20190429 CHRISTIANITY IS
NOT A PHILOSOPHY BUT THE POWER OF GOD
29 APRIL, 2019,
Monday, 2nd Week of Easter
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First reading
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Acts 4:23-31 ©
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They were all filled with the Holy
Spirit and began to proclaim the word of God boldly
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As soon as Peter and John were released
they went to the community and told them everything the chief priests and
elders had said to them. When they heard it they lifted up their voice to God
all together. ‘Master,’ they prayed ‘it is you who made heaven and earth and
sea, and everything in them; you it is who said through the Holy Spirit and
speaking through our ancestor David, your servant:
Why this arrogance among
the nations,
these futile plots among
the peoples?
Kings on earth setting
out to war,
princes making an
alliance,
against the Lord and
against his Anointed.
‘This is what has come true: in this very
city Herod and Pontius Pilate made an alliance with the pagan nations and the
peoples of Israel, against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed, but only
to bring about the very thing that you in your strength and your wisdom had
predetermined should happen. And now, Lord, take note of their threats and help
your servants to proclaim your message with all boldness, by stretching out
your hand to heal and to work miracles and marvels through the name of your
holy servant Jesus.’ As they prayed, the house where they were assembled
rocked; they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim the
word of God boldly.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 2:1-9 ©
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Blessed are they who put
their trust in God.
or
Alleluia!
Why this tumult among nations,
among peoples this useless
murmuring?
They arise, the kings of the earth,
princes plot against the Lord
and his Anointed.
‘Come, let us break their fetters,
come, let us cast off their
yoke.’
Blessed are they who put
their trust in God.
or
Alleluia!
He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord is laughing them to
scorn.
Then he will speak in his anger,
his rage will strike them with
terror.
‘It is I who have set up my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.’
Blessed are they who put
their trust in God.
or
Alleluia!
I will announce the decree of the Lord:
The Lord said to me: ‘You are my Son.
It is I who have begotten you
this day.
Ask and I shall bequeath you the nations,
put the ends of the earth in
your possession.
With a rod of iron you will break them,
shatter them like a potter’s
jar.’
Blessed are they who put
their trust in God.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel Acclamation
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Col3:1
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Since you have been brought back to true
life with Christ,
you must look for the things that are in
heaven, where Christ is,
sitting at God’s right hand.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 3:1-8 ©
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Unless a man is born from above, he
cannot see the kingdom of God
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There was one of the Pharisees called
Nicodemus, a leading Jew, who came to Jesus by night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know
that you are a teacher who comes from God; for no one could perform the signs
that you do unless God were with him.’ Jesus answered:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
unless a man is born from above,
he cannot see the kingdom of God.’
Nicodemus said, ‘How can a grown man be
born? Can he go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?’ Jesus replied:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
unless a man is born through water and the
Spirit,
he cannot enter the kingdom of God:
what is born of the flesh is flesh;
what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Do not be surprised when I say:
You must be born from above.
The wind blows wherever it pleases;
you hear its sound,
but you cannot tell where it comes from or
where it is going.
That is how it is with all who are born of
the Spirit.’
CHRISTIANITY IS
NOT A PHILOSOPHY BUT THE POWER OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 4:23-31; JOHN 3:1-8 ]
Some people, including
Christians, want to reduce Christianity into a philosophy and a way of life. They become Christians because they
embrace the values of the gospel. They are edified by the high moral
standards of charity in truth, compassion and forgiveness of the Christian gospel.
Whilst Christianity certainly provides a guide to living – the early Church was
called the Way and baptism was called the Sacrament of Illumination – yet
Christianity is not basically just a philosophy of life. Pope
Benedict XVI in his first encyclical wrote, “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)”
Indeed, if we reduce
Christianity to a philosophy of life, then it is comparable to other religions. All religions teach us to do good,
to love, forgive and to care for the poor. Their scriptures also teach
their followers about the Sacred, continuity between life on earth and life
after death, detachment from this world and how to live an enlightened
life. Indeed, “Religions, however, that are bound up with an advanced
culture have struggled to answer the same questions by means of more refined
concepts and a more developed language. Thus Hinduism … seeks freedom from the
anguish of our human condition either through ascetical practices or profound
meditation or a flight to God with love and trust. Again, Buddhism … realizes
the radical insufficiency of this changeable world; it teaches a way by which
men, in a devout and confident spirit, may be able either to acquire the state
of perfect liberation, or attain, by their own efforts or through higher help,
supreme illumination. Likewise, other religions found everywhere try to counter
the restlessness of the human heart, each in its own manner, by proposing
‘ways,’ comprising teachings, rules of life, and sacred rites. The Catholic
Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions.” (Nostra
Aetate, 2)
Nevertheless, the Church
believes that Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life. While the Church “regards with
sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and
teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and
sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all
men. Indeed, she proclaims, and ever must proclaim Christ as ‘the way, the
truth, and the life’ (John 14:6), in whom men
may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled all things
to Himself.” (Ibid)
Of course, we cannot
expect others to believe what we believe because as Jesus in the gospel says, “I
tell you most solemnly, unless a man is born from above, he cannot see the
kingdom of God.” Just
by reasoning alone, even if we could accept the teachings of Christ and the
Church, will not lead us to faith unless we are born again in the Spirit of
Jesus. Even Nicodemus, the wise rabbi could not understand what the Lord
was saying. When he inquired, “‘How can a grown man be born? Can he go
back into his mother’s womb and be born again?’ Jesus replied: ‘I tell you most
solemnly, unless a man is born through water and the Spirit, he cannot enter
the kingdom of God: what is born of the flesh is flesh; what is born of the
Spirit is spirit.” In other words, we cannot understand the things of God
unless the Spirit of Jesus lives in us. St Paul wrote, “Those who are
unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness
to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually
discerned.” (1 Cor 2:14)
Precisely, faith in
Jesus as the Son of God is possible only in faith through baptism when the Holy
Spirit descended upon the disciples.
Whilst the Holy Spirit cannot be seen, it can be felt. The Lord said, “Do
not be surprised when I say: You must be born from above. The wind blows
wherever it pleases; you hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes
from or where it is going. That is how it is with all who are born of the
Spirit.” We know that Christ is the Son of God only in the power of
the Holy Spirit. St Paul wrote, “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by
the Holy Spirit.” (1 Cor 12:3)
The sign that
Christianity is more than just a human philosophy of life is the divine element
in our faith. Nicodemus said to
the Lord, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who comes from God; for no one
could perform the signs that you do unless God were with him.” The truth
about our claims with regard to Christ is not through mere reasoning
alone. This was what St Paul wrote, “My speech and my proclamation were
not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and
of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of
God.” (1 Cor 2:4f) We
know that Jesus is the Son of God because of the signs that He showed when He
was on earth, through the working of miracles, exorcism, His way of life and
most of all, by His resurrection.
The vindication of
Jesus’ death at His resurrection is confirmed not just by the sightings of His
disciples of the Risen Lord but by the extension of Jesus’ healing ministry in
the life of the disciples and of the Church. Indeed, that was what the Christians prayed
when they found themselves at loggerheads with the religious authorities.
“And now, Lord, take note of their threats and help your servants to proclaim
your message with all boldness, by stretching out your hand to heal and to work
miracles and marvels through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
Through the preaching accompanied by the miraculous signs of healing and
exorcism, including the works of charity, they opened the hearts of
non-believers to accept Christ. This was how the Lord instructed His
disciples in the proclamation of the Good News. He said, “these signs
will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons;
they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their
hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mk 16:17f)
Consequently, building
the Church of God cannot be merely the work of man’s ingenuity, intelligence
and convincing philosophical arguments with the world. Otherwise, we might as well employ
some intelligent and great leaders to increase the membership of the
Church. Rather, the building of God’s kingdom is the work of grace and
the work of the Holy Spirit. Only Christ can establish His kingdom in our
hearts when we are receptive to His grace, which is the Holy
Spirit. And this can happen only in and through prayer. We
read that “as they prayed, the house where they were assembled rocked; they
were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim the word of God
boldly.” Unless and until we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we cannot
proclaim the Word of God with conviction and with power, not just in preaching
and teaching but also in the ministry of healing and deliverance.
Indeed, no human power
can fight against God. This is our conviction. That was what gave
the disciples strength and perseverance in the face of persecutions. Citing from the psalm, they prayed, “‘Why
this arrogance among the nations, these futile plots among the peoples? Kings
on earth setting out to war, princes making an alliance, against the Lord and
against his Anointed.’ This is what has come true: in this very city Herod and
Pontius Pilate made an alliance with the pagan nations and the peoples of
Israel, against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed, but only to bring
about the very thing that you in your strength and your wisdom had
predetermined should happen.” Indeed, as St Paul remarked, “Yet among the
mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the
rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. But we speak God’s wisdom,
secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.” (1 Cor 2:6f) So let us proclaim the
gospel by praying to the Holy Spirit for wisdom and fortitude and perseverance.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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