20190521
PEACE
IN TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS
21 MAY, 2019,
Tuesday, 5th Week of Easter
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
White.
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First reading
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Acts 14:19-28 ©
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They gave an account of how God had
opened the door of faith to the pagans
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Some Jews arrived from Antioch and
Iconium, and turned the people against the apostles. They stoned Paul and
dragged him outside the town, thinking he was dead. The disciples came crowding
round him but, as they did so, he stood up and went back to the town. The next
day he and Barnabas went off to Derbe.
Having
preached the Good News in that town and made a considerable number of
disciples, they went back through Lystra and Iconium to Antioch. They put fresh
heart into the disciples, encouraging them to persevere in the faith. ‘We all
have to experience many hardships’ they said ‘before we enter the kingdom of
God.’ In each of these churches they appointed elders, and with prayer and
fasting they commended them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe.
They
passed through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia. Then after proclaiming the word
at Perga they went down to Attalia and from there sailed for Antioch, where
they had originally been commended to the grace of God for the work they had
now completed.
On
their arrival they assembled the church and gave an account of all that God had
done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith to the pagans. They
stayed there with the disciples for some time.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm
144(145):10-13a,21 ©
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Your friends, O Lord,
shall make known the glorious splendour of your reign.
or
Alleluia!
All your creatures shall thank you, O
Lord,
and your friends shall repeat
their blessing.
They shall speak of the glory of your
reign
and declare your might, O God,
to make known to men your mighty deeds
and the glorious splendour of
your reign.
Your friends, O Lord,
shall make known the glorious splendour of your reign.
or
Alleluia!
Yours is an everlasting kingdom;
your rule lasts from age to
age.
Your friends, O Lord,
shall make known the glorious splendour of your reign.
or
Alleluia!
Let me speak the praise of the Lord,
let all mankind bless his holy
name
for ever, for ages unending.
Your friends, O Lord,
shall make known the glorious splendour of your reign.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Lk24:46,26
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Alleluia, alleluia!
It was ordained that the Christ should
suffer
and rise from the dead,
and so enter into his glory.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 14:27-31 ©
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A peace the world cannot give is my gift
to you
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Jesus said to his disciples:
‘Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I
give you,
a peace the world cannot give,
this is my gift to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or
afraid.
You heard me say: I am going away, and
shall return.
If you loved me you would have been glad
to know that I am going to the Father,
for the Father is greater than I.
I have told you this now before it
happens,
so that when it does happen you may
believe.
I shall not talk with you any longer,
because the prince of this world is on his
way.
He has no power over me,
but the world must be brought to know
that I love the Father
and that I am doing exactly what the
Father told me.’
PEACE IN TRIALS
AND TRIBULATIONS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS 14:19-28; PS 145:10-13, 21; JOHN 14:27-31 ]
Jesus said to His disciples, “Peace I
bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this
is my gift to you.” The world is looking for peace. But
there is no peace because peace cannot be found in the hearts of man. Man
seeks peace on his own terms, not on God’s terms. The peace that the
world is offering is a superficial and fragile peace. For people in the
world, peace means the absence of conflicts and hostilities. This leads to
pacifism and false compromises. World leaders try to find peace by
seeking compromises from all parties. But such compromises would not last
long. And even after the compromises, there is no real peace and
happiness. It is at best a truce. For others, peace is a
psychological peace, an interior peace. They think that just keeping
themselves mindful and free from the stress of this world, there will be
peace. Again, such peace is momentary. It is not an enduring
peace. The moment one wakes up from meditation, one faces the division in
the world and is again stressed.
There is no peace so
long as there is a lack of justice and compassion in the world. When the dignity of the human person
is not respected and when wealth is not more equitably distributed, there can
be no peace. There are many people who are deprived of basic needs like
shelter, food and education. The irony is that in other parts of the
world, many are living in luxury, throwing away food and things. Until
everyone is given respect and recognition, the basic needs for sustenance and
growth, there can be no real peace. There is no peace when men hurt each
other because of greed, envy, lust and sloth. We live among people who
are judgmental, heartless and lacking compassion and understanding for the weak
and the sick. In the final analysis, the division in the world springs
from the division within the human heart.
Where does true peace
come from if not from God alone?
That is why Jesus said, “Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a
peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be
troubled or afraid.” If there is division in our hearts, it is because of
fear and anxiety about our future and our security. We fear pain,
privation, suffering and most of all, death. That is why we have our
defense mechanism to secure our rights, our freedom and our needs. But no
matter how rich we are, how powerful we are, how healthy we are, we know that
all that we have are not secure. Security cannot be found in this world.
This explains why for
Jesus, security is only found in God.
He reminded the disciples, “You heard me say: I am going away, and shall
return. If you loved me you would have been glad to know that I am going to the
Father, for the Father is greater than I.” Jesus spoke of His return to
the Father. He knew where He was going after His life on earth. Because
He was certain that He would be with His Father, Jesus did not cling to this
life on earth or to His possessions. Jesus was certain that His
happiness lay in His union with His Father. But more than just union with
His Father, He said that He would return, implying His resurrection and the
sending of the Holy Spirit.
When we are certain of
our destination and what the outcome of all that we are living for is, we will
be willing to bear the pain and the sufferings. For the sake of obtaining an
academic degree, students would work hard day and night, burning the midnight
oil, sacrificing their pleasures, recreation and even sleep to get their work
done. For the sake of our children, parents too are willing to work hard
to give them the money to pay for their education and their needs. For
the love of our loved ones, we are willing to make sacrifices. This is
provided we are sure of the outcome. Otherwise, we just drift through
life.
Jesus found peace
because He knew that victory over sin, evil and Satan was already won by God. He said, “I have told you this now
before it happens, so that when it does happen you may believe. I shall not
talk with you any longer, because the prince of this world is on his way. He
has no power over me.” Jesus had confidence in His Father’s love and
power over the Evil One. Even though he might suffer death, He knew that
even death could not overcome life, or evil over goodness. This is what
the psalmist says, “All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord, and your friends
shall repeat their blessing. They shall speak of the glory of your reign and
declare your might, O God, to make known to men your mighty deeds and the
glorious splendour of your reign. Yours is an everlasting kingdom; your
rule lasts from age to age.”
Accordingly, for Jesus,
peace was found in doing God’s will.
The entire life of Jesus was to do His Father’s will. From young, Jesus
told His parents, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must
be in my Father’s house?” (Lk 2:49) He told the crowd and His
relatives, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do
it.” (Lk 8:21) With the disciples, the Lord
said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his
work.” (Jn 4:34) And at
the end of His life, in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed, “Father, if you
are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be
done.” (Lk 22:42) Thus,
“the world must be brought to know that I love the Father and that I am doing
exactly what the Father told me.” These words were said just before His
passion. It would be His passion and death that revealed to the world
that He loved His Father unto death in obedience to His divine will.
Today, St Paul is our
exemplar of how we should live our lives in imitation of Christ. We read
of his fearless and indefatigable passion for the gospel. He was not afraid of suffering, rejection
and even death. The people previously welcomed him as a god but because
of the influence of the Jews from Antioch and Iconium who were jealous of him,
they “turned the people against the apostles. They stoned Paul and dragged him
outside the town, thinking he was dead.” But instead of being cowed and
fleeing in fear, “he stood up and went back to the town. The next day he and
Barnabas went off to Derbe.’ Such was the courage and fortitude of Paul
in the face of persecution.
Indeed, more than
anyone, Paul has the authority to tell us that we must persevere in faith
amidst trials because he was a living example of what it meant to persevere even in the
face of opposition, jealousy, betrayal and rejection. Indeed,
that was what he did. “Having preached the Good News in that town and
made a considerable number of disciples, they went back through Lystra and
Iconium to Antioch. They put fresh heart into the disciples, encouraging them
to persevere in the faith. ‘We all have to experience many hardships’ they said
‘before we enter the kingdom of God.'” Such was Paul’s
encouragement.
And he could do this
because he found peace in doing the will of God for he too knew for certain
where his future lay.
He said, “Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies
ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of
God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3:13f) He knew his life on earth
was but a passing reality. He was not afraid of death. “I do not
count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the
ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of
God’s grace.” (Acts 20:24) Hence, all
his life, he was committed to fulfilling the mission entrusted to him.
“Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to
bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to
make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who
created all things.” (Eph 3:8f)
Indeed, at the end of his life, he could say, “As for me, I am already being
poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have
fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the
faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to
me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Tim 4:6-8)
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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