20190503 FIDELITY TO THE
GOSPEL
03 MAY, 2019,
Friday, Ss Philip and James, Apostles
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Red.
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First reading
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1 Corinthians 15:1-8 ©
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The Lord appeared to James, and then to
all the apostles
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Brothers, I want to remind you of the
gospel I preached to you, the gospel that you received and in which you are
firmly established; because the gospel will save you only if you keep believing
exactly what I preached to you – believing anything else will not lead to
anything.
Well
then, in the first place, I taught you what I had been taught myself, namely
that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures; that he was
buried; and that he was raised to life on the third day, in accordance with the
scriptures; that he appeared first to Cephas and secondly to the Twelve. Next
he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of
whom are still alive, though some have died; then he appeared to James, and
then to all the apostles; and last of all he appeared to me too; it was as
though I was born when no one expected it.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 18(19):2-5 ©
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Their word goes forth
through all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
The heavens proclaim the glory of God,
and the firmament shows forth
the work of his hands.
Day unto day takes up the story
and night unto night makes
known the message.
Their word goes forth
through all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
No speech, no word, no voice is heard
yet their span extends through
all the earth,
their words to the utmost
bounds of the world.
Their word goes forth
through all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jn14:6,9
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,
says the Lord.
Philip, to have seen me is to have seen
the Father.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 14:6-14 ©
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To have seen me is to have seen the
father
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Jesus said to Thomas:
‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No one can come to the Father except
through me.
If you know me, you know my Father too.
From this moment you know him and have
seen him.’
Philip said, ‘Lord, let us see the Father
and then we shall be satisfied.’
‘Have
I been with you all this time, Philip,’ said Jesus to him ‘and you still do not
know me?
‘To have seen me is to have seen the
Father,
so how can you say, “Let us see the
Father”?
Do you not believe
that I am in the Father and the Father is
in me?
The words I say to you I do not speak as
from myself:
it is the Father, living in me, who is
doing this work.
You must believe me when I say
that I am in the Father and the Father is
in me;
believe it on the evidence of this work,
if for no other reason.
I tell you most solemnly,
whoever believes in me
will perform the same works as I do
myself,
he will perform even greater works,
because I am going to the Father.
Whatever you ask for in my name I will do,
so that the Father may be glorified in the
Son.
If you ask for anything in my name,
I will do it.’
FIDELITY TO THE
GOSPEL
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 Cor 15:1-8; Ps 19:2-5; Jn 14: 6-14 ]
There are many people
who do not know the way to fullness of life or their final destiny. They are searching and are often
confused by the many philosophies of life. But they are looking for their
identity, their origin, purpose in life and their final goal. In
this sense, many people are like Thomas in the gospel. Earlier on in the
gospel, Jesus was preparing the disciples for His imminent departure. He
said to them, “‘I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will
take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you
know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we
do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?'” (Jn 14:3-5)
Then there are many who
think they know the way. They
offer to the world all kinds of answers, mostly from their human reasoning as
they contemplate on the mysteries of life in the world. Some claim to
have been inspired by God to convey His message to humanity. We have
great religious leaders who have sought the Ultimate in life and today propose
to humanity their way of finding meaning and purpose in life. Many of
these religious leaders teach their people to do good, to walk according to the
truth and in love and be compassionate.
Then we have those who
apparently know the way but do not live and walk the way. Ironically, many of us fall into this
category. Christ has been revealed to them as the Way, the Truth
and the Life. He is the only way to the Father. Jesus said to
Thomas, “I am the Way, the truth and the Life. No one can come to the Father
except through me.” This is simply because Jesus is identified with the
Father. “If you know me, you know my Father too. From this moment you
know him and have seen him.”
Unfortunately, whilst
many Catholics profess that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and the
sole mediator to the Father, they are only paying lip service. Instead of giving full allegiance to
the Lord and trusting in Him, they are involved in all kinds of New Age and
even occult movements to gain mystical knowledge and powers over life.
Some are involved in esoteric religions and try to combine faith in Christ with
all these mysterious cults. It is a kind of syncretism, combining all the
best doctrines and practices of every religion until the Catholic Faith is no
longer faithful to what has been handed on to us.
Some want to import
religious practices and even doctrines from other religions into the Catholic
Tradition. They want to seek
mystical union with God without passing through the humanity of Jesus.
That is to say, they want to attain illumination without going through the
purgative, ascetical stages of prayer before arriving at the illuminative stage
as all masters of spirituality in the Church have taught us. If that were
the case, Jesus is no longer the Way to the Father, since all can arrive at the
Father without Jesus. We can no longer confess this truth about Jesus as
the One mediator to the Father and the One who saves us from sins and redeems
us. If by just sitting in meditation, contemplating on silence, one can
arrive at God, we do not need any religions at all, much less Christianity or
Jesus Christ.
Some Catholics are
confusing fellow Catholics and bringing in traditions that threaten the purity
of the truths of the Catholic Faith, all in the name of inculturation. Yet, today’s feast of St
Philip and James reminds us that James himself was an advocate of inculturation
when he was the head of the Church in Jerusalem. He helped to bring the
Gentiles into the fold of Christianity by having the apostles decide on what is
essential to the faith and what were Jewish practices and customs.
Legitimate inculturation requires that we remain faithful to what we believe
and who we believe. Illegitimate inculturation seeks to change and adapt
the doctrines of our faith with other religions or philosophies.
Indeed, any belief or
practice that dilutes our faith in Christ as the Son of God, as the Way, the
Truth and the Life, as our only one Mediator and Saviour of the World is a
betrayal of Christ.
We must avoid reductionism in our understanding of Christ. St Paul wrote,
“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 as a ransom
for all – this was attested at the right time.” (1 Tim 2:3-6) St Peter, addressing
the Sanhedrin declared, “Let it be known to all of you, and to all the people
of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the
dead. This Jesus is ‘the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it
has become the cornerstone.’ There is salvation in no one else, for there is no
other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10-12)
Hence, St Paul urges us
to be firmly established in the gospel as transmitted to us. “Brothers, I want to remind you of
the gospel I preached to you, the gospel that you received and in which you are
firmly established; because the gospel will save you only if you keep believing
exactly what I preached to you – believing anything else will not lead to
anything.” What is this gospel that all Christians must confess in?
Firstly, the gospel is
about the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is about Jesus of Nazareth, “how 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. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in
Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised
him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but
to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after
he rose from the dead.” (Acts 10:38-41)
This was what St Paul
also affirmed in today’s first reading. He said, “Well then, in the first place, I
taught you what I had been taught myself, namely that Christ died for our
sins, in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; and that he was
raised to life on the third day, in accordance with the scriptures; that he
appeared first to Cephas and secondly to the Twelve. Next, he appeared to
more than five thousand of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are
still alive, though some have died; then he appeared to James, and then to all
the apostles; and last of all he appeared to me too; it was as though I was
born when no one expected it.”
Indeed, the gospel is
about Jesus who is the Christ, the Messiah who died for our sins in fulfillment
of the divine plan of God for the salvation of humanity. By raising Jesus from the dead, and
witnessed by the disciples, God established the fact that Jesus was truly what
He claimed to be; that He was acting in the name and person of the
Father. He is identical with God, sharing in His divine life and yet
distinct from His Father. This was what Jesus meant when He told Philip
who asked Him, “Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be
satisfied.” “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, said Jesus to
him and you still do not know me? To have seen me is to have seen the Father,
so how can you say, ‘Let us see the Father?’ Do you not believe that I am
in the Father and the Father is in me?”
Christian confession is
not just in Jesus as our unique savior of the world but that He is the Son of God
because He is one with Him in everything. Jesus said, “Do you not believe that I am in
the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak
as from myself: it is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work.
You must believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;
believe it on the evidence of this work, if for no other reason.” We do
not need any other intermediaries to come to God. We do not need any new
age mediators or techniques to arrive at illumination or find the truth to life,
for Christ is the Truth and our Wisdom and our life. Jesus for us
is The Way!
Indeed, unless we are in
union with Jesus, we cannot bear much fruit. If the Church lacks missionary and evangelical
zeal, or if we are just a maintenance church, or if we are not bearing fruit in
our works, it is because we are not in union with the Lord. Jesus assures
us when He said, “I tell you most solemnly, whoever believes in me will perform
the same works as I do myself, he will perform even greater works, because I am
going to the Father. Whatever you ask for in my name I will do, so that
the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask for anything in my
name, I will do it.” Unless we are in union with Jesus just as He was one
with His Father, we cannot achieve great things for God because we have diluted
and compromised our faith in Him as our Lord and Saviour. Reclaiming the
gospel is, therefore, the key to go out and proclaim the Good News to all
creation. Only when we are fully established in the gospel, knowing the way
and walking the way, can we truly flourish in our faith and lead others to Him.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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