20200824 KERYGMA BEFORE CATECHESIS
24 August, 2020, Monday, St Bartholomew, Apostle
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Red.
First reading |
Apocalypse 21:9-14 © |
He showed me Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God out of heaven
The angel came to speak to me, and said, ‘Come here and I will show you the bride that the Lamb has married.’ In the spirit, he took me to the top of an enormous high mountain and showed me Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God out of heaven. It had all the radiant glory of God and glittered like some precious jewel of crystal-clear diamond. The walls of it were of a great height, and had twelve gates; at each of the twelve gates there was an angel, and over the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel; on the east there were three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. The city walls stood on twelve foundation stones, each one of which bore the name of one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 144(145):10-13a,17-18 © |
Your friends, O Lord, make known the glorious splendour of your reign.
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.
Your friends, O Lord, make known the glorious splendour of your reign.
They 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.
Your friends, O Lord, make known the glorious splendour of your reign.
The Lord is just in all his ways
and loving in all his deeds.
He is close to all who call him,
who call on him from their hearts.
Your friends, O Lord, make known the glorious splendour of your reign.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn1:49 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Rabbi, you are the Son of God,
you are the King of Israel.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 1:45-51 © |
You will see heaven laid open, and the Son of Man
Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, the one about whom the prophets wrote: he is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.’ ‘From Nazareth?’ said Nathanael ‘Can anything good come from that place?’ ‘Come and see’ replied Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael coming he said of him, ‘There is an Israelite who deserves the name, incapable of deceit.’ ‘How do you know me?’ said Nathanael. ‘Before Philip came to call you,’ said Jesus ‘I saw you under the fig tree.’ Nathanael answered, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.’ Jesus replied, ‘You believe that just because I said: I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.’ And then he added ‘I tell you most solemnly, you will see heaven laid open and, above the Son of Man, the angels of God ascending and descending.’
KERYGMA BEFORE CATECHESIS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ REV 21:9-14; PS 145:10-13, 17-18; JN 1:45-51 ]
The Church sees herself as the moral spokesperson for the good of humanity. This is why the Church is in the forefront of confronting the world on moral and ethical issues. She is very vocal on the need to safeguard the dignity of every human person from conception to death, protect the natural institution of marriage and family, promotion of ethical living, especially in the use of science and technology; safeguarding the freedom of religion, worship, conscience, morality and human rights in general.
In the process, many see the Church as a moral police officer, deeply enmeshed in social and political life, but less a religion that leads people to God. This explains why some governments are suspicious of the Catholic Church because they perceive the Church as another political institution trying to influence the people against the government of the day. We are accused of mixing religion with politics. Some people even feel that the Church should not be commenting on social issues that affect the people, as the Church would be interfering in the democratic process.
Understandably, the moral values of the Church are seen as religious impositions on the rest of humanity. This is because many do not accept the basis of morality departing from the Christian viewpoint, which is rooted in natural laws, faith in the Bible as the inspired Word of God and least of all, the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. This rejection of the Church’s moral teaching comes not just from those outside of the Church but also within the Church. Our catechesis to our young people and Catholics on morality falls on deaf ears and hardened hearts because they tend to listen more to the relativistic position of the world.
Today’s feast of St Bartholomew invites us to reflect on the primacy of kerygma over catechesis. The weakness of our catechetical pedagogy is that we presume that young people and even older ones registered in our catechism classes or even RCIA are disposed and keen to deepen their faith in Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Church. In actual fact, most of them find catechism boring, irrelevant and more of an indoctrination rather than helping them to know more about Jesus, not just intellectually but personally. This is why most young people are not paying attention to what their catechists are teaching them in class because they feel the teaching and the teachers of faith themselves are not connecting with them. What they teach goes over their head.
Indeed, the first apostles including Nathanael, another name for Bartholomew, came to faith in Jesus not because of His preaching and miracles but because they came to know Jesus personally. John the Baptist pointed out to his disciples, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” (Jn 1:36) “The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” (cf Jn 1:37-41)
In today’s gospel, we have Philip who brought Nathanael to our Lord. He said to him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, the one about whom the prophets wrote: he is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” His reply was one of caution and skepticism, “From Nazareth? Can anything good come from that place?” He was a candid person, honest and frank. He did not hide his feelings and sentiments because those who came from Bethsaida did not think much of those who came from the town of Nazareth. In his view, Jesus’ origin gave doubt to whether He could be the one Moses wrote about in the Law and what the prophets taught. Indeed, no one expected the Messiah to come from Nazareth. This was the same question, Jesus’ opponents would raise later on in the gospel. (cf Jn 7:41f, 52) His question therefore was genuine, and to some extent prejudicial. Unlike the opponents of our Lord, he was open and receptive. He was aware of his prejudices but he was sincere enough to put them aside by going to meet Jesus.
This too should be our approach as well in coming to know Jesus. Some will never come to know Him because they hold prejudicial views. They are not willing to change. It is not that they do not know but they do not want to know. This is what Paul, citing from Isaiah, said, “But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed, they have; for ‘Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.’ Again, I ask, did Israel not understand?'” (cf Rom 10:18, 19-21) The strength of Nathanael is his sincerity in searching for the Messiah. He was ready to learn and to discover.
What won Nathanael over was not the teaching of Christ; Jesus had not even started to preach, but His personal connection with him. When Jesus saw him, He said, “There is an Israelite who deserves the name, incapable of deceit.” In these words, Jesus was firstly affirming the authenticity of Nathanael. He called him a true “Israelite who deserves the name, incapable of deceit.” This is a contrast to Jacob, also called Israel, who cheated Esau his brother of his birthright! (Gn 27:18-29) But most of all, Jesus was able to read the heart and the desire of Nathanael to find God and the Messiah. When the Lord said, “I saw you under the fig tree” what He meant was the He knew the hunger and the deep thirst of Nathanael to find God. To sit under the fig tree was a symbol of someone in deep contemplation of God under the umbrella of the fig tree.
Nathanael immediately sensed that Jesus knew his heart and his mind. Hence, he knew that Jesus must be the Messiah. So he made the confession of faith in Jesus right at the start of His ministry. He said, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.” To confess Jesus as the Son of God is to recognize His divinity and to confess Jesus is the King of Israel. It is to recognize Him as the Son of David, one who is a man among us. Nathanael came to faith in Jesus because he encountered the understanding, love and recognition of Jesus. As a consequence, the Lord said to him, “You will see greater things than that. You will see heaven laid open and, above the Son of Man, the angels of God ascending and descending.” Indeed, Jesus is greater than Jacob. He is not just the Son of man in sharing our humanity, but He is also the glorified Son of Man in the book of Daniel. Most of all, Jesus is the mediator between heaven and earth, the God-man, greater than the mediatory role of the angels that Jacob saw in his dream.
Accordingly, before we can even begin catechesis, instructing someone in doctrines and morals, we must connect with them. We need to know their struggles, their pains, their aspirations and their desires in life. Jesus reminds us not to “give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.” (Mt 7:6) Until we know them, the proclamation of truth cannot yet begin. We need to answer to their doubts and overcome their skepticisms before we can even begin to teach them about Jesus and morality. Personal relationship with our potential believers is critical. We must create an ambience of trust and genuine concern and love for the person.
Secondly, we must bring them to meet Jesus. A personal encounter with Jesus is critical before any real catechesis can begin. Pope Benedict made it clear, “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.” (Deus Caritas Est, 1) The proclamation of the Kerygma consists of the declaration that Jesus is our redeemer, savior, healer, mediator, who was God and became man to share in our humanity, to reveal to us who God is, to lead us to fullness of life, to heal our wounds, and sicknesses and to deliver us from the bondage of evil and sin. Until this encounter takes place, any premature catechesis will fail because it is not built on rock.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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