20190426 SUMMITING TO THE
LORDSHIP OF THE RISEN CHRIST
26 APRIL, 2019,
Easter Friday
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
White.
|
First reading
|
Acts 4:1-12 ©
|
|
The name of Jesus Christ is the only one
by which we can be saved
|
While Peter and John were talking to the
people the priests came up to them, accompanied by the captain of the Temple
and the Sadducees. They were extremely annoyed at their teaching the people the
doctrine of the resurrection from the dead by proclaiming the resurrection of
Jesus. They arrested them, but as it was already late, they held them till the
next day. But many of those who had listened to their message became believers,
the total number of whom had now risen to something like five thousand.
The
next day the rulers, elders and scribes had a meeting in Jerusalem with Annas
the high priest, Caiaphas, Jonathan, Alexander and all the members of the
high-priestly families. They made the prisoners stand in the middle and began
to interrogate them, ‘By what power, and by whose name have you men done this?’
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, addressed them, ‘Rulers of the people,
and elders! If you are questioning us today about an act of kindness to a
cripple, and asking us how he was healed, then I am glad to tell you all, and
would indeed be glad to tell the whole people of Israel, that it was by the
name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the one you crucified, whom God raised from
the dead, by this name and by no other that this man is able to stand up
perfectly healthy, here in your presence, today. This is the stone rejected by
you the builders, but which has proved to be the keystone. For of all the names
in the world given to men, this is the only one by which we can be saved.’
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
|
Psalm
117(118):1-2,4,22-27 ©
|
The stone which the
builders rejected has become the corner stone.
or
Alleluia, alleluia,
alleluia!
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
for his love has no end.
Let the sons of Israel say:
‘His love has no end.’
Let those who fear the Lord say:
‘His love has no end.’
The stone which the
builders rejected has become the corner stone.
or
Alleluia, alleluia,
alleluia!
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the corner stone.
This is the work of the Lord,
a marvel in our eyes.
This day was made by the Lord;
we rejoice and are glad.
The stone which the
builders rejected has become the corner stone.
or
Alleluia, alleluia,
alleluia!
O Lord, grant us salvation;
O Lord, grant success.
Blessed in the name of the Lord
is he who comes.
We bless you from the house of the Lord;
the Lord God is our light.
The stone which the
builders rejected has become the corner stone.
or
Alleluia, alleluia,
alleluia!
|
Sequence
|
Christians, to the Paschal Victim
offer sacrifice and praise.
The sheep are ransomed by the Lamb;
and Christ, the undefiled,
hath sinners to his Father reconciled.
Death with life contended:
combat strangely ended!
Life’s own Champion, slain,
yet lives to reign.
Tell us, Mary:
say what thou didst see
upon the way.
The tomb the Living did enclose;
I saw Christ’s glory as he rose!
The angels there attesting;
shroud with grave-clothes resting.
Christ, my hope, has risen:
he goes before you into Galilee.
That Christ is truly risen
from the dead we know.
Victorious king, thy mercy show!
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
Ps117:24
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
This day was made by the Lord:
we rejoice and are glad.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
John 21:1-14 ©
|
|
Jesus stepped forward, took the bread
and gave it to them, and the same with the fish
|
Jesus showed himself again to the
disciples. It was by the Sea of Tiberias, and it happened like this: Simon
Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of
Zebedee and two more of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said, ‘I’m
going fishing.’ They replied, ‘We’ll come with you.’ They went out and got into
the boat but caught nothing that night.
It
was light by now and there stood Jesus on the shore, though the disciples did
not realise that it was Jesus. Jesus called out, ‘Have you caught anything,
friends?’ And when they answered, ‘No’, he said, ‘Throw the net out to
starboard and you’ll find something.’ So they dropped the net, and there were
so many fish that they could not haul it in. The disciple Jesus loved said to Peter,
‘It is the Lord.’ At these words ‘It is the Lord’, Simon Peter, who had
practically nothing on, wrapped his cloak round him and jumped into the water.
The other disciples came on in the boat, towing the net and the fish; they were
only about a hundred yards from land.
As
soon as they came ashore they saw that there was some bread there, and a
charcoal fire with fish cooking on it. Jesus said, ‘Bring some of the fish you
have just caught.’ Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore,
full of big fish, one hundred and fifty-three of them; and in spite of there
being so many the net was not broken. Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have
breakfast.’ None of the disciples was bold enough to ask, ‘Who are you?’; they
knew quite well it was the Lord. Jesus then stepped forward, took the bread and
gave it to them, and the same with the fish. This was the third time that Jesus
showed himself to the disciples after rising from the dead.
SUMMITING TO THE
LORDSHIP OF THE RISEN CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS 4:1-12; PS 118:1-2,4,22-27; JOHN 21:1-14 ]
“This is the stone rejected by you the
builders, but which has proved to be the keystone. For all the names in the
world given to men, this is the only one by which we can be saved.” This
was what St Peter said to the rulers and elders of Israel. How could
Peter find such great courage to make such a statement in front of such
influential, powerful and prominent people? Indeed, the next verse we
read, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they
were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions
of Jesus.” (Acts 4:13)
In the face of religious
pluralism, how many of us would be ready to make this claim in front of those
whose beliefs differ from ours or have no religious belief at all? We would be accused of being
triumphalistic and intolerant of other religions. It makes Christianity so
exclusive that no compromises could be tolerated. Indeed, Christianity,
when making this audacious claim about Jesus as the Lord and unique savior of
all of humanity, puts herself in collision with the rest of the world. We
are therefore caught in a dilemma. We all do not desire to hurt the
feelings of those who do not subscribe to our belief. Yet, to deny this
claim of the universal Lordship of Christ would be being unfaithful to the
Christ and the scriptures. Whilst we want to be accommodating we cannot
compromise our belief. This would betray who we are and what and whom we
believe in.
So, it is important to
understand the background for the Christian’s claims about Jesus. “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing
all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.” (Acts 10:38) Jesus was indeed a good man.
He performed miracles, healed the sick, delivered those who were possessed and
oppressed, welcomed sinners, and taught us the compassion and forgiveness of
His Father. But at the same time, by so doing, His words and actions were
implicit claims that He was acting on behalf of God. “Do you not believe
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I
do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his
works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if
you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.” (Jn 14:10f)
In the light of what
Jesus did when He was on earth, St Peter showed the continuity between what
Jesus did and what He was now doing.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, he said, “Rulers of the people, and elders! If you
are questioning us today about an act of kindness to a cripple, and asking us
how he was healed, then I am glad to tell you all, and would indeed be glad to
tell the whole people of Israel, that it was by the name of Jesus Christ the
Nazarene, the one you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by this name
and by no other that this man is able to stand up perfectly healthy, here in
your presence today. This is the stone rejected by you the builders, but which
has proved to be the keystone.” Indeed, it was the same Jesus that they
put to death that healed the cripple because He is alive and not dead. He
has been raised! Peter made it clear that it was not by his power that he
cured the man. It was Jesus, the one whom they crucified and is now Lord
by His resurrection.
Undeniably, the
resurrection proves and vindicates all that Jesus said and did and the implicit
claims of His divinity and sonship. That He has been raised from the dead
shows that the Father endorsed all that Jesus said and did. The
resurrection was the divine seal the Father set on the life, work and ministry
of Jesus. If that were so, then the conclusion is, “For all the names in
the world given to men, this is the only one by which we can be saved.”
Otherwise, who could He be other than what He claimed?
This is not the case for
other religions because no religion has ever claimed that their founder is God. No religion has ever made the bold claim
that their founder is alive and has been raised from the dead. It is true
that some religions might also make absolute claims that their religion is the
right one and their scriptures are divinely inspired and free from errors as
well. But no religion has come close to declaring that their founder is
alive and that He is God, as does Christianity.
If Jesus is Lord, then
we are called to submit to His Lordship alone. This is what the gospel is asking
of us. The only reason why we should obey Christ is because He is the
Lord. In the first instance, we are told how the Lord reached out to the
disciples. “Jesus called out, ‘Have you caught anything, friends?’ And
when they answered, ‘No’, he said, ‘Throw the net out to starboard and you’ll
find something.’ So they dropped the net, and there were so many fish that they
could not haul it in.” The disciples obeyed the Lord and great things
happened.
Obedience is the proper
response to the Lord’s call. Unlike earlier on at the onset of Jesus’ ministry when
Peter reluctantly put down the nets for a catch, this time, St Peter did not
question the Lord and surrendered in faith without asking or understanding,
even though he still was not able to recognize the Lord. But when he did,
“the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord’. At these words ‘It
is the Lord,’ Simon Peter, who had practically nothing on, wrapped his cloak
round him and jumped into the water.” We too cannot recognize Jesus is
Lord unless we are willing to obey and surrender at His word. Only in the
act of obedience, can we come to know that Jesus is Lord. Without
surrendering in faith, we can continue discussing and talking about the truth
of Jesus, but we will end up confused or skeptical.
Indeed, St Peter and St
John could heal the cripple only in the name of the Lord. Having faith in Jesus is the cause
of the healing miracle. This is what St Paul later wrote, “Now to God who
is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus
Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for
long ages but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made
known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to
bring about the obedience of faith – to the only wise God,
through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.” (Rom 16:25-27)
Obedience means that we
are called to cooperate with the Lord in liberating men and women from sin and
ignorance so that they could find salvation. Again, this was what the Lord said, “Bring
some of the fish you have just caught.’ Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the
net to the shore, full of big fish, one hundred and fifty-three of them; and in
spite of there being so many the net was not broken.” We are called
to surrender in obedience to the Lord and if we are docile to the work of His
Holy Spirit, He would work wonders for us by bringing in a great harvest for us
as He did in the miracle of the fish. All the nations would come to know
the Lord as symbolized by the 153 fish that Peter caught. Indeed, we read
in the first reading that “many of those who had listened to their message
became believers, the total number of whom had now risen to something like five
thousand.”
Finally, obedience is
but an invitation to fellowship with the Lord. Only those who are in
communion with Him can obey, sharing His mind and heart. Hence, the final instruction to the
disciples was, “‘Come and have breakfast.’ None of the disciples was bold
enough to ask, ‘Who are you?’ they knew quite well that it was the Lord. Jesus
then stepped forward, took the bread and gave it to them, and the same with the
fish.” In celebrating the Eucharist, they came to encounter the Risen
Lord even more. We too are called to encounter the Lord in the
Eucharist. Having a meal with Jesus is more than just consuming the
Eucharistic Host but to have fellowship with Him by praying and worshipping Him
at mass, listening to the Word of God spoken to us, confessing our faith in
Him, wanting to share the joy of His love for us with others.
How, then, can we
proclaim His Lordship and yet not denigrate other religions? We must take a page from
St Peter who also wrote to advise us to be humble in our profession of our
faith. “Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is
good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed.
Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your
hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone
who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it
with gentleness and reverence.” (1 Pt 3:13-15) And St Paul urges
us to respect and pray for those in government. “First of all, then,
I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made
for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may
lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This
is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires
everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there
is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ
Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all – this was
attested at the right time.” (1 Tim 2:1-5)
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment