to
the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” (Jn 1:18)
Our faith in God is based on Jesus’ personal testimony. But this
presupposes that we have faith in Him as the Son of God.
Thirdly, we
must encounter God’s love and mercy before we can announce Jesus as the Good
News. Because Jesus is the expression of God, we who see Jesus can appreciate
God’s unconditional love and mercy for usthrough His ministry to the poor, the sick, the
possessed, the outcasts, the marginalized and sinners. Most of all, by
His death and resurrection, we are certain of God’s immense love for us.
This must be the basis of our desire to tell others about Jesus. St John
wrote, “We ourselves have known and put our faith in God’s love towards
ourselves. God is love and anyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives
in him.”
Fourthly, to
be able to love like Jesus, we cannot do it simply by imitating Him without the
Holy Spirit.
Without His grace and His love in us, through the Holy Spirit, we cannot do
what He did. “We can know that we are living in him and he is living in
us because he lets us share his Spirit.” This is why the sending of the
Holy Spirit at Pentecost and at our baptism concludes the whole process of
Christian initiation. A person is a full Christian when he receives
the Sacrament of Baptism, the Eucharist and Confirmation. Only when confirmed
in his or her faith and filled with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of our Lord and
our Father, can the baptized Christian be a real witness to Christ in the power
of the same Spirit.
Once we have
the pre-requisites, we must proclaim the truth about Jesus. Truth is not
so much an ideology. Truth is an event, an experience. This was what Pope
Emeritus Benedict wrote in “God is Love” when he said, “We have come to believe
in God’s love: in these words the Christian can express the fundamental
decision of his life. Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or
a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new
horizon and a decisive direction. Saint John’s Gospel describes that event in
these words: ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever
believes in him should … have eternal life’ (3:16).” (God is Love, 1)
That is why
the proclamation of the gospel is not about words or doctrines primarily but
about a person, Jesus Christ, who had worked wonders in our lives through His works of
mercy and compassion and taught us about the Father’s love and
forgiveness. The gospel is not a book but a person, Jesus, the Son of God
who came to give us life to the fullest if we share in His life, love and live
out the gospel. So it is Good News, not bad news. It is not about
observing commandments, obeying some rules or performing some rituals. It
is about the true meaning of love. This, precisely, is the exhortation of
St John when he wrote, “My dear people, since God has loved us so much, we too
should love one another. No one has ever seen God; but as long as we love one
another God will live in us and his love will be complete in us.”
The best witness of the Good News is to lead someone to Jesus and to fall in
love with Him by encountering His love, mercy, wisdom and truth through the
Word of God.
Concretely,
for us to witness to Jesus is to live a life of love and mercy. We begin with our inner
circle, our loved ones, parents, siblings and friends. But charity must
not stop here. We must reach out to the Christian community, society and
the world at large. To be an apostle of Christ does not mean that we have
to travel to the ends of the world but to witness His love and mercy according
to the situation we are in. Of course, today with social and digital
communication, we can share what Jesus has done for us even with those staying
at the other end of the world. Space and time is no longer a constraint
in communicating the Good News about this wonderful man whom we call Jesus, the
Son of God.
Indeed, the
Good News that we are called to share is to bring others into the joy we have
because of Jesus in our lives. It is the joy of intimacy with the Lord in relationship,
and the joy of being with the family of God, the body of Christ. Joy is
attractive and appealing. This was what the Lord said, “But now I am
coming to you and while still in the world I say these things to share my joy
with them to the full.” What is the joy that Jesus shared with us?
It is the joy of being in fellowship with His Father in the Spirit.
Sharing in the Trinitarian life of communion and love is what makes us
joyful. With the love and joy of God in our hearts, this love is
poured out into others, and together as we share the joy of Christ, our love
abounds.
Finally, we
must live in such a way that we give glory to the name of God. Jesus prayed, “Holy Father,
keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like
us. While I was with them, I kept those you had given me true to your
name.” If we call ourselves sons and daughters of God, we must live like
Him and our lives must reflect the image and the person of God in all that we
say and do. This is what it means to be true to His name and to become
like Him. Indeed, if we do not live out our lives as true sons and
daughters of God, then the tragedy of life is that we might end up like Judas
who was lost. He too walked with Jesus and counted among the apostles and
shared in their ministry. But he betrayed the Lord because of greed,
pride and self-centeredness. We too must never walk alone in the faith.
We must walk with our fellow Catholics so that, one with each other and
one with Jesus, we can overcome all trials and temptations of life and the
hostilities of the world.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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