20200506 MISSIONARIES OF CHRIST ARE INTENTIONAL EVANGELIZERS
06 May, 2020, Wednesday, 4th Week of Easter
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: White.
First reading
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Acts 12:24-13:5 ©
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'I want Barnabas and Saul set apart'
The word of God continued to spread and to gain followers. Barnabas and Saul completed their task and came back from Jerusalem, bringing John Mark with them.
In the church at Antioch the following were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. One day while they were offering worship to the Lord and keeping a fast, the Holy Spirit said, ‘I want Barnabas and Saul set apart for the work to which I have called them.’ So it was that after fasting and prayer they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
So these two, sent on their mission by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and from there sailed to Cyprus. They landed at Salamis and proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; John acted as their assistant.
Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 66(67):2-3,5-6,8 ©
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Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
or
Alleluia!
O God, be gracious and bless us
and let your face shed its light upon us.
So will your ways be known upon earth
and all nations learn your saving help.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
or
Alleluia!
Let the nations be glad and exult
for you rule the world with justice.
With fairness you rule the peoples,
you guide the nations on earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
or
Alleluia!
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
May God still give us his blessing
till the ends of the earth revere him.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation
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Jn20:29
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Alleluia, alleluia!
‘You believe, Thomas, because you can see me.
Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.
Alleluia!
Or:
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Jn8:12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light of life.
Alleluia!
Gospel
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John 12:44-50 ©
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I, the light, have come into the world
Jesus declared publicly:
‘Whoever believes in me
believes not in me
but in the one who sent me,
and whoever sees me,
sees the one who sent me.
I, the light, have come into the world,
so that whoever believes in me
need not stay in the dark any more.
If anyone hears my words and does not keep them faithfully,
it is not I who shall condemn him,
since I have come not to condemn the world,
but to save the world.
He who rejects me and refuses my words has his judge already:
the word itself that I have spoken will be his judge on the last day.
For what I have spoken does not come from myself;
no, what I was to say,
what I had to speak,
was commanded by the Father who sent me,
and I know that his commands mean eternal life.
And therefore what the Father has told me
is what I speak.’
MISSIONARIES OF CHRIST ARE INTENTIONAL EVANGELIZERS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Acts 12:24-13:5; Ps 67:2-3, 5-6, 8; Jn 12:44-50 ]
The vision of the archdiocese of Singapore is to build a vibrant, evangelizing and missionary Church. Vibrant is easy to understand because we can imagine a Church full of life and activities. There is anointed and fervent worship, ministering, active formation seen in retreats, seminars and conferences, outreach to the poor and fellowship. But being an evangelizing and missionary Church is not quite so clear. Most of us tend to use these two words synonymously and interchangeably. Are these two words nuances of the same reality or are they distinct?
We must begin by saying that both evangelization and mission have the same finality, which is to bring Christ to others. In the gospel, Jesus calls Himself the light of the world. “Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me, sees the one who sent me. I, the light, have come into the world, so that whoever believes in me need not stay in the dark anymore.” So as Christians, we are called to be the light of Jesus in the world and to bring Jesus to all men and women so that they can be saved and walk in the truth.
Not only are we called to bring the light of Jesus but we are also called to bring His love to humanity. We are redeemed by encountering the unconditional love of God in Christ. Love is redeeming because it is always transforming. When we experience love from our fellowmen, it is a redemptive moment for us. Unfortunately, the love of our fellowmen is weak, fragile and not lasting. It is not just because human beings are selfish but we are also finite. Even the greatest love between a man and a woman or between two friends cannot last because death will separate them. When that happens, a greater tragedy of loss and bereavement can even overwhelm the one who stays behind and the one who has to depart. It is heartbreaking. Only the unconditional and everlasting love of God in Christ can heal us. (cf Rom 8:37-39)
Evangelization and mission, therefore, are concerned with sharing the Good News of Jesus in word, by proclaiming the truth and in deeds, and by actions of love. In this sense, all of us, by virtue of our baptism, share in the work of evangelization and the mission of the Church. Vatican II on the Decree of the Laity teaches that there is a diversity of ministry but a oneness of mission. All their activities are directed to the evangelization and sanctification of men and to permeate the world with the spirit of the Gospel according to their state of life. (cf Apostolicam Actuositatem, 2)
However, one can carry this mission of the baptized in an unintentional manner or in an unconscious way according to the circumstances of our lives and whenever the situation permits. We do this by endeavoring to live out the gospel life in such a way that inspires the lives of others by our words and actions. Again, the Church instructs and reminds us. “The very testimony of their Christian life and good works done in a supernatural spirit have the power to draw men to belief and to God. However, an apostolate of this kind does not consist only in the witness of one’s way of life; a true apostle looks for opportunities to announce Christ by words addressed either to non-believers with a view to leading them to faith, or to the faithful with a view to instructing, strengthening, and encouraging them to a more fervent life.” (cf Ibid, 6)
This was the way of the early disciples of our Lord. They proclaimed the gospel in a circumstantial manner. This happened because of the persecution. “All except the apostles were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria.” (Acts 8:1) As they went, they proclaimed the gospel to all of humanity. We have the case of Philip who went to preach at Samaria and then was led by the Holy Spirit to reach out to the Ethiopian Eunuch. (Acts 8:4-40) Then we have the conversion of Saul followed by Peter’s incidental inspiration of the Holy Spirit to visit the Centurion Cornelius’ household and had them baptized. Later, some of the disciples even evangelized the Gentiles and brought them to the Lord. (cf Acts 11:19f)
Until now, the early Christians were merely evangelizing and proclaiming the Good News like many of us do. We try to live a good Catholic life according to our vocation as parents, professionals and workers. We set good examples and seek to sanctify our life in whatever we do by being the salt of the earth and the light to the world. We hope that by our lives, we will lead people to Christ and come to believe in Him. However, our primary goal or mission is not to bring converts to the Lord but rather to live our vocation in such a way that we glorify God by our lives and indirectly by so doing, lead people to love Him.
Nevertheless, being in a mission is not quite the same as evangelizing. Today’s first reading explains how the first missionary outreach of the Church started. “One day while they were offering worship to the Lord and keeping a fast, the Holy Spirit said, ‘I want Barnabas and Saul set apart for the work to which I have called them.’ So it was that after fasting and prayer they laid their hands on them and sent them off. So these two, sent on their mission by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and from there sailed to Cyprus.” This was an organized mission and the intention was more than just being good disciples of our Lord but to actively direct the message to the Jews and the Gentiles. In other words, it was intentional, purposeful and focused.
So being missionary includes the work of evangelization but it goes beyond in terms of intentionality. Being missionary has a specific intent, which is to proclaim Christ to the world. This is the utmost goal of whatever they do, whether they are involved in social and humanitarian work or in the direct proclamation of the Gospel. Their mission is clear. It is directed at leading people to know Christ, love Him and eventually to be baptized. So being intentional about what we do distinguishes an evangelizer from a missionary. This is true in any organization. Every organization has a vision and a mission. It must be clear about what it seeks to do and achieve. The mission flows from the vision of the organization. So, too, for the Church, we have evangelizers, which is the obligation of every Christian but we have missionaries, those who dedicate their lives solely to the spread of the gospel either directly or indirectly, in words and deeds.
What is needed for us to build a missionary Church is prophets. “In the church at Antioch the following were prophets and teachers.” It is strange that in the early Church, the office of prophets comes after the apostles and before evangelists, pastors and teachers. (cf Eph 4:11) This prophetic office, unfortunately, is forgotten today as it is quietly subsumed into the hierarchical ordained ministry or to some in the charismatic renewal. But in truth, the prophetic office is more than merely announcing the future, interpreting the tongues, doing good works, it is about discerning the mission of the Church and where the gospel should be proclaimed, the means of proclamation and who to send out for the mission, as what happened at the Church in Antioch. We need priests, religious and laity who are prayerful, filled with the Holy Spirit, visionary and anointed to be prophets for the Church today as they read the signs of the time. We must reclaim the office of prophets in the Church today if we are to strengthen the mission of the Church. What we have today are only leaders, administrators, ministers and teachers who carry out the vision of the Church. However, what we need most are visionaries and prophets to direct the vision and the mission, to think out of the box and challenge the narrow-mindedness of the Church so that we remain focused, intentional and organized in our outreach.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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