20190603
BE
BRAVE: I HAVE CONQUERED THE WORLD
03 JUNE, 2019,
Monday, 7th Week of Easter
|
First reading
|
Acts 19:1-8 ©
|
|
The moment Paul laid hands on them the Holy Spirit
came down on them
|
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul made
his way overland as far as Ephesus, where he found a number of disciples. When
he asked, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?’ they
answered, ‘No, we were never even told there was such a thing as a Holy
Spirit.’ ‘Then how were you baptised?’ he asked. ‘With John’s baptism’ they
replied. ‘John’s baptism’ said Paul ‘was a baptism of repentance; but he
insisted that the people should believe in the one who was to come after
him – in other words, Jesus.’ When they heard this, they were baptised in
the name of the Lord Jesus, and the moment Paul had laid hands on them the Holy
Spirit came down on them, and they began to speak with tongues and to prophesy.
There were about twelve of these men.
He began by going to the
synagogue, where he spoke out boldly and argued persuasively about the kingdom
of God. He did this for three months.
|
Responsorial Psalm
|
|
Psalm 67(68):2-7 ©
|
Kingdoms of the earth,
sing to God.
or
Alleluia!
Let God arise, let his foes be scattered.
Let those who hate him flee
before him.
As smoke is blown away so will they be
blown away;
like wax that melts before the
fire,
so the wicked shall perish at
the presence of God.
Kingdoms of the earth,
sing to God.
or
Alleluia!
But the just shall rejoice at the presence
of God,
they shall exult and dance for
joy.
O sing to the Lord, make music to his
name;
rejoice in the Lord, exult at
his presence.
Kingdoms of the earth,
sing to God.
or
Alleluia!
Father of the orphan, defender of the
widow,
such is God in his holy place.
God gives the lonely a home to live in;
he leads the prisoners forth
into freedom.
Kingdoms of the earth,
sing to God.
or
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
John 16:29-33 ©
|
|
Be brave, for I have conquered the world
|
His disciples said to Jesus, ‘Now you are
speaking plainly and not using metaphors! Now we see that you know everything,
and do not have to wait for questions to be put into words; because of this we
believe that you came from God.’ Jesus answered them:
‘Do you believe at last?
Listen; the time will come – in fact
it has come already –
when you will be scattered,
each going his own way and leaving me
alone.
And yet I am not alone,
because the Father is with me.
I have told you all this
so that you may find peace in me.
In the world you will have trouble,
but be brave: I have conquered the world.’
BE BRAVE: I HAVE
CONQUERED THE WORLD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 19:1-8; PS 68:2-7; JOHN 16:29-33 ]
Jesus said, “In the
world you will have trouble.”
This is how we feel too. No one is exempted from the troubles of life,
whether we are a little baby, a healthy person, an elderly, or even a dying
person. Whether we are rich or poor, of high or low social status, single
or married, we have our own struggles each day.
As bishop, I am often
overwhelmed with demands from the Church and society. Besides trying to be available for
the many people, meetings and engagements, I have to contend with trying to
mediate the politics in church life, bringing about reconciliation between
peoples and organizations due to the misunderstandings and hurts in
ministry. Whilst keeping an eye on the immediate challenges and problems
facing the church, I have to keep the other eye on the future of the church and
humanity. So as bishop, day and night, 365 days a year, I also have my
anxiety for the church and society. I feel that as church we are not
taking our faith, our discipleship in Christ and our obligation to the work of
evangelization seriously. Our Catholics are too complacent and there are
so many who need to find hope and meaning in life, and they are waiting for us
to reach out to them, but few are taking this call seriously.
Those of you who are
married or single also have your struggles. You have difficulties in maintaining harmonious
relationships at home, with your spouse, children and in-laws. You are
constantly worried as to whether they will have enough and whether they are
adequately provided for. You worry about their health, their studies,
their careers, relationships and their spiritual life. Those who are single
have to look after their elderly parents. At work, you have to struggle
with politics, ambitions, sabotage, backbiting, irresponsibility, work demands
and expectations and difficult relationships with bosses and colleagues.
So everywhere, whether
in church, at the office, at home or society at large, we have to face so many
challenges and difficulties. Many of us are tired and feel like giving up,
especially when we feel the demands made on us are too overwhelming. We
feel crushed, misunderstood, taken for granted, exploited, unappreciated and
rejected. We have tried, and we feel no one is taking heed of what we are
saying. We find that our efforts have all been futile and we have
expended our energy, time and resources in vain. Many times, we feel like
throwing in the towel and just resign ourselves to the inevitable.
How, then, can we remain
brave in the face of these trials in life? One thing is clear,
intellectual faith is not sufficient to keep us going in life. This was the warning of the Lord to His
disciples. They were not able to understand what the Lord was saying to
them. But through the explanations of our Lord, they began to understand
a little clearer. And so confidently, they exclaimed, “Now you are
speaking plainly and not using metaphors! Now we see that you know everything,
and do not have to wait for questions to be put into words; because of this we
believe that you came from God.” Indeed, they have knowledge about
Jesus. But such knowledge alone cannot keep a person firm in his faith
unless the conviction is from the heart. That is why the Lord retorted, “Do
you believe at last? Listen; the time will come – in fact, it has come already
– when you will be scattered, each going his own way and leaving me
alone.” Although they knew about Jesus, such external knowledge could not
empower them to stand up for Jesus when He was arrested by His enemies.
After all the empty promises of fighting and standing up for Him, they all ran
away when the soldiers came. Even St Peter who said he would give up his life
for the Lord denied Him three times before the servants of the High
Priest. It is true for us all. Those who have intellectual
faith in Christ will betray Him when trials engulf them.
Secondly, moral faith is
also not sufficient to keep a person faithful to Christ. We read in the first reading, the
disciples at Ephesus were baptized with John’s baptism. No wonder, like
Apollos earlier on, they lacked power in witnessing and zeal in their Christian
life. St Paul said to them, “‘John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance;
but he insisted that the people should believe in the one who was to come after
him – in other words, Jesus.” Christianity is more than just morality and
ethics. If it were merely morality alone, it becomes merely a
discipline. One seeks to live a righteous life through one’s
efforts. Such a life, even if lived, cannot bring joy and passion.
Instead, we can end up being self-righteous and harsh towards those who fail,
lacking compassion and mercy.
This is why Pope
Benedict at the beginning of his ministry wrote in Deus est Caritas, “We have come to believe in God’s love:
in these words the Christian can express the fundamental decision of his life.
Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the
encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a
decisive direction.” (DEC 1) Indeed, this is the secret of
our Lord. After prophesying that His disciples would betray Him, He
added, “And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you
all this so that you may find peace in me.” Jesus was able to go through
His passion only because He knew that the Father was with Him. He was not
going alone in this journey but His Father walked with Him. This was the
same experience of Abraham when he sacrificed Isaac. He believed
that God will provide somehow. (cf Gn 22:1-18) He is the Father of faith.
The question is, how
does this encounter with Christ as an event be possible so that we can feel the
Father’s love for us? Only through the Holy Spirit, which is God’s love
poured into our hearts. (Rom 5:5) Unless we receive the Holy Spirit and not
just know about Him, we will not be filled with the joy, the courage and
passion to continue working for the glory of God. This was the case of
the Christians in Ephesus. St Paul noticed that the signs of them being
baptized in Christ were missing. So he enquired, “Did you receive the
Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They answered, “No, we were never
even told there was such a thing as a Holy Spirit.” Without the
Holy Spirit, we would have no conscious presence of the Father and the Son
living in us, making their Home in us. It is the Holy Spirit that gives
us a real personal awareness of God’s love in our hearts. Only with that
love, St Paul wrote, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors
through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor
life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor
powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be
able to separate from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:37-39)
Quite often, the
infilling of the Holy Spirit is marked by the gifts of tongues and prophecy. “When they heard this, they were
baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus, and the moment Paul had laid hands on
them the Holy Spirit came down on them, and they began to speak in tongues and
to prophesy.” In the gospel of Mark, the evangelist noted, “And these
signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons;
they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their
hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mk 16:17f) Of course, the signs that we
are filled with the Holy Spirit are not restricted to these spectacular
charisms. When we encounter Him in a deeper manner at prayer or when
mystical graces or visions are received during contemplation, or we are just
overflowing with unexplainable joy and peace, we know that the Holy Spirit
dwells in us.
Truly, when we are aware
of God’s presence with us as Jesus did, we too can commend our lives to Him,
just as Jesus did on the cross.
We know that because Christ has overcome the world by His death and
resurrection, we too will share in His victory. Those who have not
encountered the Holy Spirit personally will not be able to know Jesus
personally for the Holy Spirit is the One who leads us to know Jesus the Risen
Lord.
Finally, if we are to
remain at peace when everything seems to be going wrong, we can take heart from
the advice of St John of the Cross who
wrote, “Strive to keep your heart in peace and do not allow anything that
happens in this world make you uneasy, but consider that it must all come to an
end. In all things, however annoying they may be, we should rather rejoice than
be sad if we are not to lose an even greater good: peace and tranquility of
soul. Even if everything here below were to fall apart and all were to go
against us, it would be useless to worry ourselves about it, for worrying would
cause us more injury than gain.” With the psalmist, we pray with
confidence, “Let God arise, let his foes be scattered. Let those who hate him
flee before him. As smoke is blown away so will they be blown away; like wax
that melts before the fire, so the wicked shall perish at the presence of
God. But the just shall rejoice at the presence of God, they shall exult
and dance for joy. O sing to the Lord, make music to his name; rejoice in the
Lord, exult at his presence.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment