20190506
DOING
THE WORKS OF GOD
06 MAY, 2019,
Monday, 3rd Week of Easter
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
White.
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First reading
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Acts 6:8-15 ©
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They could not get the better of Stephen
because the Spirit prompted what he said
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Stephen was filled with grace and power
and began to work miracles and great signs among the people. But then certain
people came forward to debate with Stephen, some from Cyrene and Alexandria who
were members of the synagogue called the Synagogue of Freedmen, and others from
Cilicia and Asia. They found they could not get the better of him because of
his wisdom, and because it was the Spirit that prompted what he said. So they
procured some men to say, ‘We heard him using blasphemous language against Moses
and against God.’ Having in this way turned the people against him as well as
the elders and scribes, they took Stephen by surprise, and arrested him and
brought him before the Sanhedrin. There they put up false witnesses to say,
‘This man is always making speeches against this Holy Place and the Law. We
have heard him say that Jesus the Nazarene is going to destroy this Place and
alter the traditions that Moses handed down to us.’ The members of the
Sanhedrin all looked intently at Stephen, and his face appeared to them like
the face of an angel.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm
118(119):23-24,26-27,29-30 ©
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They are happy whose
life is blameless.
or
Alleluia!
Though princes sit plotting against me
I ponder on your statutes.
Your will is my delight;
your statutes are my
counsellors.
They are happy whose
life is blameless.
or
Alleluia!
I declared my ways and you answered;
teach me your statutes.
Make me grasp the way of your precepts
and I will muse on your
wonders.
They are happy whose
life is blameless.
or
Alleluia!
Keep me from the way of error
and teach me your law.
I have chosen the way of truth
with your decrees before me.
They are happy whose
life is blameless.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jn20:29
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Alleluia, alleluia!
‘You believe, Thomas, because you can see
me.
Happy are those who have not seen and yet
believe.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Mt4:4
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the
mouth of God.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 6:22-29 ©
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Do not work for food that cannot last,
but for food that endures to eternal life
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After Jesus had fed the five thousand, his
disciples saw him walking on the water. Next day, the crowd that had stayed on
the other side saw that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not
got into the boat with his disciples, but that the disciples had set off by
themselves. Other boats, however, had put in from Tiberias, near the place
where the bread had been eaten. When the people saw that neither Jesus nor his
disciples were there, they got into those boats and crossed to Capernaum to
look for Jesus. When they found him on the other side, they said to him,
‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’
Jesus
answered:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
you are not looking for me because you
have seen the signs
but because you had all the bread you
wanted to eat.
Do not work for food that cannot last,
but work for food that endures to eternal
life,
the kind of food the Son of Man is
offering you,
for on him the Father, God himself, has
set his seal.’
Then they said to him, ‘What must we do if
we are to do the works that God wants?’ Jesus gave them this answer, ‘This is
working for God: you must believe in the one he has sent.’
DOING THE WORKS
OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS 6:8-15; Ps 119:23-24, 26-27, 29-30; Jn 6:22-29 ]
Jesus told the people, “‘I tell you most
solemnly, you are not looking for me because you have seen the signs but
because you had all the bread you wanted to eat. Do not work for food
that cannot last, but work for food that endures to eternal life.”
The people sought Jesus because of the miraculous multiplication of loaves for
the five thousand. They thought that Jesus would be their messiah, their
political liberator like Moses. Indeed, “When the people saw the signs
that he had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come
into the world. When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him
by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.”
(Jn 6:14f)
Many of us are no better
than the people.
We too come to Jesus to seek only for material and temporal favours, like
food, wealth, money and good health. Jesus is reduced to a
dispensing machine where we put in some prayers and our favours are answered.
We pray only because we need Him to answer our petitions. Our
relationship with God is reduced to asking for this and that. Beyond
asking, we do not have any real relationship with God. We are just making
use of Him. And if He does not answer our prayers, then we seek other
gods, turn to other religions hoping that they can fulfill our requests.
We spend our whole life changing gods, serving those that answer our petitions.
The truth is that Jesus
wants to offer us more. He wants to offer us a share of His life and
love. This
is “the kind of food the Son of Man is offering you, for on him the Father, God
himself, has set his seal.” To have a share in His life, we must follow
Jesus in doing the works of God. But this is where the confusion
lies. Many of us are apparently doing the work of God. We are doing
lots of good works, helping the poor, serving in the Church or in NGOs.
We are sitting in many committees and boards. We give ourselves to the
service of God and Church. Yet doing good works may not necessarily be
working for God.
We can be misguided in
the way we serve God. We
could be serving with ulterior motives. This was the case of the crowd
who wanted to make Jesus their king. In truth, they were not intending to
serve Jesus but wanted to make use of Jesus for their selfish needs. It
was the same for the religious leaders who called for His crucifixion and
death. Jesus was put to death because He was a threat not just to Judaism
but more importantly, their status quo was challenged and their vested
interests were compromised. So, too, in the case of Pilate. He knew
Jesus was not a political rebel and found Him not guilty. Pilate told
them, “I find no case against him. But you have a custom that I release
someone for you at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the King of
the Jews?” (Jn 18:38f) They
thought they were serving God but in fact, they were serving themselves.
This ignorance or
blindness by those claiming to serve God was repeated in the ministry of the
apostles. In the first
reading, we read how certain Jews came to debate with Stephen. “They
found they could not get the better of him because of his wisdom, and because
it was the Spirit that prompted what he said. So they procured some men
to say, ‘we heard him using blasphemous language against Moses and against
God.'” They arrested Stephen, brought him before the Sanhedrin and had false
witnesses to say, “This man is always making speeches against this Holy Place
and the Law. We have heard him say that Jesus the Nazarene is going to
destroy this Place and alter the traditions that Moses handed down to
us.” It is ironical that these religious leaders who are supposedly men
of God and protecting the faith would go to the extent of lying and bearing
false witness against Stephen contrary to the commandment that we should not
bear false witness against others.
Again, this is so true
even in Church ministry and in charitable work. We think we are doing God and our
people a service by cheating, lying and manipulating others. Many of us
serve in the name of God but in truth, if we search deeper, it is because we
want to be recognized, to be acknowledged, to be loved and to be appreciated.
That is why even good people who give money to the church and charity or serve
in organizations are waiting to be given glory, recognition and thanks.
Few would give without expecting some returns. Some are serving because
they want power and honour. They like to feel that they are important and
wanted. They serve from their insecurity and low self-esteem. So we can
be doing the works of God and not serving God and His people but ourselves
because our motives are wrong and self-centered.
Hence, when the people
asked the Lord, “‘What must we do if we are to do the works that God wants?’
Jesus gave them this answer, ‘This is working for God: you must believe in the
one he has sent.'”
What does Jesus mean? Why does working for God presuppose that we believe
in Christ? Good works themselves need not spring from faith and love of
God. That is why merits cannot save us because it comes from our ego,
unless the merits are the effects of our faith in Christ. Faith in Christ
is the basis for salvation. We are justified by faith in Him, not by our
good works. “He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that
we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and
renewal by the Holy Spirit.” (Tit 3:5)
To believe in Jesus is
to believe that He is the One sent by the Father and comes from the Father. We can believe in Jesus only
because the Father has set His seal on Him through the works that Jesus did and
most of all by His passion, death and resurrection. Jesus said to Philip,
“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. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also
do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because
I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that
the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for
anything, I will do it.” (Jn 14:10-14)
Faith in Jesus as the
Son of the Father is the key to doing the works of God. God’s works must
be done in Jesus, with Jesus, for Jesus and His Father through the help of the
Holy Spirit. Without
this faith in Jesus, we will not be able to do all things in the name of God
because we will be glorifying ourselves instead of the Father. Without
Jesus in us, we will perform this work by our own strength rather than through
the power of our Lord in the Holy Spirit. God’s works must be done not using
our own strength but through our faith in His power and the work of the Holy
Spirit.
St Stephen in the first
reading is the exemplar of what it means to do God’s works. We read that he “was filled with
grace and power and began to work miracles and great signs among the
people.” So much so that “they could not get the better of him because of
his wisdom, and because it was the Spirit that prompted what he said.”
Indeed, St Stephen performed his ministry by the power of the Holy
Spirit. His wisdom was not human wisdom but came from the inspiration of
God. His life was blameless, as the responsorial psalm said. “They
are happy whose life is blameless. Though the princes sit plotting
against me I ponder on your statutes. Your will is my delight; your
statutes are my counsellors. I declared my ways and you answered; teach
me your statutes. Make me grasp the way of your precepts and I will muse
on your wonders.” In spite of the persecutions and opposition of his
enemies, he was not afraid but he was calm and composed. “The members of
the Sanhedrin all looked intently at Stephen, and his face appeared to them
like the face of an angel.” Such is the measure of a man of God. He
does not bend before threats and opposition but remains steadfast and calm, not
vindictive or angry but with charity and firmness stays on course and speaks
the truth with boldness and confidence.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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