20190608
MANY
PATHS ONE MISSION
07 JUNE, 2019,
Friday, 7th Week of Easter
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
White.
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First reading
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Acts 28:16-20,30-31 ©
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In Rome, Paul proclaimed the kingdom of
God without hindrance from anyone
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On our arrival in Rome Paul was allowed to
stay in lodgings of his own with the soldier who guarded him.
After
three days he called together the leading Jews. When they had assembled, he
said to them, ‘Brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or the
customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the
Romans. They examined me and would have set me free, since they found me guilty
of nothing involving the death penalty; but the Jews lodged an objection, and I
was forced to appeal to Caesar, not that I had any accusation to make against
my own nation. That is why I have asked to see you and talk to you, for it is
on account of the hope of Israel that I wear this chain.’
Paul
spent the whole of the two years in his own rented lodging. He welcomed all who
came to visit him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the truth about
the Lord Jesus Christ with complete freedom and without hindrance from anyone.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 10(11):4-5,7 ©
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The upright shall see
your face, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord is in his holy temple,
the Lord, whose throne is in
heaven.
His eyes look down on the world;
his gaze tests mortal men.
The upright shall see
your face, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord tests the just and the wicked;
the lover of violence he
hates.
The Lord is just and loves justice;
the upright shall see his face.
The upright shall see
your face, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 21:20-25 ©
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This disciple is the one who vouches for
these things and we know that his testimony is true
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Peter turned and saw the disciple Jesus
loved following them – the one who had leaned on his breast at the supper
and had said to him, ‘Lord, who is it that will betray you?’ Seeing him, Peter
said to Jesus, ‘What about him, Lord?’ Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to stay
behind till I come, what does it matter to you? You are to follow me.’ The
rumour then went out among the brothers that this disciple would not die. Yet
Jesus had not said to Peter, ‘He will not die’, but, ‘If I want him to stay
behind till I come.’
This
disciple is the one who vouches for these things and has written them down, and
we know that his testimony is true.
There
were many other things that Jesus did; if all were written down, the world
itself, I suppose, would not hold all the books that would have to be written.
08 JUNE, 2019,
Saturday, 7th Week of Easter
MANY PATHS ONE
MISSION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Acts 28:16-20.30-31; Ps 11:4-5,7; John 21:20-25 ]
Today is the last day of
the Easter Season. Tomorrow, we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. With this in mind, the Church also
concludes the selection of the scripture readings from Acts of the Apostles and
that of St John’s gospel. In the first reading, we have the conclusion of
Acts with the arrival of St Paul in Rome. It sums up St Luke’s gospel
that the Good News will be spread to the ends of the earth. It fulfills
Jesus’ command, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the
ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) Rome, which
was in the West, was considered the other end of the world. St John also
concluded the gospel by saying, “There are many things that Jesus did; if all
were written down, the world itself, I suppose, would not hold all the books
that would have to be written.”
In one sense, their
hopes have been fulfilled but the point of arrival is also the point of
departure for us as Church. A new mission has just begun. The end of the
Easter season means the beginning of a worldwide mission for the gospel to
proclaim to all of creation. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit, bestowing
gifts on the disciples, would send them out to be His witnesses.
The gospel started by the early Church is not yet completed. Hence, the
Acts of the Apostles and the gospel ended with a tone of
incompleteness. The story continues in the Church. Each one
of us in our own way is now called to complete the mission began by the Lord
and continued in the disciples.
How should we undertake
this mission of proclaiming the Good News? Each one would be called
according to the charism given to us by the Lord. We do not have the same role in
this mission although the mission is the same for all, which is to give hope to
humanity by sharing the Good News about Jesus Christ as St Paul did. But
we all are called to share the Good News in different ways. St John
preached the Good News by spending time in prayer, contemplation and writing
the gospels and the letters. He lived a long life but he was also
banished to the island of Patmos during the Roman persecution. St Peter
preached the Good News to his fellow Jews and finally, tradition had it that he
ended his mission in Rome and was martyred. He died for his faith.
Indeed, Jesus reminds us
in the gospel that it is not important how we are called to serve Him but that
we follow Him and serve Him wherever He calls us. Often, like Peter, we are curious and
sometimes resentful and envious that others seem to have better roles in life
than us. We are envious that some are called to be bishops or priests or
religious. We feel that God does not care for us because He did not
appoint us to high office or give us a prominent position in society, in our
organization or in Church. Some of us remain as just homemakers or
background helpers, unknown to the world. Most play secondary roles in
events and in society. We feel that we are not good enough or blessed
with the grace to be in the limelight or with popularity, status and wealth.
But the truth is that
happiness in life has nothing to do with what we are but whether we are putting
ourselves in the service of God according to the charisms He has given to us. That was why the Lord told St Peter
when he asked Jesus, “What about him, Lord?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to
stay behind till I come, what does it matter to you? You are to follow me.”
Indeed, it is immaterial how we are asked to share in the mission of our
Lord. What is important is that we follow Him and do what He wills of
us. Whether we are a bishop, priest, religious, civil servant, government
official, businessman or just a helper, it does not matter. The
Lord has His plans for each one of us. He knows what we are good at
and where we should be at the right time and the right place. We just
have to follow Him.
This is what St Teresa
of Avila advised as well with respect to those who seek mystical graces in a
life of prayer. She
wrote, “God doesn’t lead all by one path, and perhaps the one who thinks she is
walking along a very lowly path is in fact higher in the eyes of the Lord. So,
not because all in this house practice prayer must all be contemplatives;
that’s impossible. And it would be very distressing for the one who isn’t a
contemplative if she didn’t understand this truth… I spent fourteen years never
being able to practice meditation without reading. There will be many persons
of this sort, and others who will be unable to meditate even with the reading
but able only to pray vocally, and in this vocal prayer they will spend most of
their time… There are a number of other persons of this kind. If humility is
present, I don’t believe they will be any the worse off in the end but will be
very much the equals of those who receive many delights; and in a way they will
be more secure, for we do not know if the delights are from God or from the
devil… Those who do not receive these delights walk with humility, suspecting
that this lack is their own fault, always concerned about making
progress.” Such a great consolation for those of us who are struggling in
prayer!
Regardless where we are
and whatever situation we are in, nothing can hinder us from proclaiming the
Good News. We cannot
give excuses that we are not able to do the job. The problem
with many of us is that we want to choose our way. We do not want to fit
into His plan. We want God to do our will and fit into our plans.
So when asked upon to undertake new responsibilities or a new assignment, we
give all kinds of excuses that we cannot do it and find all attempts to be
excused without even discerning whether the Lord is inviting us to take risks
for the gospel. If our mind is focused on serving the Lord and in
spreading the Good News, then we will spare no energy in working for the Lord.
St Paul is a good
example of one who never tired of finding new opportunities to share the Good
News in whatever situation he was in. In the first reading we read that only
after three days of arriving in Rome, “he called together all the leading Jews”
and spoke to them about how Jesus was the fulfillment of the hope of Israel and
“it was on account of the hope of Israel that I wear this chain.” And we
read further that in spite of his being in confinement in his own house, he was
still able to preach the Good News. “Paul spent the whole of the two
years in his own rented lodging. He welcomed all who came to visit him,
proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the truth about the Lord Jesus
Christ with complete freedom and without hindrance from anyone.” Indeed,
Paul was one person who could adapt himself to every situation in life,
proclaiming the gospel everywhere, regardless of his situation. Indeed,
he shared, “I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what
it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all
circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry,
of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who
strengthens me.” (Phil 4:12-13)
St Paul was clear that
the gospel he was preaching was not against the common good of his fellow Jews. On the contrary, Jesus must be seen
as the realization of the hope of Israel, for He is the expected Messiah to
complete the work of redemption of humanity. He was not against their
customs or their nation. He said, “Brothers, although I have done nothing
against our people or the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem
and handed over to the Romans. They examined me and would have set me free,
since they found me guilty of nothing involving the death penalty; but the Jews
lodged an objection, and I was forced to appeal to Caesar, not that I had any
accusation to make against my own nation.”
Unless we too are
convinced that Jesus is the Lord and our savior, and the Good News for
humanity, we will lack the conviction to give ourselves for the work of
evangelization. In
the final analysis, it all depends on whether we have faith in Jesus as the Son
of God. St John assured us, “This disciple is the one who vouches for
these things and has written them down, and we know that his testimony is true.”
He had seen the Lord and He was convicted of who Christ was and what He meant
for us. Unless we have seen the Lord, we cannot find the courage to
live or to die for Him.
This is why we need to
prepare ourselves for the Feast of Pentecost so that the Lord will renew His
love for us and empower us to be fired with His love to renew the face of the
earth. With the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we will be propelled from within us to move out
and share the good of being filled with His love. We will perform signs
and wonders in His name like the apostles. So with the apostles and Mary,
we need to prepare ourselves for this fresh outpouring of His Holy Spirit so
that our faith could be rekindled and become alive once more. Let us
spend time in prayer and contemplation as we wait for the coming of the Holy
Spirit.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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