20180514
MISSION IN COMMUNION
14 MAY, 2018, Monday, St Matthias, Apostle
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Red.
|
First reading
|
|
Acts 1:15-17,20-26 ©
|
|
'Let someone else take his office'
|
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 his camp be reduced to ruin,
Let there be no one to live in it.
And again:
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.
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
|
Psalm 112(113):1-8 ©
|
The Lord sets him in the company of the princes
of his people.
or
Alleluia!
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed
both now and for evermore!
The Lord sets him in the company of the princes
of his people.
or
Alleluia!
From the rising of the sun to its setting
praised be the name of the Lord!
High above all nations is the Lord,
above the heavens his glory.
The Lord sets him in the company of the princes
of his people.
or
Alleluia!
Who is like the Lord, our God,
who has risen on high to his throne
yet stoops from the heights to look down,
to look down upon heaven and earth?
The Lord sets him in the company of the princes
of his people.
or
Alleluia!
From the dust he lifts up the lowly,
from the dungheap he raises the poor
to set him in the company of princes,
yes, with the princes of his people.
The Lord sets him in the company of the princes
of his people.
or
Alleluia!
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
cf.Jn15:16
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
I chose you from the world
to go out and bear fruit,
fruit that will last,
says the Lord.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
John 15:9-17 ©
|
|
You are my friends if I do what I command you
|
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘As the Father has loved me,
so I have loved you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments
you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.
I have told you this
so that my own joy may be in you
and your joy be complete.
This is my commandment:
love one another, as I have loved you.
A man can have no greater love
than to lay down his life for his friends.
You are my friends,
if you do what I command you.
I shall not call you servants any more,
because a servant does not know
his master’s business;
I call you friends,
because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father.
You did not choose me:
no, I chose you;
and I commissioned you
to go out and to bear fruit,
fruit that will last;
and then the Father will give you
anything you ask him in my name.
What I command you
is to love one another.’
MISSION IN COMMUNION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 1:15-17, 20-26; JOHN 15:9-17]
What is
evangelization? Right from the outset, Catholics should not be engaged in
proselytization, which is to make converts. Worse still, if we coerce
and pressurize others to convert to Catholicism. Rather, evangelization
is the proclamation of the Good News. What is this Good News that we are
called to share with those who are interested? Namely this, to share in
our intimacy with the Trinitarian God. This was what St John wrote,
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen
with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning
the word of life -the life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it,
and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made
manifest to us – that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so
that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and
with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing this that our joy may be
complete.” (1 Jn 1:1-4) In these words, St John tells us that
communion is mission.
If our
mission is communion, then it must be accomplished in communion. For this
reason, the Lord speaks of the need to be in communion with Him, with each
other and with the legitimate authority of the Church. “As the Father has loved me,
so I have loved you. Remain in my love.”
Being in
intimacy with the Lord is the foundation of mission. Unless the Lord has
loved us, there is no mission. We can only share what we have
received. The authority of mission rests on the fact that we are
sent. We do not send ourselves. Jesus made this clear when He
said, “You did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out
and to bear fruit, fruit that will last.” Indeed, the source of Jesus’
mission springs from His intimacy with His Father. The Father loves the
Son, and experiencing the Father’s love, the Lord shares this love with us.
Although
Jesus is our Lord and we are His servants, He chose to call us, friends. He said, “You are my
friends, if you do what I command you. I shall not call you servants anymore,
because a servant does not know his master’s business; I call you friends,
because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my
Father.” Jesus desires to share His life and love with us, especially His
intimacy with His Father. To share our intimacy with the one we love with
someone else is the highest form of love, just as parents share their love for
each other with their children. To invite someone into our family circle
is a great honour and an expression of trust and communion.
What does it
mean to be in intimacy with the Lord? It means keeping His commandments. Jesus said, “If you
keep my commandments you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my
Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” Following the commandments
of our Lord is to share in His life, to think and act like Him. Only when
the love of Jesus is in our hearts, can we be rightly motivated to follow the
commandments, not as something extraneous to us but because they are the wisdom
of God in helping us to live a life of joy. Hence, Jesus said, “I have
told you this so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be complete.”
Being in
intimacy with the Lord also entails that we have walked with Jesus. This was the most important
criterion when the apostles were choosing from among the disciples someone who
could replace Judas to be in the college of apostles. St Peter said, “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.” Truly, unless we have
walked with Jesus and seen Him at work in the lives of our fellowmen, we cannot
bear witness to Him. We witness to what we see and hear. If
there is a lack of credible witnesses for Christ today, it is because Catholics
do not know the Lord intimately and have not walked with Him in the lives of
our fellowmen.
Of course,
the most important form of intimacy is that of prayer. That was how the
apostles spoke to the Lord and sought guidance in making important
decisions. In the selection of Matthias, they did not simply use their
human logic and judgement but entrusted everything to the Lord in prayer.
“Having nominated two candidates, Joseph known as Barsabbas, whose surname was
Joseph, 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.” The apostles would
talk to the Lord as their friend and master whenever they met with challenges
or difficulties. Their strong feeling of the Risen Lord in their lives
kept them going in times of trial and persecution.
Secondly, we
are called to be in communion with fellow Christians. The Lord said, “This is my
commandment: love one another, as I have loved you. A man can have no greater
love than to lay down his life for his friends.” Just as Jesus laid down
His life for us, as Christians we are called to lay down our lives for each other.
Being in communion with our fellow Catholics is a necessary sign and fruit of
our communion with the Lord. We always love those whom our loved ones
love. If we love Jesus, we will also love those whom He loves.
Catholics often are individualistic. They come to attend church services
but they do not know their fellow Catholics. They are alone in their
faith and because they do not experience the love of Christ in their community,
their faith is nominal because they cannot identify with the Body of Christ,
but remain detached and alienated from them.
Without
loving each other, our witnessing to the Lord would be a real
contradiction. This explains why our mission has not been effective because
church leaders and members are always squabbling and fighting among themselves,
causing division in the church. We can preach eloquently and cite the
scriptures, but if we lack love and communion among ourselves, we are
counter-witnessing because no one will believe that we are the disciples of
Jesus. Jesus’ warning should serve as a guide to fruition in our
ministry. “I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that
will last; and then the Father will give you anything you ask him in my name.
What I command you is to love one another.” The lack of sincere love
among Christians is the biggest scandal of Christianity and the primary
obstacle to the proclamation of the Good News.
Finally, to
be in communion with the Lord means that we must be in communion with the
hierarchy of the Church, the leaders. It is significant that in the first reading we read that
the first thing they did when they assembled was to name another disciple to be
among the Twelve. St Peter as the leader among the apostles said,
“Brothers, the passage of scripture has 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.” This means that our faith must
be in continuity with the faith of the apostles and those who have been chosen
to succeed them. This is what the apostolic succession means and why it
is a criterion that if our faith is of the apostolic faith, we must be able to
trace our faith to that of the apostles and their successors. For us,
Catholics, we believe that our faith is preserved through the authoritative
teaching of the Magisterium, that is the Holy Father together with the College
of Bishops. Only by keeping our faith as taught by Christ’s chosen
successors, can we be sure that our faith is truly in continuity with that of
the apostles as handed down to us.
Of course,
for those who exercise leadership in the Church, it means that we too need to
be in close intimacy with the Lord so that we can discern wisely and rightly the
prompting of the Holy Spirit. The sadness and real tragedy of the Church
today is that our leaders, bishops, priests, religious or lay leaders, are not
taking their spiritual life and prayer life seriously. In place of intimacy
with the Lord, leaders spend more time planning, preparing and laboring in the
vineyard. When that happens, they become selfish, reactive, irritable,
ambitious and worldly in their service to the Lord. Today, we need to
pray for our church leaders, that they too walk in intimacy with the Lord in
prayer, in love and in obedience to His commandments so that they can inspire
and help the Church to grow in faith and be the face of God’s mercy and
compassion to the world.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment