20190507
IDENTIFICATION
WITH JESUS THROUGH THE EUCHARIST
07 MAY, 2019,
Tuesday, 3rd Week of Easter
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
White.
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First reading
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Acts 7:51-8:1 ©
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'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit'
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Stephen said to the people, the elders and
the scribes: ‘You stubborn people, with your pagan hearts and pagan ears. You
are always resisting the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. Can
you name a single prophet your ancestors never persecuted? In the past they
killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, and now you have become
his betrayers, his murderers. You who had the Law brought to you by angels are
the very ones who have not kept it.’
They
were infuriated when they heard this, and ground their teeth at him.
But
Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of
God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand. ‘I can see heaven thrown open’ he
said ‘and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ At this all the
members of the council shouted out and stopped their ears with their hands;
then they all rushed at him, sent him out of the city and stoned him. The
witnesses put down their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul. As
they were stoning him, Stephen said in invocation, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit.’ Then he knelt down and said aloud, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against
them’; and with these words he fell asleep. Saul entirely approved of the
killing.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm
30(31):3-4,6,8,17,21 ©
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Into your hands, O Lord,
I commend my spirit.
or
Alleluia!
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a mighty stronghold to save
me,
for you are my rock, my stronghold.
For your name’s sake, lead me
and guide me.
Into your hands, O Lord,
I commend my spirit.
or
Alleluia!
Into your hands I commend my spirit.
It is you who will redeem me,
Lord.
As for me, I trust in the Lord:
let me be glad and rejoice in
your love.
Into your hands, O Lord,
I commend my spirit.
or
Alleluia!
Let your face shine on your servant.
Save me in your love.
You hide them in the shelter of your
presence
from the plotting of men.
Into your hands, O Lord,
I commend my spirit.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jn10:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my own sheep and my own know me.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Jn6:35
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the bread of life, says the Lord.
He who comes to me will never be hungry;
he who believes in me will never thirst.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 6:30-35 ©
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It is my Father who gives you the bread
from heaven
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The people said to Jesus, ‘What sign will
you give to show us that we should believe in you? What work will you do? Our
fathers had manna to eat in the desert; as scripture says: He gave them
bread from heaven to eat.’
Jesus
answered:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
it was not Moses who gave you bread from
heaven,
it is my Father who gives you the bread
from heaven,
the true bread;
for the bread of God
is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.’
‘Sir,’ they said ‘give us that bread
always.’ Jesus answered:
‘I am the bread of life.
He who comes to me will never be hungry;
he who believes in me will never thirst.’
IDENTIFICATION
WITH JESUS THROUGH THE EUCHARIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS 7:51 – 8:1; PS 31:3-4,6,8,17,21; JN 6:30-35 ]
In the gospel, the Jews
asked Jesus, “What sign will you give to show us that we should believe in you?
What work will you do? Our
fathers had manna to eat in the desert; as scripture says: He gave them bread
from heaven to eat.” The world is posing this same question to us.
What signs can we give that Jesus is truly the Risen Lord and our
saviour? What work will we do to show that we are truly the disciples of
Jesus, sharing in His life? These questions are valid because it is not
enough to make claims but we need to justify and verify our claims so that
people can believe in us.
Indeed, this was the
case of the Jewish leaders in the first reading. They were outraged by
Stephen who preached the gospel of our Lord. They were opposed to Stephen and
all the prophets as well just, like their ancestors. Stephen
rebuked them saying, “You
stubborn people, with your pagan hearts and pagan ears. You are always
resisting the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. Can you
name a single prophet your ancestors never persecuted? In the past, they
killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, and now you have become
his betrayers, his murderers. You who had the Law brought to you by
angels are the very ones who have not kept it.”
Did they respond
positively to the truth of what Stephen said? On the contrary, “they were infuriated
when they heard this, and ground their teeth at him. All the members of
the council shouted out and stopped their ears with their hands; then they all
rushed at him, sent him out of the city and stoned him.” Obviously
speaking the truth about Jesus and the Good News did not move them or changed
their hearts. At any rate, Jesus was not able to convert the Jewish
leaders either and they too were scandalized at the claims of Jesus and had Him
put to death for His heretical assertions.
For this reason, more
than just declaring or explaining what we believe and why we believe, a better
way to vouch for our faith in Jesus is when we live the life of Christ. There is nothing more powerful and
convincing than a life of witness, living the truth of what we believe in our
lives. It is our faith in Jesus and how this faith in Jesus
transforms us that matters at the end of the day. Jesus answered, “I tell
you most solemnly, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven, it is my
Father who gives you the bread from heaven, the true bread; for the bread of
God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
Jesus is for us the true bread from heaven because in receiving Him, we are
transformed into Christ. What we eat is what we become. So in
receiving the bread of life, we demonstrate the reality of Jesus as the true
bread from heaven when we become life-givers in Him.
Those of us who have
known Christ and accepted Him must show that in Jesus we have the fullness of
life. When the Jews
said to the Lord, “Sir, give us that bread always.” Jesus answered, “I am
the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in
me will never thirst.” As Christians, we need to let others know that
with Jesus, we are living fulfilling lives. Jesus becomes for us the food
and the source of strength in all that we do. He is the bread of
life which nourishes us in our faith and shows us how to walk the way of truth
and love so that we can find life. With Jesus, we have everything and we
can do all things in Christ. We no longer yearn for the things of
this world but for heavenly things, for what is truly lasting, namely, love and
service. When people see that we are no longer vindictive, materialistic,
selfish and self-centered, then they will know for certain that Christ is
true. Those of us who profess our love for the Lord but live lives that
are not reflective of Christ – being quarrelsome, always fighting and arguing,
shows that Christ is not in us.
Indeed, St Stephen’s
real witness of Christ was not what he said to the Sanhedrin. Rather, it
was the way he conducted himself before them. He acted out the life of
Christ in Him. That
is why we celebrate the Feast of St Stephen immediately after Christmas,
because He was the first martyr of the Church who lived for Christ by dying for
Him. In giving up His life for Christ, he showed that he was truly one
with Christ in His self-emptying at the incarnation and at His passion.
St Stephen lived perfectly the life of Christ. This was shown
particularly in the way He conducted himself at the trial and in the way He
died.
Firstly, like Jesus, he
was brought before the Sanhedrin to be tried. Like Jesus, he was not
afraid of the Jewish leaders.
He spoke the truth from his heart and from his inner conviction. He
called a spade a spade. He did not mince his words or speak the truth in
nice politically correct language. On the contrary, he was outright in
denunciating their stubbornness. Like Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, we
read that he, too, looked up and saw a vision. “Stephen, filled with the
Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at
God’s right hand. ‘I can see heaven thrown open’ he said ‘and the Son of
Man standing at the right hand of God.'” This vision was similar to that of
Jesus’ at His trial.
Secondly, because of his
firmness in his beliefs, the religious leaders put him to death by stoning. Like Jesus, he was charged for
blasphemy and put to death. What is even more significant was that
Stephen accepted his death calmly and without resistance as Jesus did. He
too behaved like the Suffering Servant. “He was oppressed, and he was
afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the
slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did
not open his mouth.” (Isa 53:7)
Thirdly, he died the way
Christ died, in perfect peace and tranquility. “As they were stoning him,
Stephen said in invocation, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he
knelt down and said aloud, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them’; and with
these words he fell asleep.” Indeed, in his death, he held no resentment
against his enemies. He spoke the truth for their sake, not to condemn
them but to bring them to conversion of heart. Stephen had no malice or
vindictiveness in saying what he said. He spoke the truth for their
salvation. And so when misunderstood and rejected, like Jesus he prayed
that God would forgive them for they too knew not what they were doing.
He knew that they were ignorant and perhaps reacting because of fear and
seeking to protect their self-interests.
Indeed, Stephen did not
take things into his own hands. He did not fight or instigate others to
take revenge. Rather, he surrendered all things into the hands of
God. This
is the sign of godliness. There are many so-called good Catholics who are
always fighting and causing division in the Catholic community. They
slander others and pass on fake news. They do not know what is happening
but would make all kinds of false accusations and spread half-truths.
Things must happen the way they think should be the way. Everyone must
agree with them and if they do not, they are condemned. We must be
careful of those who are self-righteous and apparently working for the good of
the Church but in fact are destroying the Church. Those who are true
believers of God would not take things into their own hands. Sure, by all
means, articulate your concerns to those who are in charge. But once that
is done, they should learn to leave matters to those who are legitimately
appointed to look into the issues involved in the community. But
Catholics who are divisive are certainly not reflecting the Spirit of Christ.
The first reading ends
with an observation about Saul. “The witnesses put down their
clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul. Saul entirely approved of the
killing.” That Saul was there to witness how Stephen died showed how Saul
was moved by the death of Stephen. He must have been touched by the way
Stephen died for Christ, even if he felt that Stephen was a heretic. Seeing the
Spirit of Christ in him, in his total and peaceful surrender of his life to God
and forgiving his enemies, praying for them, must have caused Saul to think
about the possible truth of what Stephen said about Jesus. It was the
beginning of faith.
We too should learn from
Stephen. We might suffer
innocently, be misunderstood or misjudged. Nevertheless, we should not
take revenge or retaliate. Following Christ, we must suffer innocently
because our suffering will sow seeds of faith in those watching us and even in
our enemies. “For to this you have been called, because Christ also
suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his
steps. ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.’ When
he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten;
but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself
bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might
live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Pt 2:21-24) Through our suffering, we
will eventually win over our detractors and our slanderers when they see the
truth of love in our lives.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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