20200510 THE SPIRITUAL AND HUMANITARIAN ASPECTS OF THE GOSPEL
10 May, 2020, Sunday, 5th Week of Easter
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: White.
First reading
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Acts 6:1-7 ©
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They elected seven men full of the Holy Spirit
About this time, when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenists made a complaint against the Hebrews: in the daily distribution their own widows were being overlooked. So the Twelve called a full meeting of the disciples and addressed them, ‘It would not be right for us to neglect the word of God so as to give out food; you, brothers, must select from among yourselves seven men of good reputation, filled with the Spirit and with wisdom; we will hand over this duty to them, and continue to devote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word.’ The whole assembly approved of this proposal and elected Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus of Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
The word of the Lord continued to spread: the number of disciples in Jerusalem was greatly increased, and a large group of priests made their submission to the faith.
Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 32(33):1-2,4-5,18-19 ©
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May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
or
Alleluia!
Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just;
for praise is fitting for loyal hearts.
Give thanks to the Lord upon the harp,
with a ten-stringed lute sing him songs.
May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
or
Alleluia!
For the word of the Lord is faithful
and all his works to be trusted.
The Lord loves justice and right
and fills the earth with his love.
May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord looks on those who revere him,
on those who hope in his love,
to rescue their souls from death,
to keep them alive in famine.
May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
or
Alleluia!
Second reading
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1 Peter 2:4-9 ©
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Christ is the living stone, chosen by God and precious to him
The Lord is the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him; set yourselves close to him so that you too, the holy priesthood that offers the spiritual sacrifices which Jesus Christ has made acceptable to God, may be living stones making a spiritual house. As scripture says: See how I lay in Zion a precious cornerstone that I have chosen and the man who rests his trust on it will not be disappointed. That means that for you who are believers, it is precious; but for unbelievers, the stone rejected by the builders has proved to be the keystone, a stone to stumble over, a rock to bring men down. They stumble over it because they do not believe in the word; it was the fate in store for them.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
Gospel Acclamation
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Jn14:6
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus said: ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No one can come to the Father except through me.’
Alleluia!
Gospel
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John 14:1-12 ©
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I am the Way, the Truth and the Life
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Trust in God still, and trust in me.
There are many rooms in my Father’s house;
if there were not, I should have told you.
I am going now to prepare a place for you,
and after I have gone and prepared you a place,
I shall return to take you with me;
so that where I am
you may be too.
You know the way to the place where I am going.’
Thomas said, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus said:
‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No one can come to the Father except through me.
If you know me, you know my Father too.
From this moment you know him and have seen him.’
Philip said, ‘Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied.’ ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip,’ said Jesus to him ‘and you still do not know me?
‘To have seen me is to have seen the Father,
so how can you say, “Let us see the Father”?
Do you not believe
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words I say to you I do not speak as from myself:
it is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work.
You must believe me when I say
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;
believe it on the evidence of this work, if for no other reason.
I tell you most solemnly,
whoever believes in me
will perform the same works as I do myself,
he will perform even greater works,
because I am going to the Father.’
THE SPIRITUAL AND HUMANITARIAN ASPECTS OF THE GOSPEL
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS 6:1-7; PS 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19; 1 PT 2:4-9; JN 14:1-12 ]
Last Sunday, we celebrated Vocation Sunday where the emphasis was on the ministerial priesthood. Today, the liturgy focuses on the responsibilities of the royal priesthood. In the first reading, we read how the apostles came to realize that the task of proclaiming the gospel cannot be solely their responsibility. The truth is that the proclamation of the gospel is not merely preaching the Good News but also incarnating what they preached. Besides taking care of the spiritual needs of the community, the early Christians had to care for the poorer members of the community who needed financial and material help. This was the case for the widows because being all alone, they were without financial support. Hence, the early Church had to give special care to this group of women.
But as it turned out, we all know how difficult it is to distribute resources to the poor as we never have enough resources and there will always be people who are unsatisfied. On the other hand, the apostles who were busy preaching the gospel came to realize that their attention was taken away by serving the poor and managing the funds. So they said to the community, “It would not be right for us to neglect the word of God so as to give out food; you, brothers, must select from among yourselves seven men of good reputation, filled with the Spirit and with wisdom; we will hand over this duty to them, and continue to devote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word.” Indeed, in the mission of the Church, both of these dimensions cannot be overlooked, the spiritual and the temporal needs of the people of God.
Nevertheless, the Church must never forget the priority of providing spiritual food to the People of God. This is critical and can never be replaced by mere humanitarian services. This is because more than food, and having our physical needs satisfied, people long for the ultimate answers in life. This was what Philip asked of the Lord. He said, “Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied.” Philip was asking the fundamental questions of life. To know the Father is to know who we are, our identity, our origin and our destination in life. A child who is not aware of his identity is always dysfunctional. Even children given away for adoption want to know their biological parents; not that they will be elated to find them but at least they will be satisfied to know their true origin.
So, when Philip asked Jesus about the Father, he was searching for God. Indeed, the question of God is very much connected to the question of man. The question of man cannot be answered without the question of God. This is because man cannot answer his own question. We come from somewhere. We are dependent and contingent being. We can disappear from this world but the world continues even without us. This is why the question of anthropology cannot be answered without theology. The question of man, when we search deeply, will inevitably point to the question of God. Only God who is the Ultimate, the origin of everything, can explain man’s existence. Without God, there is nothing. Knowing that God is our creator, however, is not enough. This is why, although many religions confess in God as the creator, yet the people remain fearful and troubled in life because in some religions the creator is even hostile to humanity and has to be appeased.
Isn’t this the case of the apostles in today’s gospel? They were sad and unsettled because Jesus told them He was leaving them. It is not enough to know that God is our creator, but we must know that He is our Father and that we can be in relationship with Him. Knowing that God is our Father and that Jesus is our brother gives us security and peace. Knowing about God is not sufficient unless we know Him personally. That is to say, we must have a relationship with Him. Even the devil knows that God exists but he does not render Him worship.
Hence, the Lord assured the apostles that their relationship with Him will not end with His departure, but greater still, they will now be able to relate to His Father because He is bringing them to meet His Father. This is what Jesus meant when He said, “There are many rooms in my Father’s house; if there were not, I should have told you. I am going now to prepare a place for you, and after I have gone and prepared you a place, I shall return to take you with me; so that where I am you may be too.”
Knowing that God is our Father, and encountering His love and mercy in Jesus, our hearts will no longer be troubled or afraid. This is why the Lord said to Thomas, “You know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus said: ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you know me, you know my Father too. From this moment you know him and have seen him.'” Jesus is the Way to that relationship with the Father. Jesus is, therefore, the revelation of the Father, His love and mercy. To see Jesus is to see the Father. To know Jesus is to know the person of the Father. This is what Jesus meant when He said, “No one can come to the Father except through me.” This does not mean that those who are not Christians will go to hell. However, it does mean that those who do not know Jesus will never know the real identity and the person of God as our Father, His heart and His divine plan for us. Only Jesus can reveal Him to us. Jesus is where we meet the Father.
Flowing from our discovery of who the Father is, who we are and the meaning of life, we can now be the sacrament of Christ to the world. Just as Christ revealed the Father to us, we are now called to reveal Christ to the world. St Peter says, “The Lord is the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him.” This is what all of us are called as members of the royal priesthood. St Peter said, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” We are called to reveal to the world our vocation in life, which is to be God’s priestly people. We are called to lead people to know Christ so that they can discover their true identity as sons and daughters of the heavenly Father. If only we know deep in our hearts that God is our Father, all our fears in life will be overcome, even the fear of death because we know that life always ends with the Father. It is in the Father’s House that we will find lasting peace and happiness. It is when we are in the heart of the Father and in His bosom that we find true rest and joy.
United in Christ, we can now do what the Lord has done for us. We can perform His works of love and mercy. Jesus assured His disciples, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak as from myself: it is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work. You must believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; believe it on the evidence of this work, if for no other reason. I tell you most solemnly, whoever believes in me will perform the same works as I do myself, he will perform even greater works because I am going to the Father.” This was precisely what the early Christians did. They did not simply do humanitarian works when they cared for the poor and the widows. Their goal was ultimately spiritual. The works of mercy that they did were in continuation of Jesus’ works of mercy. They were meant to reveal the Father’s mercy and love for them.
So the goal of Christian humanitarian works is always the salvation of souls and not just attending to the physical, emotional and affective needs of the human person. Although in truth, the entire person must be attended to, physically, emotionally, affectively and spiritually. Indeed, the mission of the Church includes, caring for the poor, the sick, the wounded, the abandoned, the homeless and the hungry. The gospel cannot be proclaimed without the works of charity, otherwise, it will merely be words. People need to see Christ and encounter His love and mercy concretely in their lives. Humanitarian works is very much a part of our Christian mission.
Indeed, during this time of Covid-19 pandemic, we must seek ways to reach out to those who are suffering, those who are infected with the virus, those who have lost their jobs, those who are in depression because of anxieties, fears about their future, or simply because of the lock-down they are finding themselves stifled and alienated from their family and friends. These are the people we need to reach out to. We need more than ever to let the world know that we are one with them in their journey. Each one of us must do his part. Some of us do the more spiritual aspect, like us who are ministers of the gospel. Of course, this does not exclude us from doing works of mercy as well. Others like Caritas and CHARIS focus on the humanitarian services, but underlying their mission is the gospel of Christ and their relationship with the Lord, as St Peter exhorts us, “set yourselves close to him so that you too, the holy priesthood that offers the spiritual sacrifices which Jesus Christ has made acceptable to God, may be living stones making a spiritual house.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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