20180611
A CHURCH COMING OUT OF HERSELF TO THE
PERIPHERIES
11 JUNE, 2018, Monday, St Barnabas,
Apostle
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Red.
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First reading
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Acts 11:21-26,13:1-3 ©
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He was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith
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A great number believed and were converted to the Lord.
The church
in Jerusalem heard about this and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. There he could
see for himself that God had given grace, and this pleased him, and he urged
them all to remain faithful to the Lord with heartfelt devotion; for he was a
good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith. And a large number of
people were won over to the Lord.
Barnabas
then left for Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him he brought him to
Antioch. As things turned out they were to live together in that church a whole
year, instructing a large number of people. It was at Antioch that the
disciples were first called ‘Christians.’
In the
church at Antioch the following were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon
called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod
the tetrarch, and Saul. One day while they were offering worship to the Lord
and keeping a fast, the Holy Spirit said, ‘I want Barnabas and Saul set apart
for the work to which I have called them.’ So it was that after fasting and
prayer they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 97(98):1-6 ©
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The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.
The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
The Lord has made known his salvation;
has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.
The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.
The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp
with the sound of music.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
acclaim the King, the Lord.
The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.2Th2:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Through the Good News God called us
to share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Mt5:12a
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Rejoice and be glad:
your reward will be great in heaven.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 5:1-12 ©
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How happy are the poor in spirit
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Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and
was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught
them:
‘How happy are the poor in spirit;
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Happy the gentle:
they shall have the earth for their heritage.
Happy those who mourn:
they shall be comforted.
Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right:
they shall be satisfied.
Happy the merciful:
they shall have mercy shown them.
Happy the pure in heart:
they shall see God.
Happy the peacemakers:
they shall be called sons of God.
Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right:
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak
all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your
reward will be great in heaven: this is how they persecuted the prophets before
you.’
A CHURCH COMING OUT OF HERSELF TO THE PERIPHERIES
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Acts 11:21-26. 13:1-3; Mt 10:7-13 ]
The
persecution of the Christians in Jerusalem resulted in the Church of Jerusalem
going out of herself to other cities. If not for the persecution,
the Christian Church would not have grown because it would have been
domesticated and reduced to another sect of Judaism. So divine providence
used such events for the spread of the gospel. One of the cities that
the Jewish Christians went to announce the Good News was Antioch. “A great
number believed and were converted to the Lord. The church in Jerusalem heard
about this and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. There he could see for himself
that God had given grace.”
Barnabas, whose
feast we celebrate today, played a key role in the spread of the gospel to all
the nations.
Indeed, without Barnabas, Paul, who was then called Saul, might have been left
as an unknown figure as many did not quite trust a former persecutor of the Church.
Barnabas might not have been the chosen apostle to the Gentiles, but he was
certainly instrumental in rehabilitating Saul in the Christian community,
giving him credibility and confidence. It was his initiative to bring
Paul to help him in his ministry. “Barnabas then left for Tarsus to look
for Saul, and when he found him he brought him to Antioch. As things turned out
they were to live together in that church a whole year, instructing a number of
people.” Without his graciousness and encouragement, Saul would not have
entered the Church to assume leadership.
Barnabas,
whose name means “encouragement”, was truly an encouraging person towards
all those who were growing in faith. He was not afraid to take
risks, as in soliciting Paul for help. He encouraged Paul to work with him in
instructing the Christians at Antioch. “He was a good man, filled with
the Holy Spirit and with faith.” Barnabas was a true example of what it
means to be a disciple of Christ. He patiently formed the early
Christians in faith. “He urged them all to remain faithful to the Lord
with heartfelt devotion; and a large number of people were won over to the
Lord.” He was aware that just because one is converted to the Lord does not
mean that he would stay faithful to Him unless he continues to grow in the
faith through study, reading the Word of God and sharing the faith with each
other.
What is
significant is that the community that Barnabas formed was not a conclave of
Christians where they were only concerned about themselves. A sign of a
true, living and loving Christian community is when they reach out and proclaim
Christ to others, and form new communities. This is the danger of many
so-called Christian communities. They become exclusive elite club members,
absorbed in themselves and admitting only those who are good. This is the
saddest part of the Catholic Church because we are at most parochial-minded,
even if we are considered “good Catholics.” We are not reaching out to
each other in the parish, much less to non-Christians. A look at the
statistics of our conversion rate will show that we are a maintenance
Church. With 383,000 Catholics or more, we have slightly over a thousand
adult baptisms a year. We are not a vibrant, evangelistic and missionary
Church. We are quite contented to take care of our own parishes instead
of growing new parishes and building new churches and new communities. We
rarely build new churches, for after so many years, we are only 32
parishes. This clearly indicates that we are not growing fast enough to
establish new communities.
In the early
Church we see Barnabas and Paul being sent out as missionaries. “One day while they
were offering worship to the Lord and keeping a fast, the Holy Spirit said, ‘I
want Barnabas and Saul set apart for the work to which I have called them.’ So
it was that after fasting and prayer they laid their hands on them and sent
them off.” They were receptive to the Holy Spirit prompting them to share
the Good News with people elsewhere. Indeed, the Church must be
missionary-minded, always finding new ways to establish new communities.
We must avoid being a complacent Church that is inward-looking and
protectionist. We must be ready to welcome new people into the Church and
in our ministries. “Let us go forth, then, let us go forth to offer
everyone the life of Jesus Christ. Here I repeat for the entire Church what I
have often said to the priests and laity of Buenos Aires: I prefer a Church
which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets,
rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging
to its own security. I do not want a Church concerned with being at the centre
and which then ends by being caught up in a web of obsessions and
procedures.” (Gaudium Evangelii, No. 49)
Pope Francis
challenged the Church to go forth. “All of us are called to
take part in this new missionary ’going forth’. Each Christian and every
community must discern the path that the Lord points out, but all of us are
asked to obey his call to go forth from our own comfort zone in order to reach
all the ‘peripheries’ in need of the light of the Gospel.” (Gaudium
Evangelii, No. 20) What are these peripheries? It is not just a
geographical periphery but also existential periphery. We must be bold
and creative. “Pastoral ministry in a missionary key seeks to abandon the
complacent attitude that says: ‘We have always done it this way’. I invite
everyone to be bold and creative in this task of rethinking the goals,
structures, style and methods of evangelization in their respective communities.”
(Gaudium Evangelii, No. 33) This is what the gospel is inviting us to do
when the Lord said to His disciples, “As you go, proclaim that the kingdom of
heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers,
cast out devils.”
We must open
our doors to the world. Jesus instructed His disciples, “Whatever town or village
you go into, ask for someone trustworthy and stay with him until you leave. As
you enter his house, salute it, and if the house deserves it, let your peace
descend upon it; if it does not, let your peace come back to you.” There
is no coercion on our part but just offering the gift of the Good News.
Indeed, Pope Francis is insistent that “The Church is called to be the house of
the Father, with doors always wide open. One concrete sign of such openness is
that our church doors should always be open, so that if someone, moved by the
Spirit, comes there looking for God, he or she will not find a closed door.
There are other doors that should not be closed either. Everyone can share in
some way in the life of the Church; everyone can be part of the community, nor
should the doors of the sacraments be closed for simply any reason.” (Gaudium
Evangelii, No. 47)
This requires
us to trust in Jesus and rely on Him alone. Jesus told the disciples, “Provide
yourselves with no gold or silver, not even with a few coppers for your purses,
with no haversack for the journey or spare tunic or footwear or a staff, for
the workman deserves his keep.” This mission cannot be accomplished
without the Lord and the power of the Holy Spirit, “One day while they were
offering worship to the Lord and keeping a fast, the Holy Spirit said, ‘I want
Barnabas and Saul set apart for the work to which I have called them.’ So it
was that after fasting and prayer they laid their hands on them and sent them
off.” Like the apostles, we are sent by a praying, spirit-filled and
anointed community, regardless whether we are priests, religious, missionaries
or laity involved in the mission. We too must pray and discern how the
Spirit is asking the Church today to renew herself and to go out to offer
everyone the life of Christ
So let us
without fear join the psalmist in singing “a new song to the Lord for he has
worked wonders. His right hand and his holy arm have brought salvation. The
Lord has made known his salvation; has shown his justice to the nations. He has
remembered his truth and love for the house of Israel.” Let us go
forth as Church, out of our comfort zones, to the existential periphery to
announce the gospel of the Lord. The Lord reminds us, “You have received
without charge, give without charge.” “An evangelizing community knows
that the Lord has taken the initiative, he has loved us first (cf. 1 Jn 4:19),
and therefore we can move forward, boldly take the initiative, go out to
others, seek those who have fallen away, stand at the crossroads and welcome the
outcast. Such a community has an endless desire to show mercy, the fruit of
its own experience of the power of the Father’s infinite mercy.” (Gaudium
Evangelii, No. 24)
Let us be
generous in our contribution and support, whether in financial resources or
time, to those whom we have sent out as missionaries to proclaim the
gospel, those who labour in our diocese and beyond. It is not enough to send
them out without supporting them with our prayers and resources. “The
Church which ‘goes forth’ is a community of missionary disciples who take the
first step, who are involved and supportive, who bear fruit and rejoice. An
evangelizing community is also supportive, standing by people at every step of
the way, no matter how difficult or lengthy this may prove to be.”
(Gaudium Evangelii, No. 24)
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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